It's not much consolation if you're just making the run once, but by the time that you have left the core systems I think everyone has managed to figure out route plotting well enough that a second run is much easier.
Community Event / Creation Buckyball Run A*: What do you do when a mountain is there? Move it.
- Thread starter ElectricZ
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It's not much consolation if you're just making the run once, but by the time that you have left the core systems I think everyone has managed to figure out route plotting well enough that a second run is much easier.
Plough on Stern, I'm afraid the hardest part of your journey still lies ahead of you (not just the route plotting but psychologically, as your enthusiasm starts to wane and you just want to get the job done). If you haven't already then I can recommend listening to an episode of Lave radio. That's an hour and a half and another 3000ly behind you before you know it. Just remember, when the route plot starts getting stuck at 98%, try targettig stars at different distances to find that "magic" number that works instantly (my own was 990ly).
Today's the day, I could barely sleep last night in aniticipation. Gotta go out and get a few provisions to keep me going, namely snacks and alcohol. Found an old film series from the last millenium to keep me entertained for some of the trip, it's called "Star Wars", or something like that.
Starting in a few hours.
Starting in a few hours.
I envy your excitement ... I was SO hyped before my departure I too could barely sleep the night before (ended up getting up at 5am). Make sure you've got a good first bit of driving music prepped for take off (I went with The Doors, LA Woman).
Good luck!
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26,000 light years in 5 minutes.
So, rather than bore you with the 631 individual screenshots that I took during my Buckyball run last Thursday, I've strung them all together into a short film which I've entitled "26,000 light years in 5 minutes".
Featuring the galaxy map icon of FoxTwo and a brief appearance by Anuranium at the end.
[video=youtube;nm-jkI4UUy8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm-jkI4UUy8[/video]
So, rather than bore you with the 631 individual screenshots that I took during my Buckyball run last Thursday, I've strung them all together into a short film which I've entitled "26,000 light years in 5 minutes".
Featuring the galaxy map icon of FoxTwo and a brief appearance by Anuranium at the end.
[video=youtube;nm-jkI4UUy8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm-jkI4UUy8[/video]
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Racing log 2.
8 hours and 17000LY done. Apart from one instance of misjudging the mass shadow of a brown dwarf, causing me to be dumped into real-space, nothing serious has occurred. My biggest problem so far has been keeping my focus on the repetitive task of tooting, scooping and jumping. Lakons standard cockpit seats are not known for their comfort, but luckily I had set the lower cockpit up for operation while standing. Thus I will be swapping cockpits when the need arises. Perhaps I should look into installing Clipper seats when I return to human space.
The pre-plotted routes that had served me so well until now, suddenly take several minutes to calculate, seemingly stuck at 99% since around 15000LY out. I hope it doesn't get much worse than this.
I have been hailed by a friendly racer, CMDR Anuranium, who stationed himself at Sagittarius A* in order to protect fellow racers and explorers. He doesn't know it yet, but he is directly responsible for my decision to participate in this race, since he brought about the destruction of CMDR Rhododendron, AKA Floyd the Haemorrhoid AKA The Shrubbery. He was only a small-time thug, going after people who could not defend themselves. He did, however, manage to step on the toes of the wrong people, which made it my task to find proof-positive of his demise. I just hope I can find the black box from the wreckage of his ship before the beacon runs out of power. The proof of his final end is what will eventually clean my record in the Empire. I hope CMDR Anuranium will receive his just reward for the kill. The money means nothing to me, as long as I don't have to look over my shoulder everywhere I go.
I've also made contact with CMDR Raiko, who currently holds the record for the Asp: A mindbogglingly fast 10 hours, 37 minutes. I have no hope of getting even close to that time. Not without installing an external sprinkler system, dousing the hull with "Solar Flare" to reduce the heat while scooping.
8 hours and 17000LY done. Apart from one instance of misjudging the mass shadow of a brown dwarf, causing me to be dumped into real-space, nothing serious has occurred. My biggest problem so far has been keeping my focus on the repetitive task of tooting, scooping and jumping. Lakons standard cockpit seats are not known for their comfort, but luckily I had set the lower cockpit up for operation while standing. Thus I will be swapping cockpits when the need arises. Perhaps I should look into installing Clipper seats when I return to human space.
The pre-plotted routes that had served me so well until now, suddenly take several minutes to calculate, seemingly stuck at 99% since around 15000LY out. I hope it doesn't get much worse than this.
I have been hailed by a friendly racer, CMDR Anuranium, who stationed himself at Sagittarius A* in order to protect fellow racers and explorers. He doesn't know it yet, but he is directly responsible for my decision to participate in this race, since he brought about the destruction of CMDR Rhododendron, AKA Floyd the Haemorrhoid AKA The Shrubbery. He was only a small-time thug, going after people who could not defend themselves. He did, however, manage to step on the toes of the wrong people, which made it my task to find proof-positive of his demise. I just hope I can find the black box from the wreckage of his ship before the beacon runs out of power. The proof of his final end is what will eventually clean my record in the Empire. I hope CMDR Anuranium will receive his just reward for the kill. The money means nothing to me, as long as I don't have to look over my shoulder everywhere I go.
I've also made contact with CMDR Raiko, who currently holds the record for the Asp: A mindbogglingly fast 10 hours, 37 minutes. I have no hope of getting even close to that time. Not without installing an external sprinkler system, dousing the hull with "Solar Flare" to reduce the heat while scooping.
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Racing log 3.
12½ hours and nearly 26000LY later, I've finally arrived. No further mishaps to report, hull and most modules at 97-98%.
It's a very special feeling having finally arrived. The black hole is bizarre, yet beautiful to behold as it wraps itself in the fabric of space.
This calls for a celebration. Champagne all around.....err, where did everybody go ? Hmm, the next thing that strikes you is how lonely it is out here. You finally understand just how far you've come. How far from another living soul you are. And this journey is just about the quarter of the diameter of our galaxy. Now I also feel very small. Nothing like a long voyage and a spectacular natural phenomenon to bring things into proper perspective.
As I write this, another commander in a Cobra arrives. My hails go unanswered, so I decide to relocate. Better safe than sorry. No one to help you fix your ship this far from everything.
The last 10000LY have been less fun to plot, until I finally caved in and used CMDR Alec Turners excellent advice to find my ships "Magic Number" - which turned out to be 986. From then on plotting was manageable, even the last 1000LY.
The Trumble proved to be no help at all. In fact, it ate all my snacks and most of the content of my galley. How it got out of its cage is beyond me, but now I have to live off freeze-dried emergency rations. Luckily I have plenty of those and lots of Lavian Brandy to wash it down with.
After finishing my champagne, I'll start looking for what I actually came all the way out here for. Hope it's not too late.
I raise my glass in salute and respect to every Buckyballer and long range explorer. You cannot truly appreciate the sheer magnitude of this achievement until you've done it yourself.
12½ hours and nearly 26000LY later, I've finally arrived. No further mishaps to report, hull and most modules at 97-98%.
It's a very special feeling having finally arrived. The black hole is bizarre, yet beautiful to behold as it wraps itself in the fabric of space.
This calls for a celebration. Champagne all around.....err, where did everybody go ? Hmm, the next thing that strikes you is how lonely it is out here. You finally understand just how far you've come. How far from another living soul you are. And this journey is just about the quarter of the diameter of our galaxy. Now I also feel very small. Nothing like a long voyage and a spectacular natural phenomenon to bring things into proper perspective.
As I write this, another commander in a Cobra arrives. My hails go unanswered, so I decide to relocate. Better safe than sorry. No one to help you fix your ship this far from everything.
The last 10000LY have been less fun to plot, until I finally caved in and used CMDR Alec Turners excellent advice to find my ships "Magic Number" - which turned out to be 986. From then on plotting was manageable, even the last 1000LY.
The Trumble proved to be no help at all. In fact, it ate all my snacks and most of the content of my galley. How it got out of its cage is beyond me, but now I have to live off freeze-dried emergency rations. Luckily I have plenty of those and lots of Lavian Brandy to wash it down with.
After finishing my champagne, I'll start looking for what I actually came all the way out here for. Hope it's not too late.
I raise my glass in salute and respect to every Buckyballer and long range explorer. You cannot truly appreciate the sheer magnitude of this achievement until you've done it yourself.
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Bravo sir, that is one hell of a good time. Glad you made it through, those last few thousand light years are a true test of character and resolve. Good luck in your ongoing adventures, I look forward to hearing more tales from Stern Winter in the future.
Well, nothing quite like a little trial by fire. Incidentally, this is the exact reason why most of us prefer 2A Power Plants: Very little Jump Range lost, very much cooling gained.
Oh, and if you want to get rid of a tiny bit of heat, you can safely disable your Power Distributor - no point in boosting once you're out there. Sensors are optional - I prefer having them, but disabling them can, again, save you a little bit of heat.
And we raise our glasses to you. An excellent run indeed.
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Such a true statement. Congratulations! Very impressive time, especially on a first attempt!
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Ouch. If the game freezes up hard and I lose my play controls or my visuals, I generally alt-F4 immediately. That saved me once on my run when Shadowplay crashed caused the graphics driver to freak out and my screen went black just as I dropped out of hyperspace.
Overheat is definitely the great enemy on this run.
Looks like the Reckless Abandon was aptly named, unfortunately. May she have served you well.
Indeed, that's the spirit! After all, you aren't going to let a little explodey death get you down, now are you?
I've had explodey deaths in her at least 3 times before this, but I've always patched her back up.
Making much better time this go around, almost caught up with where I got up close and personal with that star.
I'm gonna do this.
CMDR:Sterling Piers
Ship:Spaceball One
Type
ython
CMDR:Sterling Piers
Ship:Spaceball One
Type
ythonLet's try this again
CMDR: Sterling Piers
Ship: Spaceball One
Type: Python
Stupid Smilies!
CMDR: Sterling Piers
Ship: Spaceball One
Type: Python
Stupid Smilies!
Lovely... It looks so peaceful and easy!
I assumed you were just getting your feelings about the route planner in nice and early.
Welcome, and good luck when you get started!
For anyone wishing to keep company - or sit in the middle of the Galileo mail slot laughing manically - I'll be running in the morning; speculative start time is 1000GMT, but that depends on how lazy I'm feeling.
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