TEST EVENT THIS SUNDAY: Cantor Terminal (Santjalan) High-tech Station Racing! (1900GMT)
This racetrack is located inside an High-Tech space station! (EDIT: being an High-Tech station, you should have all the outfitting options you'd need for any racing ship, EXCEPT for Enhanced Performance Thrusters)
The course layout is below, just follow the path I took (if the video isn't clear enough, just tell me and I'll add subtitles to describe the checkpoints. Watch vid in 720p Fullscreen): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEav3uPdSYE
Racing will take place at Cantor Terminal, in the Santjalan system, and should begin between 18:00 and 19:00 (Greenwich Mean Time), on January the 8th.
This is a test event, so all rules around it are subject to change during play!
I would ideally need at least 10 racers for this, to stress-test the track - aka see how many people can do the race at once without the race turning into a bumper-car mess (although that might be fun as well!). Please announce yourself by making a post here if you want to join, so I can have an idea of how many people will be there.
Communication will take place on the Discord channel: https://discordapp.com/invite/0cBzmDzaVf8GKKJZ
If not enough players announce themselves for the event (e.g. less than 5), the event will be reported to the next Sunday (January 15th)
Make sure to make all the necessary preparations before the event! In other words, go pick the ship you need, outfit it properly and bring it to Cantor Terminal before the event begins. Ideally, you should also give yourself time (at least an hour) to practice the racetrack (which is quite hard) if you want to be a worthy opponent.
CURRENT Rules: Racers must begin at a minimum of 3 kilometers from the station. To know your distance from the station, target it and the distance should be shown on the bottom-left info-display of your ship.
Engineer modifications are PROHIBITED.
Report Crimes Against Me must be set to OFF (go to Right Hand Panel -> Functions -> Report Crimes Against Me)
Intentional ramming is very likely to be allowed. Yes, you read right. There will be exceptions though. Ramming will need to be... sportsmanlike, as ridiculous as it might sound (more details will be given during the event)
All ships that can reasonably maneuver through this course are allowed. However, ship launched-fighters are not allowed. Besides, the station will want to shoot you if you bring one inside the bay. Your ship should use Enhanced Performance Thrusters (2A or 3A) when possible, unless it is a Diamondback Scout (requires Class 4 engines) or Vulture (requires Class 5 engines) Both 2A and 3A Enhanced Performance Thrusters can be found at Farseer Facility in Deciat (you will need an Engineer permit for Felicity Farseer)
Shields are highly recommended, as everyone will probably ram each other and the station as well.
List of ships that are known to work at least at a basic level (categorized based on their base weight):
Hauler (14T): Surprisingly a viable option, as its small weight allows it to maneuver the tight corners rather swiftly. Frame is reasonably small, but not as permissive as the Sidewinder's.
Sidewinder (25T): Same as the Hauler, but somewhat heavier and faster(in terms of normal+boost speed). It's also the smallest ship in the bunch, hence the collision risk is at a minimum if you maneuver carefully.
Adder (35T): UPDATED Performs kinda well, but its large fuselage means not colliding with stuff is somewhat hard.
Imperial Courier (35T): Has not been tested, but should certainly work. Its boost speed might be problematic at the beginning of the race, so you might want to start further than 3km away to give yourself room for the 1st U-Turn.
Eagle (50T):Does well, but being heavier it has a harder time changing its direction during the U-Turns. Also its boost speed is high so you might want to start the race further away from the station. Frame's size makes collisions likely.
Imperial Eagle (50T):UPDATED It is much worse than the Eagle, so don't bother about it. Not a good option.
Viper (60T): UPDATED Like the Eagle, but heavier, inertia-er(er) and apparently less efficient. It's smaller though.
Diamondback Scout (170T): Despite its weight, it is in fact very maneuverable thanks to powerful Class 4 engines. However it does drift quite a bit, and its frame is somewhat big. Has the potential to win races, but only so much.
Vulture (230T): The heaviest/weirdest option ever. Like the DBS Scout it's very agile despite its weight, however it has a very large frame so collisions are pretty hard to avoid in general. Performance is sub-par. An ideal trolling ship.
The following ships aren't (or shouldn't be) viable options for racing:
Cobra MkIII(tested), Cobra MkIV(assumed), Viper MkIV(assumed), ASP Scout(tested), ASP Explorer(assumed)
I still need to test the following ships (for the lulz, nothing serious going on):
Diamondback Explorer, Type-6 Transporter, Keelback
The recommended ships are (in an arbitrary order): Sidewinder, Eagle, Hauler. And maybe the Courier.
I do not know yet which ship is the best for this kind of event, or if there really is a "best ship".
So really, just bring the ship you'd like to fly, as long as it's a reasonable choice.
Players who announced themselves for the event:
Me (CMDR FierceFalcoN) (event organizer, might race but will arbitrate the races in priority)
RewisionX [edit will almost certainly come]
LaboratoryOne (CMDR FatHaggard) [edit will probably not come after all]
CMDR OrangeSpark
I also heard that two members of SEPP (Social Eleu Progressive Party) would come as well:
CMDR red baron
CMDR ziljan
Post still subject to changes, keep a look at the rules and potential ships.
Posted Jan 5, 2017, 11:46 PM UTC · edited