Level 3
Just some general, non-track specific tips, for those of you racing online on custom tracks and such.
These are taken from personal experience while playing the game, some people have experienced different things.
I didn't make the game so I'm not sure if everything here is completely, 100% true, but they're based off reproducable things that I have seen or done in the game.
You can contribute to the guide by correcting me where I'm wrong and offering additional information.
Now that's out of the way, on with the guide.
First one: Jumps.
Jumps are the bane of speed. The bigger and longer a jump is, the more speed you stand to lose.
You should always try to avoid jumps.
Mandatory jumps are a pain, but on the occasion that you find yourself flying off a big jump, spin.
The non-guided mandatory jumps are an even bigger pain, misjudging these can send you off the track, into walls or, worse still, cleverly placed mines.
If you see a shortcut that has a jump, don't take it unless you know, 100%, that it is quicker or you can double tap X to avoid the jump.
There's not really much else to jumps, try not to tap (or double tap) X off them, because you lose more speed that way.
Some tracks contain cleverly designed shortcuts that don't have readily identifiable jump areas, like Fracture.
Boosting when you land after landscaped jumps is the best thing you can do here, since you won't lose any speed.
That's about it when it comes to jumps.
Don't try to spin too much and remember left stick can move you left and right in the air.
Second one: Cornering.
Cornering is something a lot of people lose a lot of speed on.
Basic racing principles still apply when it comes to making racing lines, but there are a few things to remember.
When you drift, your car doesn't gain speed or lose speed.
When you boost drift, the speed you gain does not transfer into extra speed when you stop drifting, save your boosting for straight-aways and not drifts unless you're drifting OUT of the corner.
Drifting into boost pads will make you go fast, as will drifting off those accelerator jumps (like the one on the last straight of Modobahn).
Drifting off of the accelerator jumps will increase how far you travel too.
For the fastest way to take a corner, just try and cut down the time you spend cornering.
Go all the way out, then turn all the way in. Try not to hit the inside of the corner or any other associated hazards, but it's not a big deal if you do.
Just remember that drifting turns into boost, so cutting down the amount of cornering you do can cut into the amount of boost you get too, although the less cornering you do, the more straight-away time you get, meaning if you have lots of boost, cut corners, if you have very little, savour them for boost.
Though for most tracks, getting boost isn't a problem.
For Pure Races and Time Trials, it's usually best to just get all of your boost on corners and hit all the straights at maximum speed.
Third thing: Boost
This is a little trickier when you put it in combination with the other two things.
Boost is inneffectual in certain circumstances, meaning you can waste it fairly easy.
- In the air, boost is useless. It doesn't increase your speed when you land or your speed in the air.
- Boosting over a boost pad when you're not at top speed will negate the bonus you get from driving over the boost pad.
- Boosting at a low speed or on off-road surface is less effective, but in some cases, necessary.
If you save boost, you may also be saving your own kart with a shield too.
There are a number of important decisions to be made when it comes to choosing between boosting and stockpiling.
The main things are:
- Is boost easy to get where you are on the track?
- Are you in the lead?
- Is it the first lap?
If boost is easy to get, don't waste points, boost.
If you have a full bar, you can't get any more boost, so just use it.
If you're in the lead, then try to save your boost.
The only exception to this is the above rule, in which having a full boost bar will not help you, in any way.
If it's the first lap, you shouldn't be boosting.
Boosting on the first lap is like buying all the houses on your first way round the Monopoly board.
Sure, you're ahead of everyone else, but what's in the bank for later on?
You're putting a lot of boost into counting on staying in the lead and nobody using weapons, which are two silly things to bet on (unless it's a Pure Race).
You should only boost on the first lap if you have a lot of boost and it will hurt you to hold onto it later on, or if you're in a Pure Race.
Even in a Time Trial it's better to save all your boost for that final stretch before the finish to build up that speed for the next lap.
Boost Pads are another element to boost.
These can be helpful or they can be extremely and horrendously painful.
Your job is to decide for yourself whether things could've gone better.
Boost Pads, contrary to popular belief, don't set you up to Max Speed.
Boost Pads only add to your CURRENT speed, this means, if you hit a Boost Pad too slow, you're hurting yourself by not just boosting manually.
Consequently, hitting consecutive boost pads IS NOT as fast as simply just boosting.
Boosting increases your top speed gradually, Boost Pads just set it to a slightly higher speed, until you start going faster than the speed that was set.
This means going over another boost pad for a small incremental boost in speed for the duration, or boosting yourself.
It's ALWAYS faster to boost yourself unless you're travelling at maximum speed, then when you hit a Boost Pad just after boosting, you will, for some reason, be going faster than your attainable maximum speed with manual boosting, in which case I encourage you to hit as many boost pads as humanly possible.
But none of the UFG tracks allow this, so it stands to reason that scenario is rare.
Red Boost Pads are also directional, meaning they well launch you in the direction the arrow is facing.
This can be good or bad.
It's a complicated affair, boosting. But once you figure it all out, you'll be going faster than ever and more importantly, keeping the lead for whole races.
Shielding is also another component of boost, which is a lot more difficult to master.
Weapons are a common affair, especially in XP races.
Shields are your defense against last place.
You can shield through mines, devestators and other field obstacles, as well as the item pod weapons.
I've never been quick enough to pull most of these off, but since the AI and some human players can do it, I'm assuming it's possible. I'm going to need some verification for this.
Anyway, some things are typically easy to time, but when you're online, lag is a big factor. Sometimes it's just better to take the hit and launch countermeasures of your own than it is to try and shield and spawn again with no weapons or boost.
Hydras are, as always, the biggest offender. In some cases lag missiles have been known to hit through shields, which is why they are very bothersome.
Some places where you can save boost by taking the hit:
- Guided jumps: Except for hydras, the amount of boost you save by not shielding is in most cases, more than what you get by spinning. Hydras will actually slow you down due to the amount of time it takes to auto reset you to the track.
- Shortcuts: You will sometimes spawn right at the end of a shortcut or back onto the main track further ahead. One of the few times Hydras are useful.
Generally, getting hit by weapons isn't a good trade off, but the most devastating thing is when you get hit by a weapon and then lose your own weapon. If positions are tight, always try to shield and counter. Effective shielding can always extend your lead more than reckless boosting.
The only sure fire block is Sonic Rifts, when you see them flying past you just shield up for a tick.
Always watch the radar (the little bar) up the left side, it shows you where all the weapons in play are as well as opponents and how close those weapons are to you.
When that icon is almost right on top of your head, get ready to mash circle.
Only red icons are locked onto you.
Level 3 Thunderbolts don't show up, to block these, just wait until the beep is at the point where it's ready to stop then block. It's usually the highest pitch you can hear from a warning. There's a very small (0.5-0.3 second pause between that and when it hits, giving you plenty of time to shield as the lightning bolt just comes down.
All lightning attacks work in this way. Approach the level 2 one the same, when it hits that highest pitch noise, you've only got about half a second before it hits. You can see it on the little radar up the side, too.
Missiles don't work this way, their warnings are too erratic to tell by sound. You can hear when the missiles are close by the sounds of their thrusters though, you can hear it in some cases before you hear the warning. Look behind yourself to see where they are. Keep an eye on their distance on the radar and keep checking until your character looks behind itself (literally, it will turn it's head around and look shocked) then shield.
It's not fool-proof, some missiles just can't be blocked, but level 2 missiles can be blocked this way, easily.
As you play, you'll discover more ways the shields work, but for the most part, these are the easiest and less circumstantial ways to block the weapons.
Then there's the almighty Sideswipe.
This little baby is what full grids were made for. For 2500 boost, you can hit MULTIPLE people up the side of your kart.
Just bump that right stick and woosh. You will stop any current boosting and drifting by doing so, so on boost pad areas, you will have to resume boosting manually until the next one if you choose to sideswipe, though it can be the most devestating attack in these kinds of areas as you are rewarded with a 3750 boost for every person your swipe hits.
Mostly, Sideswiping is a novelty and an afterthought, but if you use it in the right places it can be better than any weapon.
It can also be used consecutively.
Final thing: Weapons.
These little guys are what Action Races are all about. Whole strategies are based around use of the various weapons and well, you're not going to play an Action Race without seeing all of them at least once (unless for some reason the track has no item pods).
Weapons are a difficult thing to master, some of them are just fire and forget, but learning the ins and outs of when and where they are the most effective takes some time.
All weapons have their strengths and weaknesses.
- All Guided Weapons, specifically Sonic Rifts, will take the route they are fired from. This means if you're hoping to hit the person coming 1st and he is taking a shortcut and you fire from the main route of the track, it will miss them entirely.
Hydras, before they lock on, are also repeat offenders to this rule, occasionally all smashing into trees and walls in an attempt to hit a person they can't even see.
- Your level 1 Missile bounces off walls, however, your level 2 and 3 missiles explode on impact with any hard surface. Firing them inside a cave will, in most cases, explode the missiles before they have a chance to lock on to anything.
- Level 1 Blues, can be sideswiped through at the right distance. The little blue effect might stick around but it only effects people within the immediate range when you fire it, the rest is just for show.
- The level 2 Blue fires straight in front of your kart. Using it on a corner can cause yourself to hit the bombs before they land.
- Greens are like Reds when fired as mines. The level 3 warp, however, shoots out an oil slick, not a mine, that can hit multiple people. This means if you put it in the right place, not only will you get a TON of boost if you're in the right position, you can also enjoy a lot of extra XP at the end of an XP race. Much like the level 3 Thunderbolt. It's exact effect I haven't experienced before, but I assume it slows you down. I have fired a few before and recieved a full bar of boost from it, though.
It's extremely rare to be in a position to use it as a mine effectively.
- Mines disappear after a time limit. Level 1 mines only last about 5 seconds before they disappear. Level 2 mines, however, last about 30 seconds. Level 3 last about the same as level 2s, maybe 45 seconds or a minute.
I'm not completely sure of the EXACT times, but the level 1 missiles don't last very long, the level 2 ones last longer than the level 1s and less than the level 3s, the level 3s last the longest. These are estimations, not approximations.
- The closer a weapon is fired from, the less downtime you suffer from it.
People further in front will get taken down for longer than someone you smush right in front of you.
It could just be me, but this how I it feels. When I'm closer to where a Sonic Rift was fired from, I spend less time flailing around in my kart and lose less speed. I could be wrong though.
Dodging weapons and softening the blow.
- Sonic Rifts, for some reason, don't effect you as badly when you're entering a drift (I used to think it was jumping but nope, it's entering drifts).
So just hold X and turn if you don't have much boost and you will recover a little better. I think it has to do with the way boosting effects your speed and the way rifts slow you down.
- Take a shortcut. Some weapons can't hit you while you're in a shortcut.
- If a Hydra chases you into a cave, there's a good chance there won't be any missiles left by the end of it. Saving you valuable boost.
- Dropped mines will attract weapons. If there's a few homing missiles after you, drop a mine and it will hit that instead.
Sonic Rifts will remove mines from the track, however.
This tactic can also be used to clear mines from your path if you're about to run into one.
- Warps will temporarily turn you invincible. Obviously, in the lead, this is the best way to save boost when you're being chased by a Hydra.
That's about everything there is to it.
Your driving skills should be able to piece together all this information and hopefully make you a better driver.
If you have any information not listed here, go ahead and post it, I'll add it to the list.
Remember, it's general information on game mechanics, not specific techniques.
Techniques don't work all the time, every time, like drifting into a corner to get all the Hydras to bunch up. So they don't have much place here.
But if you want to make a thread for them, go for it.
Level 3
I think your mine durations are a little bit off.
Level 1 mines have a small radius, and only last about two seconds (yes, it's that short; only use them when someone is immediately behind you)
Level 2 mines have a small radius, and last until someone hits it or it is destroyed. I really don't think it has a timed life, because I've seen some horrible Level 2 mine placements that have stayed on the track for an entire race.
Level 3 mines have a large radius, and last until someone hits it or it is destroyed. Same as Level 2, but with the larger radius, signified by the circle around it.
Does anyone wish the Level 3 mines would just be huge fat things instead of having that silly looking circle around it? It would look a lot funnier 
Level 3
Lloyd2k4 wrote:I think your mine durations are a little bit off.
Level 1 mines have a small radius, and only last about two seconds (yes, it's that short; only use them when someone is immediately behind you)
Level 2 mines have a small radius, and last until someone hits it or it is destroyed. I really don't think it has a timed life, because I've seen some horrible Level 2 mine placements that have stayed on the track for an entire race.
Level 3 mines have a large radius, and last until someone hits it or it is destroyed. Same as Level 2, but with the larger radius, signified by the circle around it.
Does anyone wish the Level 3 mines would just be huge fat things instead of having that silly looking circle around it? It would look a lot funnier
I used to think level 2 and 3 mines were permanent, but they disappear from the track sometimes.
It could just be weapons hitting them or people driving over them shielded, I just figured they were timed since the level 3 warp mine doesn't last forever even though multiple people can drive over it.
I'm not really to sure now.
I lent my copy out to somebody else because my internet has been mucking up, so I can't test it out right now.
Only my laptop can connect, very slowly.
When I get it back, I'll test it out for sure.
Unless somebody here is a MythBuster.
Level 3
"When you drift, your car doesn't gain speed or lose speed.
When you boost drift, the speed you gain does not transfer into extra speed when you stop drifting, save your boosting for straight-aways and not drifts unless you're drifting OUT of the corner.
Drifting into boost pads will make you go fast, as will drifting off those accelerator jumps (like the one on the last straight of Modobahn).
Drifting off of the accelerator jumps will increase how far you travel too."
You actually do both gain speed when drifting and can pretty much reach top boost speed without actually ever boosting. I'm assuming you already know the boostspeed can be maintained by continuing to drift as you said you don't lose speed when drifting. I just don't think it's pointed out perfectly.
Also "loose" (holding the stick in neutral position) drifting is often the best type of drifting and what lets you maintain/gain the most speed. Especially in sandy ground this will make you turn while trying to turn in will slow you down horribly and pretty much stop in some situations. Therefore it is often best to only use left and rigt for minor adjustmens and otherwise make it keep going in neutral as much as possible.
Additionally there's 3 methods for taking tight consecutive turns that doesn't include boosting at all.
1) Simply briefly release the gas and hold that and jump down simultanously.
2) Tap X to superjump and it will make you drift better.
3) Drift normally then during the drift tap X to start a new drift in the same direction.
Normally in my experience the third is preferred and if it is the last turn and you can get out of it boosting through is often better. 2 and 3 can also be combined because even if you don't superjump, pressing X again in the air WILL make your drift tighter. It is sorta hard to do on a normal hop (but can be done), but can be useful if you're dropping from an edge-
An example on above drifting could be the best start (in my experience, and it was faster than eb4 on the hot lap) on fracture is to normal drift the first 2 turns, then do 2 drifts on the third, and finally boosting a drift through the last turn up to the ramp.
Level 3
You keep going on about all this neutral stick drifting, but if somebody cuts the corner on the inside of you and then boosts, they'll end up going faster than you anyway.
Sure, drifting in COMBINATION with boosting, will make you go faster, but drifting alone is not going to get you up to maximum boost speed. Not even if you hold that drift for 1,000 years.
If you enter a corner at maximum boost speed you'll carry that speed through the drift until you stop drifting, at some point you'll have to stop or switch back.
Double tapping X into drifts just sends you into the corner slower. The more angle you have going into a corner, the slower you'll be drifting. Go off a jump and just, hold down X then start turning in the air.
Double tapping X has the same effect, it gives you more airtime to get a higher angle, but at the cost of a lower speed.
I don't know what you're talking about with that sand stuff, off road materials just lower your speed by a set amount.
By saying that turning while drifting in the sand will make you stop, you're saying that drifting makes you lose speed, which it doesn't.
Also, I've covered taking tight corners somewhere else but I guess I'll say it here too.
If you go up the outside of a corner, start drifting later than you think you need to, then just turn all the way in, you won't hit any walls if you're smart with that left stick.
I see a lot of people fail miserably at breakwater because they can't drift through corners properly.
Once again it was a general guide on game mechanics, not a guide on how to beat eb4 at hot lap.
Most people don't know any of the stuff I just wrote up there when they play online, which is why I made the guide.
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