22nd Anniversary - Need for Speed Dublin, Pennsylvania, Provence, Shikoku. Racing Event Open participation
DATE & TIME
March 1st, 7:30 PM UTC (racing will be live right after patch)
OVERVIEW
To mark the 22nd Anniversary of Freelancer's release, Discovery has partnered with Regulancer to host a celebration event. A micropatch will be released shortly containing new racing mechanics. To explore how this new gear works, on the 1st we'll be hosting a racing tournament across Pennsylvania, Provence and Dublin.
Racing engines are special Light Fighter mounts that allow you to travel at the Ludicrous Speed of 1,000ms. They have near instantaneous charge times, and function like a temporary speed boost - they burn your power, and once it's depleted, you'll be forced out of cruise again. They also affect your thrusters, boosting your speed to approximately 600ms.
To make good use of this pair of mechanics, you'll need to engine kill and maneuver precisely to preserve your momentum and slide around tough corners. In addition, Aingar's magic means we now have FLHook supported racing that'll track your lap times and add waypoints to each ring. This also tracks the top times for each track using a local leaderboard. This functionality will expand further in the future.
Racing engines will be purchasable from:
Allentown Base, Pennsylvania.
Golden Dragon Casino, Shikoku.
Heisenberg Research Station, Cologne.
Monte Carlo Freeport, Provence.
Noshima Freeport, Shikoku.
Trafalgar Base, New London.
Valley Forge Station, Pennyslvania.
Waterloo Station, New London.
As we want everyone to be able to participate and this is a part of a wider pan-community event, roleplay requirements will be removed in proximity to the races. This is an opportunity to come together and have a good time, regardless of faction or ID. Staff will be hosting the event on the main Discord server's stage as well, with @TheKusaristreaming on Twitch. Please join us if you want to listen in to commentary!
DETAILS
Racing Overview
Staff "Umpires" will be located at the Valley Forge Proving Ground (Pennsylvania), Sayre Gauntlet (Pennsylvania), Shikoku Slalom (Shikoku), and Monte Carlo Tour (Provence) to host qualifying races. Races will be run with between five and ten participants, depending on the level of interest.
Ships that win a race will be eligible to participate in a final race at Dublin to find a champion.
Depending on how many qualifiers are run, this may involve multiple races as groups of qualifiers are narrowed down for a final race.
Betting, commentary and cheering is encouraged, and will in fact be incorporated into the mechanics down the line.
Racing Mechanics
Only staff hosted races count for qualifying, although you are welcome to use any down-time between official races to practice on your own.
To use some of the commands, you must select the first racing ring solar or one of the racers. This will display the track's name.
/race solo <lapCount> [raceNum] - immediately starts a solo race. Must have the first ring of the track selected. If there is more than 1 route for the track, specify the number.
/race host [raceNum] - host a race lobby. The host is also a racer. Must have the first ring of the track selected. If there is more than 1 route for the track, specify the number.
/race join [spectator] - joins the lobby of the targeted player (participants work as well as host) as racer(default) or spectator(if specified)
/race setlaps <lapCount> - sets the lap count for the race. Host only
/race start - begins the race. Host only
/race disband - disbands the lobby if the race hasn't started yet. Host only
/race withdraw - removes you from the race and forfeits your standing
/race status - prints real-time stats of the race (times, checkpoints), triggers automatically when the leading player finishes a lap.
/race info - prints info about the race (host name, loop count, participants)
Rule Changes:
All racers have unlimited respawns.
Interfering with ongoing races is forbidden.
PvP around the racetracks is forbidden during the event.
RP is not required around the racetracks during the event.
Temporary Jump Holes will be spawned to connect the racetracks during the event.
Rewards:
Custom Title
Requires participation in the event.
Racing ships & equipment
Racers who qualify for the finals will obtain a unique holo-roundel to mount on their ship.
The event champion will receive a unique champion holo-roundel to mount on their ship, and a news article featuring their character (staff discretion applies).
Can we get some more details on the qualification race schedule and the requirements to qualify for the final race? Do we have to qualify through one track, or all of them, or...?
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(02-28-2025, 11:39 PM)TheSauron Wrote: Can we get some more details on the qualification race schedule and the requirements to qualify for the final race? Do we have to qualify through one track, or all of them, or...?
Staff members will be hosting races through FLHook at all of the tracks simultaneously, so you can head to whichever one you want.
We're not entirely sure how long it'll take to clear individual races yet (not very long), but we'll continue with qualifiers until we've got a decent pool of people to move on to the final track. You only need to be the winner in one race to move on.
(02-28-2025, 11:39 PM)TheSauron Wrote: Can we get some more details on the qualification race schedule and the requirements to qualify for the final race? Do we have to qualify through one track, or all of them, or...?
Staff members will be hosting races through FLHook at all of the tracks simultaneously, so you can head to whichever one you want.
We're not entirely sure how long it'll take to clear individual races yet (not very long), but we'll continue with qualifiers until we've got a decent pool of people to move on to the final track. You only need to be the winner in one race to move on.
Nice ninja. I'd just add that some people will probably be available before the "formal" start, but assume that most staff will be ready only at the posted time.
Course I don't ya hunk a junk, I built this damn thing but its memory banks are busted. Simple rules Bretonian, one round, no shootin, or bumpin, and if you stink it up or chicken out on the course you'll make me angry.