So, you know that Buur fella? The little flappy wings geeza who proclaims "I'm Commander Buur" every Friday? Well let me tell you, there's something very odd about the bloke. You might not know this but there is incontrovertible video evidence that he's been killed, like literally dozens of times, in dozens of different ways. He's been shot, lasered, bludgeoned, crushed, run over, impaled, suffocated and blown up. And yet, every Friday night there he his back again proclaiming "I'm commander Buur".
I managed to obtain the following footage from a secret event in which one can only assume Buur was using his acolytes to test his zombie powers.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbapD1LVSYE
If you'd like to access further exclusive footage and take part in similar events in the future (who knows, maybe even get to try out your zombie weapon of choice on Buur himself) then why not consider becoming acult patreon member (click here).
If you'd like to access further exclusive footage and take part in similar events in the future (who knows, maybe even get to try out your zombie weapon of choice on Buur himself) then why not consider becoming a
It’s highly suspect is what it is.
I did some poking around in systems under the influence of the so-called "Buurian Protectorate" and stumbled across this little curiosity in the Zomba system which has no less than eight "human" bases scattered across its surface.
(Zomba A 1 A)
Zomba? And there it is, clue's right there in the name. I'm telling you, the guy is a goddam flippin' space zombie! Know why he always wears a scarf? To hide the scars of all the failed decapitation attempts!
Anyway, it's while I'm nosing around this planet looking for further evidence of his diabolical deeds that the idea for this race occurs to me.
The Race
The premise is really simple. Start at Culpeper Gateway in the neighbouring Glooscap system, fly to Zomba A 1 A, visit both planetary stations, some of the settlements and one of the high security facilities (keeping an eye out for suspicious Zombuur activities as you go obviously), and then return to Culpeper Gateway to register your time.
Specifically you need to do the following:
- Take off from Culpeper Gateway, and fly to the Zomba system.
- Fly to planet A 1 Aand perform the following (in any order):
- Land at both Vesalius Terminal and Killough Relay planet ports.
- Land between 3km and 4km from Pippin Beacon (watch out for the security perimeter).
See below for an optional SRV bonus section here. - Land at (or near) any 2 (for regulation class) or 3 (for unlimited class) of the following settlements:
- Brinkmann Botanical Collection
- Noel Industrial Installation
- Lagos Botanical Habitat
- Ele Agriculturak Biosphere
- Fly back to Culpeper Gateway and land.
Bonuses:
- SRV Racer - There's an optional 150 second bonus (plus cunning rebalancing factor) to be had at Pippin Beacon as follows:
Having landed, deploy the SRV, target Pippin Beacon, drive to within 100m of it, and then drive far enough away again that you can recall and return to your ship. The SRV bonus calculation includes a scaling factor to help narrow the gap between the fastest and slowest drivers, effectively dividing the time taken to drive it by 4. Let's look at some examples.- SRV section takes T = 10 mins, bonus = (T - (T/4)) + 150 = 10 mins, final time is same as if you hadn't bothered with the SRV section.
- SRV section takes T = 8 mins, bonus = (T - (T/4)) + 150 = 8.5 mins, final time is 30 seconds faster.
- SRV section takes T = 6 mins, bonus = (T - (T/4)) + 150 = 7 mins, final time is 60 seconds faster.
The bottom line is that if you can drive the SRV section in under 10 mins then it's worth doing (and I did it in the Scorpion, which is also allowed, in just over 7 mins).
- Gentle Lander - There's an optional bonus for flying the entire course without shields or repairs and finishing with almost zero damage. You get 60 seconds for landing with 100% (yes, it is possible), 30 seconds for landing with 99% or 15 seconds for landing with 98%. Without carefully watching a video of the run I can’t prove that you didn't repair but since I'm more than happy to take screenshot evidence I'm just going to trust you. I will be checking for no shields and final hull percentage tho!
Additional notes:
- Careful selection and order in which surface sites are visited will improve your time, not only because of orbital travel times but also because of the final jump back to Glooscap.
- Depending on ship choice you may find that the pads of your chosen settlements are not the optimal places to land.
- If you run into the problem where the SRV distance to Pippin Beacon doesn't change (I've only seen this once) then I'll also accept targeting the Comms Power Grid which is right next to it.
- Should you happen to incur fines or bounties there is an interstellar factors conveniently located at the finish line.
Race Submission Evidence
Evidence will be accepted either as a timestamped video of the run (to timestamp a YouTube video you simply need to edit the video description and enter a list of times, one per checkpoint, in the form "HH:MM:SS Description") or else as an album of screenshots. The latter is actually preferred (and much quicker to upload). The best way to get the screenshots is to video the run and then screen capture them from the video afterwards. The key moments you need to capture are:
- The list of modules from either outfitting or the right-hand cockpit menu (this is especially important for a regulation class run to verify you have the correct outfitting).
- On the pad at Culpeper Gateway with the HUD clock clearly visible (this is your start time).
- Landed at both Vesalius Terminal and Killough Relay planet ports.
- Landed on the surface at Pippin Beacon with it targeted and showing a distance between 3km and 4km.
- For the optional SRV Racer bonus that is your SRV start time. You will also need one in the SRV showing it (or the Comms Power Grid) targeted and less than 100m away, and another back in the ship after re-boarding it (this is your SRV end time).
- One showing the terminal mission board (which includes the settlement name and time) at each of your chosen settlements (2 for regulation, 3 for unlimited)
- One landed back at Culpeper Gateway immediately after the station services menu has started to appear (this is your end time).
Modules (1 of 3 in this instance).
Modules (2 of 3).
Modules (3 of 3).
Start time (on the pad, facing mailslot, just BEFORE launch).
First planet port.
Mission terminal, 1st chosen settlement.
Mission terminal, 2nd chosen settlement.
Mission terminal, 3rd chosen settlement.
Second planet port.
Pippin Beacon, landed between 3km and 4km
(for SRV Racer bonus this is your SRV section start time).
SRV Racer bonus: Pippin Beacon less than 100m away.
SRV Racer bonus: back in ship (this is your SRV section end time).
End time, landed back at Culpeper Gateway.
In this example the total run time is 22:18, the SRV section time is 4:28, the SRV Racer bonus is 5:51, the Gentle Lander bonus is 60s and the final time is therefore 15:27.
Modules (2 of 3).
Modules (3 of 3).
Start time (on the pad, facing mailslot, just BEFORE launch).
First planet port.
Mission terminal, 1st chosen settlement.
Mission terminal, 2nd chosen settlement.
Mission terminal, 3rd chosen settlement.
Second planet port.
Pippin Beacon, landed between 3km and 4km
(for SRV Racer bonus this is your SRV section start time).
SRV Racer bonus: Pippin Beacon less than 100m away.
SRV Racer bonus: back in ship (this is your SRV section end time).
End time, landed back at Culpeper Gateway.
In this example the total run time is 22:18, the SRV section time is 4:28, the SRV Racer bonus is 5:51, the Gentle Lander bonus is 60s and the final time is therefore 15:27.
Race classes:
There are two classes you can compete in (you're allowed to compete in both).
- Regulation class - to enter this class you must be flying the standard championship Cobra MkIII as defined here:
Magic 8 Ball regulation Cobra
(note: despite what was previously advertised for my race this ship should NOT have an SCO frameshift drive fitted). - Unlimited class - for this class you can use any ship (with the exception of the Lakon Type-8), with any engineering.
Note that anyone who's finished in the top 5 unlimited class this year will be excluded from the top 5 if they use the same ship type again.
Further rules and regulations:
- You are not allowed to have either a docking computer or a supercruise assist module fitted to your ship (in either class).
- For the Gentle Lander bonus you should either not have shields fitted at all or else have them turned off for the entirety of the run. You are also not allowed to repair the ship at any point during the run and your final screenshot must show your ship with at least 98% hull remaining.
Note: do not remove the shields from the regulation Cobra, just turn them off. - Unlike Cmdr Buur you are NOT allowed to die during your run!
The race will run from 12:00 UTC on Friday 23rd August until 12:00 UTC on Monday 2nd September.
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