If you are truly insane, you'll go with the FdL and embrace the huge W&T bill
I took my FDL to Hutton, was only 1.75 million W&T.
I'd probably do considerably less SC on my way to Sagittarius.
Community Event / Creation Buckyball Run A*: What do you do when a mountain is there? Move it.
- Thread starter ElectricZ
- Start date
- Status
I took my FDL to Hutton, was only 1.75 million W&T.
I'd probably do considerably less SC on my way to Sagittarius.
I've had a rare flash of common sense - I hit a bad patch of unscoopable stars a little way outside Pratchett's Disc, looked at my rate of progress and decided that spending the next several months nursing the Ferdy further and not being able to do anything else isn't my cup of tea. So I'm heading home. ElectricZ, you were right, not everyone will make it, and I've fallen at the first hurdle. Best of luck to anyone silly enough to fly a slow ship all that way!
Best of luck to anyone silly enough to fly a slow ship all that way!
Another day, another Big Board...
First off, 'grats to Allitnil on his successful independent run to Sag A* in his Cobra Ronceveux of 5.5 days, giving FoxTwo something to aim for. Welcome aboard to four returning Buckyballers whi clearly don't know what's good for 'em. Tuna Mage in a the Cobra Ophiophagus Hannah, and two Asps that will clearly pose no threat to my soon-to-be-record-setting run come Saturday. CMDR Raiko, in the Nomad fresh from the Buckyball 7, and CMDR Kligg in the Grey Mullet. Raiko, Kligg, now is the perfect time to let you in on a little secret. It turns out, Asps fly further and faster the MORE mass you put in them. So load up on lots of E class equipment and consider carrying eighty or so tons of gold with you on the trip. It'll do wonders for your time!
And finally, we have CMDR Jackie Silver, veteran of six Buckyballs going back to the first, who sadly is also our first DNF of the race. Jackie, Jackie, Jackie... You always bring something new to the start line, but I had a bad feeling that the Fer-de-Lance wasn't going to be able to hack it. But if anybody could pull it off, it was gonna be you. o7
FoxTwo? How's it going? Got any hair left or are you down to scalp?
It's entirely possible this race was on the drawing board, but Bucky just wasn't convinced anyone would be stup- I mean, brave enough to actually, you know, do it. So if anybody really feels like blaming anybody for this, it's Anuranium. He made the dream real. (and Bucky loves him for it!)
Now that's a man with a plan! Wait, did you say Asp? Wouldn't you be more comfortable in a hauler? Remember the ol' Explodes on Contact? Good times...
Me too, now that you mention it. I have this fuzzy recollection of you and I filling up someone's cockpit with ping pong balls. Does that ring a bell?
It'll be very interesting to see. The Hauler edged out the Asp in short-endurance runs. Can it take 'em on long distance? By the way if the answer is "yes" then remember you need more mass to go faster and further. Much more.
Paging CMDR Silver... CMDR Jackie Silver.
I do hope you drop by the thread from time to time to point and laugh at the rest of us silly fools. And remember, there's no deadline to this race. You decide you want to try it again, Sag A* and the leaderboard will be waiting.
UPDATE: CMDR Kligg is 9 hours/18,000 light years in and reporting difficulty with his route planner... Stay tuned for updates!
First off, 'grats to Allitnil on his successful independent run to Sag A* in his Cobra Ronceveux of 5.5 days, giving FoxTwo something to aim for.
Welcome aboard to four returning Buckyballers whi clearly don't know what's good for 'em. Tuna Mage in a the Cobra Ophiophagus Hannah, and two Asps that will clearly pose no threat to my soon-to-be-record-setting run come Saturday. CMDR Raiko, in the Nomad fresh from the Buckyball 7, and CMDR Kligg in the Grey Mullet. Raiko, Kligg, now is the perfect time to let you in on a little secret. It turns out, Asps fly further and faster the MORE mass you put in them. So load up on lots of E class equipment and consider carrying eighty or so tons of gold with you on the trip. It'll do wonders for your time!And finally, we have CMDR Jackie Silver, veteran of six Buckyballs going back to the first, who sadly is also our first DNF of the race. Jackie, Jackie, Jackie... You always bring something new to the start line, but I had a bad feeling that the Fer-de-Lance wasn't going to be able to hack it. But if anybody could pull it off, it was gonna be you. o7
FoxTwo? How's it going? Got any hair left or are you down to scalp?
It's entirely possible this race was on the drawing board, but Bucky just wasn't convinced anyone would be stup- I mean, brave enough to actually, you know, do it. So if anybody really feels like blaming anybody for this, it's Anuranium. He made the dream real. (and Bucky loves him for it!
) Haha... Fortunately it's less of that, and more that the exploration trip started by me doing a run in the Asp will hopefully fund the exploration Anaconda
Now that's a man with a plan! Wait, did you say Asp? Wouldn't you be more comfortable in a hauler? Remember the ol' Explodes on Contact? Good times...
Me too, now that you mention it. I have this fuzzy recollection of you and I filling up someone's cockpit with ping pong balls. Does that ring a bell?
It'll be very interesting to see. The Hauler edged out the Asp in short-endurance runs. Can it take 'em on long distance? By the way if the answer is "yes" then remember you need more mass to go faster and further. Much more.
If you are truly insane, you'll go with the FdL and embrace the huge W&T bill
Paging CMDR Silver... CMDR Jackie Silver.
I've had a rare flash of common sense - I hit a bad patch of unscoopable stars a little way outside Pratchett's Disc, looked at my rate of progress and decided that spending the next several months nursing the Ferdy further and not being able to do anything else isn't my cup of tea. So I'm heading home. ElectricZ, you were right, not everyone will make it, and I've fallen at the first hurdle.
I do hope you drop by the thread from time to time to point and laugh at the rest of us silly fools. And remember, there's no deadline to this race. You decide you want to try it again, Sag A* and the leaderboard will be waiting.
UPDATE: CMDR Kligg is 9 hours/18,000 light years in and reporting difficulty with his route planner... Stay tuned for updates!
Last edited:
According to the screenshot of the Galaxy Map, 24.07 LY on full tank
But I know I've jumped 25.xx LY when at less than half-tank...FoxTwo? How's it going? Got any hair left or are you down to scalp?
I shoulda gone full Vin Diesel for this one
Naw, I'm ok... it's just really boring doing chain-jumps for thousands of light years. I should have brought along a PSB or something. Someone should have stuck a warning label on this race - WARNING! ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BUT NOT PROVIDED or something along those lines. Bucky needs to fire someone for sure.
I have video evidence!
[video=youtube;TwBNXKq1Nko]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwBNXKq1Nko[/video]
well it was all going to plan till 18000 ly, at 9 hrs...its got slower and slower to calculate the jumps.. .now im just looking at the route planner.. trying to go a bit further and its taken 10 mins so far to calculate 800 ly jump. curse you machine!, theres way too many stars out here.. im just filtering A type .. and even then.. its 1 fps.
Last edited:
According to the screenshot of the Galaxy Map, 24.07 LY on full tank
Here's where I'm torn. If I bring an advanced discovery scanner and a detail surface scanner, it brings me down to 26.33 LY full fuel and 29.31 LY empty. But I will at least be able to make some money scanning stuff on the way home.
On the flip side, if I don't bring the scanners, I can carry Auto Field Maintenance Kits (which will increase my odds of actually making it in one piece) and my jump range will be 29.64 full and 33.60 empty. Which should make for less zigzagging and an overall substantially faster pace.
I'm not sure which is the better option. The AFMU's was my original plan, because I really wanted to see how fast I could get there... but there's that voice in the back of my head that says "If you go all the way out there and don't scan anything, you're gonna regret it."
Not that I should help the competition, but there was a thread on the subject of route planning at the core... Apparently switching to "realistic" view helps - a little. From what I understand, your best bet is to plot one or two jumps at a time.
Good luck, CMDR... I'll update you as in transit on the board!
And good news, everyone! Our resident photographer is getting to Sag A* so he can be in position to take pictures when we saunter in a few days from now!
that does help thx Ez, took the plan time down from 15mins to 3. im off pace now having lost 30 mins to planning. currently 11 hrs in 20300 ly out from sol.. maybe I can claw some back. nnngggggggg!!!!!
edit:- wow really wish I knew about that 4 hrs ago, that's the trick. really counter intuitive.. runs like treacle with no stars showing in nav.. but its pretty smooth with all of them on in realistic.
Last edited:
Wait, you're in a Asp aren't you?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO switch the view back to the way it was!! Put every filter you can on the map and switch it to max resolution!
You know how to make it go faster? Go to the right hand menu and click "self destruct." If you wait until the countdown reaches 29 seconds exactly before aborting, it opens up a special 10,000 LY route planner. Give that a shot!
Me and my big mouth.
EDIT: was gonna try and stay up to record your time since you're pretty close but that darn day job is waiting around the corner and I'm supposed to be awake for it. Hope the routing issue doesn't torpedo your time (too much
)... I look forward to seeing your results in the morning. Good luck, Kligg!
Last edited:
Oh holy hell, this is nuts! I'm SO in on this! I don't know when I'll be able to run, but I'll certainly as hell try to get it done! Let's do this!
CMDR Name: Nomake Wan
Ship Name: Bustgunner
Ship Class: Asp
I love Rankaze's spirit (and his choice of ship name!). I, for one, plan to visit the supermassive BH in a ship named after a giant robot famous for being destroyed in that very same black hole. Yes, this is a very good idea indeed.
CMDR Name: Nomake Wan
Ship Name: Bustgunner
Ship Class: Asp
I love Rankaze's spirit (and his choice of ship name!). I, for one, plan to visit the supermassive BH in a ship named after a giant robot famous for being destroyed in that very same black hole. Yes, this is a very good idea indeed.
So close and yet so far... 12hrs 30 , 23,300ly depressed face, melty eyes.
really thought I could give anuranium a run for his time, but the route planning has really done me up like a kipper!
been plotting a 300 ly jump for 8 mins now. ;(
EDIT:- 9mins30 and were off again.. im dreading route planning now. but its nearly over.. or is it.. must resist self destruct!
EDIT:- Im there, 14hrs 43 minutes 5 seconds. mixed emotions.. hurt and ashamed, guilty, happy...
crazy route planner, the last 600 ly took 10 seconds. I tried to figure out how to make it do it quicker but failed. spent a good while just jumping 2 jumps.
ill post up some more details and some pics after ive had a chance to recover a bit , it all went a bit epic frustration towards the end. but im glad its over.
really thought I could give anuranium a run for his time, but the route planning has really done me up like a kipper!
been plotting a 300 ly jump for 8 mins now. ;(
EDIT:- 9mins30 and were off again.. im dreading route planning now. but its nearly over.. or is it.. must resist self destruct!
EDIT:- Im there, 14hrs 43 minutes 5 seconds. mixed emotions.. hurt and ashamed, guilty, happy...
crazy route planner, the last 600 ly took 10 seconds. I tried to figure out how to make it do it quicker but failed. spent a good while just jumping 2 jumps.
ill post up some more details and some pics after ive had a chance to recover a bit , it all went a bit epic frustration towards the end. but im glad its over.
Last edited:
Oh I remember, believe me
However, I also remember the ship I originally entered into BBR6, before quickly realising that medium pads were not a good plan when you actually needed to stop at stations... No problems like that this time around, so Big Bird shall rise again!
I, uh... Nah, I don't think we'd do anything like th-
Huh. Well look at that.
Anyhow, I shall officially register, even though I may be in the pre-flight drinking section for a while...
CMDR Name: Alot
Ship Type: Asp
Ship Name: Big Bird
Last edited:
Hats off to you, sir. Even though you didn't beat my time, you came uncomfortably close. And remember that the Asp has a shorter jumprange than the Anaconda.
Again, well done! Now relax, enjoy the core and all it's marvels. You truly deserve it
Fly safe!
Last edited:
OK, I've got things sorted now. Here's my official entry:
CMDR Name: Henry Passionfruit
Ship Type: Cobra Mk3
Ship Name: ?SYNTAX ERROR
Except... I started a bit drunk.
Can I name my starting point as Cady City, No Chianga at UMT11:17:15 11Apr3301? Technically, starboard airlock #2 of the Shotgun Shine at some point before UMT0:0:0 on 12Apr3301?
I have pictures to prove it; the Cady City part anyway, mercifully my attorney "lost" the camera somewhere between the Shotgun Shine and the ?SYNTAX ERROR.
My current location is Pyraleau FO-E B58-9, which is closer to Sol than No Chianga by about 100Ly, so I started from further away. I have my full jump logs to verify times and dates (RL: I have tracked my flight log in Slopey's ED BPC for the entire trip so far), and I have handicapped myself by plotting under the very heavy influence of Onionhead (the real stuff, not that Lucan rubbish), Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters, and good old fashioned Old Earth Gin. My copilot was no use at all; she is inflatable after all. Thus I found myself 1000Ly below the galactic ecliptic, and 1,500Ly widdershins of the 'rhumb line'* to Sagittarius A*.
(RL: I've just shut down ED for dinner, I'll get the actual distances when I log back in later)
Can I still be official? Can I? Can I? Can I? Pleeeease? I want that shiny star!
I promise** I'l fly right back and do the whole damn thing over in a Sidewinder.
* real thing. Not a drink. Why do I keep thinking of drinks?
** once someone invents a 1,000Ly range FSD that will fit in one.
CMDR Name: Henry Passionfruit
Ship Type: Cobra Mk3
Ship Name: ?SYNTAX ERROR
Except... I started a bit drunk.
Can I name my starting point as Cady City, No Chianga at UMT11:17:15 11Apr3301? Technically, starboard airlock #2 of the Shotgun Shine at some point before UMT0:0:0 on 12Apr3301?
I have pictures to prove it; the Cady City part anyway, mercifully my attorney "lost" the camera somewhere between the Shotgun Shine and the ?SYNTAX ERROR.
My current location is Pyraleau FO-E B58-9, which is closer to Sol than No Chianga by about 100Ly, so I started from further away. I have my full jump logs to verify times and dates (RL: I have tracked my flight log in Slopey's ED BPC for the entire trip so far), and I have handicapped myself by plotting under the very heavy influence of Onionhead (the real stuff, not that Lucan rubbish), Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters, and good old fashioned Old Earth Gin. My copilot was no use at all; she is inflatable after all. Thus I found myself 1000Ly below the galactic ecliptic, and 1,500Ly widdershins of the 'rhumb line'* to Sagittarius A*.
(RL: I've just shut down ED for dinner, I'll get the actual distances when I log back in later)
Can I still be official? Can I? Can I? Can I? Pleeeease? I want that shiny star!
I promise** I'l fly right back and do the whole damn thing over in a Sidewinder.
* real thing. Not a drink. Why do I keep thinking of drinks?
** once someone invents a 1,000Ly range FSD that will fit in one.
Hats off to you, sir. Even though you didn't beat my time, you came uncomfortably close. And remember that the Asp has a shorter jumprange than the Anaconda.
Again, well done! Now relax, enjoy the core and all it's marvels. You truly deserve it
Thank you Anuranium.
Earth to sadge wasn't so much an endurance test as a test of cpu power,
the grey mullet didn't let me down but I think maybe my cpu did ;(
pic of trip:-
some notes I made:-
I think scooping and jumping I was on track. id ran a few jump tests going for 30 mins and an hour.. and probably naively thought if I can do 2100 ly in an hour I stood a good chance of getting 26000 done in 12.5hrs.
I was averaging 34 ly a jump
around 18000 my planner started really slowing down on the 1000ly jump calcs. and it just got slower and slower.. I refused to do little jumps , which is what I should have done.. and pressed on with 300 ly jumps. EZ telling me about the realistic map view speeding things up a little helped.. I think. and the calc times came down. but I spent a lot of time thinking, 'it says plotting route 99% and its been on that for a minute now.. it cant really mean 99%'
space madness kicked in about 23000 ly and I nearly hit a star after coming back in from making a cuppa. on the subject of scooping I was worried about it at the start.. but was making good time and scooping at 750 with a B6 I didn't think was too slow, I didn't need the shields really and regretted taking them. even though that was just a couple of tons. I ended on 99% hull , after the one slip up emergency stop into a dwarf. I also didn't need the single heat sink I took.
I was averaging 34 ly a jump
around 18000 my planner started really slowing down on the 1000ly jump calcs. and it just got slower and slower.. I refused to do little jumps , which is what I should have done.. and pressed on with 300 ly jumps. EZ telling me about the realistic map view speeding things up a little helped.. I think.
and the calc times came down. but I spent a lot of time thinking, 'it says plotting route 99% and its been on that for a minute now.. it cant really mean 99%'space madness kicked in about 23000 ly and I nearly hit a star after coming back in from making a cuppa. on the subject of scooping I was worried about it at the start.. but was making good time and scooping at 750 with a B6 I didn't think was too slow, I didn't need the shields really and regretted taking them. even though that was just a couple of tons. I ended on 99% hull , after the one slip up emergency stop into a dwarf. I also didn't need the single heat sink I took.
its hutton orbital for you sunshine!
I thought about doing it in a cobra.. but the jump range meant I was well off the fastest time on my tests. I then tried some tests in a T6 and they were better but still far from competitive.
the asp however I thought I could make a decent stab at the time. if you cant make 2000 ly in an hour then I think you are racing for class...and theres no shame in that.. I just worry about the time itll take. pack sandwichs and fetch a bucket
the asp however I thought I could make a decent stab at the time. if you cant make 2000 ly in an hour then I think you are racing for class...and theres no shame in that.. I just worry about the time itll take. pack sandwichs and fetch a bucket
Last edited:
Update: sorry, I forgot to include my in-game name in this post, it's Cmdr Marx.
Here's my entry for when I've been to Sagittarius A* earlier. So, this one is for the unofficial part.
I did the run in an Imperial Clipper. Started out on Mar 19, 17:33:16 from Yorates, a Federal system near the Founder's system. Picture as proof:
I originally planned to start from Shinrarta, but soon after I did, I realised that I still had a Federal bounty to pay off, so stopped at a nearby Federal system to do that.
I got to Sagittarius A* on Mar 30, as evidenced by the screenshots in my post in the visitor's list. As it turns out, I narrowly missed Cmdr Jeffrey Stoob, who entered the system just as I was charging my FSD to jump out. Also, something interesting from my log: it took me 1089 jumps to get there.
Finally, I came back to populated space at 78 Ursae Majoris on Apr 7, 19:41:48. Picture as proof:
Oh, and my ship's name is "Gulliverkli 7", and my quote for the guestbook then: "Your move, Jeb."
For anyone who's interested, here's my ship's loadout at the time:
Missing from the picture is an Advanced Discovery Scanner, and one Heat Sink Launcher.
Here's my entry for when I've been to Sagittarius A* earlier. So, this one is for the unofficial part.
I did the run in an Imperial Clipper. Started out on Mar 19, 17:33:16 from Yorates, a Federal system near the Founder's system. Picture as proof:
I got to Sagittarius A* on Mar 30, as evidenced by the screenshots in my post in the visitor's list. As it turns out, I narrowly missed Cmdr Jeffrey Stoob, who entered the system just as I was charging my FSD to jump out. Also, something interesting from my log: it took me 1089 jumps to get there.
Finally, I came back to populated space at 78 Ursae Majoris on Apr 7, 19:41:48. Picture as proof:
Oh, and my ship's name is "Gulliverkli 7", and my quote for the guestbook then: "Your move, Jeb."
For anyone who's interested, here's my ship's loadout at the time:
Last edited:
One thing I have noticed and am contemplating trying once I've saved up for a new 'conda for my next run out there...
Fit cargo holds in unused slots.
Untick both efficient and fastest route checkboxes in galaxy map.
This allows you to adjust the slider on jump distance, to achieve a balance between range and efficiency - so instead of burning your entire reserve in 3 jumps, you can do say 6 jumps at 80% of your max range.
This of course means fewer refuelling stops...
Fit cargo holds in unused slots.
Untick both efficient and fastest route checkboxes in galaxy map.
This allows you to adjust the slider on jump distance, to achieve a balance between range and efficiency - so instead of burning your entire reserve in 3 jumps, you can do say 6 jumps at 80% of your max range.
This of course means fewer refuelling stops...
Yeah, theres a sweet spot. and I didn't find it.
but I think that route calc time was my downfall and the Asp could have done it.. my pc couldn't handle it. I think I lost 2 hrs to plotting badly.
it was eratic.. sometimes itd take 5 mins to plot 100 ly, then the last 600 took 10 seconds. I tried lots of combinations of only plotting with a full tank.. or half a tank.. next to the star or in deep space.. clicking home after calculating I think worked once.. though it could have been a fluke. id have got away with it if it wasn't for that pesky nav computer!
it was eratic.. sometimes itd take 5 mins to plot 100 ly, then the last 600 took 10 seconds. I tried lots of combinations of only plotting with a full tank.. or half a tank.. next to the star or in deep space.. clicking home after calculating I think worked once.. though it could have been a fluke. id have got away with it if it wasn't for that pesky nav computer!
Last edited:
its hutton orbital for you sunshine!
Well, I'm still headed there. I don't think anyone has taken an original Cobra there yet. Cobras? Yes, plenty. But an original '85 model? I haven't seen one.
When I return with my millions in star
Speaking of Cat, look what I found a few nights ago: a 'Cat's Eye' - twin closely orbiting black holes
Last edited:
- Status