Novice mode isn't easy enough...

[PatrickH]

Maybe I made a mistake buying this game, but I can't seem to do better than come in last -- usually trailing by 2 to 7 seconds behind the next slowest contender. And that's at "novice" difficulty.

Now, I really enjoy the game, but I can't unlock more of the game without earning points, and I have to come in at least 3rd to get a Bronze. I've gotten a couple of Bronze medals as a fluke, but I can't repeat the feat. When I rerun races that I've gotten a Bronze in once, the next time I come in last (as usual.)

Is there a trick or, if need be, a cheat that will allow me to open up more of the game? Also, my right thumb is getting really sore from pressing hard on the "X" button for extended periods. It's amazing how fast the hours slip by when engrossed in this game.

All suggestions are greatly appreciated.

~Patrick
p.s. If a little background helps, I'm 52 and recently unemployed, so I'm spending a lot of time with my PS3 and HD TV.

[drell]

Hello Patrick.

From reading lots of things here before joining, common tips are:
Practise in speed lap mode first.
Set acceleration sensitivity to 10%.
Turn off Pilot Assist.
Set airbrake to L1 R1.

These really helped me get passed the campaign, now Elite AI is good for me.
Really all about practise, try racing until you do not hit too many walls.

[SaturnReturn]

It's a tough game to play at the start, but once you get used to it Novice mode is plenty easy. They actually made the game easier on Novice ages ago by offering a Novice setting for Speed Lap and Time Trial modes, which didn't initially exist. It seems WipEout was always challenging though. Since playing WipEout HD I've had a shot at the challenge modes in older games like Wip3out. HD is generally very easy compared to those, aside from one or two of the trophies. In reviews I've seen, novice is generally considered a bit too easy and Elite is then considered ridiculously difficult in comparison. But it depends on general familiarity with WipEout I guess. If it's all new then it's a bit daunting, as it was for me.

Anyway, welcome to the forum. There is lot and lots of help available. Please look around and have a search, particularly for trophy help and general tips. I'm not sure what a search for 'tips' would churn up, but it's bound to provide a lot of useful info.

EDIT: Also, no, there are no cheats for the game, just determination.

[PatrickH]

Well, here's my reply to the following:

"Practise in speed lap mode first."

-- Where's "speed lap mode"?
EDIT: OK, I found "Speed Lap" under "Racebox", Race Type --> Speed Lap. I'll practice here for a while. I'm guessing that I'll want to keep Speed Class to "Venom".


"Set acceleration sensitivity to 10%."

-- This got me placing above last place in my first attempt. So now I'm 5 seconds behind the leader instead of 5 seconds behind the last one. Good tip!


"Turn off Pilot Assist."

-- Are you out of your mind!? I couldn't keep myself off the walls without the Pilot Assist.


"Set airbrake to L1 R1."

-- L1/R1 or L2/R2 doesn't seem to make much difference for me. I'll play with it a while longer and see how it goes.


Thanks!

~Patrick

[IH8YOU]

You may need the pilot assist - but that's akin to learning how to drive, while sitting in the back of a limo.

If you need it, use it - but don't become too dependent on it, otherwise you will have to completely re-learn how to "fly" in this game.

Also, welcome to Wipeout / Zone.

[Temet]

You MUST turn off pilot assist.
This is an option useful the first hours for persons that have never played to WO, but you have to get rid of it!

This is probably your first WO game but you know, AI in normal level is not very hard, you need practicing. You need to know all tracks by hearts (well, almost, I don't know them by heart but have a global idea for all of them), were are boosts pads and weapons pads, and where you can use barrel rolls

Training is the key man, good luck!

EDIT : AI in Elite level is really really HARD to beat!

[PLazarou]

Hi Patrick, welcome to the forums.

Some people find that Pilot Assist helps them learn the tracks, but you'll find most people on here telling you to turn it off. You tend to rely on it too much to push you away from the sides, so it takes longer to get a 'feel' for the way the ships handle. Plus it reduces your acceleration to 90% every time it's used so it takes longer to catch the AI. I'd definitely turn it off. It'll be painful at first but you'll learn much faster.

Changing the airbrakes to L1 and R1 is an interesting one... I'm not sure about this. Personally I enjoy the analogue sensitivity of L2 and R2 (it allows you to carve very smooth lines around certain corners), but it largely a comfort thing. A lot of people don't like the triggers on the PS3 pads as they are convex instead of concave - the Gioteck triggers are an excellent solution to this: http://www.play.com/Games/PlayStatio...3/Product.html It makes the triggers less slippery and makes the whole controller feel more comfortable for bigger hands.

As for general tips, I'd pick a good-handling ship like Feisar or AG Systems - these feel much more responsive to your turning inputs. Learn the locations of the pickup pads - these are more important than the speed pads. When there's an option, always go for the pickup pad. Learn to recognise the pickup icons, and use or absorb the unwanted ones (e.g. mines/bomb if you're in last place) immediately so that you can hit the next pad and hopefully get something better. Ideally you should be hitting and using/absorbing every pickup pad during a lap - when you improve you'll find there's rarely a need to 'save' a pickup, unless it's a Boost...

[Connavar]

Hi:

1) Be gentle on the steering, friends playing here oversteer a lot, and then hit
walls after walls, just try to keep your ship in the middle of the track

2) Always full thrust, and try not to use airbrakes too much

3) If you want to beat the AI on vineta-k, then practice this track on Speed
Lap until you can align perfect laps, and find a good place to boost ...
on vineta-k, the easiest place is near the end of the lap, just after the tunnel
there is a hill => boost there and barrel roll (BR) in the air, don't fly too high.

4) You're now ready to beat the AI on this track, repeat step 3 for every
other track/class combination.

NOTE: all this WITHOUT pilot assist of course, otherwise you won't learn
anything in phase 3, also, pilot assist slows you down

[PatrickH]

You MUST turn off pilot assist.
This is an option useful the first hours for persons that have never played to WO, but you have to get rid of it!

Never played... First hours... Yup, that's me. I bought it through the online Playstation Store and got hooked. When I select my ship my primary feature is "handling". It makes a big difference for me.

OK, I'll try it without Pilot Assist. (BTW, I did my first successful barrel roll yesterday. That was pretty cool. )

[LATER]
I forgot to click "Submit Reply" after typing the above message, so it sat on my screen while I played with the game a while. I'm having a real tough time without that Pilot Assist, but with what everyone has said about it, I'm committed to developing some proficiency to playing without it. I'm not there yet, but I'll keep trying.

~Patrick

[drell]

If it can be of any help, this was worth a lot to me.

WipEout HD Tutorials

[Temet]

You know Patrick, as far as I remember, when I began playing to WO2097 (that was in 1997), I also had some hard time at the beginning, always hiting walls (and pilot assist didn't exist).

That's cool you turned the pilot assist off, be proud man, even if it's difficult now.

In few days, you should win in easy mode

[PLazarou]

Give it a couple of hours tbh. I have confidence in this man's ability!

[PatrickH]

Have you ever seen a SciFi movie where the main character wakes up one day to discover that everybody else in the world has been replaced by an alien replica? And worse, the aliens have inhuman powers that make them impossible to defeat.

I figure anyone who can play this game withOUT the Pilot Assist must be some superhuman alien invader who is showing off their alien superiority in order to intimidate the last of us remaining humans into surrendering our planet to your inevitable conquest.

I guess I'm OK with it so long as you don't find out where I live and put a pod next to my bed one night.

~Patrick

[PLazarou]

Haha. You get it soon enough. The tracks are all short and easy to remember - you'll be able to play it blindfolded in no time!

[Temet]

Patrick, just imagine that yesterday I did 3 times a "99 laps speed lap session" to try to get under 23 seconds on Sebenco Climb.
Unsuccessfully ...
Eventually, I did a 22.70 seconds today after around 20 laps ^^.

You see man, training... more than 300 hundred laps on the same track, again and again... I sound as crazy as the guys I used to call crazy two weeks ago!

PS : the link given by Drell is a great course on youtube, you should have a look

[tug_14]

I figure anyone who can play this game withOUT the Pilot Assist must be some superhuman alien invader who is showing off their alien superiority in order to intimidate the last of us remaining humans into surrendering our planet to your inevitable conquest.



~Patrick

Well Patrick, you are in the X-Men's forum, didn't you know?

[leungbok]

You mean Lance is professor X ?

[OneAVGNFan]

It also helps to find a team that's natural to you.

Also, it helps to be versatile in more than one team due to the nature of the tracks.

[PatrickH]

Well, here are my biggest physiological problems with the game:

1st - When in a race I find that I stare unblinkingly at the screen and my eyes start to dry out. That leads to a burning/stinging in my eyes. Blink at the wrong time in this game and you're toast.

2nd - As I think I've mentioned earlier, my right thumb is getting really sore, and my hand is cramping up after a while. Right now, that's the biggest reason I don't play longer than I do; I get to where I simply can't keep going.


I looked at the YouTube tutorials. I think I need to develop some basic proficiencies before those videos will be particularly helpful.

I'm worn out. I've had enough for today. Well, at least for right now. I need to rest my hand.

~Patrick

[ProblemSolver]

There is nothing left to say. Oh wait! Welcome to the WipeoutZone!