So you just have finished Chicken Run: Crash Harder and think it can't get any worse? Well, then you can already prepare yourself mentally for the next race in the Magic 8-Ball series:
Mischief Mile: Rebooted
27th of August - 4th of September 3308
Tepech - Fuelum - LHS 3719 - NLTT 48288 - Mirateje
For a preparation, you might want to dive into ancient history and check out the original race thread. Our chairman even dug up a video from this race where the BRC educated Ed about racing:
Now, back in 3301, the world was still simple. Men were still men, women were still women, and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were still small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri. Using a modern ship (like a DBX or a Phantom) with a Guardian booster and a pre-engineered FSD would make this race pretty much meaningless, so we'll run this as a classic race: only equipment that was available in 3301 will be permissible. That means no Guardians and no engineering allowed. Otherwise, a few ships (list to follow) will also get a restriction regarding the permissible tank size (i.e. yo will need to use a smaller than default tank on the AspX, DBX, both Kraits, Beluga, Orca). For some ships this was already the rule in 3301, some others weren't even available back then or received a design change since then.
In the original race, there were two podiums - one for "Regulars" and one for "Crazies", with the option to gain additional bragging rights by supplying the Rats with Snickers (in the form of limpets). The issue here is that, for the 8-Ball championship races, I need to condense all this into a single leaderboard (ok, two - one for "Classic unlimited", the other for "Regulation Cobra"). So, taking the few data points available in the old race as a baseline, there will be two bonuses (boni?):
Now, back in 3301, the world was still simple. Men were still men, women were still women, and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were still small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri. Using a modern ship (like a DBX or a Phantom) with a Guardian booster and a pre-engineered FSD would make this race pretty much meaningless, so we'll run this as a classic race: only equipment that was available in 3301 will be permissible. That means no Guardians and no engineering allowed. Otherwise, a few ships (list to follow) will also get a restriction regarding the permissible tank size (i.e. yo will need to use a smaller than default tank on the AspX, DBX, both Kraits, Beluga, Orca). For some ships this was already the rule in 3301, some others weren't even available back then or received a design change since then.
In the original race, there were two podiums - one for "Regulars" and one for "Crazies", with the option to gain additional bragging rights by supplying the Rats with Snickers (in the form of limpets). The issue here is that, for the 8-Ball championship races, I need to condense all this into a single leaderboard (ok, two - one for "Classic unlimited", the other for "Regulation Cobra"). So, taking the few data points available in the old race as a baseline, there will be two bonuses (boni?):
As with most Buckyball races, the basic premise is simple. In this case, fly from one side of the Bubble to the other. To be exact, from Tepech to Mirateje (or the other way round), a mere hop of 344 ly.
Also, as in most Buckyball races, there's a catch. In this case, two of them:
- no fuel scoops
- no additional fuel tanks
Ships
Yes, you all know which ships we got in ED. For this race, you will have the choice between three ship classes:- the (by now) well known regulation Cobra - with one minor change: you're going to have to store the fuel scoop somewhere2. No scoop, even in regulation class
- Fuel Rat Classics: those are ships that could make the trip without too much refuelling. For some of them (note the yellow text), this means reducing the maximum fuel capacity to the value indicated in the table below. Again, no scoop, no engineering or Guardian modules.
- Fuel Rat Crazies: of course. Those are ships where you will have to manage your fuel very carefully. Apart from that, the same restrictions as with the Classics apply.
Ship Loadout
The regulation Cobra's loadout is of course fixed2. For all other ships:- no fuel scoop
- maximum fuel capacity according to the above list (i.e. the default tank, no extras, for most of the ships and a reduced main tank with a small additional tank for those marked in yellow)
- no engineering, engineered modules (enhanced thrusters, preengineered FSD, ...) or Guardian modules
- as usual, no supercuise assist or docking computers
The Course
The route is reversible, so you can start at either Hooke Hub in Tepech or Ocampo Station in Mirateje but you must always visit Wollheim Vision in Fuelum (official home of the Fuel Rats), NLTT 48288 (most popular place in the galaxy to run out of fuel) and LHS 3719 (second most likely place to run out of fuel). You finish at either Tepech or Mirateje, depending where you started.
Bonus Options
- Snickers: This will require you to start at Hooke Hub in Tepech and collect a fixed number of Limpets (see table) from Wollheim Vision and deliver them to Ocampo Station in Mirateje. Do this, and I'll grant you a 2 Minute bonus. Bonus Snickers are not eligible when starting from Mirateje. Keep in mind that, for buying Limpets, you'll need to have some sort of limpet controller installed. There are lightweight (0.5 tons) 1D controllers of various types available, and since you won't be carrying SCA or DC, most (all?) ships will have that handy additional size 1 slot available.
- Crazies: use one of the ships from the "Crazies" list, and you'll get a 15 minute(!) bonus. Sounds too generous? Well, the fastest Crazy in the old race completed the course in 30 minutes. The fastest regular needed 15 minutes. Most of the regulars ran around the 20 minutes mark, while the crazies clumped around 45 minutes.
Fuel
As you might have noticed, even in the best case the amount of fuel permitted will only almost suffice for a full speed run on each leg between the stations. So you'll need to find another way...- make the fuel last. There's always economic routing...
- refuel through docking at one (or several) additional stations/outposts
- find a friendly CMDR who will refuel you with limpets
- dock at a carrier (yours or otherwise) for refuelling
- call the Fuel Rats for assistance through hoisting the rat signal (e.g. via their homepage)1. That one is for emergencies only - and I trust that, should you manage to run out of fuel in the course of a race due to your own fault, you will do the honourable thing. On the other hand, if you can get an off-duty Rat to do the refuelling, that's fine with me (I heard they can be bribed with Snickers).
Entering & Evidence
I will set up a Google form and link it here in time for the race.Your race evidence should consist of a link to
- either a video, showing the full race (I'd appreciate timestamps in the comments), including a pre-flight check showing your ship's loadout (right hand side cockpit screen)
- or a collection of images (one set/gallery per run, please), showing
- the pre-flight check of your ship's loadout (likely two images, right hand cockpit screen)
- your race start, with the station name and the cockpit clock visible (i.e. first hit F10 for the screenshot, then launch)
- any required intermediate waypoints (Wolheim Vision - station shot with cockpit clock, NLTT 48288 and LHS 3719 - e.g. GalMap shot), showing your time and location
- any refuelling stops, showing your time and location
- your finish time, again with the station name and cockpit clock visible
- a pre-flight check at Hooke Hub, showing an empty cargo hold
- a pre-flight check at Wolheim Vision, showing the required amount of limpets in your hold
- a post-flight check at Ocampo Station, again showing that you still have those limpets in your hold
Please use this Google Forms link to submit your evidence:
In the case that, for whatever reason, you can't or don't want to use Google, you can also send your evidence via DM. There might be delays in processing those entries, though.
Leaderboard
Small Print
The race runs from 00:00:00 UTC on Saturday, 27th of August, until 23:59:59 UTC on Sunday, 4th of September. Relevant is your start timestamp on the cockpit clock, i.e. you can start your last run on 23:59:59 on 4th of September and finish your run on the 5th. You may not start before 00:00:00 UTC on the 27th. I will accept submissions until the 5th some time in the afternoon (CEST, but UTC is close enough) unless you contact me and request a (short!) extension because you still need to prepare your submission.Use of carriers in any capacity is verboten - no hitching rides, no refuelling.
Damage or loss of ship, cargo, crew or life will not be the responsibility of the BRC. All entrants fly at their own risk.
| Tepech | Fuelum | NLTT 48288 | LHS 3719 | Mirateje | |
| Tepech | 138.54 | 227.48 | 155.05 | 344.03 | |
| Fuelum | 138.54 | 119.37 | 33.05 | 242.92 | |
| NLTT 48288 | 227.48 | 119.37 | 90.01 | 125.31 | |
| LHS 3719 | 155.05 | 33.05 | 90.01 | 211.96 | |
| Mirateje | 344.03 | 242.92 | 125.31 | 211.96 |
So, that should be it. Gentlefolks, you may start your spreadsheets.
1 I got it from a trustworthy source that the Rats won't be as forgiving for calling them after running out of fuel on purpose.
2 The exception for this is that, if you want to claim the Snickers bonus, you are of course allowed (and actually required) to add a limpet controller of your choice.
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