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2. Mission Success, Failure, and Scoring
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Your run is successful when the crew vehicle reaches the designated safe area near the interplanetary ship. Reaching the safe area stops the clock and ends your run.
Collisions with debris do not disqualify you, but they cause damage that lowers your score. A successful run is one that gets the crew to safety as quickly, cleanly, and efficiently as possible.
There is no pass/fail cutoff in this competition. Every run receives a score, and a poor run simply receives a poor score.
However, a run will end early if the crew vehicle accumulates the maximum allowable damage. When this happens, the mission is over and the run is scored based on distance from the interplanetary ship in place of time. All runs that don't arrive at the interplanetary ship are in a lower score "category" than all runs that do arrive. The exact scoring function may be adjusted by the competition organizers.
Fuel is not limited, and running low or using a lot of fuel will not end your run. It will only reduce your score.
Your score is based on three factors: how fast you reach the safe area, how much damage the vehicle takes, and how much fuel you use. Each is compared against a nominal (reference) run.
| Component | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Time Score | Nominal Time ÷ Your Time | Faster than nominal gives a value above 1.0; slower gives a value below 1.0. |
| Damage Penalty | 2 × (Your Damage ÷ Max Damage) | No damage gives 0. Reaching max damage gives 2.0 and ends the run. |
| Fuel Penalty | Your Fuel Usage ÷ Nominal Fuel Usage | Less fuel than nominal gives a penalty below 1.0; more gives a penalty above 1.0. |
Raw Score = Time Score − Damage Penalty − Fuel Penalty
A raw score of 0 means you matched the nominal run. Positive is better than nominal; negative is worse.
The raw score is converted to a final score by mapping −0.5 → 0 and +0.5 → 100:
Final Score = (Raw Score + 0.5) × 100
A nominal run scores 50. The final score is not capped, so exceptional runs can exceed 100 and very poor runs can fall below 0 (for example, a raw score of −1.0 becomes a final score of −50).
You reach the safe area in 80% of the nominal time (Time Score = 1.25), take damage equal to 5% of the maximum (Penalty = 0.10), and use 90% of the nominal fuel (Penalty = 0.90).
Raw Score = 1.25 − 0.10 − 0.90 = 0.25 → Final Score = 75