Feast your eyes on that location folks! If ever there was a planetary base begging to be the home of an SRV challenge then Cortes Base in the Ross 1047 system has to be it!
(I would like to thank Cmdrs graememk and DeadMeatGF of Hutton Orbital's operation HOT MESS for bringing this location to my attention)
For people who've already taken part in the Pomeche Ridge Challenge, think of this as a little bonus challenge, and if you haven't tried the Pomeche Ridge Challenge, then consider this a training ground for what I still reckon is the toughest test of SRV driving skill in the galaxy.
So basically this challenge works as follows.
You start off in your SRV parked on top one of the "outrigger" ramps on the North Eastern side of the base (facing along the ridge on a heading of roughly 52°). You should have Cortes base pre-targeted via the left-hand contacts panel (so you can see your distance to the center of the city) and it's also a good idea to have repair synthesis pre-selected in the right-hand inventory panel (so it's right there if and when you need it). The SRV should be just behind the line between the last set of lights on the ramp as shown in the following image.
Pick a suitable start time (ideally when the seconds hit :00 in the HUD clock) and, when that time ticks over ...
GO GO GO!
Your objective is to drive as fast as you can along the ridge until the distance back to the "planetary port" shows at least 10.0 km, then skid to a stop, do a U-turn and drive back towards the city again. The clock stops when your SRV makes contact with any part of the city.
Here's the "route map" for what it's worth ..
.. and here's a (speeded up) demonstration video of a fairly fast run ..
In order to formally enter your run for the scoreboard that I'll be maintaining in this forum thread you will ideally need to video the whole of your run. Alternatively you can just take three screenshots - one showing the SRV stationary on the ramp behind the start line - one showing a distance back to the city of at least 10.0 km - and one clearly showing the SRV in contact with the city again. Your time is the difference between the time on the HUD at the start line with the SRV stationary and the time on the HUD at the point where you "hit" the city again. The middle screenshot is required to prove you drove out to the 10.0 km point.
Once you've completed your run and have your evidence use the following Google form to submit your entry.
(last updated: 22/01/3310)
FAQ
Q) Do I need to survive the run?
A) No. As long as you can get an image showing the SRV back in contact with the city it doesn't matter if you blow up shortly afterwards (so feel free to hurl yourselves into the city wall at full speed). You do need to stay alive for the entire duration of the run tho! (no blowing up and respawning to get back to the base!).
Q) Can I repair the SRV during the run?
A) Yes. Repair synthesis is allowed, use as much as you like.
Q) Does it matter which ramp I start on?
A) No, feel free to experiment for the optimum start position. Although the ramp used for the illustration above seems fairly ideal it does tend to direct you over a crater and dangerously close to the left hand side of the ridge so starting further across to the right "might" be better?
BONUS CHALLENGE - The Cortes Base Jump
While you're here why not try your hand at the Cortes Base Jump. The idea is simply this - can you jump the SRV clear over the city?
You can start with as much of a run-up as you like (on the ground - no riding on the back of ships to give you a boost!). You're allowed to use the outside ramps and sloping wall of the city as a kicker to launch you up and across but the SRV should then not touch anything else until it's flown clear over the city and landed back on the ground on the opposite side. You need to be able to come to a stop still on the ridge for a completely successfull jump (if you fly off the ridge for example then it doesn't count).
Here's a couple of demonstration jumps to show you what I mean.
There's no leaderboard for this (as I couldn't think of an especially good way to rate your jumps) but if you try this then please post videos of your attempts in this thread for our entertainment.
Also - if that isn't enough race action for you - the Elite Racers are also hosting a time trial event at this location so why not head on over to their forum thread now and give their challenge a try too!
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