Need for Speed - Porsche 2000 By Amit Chhangani Soberguy_007@yahoo.co.in Soberguy_007@hotmail.com ****************************************************************** * Important: Best viewed in notepad with wrap on and window maximized. ****************************************************************** * List of contents: 1. Need For Speed: The past and the present. 2. Need For Speed - Porsche 2000: A brief overview. 3. Ingredients of a perfect car. 4. Driving basics and tips. 5. An ulitimate guide to unbeatable records. 6. The 360 degree spin. 7. Test yourself. ****************************************************************** ******************************* 1. Need For Speed: The past and the present ----------------------------------------------------------- To start it all, I must admit before saying anything else that i have'nt seen a neater, graphically better, more organised, more realistic and so sequentially evolved racing game. From Nascars to Test Drives to Le Mans, I have seen them all, but none comes closer when it comes to graphic details, realisticness and sheer joy of simulation and gameplay. If anyone of you thinks that there is a game which i am missing, i will be more than obliged if it is brought to my notice. Need for speed started on a modest note with Need For Speed 1, with a low graphic detail and not so appreciable gameplay. But it was still too good as for the standards of that time. Even Need For Speed 2 did not seem all that appealing, but definitely showed tremendous improvement and the the research that was put in it. Electronic Arts made a big leap in fun racing by bringing Need For Speed 3 - hot pursuit in the scenario. This game was a generation ahead of all its counterparts and redefined the way racing games were played. Featuring all the major sports cars of that time, this game won the hearts of all the race freaks owing to its great graphics, neat control, and creative theme of cop chase( hot pursuit). Need For Speed featured all the big sports models in the earlier versions till NFS-4. It was only in Need For Speed 5 - Porsche Unleashed, that Electronic Arts created a game exclusively for the legendary car company - Porsche. This game had unbelievably realistic graphics, power packed with equally good sound effects and speed that got the adrenaline rushing like a jet. Then came the game that we are going to talk about, that is Need For Speed - Porsche 2000. This game too, like its younger brother, featured porsche beauties only. This time with photographic details, and two new game modes namely Factory Driver and Evolution. The excitement and the realisticness of this game is to be experienced to be believed. The theme is to get the player aquainted with every nut and bolt that is used in the making of a porsche and to make him feel, why a Porsche is considered as the most desired car in the world. You can actually choose any car in the garage and view it in its full details, inside out! The world created around the tracks misses reality by inches. Such is the extent of graphic detail and realism that you can actually see the wheels turning in accordance with the speed and even the "reverse illusion" of turning wheels at high speeds is taken care of! Easy to play, but extremely difficult to master, this game can make you stick to your PC for days together. There is so much to accomplish and in such an interesting way that you might perhaps never get sick of it. You are given the facility to view the speedometer, revs etc. in digital or analog format. An unbelievably clear and true rear view mirror assists you greatly in getting the better of your opponents. The settings of any given car may be personalised as per your need and comfort. NFS-Porsche 200 gives you an insight to the parts of all the porsche cars, as they are in the real cars , making you have the same experience. The proper installation and alignment of various parts may improve the performance of your car many folds. So lets start knowing the game better, without wasting any more time. ****************************************************************** ****************************** 2. Need For Speed - Porsche 2000: A brief overview. ------------------------------------------------------------------ --- Though one may call this game as a promotional game for Porsche, you will find the effort and research put into the game in every byte of it. None of its counterparts boasting to feature all the car models may even think of coming close. The gameplay is based on a rewarding basis. The better you play, the more you are rewarded with better cars and easier it is for you to beat the opponents and make your records harder to break. The game contains four major modes to play in. All of them are listed below along with their details: A. Singleplayer B. Multiplayer C. Evolution D. Factory Driver A. Singleplayer This mode has three sub modes a. Quick Race One may race with 0 to 7 opponents on any of the 4 tracks which are made available to a newly created player. The choice of cars also is limited for a new player as he has to choose from a list of available cars and does not have access to any modified high- performance cars. The skill level of the opponents may be adjusted to three levels viz. easy, advanced and expert. It is, however a bit difficult for the new players to beat the opponents with the available cars as they are not properly configured, lack power and skid a lot as they lose balance quite easily while cornering. There is no reward for winning any races in this mode as you have the option to play with damage on or off. "Damage on" wrecks your cars with every collision, while this is not the case the other way round. A newly created player is provided only with four tracks, while the actual number of total tracks which are made available is much higher. why? We will talk about it later and find out how to uncover the hidden tracks. The list of available tracks and cars for a newly created player is provided below: TRACKS ========== NORMANDY PYRENEES COTE D' AZUR MONTE CARLO 3 CARS ========== YEAR MODEL 1959 356A 1600 Super Convertible D 1960 356 B 1600 Super Coupe 1972 911 S 2.4 Coupe 1973 914/4 2.0 1988 944 Turbo S Coupe 1978 911 Turbo 3.3 Coupe 930 1987 959* 1989 911 Carrera 4 Coupe 964 1990 911 Carrera 2 Coupe 964 1997 Boxster 1992 928 GTS* 1994 911 Carrera Coupe 993 1995 911 Turbo 3.6 Coupe 993 1997 GT2 Race Version* 1998 GT3 Cup* Note: The cars marked with a "*" sign are to be downloaded from the internet in order to be uncovered. b. Knockout A newly created player gets an opportunity to choose from the above mentioned tracks with 0-7 opponents and play in this mode. The car that stands last in the race is eliminated, and the remaining contestants move to the next round of the competition. The number of opponents is one more than the number of races to be played in order to win a knockout. The tracks and the cars which are availaible for a newly created player are the same as listed in the topic above. A player may choose any available track, forward or backward and with an option to turn on/off the traffic on road. Traffic also may be light, medium or heavy as per the player's choice. c. Quick Knockout This mode is quite similar to the knockout mode. The only difference being that the event takes place on a multi-lap track and the car which stands last in the lap gets eliminated. In this manner, one car gets eliminated every lap and the winner is one who wins the final lap. The only track available for a newly created player in this mode is the Monte Carlo 3 track. Available cars are the same as listed in the article above. B. Multiplayer Multiple players can play using a LAN or Modem connection. C. Evolution The most exciting, the most difficult and the most rewarding mode among all, this mode is the key to all the tracks, all those powerful cars and all the parts and modifications that add a new dimension to the performance of your car. One must complete this mode successfully if he wants the access to all the fascinating tracks and porsche beauties. This mode also helps the player to increase the credit in his account in order to purchase, repair and modify cars. As the name suggests, evolution is a beautifully crafted mode which takes you through the history of porsche automobiles. From the somewhat rickety 356 A's and B's of 1950's to the oozing 911 Turbo 996 , this mode makes you compete with all the porsche makes. This mode not only symbolizes the evolution of porsche cars from 356 to GT1, but it is your evolution into a better driver. And thats the beauty of the name of this mode. After you have beaten all the three eras viz Classic, golden and Modern and completed the evolution mode successfully , you find out how you have evolved into a master driver, and do not collide into the rocks while cornering any more. The credit in your account keeps on increasing as you keep on winning the races. You can get into your garage, and use your moolah to buy new cars, and modify the already owned ones. This way you get access to all the cars and all the modifications. In order to modify an existing car, enter the garage under evolution mode and go to the "Parts" section. Here you can buy the desired modificated parts. However, buying parts is not enough. You need to install them into your car in order to get the desired results. This can be done by entering the garage under evolution mode and then entering the "Car Setup" head. Here you can see the list of parts that you have bought for a particular owned car. Install the upgrades and your car will perform miraculously better. Please note once again that in order to get access to all the cars in the game, you have to complete all the three eras in the evolution mode. However, you can continue playing this mode even after completing the three eras, as a list of new competions comes up which can be played forever and are to be used as a source of increasing your credit and buying new cars. The best combination of parts and the effect of various settings will be discussed in the later part of this walkthrough. D. Factory Driver This mode of the game is unique to NFS-porsche 2000. Here you have to get into the act of driving as a Porsche test driver. You have to perform an array of difficult tasks and tricks and improve your rankings from a junior test driver to an Ace. This mode works as a means to hone your skills in the more stylish part of driving which is known as adventure driving. Here you are deliberately made to drive in adverse conditions with the pressure of time limit and keeping the car safe. You even get a new locale, known as skid pad where you have to perform those hunky-funky tricks to skid, corner and even rotate a car. Altogether it improves your command over the car a lot by aquainting you with the correct know- how of using handbrakes. This comes handy when you have perfected driving and need to control car at sharp corners at fairly high speeds. However, you cannot play in this mode forever as there are predefined tasks and tricks and once you have completed them and recieved the honour of being an ace test driver, you need to create a new player in order to play in this mode. We'll discuss the intricacies in a later part. ****************************************************************** ******************************* 3. Ingredients of a perfect car So which is the best car? Is there actually a car that can be called unbeatable? Or is there a car that can beat all the existing records and make new ones that need a lot of perspiration to be broken, even if they are not impossible to beat. Well i must say that there are a couple of really good cars which combine all the essentials of a great car and more. But the important thing to take into note here is that there is simply nothing like a readymade great car in this game. Of course there are good cars, but these cars need to be modified and literally rebuilt in order to squeeze a winning performance out of them. I would name only four of them as almighty. Though there are some other good ones also, but its not possible to win with those cars through sheer talent. Being to the point, other cars lack the sharpness of speed and control to rip through the fierce competetion offered by never-tiring DYLAN. Let me list and rate the three cars, maximum rating being 5 for the best: A. 911 turbo 996 2000 Accelaeration 5 Top Speed 4.7 Handling 4.7 Cornering 4.7 Comment: The best car to have a start, this car shoots like a bullet, not letting anything else come even close. With a tight grip on the road and very good control, this car is simply the most exciting to drive. However, it tends to leave the ground even on minor slopes and jumps a lot making itself hard to control. This car is perfect as long as it sticks to the turf, but when it loses contact, you need to have the required talent to control its erupting power in the air. Another low of this car is that it cannot compete with GT1 and Moby Dick when let loose on a straight track. Though one of the fastest, its just an inch behind, when compared to counterparts like GT1 and Moby Dick. Overall this car has the ability to beat any competition by miles on a track needing stop-starts at various points owing to its great acceleration and formidable speed. B. 911 GT1 race version. Acceleration 4.8 Top speed 4.9 Handling 4.8 Cornering 5.0 Comment: I personally rate this car as the BEST. The reason being, it has the best acceleration , next only to 996, but it beats any other car in terms of handling and top speed. This car offers the best handling and cornering capabilities making it it best car to steer through tough stracks like shwarzwald. One of the greatest advantages of this car is that it does not leave the ground even on high speeds and moderate slopes. It does leave the turf sometimes but only on rare occassions where the speed is soaring and the bumps are high. The only bad thing that i can notice about this beauty is that it tends to spin(rotate) on turns which are sharp and have some slope to them. e.g. the Triple turn in Corsica and super sharp turn at the start of alps. No doubt, this car beat any opponent on any track. C. 911 turbo 3.6 993 Acceleration 4.5 Top Speed 4.4 Handling 4.4 Cornering 4.4 Comment: Though this car does not come close to its big brother (996) when it comes to performance, yet this can be rated as a formidable car as it has got the capability to beat any opponent on any car from the computer's side. Though on a lower side when counted on the handling aspect, this car has the acceleration and the top speed to compensate for it. No doubt it needs a talented driver to get an edge over the opponents riding 911 turbo 996 , it has the capability after all. It skids and takes a lot of air, and you feel helpless on straighter tracks , yet with efficient driving, this car can show you the gates to the winning ways. D. Moby Dick Comments: Somehow I feel that this car has the capability to make unbeatable records on straighter tracks like Autobahn and Zone Industrielle, but each time I go out to create one, it fails me at some crucial point or the other. There is something with this car which prevents it from being called a great handling and cornering car. Though it is projected as one of the best cars in the manuals of the game , practically i dont rate it too high. You may try your bit on this car, but it usually fails you owing to its limitations of cornering and handling, specially at sharper turns. Acceleration 4.5 Top speed 5.0 Handling 4.5 Cornering 4.4 Its really important to pick the correct parts for your car and install them in a proper manner in order to get a winning combination. No car stands anywhere without being properly set up. There is always a confusion about the best parts available for your car. You might not be using the best available part for your car while thinking that you are actually doing so. Here I am providing you with a rating chart of various parts on the basis of their performance. i have listed them in a descending order: A. Engine a. Flywheel Superlight Flywheel Lightened Flywheel Standard Flywheel b. Throttle body Big Bore throttle body Standard Throttle body c. Fuel injectors High flow fuel injectors Standard fuel injectors d. Air intake system High butterfly intake system Cold air intake system performance air filter element e. Exhaust system High performance exhaust system Low restriction exhaust system Standard exhaust system B. Brakes Professional racing brake package Semi-racing brake package Sports brake package Standard brake package Note: effects the performance of the car only while cornering. C. Bodywork Carbon fibre components Fibreglass components Standard components D. Transmission Transmission quick shifter ( should be installed wherever available) High speed gearbox , works well on all the tracks Low speed gearbox, for slopy and uphill tracks Close ratio gearbox for tracks where you have to variate your speed a lot E. Suspension Professional racing springs Semi-sport springs Street performance spings Standard road springs F. Shocks Professional racing shocks Sport shocks Low rider shocks Heavy duty shocks Standard shocks G. Sway bars Extra stiff sway bars Stiff sway bars Light sway bars H. Tires Rain tires to be used in Autobahn (slicks also do well) and Alps. Slicks to be used everywhere else dont use stock tires CAR - SETUP =========== Car setup is very important to cope with the varying terrains that we come through in the game.There are two different settings with which I play. While one increases the speed of the car considerably, while compromising a bit on control, the other setting puts you in total control, taking away its share of speed. Here I am providing you with the settings and the conditions where these should be used. A. NFS-Porsche 2000 Default settings Steering toe in = Maximum Just click on the default button in the Car-setup segment. This setting makes your car accelerate and speed like a rocket, but makes it stagger a bit on the corners. One can use this setting safely on straighter tracks like Autobahn , Zone industrielle , Pyrenees and Normandy. One should, however not use this setting unless he is out to make or break a great record as car control is degraded. B. Total control (compromising on speed a bit) Shocks ride hieght = Minimum Shocks stiffness = Maximum Shocks Travel = A bit more than minimum Steering toe in = Maximum Brake balance = A bit right from the center Downforce = 100 ( both rear and front) Tire pressure = 45 (both rear and front) Note: There might be some people who may not share my views on the settings above. There is considerable loss of speed in my setting, but the extraordinary gain in control makes up for most of it in tracks with sharp turns Keeping the cars duly repaired and using traction control wherever possible are some of the other points to take care of to keep your car in best shape. ****************************************************************** ******************************* 4. Driving basics and tips. ----------------------------------- Its really exciting and awfully realistic to drive a car in this game. However, its a bit tougher too to control it. There are some points which i would like to bring to light for beginners to make the learning process a lot easier and faster. Please keep the following points in mind while going out for a drive: A. TAP, Dont trap This a very important point concerned with car control. One needs to know that while on sharper turns it becomes indispensible to keep the turn (left, right arrow keys) keys constantly pressed, its not the same with the milder and deceptive turns. You need to tap the arrow keys softly and constantly in order to get your car through these turns and preventing it from overturning. Once you practice tapping the keys a couple of times, you will automatically get accustomed to it and have a better idea about the periodicity with which the keys need to be pressed. The idea is to tap the keys to keep the car aligned with the road, and not trapping them in a pressed state which leads to a total overturn. B. Try to be straighter in the air Most of the more powerful cars take a lot of air at high speeds as soon as they find a platform to take off. The point to be taken care of here is to align the car before taking off , to land straighter on the track. You should drive the car in such a manner that while taking off, it is in such a position that it is in perfect alignment with the track when it lands. You will definitely ram yourself in one of the side rocks or boundaries if you make it land even a bit oblique. If the road turns a bit after the jumping point, you should try to align your car in the direction of the turn before you take off, so that it lands in perfect synchronization with the road. Another thing to take care of is to keep the front wheels absolutely straight while landing. Do not try to align the car with the road in air , this aspect is to be taken car of only before the jump. If you try to settle things in the air , one can have a bet on any amount that you are going to crash your car , one way or the other. C. Accelerate from zero only on rougher surfaces. If you somehow end up being halted over some slippery surface like the algae in shwarzwald or snow in alps , you should never try to fully accelerate over that surface as this would make your car spin like crazy wasting the much priced time. You should however, slowly accelerate to the nearest available rough surface like a road , or a dryer place , and then whip your car to vroom away. ****************************************************************** ********************************* 5. An ulitimate guide to unbeatable records. ----------------------------------------------------------- There are certain areas in every track which are decisive in framing your victory or defeat. If you somehow work your machine out of these areas neatly, you get unbeatable egde over your competetors. Here i am presenting the detail of every track, and the points to be careful of. If a player can manage these points well while driving, no one can stop him from creating unbelievably tough records. A. Normandy There are three shortcuts, use all of them to your advantage, they provide enough lead to win even after commiting a couple of mistakes. Be on the road as much as you can. Driving down the road on gravel leads to a considerable decrease in speed. Be straight while landing after taking air on the triple jump which comes immediately after leaving the jungle. Slow down while entering the second shortcut, otherwise you will collide head on with the yellow wall. I dont know what it is made of exactly. Slow down on the third shortcut while taking that sharper turn round the boulder, otherwise you will collide sideways with a rock which is protuding out on the left. Preferred Car : GT1 Preferred Settings : Total Control ( Go up and see) Preferred Tires : Slicks B. Pyrenees This is one of the straighter tracks. You can afford to configure the car to DEFAULT settings with "steering toe in" to its maximum limit. This will help you gather faster speed. There are practically no shortcuts. Dont take any road except the main cemented road. The sub-roads are not shortcuts, but definite time killers. Try to be as much on the middle of the road as possible. Specially after crossing the church or whatever it is. There are deceptive rocks which are not visible on the sides. If you get a even a little bit off from the middle , there is a chance that you collide with one of them and get completely overturned. Leave the accelerator while turning on that massive round turn which looks more like a bridge, two or three corners before you the finish.This helps you get throught that turn without collding to rocks on the left. The entire track is deceptive. You need to be more careful then what it seems you should. The curves need slight slowing down and application of brakes at certain points. Keep noticing to master those minor points. Preferred Car : GT1 Preferred Settings : Default with maximum Steering toe in Preferred Tires : Slicks C. Cote D' Azur There is one shortcut and one misleading way. After entering the gate which appears after the tunnel, you should not take the way on the left. You should, however take the impermanent bridge on the right, parallel to main road. You need to apply some brakes before getting on the bridge , so that you may take the curve easily. The last turn, just before the finish is a beauty in the art of deception. It seems awfully easity to take it , as the entire curve is visible, but most of the times one ends up ramming himself into the bounday on the left. You need to be careful here, just start turning the car early. Turning it late will lead to collision. The turns after the first tunnel are very sharp, you just cant take them while accelerating. You must leave the accelerator and even apply the brakes whenever necessary. If you enter the turn covered by a natural rock just before the tunnel, with full speed, you need to leave the acceleraor for a while, otherwise you scratch yourself with the rocks on the left. Play as much as you can on this track, you ll automatically learn how to cope with turns in disguise. Preferred Car : GT1 Preferred Settings : Total Control ( Go up and see) Preferred Tires : Slicks D. Zone Industrielle The fastest and most exciting of them all. This track has two mega- shortcuts, one shortcut ( the road with cargo trunks, trucks and all. Leave the circular road on the right.) and one deceptive road (inside the steel plant). Use them properly, and get an unbeatable lead as your opponents rarely use them. Through the first shortcut, you ll notice a truck standing in the middle of the road. It seems like there is no space to get through. But if properly executed, you can zoom through the space between the truck and the car on the right without even being scratched and without even having to apply the brakes. You should ideally take the way on the left of the trucks, which is risen above the road. Believe me, you do not need to apply brakes at all while crossing it. Apply brakes after crossing the railway station. Otherwise you ll end up smashing you car into some wall. Start applying brakes as soon as the other end of tunnel is visible and do not accelerate until you have worked your way through the round wall. You should ideally use default settings to create an unbeatable record for this track. Preferred Car : GT1 Preferred Settings : Default with maximum Steering toe in Preferred Tires : Slicks E. Autobahn Another track which is exciting, fast and equally luring to make you crash your car. Shortcuts:- Take the first flyover from the left. Leave the second flyover. take the third flyover from left. You have the option to use the rain tires, but i find slicks doing equally well. Use GT1 to avoid scratches with siderails, while getting down the bridges. GT1 does not take much air, and prevents a collision, which is almost sure in case of 911 Turbo 996. Though you do not need to take your fingure away from accelerator most of the time. Dont get fooled under the railway track. Here you need to realease your fingure to prevent yourself being scratched with the siderails. Slow down, apply some brakes while climbing the first bridge, or you ll find your car heavily damaged with the pole at the end of the siderail on the right. Use the way on the right while getting down the bridge. The way on the left is more circular, lengthy and surely scratching. With proper practice, you can get out out the tunnel before the finish without having to decelerate. You do not even need to release your fingure from accelerator button. Try hard to master this act. Preferred Car : GT1 Preferred Settings : Default with maximum Steering toe in Preferred Tires : Slicks / Rain Tires ( Both work well ) F. Corsica There are a hell lot of ways to complete the race. None of them a shortcut. Just go straight through the cave and take the left tunnel, leaving the road on the right. THATS IT. Slow down in the cave. It is simply impossible to take out your car unscratched, with full acceleration from this place. Do not commit the mistake of accelerating hard in the tunnels, otherwise you will end up smashing your car with one of the protuding borders at the end of every tunnel. You must release the accelerator wherever necessary. There is a tunnel, which has another tunnel waiting to embrace you as soon as it ends. The road between the two is also a bit uphill, just to identify it. I bet, its the most disguised point in the game. Just dare to go fast here and you ll smash yourself right into the sides of the entrance of the next tunnel. Wrecking your car horribly from the front. Just slow down a bit here and ensure that you are entering the next tunnel and not smashing yourself with its mouth. The uphill triple turn just before the last tunnel is very interesting. GT1 spins a lot on this particular point. So one needs to be specially careful while using that car here. Slow down far before taking the first turn. Rest is easy with a 911 Turbo. Preferred Car : 911 Turbo 996 Preferred Settings : Total Control ( Go up and see) Preferred Tires : Slicks G. Alps Full of collisions. Full of slips. Full of overturns. Lenghthiest. Shortcuts:- Just take the way on the right wherever you find two ways. Apply brakes to get through the first sharp turn, be straight on the road before the ultra sharp triple turn, otherwise the unpredictable, perfectly disguised bump will make the front wheels of your car turn a bit and lead you straight into the rock protuding out on the left. Start applying brakes early before the triple turn, and turn the car while applying brakes. Be patient, if you apply brakes from the correct distance, and do not release your fingure from the brakes, the car will beautifully take a sharp turn to enthrall you over your performance. Do the same trick for all the three turns. You need to release fingures from the accelerator while working your way through the tunnels. Try being in the middle of the road in the snowy areas. The brown patch has a lot of grip in it and it does not let you loose control. Slow down before you leave the road with houses and rocks on both the sides. If you dont, you ll find yourself crashing into the rocks or the trees. ( Use rain tires if you want to have additional grip). On the way to right (shortcut), notice the first bump where the 911 Turbo takes air. Here you should keep the direction of your car a bit to right , failing which you ll bump into a rock on the left. Nowehere else do you need to slow down in the entire drive through the greens. There are however, two turns where you need to be careful. Slow down after moving, say a 100 metres after the ice lake , otherwise you will collide head on to the perpendicular railing on the right. Preferred Car : 911 Turbo 996 Preferred Settings : Total Control ( Go up and see) Preferred Tires : Rain Tires H. Auvergne This track also offers a lot of options to choose from, as in shortcuts. shortcut 1: First left , again first left (into the buildings) and then follow the road as it appears . STRAIGHT. This way, though shorter is harder to get through without scratch. Shortcut 2: First left, then second left (leaving the first left) . Just follow the brown road laid with bricks. This road is a bit easier, but still needs to be worked hard upon. The turns are not visible until very close, and they are hell of a sharp, so just keep an accurate idea of what is where. On the turn before the pillars, slow down, or you will land on greenland with grass all over and give your car a real beating as it collides with a short wall head on. While taking the curve near the pillars, be extra careful , you ll find everything going allright just before a pillar comes from somewhere and hits you. Its Deceptive, so be careful. Just after you come out of the tunnel through the buildings, you find a sharp turn on the left. Slow down and turn with brakes on to pat yourself on the back. Just after this antic, you will find a gate leading to a fountain. Be careful to be on the righter side of the road while entering the gate or you ll damage the fountain..er..actually yourself. There are other points too, just keep practising and you ll find more. Preferred Car : GT1 Preferred Settings : Total Control ( Go up and see) Preferred Tires : Slicks I. Shwarzwald Just one shortcut in this tortuos track. And that too a tough one to take. Enter the jungle, take two turns and watch your ass while taking this tough turn the right , which is not even visible from distance. the only saving grace being a traffic sign board , making it a bit easier to identify. Be straight while taking the the bumps at the start of the race. Be careful while following the turn on the track leading to timber yard. A little carelessness will smash you in the heap of logs. Never think of taking any sharp turns in the algae after the jungle. The car will spin like mad. And once halted it will keep on spinning like a wheel until it finds a rough surface. There are some very sharp turns in the track, practice your way through them to find get away unscratched. Be careful on the bumps just after the jungle ends. Be straight , targetting a bit to the right while taking off and landing with wheels spread straight. Nothing but practice will help on this track, so keep trying until you master it all. Preferred Car : GT1 Preferred Settings : Total Control ( Go up and see) Preferred Tires : Slicks J. Monte carlo. There are 5 tracks. I wont be going into the details of each track. Just notice the points given below and you ll find them useful in all the tracks. Be close to the wall in the direction of the turn, while climbing uphill or while taking not-so-sharp turns, this saves time. Do not do this in or immediately after clearing tunnels as there are borders in the walls ready to smash your car. Be wary of rails on the side, slow down wherever necessary to avoid a scratch. Dont panic when the opponents beat you on the long-n-straight tunnel even though you make your best efforts. They are naturally faster on straighter trcks. You can make up for all the loss in the curves. Preferred Car : GT1 Preferred Settings : Total Control ( Go up and see) Preferred Tires : Slicks Note: By heart all the tracks and critical points . Its only then you can know how important it is to take care of them. ****************************************************************** ******************************** 6.THE 360 DEGREE SPIN --------------------------------- You will be required to perform a 360 degree spin while playing in the factory driver mode. Its not easy for a beginner to do it but one can easily perform the antic if he follows the steps provided correctly. 1. Enter the spin area with a moderate speed and press the arrow key in the desired direction. 2. Press the spacebar 3. Once the car has spun 180 degrees , just press the arrow key opposite to the key which was pressed earlier. If done properly, car will spin finely within the spinning area. ****************************************************************** ******************************** 7. Test yourself. ---------------------- Here are some of the tasks which i think only a perfect driver can accomplish. Try them, if you are able to perform even one of them dont even think twice to acknowlege as one of the best drivers. A. Create a record of around 2:14 in Zone Industrielle. B. Make backlash win a knockout with following settings. Car : 911 turbo 996 or GT1 Opponents : Same car Traffic : off Mode : Expert C. Beat Dylan by 5 minutes in Rally Of Europe( modern era). This will appear only after completing the three stages in evolution mode. D. Make a record of around 2:10 in Cote D' Azur. E. Win a knockout in expert mode with all the opponents driving GT1 and traffic off F. Beat dylan in Rally Of Europe (modern era) using a 944. ****************************************************************** *************************** P.S. Any ideas, thoughts, questions , suggestions and tips about the game, whatsoever are most welcome at my e-mail address provided on top. Please provide me with feedback , it will be a reward for me for this little attempt i have made.