ModNation Racers Online Discussion

[atheistsw]

You would have thought after nearly two years of playing this game that, by now, I'd have worked out how to shield properly. Well, I can, in single-player, against the AI, where there is no lag or latency issues to disrupt things. But, online, things are very different. I have lost track of how many times I've been leading going into the last couple of corners and all of a sudden I've been screwed royally by a bit of laggy Lvl 3 lightning or laggy Lvl 3 Hydra's. BUT, it's not just level 3's, even Lvl 2's have a horrible habbit of refusing to hit me when I've bought up my shield, choosing instead to sit just behind my kart until my shield bar is drained completely. With lightning you can sometimes get away with it, with a full boost bar by stopping and then starting shielding quickly, the game seems to know when you're shielding and won't hit you until you're not, it's massively infuriating. Even more frustratingly, this is completely random, so sometimes I can block as I would in a single-player racer vs the AI and it will work just fine, other times there is a massive 2-5 second delay. I think we've all agreed that it's really just the result of poor netcoding in the game but still...

Anyway, after a bit of a full-blooded rant in a game room last night when this kind of thing was happening EVERY SODDING TIME I've decided to turn to the pro's for tips and advice, as I race with people like panpa00, blackjet2000, Assyrion etc etc and they don't seem to be having half the problems I am, so I'm thinking that it can't ALL be down to latency and lag issues, can it?

So, I humbly ask the Elite racers, how do you block succesfully, factoring in the insane lag and latency this game is famous for? Is there some sort of trick to the timing, is there something your character does in anticipation (animation-wise) or do you have other, even more bizarre methods for succesfully shielding on your way to the win?

Please, share your secrets, I'm sure I'm not the only one that's intrigued to learn more!

[blackjet2000]

Dear monkey-kun,

For how incredible and absurde i can sheild, there are few simple factors:

-Timing

-Lag

-Track

-Luck

-Eco Boost

-Combination

I really can't explain all of this but i can assure you you need a nice timing, analyze the lag, delays etc. You also need to know if the track can puts up impossible situations such split rockets, wall glitching bolt. Luck is still a big factor, no matter how much you shield, you can't expect if there will be another attack in full room or if next attack will be laggy. Eco boost is simple avoid to use all of it, doesn't matter if you think you're losing speed, if it's action and you're not that far from your leader, than don't worry, save it from true danger and big opportunities. Combination is a trick all-or-nothing way to pass: if you see combined or crowded attacks you can decide to get hit or to shield all of them: a lv3 sonic rift with lv2 bolt and lv2 rockets inside of it can equally be nullified against your shield. (it's not like A BIG MASSIVE HIT CAN DESTROY YOU SHIELD).

Anyway you need a summary of kind of attacks this may happes such here's a quickly summary of Al's attacks:

Rockets: Really used to delay some seconds after the warning

Bolts: Lv2 are the same of rockets, lv3 is easily shielded when the beep sounds gets faster (lose only 1 bar of boost)

Sonic: lv3 sonic rifts are the longest by Als and some. Usually you press shield just when the sonic rift passes you by half second.

There are other hits such ridicolous early sonic rift, early lv3 thunders, invisible hits. You know, i am not god of shielding but the game is seriously messed up on that lol

[AngelG_No55_FTW]

Truthfully there is no real trick. You'll just have to develop a feel for it, but there's a thing that may help you quite a bit:

Elevation changes on the track and your speed both affect weapon blocking.

Especially going downhill or down a jump (bolts/swarms can be farther than they appear on the tracker on the left). For this reason don't rely just on beeps/the position tracker, look back as well! Additionally, if you're going really fast swarmers/chain bolts approach very slowly, so unless your timing is unnaturally good you're better off hitting the brakes then shielding or just taking a hit. In fact, at high speed and full boost blocking even a level 2 is practically impossible, so keep this in mind.

Basically, what is frequently chalked up to lag is just weapons moving around, following the terrain (usually).

Lag with missiles only begins when they bounce on top of your kart before exploding it. Lag with Sonic Rifts makes them hit earlier, but there are some terrain features (like around some jumps) that have the same effect, so it's hard to tell where small lag starts and odd behavior due to terrain begins. Bolt Storms, when there's lag, are pain. Sometimes the lightining comes down slowly every time, in this case it's not impossible to adjust to (though you might end up taking a hit or two figuring out the timing). But when the timing's different everytime, there's not much you can do other than perhaps not even bothering with the shield.

EDIT: Adding that in some cases, when there's a lot of stuff headed your way you're better off just getting hit instead of trying to shield the barrage, but if you feel that the weapons are all going to strike at the same time you can attempt to shield it and if you do you'll get quite the advantage.

[prob_alex]

i have a quick solution to laggy lightning....

first time it comes at you count the seconds untill it hits you... if its 3 seconds after the beep... it is normally that amount of time throughout that specific race... 

each race varies.. but normally the timing of each lightning after the beep on THAT race is the same...

P.S   normally larger game rooms present more lag...  if its normally 4 racers  theres hardly any lag...

These are my tips.. but im sure i will be proven wrong lol.

[AngelG_No55_FTW]

Actually, there's nothing wrong with what you've said alex, but in my personal experience there are some races where the lightining isn't consistently slow, and sometimes you'll get zapped quick even in a big room.

[Kuningaskotka]

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AngelG_No55_FTW wrote:
Bolt Storms, when there's lag, are pain. Sometimes the lightining comes down slowly every time, in this case it's not impossible to adjust to (though you might end up taking a hit or two figuring out the timing). But when the timing's different everytime, there's not much you can do other than perhaps not even bothering with the shield.

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prob_alex wrote:

P.S   normally larger game rooms present more lag...  if its normally 4 racers  theres hardly any lag...

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These are the essential things to consider when shielding against bolt storms. When the player count in a room gets to 10 and above I instinctively begin to shield a bit later than usual, expecting some lag. However in some races the lag varies a lot between hits (maybe depending on who's striking you with the bolt), then there is unfortunately nothing you can do.

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AngelG_No55_FTW wrote:

EDIT: Adding that in some cases, when there's a lot of stuff headed your way you're better off just getting hit instead of trying to shield the barrage, but if you feel that the weapons are all going to strike at the same time you can attempt to shield it and if you do you'll get quite the advantage.

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This is the secret to getting 15+ second wins, basically. If you get lucky and shield the sonic and thunder that hit you the same time odds are you'll gain advantage to those behind you. You should always keep your boost at good levels (like blackjet said), so you can shield when you get the opportunity.

[C_Wilson_24]

No, prob_alex, you are exactly right.  I have had the most success following that formula.  However, what Angel said is also right.  That can be frustrating when you wait 3 seconds and get hit before you can shield.  However, that is better than starting too soon, only to have your sheild run out on you.  In the other scenario, at least you have all your boost after you get hit.  But if there is consistency in the race, getting the timing down can really give you an advantage

[C_Wilson_24]

Sometimes you can use a little strategy and alter your speed so as to allow the multiple weapons to reach you at the same time.  That's pretty cool when you pull it off successfully.

[Lloyd2k4]

The only thing I can add to this conversation is to try and sit on max boost at almost all times in action races where you know it's going to get ugly.  If you read the MNR science thread, you've probably noticed that reaching maximum speed at *any* setting actually does not involve boosting and rather just letting the kart drift.  With this in mind, learn the spots on the tracks you race on where you lose speed due to technicalities and and the such, and only use boost sparingly in those areas to recover your speed.  Although this does not help with the luck, more boost = longer shield so it increases your chances of blocking a large wave of weapons or a pesky hydra that happened to spread itself some.

Also, if there's ever a large wave of weaponry coming towards you and you know you can't block all of it no matter what, let the first thing hit you so that you immune/blink the rest of it.  This way you can recover right away instead of draining yourself from the first and/or second wave and then be left with nothing for the final waves.  this includes recover boost to get your speed back up to a competitive level after getting hit.

[UFG_Modnation_SD]

On-Topic: A lot of great advice in this thread.

Off-Topic: Lloyd2k4, in your signiture, Who is that? Looks like Rias, but not sure.