iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

On this day in 2018/3304, I put on a VR headset, grabbed my HOTAS, and launched #EliteDangerous for the first time, returning to a galaxy I'd been away from since the `90s. No game has ever been as meaningful to me as Elite. It's not even close. And after 8 years, I'm excited to play EVERY time. o7

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

I dropped the glass of thick, viscous fluid as I activated my shield and ran so fast I slammed into the back wall of the lift. Sprinted to the ship and barely waited for the docking clamps to release before boosting out. I won't be returning. Now why do I hear something in the back of the cabin?

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

"I need a drink" I muttered to myself. What was I thinking?? I sat down at the bar, and the ashen bartender handed me a tipple without my saying a word. The creepy man in red beside me was the only one in the bar not staring at me. "To Barovia!" I toasted loudly. "To Strahd!" the entire bar erupted.

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

I turned in the mission, and then curiosity got the better of me. Helmet firmly secured, I ventured into the colonnade. So much worse than I feared. This place is a bloodbath. No one is even trying to hide the dead bodies. The residents chat casually in ancient tongues like it's any other day.

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

It's a surface port, on a blood red planet, and I'm landing at night. Yeah, this is gonna go just great... #IsThisEliteDangerousOrDeadSpace

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Just picked up a data courier mission to a port called "The Crypt" in the "Lycanthrope" system. Should I be carrying silver & religious artifacts, or will my lucky Cobra Mk III bobblehead and Vlad the Bat ship decal be sufficient? Either way, I'm wearing a Dominator. #EliteDangerous #ColoniaIsWeird

The in-cockpit side mission panel in the Cobra Mk V "Side Piece". It gives details for an "Expansion Data Couriering" mission to a starport simply called "The Crypt", which resides in a star system with the not-at-all worrying name of "Lycanthrope". Being in the Colonia region of the galaxy, it's on one of the farthest frontiers of space that's occupied by humanity... and who knows what else...

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Coming from Count Orlok here that means nothing.

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Holy frijoles! Big Trouble in Little China was released 40 years ago today! Looks like an excuse to rewatch it while working/Operationsing!

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

I know that ship! It's the TTA Colonial III! 😎 (Or at least that's what I know of it as.) You can see this painting turned into animation here: youtu.be/FQunbwFw2VI?...

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

As much as a single image can capture a person, this is me.

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

When the combat zone is literally right above home, seeing my beautiful Leesti inspires me to fight harder. I wanted to ring my mother mid-battle and tell her to go outside & look up. Of course I didn't. I'm far more afraid of her wrath than I am of these Sirius goons! #IndependentLeestiForEquality

The Federal Corvette "Long Tall Sally", painted in black with green detailing, flies from the bottom left of the image away from the viewer and toward the middle of the image, its thrusters leaving twin trails of red plasma behind, its heat sinks glowing orange as it fires a pair of laser cannons from hardpoints underneath. The ship's registry ID, "HVYMTL", is visible on the wings of the ship.

Beams of red light streak across the sky from the pitched space battle happening around it, and a few ships are visible in the background. All of this is taking place over the planet Leesti, which takes up most of the bottom right corner of the image. It's beautiful blue seas, light cloud cover over, and green & tan land masses make the radiant planet look like a jewel hanging in space.

Which, of course, is exactly what it is.
#IndependentLeestiForEquality

(Not visible: CMDR Datan0de's mother on the planet's surface. She knows little of her son's martial pursuits out in the black, and even the shields and armor of the mighty Federal Corvette would not protect him from her scorn. She's always worried that her misbegotten scoundrel of a brother, CMDR Crimson Jakk, is a bad influence on her son, so for both of their sake, don't tell her, okay?)

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Somehow, 102 CMDRs were able to get into the instance together! #DW3 #DistantWorlds3

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Last (?) mass jump of the Distant Worlds 3 expedition. Sideys leading the charge! 😀 #DistantWorlds3 #DW3

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

It's all just so damn pretty out there. So why does my uncle have to ruin it with his commentary? #CrimsonJakk: "You'd see things like this if you got out from under yer mum's skirt and left the Bubble, boy!" Me: "Nice Sidewinder you got there, Jakk. You steal that one too?" He means well. Maybe.

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

The thrill of scanning the beacon to get the DW3 ship decal... ...and the less than spectacular display on Crimson Jakk's paint-worn Mandalay. I still wear both the white smudge and the worn paint with pride! #DistantWorlds3 #DW3 #CrimsonJakk

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

This looked much better once we got a new formation set up. #DistantWorlds3 #DW3 #MassJump

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

"V" was such a huge event! Or at least, it was among my junior high friends and I. I looked forward to it for months, and when it finally aired it did not disappoint! Pity its lessons seem to have been forgotten by so many here. The opening dedication still sticks with me.

To the heroism of the
Resistance Fighters
--past, present, and future--
this work is respectfully
dedicated

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

I slide into the jet cone, but can't stay in it long enough to get a supercharge. I try again and again, getting more aggressive with each approach. Growing frustrated, I try entering the cone flying *toward* the dwarf. Bad things happen fast.

$Cockpit view from the Botany Bay, caught in normalspace and tumbling within the jet cone of a white dwarf. Blue plasma swirls outside the fractured and soon to be shattered canopy. The urgent alarm "WARNING! HAZARDOUS ENVRONMENT. CATASTROPHIC SYSTEMS FAILURE." is displayed front and center of the HUD in not-at-all friendly letters, and a constant stream of smaller damage alerts cycles through the top right corner, showing internal modules taking damage throughout the ship. Below the fuel gauge, the slowest FSD cool down sequence in the history of the galaxy is progressing with no rush whatsoever.$

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

[THREAD] Last night I was so embarrassingly daft that I *have* to share my humiliating boneheadedness with all of you. Your mockery is welcome. I've earned it. I pick up my spiffy new Lynx, do some quick engineering, swap the docking computer for a module reinforcement, and head out to Lhou Mans.

The Lynx Highliner "Botany Bay", shiny and new, sitting on the pad waiting for her maiden flight, totally unaware that tonight her pilot has a piece of foam rubber where his brain should be.

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

I'm not apologizing for this. The Lynx is a prisoner transport. (See alt text) I now own two of them.

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Had to stop to surface mine Niobium to synth the jumponium to get here, but SO worth it! #RainbowsEnd #DistantWorlds #StellarScreenshots

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Do silent movie count? (This poster is hanging outside my office door.) I could easily name a dozen and not be able to pick a single favorite, but Metropolis was the first that jumped in my head.

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

I don't care if it's gaudy. This is the laser pistol I want in real life. Ever wonder what guns would look like if Miami Vice had been a sci-fi show? Now you know! 🌴🚀🔫🌴🌇 #TKZenith #EliteDangerous www.elitedangerous.com/store/produc...

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

But I can't stay here forever. The expedition has moved on and I need to catch up. I cruise low over Salomé's Reach and fire off a private fireworks display to thank this place for the rest. I lift off, and briefly have everything behind me and nothing but void ahead before turning. (2/2)

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

I've long said that even jumping dozens of light years in seconds isn't fast enough to outrun the ghosts in my head, but out here at the very edge, as the Farthest Man From Home, I feel a quiet sense of peace I haven't known in a very long time. Part of me yearns to stay here. (1/2) #CrimsonJakk

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Having fallen behind most of the rest of the expedition, but driving hard all day to catch up, today Crimson Jakk paid his respects at VonRictofen's Rescue before heading out to the Semotus Beacon, finally camping for the night beneath the Milky Way on Salome's Reach. #DistantWorlds3 #DW3

The Zorgon-Peterson Mandalay "Getaway Ship" safely landed on the ice moon Salome's Reach (Oevasy SG-Y D0 / B9F). The ship is mostly facing away, so the engines are the most prominent part of the ship visible, though the red and black paint job is significantly worn on the ship's gull wings. The ship rests on the white and brown surface, while a red 8-wheeled surface reconnaissance vehicle (SRV) is parked a short distance away.
Most strikingly though, the entirety of the Milky Way galaxy stretches across the night sky above, forming a bright streak from bottom left to top right.

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Things getting a little busy here before the mass jump... 😎 #DistantWorlds3 #DW3

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

I'm staying home, but my scoundrel alt, Crimson Jakk, will be evading the authorities by stealing a Mandalay and integrating himself among the fine folks of DW3.

The Zorgon Peterson Mandalay "Getaway Ship", parked on the deck of the fleet carrier "Probably Not Pirates". The ship's registry ID "STOLEN" is clearly visible in white block letters along the side, contrasting with the red and black flame paint job of the ship. Presumably, as part of an anti-theft mechanism, the ID permanently changes to that if the ship is illegally commandeered. Though fancying himself a fearsome pirate, this detail demonstrates that his actual skills are... somewhat lacking.

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

I'm home. Elite was the first game I loaded, of course. I can't believe both my 1541 and my copy of Elite are still functioning! #EliteDangerous #C64U #TheGamesThatMadeUs #RetroGamer #WeAreCommodore

My very messy gaming desk. On the left is an Alienware gaming laptop displaying the Elite Dangerous title screen. On the right is a Starlight edition Commodore 64 Ultimate displaying the title screen of the original Elite.

Out of frame: the HOTAS I use with Elite Dangerous and my old Commodore 1541 floppy drive, which miraculously still works perfectly and miraculously loaded my old copy of Elite with no problems.

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Radicoida Unica isn't the only "interesting" exobiology in HIP 87621, and I think I've figured out what the October Consortium is really up to. Jurassic World Evolution crossover confirmed! #EliteDangerous

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Also, Dear My Elite Alter Egos, Please stop standing there staring at the full sample canister like an Uszian tree grub on onionhead. We've got work to do! Love, You IRL

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Doh! I did the same but managed to survive the landing.

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Not lush like the rainforests on Leesti, but I'm not going to turn down a tropical vacation! #StellarScreenshots #Exobiology

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

"Notable Stellar Phenomena" are like randomly stumbling across buried treasure. Of course, Jakk's first reaction is "can I steal these and sell them?" #CrimsonJakk #EliteDangerous #StellarScreenshots

A beautiful, gigantic, metallic purple, 12-pointed crystal floats in deep space with a field of similar purple and green crystals in the distance. The background is a field of stars with a gas cloud and the bright band of the Milky Way stretching from bottom center of the image to past the edge of the image in the top left.
Also visible in the foreground, but dwarfed by the purple crystal, is "Getaway Ship", a Mandalay-class starship manufactured by Zorgon Peterson. The harsh, aggressive, red and black paint scheme of the ship is offset by the graceful gull wing design. The ship, which is stolen, is piloted by CMDR Crimson Jakk, a space pirate whose notoriety comes only from his equal mix of arrogance and complete incompetence.

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CMDR Datan0de @cmdr-datan0de.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

Please tell me you included the original paperback covers for the Foundation trilogy. i.pinimg.com/736x/d7/0b/3...

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