What was your first experience with the Elite universe and what keeps you playing it today?

My first exposure with Elite: Dangerous was through a couple different YouTubers I watched several years back and was immediately hooked. Since I only had a console then and there wasn’t console support at the time, I was relegated to just watching.

As for what keeps me playing it’s partially that there’s always something to do. Even if that something to do is nothing at all.

The other part that keeps me around are the people of The Fatherhood — a group of people who welcomed me into their fold while I was figuring out my space legs and were willing to show me the ropes. That definitely did a lot for my relationship with Elite.

Tell a quick story about your favorite moment in Elite: Dangerous.

My favorite moment in Elite happens to be the reason I joined The Fatherhood. I managed to get a bounty on me that I ended up forgetting about when I got the news that I could access the solar system. I made my way as quickly as possible and began playing tourist when I got interdicted in my Cobra over Mars by an Anaconda who happened to be a Fatherhood member. I thought he was friendly since he didn’t immediately open fire and we danced our ships in a friendly manner. It wasn’t until he backed up and sent a torpedo at me that I noticed the little, red text saying “WANTED” in my bottom right HUD. I somehow evaded a couple more torpedoes and got out of a couple more interdictions from him and docked. We shared a bit of sporting banter with eachother before winging up. Through him, I learned a lot about combat, bounties and more importantly The Fatherhood. I signed up that night all because I was too young and dumb in-game.

Tell the story of how you earned your callsign.

This callsign came to me because I… was clumsy. I pushed the wrong buttons and accidentally vented myself out of the Discord airlock. I came back in to discover in my horror that some of my fellow commanders were dying… of laughter… at me. Naturally, the razzing started and before I knew it, I was “Boomerang”. I didn’t like it at first, but it’s come around to me.

Tell us about your favorite ship in the game.

Chieftain, hands down. The way she sounds, looks, and handles is just so satisfying to me.

Currently, the only Chieftain I have is named “Miss Chief” because wherever I go, “Miss Chief” follows. The way I build most of my ships is kinda a Jack-of-all-trades and that’s the best setup to do all kinds of shenanigans.

What drew you to join The Fatherhood? What squadron did you join: Bravo

I think I’ve thoroughly answered this question in some of the others above. To summarize, The Fatherhood is a bunch of great and friendly people who helped me out in my early Elite days and made me feel welcomed immediately. That and the casualness helps a lot since they don’t really expect me to do much. That said, how I got to be Wing Council before I was even a Veteran in the squadron is beyond me.

What’s your day job, and how do you balance your home, work and gaming life (or do you)?

My work as of writing this is a 3D printing tech but I’ll be moving soon so that is gonna change.

As for balancing life and gaming, like our motto says, life comes first. I haven’t touched any video games in the past year because life’s been busy and it will be the same for a bit after I move. And because of the uncertainty of the future, my availability is a bit of mystery even to me, but discord is always open to reach out.

How did you come up with the name of your Commander?

I came up with my Xbox gamertag of Rebel Yankee because it’s a bit of a play on words and a history based oxymoron that’s every bit American as I am.

Any fatherly advice for new CMDRs trying to make their way in Elite: Dangerous?

For those starting out in Elite, I recommend doing some trading without a docking computer first to get the hang of flying and landing manually. If you do use a docking computer, never take your hands off the controls. The AI is useful but not perfect.

Also, if you’re trapped in a station because a Beluga is stuck in the slot whilst you’re trying to leave, reload the game. That should help.

What was your first experience with the Elite universe and what keeps you playing it today?

I really enjoy the thrill I had when I first started and I was running a load of LTDs, Void Opals, or Painite, only to be interdicted. Mind you this was when I didn’t really know better but it sure got my pulse racing!

Tell the story of how you earned your callsign.

My most favorite moment playing deeply involves my callsign. I spent the good portion of an entire season just blasting Thargoids in the face with shard cannons. I know! No one is too terribly impressed with that approach. It doesn’t, in itself, require much skill. What does require skill is coordinating routinely 4 others and up to as many as 12. Just getting that many people interested in doing the same thing in Elite is difficult. We started by dropping in on lvl 5 NHSS. I then researched and adapted a technique to use a distress call in LTT 8517 to farm Thargoid kills. This occurred during a community goal in the Coalsack to amass bounties. This was prior to the 4x buff to ‘goid bounties and I nearly broke 1 billion credits for the week long CG. We all love the big numbers in this game but the best numbers were the number of players who helped me, and in doing so, racked up significant achievements of their own. We took first place from a squad of dedicated Thargoid hunters that season and had multiple fresh players take top 25/10 spots. It’s still the most I’ve ever played with others in Elite: Dangerous and I would love to see server melting numbers of players in the same instance blasting Hydras in the face until they die.

Tell us about your favorite ship in the game.

I really love laser mining in a Cutter. I also very much like delivering large shipments of cargo. For those reasons I must say my favorite ship is the Cutter.

What drew you to join The Fatherhood?

I’m an Xbox player and what drew my to The Fatherhood was the number of members it had. I knew it was my best shot to find others to play with.

What’s your day job, and how do you balance your home, work and gaming life (or do you)?

The best way to enjoy Elite: Dangerous is almost as a substitute for a real job. In that sense E:D really helped me through this pandemic. You aren’t likely to catch me on much lately as I’ve been able to get back to piloting my real life. I’m mountain in the US and I’m down to farm ‘goid kills while goofing off in chat.

How did you come up with the name of your Commander?

It’s my gamertag.

Any fatherly advice for new CMDRs trying to make their way in Elite: Dangerous?

Try to get involved with others. It makes the game much more enjoyable.

What was your first experience with the Elite universe and what keeps you playing it today?

Although I could well have come across Elite in the 80’s, I actually only stumbled across it on the Xbox way back in 2015. There was a free 60 min trial that I used, it was like a massive “WOW” moment for me. The experience of being able to fly a spaceship was amazing. A short time later it was bought. Then Horizons came and again, “WOW”, landing on a planet.

What keeps me playing Elite? Several reasons, there’s so much I haven’t done yet, new features being added always draw me back, but the biggest is the community. They make this game what it is.

Tell a quick story about your favorite moment in Elite: Dangerous.

There’s several I’ve enjoyed, but thinking back, taking off and flying out of that station for the first time was an experience like nothing else.

Before all the tutorials there are now, running through a system check, and lifting off the pad, and trying to head out through the mail slot that first time. No auto dock, nothing, like watching a baby deer stand for the first time.

Now, flying with other Fatherhood Commanders.

Tell us about your favorite ship in the game.

I can’t say I have a favourite. My Asp (TFS Shadow Explorer) took me to Sag A. My Imperial Clipper (Ultra Icier Temp) did LS2. And my Anaconda (Green Lantern) has been my combat ship of choice. I am trying to build a decent Corvette, it’s a work in progress.

What drew you to join The Fatherhood?

I bought the game on PC, discovered Discord and joined a couple of communities. Then saw some Squadron invites in one of the channels and The Fatherhood stood out with “When the kids go to bed, we go to space”, very fitting for me. Requested to join Aplha, then sorted out my Xbox account and joined Bravo too.

Considering you have been with The Fatherhood for a while, how have you got away with not falling foul of the famous callsign award from your fellow Green Squadron members?

Well, keeping my mouth shut about things has seemed to help. If no-ones sees it, did it really happen?

What’s your day job, and how do you balance your home, work and gaming life (or do you)?

I’m an automotive technician for a dealer. Though I love IT and tech generally.

I’ve struggled to game at times in recent years with either work and/or family commitments, but my kids are older now and I generally have time in the evenings to relax and game.

I can usually be found online between 21:00 and 23:00 UK time (GMT/BST) most nights. More if I can get away with it.

How did you come up with the name of your Commander?

It’s my Xbox Gamertag that I’ve used since the OG console way back. Nothing special really.

Any fatherly advice for new CMDRs trying to make their way in Elite: Dangerous?

There’s no rush, this game takes time achieve things. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Join a squadron, it gets lonely in space.

What was your first experience with the Elite universe and what keeps you playing it today?

I played it during the trial period when it first released on Xbox One… Damn those controls scared the hell out of me. I couldn’t get my head around it all. 🤣 I’ve been returning constantly on and off ever since I bought it on the PS4, but have got really into it since I got into combat and Scout hunting in March(?). It’s become my current gaming obsession that I just can’t put down. 😂

Tell a quick story about your favorite moment in Elite: Dangerous.

Hmmm that’s a tough one. I’ve not actually thought about a particular moment as my favourite. I must admit, being able to hold my own in PvE combat is much better than constantly dying back when I used to just trade and explore.

Tell the story of how you earned your callsign.

As quoted from Tilling197:

“Cmdr SporBash was joining me at the Crystal Shard site on HIP 36601 C 1 A in his Anaconda, firstly he came in too hot and crashed head first into the planet and took 50% hull damage, then I see him flying around, I ask him if he is ok and he said he is struggling to find a landing spot… on completely flat ground?After 5 mins of this he then realises he hasnt got his landing gear down!!! once he has landed he jumps into his SRV and proceeds to farm mats but then as my back is turned I feel a whack innthe back of my SRV, its only Sporbash literally bashing my back doors in as he wasnt looking where he was going and drove straight into me! lol”

— Tilling197

Tell us about your favorite ship in the game.

At the moment it’s got to be my Corvette: Fist of Russ. That space boat can take some beatings before it needs to retreat for repairs.

What drew you to join The Fatherhood?

Originally it was the name The Fatherhood that caught my eye thinking it was a dad’s only squadron. Even after finding out it’s a squad for everyone, it didn’t bother me. There’s so many really helpful commanders in here and it’s great to get the help with everything, especially when it gets all technical.

I’m part of The Fatherhood – Bravo squad.

What’s your day job, and how do you balance your home, work and gaming life (or do you)? (What times and timezone are people likely to find you online so they can wing up with you?)

Day job? Been almost a year since I worked, after being dismissed because of a complaint from someone on Social Media. 🙄

Since then, my mental health has been a major problem so the wife decided after 13 years, it was time to go to work and let me be the househusband. It was great at first, wife giving me her old daily cleaning lists to work through. But then, my mental health decided to ruin my routine and made me completely unmotivated to do a single bit of work. There is always time for gaming, even in between getting some housework done, school runs, cooking for the kids and me and the mrs; and doing the gymnastics run too. You’ll find me online near enough all day every day lmao

What is one thing most people don’t know about you that you wish they did?

Hahaha now this is something that I can’t answer as it causes issues and I’m having to not say anything.

How did you come up with the name of your Commander?

Sporbash has been my gaming name since I started playing World of Warcraft back during The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King days. Wanted to use the Warhammer 40k Orc name Gorbash but it was taken so settled with using the “Sp” instead.

Any fatherly advice for new CMDRs trying to make their way in Elite: Dangerous?

Don’t have kids lmfao

What was your first experience with the Elite universe and what keeps you playing it today?

I first played the original Elite game in the mid-80s on a neighbour’s BBC Model B. I then had it myself on Commodore 64 and later the Amiga. I heard they were doing a modern version a few years ago, was really excited about the idea and then promptly forgot about it. It was only after ED had been out a couple of years that I picked it up.

Tell a quick story about your favorite moment in Elite: Dangerous.

A couple of months back, we had a new player join the squadron and I offered to jump my fleet carrier over near to the starter worlds to pick him up and bring him to our home system. What should have been a 30 minute task ended up being a 2 hour-plus epic that involved him having to do 9 jumps to meet my carrier, almost running out of fuel, re-routing, actually running out of fuel (needing me to jump my carrier again) and then having his Xbox crash as he was docking on my carrier.

At one point, I was laughing so hard I had tears running down my cheeks. In the end, I think about 4 or 5 members of the Green squadron ended up staying on the Discord past midnight to make sure that this commander actually got to our home system. He did in the end, I’m pleased to report.

Tell the story of how you earned your callsign.

I was furloughed due to the pandemic and had a fair bit of time on my hands, so I often handled the onboarding of new members in the Discord airlock. Hence Heimdal. I think it’s a character out of Batman, or something.

Tell us about your favorite ship in the game.

It’s hard to pick just one. I love the Corvette because it’s a Corvette. I’m also quite attached to my exploration Asp, ‘The Greyhound’, because I’ve spent months traveling all over the galaxy in it. My Cobra is something I like to dust off and use now and again for sentimental reasons. I’m still quite chuffed about getting my carrier, TFCS Thunderchild.

What drew you to join The Fatherhood?

I was half-interested in joining a squadron as I was getting a bit bored of the game. I saw many squadrons but they all seemed a bit serious, it was only when I saw the description for the FH on Inara that it felt like a squadron that it felt like a good fit. It’s funny how many people who apply to join the squadron say the same thing.

What’s your day job, and how do you balance your home, work and gaming life (or do you)?

I work in IT as software development manager. I tend to balance things by getting on quite late in the day when the kids are in bed, the dogs have been walked and I have the TV to myself.

What is one thing most people don’t know about you that you wish they did?

I’m not usually as miserable as I look. Not most of the time, anyway.

How did you come up with the name of your Commander?

Hagis was a nickname from primary school. It causes confusion as people assume I’m Scottish (I’m English) and Scottish people like to tell me I’ve spent it wrong. The ‘Recessive’ bit was adjective suggesion from XBox Live that I settled on, having lost the will to live going through the previous 85 suggestions.

Any fatherly advice for new CMDRs trying to make their way in Elite: Dangerous?

Join a squadron. ED is a complicated game and having a bunch of people to answer any questions and wing up with make it so much more enjoyable. I’ve been playing for over three years and I’m still learning new things about the game. The Fatherhood is a great squadron as there are so many people ready to help out. It puts a smile on my face when I help someone join the squadron and see them go from asking all the newbie questions to answering them for other new members a few weeks later. The dad-jokes and puns are an added bonus.

What was your first experience with the Elite universe and what keeps you playing it today?

I played Elite way back in the day on my Amiga 500, then completely missed the memo on the Kickstarter. I randomly discovered it while browsing the Xbox Store, if I recall correctly!

Tell a quick story about your favorite moment in Elite: Dangerous.

My favorite moment was relatively recently, when I got enough Federal Rank (and cash!) to buy my Federal Corvette. Then I promptly went out to a combat zone with a chip on my shoulder, and got destroyed!

Tell the story of how you earned your callsign.

I currently do not have a callsign, but if I did, it would probably be “Pathfinder” or “Lipton”. “Pathfinder” because I like to go scouting for systems that have great mission opportunities, and “Lipton” because I spent five hours hauling 50 tons of Fujin Tea (four tons at a time) 150 light-years each load to appease engineer Broo Tarquin’s ravenous thirst. The other commanders that I was chatting with on Discord at the time kept me company and cheered me on.

Tell us about your favorite ship in the game.

I have lived in my Asp Explorer since 2017! But I now own a Corvette, Cutter, Python, Mamba, and Type-9. But I’ll always cherish my Asp for flitting around the galaxy.

What drew you to join The Fatherhood?

I joined Bravo Squadron on the Xbox after logging into the game at the end of a lengthy hiatus playing other Xbox titles. Up until that time, I had pretty much played solo, but I discovered that there were now squadrons, and a quick Inara search for large squadrons revealed the existence of the Fatherhood to me! I joined shortly thereafter.

What’s your day job, and how do you balance your home, work and gaming life (or do you)?

I’m a software tester by day, and a singer/voice actor by night. I generally balance my work and gaming life by allowing myself to have game time whenever I can. I got laid off back in September 2020, so I’d been doing a LOT more gaming since then, but I got hired at a new company a week ago, so we will see how that affects my playing! I’m in the Pacific Time Zone, in Seattle, Washington, USA

What is one thing most people don’t know about you that you wish they did?

I’m a genuinely likable person, and I built a Dalek that hates everyone.

How did you come up with the name of your Commander?

It’s a mix of a couple of franchises that I adore: Pokemon (Charmander), and Final Fantasy (Chocobo). Also, it’s the first four letters of my given name.

Any fatherly advice for new CMDRs trying to make their way in Elite: Dangerous?

Well, I can’t speak as a father, but I do encourage the Wil Wheaton rule in-game and in life: Don’t be a d**k. Also, remember to drink your water and wash your hands.

What was your first experience with the Elite universe and what keeps you playing it today?

I was actually waiting for No Mans Sky to come out as I’ve always been interested in space and the idea of exploration. A friend told me that there was a better and more realistic game out already so I decided to check it out… I still never played No Man Sky. lol

Tell a quick story about your favorite moment in Elite: Dangerous.

It would most likely be winning our first combat gold in Bravo Squadron. We were so worried someone was going to come in and steal the gold out from under us that a large group of Cmdr’s stayed up all night until the server tick fighting just to make sure that we had the win. We lost a lot of sleep but it was all worth it in the end.

Tell the story of how you earned your callsign.

Honestly, I don’t really remember as mine wasn’t voted on like callsigns are now. I did something stupid/funny while on herbal medicines and Squadron Leader Arc dubbed me Cheech on the spot. lol

Tell us about your favorite ship in the game.

My favorite ship has to be my Anaconda, The Guardian of Oa. Shes taken me everywhere from the the Formadine Rift down south, to Colonia two times, and now Beagle Point as well. Her jump range mixed with the extra space to keep all the toys necessary to fight off the space madness are exactly what I need for trips into the black.

What drew you to join The Fatherhood?

I originally joined The Fatherhood just before The Lost Souls 1 expedition. I wanted to explore a little and Cmdr Arc Stanton actually told me about The Fatherhood and their upcoming expedition. I joined that day and have been a proud member since.

What’s your day job, and how do you balance your home, work and gaming life (or do you)?

I’m a general maintenance technician working on rental houses fixing anything under a roof. I troubleshoot work all day, so it’s nice to be able to come home, escape into space, and relax with other members of Bravo Squadron. I’m a single dad so when my son’s with me its daddy-son time, but like our squadron mottos say “When the kids go to sleep, we go to space”, so as soon as he’s sleeping I’m jumping in a wing with whatever Cmdrs I can find online. Lol I’m in Ohio so I’m Eastern standard time and I’m on almost every night after 8 PM my time.

What is one thing most people don’t know about you that you wish they did?

How proud of our Wing and Squadron I am. Every time I think we’ve had our best night, fought our best war, or had our hardest laughs there’s always so many more to be had around the corner. There’s members of this wing that are like family at this point, so meeting up and killing some pirates, or just BS-ing while running engineering or something like that makes this game a little less grindy and a lot more entertaining. Lol

How did you come up with the name of your Commander?

Ugh, lol. When I turned 18 I decided to take up a bit of a career in hip hop and stage performance. Shysty was my stage name for close to 10 years. Picked the name when I was like 25 and it’s just stuck for over a decade now. Lol

Any fatherly advice for new CMDRs trying to make their way in Elite: Dangerous?

The key is making friends, and listening and learning from the Veteran Cmdrs when they’re offering their advice. I feel the best part about Bravo Squadron is our community and how much we communicate almost daily. Dont be afraid to ask questions and above all dont be nervous about joining us in a wing or party chat. Were only here to help and have fun, no matter how new you are theres always room in our party for ya. Dont be a stranger.

What was your first experience with the Elite universe and what keeps you playing it today?

My first experience would have been when I was around fourteen and played it on a ZX Spectrum. It got me hooked on space sims.

The sheer scale of Elite and freedom of exploration, for me, it has all the elements of a perfect space sim.

Tell a quick story about your favorite moment in Elite: Dangerous.

Probably the most memorable was crossing the Xibalba sector to see the Gyer trees. After numerous attempts and epic fails it was quite an achievement for me. I had to make many planetary landings to gather materials for jumponium. There were many occasions I didn’t think i wouldn’t be able to complete the journey, or worse become stranded. The journey home was not so fun!

Tell the story of how you earned your callsign.

I’m not 100% sure but it may be because I like to take the odd screenshot.

Tell us about your favorite ship in the game. (What type of ship is it? What’s it’s name? Why is it your favorite?)

That’s a tough one as all my ships are special to me , but as i’m primarily an explorer it would have to be my Beluga, TFS Scylla. It’s stylish, it’s big, and I can bring everything I need for long distance expeditions.

I like to bring an SLF with me. Not only are they fun to fly but they also make for some great screenshots. The Guardian Trident takes especially good screenshots. The cockpit and view are amazing—definitely one of the best. It also runs so hot I can cook my breakfast on the dash.

What drew you to join The Fatherhood?

I first joined up after hearing about The Lost Souls expedition in 2018 and has to be one of the best decisions I’ve made in Elite. I’m quite the loner so it was great to finally meet people. Shout out to Cmdrs VvshystyVv and A furry teddy.

What is one thing most people don’t know about you that you wish they did?

I’m a musician. I play the bass guitar and have played in original and cover bands: funk, punk, metal, and rock for over 25 years. No fame and fortune, but good, solid, kick-ass fun.

How did you come up with the name of your Commander?

My name is taken from a character in the classic Sergio Leone spaghetti western, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”.

Any fatherly advice for new CMDRs trying to make their way in Elite: Dangerous?

Join The Fartherhood. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Take your time and don’t rush it. Don’t grind credits, materials, or the biggest ships. Enjoy the experience. Elite is beautiful.

“It’s like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.”

Bruce Lee

O7

What was your first experience with the Elite universe and what keeps you playing it today?

I picked it up after a friend of mine, SavageSalad, introduced it to me on Xbox back in 2017. I started off flying in his fighters and eventually got the hang of flight enough to fly on my own. As for what keeps me flying, I would say it is this group. Most everyone else I’ve known has moved off to greener pastures. If it were not for The Fatherhood, my Xbox and PC accounts would be covered in dust.

Tell a quick story about your favorite moment in Elite: Dangerous.

One of my favorite moments, I was flying with a slew of Green squad. I was… well into my drinks at that point. Watching one of my brethren coming into the port, I noticed his Anaconda’s gear was extending and I said, “Hey man you’ve got fiiiive landing pad arms!” Hilarity ensued and thus my second callsign, “LPA” was born.

Note: don’t drink and fly, y’all.

How did you come up with the name of your Commander?

For my Xbox account, Power Pro Bro it is my gamertag. On PC, TJ Bahsen, I used my initials and changed some things. 😉

Tell the story of how you earned your callsign.

My original callsign was granted after I burped on party chat enough and those burps would reverb consistently through ARC’s headset. Thus, ECHO, “Everybody Can Hear the Onomatopoeia”

Tell us about your favorite ship in the game.

Python is best ship. You cannot change my mind.

What drew you to join The Fatherhood?

If I recall correctly, I had seen some advert from Frontier and was kind of looking for a group outside my friend or two to play with. Little did I know that The Fatherhood would be with me for quite some time. Being able to call a group home and not have to worry about consistent effort due to my job and it’s demands was a boon in and of itself.

What’s your day job, and how do you balance your home, work and gaming life (or do you)?

I am a Technical Sergeant in the United States Air Force. I maintain and operate the backup power generators and aircraft arresting systems. It’s a good job, but sometimes it pulls me away from family and gaming. Oddly enough, playing Elite and balancing time came naturally with military life. Since joining (leaving and rejoining again) The Fatherhood I have moved three times. From the US to Europe and now Japan, balancing my time has come naturally.

What is one thing most people don’t know about you that you wish they did?

☕️