FAQ - Guide for Freekstyle

FREEKSTYLE

Author : Packing Heat
[email protected]

Version : 0.5
Okay, it has no structure, and is partially completed. What is here is a basic 
racing guide (I'll work on advancing that for
the next update), and complete shortcut/bonus zone listings for every track. Read 
the combo/trick FAQs if your stuck on
Freestyle events for now, I'll work on those for the next section. Meanwhile, if 
you have anything to submit, send it in an
email. The next update will be a big one, with proper structure. If anyone wants 
to make some ASCII art, it would be much
obliged.


--[ controls ]--

Steering (on-ground)         left analog stick/d-pad LEFT/RIGHT
Veering (airborne)           left analog stick/d-pad LEFT/RIGHT
Lean forward (airborne)      directional button UP
Lean backward (airborne)     dirctional button DOWN
Accelerate                   X button or right analog stick UP
Brake                        O button or right analog stick DOWN
Boost (on-ground)             button or R3 button
Tweak (airborne)              button or R3 button
Tricks                       Combination of : L1 button/L2 button/R1 button/R2 
button
Reset Bike                   SELECT button
Pause/Continue               START button


--[ upgrading riders ]--

Stat points are awarded for victories in Circuit mode with which you can increase 
your players various attributes. The
attributes fill up quickly at first, but the closer to maxing out you get, the 
more points you'll need for the upgrade.

A character's stats will be fully maxed upon completion of that characters Combo 
Book, but you'll need to max out Jumping
attribute to get the big air.

----[ attributes explained ]--

Speed - the top speed your bike can reach, this is what wins races
Boost - effects how quickly your boost meter is drained
Control - how much control you have over your machine
Jumping - the more stat points you pump into this attribute, the bigger air 
you'll get
Landing - dictates how much control you have over your bike while airborne, 
effects how you pick your landing spot

------[ what should I upgrade? ]--

[ strategy 1 ] By the time you reach Gnome Sweet Gnome on Circuit mode, you can 
fill your Jumping attribute (without pumping
               stat points into any of the other attributes - unless you have 
some to spare). Use your big-air stylee to
               finish off the Combo Book and recieve a fully upgraded rider. Most 
combos can be completed on Feel The Pain
               in Freestyle mode, but for the bigger ones, use the first jump on 
Let It Burn. With your fully upgraded
               rider, you can tear through Circuit mode.
[ strategy 2 ] Keep pumping stat points into Speed and Jumping attributes 
equally. You can easily finish Circuit like this.
               Speed should be your main priority, as the first half of Circuit 
is racing, then start pumping the points into
               Jumping in preparation for Freestyle.

------[ blue chain/red chain? ]--

The blue chain represents that characters attributes, whilst the red chain 
represents the attributes of the selected bike.


--[ racing guide ]--

Firstly you should know how to pull tricks. Learning each corner isn't necessary, 
but learning where the jumps are is. Also
knowing what trick potential each jump holds gets you the boost - small bumps 
probably warrant a 1-button trick like a No
Hander, slightly bigger hillages can give you 2-button escapades - the Superman 
is a simple and quick one - and the big
mounds of ramp lead to the 3-button tricks. Not too hard, but linking tricks 
together is where the real boost is at.

Usually you won't have time for a combo, so tweak the trick for more boost. Also 
remember that the trick value (and also the
boost potential) decrease the more you use them, so the first 2 laps should be 
single tweaked tricks, the last lap should
be set aside for simple combos to keep up the flow of boost.

If you manage to fill your Freekout meter (the red side, the yellow is your 
boost) then you can unlock the Sick Trick which
requires all 4 shoulder buttons. Usually this trick is about as long as a 3-
button trick, so set aside about that much
air-time for this. If landed successfully, you'll be in a Freekout, with flames 
spewing from your tyres, and some
halucagenic motion-blur going on. Most importantly is the new ability your racer 
is granted during this time...

Freekouts - super speed, keep your eyes on the track at all times, predict the 
corner
          - no slow-down on sand traps and what-not
          - land anywhere. This is what you want. Landing on the upside slope on 
a rhythm section would usually set you back
            as you try to regain rhythm, but a Freekout simply boosts you 
straight over the ramp.
          - watch the clock ticking down in the bottom corner. If it hits 0, your 
Freekout is over. You can top it up by
            busting tricks while the fire still burns though.
          - timing exactly when to use the Freekout will be covered for each 
course, but try not to use it where you know
            that there's a great distance between ramps or it'll all be over 
before it begins.
          - and don't simply go for the sick trick just because that little devil 
thing is vibrating if there's no ramps
            around. If you crash it, you'll lose half you Freekout meter, but if 
you don't use it, you'll lose about 20% of
            the meter, which can easily be refilled.
          - note that the sick trick doesn't require you to "get back on you 
bike" as normal tricks do. It acts like any of
            the tweaked tricks in that it automatically resets you on your 
machine without any delay.

Steering in the air? Okay, I referred to this as "veering", because that's really 
what it is. You gotta land in the right
place, or you'll lose rhythm. While mid-trick, use the left analog stick (or the 
d-pad) to push left/right to veer your bike
away from any potential hazards on the ground below - logs, barriers, rocket 
silos, hedghes... - and onto a more suitable
crash pad. It's more effective doing this while performing a trick, you can 
actually steer back on to the course if you were
heading for an untimely meeting with a wall.

Now for the distance. Holding down (referred to as "pulling back") will increase 
your jump distance, which means more air
time, and more tricks. This is very useful for reahing higher platforms. Pushing 
up (referred to as "leaning back") will
drop you down to Earth quicker. That may not sould useful, but it's good for 
avoiding aerial obstacles like coal buckets, or
negotiating your way through a firey hoop. You don't really have to be pulling a 
trick for to veer.

Conserving your boost. Make sure you leave a shred of boost at least for the 
impending ramp, use the rest to burn up the
track. Boosting up a ramp inevitably means more airtime and bigger tricks, thus 
more boost upon landing.


MONUMENTAL MEGAPLEX

SHORTCUT 1 / BONUS ZONE 1
   At the start of the race, veer off to the left onto the sand, follow the route 
into a tunnel. You'll need to bust through
   a wooden panel to enter the tunnel. TIP - veer left hard as you see the wooden 
panel to avoid a wipeout (brake also
   useful in this part). The tunnel itself is surrounded by support struts of 
wood on either side, which cause frequent
   wipeouts and mangled machinery, and is much easier if you simply speed through 
there. TIP - release the accelerator if
   you need to adjust your trajectory slightly, it's much more effective. The 
tunnel ends with a ramp that can catapult you
   over a twisty corner of the track, but you'll need to pull back for the air to 
cruise over the barriers. Note that this
   shortcuts has two entrances: just after you the first huge jump, or just after 
you cross the lap line (before the jump).
   On the first lap you can only enter after you land the jump, remaining laps 
can access via either route.

SHORTCUT 2 / BONUS ZONE 6
   As you enter the cavernous track towards the end of the course, the first bend 
goes to the right. Notice the crash
   barriers on the left have a section constructed from blue boxes, with a 
flaming hoop visible behind them. Crash through
   these boxes and guide your vessel through the tattooed glasswork. A tweaked 
3button is possible, but make it a quick one.
   Also be sure to steer away from any hazards, like metal pylons and whatnot 
that litter the airspace.

BONUS ZONE 2
   Proceed around the track over the second jump, travel round an s-bend and 
you'll see some blue boxes lining the right of
   the track. Drive through these and you can access a ramp that will land you 
back on the track with some bonus points. If
   you took the tunnel detailed in SHORTCUT 1, then you're landing spot will be 
right by this bonus zone. A tweaked 3button
   trick is easily achieved.

BONUS ZONE 3
   Where the track splits in three, with an inclining route up the middle and two 
adjoining paths to either side, said side
   routes will lead to a bonus ramp below the usual ramp through the ring of 
fire. You'll need a lot of air to land this,
   so pull back as much as possible. The center ramp is quicker, and also leads 
to a (lower scoring) bonus zone that
   is easily landed, but only a 2button trick is usually possible here.

BONUS ZONE 4
   On the bridge with the glass roof, don't hit the small kicker ramp in the 
center of the track, but aim for the large ramp
   spanning the track. Smashing the aforementioned glass panels above you will 
score you the bonus. As for tricks, well, go
   nuts.


BONUS ZONE 5
   An obvious one that can't be avoided - the huge final jump through a hoop of 
flames after the bridge with the glass roof.
   Pull back/lean forward to steer your man and machine combo through the burning 
metalwork, you can easily bust out 2
   tweaked 3button moves.


CRUST BELT

SHORTCUT 1 / BONUS ZONE 1
   After the first 2 jumps and a banked left hander, the track divides in two. 
The left route is actually longer, so head
   right. You'll need a little boost to make the jump, and some navigational 
skills to steer through the burning hoop. A
   small trick is best, a 3button won't land here.  You've also cut off 2 corners 
of the course, but most of the AI take this
   route too, so if they've been "teleporting" ahead of you, then this is where 
they've been going.

BONUS ZONE 2
   Immediately after the previous bonus zone, the track is overhung by tracks for 
coal carts. You'll no doubt spot the neon
   blue bonus zone skull on the first metal track. Boost up the ramp and bust out 
a 3button trick, quick ones can be tweaked,
   Freekout induced jumps will catapult you even further. Make sure to clear the 
second metal track.

SHORTCUT 2 / BONUS ZONE 3
   Again immediately after the aforementioned bonus zone, your directed into a 
tunnel by pulsating arrows. Save some boost
   for the steep incline at the end, you'll need it to catapult you through a 
flaming hoop. Tweak a 3 button move or put
   together a 2button combo. You'll need to pull back hard to make it through the 
hoop if your machine is in the early
   stages of development.

SHORTCUT 3 / BONUS ZONE 4
   As you enter a large building, the track divides into three routes. The center 
route is a straight run through some boxes
   but you'll have to avoid the machinery cluttering the route. The left route is 
much more rewarding, both for speed and
   bonus points. Hit the ramp with your boost, and aim to the left for that 
suspended wooden walkway. A 2button trick is
   best for that jump. Follow the walkway to the end, where it veers left onto a 
bonus ramp. Pull a 3button trick out of the
   building and rejoin the track.

BONUS ZONE 5
   This one is opposite to BONUS ZONE 4, detailed above. Where the track split 
into 3 in that building, take the right route
   with the blue skull symbol. Boost up the hill and hit a 3button trick, clear 
the metal barrier crossing the track and pick
   up some bonus points.

SHORTCUT 4 / BONUS ZONE 5
   As you enter the building with the metal buckets being transported on overhead 
rails, there's a blue skull symbol on the
   right of the track. Just past that, the barrier is replaced with some blue 
boxes. Smash through these boxes to jump the
   long winding corner, and pick up the bonus points. You'll have to pull 
back/lean forwards to avoid the coal buckets, and
   probably also the ceiling if you've developed the Jumping attribute on your 
machine. If you screw up this jump, you'll be
   resetted back out of the building, so use it tactically.

SHORTCUT 5 / BONUS ZONE 6
   I'm not certain that this one will save you any time, but here goes. As the 
track splits in two (after you jump the
   horizontal barriers), take the left route (green). You'll enter a building 
with some machinery. Towards teh end you'll
   spot some large wooden boxes baring the Freekout devil logo. Crash through 
these to reveal a wooden track. Follow this
   along until you come to a huge jump through a flaming hoop. Needless to say 
you can pull some big tricks here.


BURN IT UP

BONUS ZONE 1
   This can only be used on the first lap, as you'll jump past it on any other 
lap. As you start, you'll immediately see the
   blue skull symbol on the grassy knoll in the center of the track. Boost into 
the grassy bump, you can usually get a
   tweaked 3button/combo of 2button moves in here before touchdown, but sometimes 
it goes wrong, so restrain your tricking
   fingers until you see how much air you get.

BONUS ZONE 2
   After the first huge base jump, the track offers up 3 routes. Take the center 
track. You should have plenty of boost
   at your disposal by now, and you'll need it to land on the suspended white 
platform. The trick is good rhythm on the
   preceeding jumps, so aim to land the first bump on the decline of the second 
bump, roll over the third bump, then boost
   up the fourth jump, pull back and you should be on the platform.

SHORTCUT 1 / BONUS ZONE 3
   After the second huge drop, veer off to the right onto the grassy. There's a 
thin muddy path that offers more traction
   than the green green grass. Follow it past the burning tree, and up a sloped 
rock. A 3button trick is possible, and you'll
   have skipped past that nuisance burning tree with the hole in the middle.

SHORTCUT 2 / BONUS ZONE 4
   A tricky one to get right, but it will cut off a long corner, so practice it 
on Freeride mode so you know what to aim for.
   Okay, after the section where the burning trees collapse, you go round a left 
corner, and the track goes up a hill, then
   turns right. At the right handed corner, look for the blue skull sign (there's 
two of them, the one on the left is what
   I'm harping on about right now). Now you'll need some boost to make the jump, 
and your aiming about 2 bike widths to the
   right of the blue sign. You can hopefully clear the gorge and land back on the 
track. A small trick is best here.

SHORTCUT 3 / BONUS ZONES 5 & 6
   Okay, same place as the last one. After the falling trees, take the left turn. 
You'll see the right of the track is rocky,
   with a gap in the front of the rocks. Pass through this gap, boost up the hill 
(you'll need at least half boost so you
   can make this jump. Pull back when you get airborne, and go for a 2button 
trick. Land on the top of the cliff. Follow it
   over 3 or 4 jumps, and you'll reach another bonus jump that will land you back 
on the track. This shortcut saves a lot of
   time, and the AI frequently use it to overtake you.

BONUS ZONE 7
   As you pass the section with the rolling boulders, the final jump before the 
finish line has a purple sign with a bone
   on it impaled in the cliff on the left of the jump. Hit the jump and either 
sail over the sign (tricky), or just under
   it. Either way will award you the bonus points.


GNOME SWEET GNOME

BONUS ZONE 1
   After the first left corner, a hoop of glass hangs over the track. Pull back 
to get the necessary air to bust the glass.
   If you're not going to make it, or aren't aiming for it, then lean forwards to 
pass under the hoop. A 2button trick is
   only possible, and if you mess it up, you'll be resetted back round the corner.

BONUS ZONE 2
   After the hoop mentioned above is a ramp that will fly you over a giant hedge 
lobster. Fly cleanly over Mr. Pinchy for
   the bonus points with a tweaked 3button trick. If you don't get the airtime, 
then you can always land on the grassy
   crustacean.

BONUS ZONE 3
   Where the track divides in 2, the right route has another glass hoop you can 
smash for bonus points. Another 2button
   trick here.

SHORTCUT 1 / BONUS ZONE 4
   This one is trickier but higher scoring. Where the track splits in 2 
(mentioned above), take the left route. You'll
   soon approach an incline that will launch you over a monsterous bunny rabbit. 
Aim to pull your trick (possibly a 3button_
   between his ears, and veer left/right midtrick to avoid aforementioned bunny 
ears. Also pull back so you don't smash
   through the glass floor into the track below. It's not really a shortcut, but 
it is the faster route of the two.

BONUS ZONE 5
   After your escapades with the bunny (or the hoop, whichever you chose), the 
tracks rejoin. You'll notice two kicker ramps
   in the track, and a building with 2 windows positioned inline with said kicker 
ramps. Either ramp will afford you the
   bonus points, although the left one has slightly more airtime. Remember to 
pull back/lean forward to avoid the brickwork.


LET IT RIDE

BONUS ZONE 1
   After the small rhythm section at the beginning of the course, a red kicker 
ramp lies in the center of the track with a
   flaming ring beyond. It's a simple one that allows a 3button trick.

BONUS ZONE 2
   After the criss-cross section, another flaming hoop is supported by a pillar 
structure with a raising/lowering red kicker
   ramp. A 3button trick is easily do-able.

SHORTCUT 1 / BONUS ZONE 3
   Same as BONUS ZONE 2, the other raising/falling red kicker ramp that's 
directly beneath the flaming hoop. Hitting it will
   give you bonus points off a 2button trick, and land you on a platform that 
swoops along over the impending rhythm section.

SHORTCUT 2 / BONUS ZONE 4
   After the flaming hoop, where the track offers either a rhythm section to the 
right, or a tunnel to the left, take the
   tunnel. It's quicker, and the end of beholds a bonus ramp that will score you 
a 3button trick.

BONUS ZONE 5
   You can't miss this one. That huge red kicker ramp with the burning hoop atop 
a building. See it? You'll need some hefty
   nitro boost to clear the building. Go nuts with the tricks.

BONUS ZONE 6
   As the track stretches out into the desert, it splits again. Take the left 
route. The huge base jump allows for a tweaked
   3button followed by a tweaked 2button. If your good.

BONUS ZONE 7
   Alternatively, take the right route. The third jump in the rhythm section has 
bonus points attached, and the route is
   quicker, also leading to...

SHORTCUT 3
   Accessible if you took the right route mentioned above. Just after you land 
that bonus jump, the track banks left with
   huge red arrow signs atop the embankment. You can jump the split corner by 
using this as a ramp. This is useful in that
   it can snatch back your first place you held on to for the entire race, only 
to have some speed past when you crashed.


ROCKET GARDEN

SHORTCUT 1
   This can be accessed via two routes, but they ultimately lead to the same 
place. After the rolling barrels, you have a
   choice of 3 ramps. Pick the one with the attached secion. If it's on the left 
or middle, aim for big air and land on the
   left platform. If not, or it's on the right, aim for the right (lower) 
platform. The left one is slightly faster. You'll
   need over half boost full to get up on the higher one.

SHORTCUT 2
   Only accessible if you reach the upper level of SHORTCUT 1. As you exit the 
underground section, the track turns right.
   The outside barrier is again constructed of blue boxes. Smash through these 
for a huge jump. You'll either land on a lower
   section of track, or the upper section, it doesn't matter which though.

BONUS ZONE 1
   At the section with the selection of ramps, go to the right, take the ramp 
slowly. Then boost off the next ramp and aim
   for that flaming hoop.

SHORTCUT 3
   At the huge open section (after the sandy rhythm sections), the 'Garden offers 
up multiple routes. If you pick the center
   track, then stick to the right. The jumps are smaller and you can speed right 
across them.

BONUS ZONE 2
   If you took the route mentioned above (or any of the central routes), then the 
burning hoop offers up more bonus points.

BONUS ZONE 3
   Alternatively, use the left route and attack the wind tunnels. The final wind 
tunnel has a bonus jump as you enter the middle
   tube. Pull back/lean forward to avoid crashage.

SHORTCUT 4
   Again on the last wind tunnel on the left track. Take the left tube. Jump 
along until the final jump reveals a narrow path
   on the left. Use this to speed past and drop back onto the rocket silo section.

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