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

[Raiko]

Well then.

Fell asleep in my chair last night, it turns out I'm a pretty heavy sleeper.

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Oh no!

By the way Mangel, have you ever made it back alive from Sadge?

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And as Hanekura Shizuka alluded to, the current record might not last too much longer... There are a few heavy hitters prepping for runs at the moment, could be an interesting month or two ahead

I get the feeling that I might feel very small at Sadge in my Asp at the Anaconda Thanksgiving party! Lol

Maybe I should have done some of that mission stacking at Sothis while I had the chance!

(Just joking, good luck to anyone attempting to take the lead)

 

[Mangel]

Oh no!

By the way Mangel, have you ever made it back alive from Sadge?

Yes, twice. My first and third runs. Shocking, I know.

 

[mw_aurora]

there should be more attempts these days now you can get 30+ mil an hour on smuggling missions to get the conda and big scoop.

Yeah, that would be the smuggling missions that appeared when I was a long way out...hoping they don't get nerfed before I am back to make good use of them (still need 40M or so for the BIG scoop)!

 

[robinjb]

I forget where it was posted but sometime earlier ( ill try and find the link )
someone said being in private group took 3 or 4 seconds off witchspace transitions
being the fair minded person I am.. I did all my runs in open..
is there a possibility that improved times can be done now just by not being in open?
itd be a real shame if that's the case.. could have shaved 40 minutes off with a
9-10 second transition instead of 14 seconds.

 

[mw_aurora]

is there a possibility that improved times can be done now just by not being in open?

But the rules are open only aren't they? So even if transition times are faster in private groups, its doesn't matter...

 

[robinjb]

But the rules are open only aren't they? So even if transition times are faster in private groups, its doesn't matter...

yeah they do say that.. hope I haven't given anyone any ideas

 

[Raiko]

I think that the current long transition times are for solo mode, and that most open/private users are getting better times.

@Robinjb: Your runs (and mine) pre-date all the current transition problems anyway. Lol

 

[drakhyr]

Spoiler

Well, we've reached another milestone... That's right, I'm now having to split the board image into four parts rather than three .

First up this time is a Buckyball newcomer, Cmdr Retmoc. Retmoc managed to get straight into the Buckyball spirit, with a departure straight into the station wall at Galileo. I'm surprised we haven't had more of those, they obviously have more convenient walls than most of the stations we fly from! Anyway, following a few repairs to The Sentimental, Cmdr Retmoc set about his challenge with gusto, aiming to beat the previous best time for an Imperial Courier. This he managed with ease, knocking more than half off the Imperial Courier record, to reach Sagittarius A* in just over 14 hours.

The other entry this week is another newcomer, Cmdr StokeMeAClipper. Making the journey in a rather larger ship, the Anaconda Pinpoint, didn't prevent StokeMeAClipper from also reporting a false start with early need for repairs after too many close encounters in the first few jumps. The practice obviously helped, though, as he proceeded to become only the eighth commander to record a time of under 10 hours. At that pace, he'll easily be back in time for breakfast...

Well done to both commanders!

Meanwhile, the countdown is on to the next Sagittarius A* convoy weekend. Can any of the runners over the Thanksgiving weekend (28/29 November) take the top spot? Or will Alot manage to hold on to the record for a full six months or more? Watch this space...

 

[furrycat]

I'm on my way to Sgr A* with Hutton Mugs so I figured I'd make a detour to Sol and make an entry in this event.

I won't be anywhere near the lead as I'll be going via the Greae Phio AA-A H33 Nebula with a hold of mugs and flying during a work week.

Still, 30,000Ly in a Cobra with 24Ly range. What could go wrong?

CMDR furrycat
Cobra Mk III
Slow Train From Hutton

 

[Farge]

I have a non-forum going friend who was wondering if anyone has completed the A* Challenge using the Oculus Rift. Thread search gave no results, but I figured I'd still ask to confirm.

 

[drakhyr]

I have a non-forum going friend who was wondering if anyone has completed the A* Challenge using the Oculus Rift. Thread search gave no results, but I figured I'd still ask to confirm.

Nobody has told me they've done so. I suspect not, given that none of the evidence screenshots have looked like they are from the Rift.

 

[FoxTwo]

I have a non-forum going friend who was wondering if anyone has completed the A* Challenge using the Oculus Rift. Thread search gave no results, but I figured I'd still ask to confirm.

Personally, I never even turned on my TrackIR for the journey to Sadge. It's basically a "jump, ping, refuel, jump" sequence that really doesn't need much headtracking at all. I was fine using the mouse to look around if needed to.

 

[Alec Turner]

Personally, I never even turned on my TrackIR for the journey to Sadge. It's basically a "jump, ping, refuel, jump" sequence that really doesn't need much headtracking at all. I was fine using the mouse to look around if needed to.

Whereas I bought my TrackIR specifically for the BBRA*, wore it for the entire day, and felt that it totally enhanced my journey, totally wrecked my hairdo and totally freaked out the guy who came to read the gas meter.

P.S. welcome back FoxTwo!

 

[FoxTwo]

Whereas I bought my TrackIR specifically for the BBRA*, wore it for the entire day, and felt that it totally enhanced my journey, totally wrecked my hairdo and totally freaked out the guy who came to read the gas meter.

P.S. welcome back FoxTwo!

Hahaha thanks for the welcome

Yeah maybe I'm jaded cuz I've had my TrackIR since early 2000s (TrackIR 3). Sometimes it feels like a hassle so sometimes I do play ED without it if it serves no useful purpose. The first run to Sadge I had it on for about 5,000 LY, but it was not needed, so I turned it off. For my 2nd run I never even used it.

But if I'm mucking about in civilized space my TrackIR is on (to fight pirate and bandit scum).

 

[Hanekura Shizuka]

The good news: My Anaconda now has a 7A fuel scoop.

The bad news: I need to practice in getting my Anaconda out of the station without damaging it. The shields and 3A power plant will stay on while I practice that.

That said... game on.

Spoiler

 

[Arklar]

The good news: My Anaconda now has a 7A fuel scoop.

The bad news: I need to practice in getting my Anaconda out of the station without damaging it. The shields and 3A power plant will stay on while I practice that.

That said... game on.

Yeah, with the NPCs charging about like dodgems now it's really hard to launch a racing ship. I've been hit twice this morning already.

 

[Esvandiary]

Yeah, with the NPCs charging about like dodgems now it's really hard to launch a racing ship. I've been hit twice this morning already.

That's not entirely new; my 8:43 run almost got off to a quite inauspicious start... I had to head over to the "naughty" side to exit Galileo, to avoid a slow-moving NPC Dropship (visible on From B to A at about 7:20 in fact!)

 

[furrycat]

Made it with my Hutton Mugs after a detour at GREAE PHIO KS-L C23-632. Screenshots will make their way to Raiko presently. Some stats for now.

Time elapsed: 3 days, 19 hours, 9 minutes and 43 seconds.
Actual flight time very approximately 24 hours.
Jumps: 1,191
Distance: 32,090Ly including nebula detour
Hutton Mugs in hold at start: 6
Hutton Mugs in hold after deliveries: 4
Mrs Cat's happiness with my behaviour: low

 

[mw_aurora]

The good news: My Anaconda now has a 7A fuel scoop.

Nice one...the game is most definitely on!

My own 7A Fuel Scoop mission took a step backwards yesterday in my excitement to paint my 'conda Gold. I arrived at its home station in a Hauler-Taxi and, whilst completing checkout in the FD store on my 2nd screen, managed to press Sell rather than Swap in the shipyard...so took a 10% hit on hull AND modules...so an equivalent loss of 18M (even with 15% discounts).

I am currently heading out of the bubble in my T6:Explorer to find somewhere nice to sulk for a few days...

 

[Hanekura Shizuka]

Nice one...the game is most definitely on!

My own 7A Fuel Scoop mission took a step backwards yesterday in my excitement to paint my 'conda Gold. I arrived at its home station in a Hauler-Taxi and, whilst completing checkout in the FD store on my 2nd screen, managed to press Sell rather than Swap in the shipyard...so took a 10% hit on hull AND modules...so an equivalent loss of 18M (even with 15% discounts).

I am currently heading out of the bubble in my T6:Explorer to find somewhere nice to sulk for a few days...

Ouch. That hurt$.

As for finding somewhere nice to sulk for a few days... I generally found neutron star farming for a couple of weeks (well, ended up being two months in my case) to be useful. Profitable, too, if you work and plan it right. That fuel scoop? Was the result of a long sulk in the neutron star fields after losing Wind Dragon to my own greed and stupidity.

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Made it with my Hutton Mugs after a detour at GREAE PHIO KS-L C23-632. Screenshots will make their way to Raiko presently. Some stats for now.

Time elapsed: 3 days, 19 hours, 9 minutes and 43 seconds.
Actual flight time very approximately 24 hours.
Jumps: 1,191
Distance: 32,090Ly including nebula detour
Hutton Mugs in hold at start: 6
Hutton Mugs in hold after deliveries: 4
Mrs Cat's happiness with my behaviour: low

Well done, furrycat! Welcome to the club.