Star Citizen Wiki wrote:The 999th Test Squadron (also referred as the 999, Squadron 999, and The Wreckless) is an elite squadron for test pilots founded by Michelle Saleno since the beginning of Humanity's journey into the stars. First incorporated in the 2130s, the unit proved its value throughout the centuries to make space travel safer for everyone by testing ships' technological limits and piloting experimental spacecraft fearlessly. Although the 999 designation was used because the squadron started "outside of the normal structure" and supposed to be temporary, it stuck with the unit. Today the 999th squadron is assigned to 18th Battle Fleet and stationed in Chronos system.
Detailed background:
Portfolio: 999th Test Squadron
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm ... t-Squadron
These Squadron 999 F8As are gorgeous!
https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/co ... e_gorgeous
shakazulu9912 wrote:Would you get your account perma banned for trying to steal that since I heard players are not suppose to have access to it?
SgtDoughnut wrote:Morph released a video of him flying one, but a Dev did pop onto the server and asked how he got it. He probably got a pass due to being a YouTuber so it's best not to push it.
lol
So back in September with Alpha 3.20 CIG introduced the "Arena Commander Experimental Mode Schedule" which you can view here: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/spec ... e-schedule
Chris Wayne Schmitt | CIG @Wayne-CIG wrote:Star Citizen Alpha 3.20 introduced a major revamp to the Arena Commander game module, introducing new and explosive Experimental Modes that get you straight into the action. These new game modes range from simple variants of existing modes, to brand-new experiences that explore new mechanics, locations, and even in-development features before they are introduced to the Persistent Universe. As previously mentioned, our intention is to rotate this modes in and out of the game in limited-time cycles.
In short, they added a different experimental mode to Arena Commander at roughly the rate of one or two modes per week, each mode unlocking a Spectrum badge on successful completion. And if you completed all of them, they gave you a 999 Squadron badge!
I knew I had to have this as soon as I saw the announcement, but the schedule was quite brutal for my nomadic lifestyle at the time, so I failed to even get started with these modes, let alone complete all of them. I was quite despondent at this failure, because I thought I'd never get the chance again, but then in October CIG offered a new schedule... which I also failed to tackle. And again in November. And again in December.
BUT now there's a new one for January, and the deadline for the first mode is TODAY, in like a few hours, so if I complete this challenge today, I have a chance of making it during January. Here's the schedule:
Chris Wayne Schmitt | CIG @Wayne-CIG wrote:
Start and End times for new modes are 16:00 UTC / 9 a.m. PDT.Update for January 2024 - Arena Commander Experimental Mode Schedule
Gun Rush
- enabled indefinitely
Team Elimination: Luminalia
- available now through January 8
Battle Royale
- December 17 - December 24
Team Tank Battle
- December 24 - December 31
Master Modes: Duel
- December 31 - January 7
Single Weapon Elimination (A03 Sniper Rifle) & Tank Royale
- January 7 - January 14
As you can see, it's Battle Royale which expires today, so the moment I post this thread I'll try to log in with Shadow and complete this. Not sure if the connection at the airport will hold up, but I'll give it my best. Also not sure what the conditions for victory are, but shubn says all you have to do is play one match. I've heard otherwise on Spectrum though. I've heard that some of them have pretty steep completion requirements. Either way, if you do manage to pull off whatever requirement there is, make sure you don't quit too quickly because the achievement might not get logged. You are supposed to wait a bit to make sure it registers.
I am sorry I didn't make this thread earlier to alert people, and left it for the last moment. If you want this achievement but don't have time to play Battle Royale within the next few hours, it's quite probable that you'll get another chance in a month, so look out for that. At least now you know.
The badge by the way doesn't give you access to the special F8 paint above, though people have asked for it, and it would be an insane reward. But who knows, CIG might sell it at some point. It'd sell like hotcakes. Until then, I want the badge so I can roleplay that my character used to fly for the 999, and if you want the same background trait, get the badge yourselves and we will write it in your character's background on http://cultcitizen.org
In short, if you WANT the 999 badge and plan to try and get it, post in this thread, and try to help people get it when they tag people on Discord for partners. I'll do my best to help people when they are online. Not sure how many modes can be done solo, or even if there are any that require co-op. Maybe all of them can be done with randoms.
Some of these modes btw are said to be very fun. I've heard great things especially about Gun Rush. Maybe that's why they at length decided to enable it indefinitely, because people were complaining when it got taken off the rotation. So the whole thing should be fun, and good practice too, in various mechanics, loadouts and vehicles. (Though I probably wouldn't be playing if not for the badge, because I'd rather just put the time into the metaverse than arcade mode. That said, when the arcade mode goes IN the game with the VR pods... that will change everything, and then I'll buy a pod for my apartment and play it quite a lot. CR says that as "Death of a Spaceman" [ > ] gets closer, the penalties for dying in the metaverse will get huge, and then people will basically have to train in the VR pods to avoid massive losses in the metaverse. So you can consider this challenge as a preview and preparation to how we'll be playing the game in the long run.)
And that's all I got for now. I am rushing to get my first badge, and will report back my results!
