ZONE / Zone Battle thread of vEry awEsomEnEss

[mdhay]

Chances are this has happened to just about anyone. And no, there isn't any way to disable them, unfortunately.

[AG-wolf]

Just posting to say I took one look at this thread's title and burst out in laughter

We have -definitely- all been there before XD

edit: when it was its own thread entitled "Accidental Barrel Rolls on Zone FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"

[ZixXer]

jeps happens alot when i came out of corners and that went a bit wrong so try to correct it... on high speeds it is just anoying! -15 hp is lot then

[Cyberio]

Yeah, i entered in the moved post "Accidental Barrel Rolls on Zone FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-" and i have to say it's worse when I am in supersonic in Syncopia and then I make one by mistake (and failing it too), this is a huge "ffuu", because I will not gain more energy at zone 90.

[AppleJack]

Accidental barrel rolls. Gotta love 'em lol

Happened to me the first time I hit Zone 72 came off the overpass at Anulpha and twitched the left stick a little too much and that was all she wrote.

So close to that blasted Zone Zeus trophy.

Don't know if I can hope to attain 90+; for now I'd be ecstatic with getting to 75.

[DreamyElf]

try running at Syncopia.
after at least 5 tries and constantly improving your lines, you should reach supersonic.
now if you are talking about reaching zone 75 on Anulpha Pass, it will take a lot more effort.
keep trying though and you'll reach it eventually!
remember: without practice you won't succeed in wipeout.
i constantly improving my zone times everytime i run in zone...
ok,except my chenghou 45 zones maybe! XD

[AppleJack]

Thanks for the advice. I did stop playing for some months (was playing other games, not sure why now lol) and only just started playing Wipeout HD again just in the last couple weeks, but I've been playing on average 1-2 hours a day doing nothing but Zone. I'd forgotten how sweet HD (and Zone) is.

The best I've been able to do on Syncopia is Zone 58. Might be a bit of a step back at this point for me to try for Zeus on another track I'd have to learn all over again. At the low zones it is easier, but once I get into the 40s and beyond it's a pain for me (keep missing the track on that stairstep-like section towards the end lol). I did get the Airbraker trophy on Syncopia though.

The only track I've managed to break 70 on is Anulpha Pass, and I've gotten to 72 twice, so I'm getting close. I think I've logged over 7000 laps on Anulpha (have to check my stats to be sure), which is about 10 times (at least) the number of laps I've run on any other track, so guess I'll just have to stick with it. I think it'll just be a matter of time before I figure out how to get to 75.

[AppleJack]

Well, after nearly 9,000 laps on Anulpha, most of those on Zone, I finally got Zone 75 and the Zone Zeus trophy. I died pretty much immediately after I took this pic (the original 1280x720 image is now the wallpaper on my Wipeout-themed PS3).

In celebration I started another run doing what I'd done once before, doing barrel rolls off the overpass each lap until about Zone 35. Got to Zone 70 and set a new personal high score in excess of 190,000 points.



Now onto the next challenge: trying to learn the pain in the rear tracks in HD like Sebenco and Chenghou. Zone might be a good way to try to learn those tracks (Anulpha's the only track I've managed to beat the Elite AI in Phantom, and I attribute most of that to Zone).

Take Care

[yeldar2097]

Congratulations AppleJack, awesome feeling isn't it?

Some may disagree with me on this one but here's my take: Zone is good for learning the tracks up to a certain extent, but after that you really need Speed Lap and Time Trial. The dynamics of the Zone ship won't really let you get a proper 'feel' for the tracks, partly because it does stick to the floor a little, so little bumps/places where you might pitch up/down for stability purposes in normal races will be unbeknown to you if you've been learning the track through zone.

By all means use Zone to learn the corners, but the rest needs to be learned in SL/TT/SR. For example (until higher Zones at least) the long banked left-hander on Chenghou Project is quite a bit easier in Zone mode because the ship doesn't bounce around like a 4 year old on a trampoline. Stuff like that ^_^

Someone else might have a better idea though

[OBH]

Sticks a little? slight understatement there! Corners on CP behave totally different on zone.

[Jav]

Set a new personal record yesterday, 448.000 on Anulpha Pass, 113/93 I believe. That sees me go 3rd overall. Hmmm, 478.000 is still a long way.

[ProblemSolver]

Congrats AppleJack for Zone Zeus!

@Jav: Good old Anulpha Pass. Drains energy like crazy doing all the
perfect laps / zones and stuff, doesn't it? I remember doing only 2 or 3
runs per day while going for a new record. Repeating without end doesn't
work for ZONE, fortunately. But a good zoning strategy may help to improve
the score.

ps did you get my pictures with me on 4th ?

Sorry mate, I thought you were sending me all the records (pix). Updating
only two tracks isn't worth the effort. Currently, I don't have any time to
care about the records (taking pictures etc.), because I'm on something new
with respect to gaming (from a programming point of view), but it shouldn't
take too long until the records are in line again.

... Some may disagree with me on this one but here's my take: Zone is good for learning the tracks up to a certain extent, but after that you really need Speed Lap and Time Trial. ...

True. ZONE is a completely different story with respect to normal races and
vise versa. But it's good to know both. A cool thing about ZONE is that
one can experience a given track from a complete different angle.


About the BR issue some people are experiencing.
If one understands the handling characteristics of the craft and the delay
until a possible BR sequence cancels, the problem goes away. One of the
key-insights into ZONE is that you have to understand that you can't
arbitrarily control the craft at will. The timing of the input(s) is of
utmost importance. In essence, the input characteristics must go in line with
the handling characteristics of the craft, which itself is dictated by the
physics / dynamics of the craft. The problem with ZONE is just that you have
to make your decisions as fast as possible -- ahead of time! For example; if
you make a mistake at one point on the track, then you have to know how this
mistake will carry over to the next two turns such that you can adjust the
craft accordingly right at the spot without exceeding the craft's handling
limit. However, this doesn't extend without end. The band where you can
smooths out mistakes gets smaller and smaller as the speed goes up since your
reaction time and the handling of the craft do have limits. Not to forget
that you may possibly run under a very high blood pressure with your body
full of adrenaline.

[wiintermute]

Fantastic insights as usual, PS.

To me, one of the most amazing/scary/challenging/exciting things about running in high zones (that's around 80 for me ) is how UNFORGIVING the game becomes. Even the tiniest mistake results in an avalanche of painful, merciless repercussions. You and the ship have to be one, absolutely perfect synchronization of thinking and movement is crucial. It's quite astounding how demanding, draining and satisfying this experience is

[DreamyElf]

you forgot to mention the connection between you and the ship:
your favorite music

[Reezy]

Pro Tozo has got to be the most physically demanding track. Once I'm past zone 40 my neck starts to ache from all the left hand turns. I feel my head moving with each corner, you have to use air brakes on almost every corner, and its such a short course there's no time to get a breather. I even find myself making "blink points" ie. parts of the course where its safe to blink.

[yeldar2097]

Mmm yeah, I just can't get used to that track, likewise with everywhere except syncopia

Broke Mach 1 for the first time on Sol 2 a couple days ago. Excited to even be anywhere near the likes of Wowo and PS (even though their records are WAY old )

[Reezy]

Yea I noticed you have alot of new records recently You've overtaken me on the overall zone rankings.

You've actually got the most perfect zones on Sol 2 :O A couple extra barrel rolls and you'd be first.

[DreamyElf]

i dont like Pro Tozo either...
it's the most difficult zone track for me.
i dont know but i have a problem with left corners...
even in real life when i used to ride my scooter i hated left corners and i loved the right corners,weird...

[yeldar2097]

You've actually got the most perfect zones on Sol 2 :O A couple extra barrel rolls and you'd be first.

What? BRs on Sol 2 in Zone mode? Is there something I should know?

[ProblemSolver]

I think it's possible to BR up till zone 30 on Sol2. I BR'd only till zone
15-20, I guess. There are a lot of points on the track. And as such,
the current record say nothing. Was taken in no time. Same holds for
Uebermall. So there you go.

Edit: You can jump off from the ramps after first turn. Easy. And way
cool!