Jaques Station, the famous moving starport, has put out a call for supplies to help with repairs following the aborted jump to Beagle Point. This is no simple task, with a supply line stretching nearly 22,000 light years. Speed is of the essence to meet Jaques' demand in time to get the best rewards, so what better opportunity for a race? Buckyball Racing Club calls on all traders, haulers, explorers, racers and pilots everywhere to show what they can do, all in the aid of helping this far-flung outpost of humanity.
Race Overview
The Long Haul is a race to support the community goal to repair Jaques Station, located nearly 22,000 light years from the human bubble in the system of Eol Prou RS-T d3-94.
Start from Janifer Dock in Yurok, carrying cargo suitable for the community goal.
Make your way to Jaques Station in Eol Prou RS-T d3-94 and deliver your cargo.
The clock starts on departure from Janifer Dock, and ends on arrival at Jaques Station, but breaks are allowed (up to two per day).
Your actual travel time will be adjusted based upon your ship class and the amount of cargo delivered. The more cargo carried, the better. The time adjustment is weighted to even out the different ship classes, so a Type 9 has just as much chance of winning as an Asp Explorer or Anaconda.
The race will run from now until the end of 18th August. Participants must reach Jaques Station no later than 23:59:59 GMT (in-game time) on 18th August to be valid entries. The race will continue even though the community goal ended early.
Warning: This is a long way: approximately 21,850 light years, and your ship will be weighted down by carrying cargo. The very fastest ships will require a good 9 hours flight time to complete the route; expect slower vessels to take substantially longer than that. Please ensure you allow sufficient time and make sure you take in appropriate food and water. Breaks are allowed in this race, so use them!
Regulations
The course
The start point is docked at Janifer Dock in the system of Yurok.
The end point is docked at Jaques Station in the system of Eol Prou RS-T d3-94.
Any route may be taken between start and end.
Cargo
Cargo must be carried, as the whole point is to support the community goal for delivering goods to Jaques Station, though I'm not actually going to enforce what cargo you carry. To contribute to the community goal you need to carry Power Generators, Tantalum, Structural Regulators, or Energy Grid Assemblies. Power Generators can be purchased at Janifer Dock; other items will need to be acquired elsewhere (then just call in at Janifer Dock on your way out of the bubble to start the race).
To even out the different ship classes, the actual time taken to complete the course will be adjusted according to the amount of cargo delivered to Jaques Station and a "base cargo allowance" for each ship type.
Adjusted race time = (actual race time) * (base cargo allowance) / (actual cargo delivered)
Thus the more cargo carried, the faster your adjusted time.
(Note: potential rule change incoming, see post #156 below)
The base cargo allowance (BCA) for each ship type is shown in the following tables:
There is no need to calculate your own adjusted time. Entries will just need to provide evidence of actual race time and actual cargo delivered, I'll calculate the adjusted times.
Note that the measured cargo amount is the quantity delivered to Jaques Station. If you lose cargo along the way (e.g. to a cargo hatch malfunction), that will impact your recorded time!
Classes
Entries will be classified as either Standard class or Small Packet class, depending on the ship type used. This is just to reflect the fact that the smallest ships need to run shieldless to reasonably carry cargo, and needed a separate calibration of cargo allowances due to the low quantities carried.
As well as the classes from ship types, racers can choose to take part in either Classic or Unlimited classes.
To qualify as Classic, any entry must meet the following regulations:
Unlimited entries are those which don't meet the Classic regulations; thus any ship which has one or more engineer-modified modules, or makes use of FSD Injection at any point on the route, will be classified as Unlimited class.
(I might introduce a separate Warship class, if there is demand for it)
Breaks
Unlike The A* Challenge, for this race breaks are allowed, subject to the following rules:
To record a break, you will need to provide screenshots from the start and end of the break, with evidence of being in the same system at the start and end of the break time. This means taking screenshots from the galaxy map (or system map), as that is the only place which shows location, time and date in one go.
No more than 2 (two) breaks are allowed in any one day, measured as 00:00 GMT to 00:00 GMT (in-game time).
The start point is docked at Janifer Dock in the system of Yurok.
The end point is docked at Jaques Station in the system of Eol Prou RS-T d3-94.
Any route may be taken between start and end.
Cargo
Cargo must be carried, as the whole point is to support the community goal for delivering goods to Jaques Station, though I'm not actually going to enforce what cargo you carry. To contribute to the community goal you need to carry Power Generators, Tantalum, Structural Regulators, or Energy Grid Assemblies. Power Generators can be purchased at Janifer Dock; other items will need to be acquired elsewhere (then just call in at Janifer Dock on your way out of the bubble to start the race).
To even out the different ship classes, the actual time taken to complete the course will be adjusted according to the amount of cargo delivered to Jaques Station and a "base cargo allowance" for each ship type.
Adjusted race time = (actual race time) * (base cargo allowance) / (actual cargo delivered)
Thus the more cargo carried, the faster your adjusted time.
(Note: potential rule change incoming, see post #156 below)
The base cargo allowance (BCA) for each ship type is shown in the following tables:
There is no need to calculate your own adjusted time. Entries will just need to provide evidence of actual race time and actual cargo delivered, I'll calculate the adjusted times.
Note that the measured cargo amount is the quantity delivered to Jaques Station. If you lose cargo along the way (e.g. to a cargo hatch malfunction), that will impact your recorded time!
Classes
Entries will be classified as either Standard class or Small Packet class, depending on the ship type used. This is just to reflect the fact that the smallest ships need to run shieldless to reasonably carry cargo, and needed a separate calibration of cargo allowances due to the low quantities carried.
As well as the classes from ship types, racers can choose to take part in either Classic or Unlimited classes.
To qualify as Classic, any entry must meet the following regulations:
- Engineer-modified modules are NOT permitted
- The use of FSD Injection is NOT allowed
Unlimited entries are those which don't meet the Classic regulations; thus any ship which has one or more engineer-modified modules, or makes use of FSD Injection at any point on the route, will be classified as Unlimited class.
(I might introduce a separate Warship class, if there is demand for it)
Breaks
Unlike The A* Challenge, for this race breaks are allowed, subject to the following rules:
To record a break, you will need to provide screenshots from the start and end of the break, with evidence of being in the same system at the start and end of the break time. This means taking screenshots from the galaxy map (or system map), as that is the only place which shows location, time and date in one go.
No more than 2 (two) breaks are allowed in any one day, measured as 00:00 GMT to 00:00 GMT (in-game time).
How to Enter
Please let us know if you intend to take part, by posting in this thread with the following:
Before you start, take screenshots of the following:
During the race, for each break you take the following additional screenshots are needed:
At the end of the race, take screenshots of the following:
After the race, please send either a PM to drakhyr, or an email to drakhyr <at> buckyballracing <dot> org <dot> uk, with the following:
* Special conditions
lease tell me about if: you used FSD injection at any point during the race; you made the trip in Solo Play or Private Group, rather than Open; you are playing on Xbox One; you are playing using Oculus (or other) VR; you made the run in a wing
Examples of what your screenshots should look like can be found on the How to Enter page of the Buckyball Racing Club website.
You are then free to explore the area near Jaques; or, even better, to head back to the bubble for another run! Remember, the more cargo you ship, the better the result from the community goal!
- Commander name
- Ship name
- Ship type
- Class (Classic or Unlimited)
Before you start, take screenshots of the following:
- 1. Outfitting screens for your ship, covering core internals (showing power plant, frame shift drive, thrusters and power distributor, along with jump range). If entering the Classic class, please also provide screenshots of the optional internals.
- 2. Commodities market page at Janifer Dock to show the cargo carried.
- 3. Launch screenshot, on the pad at Janifer Dock showing time and date.
During the race, for each break you take the following additional screenshots are needed:
- 4. Galaxy map showing your current location and the time and date at the start of the break.
- 5. Galaxy map showing your current location (must be the same system as when you started the break) plus time and date to end the break.
At the end of the race, take screenshots of the following:
- 6. End screenshot immediately on docking at Jaques Station, showing your current location (i.e. docked at Jaques Station!) plus time and date - this is when the clock stops.
- 7. Commodities market screenshot at Jaques Station, showing the commodities in your hold along with the location, time and date. The amount of cargo held at this point is what will be used to calculate your adjusted time; the screenshot must be within a reasonably short time of number 6.
After the race, please send either a PM to drakhyr, or an email to drakhyr <at> buckyballracing <dot> org <dot> uk, with the following:
- Your commander name
- Your forum user name (if different)
- Your ship name
- Your ship type
- Entry class (Classic or Unlimited)
- Your screenshots (numbers 1 to 7 above)
- Any special conditions that apply to your entry*
- A quote for the guestbook on the bar at Jaques Station
* Special conditions
lease tell me about if: you used FSD injection at any point during the race; you made the trip in Solo Play or Private Group, rather than Open; you are playing on Xbox One; you are playing using Oculus (or other) VR; you made the run in a wingExamples of what your screenshots should look like can be found on the How to Enter page of the Buckyball Racing Club website.
You are then free to explore the area near Jaques; or, even better, to head back to the bubble for another run! Remember, the more cargo you ship, the better the result from the community goal!
Some obvious questions
What's the prize?
The sight of your name at the top of the leaderboard, and the opportunity to say you won a Buckyball Race. And a little warm glow of satisfaction
What's to stop me cheating?
Nothing. Like the Buckyball Runs, we operate on an honour basis here. There's nothing I can do to stop you from faking screenshots or using exploits. But where's the benefit in that? It wouldn't get you anything, except a lasting feeling of shame. This is all about doing the race for the fun of it.
Leaderboards
For an alternative event closer to home, check out Glorious Bast-erds, a tribute to the heroes of Bast
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