Strategy Guide - Guide for Wipeout XL

WIPEOUT 2097/XL                                              The Original FAQ
FAQ Edition 1.08                                           by Matthew Sephton
=============================================================================

CONTENTS

  1.0  Introduction
  1.1  The Game
  1.2  Graphics
  1.3  Music
  1.4  Gameplay

  2.0  Playing Concepts
  2.1  The Joypad
  2.2  Driving
  2.3  Teams
  2.4  Classes & Tracks
  2.5  Weapons
  2.6  Ghost Racers

  3.0  Cheats
  3.1  Challenges
  3.2  Hidden Options
  3.3  Shortcuts
  3.4  Fast Starts

  4.0  What Do You Know?
  4.1  Contacting The Author
  4.2  Release
  4.3  E&OE
  4.4  Thanks

  5.0  Version history

---

1.0  INTRODUCTION

This FAQ aims to be the definitive source of information for the PlayStation
game Wipeout 2097 (Wipeout XL in USA), henceforth WO2. It serves no other
purpose. The PAL manual for this game is really quite poor, with some aspects
of the game barely getting a mention.

1.1  THE GAME

What a game! WO2 is easily on par with Motor Toon Grand Prix 2 as the best
game on the Sony PlayStation. It's graphics are by far the best I have ever
seen on any games machine, arcades included. They are shifted at such a rate
that my eyes cannot keep up. It features time trials, arcade racing,
challenges, different difficulty levels and lots more.

1.2  GRAPHICS

Unbelievable! The graphics are unprecedented, making the original Wipeout
look quite dated. Some of the explosion effects make a great showcase for the
PlayStation's hardware. You really won't believe how fast the polygons are
moved about (150k+ per second according to the Psygnosis web page). Track
detail has also risen to a new level, with more animated roadside objects,
and there are even up to 15 cars on track at once! The Designers Republic
also deserve a mention as they have once again outdone themselves with their
distinctive touch of graphic design.
Red Bull, "advertised" in game, is an energy drink that is supposed to give
you lots of energy to keep going all night at night clubs. I suppose at a push
it may improve reaction time. Dunno, haven't tried it.

1.3  MUSIC

Psygnosis have excelled themselves once more in putting together an even
better line-up of artists for the soundtrack for WO2:

  TRACK TITLE              ARTIST     TRACK TITLE               ARTIST

  Intro Herd Killing       FSOL           6 Loops of Fury       CHEM. BROS.
      1 We Have Explosive  FSOL           7 The Third Sequence  PHOTEK
      2 Landmass           FSOL           8 Tin There           UNDERWORLD
      3 Atom Bomb (Instr.) FLUKE          9 Firestarter (Inst.) THE PRODIGY
      4 V Six              FLUKE         10 Canada              COLD STORAGE
      5 Dust Up Beats      CHEM. BROS.   11 Body In Motion      COLD STORAGE

For those of you who are thirsty for more then 'Wipeout 2097: The Soundtrack'
is available to buy in the shops:

  TRACK TITLE              ARTIST     TRACK TITLE              ARTIST

      1 We Have Explosive  FSOL           8 Firestarter        THE PRODIGY
      2 Atom Bomb          FLUKE          9 V Six              FLUKE
      3 Loops of Fury      CHEM. BROS.   10 Musique            DAFT PUNK
      4 Tin There          UNDERWORLD    11 2097               SOURCE DIRECT
      5 The Third Sequence PHOTEK        12 Titan              PHOTEK
      6 Leave Home (UW2)   CHEM. BROS.   13 P.E.T.R.O.L.       ORBITAL
      7 Herd Killing       FSOL          14 Afro Ride          LEFTFIELD

1.4  GAMEPLAY

Newcomers may find the game difficult at first, but perseverance will be
rewarded with hours of fun. Taking into account the different game modes, the
number of courses and the additional bonuses makes for a great game.

Experimentation with driving lines is the only way to improve lap times.
Learning how each weapon operates and where is best to use it is the key to
ploughing through the field in a race.

---

2.0  PLAYING CONCEPTS

As with any other game playing skills will improve over time. Perseverance is
the key. If you have played the original Wipeout then, you can probably
select the AG Systems or the Auricom cars from the start without having too
much bother. It's up to personal preferences really.

2.1  DRIVING

Craft control may be the hardest part of the game, especially for newcomers.
It is essential to understand that they are anti-gravity machines and so will
handle more like a hover-craft than a conventional car.

Steering can be difficult, especially when travelling at the high-speeds of
Rapier and Phantom classes. There is one method that can be easily adopted.
Instead of pressing left and right with separate movements of your thumb
(which is far from ideal when trying to achieve quick reaction times) hold
your thumb centrally on the joypad and roll it in the relevant direction. I
think you will find that this saves time and increases reaction time.

To turn tight corners more easily tap the relevant air-brake whilst still
accelerating, causing your machine to skid or slide. It is sometimes more
beneficial to hold down the air-brake to really make your back end slide out.

You can use the d-pad to give you tighter and looser truns by pressing down
and up, respectively, as you turn. So for a tught right turn, press down and
right and so on.

It is essential that a good driving line is taken. Try to enter corners wide
and get as close to the apex as you can without hitting it, never forget that
you do have left and right air-brakes. Take time to learn the layout of each
track, especially prior to a challenge.

2.2  THE JOYPAD

Here is a list of the default joypad buttons and their functions.

  BUTTON     FUNCTION

  Up         Nose down
  Down       Nose up
  Left       Turn left
  Right      Turn right
  Square     Discard weapon
  Triangle   Change view
  Circle     Use weapon
  Cross      Accelerate
  L2         Left air brake
  R2         Right air brake
  Start      Pause menu

2.3  TEAMS

Each team has their strengths and weaknesses, with top speed increasing
through the teams. In my opinion the best all round standard car is the
Auricom. Die hard racers may prefer the Quirex. There are five teams.

  TEAM        THRUST   TOPSPEED   TURNING   AERODYNAMICS   SHIELD

  Feisar      6        3          7         7              6     Beginner
  AG Systems  7        5          6         6              3     Amateur
  Auricom     5        6          5         5              5     Intermediate
  Quirex      4        7          3         5              7     Expert
  Piranha     10       10         10        10             10    No Weapons

2.4 CLASSES & TRACKS

There are a total of eight tracks over the four classes. See 3.1, gaining
Phantom class also lets you race any of the 8 tracks at any class - you are
not limited to the first two at Vector, the next two at Venom etc.

  VECTOR                          VENOM

  Talon's Reach    EASY           Valparaiso       TRICKY
  Sagarmatha       EASY           Phenitia Park    TRICKY

  RAPIER                          PHANTOM

  Gare D'Europa    HARD           Vostok Island    VERY HARD
  Odessa Keys      HARD           Spilskinanke     VERY HARD

2.5  WEAPONS

To master the game it is essential that you learn what each weapon does and
where or when is best to use it. Key usage of weapons makes the game more
forgiving if you make a mess of one part of a track.

  WEAPON           USE IT WHEN?

  Mines            After overtaking.
  E-pak            Low shield level. Any time.
  Autopilot        Difficult chicane or turn. Just before the pit lane.
  Turbo boost      Any lengthy hill or straight.
  Rockets          Many enemy on screen. Mines ahead.
  Missiles         Lock on. Rear lock on. Mines ahead.
  Electro bolt     Lock on. In a group.
  Thunder bomb     Many enemy on screen. Mines ahead.
  Shield           In a group. Difficult section. Low shield. Mines ahead.
  Plasma bolt      Sure fire target. Beware of charge period.
  Quake disruptor  Many enemy on screen. Just for fun.

For instance, Autopilot is best left until a section of the track that you
know is difficult - so you can make up for a previous mistake. Also remember
that you can cancel Autopilot whilst it is activated by pressing SQUARE. This
is very useful if you know that you can handle a chicane etc. better than the
Autopilot and you aren't too sure if the Autopilot will last you through it.

2.6  GHOST RACERS

Time trials offer the ability to test your skills against ghost racers. These
are preset for each track and class. Once you have beat the ghost your race
will replace the ghost you beat and remain valid until you change tracks, so
you can still change cars. It seems to me that the ghosts aren't saved to the
memory card, so they are only really useful for getting up to speed on a
certain track, or just to learn the racing line of a track.

---

3.0  CHEATS

Here are a list of cheats known to date.

  WHILST GAME LOADS
  Animal Teams     L1+R2+START+SELECT   Normal team crafts are exchanged for
                                        a bee, snail, UFO, pig and shark.

  All Cheats       L2+R1+START+SELECT   All Cheats active, that is all pre-
                                        game cheats. See below.

The following button press combinations can be used by holding down L1, R1
and SELECT anywhere in the relevant menu. Using the codes again will toggle
the cheat off/on. Are there any more?

  PRE-GAME (MAIN MENUS)              IN-GAME (PAUSE MENU)

  Piranha Team      X X X X O T S    Machine Gun       S O X S O X T
  Phantom Class     T T T O O O      Infinite Energy   T X S O T X S O
  Eight Tracks      S O T O S        Infinite Weapons  X X S S O O T
                                     Infinite Time     T S O X T S O X

The following passwords can be entered via the options menu:

  PASSWORDS
  Challenge I       S O S T O T T O S S S T X S
  Challenge II      S O S T O T X S X T T X O O


3.1  CHALLENGES

Once you have got gold medals on the initial 6 tracks then Challenge I
becomes available. This consists of racing a season of all six courses at
Rapier class. Once this is completed, you get Phantom class (which is 50%
faster than Rapier!) and two extra hard tracks to race on. When gold is
achieved in the two Phantom tracks, Challenge II becomes available which
consists of all eight tracks at Phantom speed. This will prove to be the most
difficult challenge of all.

3.2  HIDDEN OPTIONS

Psygnosis: any help?

3.3  SHORTCUTS

There aren't any shortcuts in the true sense of the word, but it is possible
to save a lot of time by cutting corners. You can use a turbo boost to do
this in the extreme, or just pull back on the d-pad to raise your nose over
some shallow corners as seen in the 'chicane' along side the train on the
Gare D'Europa track.

3.4  FAST STARTS

It is quite easy to get a fast start and essential if you want to put in a
fast time-trial or race. What you have to do is land the gauge of the thrust-
ometer in the first two large bars when Curly says "Go"! It is probably
equivalent to a turbo boost.
There are two ways to do this. The first is to accelerate until the thrust-
ometer is around that mark, then make it hover by repeatedly pressing the
accelerator until the race starts. The second, inferior method, is to find a
suiitable delay before the race starts that is just enough for you to
continually accelerate until the race starts and still get a fast start.
This can also be done at any time you are put back on the track by a drone. Of
course you have to have been of the track for sufficient time for your thrust
to have diminished.

---

4.0  WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

If you have any additions which you think should be included in this FAQ then
please send them to me as below. Already there are a number of questions
that need answering.

 1 Are there any more cheat presses or secrets known?

4.1  CONTACTING THE AUTHOR

The author of this FAQ, Matthew Sephton, can be contacted by e-mail or
through his web page (which contains information about Björk, other music,
Monkey (Magic), the Sony PlayStation and is the place to download some of my
Windows 95 shareware).

  e-mail: [email protected]
     www: http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~u5ms/

4.2  RELEASE

This FAQ is obtainable from various places on the Internet, but the latest
version can always be downloaded from this URL:

    http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~u5ms/PS/

I have written FAQs for Choro Q Racing/Penny Racers, Hermie Hopperhead, Micro
Machines V3 and Motor Toon GP 2 which are also available.

4.3  E&OE

All errors and omissions excluded. As far as I know the information in this
document is accurate. Correct me if I'm wrong. Use at your own risk.

4.4  THANKS

Original FAQ by Matthew Sephton. Button press cheats from Daniel Beretzki
. Animal cheats from Klaus Timmermann (aka Mr Bean)
. More turbo start stuff from Jean-Alexis Montignies
. Thunder bomb where and when mines ahead from Dem.
All Cheats cheat from Henry Rexroad . Nose turning
from Bill Baxter .

--

5.0  VERSION HISTORY

1.00, 21 Oct 1996  Original release.

1.01, 23 Oct       Cheats added. Challenges enhanced.

1.02, 28 Oct       Slight modifications and tidying up.

1.03, 29 Oct       Music, Ghost Racers and Fast Start sections improved.

1.04, 01 Nov       Animal teams and challenge passwords added.

1.05, 08 Nov       Slight modifications and tidying up.

1.06, 15 Nov       Fast start section enhanced. Red bull added.

1.07, 16 Jun 1997  All Cheats cheat added.

1.08, 06 Jul       Added nose direction affects turning.

--------------B11A6048BC--