Community Event / Creation Buckyball Racing Club presents: The A* Challenge

[Bushranger]

So I've managed to find a passenger willing to make the journey to Sagittarius A* in the HOS - Booze Cruises that is looking to set the record for the Beluga Classic class. Thank you for your support Katalina Wong! Hopefully no one will scan me as we depart from Lomas Orbital and spook the Famed Explorer.

I have had to make a few alterations to the load out with a 5D shield since I've been getting into a few scrapes when the Beluga passes through the letterbox and passengers really don't like that. I've had to bump up from a 2A to a 3A power plant as well but the jumpr range is still a respectable 26.47 ly. I'm making the final preparations now (taking a nap, cooking a large pot of fried rice and brewing thermos of tea) before we depart.


CMDR Marcus Vaquero.

 

[Rankaze]

So I've managed to find a passenger willing to make the journey to Sagittarius A* in the HOS - Booze Cruises that is looking to set the record for the Beluga Classic class. Thank you for your support Katalina Wong! Hopefully no one will scan me as we depart from Lomas Orbital and spook the Famed Explorer.

I have had to make a few alterations to the load out with a 5D shield since I've been getting into a few scrapes when the Beluga passes through the letterbox and passengers really don't like that. I've had to bump up from a 2A to a 3A power plant as well but the jumpr range is still a respectable 26.47 ly. I'm making the final preparations now (taking a nap, cooking a large pot of fried rice and brewing thermos of tea) before we depart.


CMDR Marcus Vaquero.

Fly fast, CMDR! o7

 

[Rankaze]

Speaking of oddly themed runs, there is a twisted part of my imagination that wants to screenshot my GU-97 sitting on a landing pad at Galileo, dock it, fly it (in my Keelback) to Sadge, launch it, and take a screenshot there, and post it as a class record for the GU-97.

It's a bit farther than I’m willing to go for a joke, though.


Still... if I ever decide to do that crazy "exploration expedition in my Keelback with SLF and SRV" idea, though, I might start it out that way.

 

[crotalus]

To be honest I care more about the Sag A* run being the best I can make it so if it won't count I'll probably just set my own time Sol-> SagA*-> Beagle.

The Sol->Sag A* isn't as macho as it used to be, part of me wonders if I should postpone it until I have a week off work and do a return trip run to see just how far I can push the envelope before I break into pieces

I have been wondering about doing something similar my self, I was thinking of flying straight from Sol or Wolf 359 to beagle point then to Sagittarius A* depending on time then flying to the start point in one sitting, I would most likely being using spansh.co.uk for the route.

 

[Luke3107]

Just had a gauntlet thrown down to me.

Guy in an Engineered Anaconda just said "Off to Sgr A* with some passengers, be back in two weeks" which is a long time... Especially with a 59Ly jump range. Then another member of the group said "If either of you two make it back before me I'm going to hate you forever!". Long story, short:

Intent To Race:
CMDR: Luke3107
Ship: Beluga Liner
Ship Name: Googolplex
Class: Standard
Platform: Xbox One
Special Notes: Multiple Passengers Aboard, ADS Equipped

Outfitting:

Spoiler

Departure (25th July 3303 @ 17:00:00):

Spoiler

Commentary:

Spoiler

1. Barely 30 jumps in, police decided to come to my door. Presumably to discuss my interstellar speeding (actually to discuss my noisy neighbour, oh well).... So that's added bout 5-10 minutes on. No biggy, time isn't a huge factor in this run.

2. 45 minutes in, witchspace crash and matchmaking issues... Although I discovered that you can control your ships rotation in witchspace, although in a quick transition it will be difficult to check, I'll be sure to get a DVR recording if/when it happens again.

3. 2000Ly out, Orbit lines being awkward. Faceplanted 2 stars so far... On the plus side Highway to Hell has rather appropriately decided to make an appearance on my iPod.

4. Pushing the 3000Ly mark and already getting route plotting issues. Who knew that a 25ly jump range could be this limiting? I'm plodding on though, around 700Ly above the galactic plane in the hopes I'll avoid the brown dwarf field. Although star density may push me back down again...

5. Transaction errors galore... Woo!! \o/

6. Back to route plotting issues... Note to self, plan a route in advance before doing this trip with anything less than a 30Ly jump range in future.

7. Matchmaking crashes... All going well so far. Think someone is trying to tell me something?

8. Longest session so far without issues, probably jinxed it but will make the most of it while I can.

9. 3rd Faceplant now, Orbite lines just keep vanishing on me. Going to have a hard time keeping these passengers aboard if this keeps happening 0.o

10. Make that 4, because I was typing commentary instead of piloting...

11. Just reaching the 10k mark now. Progress not as quick as I'd like, but I'll be glad to just make it with my passengers still aboard.

12. Bang on the 10K mark and I make a massive error by jumping into a Brown Dwarf with only one full jump of fuel available. Thankfully an M-Class was 9Ly away.

13. 12.5 hours in, 12.5k Ly in. Made a quick stop to say hi to the guy who's slowly making his way BACK, but have a feeling I'm going to be able to pick up the pace abit though.

14. 17K Ly, 16 hours in. Still averaging roughly 1k per hour despite multiple self assurances I can pick up the pace. Also, tiredness is now setting in. I'm really hoping I can keep going. Under 24 hours still seems possible but only if I can keep going and actually pick up speed.

15. Buzz crash at 18K Ly... Was starting to get a rythym going too.

16. Brief stop at the Celestial Snowman, roughly 20.6K out, for the sake of a passenger. Straight run to Sgr A* now. 5.5K to go, 4 hours left for a sub-24 hour time. Do-able if I concentrate.

17. 3000Ly to go, 2 hours left... Cutting this close

18. 2.5K left, 1.5 hours left. Making up lost time already. Here's hoping I have spare minutes for the inevitable route plotting issues...

19. 24 Hours gone, 9 Jumps out...

20. 4...3...2...1.... FINALLY!!!

Arrival? (26 July 3303 @ 17:10:22):

Spoiler

P.S. Apologies to Bushranger, you have around 24 hours to get your run in and recorded. This was a gauntlet I couldn't resist taking up or I would have waited to see your benchmark be thrown down.
P.S.S. The trip back will be the ideal time for me to edit and add to the History Doc, so don't go thinking it's an abandoned project. I've been making my edits on a second Doc as at first I didn't know how to permit comments only on the original and didn't want to risk losing everything should a Troll stumble upon it

 

[Hanekura Shizuka]

To be honest I care more about the Sag A* run being the best I can make it so if it won't count I'll probably just set my own time Sol-> SagA*-> Beagle.

The Sol->Sag A* isn't as macho as it used to be, part of me wonders if I should postpone it until I have a week off work and do a return trip run to see just how far I can push the envelope before I break into pieces

My last run was Sol/SagA*/Beagle/Ishums. When I came up with the rules for the Beagle run, I set it to, for all intents and purposes, the bubble (I think I specified something along the lines of <350ly from Sol). I knew some would start from Asellus Primus, some would start from Sol, etc. and that, in a run of 65k, 350 ly wasn't going to make that great an impact. Though maybe that should be revisited if there's going to be the sort of close-quarter optimization found with A*...

That said, the fact that people are actually making Beagle runs like this in one sitting means two things.

1. Chaos? Mayhem? Anarchy? My work here is done.
2. It's time to start really upgrading my Anaconda. That effort is not without its side effects.

Finally... Good luck and fly fast, Alex. o7

EDIT: A link that might help with regard to the Beagle run, rules (such as they are), and the time to shoot for.

 

[Esvandiary]

Just had a gauntlet thrown down to me.

Guy in an Engineered Anaconda just said "Off to Sgr A* with some passengers, be back in two weeks" which is a long time... Especially with a 59Ly jump range. Then another member of the group said "If either of you two make it back before me I'm going to hate you forever!". Long story, short:

That's the spirit. Fly fast

That said, the fact that people are actually making Beagle runs like this in one sitting means two things.

1. Chaos? Mayhem? Anarchy? My work here is done.
2. It's time to start really upgrading my Anaconda. That effort is not without its side effects.

Ooh, despite having done it on my own numerous times, for some reason I'd never considered SRV racing around Dav's Hope.
Good thinking!


Also yes, best of luck on your run Alex! Hope you don't get seasick easily...

 

[Luke3107]

And I'm off, see Intent to race post for full details and commentary

 

[Raiko]

Fly fast cmdr! o7

 

[Bushranger]

The HOS - Booze Cruises has arrived at Sagittarius A*

We will be enjoying the view from The Centre tourist beacon for approximately four hours before we begin our return journey if you leave the Beluga to stretch your legs please be sure that you have boarded again before our departure.

Name: CMDR Marcus Vaquero

Departure: Lomas Orbital 22:00:00 20th July 3303

Spoiler

http://imgur.com/c56dc03

Arrival: Sagittarius A* 23:45:05 25th July 3303

Spoiler

http://imgur.com/UNXWIBH

EDIT:

Spoiler

http://imgur.com/vDRCU45 I might have taken the wrong screenshot so if want to set my arrival time at 00:07:50 July 26th 3303

After five days I've arrived at Sagittarius A*

It was quite a good flight and apart from a few distractions (nothing unexpected just server down time, cooking, Game of Thrones, a day spent playing Baldur's Gate, sleeping at night, etc) it went quite smoothly! Thank you to everyone who has supported this run.

Good luck on your run Luke3107 though I don't see how it's possible you will beat my record of 121 hours, 45 minutes and 5 seconds!

 

[Luke3107]

...snip
Good luck on your run Luke3107 though I don't see how it's possible you will beat my record of 121 hours, 45 minutes and 5 seconds!

Congrats on your completion o7
Thank you, and I'm sure your record will stand for a LONG time

 

[Hanekura Shizuka]

The HOS - Booze Cruises has arrived at Sagittarius A*

Well done, CMDR! o7

 

[Luke3107]

And done. Evidence is on my Intent to race post on Page 147.

Tl;DR: Too may pilot errors slowed me down considerably. The game issues were a factor but nowhere near as much as the guy at the sticks.

In total
Started 25th July @ 17:00:00 exactly
Finished 26th July @ 17:10:22
Total Time (TBC By Drakhyr): 24h 10m 22s

Realistically, it should have been an easy sub 20h time. Still, it's done.

Apologies to Bushranger, your time was beaten but I'm not proud of the one I submitted.

I'm off to pass out now. Fly Fast CMDRs o7

 

[Alec Turner]

And done. Evidence is on my Intent to race post on Page 147.

Tl;DR: Too may pilot errors slowed me down considerably. The game issues were a factor but nowhere near as much as the guy at the sticks.

In total
Started 25th July @ 17:00:00 exactly
Finished 26th July @ 17:10:22
Total Time (TBC By Drakhyr): 24h 10m 22s

Realistically, it should have been an easy sub 20h time. Still, it's done.

Apologies to Bushranger, your time was beaten but I'm not proud of the one I submitted.

I'm off to pass out now. Fly Fast CMDRs o7

Congratulations! Any Sag A* time is a good Sag A* time.

o7

 

[Bushranger]

Congratulations Luke3107!

It's quite a respectable time and while I agree that a sub-20 hr run seems possible with a Beluga, there is always the distractions that pull a pilots focus. Certainly you gave it much more attention than I did

 

[altf3]

Welp, think I'm almost ready to start this. This is my intent to race, possibly tomorrow, likely in the next 2 weeks.

Cmdr: Altf3
Ship Name: The Stripes Make it Faster
Ship Type: Imperial Matchstick Courier
Class: Unlimited
Coriolis: https://eddp.co/u/A1fVhV3q

Before the Inevitable Fire

Spoiler

Will provide outfitting pictures when its completely finalized, not sure on the extra AFMUs yet.

 

[Rankaze]

Welp, think I'm almost ready to start this. This is my intent to race, possibly tomorrow, likely in the next 2 weeks.

Cmdr: Altf3
Ship Name: The Stripes Make it Faster
Ship Type: Imperial Matchstick Courier
Class: Unlimited
Coriolis: https://eddp.co/u/A1fVhV3q

Before the Inevitable Fire

Spoiler

https://i.imgur.com/uflcbxo.jpg

Will provide outfitting pictures when its completely finalized, not sure on the extra AFMUs yet.

Very interesting. An Unlimited Courier run is one of the things that has been on my agenda (though not my first priority - I have at least three other runs planned before that one, so I certainly wasn't going to get to it anytime soon), so I'm very interested to see what kind of time you put up.

Fly fast, CMDR, and may your hyperspace tunnels be quick.

 

[altf3]

Very interesting. An Unlimited Courier run is one of the things that has been on my agenda (though not my first priority - I have at least three other runs planned before that one, so I certainly wasn't going to get to it anytime soon), so I'm very interested to see what kind of time you put up.

Fly fast, CMDR, and may your hyperspace tunnels be quick.

Yeah, working out the fine details on a route, if you got any tips on route planning I'm all ears. Stocked up on a bunch of jump boosts, hoping to lower the number of jumps I need, there's a few stretches that're gonna be tough with the couriers small scoop too.

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Update:
Returned from 40Kly Fuel Rat rescue = Check
Ship outfitted to 67.06Ly = Check
50x Grade 3 FSD boost materials gathered = Check
Livery changed from "RESCUE" to "RACER" = Check

Engage route planning and trial run!


Expecting about 150-155 jumps total including scoop stops, just gotta trial out where best to put them now and where my repair stops need to go. With a bit of inventive plotting I may cut it to 145 but I don't think I'll quite manage that.
At 155j it should work out at 2.58 hours (2hrs 34min) for the run to Sag A* at 1 minute per jump. I would need to average 51 seconds or better per jump to get the 2.2hrs required to beat Alot, thats insane. I'm already in awe at that time because apparently I have one of the best FSD's going and even then its looking damn near impossible to get close to beating the time..

Anyway, I will give an update when the practice run is done and I know the exact no of jumps, I'm kinda hopeful I can get it planned out this coming week+weekend and then do the material gathering again next week so I can do the real run on 12th/13th August and carry through to Beagle.


Me working how to supercharge out:

Spoiler

Esvandiary (Alot) - Could I be bold enough to ask on your Neutron scoop strategy?
Do you get into the jet then open galmap and plot before exit map and accelerate out... Or do you get in the jet, get the charge then accelerate out before opening the galmap and plotting?

Or is that a trade secret?
I've not yet worked out which way is best. The fear I have with the 2nd option is accelerating out too fast and having to double back to charge the FSD again, the fear with the first one is it takes too long and deals extra FSD damage I can't afford..

Edit: Scratch that, found it in an earlier post.

Oh and don't anybody dare suggest that I'm taking this too seriously either XD


Update!
117 jumps plotted and tested. ~3,700ly to go on the trial run. Included in there are 19 FSD synth boosts and 25 fuel stops. Full Route spreadsheet to follow when I finish the test route tomorrow. <- Restarting trial run due to additional fuel tanks being used, trial run this weekend, real run next weekend with a bit of luck -.-

Old calculations on where I expect to be on the board:

Spoiler

Now estimating ~140 jumps due to some inventive plotting and well planned fuel stops. Don't think I'll get it below that so there's a lot of work to do

Best Neutron time so far is 53 seconds
Average Neutron time is 58 seconds
Average scoopable time is 66 seconds
(All times from countdown start to countdown start of next jump)

With the averages I'll come in at about 2hrs 17 minutes.

3x Repair stops enroute will add a bit to that, maybe 2-3 minutes extra.
Gotta lower the average to 55 seconds or less to match Alots time. Sadly don't think thats possible especially with mistakes being made during the trip but I'll give it a go.

Me working additional fuel tanks query out:

Spoiler

I'm also wondering if a bigger fuel tank may make sense if plotting manually like this as less fuel stops would probably be beneficial for neutrons and manual plots eliminate the biggest issue.
Doing a brief bit of maths I think I'd loose 16Ly every 8 jumps (or a total of -360Ly due to the increase in mass). It would add 2 jumps and cut my fuel stops in half from a total of ~30 to ~15 which means I'd convert 15 jumps from 100% FSD boost to Neutrons saving me ~1,830Ly. Seems way too high...

Edit: Seen Alots post about an 80T fuel tank... Will need to math hard tomorrow after work unless anyone wants to help me with the answers... If I'm right I'll be annoyed as I'll have to restart my practice and routing...


Any thoughts on the tank theory? Anyone done the maths properly instead of tired after 15kly of neutrons and route plotting? XD
Alot if I'm right with this it'd allow you to break the 2hr mark easy but then again I think I'm talking out my behind and/or you already did this...

Edit: Did the maths whilst not tired this morning. Using 72T of fuel I can cut 5 to 6 jumps out of my route. Guess I start my practice run again tonight.

 

[Luke3107]

Congratulations Luke3107!

It's quite a respectable time and while I agree that a sub-20 hr run seems possible with a Beluga, there is always the distractions that pull a pilots focus. Certainly you gave it much more attention than I did

Thanks very much. Don't worry, this isn't the last time Googolplex will make her run. I intend to do her justice next time

Welp, think I'm almost ready to start this. This is my intent to race, possibly tomorrow, likely in the next 2 weeks.
...snip...
Will provide outfitting pictures when its completely finalized, not sure on the extra AFMUs yet.

Good luck, fly fast CMDR.

Buckyball History Update:
Ok, I'm moving on to the next step in the History. But I need to run something by everyone here first to get an all clear. Those of you who read over what I had, should hopefully have noticed that it's being written in the form of a 34th Century citizen living in the E Universe. However this means that saying "On 'x' date NS/WD Boosts were added in" is a no go. To counteract this, I have written what I consider to be 'lore friendly' explanations for things to be added in and fleshed out as I progress through the writing. I do this as I may have missed an actual lore explanation at some stage, or it might not fit as well as I think. Hell, maybe someone else ca come up with better ideas than what I've got. It should also be noted that these explanations likely won't appear word for word in the history, but they will form the basis to prevent any handwaving where I can.

Spoiler

1.0 (game released) - 16/12/3300
Given that many events took place during the beta period, my thinking was this:
"The Pilots Federation, after a testing period that lasted several months, rolled out PF Licencing Privilages to anyone who could pass through their training. They had initially held it to a selected portion of the public as a way of testing the waters with allowing a certain subset of CMDRs total autonomy over what they did. While it wasn't a complete success, with some pilots taking to Piracy, or illegal racing, many took to helping out a cause and building influence amongst both Minor and Major factions. As a result, it was concluded that the positives outweighed the negatives and thus, public access to PF Licences were granted to those who could prove themselves."

1.1 (Community Goals) - 10/02/3301 (also included extension of route plotting to 1000 LY)
"Realising the benefits of having a large number of freelancing pilots converging towards one goal, faction leaders, Minor and Major alike, decided to offer substantial rewards for completion of various large tasks. Usually Credit based, CMDRs were asked to deliver goods, bounty hunt, even hand in exploration data to both further the awarding factions agenda and fill their own bank accounts.

In other news, a major software update was given to all ships that allowed their Navigational Systems to calculate routes of up to 1000 Lightyears. Despite the best efforts of the developers working on updating ship systems, it was felt this was the best they could do in order to keep all software on par, regardless of ship type or make."


1.2 (Wings) - 10/03/3301
"As a frequent request from PF Pilots to be able to link up with other CMDRs, another software update was rolled out to permit groups of up to 4 ships at a time 'Wing Up' allowing for easier transmission of information that could mean the difference between life and death in a battle situation. It also permitted escort ships to place a navigation lock on the vessel they were escorting, meaning if they dropped out of Supercruise, the combat escort would do so too."


1.3 (Powerplay) - 05/06/3301
"Major leaders caught wind of the benefits to PF CMDRs pledging to a goal and working hard to see it realised. Using this, several political figureheads such as Zachary Hudson, Aisling Duval and even Archon Delaine decided to use their considerable resources to grant rewards to any CMDR who pledged themselves to furthering their goals. With the most dedicated of CMDRs receiving huge Cr Payouts and even access to otherwise unobtainable systems to equip to their ships."


1.4 (CQC) - 06/10/3301
"Many CMDRs wanted a place to test their mettle against other CMDRs in an even footing, no holds barred situation. With many engagements frequently coming down to whomever has the biggest guns, the CQC Arena was opened up to CMDRs who wanted to show they had the skills to outgun their opponents."


2.0 (Horizons) - 15/12/3302
"Still working hard, the developers behind the scenes once again rolled out a huge update for the ships of the PF. This time, enabling vessels to bypass the exclusion zones of planets with no atmosphere, permitting them to land on the surface and traverse the terrain. Simultaneously, a rollout of Planetary Vehicle Hangers was sent to stations who wished to sell them, along with the Scarab Surface Reconnaisance Vehicle (or SRV). Ships had been pre-fitted with a planetary landing module, this update simply permitted the on board computers to enable them.


2.1 (The Engineers) - 26/05/3302
"A small subset of people revealed themselves to the Pilots Federation. Calling themselves 'Engineers' they promised CMDRs modifications to pre-existind hardware aboard their ships, provided they could prove themselves beforehand (be it by travelling 5000 Lightyears from the bubble, or handing in Bounty Vouchers in lieu of actual credits). These modifications could range from simply making the module lighter, to improving the performance of said module or even, in the case of weapons especially, adding new effects to the module that would otherwise be impossible."

2.2 (The Guardians) - 25/10/3302 (also added white dwarf / neutron star boosts and route plotter optimisation; changed system arrival point to always be in line with origin)
"Possibly by using some knowledge gained from these 'Engineers' or simply by a determination to prove they haven't been outdone, the developers found their own way to upgrade a ships FSD. Using some more software tweaks, and provided the pilot was up to the task, it was possible to boost a ships jump range way beyond it's previous limit by harnessing the power of a Relativistic Jet from a White Dwarf or Neutron Star. Such a boost only lasted for one jump, but permitted exploration at a level never before precedented.

Whether this was a side effect of the tweaking or an intentional 'fix' to prevent CMDRs getting lost or disoriented, Witchspace Jumps now always dropped the ship on the side of the star the jump was initiated from. Put simply, where the ship had come from was now always behind the ship upon arrival. If nothing else, it showed that studies into how Witchspace works still had some way to go.

Additionally, Ship Launched Fighter Bays were released to the Pilots Federation and subsequently rolled out in a similar manner to Planetary Vehicle Hangers. These small fighters were previously only accessible by private military factions, and frequently seen circling the entrance to stations. Subsequently, another subset of pilots came to the forefront offering to pilot these ships on behalf of their PF CMDR in return for a cut of whatever profits were made. Something many CMDRs were more than happy to take advantage of."

2.3 (The Commanders) - 11/04/3303 (fixed slow witchspace times when using Horizons)

"Working ever harder to keep members of the Pilots Federation happy, the developers once again gave access to a useful software upgrade. By perfecting the use of 'Telepresence', they allowed PF CMDRs the ability to gain a Co-Pilot, or become a Co-Pilot in another CMDRs ship, regardless of how far away they were. This provided many benefits, from simply having some company on a long trip, to having another set of eyes in a combat situation, or even an extra SLF pilot if necessary.

Additionally, PF CMDRs who had received the Planetary Landing download, were reporting longer than usual witchspace times. It was worked out that ships Nav Comms were taking the extra space, opened up by the removal of certain exclusion zones, into the calculations required to map out a drop area. An unecessary calcualation since ships only needed to take the exclusion zone of the main star into consideration when dropping out. This issue was ironed out alongside the Telepresence software upgrade rolling out."

(I have no idea went on with the font or the font size in that... It's still readable which is the important thing I guess.)