Just an update for you all.
The history thingy I'm writing got put on hiatus as I dealt with real life issues. I still have all my bookmarks thankfully but my intention is to knuckle down after the weekend and get it typed up properly. I'm hoping that this will perhaps alleviate some concerns that people feel their records become meaningless upon being beaten by a NS-Boosted run etc.
Everyones time means something. Be it an 18 hour run from someone who overshot Sag A* without realising (totally didn't happen to me the very first time I went there... honest), or a sub 8 hour time in an unengineered Anaconda. These times all mean something, whether it be the pilots pushing their ships to their limits, or the trip pushing the
pilot to his/her limits. Hell, even Matoklas 200+ day trip means something.
Also: Petition FD to put in a function to display proof so we can get Classic, Standard and Unlimited boards put up
I wholeheartedly agree with you - every run is significant.
The Challenge is kind of like running a marathon. It means something different to everyone who does it.
Just
completing the Challenge - especially in Classic - is an accomplishment to be proud of. It requires patience, determination, nerve, and skill. Only a very small percentage of players will ever do it. Most players would probably think the very idea is insane, if they were aware of the Challenge at all.
I urge everyone who is interested in the true Challenge experience to complete a run in Classic. Even if you aren't chasing a record, there are aspects of the Challenge which can be largely avoided in Unlimited - notably, the endurance aspects. Flying a ship for 8, or 12, or 15 hours straight is
tiring. Fatigue becomes a factor, and is part of the challenge of the Challenge. My first run was almost 14 hours and I remember well how exhausted I was at the end.
For some Classic ships, just completing the Challenge at all is an especially impressive accomplishment due to the need to find a viable route across the spiral arms. I'll freely admit that I just don't have the patience to run an FdL in Classic, even though I'd really like to own that record as it's my favorite ship - anyone who actually completes that gets special respect from me, above that I already give to anyone who has completed the Challenge.
Some of us, who have already completed our first Challenge runs, feel compelled to shoot for even higher goals. For some it might be a particular time to beat. For some it's getting as close to the top of the overall leaderboard as they can.
For me, that goal is pushing a ship to the limit of its potential - posting a time that represents the absolute potential of that ship. Of course, true perfection is unattainable in a run that will take hours on end, especially as fatigue sets in toward the end... but the aim is to get as close to that absolute number as reasonably possible. Of course, we can only estimate what those numbers are... and sometimes our estimates are wrong, as was the case the first time Shizuka broke the DBX record with a time faster than anyone else thought possible.
That's what I accomplished in my Hauler runs. In fact, the whole reason I made the second (9:35:22) run was because after the 9:36:19 run I discovered something I could have done differently that would have made me
just a little bit faster. As you can imagine, I'm very proud of that achievement.
This also shapes my primary objection to neutron star boosting being allowed in Classic - it allows a run like my 9:35 in the Hauler, or Alot's iconic 7:56, to be supplanted in the record book by a run which is
less perfect than it was. I'll even acknowledge that a neutron star run requires more skill by its nature... but to me, the Challenge isn't
just a test of skill. It's a test of
consistency and endurance - can you make that near-perfect scoop and jump time after time after time after time? Can you do it when fatigue sets in? Can you do it when you're up against your target time, and every second counts? Can you regain that form quickly after you make a mistake, or do you let that mistake linger?
It may be that I see the Challenge this way because this is a singularly
difficult thing for me to do. Maybe I view it as an exercise in discipline, in overcoming the challenges of ADHD. Maybe it's just because I'm a notorious perfectionist. I'll even admit that in my case, some part of it is a desire to be acknowledged, as well. To be one of the best, in the eyes of my peers. And if I'm brutally honest with myself, that is the
selfish part of my reason for being upset about what is currently happening. But that's not all of the reason, and I hope I'm not deluding myself when I say that's not
most of it.
But... that's what I mean by it having a different meaning for everyone. We all have our own motivations that push us to do this crazy thing we do. We all have our reasons for taking on the Challenge.
In the end, we have to be true to who we are, and to the reasons we do this. As long as I keep my reason for doing this in sight, I can avoid pitfalls like the one I'm climbing out of right now.
