I would be in for another Sega-Nagoshi F-Zero but from what I've heard F-Zero GX ended up having a huge production cost. So I could see them testing waters with a HD remake of GX before doing anything else.
One problem is the game also had a longer learning curve then most Nintendo games. It made the game hard to get into right away but was also very satisfying when you got better. But it also resulted in friends most likely losing to you because of that curve. For that reason they need to add online and maybe a handicap mode.
They also need to add tutorials for the advanced techniques/tactics seen below because once you learn them you get much better at the game. It could be as simple as racing against a ghost car that prompted you press direction and button combos on screen repeatedly until you've mastered the technique.
This article is a "how to" guide for advanced F-Zero GX techniques. If you want to compete at the highest of levels, you will need to know nearly all of these techniques.
Basic Tricks
Dash Plates - hitting a dash plate on it's "edge" will actually give you "double boost" producing a higher top speed.
The Quick Turn (QT) - a type of turn routinely used in the max speed ladder. To turn hard right - tap the L trigger, then instantly hold right + the R trigger (while releasing L). The will allow fast and tight turns.
Land Mines- whilst land mines damage your ship, they also give you a speed boost which can be used to great effect in MCSG as well as GPMR and AM. MT can also be used after hitting a mine to sustain your speed for longer.
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Jumping
Several F-Zero GX courses contain "jump plates" that throw your ship into the air. While in the air, you can navigate your ship, increase speed and land.
There are a few courses where jumps provide a significant advantage (for example Ordeal) and some that require more specialised jumping techniques to compete (Serial Gaps). For example, early on Big Blue Ordeal, it is possible to cut out a small section of the track. On faster laps this can also occur for later jumps.
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Tips For Jumping
- Jumping is generally slower than driving - push forward on the control stick to nose dive & increase speed.
- Just before landing, push down on the stick to raise your nose up and land flat to reduce speed loss.
- To jump long distances (e.g Ordeal) *don't* touch the stick at all while in the air. To control direction use the L & R triggers
- Falling off a course at specific places can be of benefit (e.g Double Branches).
- On some tracks, if you go fast enough in a specific spot, you will lift off. This can be used to *great* advantage on Split Oval and Slim-Line Slits, for example.
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"Momentum" Techniques
F-Zero X Former World Champion Jimmy Thai identified and named a series of momentum based techniques. All these techniques involve releasing the accelerator (A button) and using the momentum of your ship instead of the gas.
MT - Momentum Throttle
Release the accelerator when at high speed and you will experience a reduced rate of speed loss. This is essential for maintaining high speeds during a race. This technique is also of great benefit before ramps, loops, hills or edges. Boost before a jump and then release A for increased flight speed.
MT Boost
When boosting you will notice after the peak of the boost your speeds will drop very quickly, MT boost prevents you from losing those speeds. Right before your boost dies out you want to release gas. You dont want to have gas off to short or too long. You should still see the back exaust lit up just before you resume gas, if your exaust flames are gone you've had gas off too long. If you let go of gas too early you will lose boost speed and you will probably try to resume gas and boost and not get a boost cause you mistimed it, this will slow you down a bit. You will be able to achieve greater boost speeds with this technique and its much better than button smashing the boost. This technique can be particularly useful for chapter 5 in story mode. (Thanks to Mengsk for this)
MD - Momentum Drift
Release the accelerator and perform the quick turn on banking or sharp turns to maintain speed.
MTS - Momentum Turbo Slide
This is a type of turn that will produce a significant acceleration and increase in speed while it is being performed. Take a turn to the right for example, lean the control stick right and hold L&R together but instantly release R and A. This should leave you holding right+L. For a left turn you should be left holding left+R.
MTRS - Momentum Turbo Rail Slide
This is a variation of the MTS move but is usually used as a very fast finishing move along the rail of the track down the finish straight. To perform this move, get very near a rail at the finish and MTS against the rail. Most top videos use this technique.
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Shift Boosts
The shift boost is a sudden increase in speed that arises from temporarily leaving the track surface. This can be achieved by accident, by driving fast enough over dips or hills, or by purposefully cutting corners or jumping off the track for a fraction of a second. Fast times generally exploit shift boosting where ever possible, even the staff ghost uses it on Lateral Shift.
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How-to Shift Boost:
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On Lateral Shift, aim for the right angle corners of the track ("dead ends") and just as you pass over them press L or R to rapidly shift back onto the track (see video).
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On straight tracks such as Trident & Undulation, you can produce a shift boost by flying off track with a quick press of L (or R), followed by an instant press of R (or L) to return to the track surface. This process must be rapid.
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Suicide Finishes
It is possible to *die* during a race and still finish a track successfully. When you die, you often explode into a super high rate of speed. This can be used to finish a time trail race faster than you could otherwise. Specific locations in a track provide the best suicide results.
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Tips for suicide finishes:
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Try to judge the race to use all your boost power by the end, this will allow easy suicides
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The faster the speed you die at, greater the increase in speed from the suicide. Try doing MTS into the rails for fast suicides.
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Snaking (aka Dakou)
To achieve the fastest times, this technique must be learnt. If you choose not to use this powerful technique, then you can submit times to the "max speed ladder" (see rules). Snaking involves carving "S" shaped patterns across the track. In order to do this you must select an appropriate ship, normally a heavy, grip A vehicle; the ship must also be set to maximum acceleration on the settings menu.
Here is a table showing the custom parts that are capable of snaking www.mrfixitonline.com/viewtopic.php
The MFO F-Zero GX Open and Snaking Ladders are the ladders to truly test your skills against the best snakers and flyers in the World.
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How to snake:
- Alternate between pressing and holding left+L and right+R
- Make it a smooth and wide motion with rapid change from right to left
- To maintain snaking speed be sure to use MT wisely
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Spaceflying
Some ships have the ability to fly above the track for prolonged periods of time by using long snaking motions in mid-air. Some courses in FZero GX have checkpoints positioned in such a way that it is possible to take massive aerial shortcuts with the use of spaceflying. The key is to hit the checkpoints in the course map so that the game thinks you have completed a lap when in fact you've missed out large portions of it. Appropriate ships include: Combat/Maximum Wyvern, Combat/Maximum Dragon, Paper Craft. The car must also be set to maximum acceleration.
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"Boost Delay" Techniques
French F-Zero GX player Will Haven identified and named a series of boost delay based techniques; these are of main benefit to players using snaking but have limited use in the "max speed" ladder as well. These are advanced techniques, ensure you are an experienced player to profit from them.
DBD - Dash Boost Delay
Passing over a dash plate gives you a limited boost that lasts a second or so. If you pass over a dash plate using MT then you can delay the restart of your engine to a preferable point within this one second window. When you press A again, the car will still experience what is left of the dash boost. For snaking this allows you to exit MT with a dash boost enhanced engine restart. This is different to just pressing A as you hit the dash plate, since they are not all placed in areas that are best to restart the engine. The faster you MT through the dash plate, the further down the track the boost can be delayed (so maximising high shift boost or MT speeds). DBD can also be used to maximise the length of MTS turns and increase their exit speed.
MBD - Manual Boost Delay
This works on the same principle as DBD but using normal boost power. As long as you restart the engine during the period when energy is still being drained from your car, then you'll experience the remainder of the boost. This prevents much speed loss from exiting MT (usually on banked corners or dips in the track that must be MTed.
LMBD - Landing Manual Boost Delay
This uses the manual boost delay principle again, but applies it to dive landings to maintain higher speeds. Normally people use MT to land (but exiting it loses you speed) or boost after they have hit the ground. The basic idea of LMBD is to get the manual boost upon the instant of landing so you can go straight back into 2000+ snaking speeds, rather than dropping to 1400. To do this, you manual boost during the dive (close to the point of landing), then simply do the standard MT landing, but instantly press A once on the ground to start the engine again and continue snaking.
This should happen so fast that you cannot notice the engine cutting out on videos. You don't have to do it that fast in all circumstances.
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Side Attacks
Although these were originally meant to be used as a means of knocking out other ships, they can also be used to great effect in maxspeed runs. These techniques all invole using the X button whilst moving the control stick left or right.
High Speed Side Attacks- Aerial
This powerful technique is used by many of the top maxspeed players and involves coming off a jump at an angle and then using steering back to the track using the control stick and L or R whilst side attacking rapidly with X. To create the angle for this to be possible, it is a good idea to use MTS. It is also a good idea to use MT when you reach the track to retain your speed. For this technique to work well, you must side attack rapidly to build up as much speed as possible. You must also judge the angle correctly which will come with practice.
High Speed Side Attacks- Ground
This technique is usually used as a substitute for MTS for tracks such as GPMR (Green Plant Mobius Ring) where it is difficult to MTS. This technique simply inlvolves turning a corner using the control stick, and/or L or R, and side attacking rapidly in the same direction. This will increase your speed whilst cornering. Note that it can only be done with heavy ships like Gallant Star-G4.
MTS Exiting
As well as being used for increasing your speed, side attacks can also be used for steadying your ship when exiting MTS. When exiting an MTS, your ship will still be sideways on, If you side attack to the opposite direction after exiting, whilst holding down L and R, you can turn your ship around smoothly without loosing speed or hitting the wall.
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Additional Comments
Many of these techniques can be connected together to further increase speed and improve times.
