The race
This race requires you to take off from Leopold Heckmann Ring in Malaikudi, buzz the nearby Imperial capital ship dock, visit three separate scientific/military installations at San Tu 4C, Izanagi A1 and LFT 1748 A2 (in whatever order seems best), fly to Evans Port in Parutis, buzz its Federal capital ship dock and then land.
At each of the three installations you are required to fly through at least one of the tunnels (flying through tunnels earns you a time bonus which is weighted according to the size of ship you're flying). You can optionally fly through up to 3 further tunnels per location to earn extra time bonuses.
Any type of tunnel will do as long as it has an entrance and an exit (flying into and then reversing back out of a blocked tunnel doesn't really count). You are permitted to fly through the same tunnel more than once, you can even pull a 180, reverse your momentum and fly straight back through the tunnel you just came out of (although this might not always be the fastest nor most satisfying route to take).
The race starts at 00:00 on Saturday 25th February 3303 and runs until midnight on Monday 6th March 3303 (in-game). You can run as many times as you like and submit as many race entries as you like (although the scoreboard will only show your best time).
Tunnel bonuses
You will earn a time bonus for your run based on a combination of ship mass (the MLF value taken from Coriolis) and the number of tunnels you fly through. This bonus will be subtracted from your elapsed race time to produce your final race time.
The bonus (in seconds) is calculated as (0.75 x MLF) per tunnel (including the compulsory first one) plus additional 5, 10 and 15 second bonuses for tackling the optional 2nd, 3rd and 4th tunnels.
Examples ..
A Python (MLF = 17) completes the course in 30m, managing all 4 tunnels at 2 of the sites but just 2 tunnels at the other (a total of 10 tunnels).
It's bonus is (0.75 x 17 x 10) + (5 + 10 + 15) + (5 + 10 + 15) + (5) = 192.5s.
It's final time will be 26m47s.
An Imperial Courier (MLF = 7) completes the course in 29m, managing all 4 tunnels at all 4 sites (a total of 12 tunnels).
It's bonus is (0.75 x 7 x 12) + (5 + 10 + 15) + (5 + 10 + 15) + (5 + 10 + 15) = 153s.
It's final time will be 26m27s.
It's bonus is (0.75 x 17 x 10) + (5 + 10 + 15) + (5 + 10 + 15) + (5) = 192.5s.
It's final time will be 26m47s.
An Imperial Courier (MLF = 7) completes the course in 29m, managing all 4 tunnels at all 4 sites (a total of 12 tunnels).
It's bonus is (0.75 x 7 x 12) + (5 + 10 + 15) + (5 + 10 + 15) + (5 + 10 + 15) = 153s.
It's final time will be 26m27s.
Basically I've tried (quite hard) to weight the results so that there's a decent (but not unbeatable) benefit to steering a larger ship through the tunnels should you be bold enough to try it. I honestly don't know if the really large ships will even fit (although I have a hunch
) but I've done a fair bit of testing with the Python vs. the iCourier and I'll just say that it's conceivable that a ship like the former could even win this race (for the first time in Buckyball history I think).Your race submission
Your race submission will need a pre-launch screenshot at Leopold Heckmann Ring (clearly showing the station clock), a post-landing screenshot at Evans port (again showing the station clock), two capital ship dock screenshots, plus screenshots taken inside each tunnel clearly showing the tunnel exit plus the HUD clock (top right), the system name (bottom left) and a positive forward speed.
This is what your capital ship dock screenshots should look like ..
Fly through any of the sections circled in red!
n.b. the red circles are for illustration only, you do not need to circle your own images.
Note: the following is not valid since it does not show the exit.
Note: the following is not valid since it does not show the exit.
The easiest and best way to submit evidence is to upload your screenshots to the free Imgur on-line image sharing service and send me a link to the album (I'd appreciate it if you could arrange the images in the correct order) and I guess the easiest way to submit video evidence would be to upload your video to Youtube and send me its URL.
Along with the link to your photographic evidence your submissions(s) should also include your commander name, game mode, ship type, the name of your ship, your elapsed time (which can be calculated here) and the number of tunnels you managed to complete at each of the three sites.
Example ..
Cmdr Alec Turner
Mode: Open
Ship type: Python
Ship name: The Call-out Charge
Time: 25:37
Tunnels: 4 + 4 + 4
Mode: Open
Ship type: Python
Ship name: The Call-out Charge
Time: 25:37
Tunnels: 4 + 4 + 4
Note: Only entries made in Open play will be eligible for the race leaderboard!
The "Win It or Bin It" joker card
Competitors can choose to play a "joker" card with their race submission in order to qualify for an additional time bonus. The run must be made in a ship without shields and the time bonus will be half of the remaining hull percentage as shown in the final landing screenshot (for example if you landed with 78% hull remaining then 39 seconds would be deducted from your final time). Use of the joker must be declared within 24hrs of the run itself and you can only play one joker per ship type.
Cheating
Since it's difficult to prove that you've really flown through the all tunnels you claim to have flown through (without making video evidence compulsory, which I'm not going to do) this race is especially susceptible to cheating. However, as there's no prize for winning other than the personal sense of pride you will feel for doing so, you really would only be cheating yourself. And that's all I have to say about that.
What do I do now?
The race starts on Saturday 25th Feb 3303. Until then you can read the rules, have a practice if you like, decide what ship(s) you're going to run in and by all means post in this thread to state your intention to take part and/or to ask any further questions.
Demonstration video
Note: order of installations shown in this video should not be taken as any indication of a decent route.
Alternatively, for a far more informative and "leisurely" introduction to the race ...
[SUB](thanks and credit to artigan99 for putting this together)[/SUB]
FAQ
Q) Are engineer mod's considered kosher for use in this race?
A) Yes - you may engineer the bejesus out of your ship if you like (it won't make you a better pilot you know!). Please note however that the use of Jumponium to boost your ship's jump range is strictly prohibited!
Q) Can we use SLFs? Please. Can we?
A) No. Sorry. You'll have to wait for superflyguy's new race - coming soon(TM).
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