MotoRoader for the PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-16
An Online Guide by Alvin Yap aka GallenWolf
[email protected]
Version 1.0
10th September 2005
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- GamePlay & Controls
- Alternate Race Courses
- Purchases
- Beating the game
- Credits & Copyrights
-=================-
-= Introduction =-
-=================-
MotoRoader is a top down race simulation for the PC Engine. The
lovely aspect of this game is the ability for up to Five racers
to play together on screen. That is, if you have a multi-tap!
The game is pretty straightforward. Race around the courses,
avoid obstacles, upgrade your vehicle with the best parts,
load up with weapons and blast away. Yay! It's great at parties,
but usually, bomber man '94 is more of a hit :)
-=======================-
-= GamePlay & Controls =-
-=======================-
Just press the run button to bring up the registration screen.
Fill in your favourite name, to move on to the upgrades section.
If you are the only player, you'll be racing against the destardly
CPU players.
The upgrades section allows you to upgrade various parts of your
ride, such as the bodyshell, engine, tires for example. The key
upgrade to be made would be the "Handle" upgrade. This upgrade
determines how the car responds to your input on the race track.
Handle "A" uses the full control pad to control the direction of
your car. Wanna go down the screen? Hold down. To move right just
hold right. It's not relative to anything, just push where you want
the car to go.
Handle "B" is the style usually used for "chase" style car games,
where only the Right and Left buttons work, to steer the car
left and right, relative to the direction the car is pointing at.
I would suggest, as a first time player to try out either style to
see which is most comfortable. Newbies usually find handle "A"
more comfortable, but experienced gamers or real-world drivers
tend to find handle B a better option.
The Handle upgrades are free, for the basic Handle A/Bs, but cost goes
up should you choose a + type handle upgrade. + upgrades make the
car respond faster, but and also tends to cause spin outs easier.
Once you are done, you'll head on to the actual race. If you're
playing with other friends, it'll be their turn to make purchases.
Once the actual race starts, the cars are lined up at the starting
grid and a countdown initiates the race. The bottom of the screen has
a whole bunch of numbers, indicating the amount of "Gas" you have left.
This number decreases naturally as you race, due to the fact that
engines eat up gas. Your starting engine is a 1200cc model that drains
the gas tank very slowly, and it is, verily, very slow.
Apart from engine usage, the numbers will decrease everytime you get
"bounced". In order for all the cars to stay on the same screen and yet
have differing speeds, the game causes slower cars that hit the edges of
the screen to bounce to about mid way of the race course. You can use
this to your advantage in the final lap, to "bounce" ahead of your
opponents at the finish line. It takes practice and is very risky,
but heck it really annoys your pals if you suceed :)
Button II is used for Acceleration/Brakes. Hold down button II to
engage the engines, and let it go to engage the brakes for
hairpins and such.
Button I is used for the "special" purchases. If you are relatively
new to the game, I would suggest purchasing a "Gas Tank". It's very
cheap, and allows you to refill your gas tank 3 times to its maximum
capacity without going through a refill station or the goal points.
If perchance your friends decide to join up at a later
time, I believe they'd need to press the sequence I, II, II, I at
the results screen after a race. I don't think it's possible to join
up mid-way through a race.
Once you've completed the set number of laps for that heat, it's back
to the summary screen showing the winning positions, cash acquired
and the number of points you have, then back to the purchase screen.
This cycle repeats till all 8 heats are done, and the winner is the
person who has the most points.
Just a note, for newbies who have never seen a PC-Engine in their life,
remind them NOT to press the SEL and RUN buttons together, since this
effectively resets the console. Not a big deal for say bomber man,
since you effectively start every new game powerless, it's very annoying
to be at heat 7, fully upgraded and someone.... resets the game....
-==========================-
-= Alternate Race Courses =-
-==========================-
The KEY reason why I'm writing this FAQ - I've been hunting online for
the alternate race courses available in MotoRoader, and haven't found any.
Drat. So while I still remember a few of them, I'm gonna immortalize 'em
on GameFAQs. Each course has 8 heats, and each vary in the number of laps.
These were taught to me by a fellow PC-Engine enthusiast back in the '90s.
* Default Course
Just press Run.
Overview: Very basic course, and the best to run when introducing newbs.
* Suburb
Hold Down I + SEL then press Run.
Overview: Hands down the most challenging and difficult course *ever*.
I do not think I've ever completed this course while using grenade launchers
at every round. The first heat is extremely long, very difficult to
memorize and trap ridden. The other heats vary in length and difficulty
from simply annoying to verily a strain on the senses.
Most of the times, I will purchase a Gas Tank... just in case :)
* U.S.A
Hold down UP + I then press Run.
Relatively easy course, about the same difficulty as the default course.
* TRAP Course
Hold down I + II then press Run.
Fun! If the whole group of players at least knows how to control the cars
properly and know how to use the gas tank. Heats are average length, but
the placements of traps and layout is very challenging, at times funny,
yet not as annoying as the Suburbs. No warning signs for course obstacles!
* Other courses?
I cannot remember if there are any other courses (Hey it's been more then
a decade!!!!) If you do, please email me?
-=============-
-= Purchases =-
-=============-
There are 7 upgrade options in the purchase screen. When you purchase a
better upgrade, say Body + 4, and you already have a Body + 3, you do not
get a refund or discount towards your new purchase. So, be careful with
your purchases!!!
1) BodyShell: The bodyshell is part of the trio of upgrade options that increase
your final top speed. You start out with the original chassis, and have
up to 4 other choices. To date, I've rarely purchased the +1 or +2 bodies,
and generally utilize the +4 body for general races, and +3 when I need
to play handicapped.
2) Tires: You start out with a pair of crappy radials. Radials + 1 only improve
the gripping capability somewhat. In 5 player games, I've had to make do
with the HG-Tires. They are sufficient even at full speed, if you use a
+1 handle, and don't push the car over the limit.
HG+1s are very good tires, but still spin out easily on water, or if you have
a +2 handle and push it a little too hard.
HGs+2s are the ultimate tires. They do not slip, even on water. If you have
them and a fully loaded car AND know the track by heart AND are very good at
"cutting corners", your opponents will actively *hate* you.
3) Engines: There are 4 engine sizes, 1200cc, 2400cc, 3000cc and the almighty
4800cc. Engines a) increase your top speed, b) increase your acceleration and
c) increase fuel consumption. Obviously, save and buy the best. For newbs, make
sure they've got a Gas Tank.
4) Brakes: Why would I need brakes?! Dual Hairpins, and 90 degree turns. At
slow speeds, yes, brakes are useless. But at full upgraded speed, brakes make
the difference between cutting some grass and making the turn.
Note, if you know the track, you can use the "out-in-out" or "Out-in-in"
style of cornering, so you can maintain full speed through a 90 degree turn.
Please ask one of your racing buddies about this, or search the internet for
the term "Racing Line". Dual hairpins? No chance. Brakes are the way to go.
5) Turbo: Only two choices, three if you count the Non-turbo option. Like
real-world turbos, once equipped this actually causes the car to accelerate
like an oil tanker. Really. The 10k "Turbo" upgrade is equivalent to installing
a 3000cc engine; hence if you have only a 3000cc engine and your buddy has
1200cc plus the Turbo, you'll both be at the same speed. The difference would
be the turbo car has HORRID acceleration, and yet sucks up less petrol.
The Hi-Turbo option is not too bad: Equivalent in speed to a 4800cc engine, it
has *less* start up lag, i.e. it accelerates significantly better than the
Turbo. Of course, it costs a bomb at 22k.
6) Handle: Handle has been largely covered in the "Gameplay and Controls"
section, but I'd like to mention some stuff. I at Heat 6, I usually drive a
car with top speed, i.e. full body, engines and turbo upgrades, but with
Radials! The key to controlling the car, is to know the course, use +1 handle
to reduce spinout chance, and BRAKE EARLY! I'll talk more later. Once I get
HGs or better, I'll switch to a +2. Do it too, if you can handle the response.
7) Special Weapons: MotoRoader is more of a pure race game rather than a
bash your opponent game in MotoRoader 2. The CPU racers hardly use their
weapons. So... kinda boring when playing alone. It's fun though, when taking
your friends out.
Hopper - Only usable 20 times, or so the manual says. I never counted, and
I rarely use this. Has the same effect as a ramp. Good for jumping over oil
slicks or double hairpins.If you know the course very well, and you have
maximum speed, you can use this to cut corners very very very effectively -
so effective, you can "drag" the other slower cars by causing the screen to
update to your position instantly. $2800
Nitro - Nitro! Yeah! So much fun in a bottle, and only usable.... ONCE!
I think this is one of the suckiest upgrades. It does give you a significant
speed boost, but once everyone is up running with full upgrades, its not
enough to take the victory from the 5th spot. $5000
Grenade - Ah! My favourite weapon of choice. 40 lobs of pure, annoying power.
It basically fires a grenade (duh) ahead of your car, where it lands and
explodes. Ahead?! Wouldn't the Bomber upgrade be better? The way to play
grenades is at higher speeds. What you do, is to lanch the grenade, then dodge
it! It's difficult to explain in text. Try it in the game. If you get the
hang of it, use it in corners, so when it lands, it is in the path of where
the cars need to go. Grenades are cheap too, at only $1100!
Warper - 3 uses only, similar effect to that of bouncing off the screen.
Erm, I have not used this much to find out how to annoy your friends with.
It's good to use to avoid oil slicks or hairpins, but... that's about all...
$3700
Turner - Effectively, it allows your car to turn on a dime. Very effective
for use say in hairpins, or even better, 90 degree turns. This works very
well if you are the lead car, and are as fast/faster as the rest of the pack.
At the corner of the 90, make the turn with Turner, all the other cars will
be dragged around due to the way the screen updates on your car. Evil.
But I'd rather play with grenades blowing all over the track. $2560, for
15 uses.
Gas Tank - Hands down the best choice for newbies, and a must-have for the
Suburb course. Gives you 3 refills of your gas tank for a measely $250.
Bomber - Basically emits an explosive puff similar to grenades from the
rear of your car. It's very easy to use to take out opponent cars, but
only 20 rounds. $1350
-====================-
-= Beating the game =-
-====================-
Since you do not receive any discounts when upgrading components, it is
essential that you do NOT buy anything you do not want! Unless you just
wanna play around for the fun of it, or check out the sexay Body +3 upgrade.
This is how I usually run my races:
First Heat: Handle A/B +1 (In suburb I either purchase a gas tank, or nothing)
Second Heat: Body + 4 (Assuming I get 3rd position or better. If you finish 4th
and still have your original $5000, you can still get a +4 upgrade.)
Third Heat: Save Cash, if it's a tough course, get a gas tank.
Fourth Heat: 4800cc engine.
Fifth Heat: Save Cash
Sixth Heat: Hi-Turbo
Seventh Heat: HG+1 Tires (Occasionally I keep wining 1st position, and get
the HG+2) And if I've upgraded to HG+1 or better, I'll take the A/B+2
handle upgrade.
Final, Eight Heat: Best brakes I can afford.
The above is my usual gameplay strategy, and that's because I have many years
of experience with this game (can you say... since 1990?!). And it does not
apply to the suburb course!
If I've got friends along for the ride, we may mix it up with grenades or
bombers...
Remember, practice makes perfect. Keep on running the courses till you have
a "feel" of what corner comes up next. Also, you'll notice I only purchase
tires at the 7th heat. This is because you can control the rate of turn of
your car by tapping, and not holding down the direction pad. This will not
cause the car to spin out easily with high speeds. Even on water, I can
manage a +4 Body & Full engines on radials with a B+1. With Hi-turbo
though.... its difficult... unless its one of those track I remember very well.
You may also notice, that for some tracks, the CPU is able to jump off a
ramp with the car still pointing ahead, but the car slides to the left.
You can also emulate this by just tapping "left" on your D-pad anytime you
are going straight. The CPU can however do this to the Right, I haven't found
a way to do it yet.
If you spin out on water, oil slicks, or get hit by a grenade/bomber, DO NOT
ACCELERATE WHILE SPINNING! Allow the brakes to stop the spin, then accelerate.
Buy a gas tank, if you are uncertain of the course. Always buy a gas tank when
running new courses!
-=======================-
-= Credits & copyRights=-
-=======================-
* My classmate (lost contact with 'em. But I doubt he'd want his name
plasted all over the web!)
* NCS for this really great game. HuCards rock!
* GameFAQs - the resource for gamers :)
This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site apart from GameFAQs.com
or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use
of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is
strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.
Content herein ©2005 Alvin Yap
