NaNoWriMo Wipeout Novel?

[Granpire Viking Man]

I've been planning on participating in this month's National Novel Writing Month, but now that it's two days in, I'm realising that I don't have a strong story. I planned to make a story based on the Wipeout Universe, something about a pilot in the early days of Wipeout, preferably based on the Wipeout 2048 timeline.

The problem I have, along with a few other Wipeout fans that I've noticed, is that according to the timeline of Wipeout and the history of AG racing, the only official racing started in 2050. I've read the character profiles and the basic history of the league in Pierre Belmondo's character profile, and I've made an attempt at finding out a few details through the Wikia Wiki. I am new to this, though, and despite a slight familiarity with the Universe, I need more details.

I don't really know what I'm asking, perhaps if starting the story at the dawn of the 2048 supposed "early races"(canonical or not?) is really a good idea? Is there more back story to work with in other eras? If so, could you point me in the right direction? In the WipeoutZone fiction section, there seems to be more material based in the early games(Wipeout, Wipeout XL/2097) than later on, but maybe I'm not seeing the big picture.

I was considering that my character could be participating in some very early pre-tournament games, before the official races in 2050, but if the stakes aren't high enough, will I have enough excitement to base my story upon? I could take the story right through from 2048 to the 2050s, or I could abandon entirely the early first races. What do you think my best bet would be?

It's probably very stupid of me to scramble at a story this late in the month, since I've already wasted over a day of writing, but any help or direction would be greatly appreciated. Prompt responses would be very appreciated.

[F.E.I.S.A.R]

There does not seem to be much material for the post-F9000 Collapse period. Perhaps you could say how it became a bloody hell after the collapse,and how the recovery happened.

I plan on writing an anthology of my excerpts...

[Granpire Viking Man]

I've already decided to make my main character John Dekka, the lead pilot of AG-Systems in the first Wipeout game. This is my NaNoWriMo profile, where you can also see my novel information.

I stumbled across his character profile on Answers.com(offical? no? not that I care) and his description fit my idea perfectly. Former military, former pilot, fled the country to become an AG-Systems pilot, and most probably met Pierre Belmondo in person.

All of these were ideas I had in mind before I started writing, so the character was an astoundingly perfect match for what I was looking for.

With all the news surrounding Wipeout 2048, I'm starting to think that canon storylines aren't even important to Studio Liverpool anymore. I wasn't originally sure whether to set the game closer to the background of Wipeout or Wipeout 2048, so I decided to make my own version of events, loosely following the Wipeout Timeline and some details from each of the two games.

After all, I don't expect to be published, and it's just about writing. I'd be glad to have some members of the forum read it when (if) I finish, and correct any details or improve some suggestions.

One question would be about the speed of ships in the first Wipeout. I know it isn't as fast as future games(so I've read, anyway), so I might push that boundary a little, but I just want to know what the speed in kilometres per hour of the original Wipeout ships would be. If that information is impossible to get, what would you estimate those speeds to be, based on other Wipeouts.

[infoxicated]

There does not seem to be much material for the post-F9000 Collapse period.

To get me in the right frame of mind to write the 2190's stuff for WipEout Pure I felt that I had to flesh out what happened in the aftermath of the F9000 collapse, but because it's just a fragmented collection of ideas rather than a continuous narrative I don't think it was ever published as part of the official WipEout websites.

So it exists somewhere... probably on the hard drive of my seldom used PC!

I think the WipEout universe is an excellent canvas for NaNoWriMo, though, so best of luck with it Granpire Viking Man. I thought about taking part this year, but just have too much on to feel like I could give it my best effort.

[Light Buster]

Great idea. I'm also interested in some of the track origins and backgrounds, like Moa Therma.

[Granpire Viking Man]

I might not be able to introduce Moa Therma, since that track wasn't introduced until Pulse, but I can try and find ways to sneak some favorite tracks in, since this is supposed to be early-FX3600 era, before the "official" tracks were made . This way I can introduce tracks that were removed because they proved too dangerous to race.

I'm only at 8000 words at the moment, which is very behind at this point. I will try to finish anyway, and if NaNoWriMo ends before I finish, I'll devote more time to editing and details, since this is naturally what I like to do, and is very counter-intuitive as far as NaNoWriMo goes for me.

Hopefully, the community can help me with this.

One big question:

Just how dangerous is Anti-Gravity racing?
I know there are weapons and the like, but how live/dangerous are these weapons? Since they play such a big part in the series, are some safety measures in place to protect pilots from a destroyed ship?

I've already sort of established in my plot that AG-Systems is more committed to safety than other teams, but is Anti-Gravity supposed to be a dangerous sport, or does it only look dangerous?

[F.E.I.S.A.R]

It looks dangerous. It also IS dangerous.
As to how dangerous the weapons are, I guess that if fired at a person,it would kill...so spectator deaths are to be factored in as well...

[Granpire Viking Man]

Now I'm confused. If Anti-Gravity technology was controversial because it could be used for military use and violence, why would the public support something that kills civilians?

I thought Anti-Gravity racing was created to unite the people in support of Anti-Gravity technology? I don't see how such events would be permitted if civilians can be killed. Have civilian deaths ever been a part of official background on the game?

[AG-SYSTEMS]

I think the spectators are shielded from harmful stuff. I've seen stuff fly into the stands, and it seems to just stop short of killing them. And I think the craft have auto-ejector cockpits in case it blows up. Kinda like a racing boat when its crashes.

I've blown up my fair share of AG Ships and there is a notable absence of a cockpit when it goes up in smoke.

[F.E.I.S.A.R]

Pulse had the ECS(which restricts flying areas),which protected the spectators...
Stray bullets from the (Proton) Cannon weapon could hit the spectator area.
As for spectator deaths in official materials,ask Foxx...He was a contributor to this whole universe.
I can only infer that there ARE spectator deaths,due to introduction of said ECS.

[Amaroq Dricaldari]

In the F5000 league, Miniguns were VERY popular since they allowed for very quick 'Eliminations' in races. However, they were powerful enough to penetrate a craft's hull and kill the pilot, which explains why most downed pilots didn't respond when radioed.