Canyon Racers, do not despair

[Ronzer]

Hooning is about pushing yourself and your ship as hard as you can into places mentally and physically you’ve never been able. It’s freeform and it’s a blast.It’s like rallying in 3D without the pace notes, it’s like pure off piste skiing down some steep slopes. It’s about reactions and skill and the unknown. When it all clicks and you’re in the zone, it’s sublime.

It is definitely not about drifting and points though!

Racing is somewhat related (not speaking from personal experience) and can utilise same skills and technique to a degree, I understand.

Closest I’ve done to racing is in informal races around The Crucible ‘track’ on TZ Arietis, and actually it’s really awesome fun doing ‘laps’ using hooning techniques. Not sure it should be formalised as such but it could be cool to have more exposure of the informal ‘tracks’ in terms of notoriety.

To contradict myself a little though, I have been having a blast recently in CMDR Jukibom’s Fly Dangerous racetrack challenges.

You're right, but drifting probably didnt start as being about 'points' either, probably more about that feel, but skill develops and people watch, and voila, points/leagues.

But more importanly....haven't downloaded that yet. Is it a separate thing, or does it use ED?

 

[Vale Grumby]

I don't canyon race, but I explore. If by chance I happened to find, and even get first landing on, the planet that becomes the next racing hotspot I would really love it.

Post about this in the exploration forum https://forums.frontier.co.uk/forums/elite-dangerous-exploration/ and I bet you could get a lot of extra eyeballs looking for the perfect planet.

I did.

ATTENTION: All Elite Explorer CMDRs, The Hoon Hunters need your help!

Reddit thread TO ALL WILLING AND ABLE COMMANDERS: Are you the type of commander who explores the depths of the galaxy for that one great discovery? Are you a pilot who loves to find the diamond in the rough? Are you bored and have nothing else to do? Well then the Hoon Hunters of...

forums.frontier.co.uk

 

[Jeebs]

Alright, until we either find a suitable world or something gets changed to allow them to form again, I have an idea for a new sport for you guys: Frag Racing!

Use one of the "canyon" worlds that have been found, and make a track to race around. All racers fly shieldless and MUST remain inside the canyon even to pass. In a narrow enough section of canyons that will make things ridiculously dangerous since you'll be skimming the ground. Have some "referee" ships (with packhounds in all the hardpoints!) cruising around over the track and if anyone pops over the canyon, they get fragged! What do you think?

Kidding. It's late and I'm sleep deprived.

 

[general_zod]

I don't know much about canyon racing, but I stumbled across this canyon a few minutes ago.

 

[fishevi]

Ps4 cmdr here. Not a racer or dedicated explorer, I play around doing all kinds of stuff.
So Horizons is my game still, but...
I see changes, and not in a good way.
Whatever is FDev doing is also bleeding thru in Horizons.
Planet surfaces seem also flatter, lower elevations, few random geo sites I visited on random planets were all flat, empty, few geysers and that's it. Usually many geo sites were on rough, high or unaccessible terrain, but now all sites I visited are flat, empty of any bigger rocks, just mild elevation changes, barely enough for SRV jump.

Planets look different, ships look different, screenshots look different, lesser, cheaper...
Not happy about it.

 

[CMDR Sophie Joanne]

Hyades Sector BQ-Y D90 BC 1 - some very deep (up to 2KM), twisy, narrow canyons. I had fun in my Cobra

 

[here_it_comes]

These canyons might not be exactly what you were used to with Horizons, but surely this means that there is a chance there are canyon worlds out there.
View attachment 230992

That just flat-out is not a canyon.

 

[Ser Xav]

But more importanly....haven't downloaded that yet. Is it a separate thing, or does it use ED?

It’s a separate thing, see her sig for details, or google will help you get there

 

[Ronzer]

It’s a separate thing, see her sig for details, or google will help you get there

Ok, will check it out this weekend!

 

[CMDR Myrrhth]

Alright, until we either find a suitable world or something gets changed to allow them to form again, I have an idea for a new sport for you guys: Frag Racing!

Use one of the "canyon" worlds that have been found, and make a track to race around. All racers fly shieldless and MUST remain inside the canyon even to pass. In a narrow enough section of canyons that will make things ridiculously dangerous since you'll be skimming the ground. Have some "referee" ships (with packhounds in all the hardpoints!) cruising around over the track and if anyone pops over the canyon, they get fragged! What do you think?

Kidding. It's late and I'm sleep deprived.

Ha I had a similar idea: Rocket Tag. It's a two player game where you hoon through canyons or even just drag race over surface, but you can't take over the leader until you 'tag' him with a dumbfire (shields are required). At which point the chaser/chasee change places.

 

[jukibom]

Ha I had a similar idea: Rocket Tag. It's a two player game where you hoon through canyons or even just drag race over surface, but you can't take over the leader until you 'tag' him with a dumbfire (shields are required). At which point the chaser/chasee change places.

Ooooo I like the sound of this

ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵍᵒⁿⁿᵃ ᵖᵘᵗ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᵒⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ˡᶦˢᵗ

 

[CMDR Bausell]

Does anyone remember the “Desert” mode in Excitebike 64? Landed on a planet where I suspect that could actually be viable in SRVs. Just have people with beam lasers shooting straight down demarking on the ground where everyone’s next checkpoint is. Have the next person start shooting when the first comer reaches the checkpoint.

 

[Episparh]

LHS 200 4 D.



The screenshots are in close proximity to Dara Chemical Assembly. I am not a canyon racer but this one was at least 2 km deep and had others that were crossing it.

 

[Deleted member 121570]

LHS 200 4 D.

View attachment 234505View attachment 234506

The screenshots are in close proximity to Dara Chemical Assembly. I am not a canyon racer but this one was at least 2 km deep and had others that were crossing it.

Thanks for trying. Unfortunately that's pretty much as wide as it is deep and almost a straight line. No challenge there, sadly.

 

[Jeebs]

I'm still hunting, but I've left the bubble and I'm heading pretty far off the beaten path. At this point if I find anything worthwhile, it will require a fuel scoop or a carrier to reach it. Finding even one planet that had the right terrain would mean that there are others though, so I'll keep looking. I'm finding plenty of canyon terrain but it's never quite right. Either they're too shallow, too wide, too short and open up into a wide flat area or if they go on for a decent distance then they're basically just a straight line. For example:

Stuff like this looks promising until you get up close and realize that it's not quite right for hooning. If it turns out that the new planet tech can't generate the terrain you're after (I will concede that the terrain does look more realistic now) then it might be worth finding a planet that is covered with terrain that is as close to what you're looking for as possible and petition FDev to alter it slightly so that it would fit your needs. They could stick a visitor beacon around it and mark the planet as a geological anomaly or something.

If for whatever reason you want to go to the location of that screenshot, or you're just curious as to where it is...

 

[morphixx]

I posted this in the screenshot thread, but just found this. Dunno if this would be a good candidate but it's inside the bubble. When you fly into the settlement you'll see the terrain is pocked marked with switch back canyons, could easily be a canyon technical course, or a race if you string a few of them together, but ya I've never canyon raced so not sure if this is something that would work. But the canyons range from nice open sweepers to stuff that barely fit my ship.

Source: https://vimeo.com/557325007

 

[Cmnd Fulsom]

I think I found a pretty good canyon racing candidate, not sure where to post this aside from here but I vageuly remember people looking for canyon racing planets, now granted I don't do canyon racing and technically maybe this would be more a canyon technical course than a race. I noticed the terrain right away as you're flying into a nearby settlement, the terrain is pock marked with these snake like canyons, some of them are wider and more open, some of them as you see from the photos, like I could barely fit my cruiser through. I think theres a fun course to string from jumping one to another of these canyons, and some of the canyons stretch out for quite a distance as you can see from the photos. I dunno may be worth checking out. Oh also it's inside the bubble and has a nice atmosphere so racing could be pretty at the right time.

Source: https://vimeo.com/557325007
(tried taking a quick video of a short section, sorry about the terrible flying)

This looks promising.


Edit, I have been ninjad.



Stay Frosty,



Cmnd Fulsom

 

[Deleted member 121570]

I posted this in the screenshot thread, but just found this. Dunno if this would be a good candidate but it's inside the bubble. When you fly into the settlement you'll see the terrain is pocked marked with switch back canyons, could easily be a canyon technical course, or a race if you string a few of them together, but ya I've never canyon raced so not sure if this is something that would work. But the canyons range from nice open sweepers to stuff that barely fit my ship.

Source: https://vimeo.com/557325007

Thanks for looking!
Sadly, the hunt must continue, as this one doesn't work - it's far too shallow and small.
The vid is interesting though, in showing the floating rocks and stretched out walls. They've really ruined surfaces

 

[morphixx]

Thanks for looking!
Sadly, the hunt must continue, as this one doesn't work - it's far too shallow and small.
The vid is interesting though, in showing the floating rocks and stretched out walls. They've really ruined surfaces

Dang. I'd say the canyons on avg are about 500m~ or so, its just a lot of the S's are like two switch backs and than it crests up slightly before going down to another canyon set.

What would you say is the minimum avg height? like 1km?

 

[Ser Xav]

Imho, I’d say about 1-2km height is hoon worthy, but critically, it’s the tightness of the canyons and the complexity of the entwining spaces that makes it properly hoon-spec landscape. Height can be more, obviously, and is welcomed, but it’s the tightness of the side walls in terms of proximity, and the curvatures of the canyon spaces themselves, with the added variability of features such as spires and protrusions within those spaces.