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Strategies - Driving

If your having trouble dodging that paticular weapon, or maybe finding your way around a map, this is the place to seek truths!

Have a driving question or info to ask? E-mail The Speed Shop.

Thanks for answering my other question, Here's another one: If you put 16" rims on Jade's Pirahna (60 armor and chassis) will it handle better than a Dover Lightning w/ 16" rims? I say this because somehow, my [HF] Official variant of the pirahna has 60 armor and I wonder if I should use it more often. P.S. Good page, I bookmarked it.
- Elwood [AAA]

The Pirhana should handle better simply because it's a lighter car, and less weight that needs to change directions during maneuvering translates into a more responsive vehicle. This is why sports cars in real life are kept light as possible, with extreme cases of often utilizing fiberglass, Ti, or carbon fiber components. Your [HF] official 'rhana variant, however, could cause some consternation with some players, because it is for all purposes a hacked car with unnatural armor levels. Be cautious who you play or you could run into trouble during online play with it (in non-hacked games). Glad you like the page. :)

Am I the only remaining rhana driver? It seems everyone these day is in a stag or a manta of some other insanely large car. Do you, oh, omnipionent one, have any tips for driving the orange beast?
-Tramp Roylae

Sure, as with all cars, analyze the strenghts and weaknesses. The good parts of the Pirhanna are many: Relatively light weight, many hardpoints for weapons, fast, handles excellent, and a good jumper. Weak point being slightly less than ideal armor levels. So do as the Strider does, speed is just as good as the toughest armor in open terrain, and a fast opponent is a dangerous opponent because you have little time to react to their attacks! A good suspension system (coil overs) coupled with a high performance (SHO V-8) engine should be a match made in heaven. And try to get your opponent in a turning war, your low armor isn't good for head on payload trading with the likes of the Manta and Stag! Your rear weapon, against these cars in paticular, can be your greatest asset when used wisely.


I have been expirimenting with a clydesdale equipped for ramming. What's the best way to ram someone? I usually end up missing and hitting a wall or cliff and then having to cap 'em with morts. Any ideas on how to crush one's opponent the first time? I'm using a Clydesdale with armor thinned and chassis jacked up with structo bumpers, mud flaps, and nitrous. Oh, yeah, weaps are just a my truck, oil, WP out back, a 7.62 turret, and a flame thrower in the front.
Thanks,
-The Grocer

Well, ramming is a risky proposition, and even with a cable modem game, it's usually hit and miss (har har!). But seriously... one way to increase your ramming percentage is to stay OUT of F2 view, this view tends to be one of the worst in terms of lag. Your cockpit view is a more accurate way to gauge other object positions while you are driving. Since most AVA players keep the chassis pretty light, why not slow them down with lots of oil and go for many slower speed rams instead of one hail Mary attempt? Also try and keep off the dropper during your high speed ram attempts if you are in F2.. it will lag you and your opponent like badly. (Also a great way to reduce chance of getting rammed.. stay on the dropper.) :)


Great site. It is always a rarity when a gaming site actually has text to read. Imagine that, actual useful, well written info, on a gaming site!
Here it is: I'm a driving game nut. I have a quickshot joystick that cost me $5, because I was much happier spending the big cash for a good quality steering wheel/pedals combo. I went for the Thrustmaster T2 wheel and pedal combo, which has 4 buttons along with the wheel and pedals, button 1 and 2 being the "gearshift knob", and button three and four being two small red buttons on the plastic "dash" next to the wheel itself. That $5 joystick is useless for i76, with 2 buttons and horrible calibration. So, for months now I've been using my wheel and pedal combo for i76. The good news is that I can literally drive circles around everyone even the best duelers in multiplayer games... the wheel and pedals give me incredibly precise control. The bad news, is that this doesn't always do alot to prevent me from getting killed. Reaching to my keyboard for whatever reason is a very difficult task which involves driving with one hand and pressing keys on the keyboard with the other. This means whenever I am reaching for the keyboard, I cannot press any firing buttons. Using the .45 is almost impossible. Targeting, shutting the engine off or switching views can often turn an otherwise good duel into a good view of me on my lid. What kind of car would you recommend to take advantage of the precise control that the wheel and pedals allow, while keeping the trips to the keyboard at a minimum? Thanks again,
-Yeastman

Well, from my personal experience I don't know what to say. My only tool for I'76 is my AT-101 Standard Issue Windows Certified IBM Keyboard. ;) However, one of the major strenghts I have noticed and admired of the joystick user is the ability to utilize multiple weapon systems simultaneously. Remember though, an important strength in I'76 is the ability to constantly switch views, and this is the strength of the keyboard user. So you are basically given a choice, have the excellent driving and weapon management abilities with the joystick, or have an excellent battlefield 'perception', due to all your focus directed at one physical tool (the keyboard). But your situation is unique... From what you have told me you have one very important strength, precise handling... I would maximize your advantage with the very manueverable cars such as the Rattler or Strider, and rely on a maze of dropper droppings and dangerous maps to achieve victory (presuming you can out drive them with your wheel). If you haven't done so already though, you can go into the I'76 configuration menu and simply change all you keys to something more comftorable. But if that doesn't work, you may want to consider joining the ranks of us Keyboard drivers.. try it, it's not so bad! :) And thank you for your comments... good luck!


Saw the stuff on mortar vs fast cars and just had to poke my head in.... speed CAN be defeated by mortars... but you have to lead by an insane amount. Figure on one car length for every 10 or 15 miles per hour that lil stider is hauling, and try to draw a line that follows the car, but BEFORE he passes your mortar clouds.... once you see him jink around, you know you got close :) With my backwards driving, making curves that follow fast movers is not as hard as it sounds. Apply this tactic with the oil dropper so that they will be in a nice straight line, and no more lil bugger.Also, I was wondering what the Sui word on d3d was. Do you use it? What do you do when it comes time to .45? I find the framerate is still not that great in f1, and have high hopes for that 1.1 patch.
-EMP Zaphod AVA

Zaphod brings up a good point, yes, while skilled mortarers can fend OFF a small car, you can't chase a faster vehicle that is already out of mortar range, from point A to point B, using a mortar.
D3D? What is that? Just kidding. I have not used the D3D patch. I heard so many curses from fellow players as to the nightmarish .45 lag that I deleted my download of it before installation. Now as for 1.1, we shall soon see how it runs (if SSS is sent a copy). Expect a competitve analysis to be done by one of our staff as to the pro/cons of this upgrade when it comes to frutition.


I have a problem fighting against cars that are faster than mine. I already drive a strider most of the time, but occasionally I will meet another small, fast car (or one of the monster stags in the open games) that outruns me, and suddenly I can't range my mortar anymore, and my firedropper becomes worthless. How can I win against faster cars?
PI CaTo

Well, you have a serious problem. On one hand, you're ALREADY in one of the fastest cars possible, but to chase FASTER cars?
Good Luck!
You don't have the armor, and more importantly for a pursuit, you don't have the hardpoints. In short, if you want to chase smaller, faster cars, but still retain your mortar, your going to need a second hardpoint with a missle launcher or cannon. Generally speaking, droppers of any type, will do no good when you are chasing someone, and neither is a mortar. If someone wants to run away from you, either let them, get NOS, or get more hardpoints.. So you want a small, fast pursuit car? Try the coupe, or the rattler, where you can put an AIM on you hood AND a mortar (although you will lose your dropper). But a V-8 Strider with an HE mortar chasing a V-10 deuce coupe through the salt flats is going to be one tough kill...


Im a pretty good fighter and use driving skills to my advantage, I use a Piranha cause it has such great handling to me. I kill people using driving skills, and not a barrage of mortars etc. But usually when Im attack by fire/mortars I lose my suspension or brakes first, wich makes me pratically dead, what can I do to help my driving in these conditions?
-teA cUP db DMV

Well it sounds like you don't have enough chassis protection. WP mortars have the nasty tendency to do internal damage quite quickly. "WP" means White Phosphorus, which is a very hot substance similar to napalm in purpose. Subtract some armor from the outside of your car, and put it in the inside of your car. To avoid the nasty flame drops, Dali has been known to use 16 inch rims, which evidently increase the likelyhood of your survival through a burning inferno. Also, get cup holders. Your bound to get thirsty driving through all those hot spots!


Quick question for ya Sui: Will the Courcheval Corchelle w/15" rims handle better than the Dover Lightning(same set-up) with 14' rims?
-INT Bozzer

That's a tough one Bozzer, and I'll tell you why... From strictly a driving performance perspective, I would consider the Lightning to be a slightly better choice. It has a more stable feel to it, does not flip as often as the Courchelle, and accelerates better. (The Lightning is a lighter vehicle). From a combat viewpoint however, 15" rims are the way to go. They are more robust in combat, and grip far better during hard acceleration (less tire to give, more rim to support that tire).


Heya, Master of Funk. I'm pretty good in a fight. Sadly, my lack of driving ability causes me to roll my car over so often that I tend to have pretty bad kill/death ratios. Any tips for better combat driving with less fatal incidents?
-Thomas

Well, keep your winshield clean. Do you know how many fatal accidents could be prevented each year if people did proper hygenic maintainece to their glass? Other than that, get curb feelers. Legend has it they give you the benefit of the doubt when you are about to roll your ride. One last thing to consider: Your car. Every car has a diffferent center of gravity in I'76. The Courchelle and Dover, though similar in overall design and performance, differ in balance and center of gravity. The Courchelle is much more likely to flip. The van is also a likely canidate for flippage. And Remember the Reagan years.. "55 - stay alive!", and that stupid law (since revoked) on speedometer ratings no higher than 85 MPH.