Community Event / Creation Epic Type 9 Canyon Race on the 4th of Nov

[Ascorbius]

Hi Commanders,


I don't normally post announcements in here but there's something a bit special happening and We want you to take part if you feel so inclined.


On Sunday the 4th of November at 8pm GMT, We're racing Lakon Type 9's at full speed in a Canyon circuit on the wrinkly old world of Pomeche 2C. It's going to be extremely stupid and I dare say quite a few rebuys will be eaten that day.

I've put a video together which goes through the whole thing, so give it a watch and see if it tickles your fancy.

[video=youtube_share;gMyjirFejVo]https://youtu.be/gMyjirFejVo[/video]​

Join us on stream at www.twitch.tv/cmdrascorbius



To keep things fair, we've put an App together which calculates your scoring during the 3 lap race based on several factors including your velocity and your altitude. You see, the lower you go, the more points you receive.


The bands are as follows:

• Above 500m, 0.
• Above 100m, 1x velocity per second.
• Above 50m, 2x velocity per second.
• Above 10m, 5x velocity per second.
• 10m or below, 10x velocity per second.

This means you want to be flying as low and fast as you dare.

Your score will be sent to a central server where you'll appear on a leader-board.

The Rules

1. Lakon Type 9s only
2. Any engineering is allowed.
3. No weapons.
4. Stay within the bounds of the course.


Feel free to get the app and do as many practice runs as you like. We'll be clearing the board on Race Day before we start officially, but it'll be interesting to see how people get on.

You can get the app from my site https://www.ascorbius.com/type-9-race

It's likely that the app will be updated during the week before the race, so check back to see if it has been.

The event will take place during My live-stream on Sunday the 4th of November at 8pm.
If you want to be part of the roster of racers during the stream, let me know by filling in the form and I'll see about granting access to the Private Group.
Space is limited however, so make sure you fill in the entrance form. More on that in a second.


At the end of the race, we'll see who has the best score on the leader-board during the stream. The top 3 will get paint.


This isn't limited to those racing on the actual stream however, We realise that instancing will play a factor in the numbers of racers - so this race is open to anyone who wants to take part.

Remember though, the App will know who you are, where you are, whether you're out of bounds, how fast your going, your altitude, what ship your flying and your score. So the race should be fair. Just your skill and bravery will be the decider on race day.


Just make sure you fill in the entrance form to qualify for Prizes, which will be awarded at the end of the stream. https://goo.gl/forms/FprwpidoFT20scnD2


We're not just having a laugh with putting poor T9s through cruel and unusual punishment, We're doing this for charity too; Cancer has been a blight on the lives of people around me for the last couple of years, and as a friend or family member, there's little I've been able to do apart from being there for them. It's still very frustrating and I often feel powerless,
so I'm running a JustGiving campaign to raise money for Cancer Research UK.
I feel it's at least doing something to fight this horrible disease.


With that in mind, I'd like to offer a multi-crew seat on my Type 9 for the no-1 donor.

They'll be able to sit in the ship while I tear it around the race track as low and fast as I dare. Alternatively, they can sit on one of the enforcers' ships while they make sure everyone follows the rules.


We're trying to raise £4000 - That money will go to helping in the fight against cancer. So if you can, please consider donating.

So thanks for taking the time to read this, I hope that it's something you're interested in.

Have a good time, and fly aimless

Ascorbius

 

[CMDR DAVID187]

Hi Commanders,


I don't normally post announcements in here but there's something a bit special happening and We want you to take part if you feel so inclined.


On Sunday the 4th of November at 8pm GMT, We're racing Lakon Type 9's at full speed in a Canyon circuit on the wrinkly old world of Pomeche 2C. It's going to be extremely stupid and I dare say quite a few rebuys will be eaten that day.

I've put a video together which goes through the whole thing, so give it a watch and see if it tickles your fancy.





Join us on stream at www.twitch.tv/cmdrascorbius



To keep things fair, we've put an App together which calculates your scoring during the 3 lap race based on several factors including your velocity and your altitude. You see, the lower you go, the more points you receive.


The bands are as follows:

• Above 500m, 0.
• Above 100m, 1x velocity per second.
• Above 50m, 2x velocity per second.
• Above 10m, 5x velocity per second.
• 10m or below, 10x velocity per second.

This means you want to be flying as low and fast as you dare.

Your score will be sent to a central server where you'll appear on a leader-board.

The Rules

1. Lakon Type 9s only
2. Any engineering is allowed.
3. No weapons.
4. Stay within the bounds of the course.


Feel free to get the app and do as many practice runs as you like. We'll be clearing the board on Race Day before we start officially, but it'll be interesting to see how people get on.

You can get the app from my site https://www.ascorbius.com/type-9-race

It's likely that the app will be updated during the week before the race, so check back to see if it has been.

The event will take place during My live-stream on Sunday the 4th of November at 8pm.
If you want to be part of the roster of racers during the stream, let me know by filling in the form and I'll see about granting access to the Private Group.
Space is limited however, so make sure you fill in the entrance form. More on that in a second.


At the end of the race, we'll see who has the best score on the leader-board during the stream. The top 3 will get paint.


This isn't limited to those racing on the actual stream however, We realise that instancing will play a factor in the numbers of racers - so this race is open to anyone who wants to take part.

Remember though, the App will know who you are, where you are, whether you're out of bounds, how fast your going, your altitude, what ship your flying and your score. So the race should be fair. Just your skill and bravery will be the decider on race day.


Just make sure you fill in the entrance form to qualify for Prizes, which will be awarded at the end of the stream. https://goo.gl/forms/FprwpidoFT20scnD2


We're not just having a laugh with putting poor T9s through cruel and unusual punishment, We're doing this for charity too; Cancer has been a blight on the lives of people around me for the last couple of years, and as a friend or family member, there's little I've been able to do apart from being there for them. It's still very frustrating and I often feel powerless,
so I'm running a JustGiving campaign to raise money for Cancer Research UK.
I feel it's at least doing something to fight this horrible disease.


With that in mind, I'd like to offer a multi-crew seat on my Type 9 for the no-1 donor.

They'll be able to sit in the ship while I tear it around the race track as low and fast as I dare. Alternatively, they can sit on one of the enforcers' ships while they make sure everyone follows the rules.


We're trying to raise £4000 - That money will go to helping in the fight against cancer. So if you can, please consider donating.

So thanks for taking the time to read this, I hope that it's something you're interested in.

Have a good time, and fly aimless

Ascorbius

In open you would get a lot more cmdrs there, also griefers but i think the good people will out weigh griefers and keep them in check also it would be a lot less hassle with forms and entry. turn up in a t9 and lets race!

Make it easier and more people will go.

 

[Kilostream]

.....I dare say quite a few rebuys will be eaten that day.....

I've eaten two already and that's just practice!

 

[pressy]

In open you would get a lot more cmdrs there, also griefers but i think the good people will out weigh griefers and keep them in check also it would be a lot less hassle with forms and entry. turn up in a t9 and lets race!

Make it easier and more people will go.

Open would be nice if it weren't for the instancing issues. The fix / redisign of it would make events like this more fun. I for sure would be there as spectator.

 

[Florenus]

I was 9th at the finish line.
I dare say, THE most appropriate place in T9 race

 

[Kilostream]

I was second over the line but sixth under the scoring system - well done to those who read the rules properly, and thanks Scorb and support crew for organising a fun thing to do in a worthy cause!

P.S. I watched the stream back to check where I finished, and someone called Syburslia crossed the line first - I didn't see him so guess we were in different instances, which is a shame because he and I were swapping positions and scores all the way through, and stayed close on the map - It would have been excellent to have been able to see that unfolding out the window! (Even though, as history now records, I lost!)

 

[Syburslai]

I was second over the line but sixth under the scoring system - well done to those who read the rules properly, and thanks Scorb and support crew for organising a fun thing to do in a worthy cause!

P.S. I watched the stream back to check where I finished, and someone called Syburslia crossed the line first - I didn't see him so guess we were in different instances, which is a shame because he and I were swapping positions and scores all the way through, and stayed close on the map - It would have been excellent to have been able to see that unfolding out the window! (Even though, as history now records, I lost!)

Wow, I didn't realize that I was first to cross the finish line. I've been meaning to re-watch the stream (had it on while racing, but was using a HMD), but I haven't had time. I ended up running in solo, I started in open, but the one other guy that was in there when I popped in dropped out and I didn't want to be the only potential (and very large) target if someone wanted to be heinous. I agree, it would have been cool running in the same instance, it would have increased the intensity of the race 10-fold. As it was, I think I had a bit of an advantage not having to worry about the other racers on the track. Still, it was an awesome race and very fun.

Thanks to you Ascorbius and your team for putting on such great and novel event. I've only been playing ED since last January and this was the first time I've participated in anything community-sponsored. Adds a whole new dimension to the game. It also gave me an appreciation for the Type-9 I would have never gotten otherwise; she's a much better ship than her numbers let on once engineered to the 9's and flying her in VR 20-some feet off of the ground (and a couple times 0 feet) was exhilarating. I won't be selling her back as I originally had planned.

 

[Kilostream]

Wow, I didn't realize that I was first to cross the finish line. I've been meaning to re-watch the stream (had it on while racing, but was using a HMD), but I haven't had time.

Argh! There's only one person on the planet I could've spoilered that for and you read my post!! Honestly though, no-one else will be interested, but you should watch it back and keep half an eye on your and my scores/positions and where we are on the map - we had a good, close race there!

....It also gave me an appreciation for the Type-9 I would have never gotten otherwise; she's a much better ship than her numbers let on once engineered to the 9's I won't be selling her back as I originally had planned....

Hah! I had exactly the same plan - nick existing engineered modules off other ships and re-fit them afterward and sell the hull.

Then I flew it.

Now it's got it's own engineered modules and it's staying in my fleet.

It's a weird experience, isn't it? At first it's this drifty, wallowing nightmare and you bump into everything, then you engineer it and light-weight/undersize everything as far as possible and it's still a drifty wallowing nightmare and you still bump into everything, and then something clicks in your brain that it's a hovercraft and not a spaceship, and you have to do everything early - once you kinda calibrate and automate your reactions to it, it actually becomes a kinda zen experience, the less you think about it, the better it flies - I am totally, utterly sold on Type-9 canyon racing*, it is nowhere near as stupid an idea as it sounds!

*Although Scorb, I'd suggest a slight rebalancing - 10m for the 10x muliplier encourages slow (and less exciting!) footage - If you had 1kmx1, 500mx2, 100mx5 and 50m x10, it gives a lot more realistic margin-for-error for pilots to get the full bonus, taking maximum risk, whilst still being balls-out full speed - Especially now we've been shown how to win under these rules, a repeat event could be (literally) a race to the bottom!

 

[Ascorbius]

I'm really glad you enjoyed the race I've got ideas for the next version of the app. The app allowed racers to work across modes and instances - which was a good thing as instancing was a problem on the day. But we had over 20 racers running the track across a variety of modes and groups. Given that there were so many components to the race, The App, the Widgets, the Server code, the instancing, the multi-crew camera - I'll be honest, I was bricking it Thankfully it all worked and we had a great event.

When it comes to the race rules, I did consider the slow and steady approach to the race, which is why I built a minimum speed of 100m/s into the app already. Anyone flying slower than that doesn't score.
Given the speeds we were travelling at, it would probably be OK to have upped that to 200.
I'm considering timed stages for the next version, Sega Rally style That'll keep the pressure on.

It makes me happy that you guys are keeping your T9's I'm a bit of a fan of them truth be told, while they are lumbering behemoths, there's a grace to them and they're epicly versatile. I also think they're amazing looking.

I'll also say a massive thank you to everyone who donated to the charity drive. We raised a staggering £1352 for Cancer Research, I'm so blown away by the generosity I saw. It's amazing.

You guys are amazing.

Scorb

 

[Kilostream]

And to think, with the stream, the app, the server code, the widgets, the instancing, the multi-crew camera....a whole phalanx of places with potential for some fairly technical things to go wrong, and in the end it was nothing more complicated than some clot gracelessly failing to avoid a cliff that cut off the in-race footage!

Sorry, that was mean of me! I loved the event, I'm loving your energy and ideas for future events, and of course now you know there are at least two type-9s out there, loved but stripped-out and with no use other than racing, you'd be a cruel man to get us hooked and then cut off our supply!
Wouldnt it be cool if one day there was an annual race series championship over a month or so, with say 4 races per series, one a week, of which Pomeche was just one track?

Anyway that's just a feverish dream, but again, I doff my cap to you for putting this event together, first-rate effort!

 

[Ascorbius]

And to think, with the stream, the app, the server code, the widgets, the instancing, the multi-crew camera....a whole phalanx of places with potential for some fairly technical things to go wrong, and in the end it was nothing more complicated than some clot gracelessly failing to avoid a cliff that cut off the in-race footage!

Yeah, Guilty as charged :/ sorry. I got so into the race that I kinda forgot my duties to the cameraman.. still, it was very exciting taking the dangerous path.

For future events, I need to find a way to make creating races easier. Something that other people can use to define courses, for the community to play them and then we can have a library of race tracks for people to get stuck into. I have some ideas, but I'll need to get a team working on it.

Btw, we're now up to £1852 - I'm blown away!

 

[Alec Turner]

Might seem a bit cheeky since I wasn't involved but (with his permission) I just wanted to post Jon Stone's awesome video of the canyon race here so I can link to it from my stickied Best of Forum thread.

[video=youtube_share;LNFXeWInf4U]https://youtu.be/LNFXeWInf4U[/video]