The Pomeche Ridge Challenge: a standing SRV time trial in association with the Buckyball Racing Club

For a long time now I've been wanting to create a standing SRV time trial race which people can enter whenever they fancy (and as often as they fancy), something akin to the Buckyball A* Challenge (but for SRVs) that could run for many years.

I think I've finally found the perfect location.

It takes place on the fairly legendary Pomeche 2 C, a rocky ice world in the Pomeche system, just under 100ly from Sol. The entire surface of Pomeche 2 C is covered in vast ridges whose sheer sides fall away into deep blue canyons on either side and this race involves driving along the top of one such ridge which runs almost exactly East/West across the 13th parallel.

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The race starts next to a large landing area at coordinates 13°, -60° (heading West on a bearing of 270°) and has been broken into three separate challenges of increasing difficulty, each with its own scoreboard.

The "Blue Run" is roughly 26km long and covers the first, fairly wide section (suitable for most competent SRV drivers) with a finish line anywhere across the ridge at longitude -62°.

The "Red Run" is 52km long and covers both this and the next, somewhat narrower section (aimed at intermediate level SRV drivers) finishing at longitude -64°.

And the "Black Run" (for experts only) is roughly 65km long, covering both the Blue and Red sections plus a final stage of treacherously rocky and narrow blue ice which finishes on the ridge at -65°.

A run can include one, two or all three sections of the race and must always begin parked in the SRV, at zero speed and altitude, somewhere near latitude 13° and on (or behind) longitude -60°. At this point you need to capture an image which shows both the coordinates and the clock on your SRV's HUD. You then race (in the SRV - no ships!!) on a rough heading of 270° to the blue finish line at -62° where, if you wish, you can stop. Alternatively you can continue on to the red finish line at -64° where again you may stop. Finally, for the truly adventurous, you can continue on to the final black finish line at -65°. At each finish line, in order to qualify for that section you must capture an image which again shows the coordinates and the clock and must also show you clearly still up on the ridge and at an altitude below 50m. If you are above 50m then your finish screenshot must be taken once you've fallen back below that altitude (and still on the ridge). You do not need to be stationary in the finish screenshots.

If you wish you can video your run and then extract the necessary screenshots at the end. This has the advantage that you don't need to worry about hitting the screenshot key at key moments and also allows you to capture the exact moment when you cross a finish line, potentially shaving valuable seconds off your submitted time. If at all possible tho', please don't just send me the video, do try to capture the requested set of screenshots as this will make it much easier for me to quickly process your submission and get the scoreboard updated.

Here's an acceptable set of screenshots for all three stages.
Starting screenshot.

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Blue run finish screenshot.

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Red run finish screenshot.

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Black run finish screenshot.

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Once you have your screenshots (one for the start and one for each stage that you're entering) you need to upload them to an image sharing website such as imgur.com and then fill in the following web form:


I will check submissions and add verified times into a running scoreboard which I will maintain here in this forum thread. The race is open across all platforms, can be run in any game mode and will run for as long as I'm still around and the topography of Pomeche 2 C remains relatively unchanged.

Currently there are no prizes on offer other than the glory of knowing that you are the greatest SRV driver that Elite: Dangerous has ever seen!

Drive hard commanders and stay on the ridge!



FAQ and Tips

Q) Is there some in-game way of easily navigating to those planetary coordinates?
A) I think we all know the answer but I appreciate the subtle dig at Frontier to add this feature. Until we get planetary bookmarks tho' there are a few things that can help. The first is a handy infographic that tells you which heading to take in order to make the latitude and longitude numbers change in the direction you want.
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The other thing is a brilliant utility by Maxine Slayton called E.D.I.S.O.N which uses speach to direct you down to a given landing spot as well as providing a HUD overlay to point you in the right direction.

Q) Can I submit only some parts of my run?
A) Yes - if, for example, you already have better times on the scoreboard for the Blue section but manage to turn in better Red and Black section times then just make it clear in your submission that that is what you want to do and your previous Blue time will still stand.

Q) Am I allowed to repair the SRV during my run?
A) Yes - you can repair the SRV as many times as necessary.

Q) Do I have to start off right behind those annoying rocks at 13°,-60°?
A) Your start longitude must be on or before -60° (i.e. -59.?°) and you should be close to 13° but it doesn't have to be exact if you want to shift left or right a bit to avoid those rocks.

Q) Can I start the race parked on the back of my ship?
A) No - no ship dismiss boost starts are permitted for this race.

Q) If I cross a finish line above 50m altitude and take my screenshot some time later when I'm back down on the ridge is my finish time taken from the screenshot or when I crossed the line?
A) Your time is taken from the screenshot (i.e. at the nearest point on or after the finish line when your altitude drops below 50m).

Q) What exactly do you mean by "clearly still up on the ridge"?
A) For the blue run somewhere between 12.4100 and 12.5300, for the red run somewhere between 12.4100 and 12.4700 and for the black run somewhere between 12.4000 and 12.5000.



The leaderboard

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(last updated 15/11/3308)



Videos and screenshots

Alec's demonstration run.

Course Fly By

A view of the start line.
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A view of the blue finish line.
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A view of the red finish line.
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A view of the black finish line.
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A nice shot of Cmdr Tannik Seldon test running the course for me during the planning stages (I didn't survive the Black section on that occasion).
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And the scoreboard is up and running!

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And yes, flying in the face of years of Buckyball wisdom and convention I bloody well am going to be competing in my own race!
Anyone who doesn't like that can suck it! [yesnod]

I will however post my screenshots and/or videos here in the thread for peer review.
See the example screenhots in the OP for my initial entry + video of the run will be up in around 10 minutes
 
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You might want to create a scoreboard per platform.

I don't think that's necessary. This is NOT a live event where people compete against each other in real time remember. It's a time trial (as with all Buckyball races) where you take part whenever you want (and as often as you want), submitting screenshots to me as evidence of your run in order to claim (or re-claim) your place on the scoreboard. I don't believe any one platform has any particular advantage over any other platform in this event so (for now at least) I don't think there's a need to separate out the different platforms.
 
First run at Blue completed @ 23 minutes and 36 seconds. (To be confirmed by Alec, pm sent).

Ok, so I knew the first one would be a test, I even stopped for some materials!

And for a wide ridge I nearly fell off it a few times [woah]

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Wow - a new scoreboard update already! (I won't promise to continue being this prompt)

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Note: new times since the last update will be highlighed.
 
I love creative stuff like this... but is the idea not to drive it? On your demo vid, you spent more time flying that driving.

LOL (I assume that was in semi-jest!). The technique known as "flyving" is permitted (and quite possibly essential for the Black run).
 
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