The benefit to this game is that it can accommodate as many or as few racers as we want. There can be one-off events, or we can turn this mini-game into a tournament with a grand prize at the end. Make no mistake, we will have to work through a few balancing bumps and bruises before we get to that point, but I hope you'll find that this is an enjoyable event and that we can keep the competitive fires burning in a series that doesn't require a lot of time or posts, just a random number generator. More detail provided to you below.
Selecting a Ship:
The one thing that sets you apart from the competition in Colossus Time Trials is your ship. Each ship has four different stats, depending on the speed of the ship and its durability. In some cases, a ship may have special effects, though I'm still giving these some thought. The four major categories of each ship are:
- Minimum Roll
- Maximum Roll
- Maximum Collisions
- Collisions in a Row
The Course:
One factor that affects all of the racers is the course. Each course will have a certain number of checkpoints, depending on the type of race. A sprint will have about 5 checkpoints, whereas a marathon race might have up to 20. There are also course effects that may take place, where racers will be affected by conditions on the course. For example, if the race is held in Castilon's asteroid field, the number of maximum collisions may be reduced for all ship types. There are other effects that will take place depending on the course effect, for example, a pirate raid. If you are unlucky, you may trigger an effect that attracts the attention of pirates, who shoot down your racer and disqualify you instantly. If this gives you pause, breathe easy, there will be standard races with no course effects, just a standard race to the finish.
The list of course types and their effects will be detailed in a separate post.
How it All Ties Together:
Every racer will start from zero and work their way up through each checkpoint. At each checkpoint a roll will be conducted based upon the racer's ship's minimum and maximum roll limits. In the end, the racer with the lowest score wins!
It's not that simple though. Every racer is trying to complete the course as quickly as possible, and therein lies the danger. Each checkpoint is a ring suspended in the air by repulsorlifts, which requires precise handling to pass through cleanly. Oftentimes, a racer will clip one of their wings passing through these rings, damaging their vessel.
No matter the course format, if a racer rolls a zero passing through any checkpoint, their ship sustains a collision. While rolling a zero is greatly to the pilot's benefit, their ship will not be able to hold up to many collisions, or especially consecutive collisions. If a racer meets their ship's limit of maximum collisions or collisions in a row, their ship crashes and they are disqualified. There are certain ships that are more durable than others, but oftentimes these ships will be slower, which is indicated through their maximum roll limit.
Finishing a Race:
One of the greatest benefits to Colossus Time Trials versus The Chase is how quickly the results are calculated. The independent race coordinator only needs to receive what type of ship each participant is using, and they can go to work and begin rolling for results. This way, if any participants go inactive or are unresponsive, as long as they provided what type of ship they're flying when signing up, the race can continue as planned. All results can be combined into one large post at the end, and a winner will be declared.
In Conclusion:
That concludes my general overview of Colossus Time Trials. I expect that you have a few questions after reading this. If you do have questions, please ask them on the forum rather than on the Discord server so that everyone can see the response. After the ships and courses lists are posted, I would like to take this mini-game on a trial run. Please stand by for that information, as it will arrive shortly.