FINAL LEADERBOARDS
Following a recent surge in jailbreak attempts reported by several penal colonies both in Federation and Indipendent space, with many of those attempts actually succeeding in freeing high-profile criminals, Prison authorities of the involved systems agreed to collaborate on a joint effort to test, revise and improve their penal colonies' security and containment systems. Several in-depth analysis and simulations underlined a potential weakness in the response time of the automated Incoming Traffic Profiler and Threat Assessment Network, highlighting the possibility for a skilled pilot to bring a ship fast enough inside the security perimeters, sabotage prison structures or pick up escapees and flee before the prison defenses even had a chance to react. Even the most accurate simulations can't compare with live testing on the field though, so the need has arisen to find a way to repeatedly stress the automated systems with live incoming ships traffic. Of course finding someone crazy enough to be willing to risk a bounty, and potentially lose ships on expensive rebuys just for the sake of science is no easy task, therefore Prison authorities had the difficult mission of finding the craziest pilots for the craziest job.
After some harsh negotiations with Prison authorities involving the written permission to host a public race, a disclaimer on any potential damage inflicted to Prison authority structures and an open bar tab at "The Tipsy Damsel" in Kelleam Ring, the Buckyball Racing Club is proud to present...Prison Brake!
- New to racing? Want to know what the Club is all about? Go take a look at the Buckyball Racing Club official site (courtesy of cmdr Drakhyr), you'll find a recap of all previous races, general instructions on how to participate to the races and some very useful instructional videos explaining the basics (and even a bit more) of racing flight. And if after seeing those you think you aren't fit for racing, scroll down a bit and take a look at the several blooper reels and funny videos provided. Whatever your skills are, trust me, you are fit!
- This race requires the Horizons expansion.
THE RULES
The race will require participants to start from Kelleam Ring in the Slink's Eye system and visit the Bailey Penal Colony in the Ekhi sytem, the Hume Penal Colony in the Atagat system and the Barcelo Penal Colony in Epsilon Indi, before returning to the start/finish line at Kelleam Ring. The three colonies can be visited in any order of choice, at each settlement participants will have to make a full landing on the colony's landing pad and depart as quickly as possible. Beware of the settlements security perimeters, once you get past them and the trespassing alert shows up, you'll have around 25 seconds before getting fined, once this happens you'll have an additional 15 seconds to leave the area before the fine turns into a bounty, and you'd better leave in a hurry because you'll either have to run away very fast or face a rebuy screen!
Important note: even though the three installations have a landing pad, being secured penal colonies they have no docking facility, therefore it's not possible to open communication and ask docking permission. Landings have to be eyeballed and will behave as a standard planetary surface landing.
Runs can be made in any game mode (open, solo or private group).
The race runs from Monday August 7th 3303 at 00:00:00 to Sunday August 13th at 23:59:59. All times are server time, entries ending after the deadline are still valid as long as they started before it.
Commanders willing to participate may declare their intent at any moment during the entire duration of the event.
To get a better grasp of what the race requires you to do, how to do it and what places you'll have to visit, please take a look at this very well put together and commented introductory video about the Prison Brake race, courtesy of artigan99/Cmdr Codger:
[video=youtube;YdtRNTVVSZE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdtRNTVVSZE[/video]
SHIP CLASSES
The race can be run in two different classes of ships:
- Eagle Regular: fly the good ol' Eagle Mk II in stock racing attire, a classic for every respectable Buckyballer! To be eligible for the regulation class, the ship must be outfitted exactly as follows: https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/eag...AnAlgZwHsA7AAgCFtEBrDYKBoA===&bn=Prison Brake
Solo Orbiter in the nearby Altair system (34.32 ly from Slink's Eye) has a shipyard selling it, and is usually good on stock with all the required modules for outfitting as requested.
- Open Unlimited: bring your speed monsters into the fray! From the puny Sidewinder to the imposing Corvette, anything goes. Engineering and synthesis are allowed.
STEP BY STEP COURSE INSTRUCTIONS
- Starting at Kelleam Ring, take a screenshot before launching with the clock visible, this will count as the start time of your entry. If you are running for the Eagle Regular class, a screenshot of your module panel showing the ship outfitting is also mandatory.
- Fly to your first penal colony of choice.
- Once there, touch down on the colony landing pad bringing the ship to a full stop.
- Take a screenshot of the landed ship with the hud clock visible. You may take the screenshot even while already spooling up the engines, it's just needed as confirmation of a complete landing.
- Take off as fast as you can (remember, better not be there 40 seconds after trespassing!) and head to your next waypoint.
- Repeat the same for the second and third colony of your selected route.
- Once you have landed at all three penal colonies and taken a landed screenshot each, return to Kelleam Ring.
- Take a final screenshot as soon as you touch down with the station clock visible, this will count as the finish time of your entry.
- Enjoy a strong one and some moments of relax at The Tipsy Damsel. And remember, don't drink and fly.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- The Slink's Eye system orbits a white dwarf, this means that it is possible to fly inside its jet cones to obtain a one-time boost to FSD range. Use this at your discretion.
- Whatch out for your fuel management, once you launch from Kelleam Ring you won't meet a refueling facility until you get back there at the end of your run, unless you opt to take a lenghty detour to some nearby station (this is allowed, by the way). The Eagle Regular comes equipped with a fuel scoop, don't forget to use it!
- Even though it never happened in my many (many, many, many) tries, should you happen to find the landing pad blocked by a security ship I'll also accept a full landing in the general vicinity of the penal colony, the important things being inside the trespassing perimeter, and having the settlement or at least identifiable parts of it in view. Mind you, those pads are rather large so if you are in a small ship you may as well land beside the blocking ship without much problems.
- On the subject of fines and bounties: from my testing, being wanted in a system doesn't affect the type of response or the response time of the penal colony there, so should you happen to have a bounty on your head because of previous attempts, you can continue with your subsequent runs with no problem whatsoever. If you are taken to the rebuy screen (for one reason or another) all your bounties will become "dormant"; if you gain a fine in the system you have a dormant bounty for, the bounty will be reactivated and you'll be wanted again. The only way to get rid of a dormant bounty is to wait for its expiring time, after which it will be transformed in a simple fine that can be paid at any station of the involved system, or anywhere in the galaxy where Interstellar Factors are present, usually systems with low security. The nearest Interstellar Factors contact I could find in the vicinity of the race course and suited for large ships docking is located at Hernon Dock in the Tjurinas system, 30.83 ly from Slink's Eye.
- Barcelo Penal Colony is the only settlement on the surface of the (in)famous Mitterand Hollow moon orbiting New Africa, in the Epsilon Indi system. If you are an experienced commander of the Pilots Federation, I'm pretty sure you are aware of what this implies. If you are new to the Elite universe, or never happened to cross this peculiar corner of the galaxy...good luck and have fun!
OK, I WANT TO RACE! HOW DO I ENTER?
Declare your intent to race in this thread by providing the following informations:
- Cmdr name
- Forum username (if different from cmdr name)
- Race class
- Ship name
- Ship type
When you have completed your run, click on the SUBMIT TIME button right below here or under the banner at the top and enter all the required information, together with a link to your screenshots or video evidence. Any upload service like Imgur or the likes will do. If you recorded a video of your run but have problems with or can't wait for the uploading times, I strongly suggest you grab the required screenshots from the video and send those instead.
Here's a small recap of the needed footage:
1 - screenshot of the ship's module panel (optional if running in Unlimited Class)
FLY FAST CMDRS! o7
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