.
we're starting it off with list of shortcuts for 2097, already posted by Asayyeah [Arnaud Senand] in the Pilot's Lounge forum, but copied here as an excellent introduction to the specialised world of Wipeout racing technique. bear in mind that while 2097 and XL are very similar in the ultimate times that can be done, the way in which they're done may be somewhat different. it's a question of ''floatiness'' which is different in the two versions, and determines where and how big the shortcuts will be. shortcuts may seem fair or unfair, but they are allowed by the physics engine of the game, which attempts to model a kind of reality of the future. the rules of the Wipeout games do not say they're illegal, so times made while using them are allowed in the records tables. here is Arnaud's guide to 2097 shortcuts:

Posted: 06 Apr 2004 17:07 Post subject: List of Shorcuts
Well, as many players have already known this, i have discovered many shortcuts on Wipeout 2097, and few on W3O&W3O SE.
I am going to begin with 2097 my favorite one, obviously Al already know most of them but I wanna create this topic for those who didn't find them before and did want to experiment them.
Personnaly it's one of my interest to find & use shorcuts. Why? because it's an antigravity game so for me flying through walls or after a big jump it's not cheating , cheating is when you put codes. But i need to be more precise on this above, here's my position : i just gotta admit i adapt myself to what have been allowed by the programmer( consciously or unconsciously) . My aim is just to do the best time i can do with what i have got or fund ( airbrakes tapping method or regular shortcuts or insane, unrightness, immoral shortcuts )
I hope in the next generation we could fly as 2097 but without non-sense shortcuts...let's see that in a close future ( make a pray to GOD Wipeout )
Well after this brief explanation. Let's enter the Matrix....of shortcuts.

Wipeout 2097

Talon's Reach
The first one is very wellknown : you can cut the first big right turn at the beginning ; you don't need a turbo weapon to do that on phanthom class, just up your nose and turn a little right through the right wall, be careful in the air don't go too much on right because the wuss-wagon will take you back to the track. With the turbo weapon you can land properly in the middle of the S ( left right turn) just before the ' C ' section ( little tip : put your turbo when you cross the line, up your nose in the middle of the hill just after the last blue left pads and directly cut on your right, fly and land around the weapon icon on the S turn)
The second one is more exciting: you can do this one without any problem & turbo on phanthom class ( achievable without turbo on rapier with auricom and quirex but it's hard), the meaning of this one is going straight away from the C section to the tunnel's entry avoiding the S turns before it ( the tunnel's entry ). In fact when you cross the ' C ' section ( in the middle of the track) there's a small hill, up your nose at the beginning of it ( try to be around 300 kph) cross the wall which is on your right ( don't go too much right : Wuss wagon) in the air you can see the beginning of the tunnel's entry, land properly in the middle of the road ( you maybe need to twist your neg a little on the left when you are in the air). My Tip : If you have a turbo weapon try to put it before the C section, up your nose, cross the wall , down your nose before landind because sometimes there's an invisible wall if you are too high in the air, if it's doing well you are around 400 kph inside the tunnel ( with original ships it's not bad) I only use the first shortcut with Pirahna

Sagarmatha
Just one : but a massive one !! After the beginning of the first tunnel you have an hill which turn on right ( 90°) , if you succeed this one you land just before the jump ( the one before the big right tunnel). It seems impossible but it's true. For that you need absolutely a turbo weapon on phanthom class.Just after you turn on right ( the 90° right turn) Up your nose & put turbo at the same time when you climb this hill ( try to be on the right side of the track) and go through the right wall. Try to find the limit for the wuss wagon when you are in the air try to first land around the C section after that you can find the way to land before the jump. Don't use this one with Pirahna

Valparaiso
There's 3 here ( one small, one big & one i know where it is but can't manage to succeed it...). The first small shorcut is after the long straight line , at the end of this one , left curve & you enter a long opened tunnel, up your nose, put turbo W.when you are on the left side of the track , then cross the wall in front of you ( it's not a big cut just to avoid the few bumps on the right and have a decent straight line entering the right curve). The second one is the one which is difficult to succeed in it : crossing the 'C' section try to be inside the right curve, & be extremely fast to do that ut turbo & up your nose in the same time and twist quickly on the left to land around the entry of the left & right tunnel ( with that technical you have avoided the small cavern with his hard left curve). The last one is really the best one ( you can also do it with the pirahna ship) when you get out from the L&R tunnel , i ve formerly mentionned, put your turbo, don't up your nose for the now try to not decrease your fast speed then when you approaching the big downhill, up your nose when you cross the double pads ( try to arrived from left to right in diagonal) and go through the right side of the wall: well done you are now in the air , when you can see underneath the track on your left with his 90°left corner before the red zone, then twist on your left you can land smoothly on the long straight line ( parallel from the red zone). With this one you can gain at least 3 , 4 seconds... I only use the last shorcut with pirahna

Phenitia Park
there's also 3 here ( one small, one very big & one which i don't use ). The first is the smaller one just after the first little right curve, you get a jump, go on the left side with or without a turbo ( in Phanthom class) and land near the double left pads ( you avoid the long left corner). The second is the one i do not use it's due to the probalities 's law : take another turbo in just one weapon icon is really thin. But if you decided to use this 'cut you need a turbo and another one to chain the last shorcut... So where is he located? try to be on left side when you cross the first 'C' section, nose up + turbo, go straight & land just before the big jump ( you go through a big building on the right side of the track). And if you are lucky you can chain the last major shorcut : when you were in the air, surprise!!, you took a turbo, then you land , get it & up your nose ( try to be on the right side of the big jump) go straight ( you need to continue seeing underneath the track which is on your right, then turn left when you are approaching the end of the big right tunnel and finally land around the second ' C' section ( you have avoided the whole right tunnel !! Did not use any shorcuts with pirahna

Gare d'Europa
Sorry for to the hunter's shortcuts, i didn't find any one efficient on this track. Just a little one but i rarely do ( never with pirahna). He is located near the 'C' section, put turbo when you go out from the tunnel just when you see the tram-wagon on your left, up nose then go on your left to go higher ( cross the 'C' section in the air) twist right ( you cut the first right curve at the end of the big straight line in downhill) that's the only thing which is permitted by this.

Odessa Keys
What a lovely place to find plenty of incredible enormous shorcuts, i have discovered 3 massive shortcut. I only use the last one with pirahna. Well let me introduce the first one : how to avoid a difficult way where your ship bumps all the time, you see where? You start the race with a right & left small cave, then you climb an hill with two pads on your left and one on your right , up your nose ( but not too much) get turbo on the right side of this hill and go straight away( you absolutely need to see the track underneath on your left otherwise : wuss-wagon), when you are in the air turn softly( & down your nose ) on your right to land comfortably on a straight section just before a 90° left corner ( in fact you ve avoided the ' basin ' [ geographical term!!] with the difficulty of bump) This one wasn't very easy to describe, but the second shortcut is easy to locate but quite hard to succed in it. Arewegooo... : after the 'C' section there's a small downhill & you enter a large & long left,right,left tunnel at the end of this one you can see a upstairsbanner with the fat cat : the target is to avoid this tunnel... get turbo & up your nose after crossing the 'C' keep you in the right side of the track before the small jump and take off then in the air go straight away during 2 seconds & when you see the fat cat underneath you, down your nose then turn a little on your left ( go through the fat cat ) and when you hit the ground turn right & left with airbrakes to land softly ( it's a risky business because you can crash easily into the tunnel & explose).The third & last one is a very big one ( Al knows very well this one, i just add one thing more to his method ) after the end of this ' above speech' tunnel, you can see a small uphill with 2 fractures from the track ( the first just after the hill and the second after the big right corner), climb the hill from left to right ( cross the X2 left pads), up your nose, and cut the corner, you absolutely need to land on the single pad's line( where there's the 2nd fracture)& take off immediately on your left, follow in the air the underneath track ( find the limit on your left side with the wuss wagon) if you succeed well you can land on the straight line rather in the pits ( more efficient for having a good time). In phanthom class you can quite easily do this last one without any turbo ( don't forget to just up your nose at max & try to not hit any walls inside the tunnel to have enough speed to cut the first right corner from the first fracture). With a turbo weapon get it when you are in diagonal ( from left to right) , just be careful about not going too much on your left when you take off from the 2nd fracture.

Vostok Island
There's three and a half!! The half one is not a real shortcut just a good tip for having a straight line when the track is divided in 2, take the right track, up your nose and try to find a straight line from here to the first fracture, later from this there's a triple pads on the left, you climb a thin hill which turns into downright,entering a dark tunnel which also turns into right with a single pad's line ( see the 2 tiger's head from both side of the track and the ' danger ' banner ?) It was the scene of the first real shortcut ( avoid this part of the tunnel) : in climbing the thin hill i told you before, up your nose& turn right very quickly into right at the top of the hill ( try not to hit the left wall otherwise put your turbo to have enough speed to cross the tunnel in the air and then land between the 2 tiger's head near the ' danger ' banner). Neverless if you won't hit the left wall before, you now need to get your turbo here, just keep it for the next shortcut( very close from where you land...). The second is not really a big one but if you manage to do it perfectly you can link it without anymore turbo to the last one which is bigger : Just before the 'C' section there's a left pad at the top of a small hill get your turbo here&up your nose. The aim of this one is going through the wall which is on the left side of the 'c' line and land after the fracture ( you have avoided this fracture) then if you land softly without decreasing your speed on the part of track which turn very softly to the right you can go on your left to avoid the jump & the big long left curve ( with the pits) and land softly at the entry of the tunnel. Concerning pirahna i always take the first real ( not the half one) and also the last shortcut.

Spilskinanke
There's only one which is truly possible to succeed ( another one which is not a real one just a tip and another one only done one time by my mate Sleh with a lucky autopilot, i will explain those just after the only one which seems achievable)
When you start the race there's a big hill which turns right, get your turbo , up, and go to your left then to the right to cross the super-structure , but you need to be absolutely on the extrem right side of that building ( in the air ) in order not to explose if you hit this one, and you can land if you succeed just around the pits , under the red bull banner: it's really an impressive one ( the most hardest for me in all the shortcuts). the second one is a small one : when you see the C Section in front of you, up your nose ( no need to have a turbo to do this one) and cross the wall on your right side, in order to have a straight line when you enter the pretty difficult tunnel ( which is not a major difficulty if you try to stand on a straight line inside it).
The Sleh shortcut is easy to understand but i'd like to say it's an impressive one : he started to up the nose like me near the ' C', get turbo , cross the first right wall ( like ive done) but where in the air go straight , he took it by chance an autopilot when he was in the air and immediately got it just half a second the wuss-wagon would have caught him : you know where he lands?? Just at the end of the tunnel ( 4 seconds gain at least), we have tried to do it again , no chances at all !!
I was forgiving a little one : at the end of the race you've got 2 fractures from the track after the first one go in straight line, up your nose , cross the wall in front of you then you land largely after the 2nd fracture

Last edited by Old asayyeah on 10 Apr 2004 22:15; edited 3 times in total