Are there reliable shortcuts?

[Drakkenmensch]

From browsing through the Wipeout XL, I found a very complete guide on where a sneaky pilot can cut across some turns and gain time that way. So now I'm wondering if Pure has the same shortcuts available to expert pilots.

Now, I've had a few runs on Ubermall where the second turn in the chicane following the spot where the track splits and reunites accidentally launched me in the air, though I haven't been able to reproduce the perfect conditions of approach to do this on purpose.
(still working on that!)

Has anyone been able to figure out the best angle of approach to make this shortcut possible - or indeed, found other shortcuts elsewhere in the game, in the other tracks?

[wirehang]

On Modesto Heights at Phanom you can cut off the last corner (with the big sign) by using your boost just before the ramp.

matt

[eLhabib]

as you said, you can cut the chicane after the narrow section at ubermall if you use a boost uphill. watch out for the pole tho! :D
I have managed once to grind along the right side of the loooong right turn after said chicane.

also, on blueridge you can cut the big right turn after the jump slightly with a boost. emphasis on 'slightly' otherwise you will be respawned.

on sinucit I have once managed to fly straight over the hole after the first turn by using a turbo and pitching the nose up, but that was lucky I guess...

on citta nuova I once saw someone fly over the last chicane with a turbo, used it when he came out of the corkscrew. haven't tried myself yet tho.

at staten park you can cut the slight chicanes after the first dome by grinding on the sides.

that's all I know.

[wirehang]

as you said, you can cut the chicane after the narrow section at ubermall if you use a boost uphill. watch out for the pole tho! :D
At all speeds?

[eLhabib]

with a turbo pickup, yes. without, only at phantom if you're lucky.

[Drakkenmensch]

At Phantom, I frequently got launched accidentally on that Ubermall ramp in the chicane if I try to hit the speed pad and use the airbrake to take the left turn - so it's probably just a matter of timing and practice to find the perfect way to get an airlift over that turn with every lap, and get a barrell roll boost upon landing. I sense several seconds shaved off my best race time once I get this one right :twisted:

[G'Kyl]

It's definitely possible at Phantom and probably at Rapier, too, Drakkanmensch. It's very satisfying, too. :) It's difficult, though, as you need to start flying straight, then roll, then go right. Don't know how much seconds it shaves of a lap time since I'm not too fond of shortcuts and therefore ddn't practice the move.

Ben

[Sven]

The respawner makes shortcuts rare, and not much good. More than once at Modesto, and Ubermall, I think I've been respawned just for going too high...

[Drakkenmensch]

Granted, there's going to be a need for experimentation. The shortcuts in XL were also subjected to Wusswagon pickup if you went too high or too far off-course...

[lunar]

none of these shortcuts are really all that effective, for me at least. Just because you`re in the air and missing a bit of track it doesn`t follow that you`re saving time. If you`re doing something that could just as easily result in disaster its probably best to avoid it. With most of them the turbos required are better saved for other parts of the track - unless you`re near the end of the race and need to do something drastic.

for example, to use the Citta Nuova shortcut effectively you would have to take off at exactly the right point of the track and at the correct angle, barrel roll, brake and turn left in the air, landing on exactly the right point in the track to avoid a disaster when you boost away again. The chances of all this happening four or five times in a row in a race.... or even slightly more than once in a blue moon are about the same as a bunch of monkeys accidentally writing the works of Shakespeare, and about as random in my case. :roll:

sneaky barrel rolls like the one on the hump at Ubermall are a different matter though. The Ubermall trick could work... but even then its surprising how little you gain if you immediately have to lose loads of speed again to get around a corner. Of course if you`re good enough to keep the speed up every time its a different matter. All of these decisions are a cost/benefit analysis, I suppose. No fancy tricks and stunts can be a substitute for smooth flying..... unfortunately. :wink: Which is a good thing in the end.

[Drakkenmensch]

You make a very good point, Lunar, one that will greatly reduce the amount of searching.

What we have to find are shortcuts that can be executed only through your normal speed, or at most using readily available speed boosts or barrel rolls. The Ubermall trick is still an available option, as it's easy enough to plan to grab the speed boost, so it would only be a matter of practicing the takeoff.

Any other places you guys noticed where the naturally occuring positions might be worth a look for a snappy jump trick?

[diagram]

I have noticed a few in the gamma tracks.. (all four), i'll play them a few times and write the locations down. Only one I can remember right now is on staten park.

[wirehang]

Yeah, Staten Park has that bumpy straight before the final chicane/tunnel

matt