Happy New Year everyone!
During my early morning racing window yesterday, I made the foolish decision to change things up in Unlimited, replacing Haulier than Thou with Elegance of Virtue (iCourier: sacrifices a jump for improved real-space speed) as well as bringing in Krait Caesar's Ghost (Krait Phantom: sacrifices real-space speed for one fewer jump). In the former case, it turned out that while Elegance of Virtue has improved straightline speed, it isn't as maneuverable as Haulier than Thou, and I'm not quite good enough to make full use of that extra speed.
As for the latter, I think our lupine racer summed up my findings with Krait Caesar's Ghost quite well:
Ultimately, I would've been better served making more of an effort before the race began at improving the engineering of Haulier than Thou. It was frustratingly close to being able to shave two jumps off its route if it had been just a little bit less massive.
Sadly, this race had to happen during the Holidays, which left me without as much time to prepare or race than I would've liked. 
Unfortunately, as is often the case on Sundays, I didn't get back home in time to make one last attempt at improving my entries in both classes. I'll have to be satisfied with the fact that I exceeded at improving my Ophidian time by four minutes, which had been my goal when I switched to Medusa's Gambit.
I'd like to thank @Edelgard von Rhein for hosting this brilliant race. It pushed many of my boundaries, both in and out of the race. I look forward to seeing the final leaderboards.
Speaking of which, congratulations to everyone who raced, even if you didn't make it onto the podium. For most of us, Buckyball Racing is more about improving our skills than competing with one another (although there can be an element of that from time to time). Just remember to use these skills in your regular gameplay. As we say at Stevenson Whirlwind Adventures: "If you're not willing to damage your ship, you're not really in a hurry."
During my early morning racing window yesterday, I made the foolish decision to change things up in Unlimited, replacing Haulier than Thou with Elegance of Virtue (iCourier: sacrifices a jump for improved real-space speed) as well as bringing in Krait Caesar's Ghost (Krait Phantom: sacrifices real-space speed for one fewer jump). In the former case, it turned out that while Elegance of Virtue has improved straightline speed, it isn't as maneuverable as Haulier than Thou, and I'm not quite good enough to make full use of that extra speed.
As for the latter, I think our lupine racer summed up my findings with Krait Caesar's Ghost quite well:
Ultimately, I would've been better served making more of an effort before the race began at improving the engineering of Haulier than Thou. It was frustratingly close to being able to shave two jumps off its route if it had been just a little bit less massive.
Sadly, this race had to happen during the Holidays, which left me without as much time to prepare or race than I would've liked. Unfortunately, as is often the case on Sundays, I didn't get back home in time to make one last attempt at improving my entries in both classes. I'll have to be satisfied with the fact that I exceeded at improving my Ophidian time by four minutes, which had been my goal when I switched to Medusa's Gambit.
I'd like to thank @Edelgard von Rhein for hosting this brilliant race. It pushed many of my boundaries, both in and out of the race. I look forward to seeing the final leaderboards.
Speaking of which, congratulations to everyone who raced, even if you didn't make it onto the podium. For most of us, Buckyball Racing is more about improving our skills than competing with one another (although there can be an element of that from time to time
). Just remember to use these skills in your regular gameplay. As we say at Stevenson Whirlwind Adventures: "If you're not willing to damage your ship, you're not really in a hurry."
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