Community Event / Creation Buckyball Run A*: What do you do when a mountain is there? Move it.
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First off, CONGRATULATIONS to Alec Turner for completing the BBRA*~~!!!
Yeah for 23,000 LY, he was doggedly behind me, slowly gaining on me. Then I bailed at 3,000 LY to Sadge cuz it was 1am my time and I needed the bed, really bad
. I'll continue on to Sadge after this message though
Hmm I'm on THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLANET, ie if it's 2pm in USA it's 2am my time... 12 hour difference exactly... and I got my sticker in... oh.. 7 or 8 calendar days. Just a bit over a week.
The guys that did it, did it with lots of booze and snacks And a big bad fuel scoop helps too, like A6s and A7s.
If you're talking about the hyperspace wispy clouds thing... not much you can do about it. It's just a loading screen for the next system, where your PC is calculating what to generate when you arrive, plus some communication happening between your PC and FD servers. So it's highly variable. I've had a few "infinite hyperspace" during my run last night and had to kill ED process.
In my experience, no.
Not as crazy as those who have done it 3 or 4 times... *looks at Alot, Kligg and Anuranium*
Yeah for 23,000 LY, he was doggedly behind me, slowly gaining on me. Then I bailed at 3,000 LY to Sadge cuz it was 1am my time and I needed the bed, really bad
. I'll continue on to Sadge after this message though Hmm I'm on THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLANET, ie if it's 2pm in USA it's 2am my time... 12 hour difference exactly... and I got my sticker in... oh.. 7 or 8 calendar days. Just a bit over a week.
The guys that did it, did it with lots of booze and snacks
And a big bad fuel scoop helps too, like A6s and A7s.If you're talking about the hyperspace wispy clouds thing... not much you can do about it. It's just a loading screen for the next system, where your PC is calculating what to generate when you arrive, plus some communication happening between your PC and FD servers. So it's highly variable. I've had a few "infinite hyperspace" during my run last night and had to kill ED process.
In my experience, no.
Not as crazy as those who have done it 3 or 4 times... *looks at Alot, Kligg and Anuranium*
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Congratulations!
For those doing it in nine hours - I can't imagine it. I think I can probably get down close to 11 in a Hauler if I fully apply the lessons I learned from the last run (but I'm not gonna try for quite a while unless someone passes my current time and forces my hand). But I think that's about the limit of what the Hauler can do.
A Conda has some advantages over a Hauler, for certain - not the least of which is a longer jump range. It also packs a much bigger fuel scoop, and a it has a little more leeway on what mandates a replot and what doesn't. In my Hauler build, I could only make two max-range jumps before I was running on vapor, so if I hit a non-scoopable, I had to be absolutely certain my next jump was scoopable or else I had to replot. But even with that, I'm not sure how they're knocking two hours off of what I think is the best a Hauler can possibly do.
They're just that good, I guess. Heheh.
I don't think I have ever posted this tip about the Galaxy Map here yet (or anywhere) but this is how I know whether a star on your route is scoopable or not.
1. Filter the map for star types
2. UNCHECK all scoopable stars (FOG KBAM or KGB FOAM, your decision)
3. You're now left with everything else that is unscoopable (and for explorers, stuff worth $$$) like T Tauri, Black Holes,... and er brown dwarves...
4. Switch your map to MAP mode and suddenly all stars disappear. If anything pops up on your route, THAT star is unscoopable... so the next step is up to you
Otherwise your route should be a nice line without anything popping up on it.Why did I do it this way? Simple.. because the human eye is such that we detect something "out of the ordinary" quicker... so if you uncheck unscoopables instead, then alot of things on your route will have a star and you can MISS a "hole" in your route... if however, the map is normally blank and your line normally unbroken... anything breaking it will catch your attention really quick.
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After a frosty night drifting in the ebb and flow of the mighty Sagittarius A* a few reflections ...
First, in EZ's temporary absence I thought I'd post my unofficial time, It was 15h22m52s.
My goal had been to get there in under 15hrs, but you know what, give or take a bit I really don't care (I'm certainly not about to try it again ... EVER).
To those in pre-flight staging or otherwise considering doing this - it was an AMAZING experience unlike anything I've ever attempted before. It is a test of endurance (the last couple of hours in particular were a killer) NOT to be undertaken lightly but I feel an extraordinary sense of pride and satisfaction this morning which far outways the confines of a stupid computer game.
I would like to thank everyone that commented with words of encouragment in the forum and in-game yesterday, and indeed the entire Buckyball community, especially EZ and Bucky. I'd also like to thank Anuranium for being there at the end, keeping the skies clear of unwanted shrubs and for making it fun again when quite frankly I was feeling pretty burnt out (Anuranium, you want to post some of the amazing screenies?).
I have a couple of tips.
Re: different methods for checking scoopable stars ... I love FoxTwo's idea of switching off everything but the scoopables but you know what? I didn't check at all, not once, ever. I flew up about 100ly (over the Aucoks, which I never saw) and then auto-route-plotted the entire journey (in steps of 1000ly obviously). I never once encountered a run of more than two unscoopables in a row the entire journey.
Re: the dreaded 98% route plotting problems ... other people have already said this and they're dead right, once the problem starts experiment a bit to find your magic number (a <1000ly jump range where your plots complete quickly) and stick to that until the end (mine was 990ly).
Re: boredom ... Radio Sidewinder, Lave Radio, this forum, anything that turns you on and keeps you hyped up really (be prepared, get it all lined up).
Re: getting back ... I can't speak from experience (yet) but I think if getting back is your objective then just self destruct (otherwise it sounds pretty soul destroying). Personally I'm taking a vacation. I'll be heading up to the roof of the galaxy and will then meander back via wonderous sights while everyone else irons out the PowerPlay bugs for me. I don't expect to be back in populated space for about a month.
Lastly I'm working on a short film of my journey which I'll be posting next week. It won't be up to Erimus' standards but it's looking pretty good so far. It's title?
You did WHAT on our wedding anniversary?!?!
The film will be dedicated to my wife Johanne for her extraordinary tolerance of my "funny ways".
First, in EZ's temporary absence I thought I'd post my unofficial time, It was 15h22m52s.
My goal had been to get there in under 15hrs, but you know what, give or take a bit I really don't care (I'm certainly not about to try it again ... EVER).
To those in pre-flight staging or otherwise considering doing this - it was an AMAZING experience unlike anything I've ever attempted before. It is a test of endurance (the last couple of hours in particular were a killer) NOT to be undertaken lightly but I feel an extraordinary sense of pride and satisfaction this morning which far outways the confines of a stupid computer game.
I would like to thank everyone that commented with words of encouragment in the forum and in-game yesterday, and indeed the entire Buckyball community, especially EZ and Bucky. I'd also like to thank Anuranium for being there at the end, keeping the skies clear of unwanted shrubs and for making it fun again when quite frankly I was feeling pretty burnt out (Anuranium, you want to post some of the amazing screenies?).
I have a couple of tips.
Re: different methods for checking scoopable stars ... I love FoxTwo's idea of switching off everything but the scoopables but you know what? I didn't check at all, not once, ever. I flew up about 100ly (over the Aucoks, which I never saw) and then auto-route-plotted the entire journey (in steps of 1000ly obviously). I never once encountered a run of more than two unscoopables in a row the entire journey.
Re: the dreaded 98% route plotting problems ... other people have already said this and they're dead right, once the problem starts experiment a bit to find your magic number (a <1000ly jump range where your plots complete quickly) and stick to that until the end (mine was 990ly).
Re: boredom ... Radio Sidewinder, Lave Radio, this forum, anything that turns you on and keeps you hyped up really (be prepared, get it all lined up).
Re: getting back ... I can't speak from experience (yet) but I think if getting back is your objective then just self destruct (otherwise it sounds pretty soul destroying). Personally I'm taking a vacation. I'll be heading up to the roof of the galaxy and will then meander back via wonderous sights while everyone else irons out the PowerPlay bugs for me. I don't expect to be back in populated space for about a month.
Lastly I'm working on a short film of my journey which I'll be posting next week. It won't be up to Erimus' standards but it's looking pretty good so far. It's title?
You did WHAT on our wedding anniversary?!?!
The film will be dedicated to my wife Johanne for her extraordinary tolerance of my "funny ways".
Again, well done Alec. I was mulling over your comment near the end there last night:
...and figured the next few lines, considering where you were in mind and galactic position, would be pretty apt:
"...the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory; this most excellent canopy, the air—look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire—why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors. "
...and figured the next few lines, considering where you were in mind and galactic position, would be pretty apt:
"...the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory; this most excellent canopy, the air—look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire—why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors. "
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Ok I've made a quick video showing that not everyone will encounter the "98%" problem.
As my video here clearly shows, the 900 LY route to Sag A* plotted in under 2 seconds.
And, 911 LY is not a nice "multiple" of my jump range (19.63 LY). So the "multiples" theory clearly does not apply to me at the very least. What I have noticed is that it seems to require a longer time to plot for stars that are not near any other stars. If a bunch are clustered together and you plot to one of them, the time taken is quick - 5 to 15 seconds max. If it's a solitary star out alone somewhere, you may get that 98% issue.
For the record, my entire run this round I have always plotted near-1000 LY routes. Not a single one took longer than 15 seconds to plot. I don't even bother to think about "multiples" of my jump range.
Also the rest of my video shows how I skimmed along my plotted route looking for unscoopables. If my line is nice and unbroken, then there are no unscoopables along my route (might need to wait for abit while the video gets processed at Youtube).
[video=youtube_share;yGJVxz_mokQ]http://youtu.be/yGJVxz_mokQ[/video]
ps: oh yes I've arrived at Sadge (53 hours 55 mins travel time) but it is devoid of life... no one there
As my video here clearly shows, the 900 LY route to Sag A* plotted in under 2 seconds.
And, 911 LY is not a nice "multiple" of my jump range (19.63 LY). So the "multiples" theory clearly does not apply to me at the very least. What I have noticed is that it seems to require a longer time to plot for stars that are not near any other stars. If a bunch are clustered together and you plot to one of them, the time taken is quick - 5 to 15 seconds max. If it's a solitary star out alone somewhere, you may get that 98% issue.
For the record, my entire run this round I have always plotted near-1000 LY routes. Not a single one took longer than 15 seconds to plot. I don't even bother to think about "multiples" of my jump range.
Also the rest of my video shows how I skimmed along my plotted route looking for unscoopables. If my line is nice and unbroken, then there are no unscoopables along my route (might need to wait for abit while the video gets processed at Youtube).
[video=youtube_share;yGJVxz_mokQ]http://youtu.be/yGJVxz_mokQ[/video]
ps: oh yes I've arrived at Sadge (53 hours 55 mins travel time) but it is devoid of life... no one there
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I'm speculatively intending to do another Anaconda run this weekend, with the 7A fuel scoop I can now afford. My main reasoning for this is that it will be cheaper for me to do the run now, get to the far end, blow myself up and sell the scoop after a rebuy, than it will be to just remove the scoop after 1.3 hits.
(It's speculative because I haven't told the other half yet... heheh.)
I'll be standing by to make a Clip for RSW when you do.
I saw you guys
Congrats CMDR, I watched your Twitch stream a couple of times during the run and you were on an impressive pace - I only commented once in chat (I'm mw_aurora over there) as didn't want to distract you.
Congrats CMDR, and you have an amazingly tolerant wife to let you do something like this on your wedding anniversary
Its nearly a month since I did my run and I have only made it 4k towards home so far...although I may speed up my return as I have a growing desire to get back to Sol and do it all again...
Congratulations on arriving!
However, 911 actually does fit pretty well with my theory (although in this instance I think it's by chance)... You shouldn't be aiming for multiples, you should be aiming some way below a multiple.
However, when it's plotting as many jumps as it is for you per 1kLy (47 or so?) it's going to be an absolute mess, and pot luck - you'll lose "a little bit" of straight-line distance every jump, multiply that by 47 and who knows how much you need to subtract. It's a bit random for 25-odd jumps as it is!
I suspect what's happening with you is that you aren't encountering the problem due to short jump range; most of the reason it takes forever is that it has to try and calculate the last few jumps at a shorter distance, and with a 40Ly jump range that's a ton of stars to check. With a ~20Ly jump range, that's 75% fewer stars to check per jump, so assuming 4 short jumps that's 0.3% of the valid 40Ly routes to check!* Which would help to explain why you aren't hitting the issue.
* back of napkin maths, use with caution.
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The exact same feeling I had when I did it my first time
Allright, I shall post my favourite when I get home from work. I believe you are able to download them and use(abuse) them as you please
ps: oh yes I've arrived at Sadge (53 hours 55 mins travel time) but it is devoid of life... no one there
Congratulations and well done my friend! Sorry I couldn't be there when you arrived. I shall log on later today (about 14.00GMT) and shall stay there until you turn up!
ps: oh yes I've arrived at Sadge (53 hours 55 mins travel time) but it is devoid of life... no one there
Congratulations commander! Sorry I couldn't be there for your arrival but I had to sleep (I'm sure you understand). Thanks for your company some of the way yesterday. I'm afraid I hit a comms problem not long after the server disconnect which meant I couldn't communicate with you again but I followed your progress on the map when I could.
Heh thanks all for the warm wishes
Hmm that is indeed an interesting idea. It might be applicable to me cuz for my Cobra run, there were 2 stretches I had to under-plot... meaning plot less than 500 LY. My Cobra had a range of 24 LY. The Vulture only had 19.63... this might need some further investigation!
Oh, don't put yourself out, really. Tonight (as in, 29 May from GMT 1100 onwards till about GMT 1800+) I shall be out at the local watering hole getting wasted. The pub's closing soon and this is kinda like a "farewell" drink with regulars and the owner.
Hahah yeah don't worry lotsa opportunities! Planning on staying with the ASDF (Anuranium's Sadge Defence Force) for a few days Although I have NO IDEA what he does all day at Sag A*....
Hahah no worries, you were the constant "encouragement" for me to keep going... well at least until I couldn't take it anymore and called it a night at 3,000 LY from Sag A*....
However, 911 actually does fit pretty well with my theory (although in this instance I think it's by chance)... You shouldn't be aiming for multiples, you should be aiming some way below a multiple.
However, when it's plotting as many jumps as it is for you per 1kLy (47 or so?) it's going to be an absolute mess, and pot luck - you'll lose "a little bit" of straight-line distance every jump, multiply that by 47 and who knows how much you need to subtract. It's a bit random for 25-odd jumps as it is!
I suspect what's happening with you is that you aren't encountering the problem due to short jump range; most of the reason it takes forever is that it has to try and calculate the last few jumps at a shorter distance, and with a 40Ly jump range that's a ton of stars to check. With a ~20Ly jump range, that's 75% fewer stars to check per jump, so assuming 4 short jumps that's 0.3% of the valid 40Ly routes to check!* Which would help to explain why you aren't hitting the issue.
* back of napkin maths, use with caution.
Hmm that is indeed an interesting idea. It might be applicable to me cuz for my Cobra run, there were 2 stretches I had to under-plot... meaning plot less than 500 LY. My Cobra had a range of 24 LY. The Vulture only had 19.63... this might need some further investigation!
Oh, don't put yourself out, really. Tonight (as in, 29 May from GMT 1100 onwards till about GMT 1800+) I shall be out at the local watering hole getting wasted. The pub's closing soon and this is kinda like a "farewell" drink with regulars and the owner.
Gratz Fox2! - looking forward to selfies of you and Anuranium
Hahah yeah don't worry lotsa opportunities! Planning on staying with the ASDF (Anuranium's Sadge Defence Force) for a few days
Although I have NO IDEA what he does all day at Sag A*....Hahah no worries, you were the constant "encouragement" for me to keep going... well at least until I couldn't take it anymore and called it a night at 3,000 LY from Sag A*....
ps: oh yes I've arrived at Sadge (53 hours 55 mins travel time) but it is devoid of life... no one there
Sorry, missed this earlier - congrats CMDR!
Allright, I shall post my favourite when I get home from work. I believe you are able to download them and use(abuse) them as you please
Here are the top three screenshots from Anuranium of me at Sag A yesterday evening:
Cmdr Turner puts his faith in Anuranium.
"You just stay right there [with everything including shields powered down to frost up the windows] and I'll fire my lasers when I've finished"
Errrr ... OK, if you're sure?
(sadly neither the frost nor the nervous expression appear to show up in external view)
"Don't get closer than 50ls"
Now he tells me!
Anuranium puts his faith in a very tired and drunk Cmdr Turner as I boost past so close that I shower his window with sparks.
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You sir, are a scoundrel, a thief, a rogue, a flap'ear'd knave*; and a mighty, mighty fine pilot.
23 hours in an Orca. Here was me, thinking I would be happy (and safe as the only
Maybe I can buy an old Krait. Yeah, that ought to do it.
When you get back to civilization (ie, the bar of the 'Shotgun Shine') I'm buying the drinks.
No, wait, you can buy them; you're the one in the Orca!
* - genuine original 1985 term of endearment from Elite: C64
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But it is one helluva picture! By far my favourite! It somehow reminds me of "Interstellar".
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