The Buckyball Racing Club Presents: Obfuscated In The Outer Rim. 23rd - 31st Dec 3309.
Introduction
Have you ever wanted to journey through lost realms? To visit forgotten and sunken lands, places of mystery and myth? Maybe even find the Eden of Old Earth legend?
Thanks to the late Michael Brookes, you can.
It is no coincidence that many systems, worlds and stations are named for people and places of myth. There is a pattern, order amongst the Chaos of the heavens. A representation of Yggdrasil (which featured in a Buckyball Racing Club event in Oct 3303) hundreds of light years' tall, with sun deities and heroic characters amongst its branches and underworlds and moon goddesses amongst the roots. The Heaven of John Milton's Paradise Lost overlaps with the branches and Hell, with its capital Pandemonium, lies pendent beneath. Norse, Celtic and other mythologies intertwine in dozens of places, still keeping the shape, and several are referenced in the Codex. All point to a something hidden in the Lost Realms at the foot of Yggdrasil, that rests upon Axis Mundi.
Robert Holdstock is best known in Elite lore for The Dark Wheel novella but he created so much more and it is his work on Lost Realms that, alongside John Milton and HP Lovecraft, helped to inspire Michael Brookes as a writer. What he has created here is an Easter Egg encompassing millions of cubic LY, a work of art in itself.
Which you are about to experience.
At speed!
Acknowledgements
Many CMDRs have been unravelling the threads in the Codex, Tourist Beacons and other hints that has led to the revelation of the full extent of the effort that has gone into creating a manifestation of mythological cosmology that is a genuine work of art. Of particular note here is the work of CMDR Rochester, who in this post enunciates how many dozens of systems and locations tie in with Robert Holdstock's book Lost Realms.
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/the-quest-to-find-raxxla.168253/page-1577#post-10214625
Race Classes
There are two classes in the race: Ophidian and Unlimited.
Ophidian class is for any unengineered ship named after a snake. This class follows a set route through the Lost Realms to facilitate a more casual 'jump into the cockpit and go' type of race. The full restrictions are given below. Note that the Regulation Cobra MkIII used in the recent Swift-16 season of races is still a valid ship here.
Unlimited class allows any type of ship and engineered, Guardians and Tech Broker modules. This class chooses a route through the Lost Realms that includes one of each of several different types of location, as described below. There is also a 'Vagabond' bonus, in honour of the wanderer, Odin, which requires landing in, or on the rim of, a day-side crater on an uninhabited, atmosphereless moon within 75LY of Axis Mundi at any time during the race after the first waypoint. Completing the Vagabond bonus gives a bonus of 12 minutes, deducted from your final time. The course from Ophidian class is also a valid route in this class.
The following are restricted in both classes:
Pre-charging the FSD with a neutron or white dwarf boost
Synthesis of any type
Supercruise Assist
Docking Computers of any type
Use of Fleet Carriers
Use of Wing Beacons
Refuelling via fuel limpets
Ophidian-legal ships are:
Adder
Anaconda
Asp Explorer
Asp Scout
Cobra MkIII
Cobra MkIV
Diamondback Explorer
Diamondback Scout
Fer-de-Lance
Keelback
Krait MkII
Krait Phantom
Mamba
Python
Sidewinder
Viper MkIII
Viper MkIV
Ophidian class has the following, additional, restrictions:
No engineered modules
No Guardians modules
No Tech Broker modules
Note that Enhanced Performance Thrusters are permitted in this class, though they must not be engineered. This allows smaller ships to be more feasible but the energy requirement and jump range hit means that they should not dominate the class.
Supercharging the FSD from a white dwarf or neutron star after leaving the start line is permitted in both classes.
Race Course
Both classes share the start and end points and the first waypoint.
You must survive in order to complete the race. If your ship is destroyed you must start again at The Legacy.
All waypoints in both classes are suitable for large class ships.
The race may be run in Live or Legacy mode, however the surface terrain will be different, so researching a location to get the Vagabond bonus must be done in the mode you intend to race in.
You may run on PC, XBox One or PS4.
The race runs from 00:00:00 December 23rd to 23:59:59 Dec 31st 3309, in-game time. It is acceptable to start a run that ends up to 1 hour after the end time, so long as it started earlier.
There is a FAQ below for additional queries.
Start: Artemis, The Legacy (2133 Ls)
Waypoint 1: Persephone, Lombardelli's Legacy (308 Ls)
Finish: Artemis, Freeholm (2133 Ls)
In Ophidian class, the course proceeds from waypoint 1 as follows, before returning to Artemis:
Waypoint 2: Avalon, Persephone (479 Ls)
Waypoint 3: Pandemonium, Siddha Terminal (313 Ls)
Waypoint 4: Jotunheim, Big Harry's Monkey Hangout (145 Ls)
Waypoint 5: Elysia, Tilley Holdings (moon Kailas) (506 Ls)
Waypoint 6: Annwn, Gallimaufry (120 Ls)
In Unlimited class, there are categories from which one location must be chosen from those listed (these categories are partly in line with chapters in Robert Holdstock's Lost Realms).
Waypoint 2: Avalon and Lyonesse (4 possible locations):
Avalon, Persephone (479 Ls)
Brigid, Altuna Vision (724 Ls)
Hyperborea, Casa Lofthus (1563 Ls)
Themiscrya, Bamford's Station (616 Ls)
Waypoint 3: Underworld (4 possible locations)
Pandemonium, Siddha Terminal (313 Ls)
Tartarus, Bova Penal Colony (moon 3a) (946 Ls)
Asphodel, John Irving Station (194 Ls)
Apsu, inson Hangar (1173 Ls)
Waypoint 4: Yggdrasil (4 possible locations)
Niflhel, Biruni Port (1296 Ls)Yes
Jotunheim, Big Harry's Monkey Hangout (145 Ls)Yes
Jera (Norse rune), Asire Dock (294 Ls)Yes
Sicuncheim, Draper Market (116 Ls)Yes
Waypoint 5: Mountains (3 locations)
Wakea, Giraud Depot (moon Meru) (514 Ls)
Elysia, Tilley Holdings (moon Kailas) (506 Ls)
Ys, Al Sufi Landing (planet Chroin) (325 Ls)
Waypoint 6: Land of Youth or Otherworld (5 locations)
Annwn, Gallimaufry (120 Ls)
Idunn, Young City (100 Ls)
Tir Na Nog, Sabine Keep (moon 4c) (2205 Ls)
Agartha, Enoch Port (899 Ls)
Thule, Short Hop (534 Ls)
In Unlimited there is a 'Vagabond' bonus, named for Odin's role as a wanderer. This requires landing in or on the rim of any crater on the day side (for ease of both approach and verification) of an uninhabited moon with no atmosphere. This can be done at any point after calling at the first waypoint. The moon must be within 75LY of the system Axis Mundi. This grants a 12 minute bonus, subtracted from your final time. To verify this, you should land such that your view from the front of the cockpit shows the crater and the system name. You must also provide a screenshot of (or show in the video) the Galaxy Map from this location giving the distance to Axis Mundi and of either the left hand panel or the system map showing that the moon has no settlements. Note that it is acceptable for the system hosting the moon to be inhabited. Procedural POI (e.g. Crashed Ships, Distress Beacons) and Tourist Beacons do not count for inhabited status.
It is permitted and encouraged to collaborate on finding suitable moons for the Vagabond bonus. There are many empty systems in the region and what moons there are that meet the criteria are often orbiting distant gas giants or icy planets. To help get you started I include a sample that are close to (within 1 KLs) the arrival point in the second post. I shall endeavour to maintain a list of eligible moons, so please post your candidates in this thread in the same format to make it easier to add new findings.
Submissions
Submissions require screenshot or video evidence. If submitting video evidence, please bookmark the start, finish and landings. If claiming the Vagabond bonus, you will need additional images as described in this section. The screenshots or video must be uploaded to somewhere free to view, such as Imgur or YouTube (other sites exist).
Videos are bookmarked on YouTube by starting the first line of the description with 00:00 and subsequent lines beginning with the time in the video of the events that need bookmarking, as given below.
The following screenshots are required:
1-3) Outfitting or the right hand panel showing the modules installed. (More than three screenshots may be needed for vessels with many modules).
4) The right hand panel showing the jump range.
5) On the pad at The Legacy, showing the in-game clock. This will be your start time.
6-11) On the pad at each waypoint, in order, showing the name of the station and the in-game clock.
12) On the pad at Freeholm, showing the name of the station and the in-game clock. This is your finish time.
13-15) If claiming the Vagabond bonus (Unlimited only), a screenshot showing you landed in, or on the rim of, a crater on an uninhabited, airless moon within 75LY of Axis Mundi. It must show the clock and the name of the body. A second screenshot of the Galaxy Map taken from this system with Axis Mundi selected must show that it is not more than 75.00 LY away. The third screenshot can either be of the left hand panel or of the system map, showing that the moon has no settlements. Remember that you must have called at the first waypoint (Lombardelli's Legacy) before landing on your chosen moon.
It is acceptable to video a run and then take screenshots from the video.
In addition to a link to your screenshots or video, you will need to provide:
CMDR name
Forum name (if different)
Race class (Ophidian or Unlimited)
Ship type
Ship name
The name of the body you landed on for the Vagabond bonus (if claimed, Unlimited only)
Race time (not including the Vagabond bonus)
Platform (PC, XBox One or PS4)
Whether the run was in Live or Legacy
Please submit your entries by 14:00 UTC Jan 1st 2024, so that I can, hopefully, produce a final leaderboard that day. If you need more time to submit, please let me know and I can either wait or produce a preliminary leaderboard and finalise it the next day.
Please use this Google Form to submit your entries. It will be removed at ~15:00 UTC Jan 1st 2024. The form was removed at ~15:35 UTC and is no longer accepting responses.
FAQ
1) Do you have anywhere other than the forum that you can hang out and discuss racing etc.?
A: Yes! We have a website (http://www.buckyballracing.org.uk) with advice on racing and submitting entries and records of past events, however this is currently not being updated so the best place to find and talk to people is our Discord server. Here is the invite - we would be happy to welcome you! https://discord.gg/aDCXVUF
2) This all looks complicated: how long will it take to run?
A: The Regulation Cobra MkIII from the Swift-16 racing season can complete the Ophidian class course in ~35min and the same course is usable in Unlimited.
3) Can I repair / refuel at stations during the race?
A: Yes. You can also repair using your own repair limpets and AFMUs. Refuelling by fuel limpet is restricted.
4) How can I tell if my landing screenshot will qualify for the Vagabond bonus?
A: It must show that you are in, or on the rim of, a crater. Example screenshots are shown below.
Acceptable, looks across the crater.
Acceptable, shows the crater wall from within the crater.
Acceptable, looks along what is clearly a crater rim.
Not acceptable, it is not clear that the ship has landed in, or on the rim of, a crater.
Not acceptable, it is on the dark side of the body. (Night vision can be inconclusive, so please stick to the day side).
Acceptable, shows the crater wall from within the crater.
Acceptable, looks along what is clearly a crater rim.
Not acceptable, it is not clear that the ship has landed in, or on the rim of, a crater.
Not acceptable, it is on the dark side of the body. (Night vision can be inconclusive, so please stick to the day side).
5) How big does a crater have to be to qualify for the Vagabond bonus?
A: Large enough to land in and for the screenshot to show this. I would suggest a minimum size of ~1km diameter. It may be difficult to find suitable terrain for a landing in smaller craters. Since large craters are visible on approach before reaching orbital cruise, these will be the easiest to land in.
6) Are atmospheric (Odyssey/Live -only) landables acceptable for the Vagabond bonus?
A: No, as this would give an advantage to running in Live mode.
7) Is it acceptable for the Vagabond bonus to use a moon that is uninhabited in Legacy but has settlements in Odyssey?
A: Yes. There is no way of knowing what Odyssey has added from your perspective, so go by what you see on the system map / left hand panel. Although this would, by itself, give an advantage to Legacy players, the process of collaborating to find suitable moons will produce candidates that work for both modes and mitigate this.
8) Game Hangs / Crashes to Desktop etc. Will this invalidate a run?
A: No. You may restart and continue.
9) Can I start with less than a full tank of fuel?
A: Yes.
10) Do I have to play in Open?
A: No. It is not possible for all console players so it is not a requirement. It is encouraged, in order to meet other racers on the course.
11) I see that the Tourist Beacon in Artemis directs you to Beta Sculptoris, which is in the Lost Realms region: is this significant?
A: Quite possibly it is hinting that there might be something of interest in that locality - by all means follow the route these Tourist Beacons leads you on, outside of the race. (30LY minimum jump range recommended). You will learn a few things about Michael Brookes on the way!
Here is what the waypoints for Ophidian class look like in-game:
The Legacy
Leaderboards
Ophidian
Unlimited
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