clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

The Fuel Rats are Elite: Dangerous’ gas passing humanitarians

The brave starfighters performing in-game search and rescue

Charlie Hall is Polygon’s tabletop editor. In 10-plus years as a journalist & photographer, he has covered simulation, strategy, and spacefaring games, as well as public policy.

Watch on YouTube | Subscribe to Polygon on YouTube

Elite: Dangerous can be a lonely place. The entire Milky Way, all 400 billion star systems, are there for players to explore and go just a bit too far in any one direction and you're on your own. Plot your jumps wrong, and it's pretty easy to run out of gas.

Until just a few months ago, the only way out of a jam like that was to scuttle your ship, blowing yourself and all your precious loot up in the process.

And so the Elite community has gathered together to create an in-game group of rescuers, part interstellar full-service gas station attendants and part special forces strike team. They call themselves the Fuel Rats.

In the video above I meet up with Matt "Commander RadLock" O'Connor to find out more.