The Buckyball Racing Club and the New Pilots Initiative present a crossover event which will test your supercruise, speed docking, and aerobatic skills in the hottest racing action this side of the Xexedi Cluster!
Hustle over to the NEWP controlled sector to get on the starting grid at Whitson Hub in Meliae. From there, plot a course to visit five nearby stations in the order of your choosing. Fly a loop around each station before docking. Return to Whitson to land and complete your race entry.
A generous prize purse of 1,750,000,000 credits has been provided by CMDRs Huntear and Either of the New Pilots Initiative! It will be distributed among the podium (top three) finishers on the New Buckyballers Scoreboard (regulation only) and the Open Unlimited scoreboard.
New Buckyballer Board prizes:
1st: 1,000,000,000
2nd: 500,000,000
3rd: 250,000,000
Sponsored by Core Dynamics and Remlok.
New to racing?
Please refer to the following instructional video, generously commissioned by upstanding members of the local business community, Anthony and Enoch Lonnegan:
Scoreboards
Race Rules and Regulations
EZ Start Guide Rules
- Choose your race class: Open Unlimited or Regulation Eagle.
- Outfit your shop accordingly. Anything except docking and supercruise assist for Open Unlimited. This for Regulation Eagle.
- Start at Whitson Hub Station in Meliae.
- Begin recording video.
- Record your outfitting screen.
- Visit each of the following five stations in any order, flying a loop around each station before docking:
- Leonard Nimoy Station in LHS 3006. (58 Ls)
- Stone Enterprise in Rakapila. (39 Ls)
- Tesla Station in LHS 6309. (2,554 Ls)
- Cherry Port in Aganippe. (120 Ls)
- Bradfield Orbital in Ovid. (382 Ls)
- Make sure when flying a loop you:
- Begin by spotting the atmosphere shield in the station slot
- Fly to where you can see the back of the station
- Fly into the station and dock
- Return to Whitson Hub and dock - without looping round the station - to complete the race.
- Dock and make sure to see the station clock. If you forgot to record your outfitting at the beginning of the race do so now.
- End video recording and upload.
- Fill out the Race Entry Form to submit your time.
Detailed Regulations
Expand for the full race regulations.
The race runs from Saturday January 8th 3308 at 00:00:00 to Sunday January 16th 3308 at 23:59:59. Entries made wholly or in part outside this period will be rejected. All times are server time.
Only entries made in Open mode will be eligible for classification. Entries from Solo or Private Group mode will be added to the leaderboard as exhibition runs with their entry endorsed with an x notation. They will not receive a final ranking.
Entries may be made in either the Open Unlimited or Regulation Eagle class. See RACE CLASSES below for more details on the classes. Any Open mode entry not explicitly declared as being Regulation Eagle or not conforming to the build requirements for that class will be entered in Open Unlimited.
The start/finish line for this race is Whitson Hub in Meliae.
Racers must visit each of the five checkpoint stations in the order of their choosing. Racers who submit multiple entries may, if they wish, choose a different sequence in subsequent entries.
Visiting a station means docking at any landing pad at the station, having first flown a loop around the front and back of the station, and providing valid evidence of having done so. See Station loop regulations for more details on how to fly the loop. See HOW TO ENTER for details on how to provide evidence of docking at each checkpoint.
After visiting each station, racers must return to and dock at Whitson Hub to complete their entry.
It is not necessary to fly a loop around Whitson Hub before docking.
Failure to visit enough checkpoint stations before returning to Whitson Hub, or failure to return to Whitson Hub at all, will result in disqualification of the race entry. Docking at a station without flying a loop will also be grounds for disqualification. Ship destruction will also result in disqualification.
Station Loop Regulations
Racers must adhere to the following procedure for docking at each checkpoint station. Where screenshots are required, they must show the HUD clock at the top-right of the screen and the time remaining on the ship's docking authorisation, or the station clock if docking has been completed.
Request docking before commencing the loop. Each successive screenshot must show less time remaining on the docking authorisation. Exceptions may be made for competitors who provide satisfactory evidence, for example a complete video recording, of cancelling and re-requesting docking permission while flying the loop.
You must start your loop from the front of the station. If you dropped from supercruise without the atmosphere shield (the "mailslot" in pilot slang) visible you must first fly to the front of the station.
Take a screenshot showing the atmosphere shield in front of you. The screenshot does not have to be centred as long as it proves that you were in front of the station.
Fly to the rear of the station.
Take a screenshot showing the rearmost part of the station superstructure. As with the first screenshot, it does not need to be centred as long as it shows that you reached the rear of the station.
Return directly to the front of the station.
Take a screenshot showing either the atmosphere shield or the station interior. You can take it before or after passing through the atmosphere shield as long as the station's interior lights are visible and you are not docked.
Take a screenshot of your ship on the landing pad having completed docking.
Entries may be made in either the Open Unlimited or Regulation Eagle class. See RACE CLASSES below for more details on the classes. Any Open mode entry not explicitly declared as being Regulation Eagle or not conforming to the build requirements for that class will be entered in Open Unlimited.
The start/finish line for this race is Whitson Hub in Meliae.
Racers must visit each of the five checkpoint stations in the order of their choosing. Racers who submit multiple entries may, if they wish, choose a different sequence in subsequent entries.
Visiting a station means docking at any landing pad at the station, having first flown a loop around the front and back of the station, and providing valid evidence of having done so. See Station loop regulations for more details on how to fly the loop. See HOW TO ENTER for details on how to provide evidence of docking at each checkpoint.
After visiting each station, racers must return to and dock at Whitson Hub to complete their entry.
It is not necessary to fly a loop around Whitson Hub before docking.
Failure to visit enough checkpoint stations before returning to Whitson Hub, or failure to return to Whitson Hub at all, will result in disqualification of the race entry. Docking at a station without flying a loop will also be grounds for disqualification. Ship destruction will also result in disqualification.
Station Loop Regulations
Racers must adhere to the following procedure for docking at each checkpoint station. Where screenshots are required, they must show the HUD clock at the top-right of the screen and the time remaining on the ship's docking authorisation, or the station clock if docking has been completed.
Request docking before commencing the loop. Each successive screenshot must show less time remaining on the docking authorisation. Exceptions may be made for competitors who provide satisfactory evidence, for example a complete video recording, of cancelling and re-requesting docking permission while flying the loop.
You must start your loop from the front of the station. If you dropped from supercruise without the atmosphere shield (the "mailslot" in pilot slang) visible you must first fly to the front of the station.
Take a screenshot showing the atmosphere shield in front of you. The screenshot does not have to be centred as long as it proves that you were in front of the station.
Fly to the rear of the station.
Take a screenshot showing the rearmost part of the station superstructure. As with the first screenshot, it does not need to be centred as long as it shows that you reached the rear of the station.
Return directly to the front of the station.
Take a screenshot showing either the atmosphere shield or the station interior. You can take it before or after passing through the atmosphere shield as long as the station's interior lights are visible and you are not docked.
Take a screenshot of your ship on the landing pad having completed docking.
RACE CLASSES
Only entries made in Open play will be eligible for the race leaderboard.
Open Unlimited
The Open Unlimited race class is open to all ship types and loadouts. You can fly any ship you choose, outfitted how you choose. Engineer modifications are allowed. Frame shift drive injection is allowed. Anything goes. EXCEPT DOCKING COMPUTERS AND SUPERCRUISE ASSIST. Those are training wheels for pilots who can't dock fast. We'll have none of that crap around here thank you very much.
Regulation Eagle
The Regulation Eagle class is restricted to Eagle Mk II builds with the exact loadout linked here: https://s.orbis.zone/htzx
Specifically:
Lightweight Alloy
2D Power Plant
3A Thrusters
3B Frame Shift Drive
1D Life Support
2A Power Distributor
2D Sensors
1C Fuel Tank
2C Bi-Weave Shield Generator
1D Fuel Scoop
The shield is required for this class. Engineer modifications and frame shift drive injection are not allowed in the Regulation Eagle class. Ship kits, paintjobs and bobbleheads are, of course, allowed.
White Dwarf and Neutron Boosting is allowed in Regulation Eagle.
This build is running at the edge of the power plant, consider turning off your Cargo Hatch.
All parts necessary for this Eagle should be found at Whitson Hub in Meliae available for purchase.
HOW TO ENTER
Only entries made wholly within the period 3308-01-08 00:00:00 to 3308-01-16 23:59:59 server time will be accepted. The deadline for submissions is 09:00:00 server time on Monday January 17th 3308. Entries received after that time will be rejected.
Race entries may be submitted at the following link: https://forms.gle/uUK7B5VocrEvoSL48
You may submit as many entries as you like in one or both classes while the race runs, do your best to improve your time!
If you opt for screenshots instead of videos, a valid entry must include
- A screenshot of your modules panel showing the class and rating of all internal components, hardpoints and utility mounts installed. Multiple screenshots should be provided if the UI needs to be scrolled to fit all modules in view.
- A screenshot of your ship on the pad at Whitson Hub showing the station clock. The time shown will be your start time for the entry.
- Screenshots of your approach and landing at each of the five stations. You need only submit a single screenshot of your ship on the pad at each station to qualify for a provisional place on the leaderboard. The top three competitors in each class will be asked to provide further evidence as outlined in Station loop regulations above in order to secure a podium position.
- A screenshot of your ship on the pad at Whitson Hub showing the station clock. The time shown will be your finish time for the entry.
Beauty Shot
Competitors are free to provide a beauty shot of their ship. Those reaching the podium will be displayed for all to see at the end of the event.
Beauty shots should be taken using the classified camera (Control-Alt-Space) and should clearly show your ship. You may position your camera and background in any way that you think displays the best racing angle of the ship.
Evidence
All entries must be accompanied by valid evidence.
Acceptable evidence of completing the course includes video (recommended) or screenshots of your run.
Race evidence must be submitted to race officials, who will determine accurate times and disqualifications.
Expand the regulations for full details on evidence required for this race, noting that more evidence is required than is usually the case for Buckyball races (because of the loop).
Intent to Race
It buckyball tradition to post an Intent to Race like the following
Special Notes
Old World Hustle was a crossover event designed to test some of the skills that members of the Buckyball Racing Club and Elite Racers do not generally use as part of their own races.
Special note to Buckyballers
Elite Racers events test normal space flight skills. You will be required to fly a loop around stations before coming in to dock rather than simply heading straight for the pad as you usually do. Remember to complete the loop from the front to the rear and back to the front of the station. Flight assist off may help in achieving the swiftest normal-space turns.
Special note to Elite Racers
Buckyball races focus as much on route plotting and supercruise approaches as they do quick docking and undocking. You will be required to choose a route between waypoints and cruise from the jump-in point as quickly as possible. Decide on your route beforehand and remember to use the gravitational field of planets to slow down for dropout to normal space.
Also remember to fly straight round the station without completing a loop of the habitation ring, which is not necessary for this race.
Special note to New Pilots Initiative
The hardest part about getting into Buckyball racing is just doing it! Jump on in! The temperature's just fine. Wait no it's not, it's negative 270 C. We're in space now, it's freezing, we're gonna die, wait REM LOK IS HERE! Thanks to our generous sponsors Rem Lok and Core Dynamics, a replacement regulation eagle is always available for the low low prices is 36,752 credits. They'll even pick you up and bring you back to the station just to try again!
Helpful (if basic) multiwaypoint route plotter: https://cmdrs-toolbox.com/multiwaypointplanner
This race will test your docking and supercruise skills mostest. Docking comes with practice, for supercruise speed, you'll want to learn the cookiehole loop or death helix.
See attached video for some ideas:
"Furrycat's brilliant side-by-side comparison of various supercruise approaches, essentially dispelling the myth that a "loop of shame" is necessarily a bad thing!"
Frequently Asked Questions
That's so many screenshots!
That's why you record a video! All the screenshots are to prove that you correctly looped round the stations. If you record a video of your entry you will be able to capture screenshots from the video later. Recording video is highly recommended. Screenshots are a backup for those with systems unable to record video or with limited uploading capability.
What if I drop out of supercruise facing the rear of the station?
Sucks to be you! Just kidding. Sortof.
You'll have to fly round to the front of the station before starting your loop, which means you will end up visiting the rear of the station twice. Try to find a better supercruise approach so you drop facing the front of the station! In modern Elite (unlike the original Old World Hustle) the station hologram in the lower left of your HUD should show where the slot is so you can try to drop in on the correct side.
Do I have to post an intent to race before competing?
Not if you don't want to. It's cool if you do, so other racers can look out for you on the course, but it's optional.
Is frame shift drive injection synthesis allowed in this race?
It is in Open Unlimited. Not in Regulation Eagle.
Are Engineer modifications allowed in this race?
They're allowed, even encouraged, in Open Unlimited. Not in Regulation Eagle.
I don't like docking, can I put a docking computer on my ship?
No! There will be no "EZ mode," "follow the queue," "stay under 100m/s," "obey traffic regulations," "listen to the control tower," namby-pamby docking computers in this race.
I like to dance while I'm in supercruise, can I fit a super-cruise assist module to my ship?
No! Dancing is for hyperjumps and post-race celebrations. Super Cruise Assist enables station drops at plaid speeds with no gravity breaking, which is the heart of Buckyball Racing. It's an unfair advantage in this race, and must be fitted with great care and responsibility some other time.
Where can I buy the components needed for the Regulation Eagle class?
Try Whitson Hub in Meliae. It's literally at the starting line.
Can I pimp my ride with ship kits?
Yes! Spoilers, wings, tails, bumpers, bobbleheads and paintjobs of any color are allowed in Open Unlimited and Regulation Eagle. I'm sure the red makes it go faster.
Do I have to fit a shield?
No in Open Unlimited. You can remove it to save mass and gain speed. Who needs shields?!
Yes in Regulation Eagle. The shield generator is fitted in the "Optional internal" section of outfitting. The shield itself is not optional. Shielding Dynamics legal team insisted on it.
I refuse to play in Open
You are welcome to run the course in Private Group or Solo mode and submit an entry. Your attempt will appear on the leaderboard as an exhibition run and be excluded from ranking but you will still be able to compare your efforts to others'.
But the New Pilots Worlds are notorious for being home to characters of low moral fiber!
They certainly used to be. If they still are, which some would argue is not the case, that just makes the race more interesting.
Do I need to use the new Odyssey control scheme?
Nope, you can complete this race in Odyssey or Horizons, whichever you prefer!
Do I have to fly an Eagle?
Only if you're entering the Regulation Eagle class, in which case you must use the exact loadout described.
Can I fly an Imperial Eagle?
Sure in Open Unlimited! But not in Regulation Eagle.
Why is it Regulation Eagle and not Regulation Sidewinder or Regulation Cobra?
Because the Elite Racers fly Eagles. And because Core Dynamics is our sponsor. When you sponsor your own race then you can pick whatever regulation ship your pilot's heart desires.
Raikogram for New Pilots Hustle
| Aganippe | LHS 3006 | LHS 6309 | Meliae | Ovid | Rakapila | |
| Aganippe | 22.43 | 24.53 | 15.59 | 18.90 | 11.00 | |
| LHS 3006 | 22.43 | 19.53 | 20.96 | 18.63 | 13.71 | |
| LHS 6309 | 24.53 | 19.53 | 27.62 | 6.02 | 19.16 | |
| Meliae | 15.59 | 20.96 | 27.62 | 24.38 | 19.38 | |
| Ovid | 18.90 | 18.63 | 6.02 | 24.38 | 14.41 | |
| Rakapila | 11.00 | 13.71 | 19.16 | 19.38 | 14.41 |
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