A general rule is that the universe is big. Like, really big. Apparently that also carries over into the galaxy present in the popular online game Elite Dangerous. According to in-game data collection, only a mere 0.0003% of the galaxy in-game has been discovered. Like we said, “really big.”
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The Elite Dangerous Star Map, also known as the EDSM, is a database where all players can accurately log their findings within the game while exploring the incredibly accurate digitalisation of our Milky Way Galaxy. According to recent findings, it was a little startling to realise that 15,889,855 (at the time this article was written) star systems have been discovered. That number may seem big, but in the perspective of the game as a whole, that means that only about 0.0003% of what is discoverable has actually been discovered.
Granted, the EDSM is only as accurate as the players that use it. Taking into account that not every single player logs their progress, this may not be a completely accurate down-to-the-wire number but it does go to show the massive scale of endless possibilities that Elite Dangerous poses to its players. You could double, triple, even quadruple that number to squeeze in players that haven’t logged their progress, and it would still be but a fraction of what the game has to offer.
The visual above comes from Reddit user ModishNouns as he took his findings from the public EDSM and derived a star map to show relation between data and the players. The high-def version of the above map is pretty hilarious upon closer inspection. Players got a little crafty when it came to their own contributions, with hidden messages and shapes tucked away in the star patterns.
Elite Dangerous is currently available for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.
