Community Event / Creation Buckyball Racing Club presents: Escape Velocity

furrycat

furrycat
Although I improved my time a little in the Speed Kitten it won't be enough to challenge. More practice required, and less getting distracted watching other racers blast off.
[video=youtube;cxHGDeo7iuI]https://youtu.be/cxHGDeo7iuI[/video]

We've all noticed that the high gravity at SPOCS 900 4 makes it tricky to land safely. The big problem I found was trying to open the docking menu and hold vertical thrust, because I have the same button bound to thrust and menu navigation. So I tried flight assist on and ... that made it much harder to control the descent!

FA off is more fun anyway. In high gravity I'd say it's a bona fide advantage.
 

Ozric

Volunteer Moderator
Ozric
furrycat said:
Although I improved my time a little in the Speed Kitten it won't be enough to challenge. More practice required, and less getting distracted watching other racers blast off.

We've all noticed that the high gravity at SPOCS 900 4 makes it tricky to land safely. The big problem I found was trying to open the docking menu and hold vertical thrust, because I have the same button bound to thrust and menu navigation. So I tried flight assist on and ... that made it much harder to control the descent!

FA off is more fun anyway. In high gravity I'd say it's a bona fide advantage.
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Haha, I wondered who that was I saw as I blasted out :D I really should have checked the gravity first as I too fell foul of SPOCS gravity... BOOM! I may get to try tomorrow... hopefully.
 

Jhyrryl

Jhyrryl
cookiehole said:
Jump Range doesn't seem to matter that much. As long as it does 20ly it's fine, when it does 30,6 it's better. The rest is speed and maneuverability. Oh, and shields can be a nice thing :D
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Shields, definitely. If I'd been hitting the pad in The Mini Enigma (hauler) the way that I've been landing in mc2=e (imp. eagle), every class of shield would have failed with catastrophic results. But the Imperial Eagle is surviving nicely...as long as I hit the pad and not a defense turret.

furrycat said:
The big problem I found was trying to open the docking menu and hold vertical thrust, because I have the same button bound to thrust and menu navigation.
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Ideally, you'll come out of glide within docking request range of your destination. I generally enter the menus while in glide so I can request and immediately close them the moment that glide disengages.
 

Alec Turner

Alec Turner
Cheetah said:
How did it go this morning on the stream?
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Hmmm, let's see ...

Excellent race course prepared and tested: check
Race details sent to FD: check
Furrycat Video (with Frontier soundtrack) prepared and sent to FD: check
Lots of Buckyballers awake and ready to roll at 4:30am: check
EZ in da house: check
Alot in da Orca: check

Tjaart familiar with (or even aware of) course: negative
Video cued up and ready to play: negative
Ed happy to play their own soundtrack: negative (video played muted)
Race starting anything like on time: negative
Enough time for FD to complete course: negative

Cool start to race with everyone boosting through slot at same time and then heading off on various different routes: check
Amusing high gravity shenanighans at SPOC 900: check

Final race time worth submitting: negative

Worth getting up at 4:15am: debatable

Sorry I can't be more positive than that. I'm tired (probably not as tired as Ed tho).
 
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mw_aurora

mw_aurora
Zzzzz

Zzzzz

Zz...hmm, what? It was all just a dream right? Us all boosting through the slot, me making 2 (nearly) flawless landings, the ED client crashing...

Screenshot_Fail.jpg

...and a complete screenshot failure!

Then I sat waiting with the ED client locked up outside Schwabe Hub. I am really not having much luck with Horizons on my PC :(
 

drakhyr

drakhyr
escapevelocity_dec22.jpg


We might not have managed to get a complete entry from the Galactic Intern this morning, but there have been several new times as some of the wide gaps between runners have been filled in.

Cmdr Jak managed several runs in his Imperial Eagle mc2=e, showing a gradual improvement that was sufficient to see him sneak past furrycat into fifth place. All that despite doing his best to confuse the judge with bright green alphabet bobbleheads behind the clock on his blue HUD...

The two Haulers of Stern Winter and Mangel came in remarkably close together, with Cmdr Stern Winter's Yellow Snow managing to just sneak ahead of Mangel's veteran race ship Reckless Abandon. They obviously had pretty effective runs given that neither reported hull damage., or even noticeable shield damage.

A short way behind those two we welcome Cmdr Orange Sheets in the Viper mkIII Blind Snail, who I'm glad to see is giving the bright orange Viper skin an outing. And finally for now, Cmdr Edelgard von Rhein managed to improve on his time in the Imperial Eagle Toya sufficiently to sneak past Alec Turner's Cobra mkIV.
 

ElectricZ

ElectricZ
drakhyr said:
Our section started late and Tjaart, errm, could have gone faster :D, so we didn't actually finish the race. But I think it was fun, and a good advert for the perils of high-g planets!
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I think you put on an excellent show! Especially considering the scheduling overrun and the untrained intern in the pilot's seat. :) Best laid plans and all that, but you all handled it with aplomb. Not to mention that the charity crossed the £20,000 mark on the BRC's watch. Coincidence? I think not...

Looks like speed landing should really become a thing, though. You guys come up with a reliable technique you'll make a lot of pilots happy. (Other than Alot's Belly Flop maneuver, as epic as it was. ;) )
 

Edelgard von Rhein

E
I'm going to register several other ships but time will tell how many I actually run tomorrow. I do want to get a time on the board in my Cobra, at least, as I have attempted a run with it in every race since the Pleiades Hip-Hop (though it's not always been my fastest ship).
Cmdr name: Edelgard von Rhein
race class: Open
.
ship type: Cobra Mk3
ship name: Null Geodesic
.
ship type: Asp Explorer
ship name: Lukushiyon
.
ship type: Adder
ship name: Swept Under the Carpet
 

drakhyr

drakhyr
escapevelocity_dec23.jpg


Only one new entry since the last board update, as Cmdr Cheetah scraped his Eagle Red Shift into 11th place between Edelgard von Rhein and Alec Turner. When I say scraped, Cheetah was running an unshielded Eagle, which did need repairs. Extensive repairs. At every single stop. Let me just say 1% (and 16%, and 34%, and 39%...) and leave it at that :D.

As we're into the final day, it's also time to reveal the times. There are now some quite close times in the middle of the pack, notably Stern Winter and Mangel only 8 seconds apart, plus Edelgard von Rhein, Cheetah and Alec Turner being separated by only 16 seconds. At the top of the board, though, Cookiehole has a substantial lead. I'm sure we all look forward to seeing the Cookiehole's videos so we can learn from them!
 

furrycat

furrycat
drakhyr said:
I'm sure we all look forward to seeing the Cookiehole's videos so we can learn from them!
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Quite so. This whole orbital cruise thing has passed me by, I'm afraid. I did hear the magic words from Mrs Cat this morning - "I will be late home from work" - so there's still time chance to improve.
 

Jhyrryl

Jhyrryl
I was going to be done...but I came up with a new strategy that needs testing. Just gotta get back to the starting line with an appropriate ship...
 

Jhyrryl

Jhyrryl
Jhyrryl said:
I was going to be done...but I came up with a new strategy that needs testing. Just gotta get back to the starting line with an appropriate ship...
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Test successful, I think. But I failed a re-entry and made enough other "I'm too tired" mistakes, that I'll have to try again after getting some sleep.
 
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