As stated in the above flyer (which will be available in printed form on the front desk) the Buckyball Racing Club are hosting a race in the LAN room at this year's Lavecon event entitled (somewhat unimaginatively) "The Lavecon Buckyball Race 2017".
The race is open to anyone attending the event who fancies a go and will be running throughout weekend.
It's a timed race much in the style of the "Star in a reasonably priced car" feature from the BBC TV show Top Gear. It will work as follows:
- Come along to our stand in the LAN room. It will be the one flying these flags.
- You'll be taken through the flight controls (we hope to have a Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS X, a Warthog HOTAS with pedals, a PC XBOX controller and a good old fashioned keyboard and mouse - you can pick your favourite) and have the course explained to you (it basically involves flying to and landing at three other stations including the finish line).
- You'll be able to re-bind the controls to your personal preferences (or indeed, if you want to bring along your own control binding files for any of those control mechanisms on a USB stick then we'd be happy to install them for you).
- You'll be given a short practice flight which should take around 5 minutes (involving one hyperspace jump, a supercruise to the starting station and a landing) in order to get used to the controls. Then you'll line up on the starting launch pad ready to boogie.
- When the attending race marshal says "go" you'll launch, fly to each of the other stations that make up the course, land, launch and continue on to the next.
- When you land at the final station your time will be recorded and your race entry will be added to our special scoreboard. We expect runs to take between 10 and 15 minutes.
At the end of the weekend (hopefully during the 6pm closing event in the main room on Sunday) we'll announce the winners. The person with the fastest time will receive a Viper ship kit (or other Frontier store game extra of equivalent value if they already one). The two runners up will each receive a flight suit pack of their choice. All entrants will receive a "rare" Buckyball Beer Mat (until we run out).
Race course is as follows:
- Start: Renenbellot Market, Woloniugo
- Stop 1: Cady City: No Chianga
- Stop 2: Cartan Station, K'uanele
- Finish: Haignere Ring, LTT 12294
- Alloys: Lightweight
- Powerplant: 2A
- Thrusters: 3A
- FSD: 3A
- Life support: 2D
- Power distributor: 3A
- Sensors: 3D
- Fuel tank: 2C
- Shields: 2D
Click here for Coriolis outfitting link: Lavecon Buckyball Racer
FAQ
Q) Do I need to book in advance?
A) Nope, just come along to the stand. If we're busy you can either wait or arrange a time with the attending race marshal so you can come back later.
Q) Can I run more than once?
A) Yes, absolutely. A big part of Buckyball Racing is about trying to beat your own previous best time. If there are people waiting then racers who haven't yet had a go will be given priority but otherwise you're encouraged to come back and try as many times as you like (within reason I guess).
Q) Can I race in any ship?
A) Nope, you'll be racing in a race prepped Viper Mk III (this is the ship that appears on our logo).
Q) Will I need to use my own account?
A) Nope, we have a "Buckyball Racer" account that you will be using, hopefully with enough funds to cover the rebuys (see also, "Can I drink and fly" and "What happens if I blow up").
Q) Can I drink and fly.
A) Absolutely, although possibly not at the same time (see also, "What happens if I blow up")
Q) What happens if I blow up?
A) That will be the end of your run and we will point and laugh. If nobody else appears to be waiting then you can just try again, otherwise you'll have to go to the back of the queue.
Q) What happens if we crash so many ships that the Buckyball Racer account runs out of money?
A) Errr ... at the time of writing we haven't planned for this eventuality.
Q) Aren't those the same crummy beer mats you were handing out to anyone that would take one at last year's Lavecon?
A) Yes, but now they're "rare"!
A) The official race course and Viper Mk III loadout can be found above. If you want to try the race for yourself then that's fine. Feel free to post your time in this forum thread. It won't appear on the official scoreboard and it won't qualify for any prizes but you will at least have the pride (or shame) of knowing how your skills compare to those of the average p%ssed up Lavecon attendee who's unfamiliar with the controls and has the added pressure of a gilet wearing Buckyball race marshal standing over them with a stop watch. I'll also endeavour to post photos of the official scoreboard from time to time throughout the course of the weekend so you can spectate from afar.
That's it! If you have any further questions please feel free to post them in this thread and I'll add them to the FAQ.
Fly fast commanders.
o7
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o7