Anouncing the Corporate Sectors Run! This is a more fast paced, shorter veersion of the Deneb Run through territory that the other race doesn't cover. It will occur every Friday at 9pm EDT. It begins in Helios D-14( I believe). It's the non serco station in Helios at any rate. Contestants start 3000m out and within 300m of me. Racers go through Ukari and then thruogh UIT space to Edras. Then the contestants go through grey space back to Helios D-14. First one docked in gets the prize (1 million crdits), 2nd gets 500k and 3rd gets 250k. No shooting before the race begins, but during it's all good.

Signup below!

P.S. - A new moderator for the race is needed. I won't be around enough to run it and when I am around, I'd rather race in it. =D Anyone who's interested, please tell me. CDC will still pay for the prizes (right Onina?).

Ill help when i can

/me wonders how many ships you'd need to create and maintain an effective mine field to blockade a wormhole...

Count me in, but only if you don't allow valks. It's cheap that a nation specific ship should be able to dominate these races.

-Calder

Why? Shape's recent argument saying that Proms are balanced is that while they are unmatched in 1v1 combat, they can't run. So what's the problem with Valks being excellent runners, but only decent in combat? Do you think Proms should be banned from the CLM Last Man Standing Battle?

Beolach:
Why? Because valks are more than decent in combat. And while proms are very good in 1v1 combat, they are quite bad at group combat, hence they shouldn't be banned from the CLM Last Man Standing. And they are best with ROCKETS for Pete's sake. I could be 500k that the winner of the CLM thing is NOT going to use rockets. They just run out to fast for a battle against multiple people.

-Calder

Heh. I'll take that bet. 500k says the winner of CLM Last Man Standing flys a Prom. Also, if a Valk wins I'll pay 1 mil. Valks are among the better decent combat ships, true, but they are not a match for a Prom, either in 1v1 or many vs. many combat. So why should they be banned for being good racers? And even if they were banned, there'd just be a different ship that was the best racer. And Valks don't always win the races, either. I'd say the Valk's edge in racing isn't any more than the Prom's edge in combat.

The instances where valks haven't won the race are rather few, IIRC. And since not all have access to them, that does give an unfair advantage to those who do; it would be ridiculous to work on Itani faction for the sole purpose of having a chance (a chance, mind you, not a guarantee) at winning these things.

No, leave out the valk from these.

Everyone's just pissed that I beat them in a Valk with UC Batt.
>:P
I think that all racers SHOULD be required to run the same ship and same batt configuration on some of the races. Only fair. THEN it's a true test of piloting skill and luck at avoiding ion storms...

Requiring the same ship & loadout would be best, if you're going to worry about it at all. ALL of the fastest ships (Valk, Orion Hornet, etc.) are faction specials, so some people aren't going to have access to them. If you're going to allow participants to choose, let them choose anything; if you're going to limit it, limit it to one generic ship.

That would be best, yes.

If you're going to limit the ships and loads, you might as well make it simple and do a bus run. Personally, I think that a verity of ships and configurations adds to the challenge and stratagy of a race. Yes I know I really messed up on my first race with the heavy batt but it is a part of the learning process. But Beolach has a point too. Restricting the use of Faction specials adds some fairness to the game too.

And yes I'll try to be there this Friday and without a heavy batt.

Race will be normal this week. I'll consider some changes though.

grabs a valk for the last man standing

I wonder who's gonna run it this week.

I think the centurian MkII with FC would be a good ship for a race with a required ship. Make weapons optional. A Bus run would take too long.

--Harpo

Will there BE a Corporate Sectors run this week?
Who will give out prize money? CDC? Who's commander of that outfit now?
Who's MC'ing the race? (Noooo, don't look at me!)

From the I-Was-Bored Department:

Blockading a Wormhole with Proximity Mines:

Assumptions: The goal is to create a sphere of proximity mines surrounding the wormhole such that it should be very difficult to pass through it without triggering a mine. Thus, we need a sphere of mines with a radius of 1000m centered on the wormhole navpoint. We want the mines to be spaced closely enough that finding a viable gap is difficult, but far apart enough that a single detonation does not destroy the entire sphere. Thus, we space them exactly 100m apart. The detonation and splash radii overlap slightly, ensuring that any gaps in the sphere are not large enough to admit a ship.

Facts:
Wormhole area radius = 1000m.
Proximity Mine detonation radius = 70m
Proximity mines per ship = 20

The Numbers:
Surface area of the Blockade "Sphere" = 4*π*1000² = 12,566,370m²
Area covered by a single mine = π*50m² = 7854m²
Number of mines required (approximation) = 1600 mines. (see note 1).
Number of player ships of the same nation required to complete the blockade = 80 ships.

Notes, Caveats, Provisos:
1. The estimate of mines required assumes a rectangular projection of the surface of the sphere which is then covered in a gridlike fashion with mines, and is likely incorrect even for this case.
2. None of the players participating in the blockade can leave the sector, or the mines disappear.
3. The blockade could potentially be constructed by players of different nations, as long as they are very careful as they place their mines.
4. The blockade is very easily deconstructed by shooting a few of the mines from a safe distance, creating a hole large enough to pass through.
5. The blockade is not likely to kill a single ship attempting to pass through it unless it is bounced into several of the mines or multiple mines are placed in the same spot.

Comments or corrections are gladly accepted. Remember to show your work.

And we'll just shoot the mines anyway and zoom through the opening.

Yes, note #4.

I never said it would actually work ;)