Autoduel (PC)

Autoduel (PC)
FAQ/Walkthrough
By Roman Farraday

v1.0 (9/1/2012)
v1.1 (12/22/2013)
v1.2 (1/20/2015)
v1.3 (6/4/2016)

Table of Contents

A. Copyright/legal
A1: Copyright/legal/contact info
A2: Version history/credits

B. Introduction
B1: About this FAQ
B2: Farmer Jimbo’s Version
B3: Autoduel for the PC

C. Basics
C1: Controls
C1_1: Driving
C1_2: Keyboard commands
C1_3: Menus by Farmer Jimbo
C1_4: Miscellaneous commands/controls
C2: Maps
C2_1: Overview Map by [email protected]
C2_2: Atlantic City-Philadelphia-New York-Albany-Boston-Manchester
C3_1: Albany-Syracuse-Watertown
C3: Cities
C3_1: City Listing
C3_2: City Buildings
C3_3: City Task Time
C3_4: City Championship Schedule
C4: Player Character
C4_1: Health
C4_2: Money
C4_3: Prestige
C4_4: Driving
C4_5: Marksmanship
C4_6: Mechanic Ability
C1_4: Quitting and Backing up your Driver file

D. Vehicles
D1: Player Character Vehicles
D1_1: Overview
D1_2: Vehicle Examples
D1_2_A: Courier Car
D1_2_B: Arena Championship Car
D1_2_C: End Game Car
D1_3: Body Types
D1_4: Chassis, Suspension and Tires
D1_5: Power Plants
D1_6: Armor
D1_7: Weapons
D1_7_A: Overview
D1_7_B: Machine Gun
D1_7_C: Flamethrower
D1_7_D: Rocket Launcher & Heavy Rocket
D1_7_E: Recoilless Rifle & Anti-Tank Gun
D1_7_F: Laser
D1_7_G: Minedropper
D1_7_H: Spikedropper
D1_7_I: Smokescreen
D1_7_J: Paint Spray
D1_7_K: Oil Jet

E. Combat
E1: The Arena
E2: The Open Road

F. Courier Jobs

G. Walkthrough/Storyline
G1: Getting Started
G2: Your First Car
G3: Building Prestige and Skills
G4: Courier Jobs and City Championships
G5: Open Game
G6: Mr. Big

H. Rumors and Missions by [email protected]
H1: Basic Rumors
H1_1: Joe’s Bar
H1_2: Truck Stop
H1_3: Casino
H2: Missions
H2_1: Decoy Arena
H2_2: Clone Heart
H2_3: Mob Trial
H2_4: Fixed Races
H2_5: Mr. Big

A. Copyright/Legal
A1: Copyright/Legal/Contact Info

This document is Copyright 2013 by Roman Farraday, [email protected].

Suggestions, corrections, better routes, other storylines and kudos are all
welcome at any time. Please put "Autoduel" or "GameFAQs" in the subject line.

Car Wars/Autoduel is the legally protected intellectual property of Steve
Jackson, Steve Jackson Games, Lord British, Chuckles, and Origin.

I am not affiliated with any of the above named people/companies or anyone
who had anything to do with the creation of this game.

A2: Version history/credits

9/1/2012 This is the first version of this FAQ. This is based on the work by
Farmer Jimbo and I used his guide to help organize mine and help identify
which areas needed to be addressed, and I lifted some content directly from
his incomplete FAQ, mainly the Table of Contents structure, this Copyright/
Legal section, the map by [email protected], and the abbreviations for the city
buildings.

12/22/2013 Really just some small updates, cleaned up the maps a bit, etc.

1/19/2015 Learning how to save your Driver was important enough to update
the FAQ, plus added a few things, cleaned up a few things, developed the maps
a bit more, etc.

6/4/2016 I added the “Rumors and Missions” section, and of course, cleaned up
some things, added some details around Arena combat and to the Walkthrough. I
really don’t see myself adding or updating again, this version is gold.
Enjoy!

B. Introduction

B1: About this FAQ

This is my favorite game of all-time. I played it as recently as 2016, and
it’s still a thrill to build up your car and take it into the arena! I also
had noticed in 2012 that there was no finished FAQ for this game, it’s a very
challenging game and one that can get frustrating quickly, hence this FAQ.

After learning about it in late 2014 through a response to this FAQ by Justin
Carrol, I would say that saving your “Driver” file is a key to the game. It
makes it so you don’t really need a Clone or a backup of your Brain Tape.
This in turn lets you focus your game time on Courier jobs and City
Championships, the keys to advancing to a level to end the game, and you
don’t need to sink money or time into clone management.

Frequent saving of the “Driver” file is needed because there are many ways to
die in this game, even for a skilled, experienced player. The last mission is
especially tough.

It is also very hard to earn money in this game, especially in the early
going, as the ammo and repairs needed after an Arena event or a Courier run
can often cost more than the reward. At least, that is until later in the
game when your Marksmanship makes your combat more efficient in terms of
spent ammo and armor, and when your Mechanic ability is high enough to
salvage ammo and especially parts.

Therefore, throughout this FAQ, I advocate going to Atlantic City early and
as often as you need in order to make sure that you have enough money to
build and maintain several cars through Arena events, Courier jobs, etc.

B2: Farmer Jimbo’s Version

Credit to Jim Flanagan aka Farmer Jimbo. I used his work as inspiration for
this guide, it helped me organize this guide and identify which areas needed
to be addressed. I noticed he never did quite finish his in 10 Years so I
went ahead and expanded upon his work.

B3: Autoduel for the PC

I played this on the PC more than 20 years ago, but I picked it up recently
from Abandonia.com and played it on DosBox for Windows. I do not know if this
is the authentic, original PC games but it certainly does feel like it.

C. Basics

C1: Controls

C1_1: Driving

You’ll spend most of this game controlling a battery-powered car, loaded with
weapons and armor. Controlling your car can take some getting used to. Press
the arrow keys in the direction you wish to move and the car responds. Your
acceleration, speed and turning radius are based upon the set-up of your car.
To brake, or reverse, press the arrow key in the direction opposite to which
you are traveling, or use the “Enter” key. If you execute too many turns in a
row, and your Driving ability isn’t high enough, you’ll lose control of your
car until it crashes. This can also happen when you lose a tire or multiple
tires, your car can even become completely uncontrollable so good tires are
very important.

C1_2: Keyboard commands

Up, down, left, right arrow – Turn car in that direction.

Enter – Stop car

Space Bar - Fire selected weapon.

Escape - Pauses game during arena or highway
F1 - Pauses game during arena or highway
F2 - Toggle sound
F3 - Display car status
F4 - Display roster of all cars
F5 - Display courier tasks & salvaged goods
F6 - Quit and save game
F7 - Get in/out of car
F8 - Display driver status
0 - 9 - Select active weapon

C1_3: Menus by Farmer Jimbo

When interacting with a Garage, Weapons Shop, Salvage Yard, etc.:

Up, down arrows - Navigate vehicles creations options.
Right, left arrows - Change vehicle creations parameters.
All other menus - 0-9, Y or N, depending the building.

C1_4: Quitting and Backing up your Driver file

Make sure you back up your “Driver” file frequently by Quitting and Saving
(Q or F6), then copying the “Driver” file in your “Autoduel” folder, and
saving it somewhere else. If you’re not going to go that route, then you
have to have a Clone and back up the Brain Tape frequently, which costs
time and money.

When you Press "Q" or "F6" it will ask, "Are you sure?" Type "Y" to
complete the quit - there's no harm in it, but it will update the "Driver"
file in the "Autoduel" directory - you still have to copy it somewhere
else to preserve it.

Then it will ask, "Ready for another go at it?" You can jump right back
into the game. This also works to reset the available Courier jobs at
your local AADA.

C2: Maps

C2_1: Overview Map

Autoduel Map by [email protected] via Farmer Jimbo, edited by Roman.

Watertown
|
/
_______Syracuse Manchester
/ \_______________ |
Buffalo | \ \
| Albany__ \
| | \_______Boston
| | |
| | /
| | Providence
| |
Scranton |
/ \ |
/ \ |
/ \ |
/ \ |
/ \_________New York
/ /
Pittsburgh | /
\________Harrisburg / ___Atlantic City
\__________Philadelphia___/
| |
| |
| |
| |
Baltimore |
| |
/ Dover
Washington

C2_2: Atlantic City-Philadelphia-New York-Albany-Boston-Manchester

You can consult the City to City Map by AndyTheGuy for all the routes, but
these six cities should represent your primary Courier route and Championship
Tour. Maps are not to scale but the turn-by-turn is there. These appear to be
the best routes in my estimation though it is possible there are faster
routes between cities than what I listed below. I welcome any such
suggestions.

* * Denotes a farm/overgrown area
_-_ Denotes a section where the road narrows. I did not necessarily
capture all of these.

[Man]
--||---|
------ |
||_____
|_ __ |
|| ||
||
| \
|_ |
||
||
Interstate 93 ||___
|*__*|
__||__||
| ______|
||
| \__
| ___
_____ Mass Turnpike ||
| __ | ____ ||
______| | ||_| __ | ||___ ||__
|**_ *__ | |___| || | __ | |__ |
|*|_|| || ||--__-----|| | \_|| ||
|**_*|__|| | __--_ __ | |___ | ||
[Alb]= | | || || || || ____||
|__---||-- | | || ||__|| __|| ||__|
| _______ | ____ | __ | |=[Bos]
|| | \_ || || ||
|| |__ | ____| \_ || _||
||_____ ||_ _______ |___||__ | _|
|__ --* * |_ | NY State Thruway | ______ | ||
|| || || | \__||
|| || || |_____|
||___ ||
| --- ||
|| ||
| \ __| \___
|_ | | ______ |
|| ||______||_
|| | * _ ___
|| | *|_| |
|___|| |*____ |
| --_| __||____||
|| |* * * * *|
|| | *_*_*_*_|
|| ||
|| ||
||_____||_______
| ___ ___ ___ |
|| || || ||
|| || || ||
| \__||___| \__||
|______________ |
||
NY State Thruway __||
__| __|
__| __|
___| __|
| ___|
||
| \_
|__ |
||__
|__ |
____||
-||--|
[NYC]
|___||___
| _----_ |
|| ||
|__| \__
| ______
||_
|_ | NJ Turnpike
_||
| _|
| \
|_ |
_||
| _|
||_
|_ |
_||
| _|
| \
|_ |
_||
| _|
| \__
|___ |
||__
| __
_||
| _|
||
|| NJ Turnpike
||_
|_ |
| \__
| ___
||
| \
|* |
__| *|
| ___ |
|| || Atc City Expwy
||___|| ||______________________|
|--||-| |* * __--__--_ __--__ | ||
[Philadelphia]= * *| || | \____|=[Atc City]
| __--_ |
|| ||

C3_1: Albany-Syracuse-Watertown

This map lays to the West of Albany. The only time I ever go there is for the
end of the game. Maps are not to Scale but the turn-by-turn is there. I did
not explore every possible route, it is possible there is a faster, more
direct route between cities than what I listed below. You can consult the
City to City Map by AndyTheGuy for all the routes.

* * Denotes a farm/overgrown area
_-_ Denotes a section where the road narrows. I did not necessarily
capture all of these.

[Wat]
_||______
____ __ |
|| || Nth-Sth Expwy
||
||__
| __
| \___
| _-_ |
|| ||
||
_| \_
_ __
||
||__
| __
||____
| _-_ |
|| || NY State Thruway
||__ ____ ___
Nth-Sth Expwy | __ | ** | | _ |
|| ____|| __| \__||_|* * *\_|| | \__ ||
||___ | ___ | | ______ _ * * __ | | __ | |=[Alb]
|_ _||| ||__||______|| |__*_| || || ||___||
|| || |__ _____ _| |_____|
[Syr]= \_____| \____||
|__-___ ____ _|
|| ||

C3: Cities

C3_1: City Listing

A AADA AB AP C G GC H JB OSI PS S TS WS
ALBANY, NY X X X X X X
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ X X X X
BALTIMORE, MD X X X X X
BOSTON, MA X X X X X X X X X X
BUFFALO, NY X X X X X
DOVER, DE X X X
HARRISBURG, PA X X X X X
MANCHESTER, NH X X X X X
NEW YORK CITY, NY X X X X X X X X X
PHILADELPHIA, PA X X X X
PITTSBURGH, PA X X X X X X X X X
PROVIDENCE, RI X
SCRANTON, PA X X X
SYRACUSE, NY X X X
WASHINGTON, D.C. X X X X
WATERTOWN, NY X X X X

LEGEND (abbreviations by Farmer Jimbo)
A Arena
AADA American Autoduel Association
AB Abandoned Building
AP Assembly Plant
C Casino
G Garage
GC Gold Cross
H Hotel
JB Joe's Bar
OSI Origin Systems, Inc.
PS Pet Store
S Salvage
TS Truck Stop
WS Weapon Shop

C3_2: City Buildings

The main buildings you want to visit are the AADA and sometimes S, along with
G, WS and once in a while, A. The AADAs are gold mines since they have
Courier jobs. If you pick up any salvage parts on the road, a Salvage Yard or
S is another nice way to make money. Besides that, you’re going to maintain
your car with the Garage, G, and Weapon Shop, WS, and once in a while, visit
an Arena, A. Arenas have Championships but otherwise there isn’t a lot of
sense in picking up the odd Arena event if you’re already on a Courier job.
Joe’s Bar, JB, can be handy if you have Courier jobs you need to sell or if
you're intrested in following rumors. The Gold Cross and Assembly Plant, you
want to deal with the ones in New York only. The rest is mostly there for
when you need it as a destination in a Courier job.

A Arena – Amateur Night in the beginning, only Championships later
AADA American Autoduel Association – ALWAYS stop in and see what they have
AB Abandoned Building – For the end of the game, avoid otherwise
AP Assembly Plant – Build cars; do this in New York only
C Casino – Make money in Atlantic City
G Garage – Repairs are always nice
GC Gold Cross – Outside of NYC, use only for Courier jobs or healing
H Hotel – Courier destination
JB Joe's Bar – Sell Courier jobs that you’re not going to complete
OSI Origin Systems, Inc. – Courier destination
PS Pet Store – Courier destination
S Salvage Yard – Sell salvage goods and make money
TS Truck Stop – Every city has one, recharge battery, sleep
WS Weapon Shop – Reload or restore any weapons you lost

C3_3: City Task Time

Different tasks take different amounts of time. Some take virtually no time
while others take a full day and others still take multiple days.

No time: Dropping off courier goods (anywhere), Battery charge (at TS or G),
buying Body Armor (at TS), reloading ammo (WS), selling Salvage goods (S),
going to Casino (C), getting any information (Road Information, Rumors, see
Arena schedule but not participating, seeing Courier jobs but not take any,
etc.) appear to take no time. As far as I can tell, you can do as many of
them as many times as you want, perhaps several accumulate into a day but I
don’t think so.

Full day: Repairs of any kind including weapons, getting a new weapon
installed, creating a Clone, and accepting a Courier job all take essentially
a full day to complete. If you can get multiple Courier jobs from the same
AADA, you can load them all in one day which is ideal, obviously.

Multiple days: A Mechanic’s Lesson take you into the night of the fifth day,
so your only choice then is to get a room for the night, taking you into a
sixth day. You can start a Mechanic’s Lesson the same day you do repairs if
you don’t leave the Garage.

Full week: Healing injuries at a Gold Cross.

C3_4: City Championship Schedule

City Championships appear to be always 12 weeks, or 84 days apart in each
city:

Albany – Jan 30
Boston – Feb 6
New York - Feb 20
Pittsburgh – Mar 6
Harrisburg – Mar 13
Atlantic City – Mar 27
Watertown – Mar 27
Washington – Apr 1
Manchester – Apr 3
Albany – Apr 24
Boston – May 1
New York – May 15
Pittsburgh – May 29
Harrisburg – Jun 5
Atlantic City – Jun 19
Watertown – Jun 19
Washington – Jun 24
Manchester – Jun 26
Albany – Jul 17
Boston – Jul 24
New York – Aug 7
Pittsburgh – Aug 21
Harrisburg – Aug 28
Atlantic City – Sep 11
Watertown – Sep 11
Washington – Sep 16
Manchester – Sep 18
Albany – Oct 9
Boston – Oct 16
New York – Oct 30
Pittsburgh – Nov 13
Harrisburg – Nov 20
Atlantic City – Dec 4
Watertown – Dec 4
Washington – Dec 9
Manchester – Dec 11
..

C4: Player Character

The player character, your Driver, has Health, Money, Prestige and three main
stats: Driving, Marskmanship and Mechanical Ability.

C4_1: Health

First is your health, 00 to 03, hopefully 03 at all times. If it isn’t, go to
a Gold Cross and spend a week healing up.

Next is your Body Armor, which you should purchase as your first move of the
game as well as immediately after it takes damage, and wear at all times.

Finally is your Clone. You should always have one after your first three
Amateur Night competitions.

C4_2: Money

I don’t like having less than $30,000 at all times, so that I’m always able
soak up whatever I need to in repairs, ammo and healing, or even build a new
car in case I have to ditch the one I’m driving. If I’m not at or near $30K,
I’ll go to Atlantic City. As I mentioned before and will again, money can
be very hard to generate early in the game.

C4_3: Prestige

Prestige is the most important stat in the game, the only thing that really
matters. As your Prestige gets higher, you get access to better Courier jobs
and game content. It is only by getting your Prestige to 95 that the FBI in
New York will want to see you and give you a mission to take down Mr. Big.

C4_4: Driving

Driving increases as you drive miles. You should start out at 30 and will
Probably end around 70. The higher your Driving ability, the less likely you
are to lose control of your car after executing a series of tight turns, or
when driving without one or more of your tires. It may or may not change the
car’s responsiveness and turn radius, but I don’t think it does.

C4_5: Marksmanship

Marksmanship at least affects how likely an attack is to hit the enemy it is
attacking, and I suspect it also affects the damage done with the attack.
Start your Marksmanship out at 20. Marksmanship increases with each
successful hit, will progress the fastest among your stats and end at 99.

C4_6: Mechanic Ability

The higher the Mechanic Ability, the higher your chances of salvaging parts
or ammo from wrecked cars. I think a higher ability also tends to result in a
higher value of the salvaged goods, but I’m not sure about that. You increase
it only by taking lessons at the Garage. Lessons take six days and cost $500.
Once you’re in the 30s, you’ll find salvage goods regularly enough, up to you
if you want to invest more into it, I usually take mine into the low 40s and
stop there.

D. Vehicles

D1: Player Character Vehicles

D1_1: Overview

Building vehicles is the heart of the game and to this day, there is nothing
quite like the feeling of taking your new car into the arena for the first
time! I typically specialize my cars, one for Courier jobs and one for all-
out combat.

D1_2: Example Vehicles

D1_2_A: Courier Car

The best way to explain the best way to build a car is to show you my car,
the “Little Mule”. If you only want to build one car or would rather not
delve into Altantic City at all, then save up $15,000 and build this one car:

Drvr: Roman Item Pt Loc
Car: Little Mule Plant
Cost: $14588 Large 10 Ctr
Tires
Body: Pickup Solid 12 F-L
Chas: Ex. Heavy Solid 12 F-L
Susp: Heavy Solid 12 F-L
Solid 12 F-L
Max Wt: 7800 Weapons Am
Max Sp: 24 Armr M. Gun 03 Frt 20
Top: 90 F: 60 M. Gun 03 Frt 20
Hcl: 02 B: 60 Flmthr 03 Bck 20
L: 42 Spikdp 05 Bck 20
Wt Left: 1106 R: 42 Oil Jt 03 Bck 20
Sp Left: 10 U: 00 ...... .. ... ..
Acc: 10 ...... .. ... ..
Bat: 99 ...... .. ... ..
...... .. ... ..
...... .. ... ..

This car has 1106 lbs. of capacity, enough for the heaviest loads in the
game, or multiple heavy loads. It is also bristling with weapons and I’ve won
many Championships with it. The primary weapons are the Machine Gun facing
forward (with a backup) and the Flamethrower facing the rear. If I think I
can get an easy kill with the Spikedropper, I’ll take it. Any Courier car
needs an Oil Jet in case armor is compromised but you want to try to finish
the job. It is much more valuable than extra armor to the sides or underbody,
because it can extend my life even when my Front and/or Back are breached,
which almost always happens before the Left, Right or Underbody are breached.

D1_2_B: Arena Championship Car

If I’m doing a Championship circuit like Albany-Boston-New York, I have a
pure combat car for just over $20,000, even though money was no limit to me
here:

Drvr: Roman Item Pt Loc
Car: Direwolf Plant
Cost: $20600 Large 10 Ctr
Tires
Body: Luxury Solid 12 F-L
Chas: Ex. Heavy Solid 12 F-L
Susp: Heavy Solid 12 F-L
Solid 12 F-L
Max Wt: 6600 Weapons Am
Max Sp: 19 Armr Laser 02 Frt ??
Top: 90 F: 60 Flmthr 03 Bck 20
Hcl: 03 B: 60 M. Gun 03 Bck 20
L: 40 Oil Jt 03 Bck 20
Wt Left: 0280 R: 40 ...... .. ... ..
Sp Left: 06 U: 00 ...... .. ... ..
Acc: 10 ...... .. ... ..
Bat: 99 ...... .. ... ..
...... .. ... ..
...... .. ... ..

The biggest change is that the Direwolf utilizes the Luxury Car body and a
front-facing Laser, making it more maneuverable and deadly than the Little
Mule but with nowhere near the weight capacity. Still, the Direwolf keeps 280
lbs. of capacity for salvage goods or light Courier jobs, and it really comes
in handy. The Direwolf also upgrades the rear-facing Spikedropper for a
Machine Gun, for more reliability in the backup weapon. The Laser is
extremely economical since it doesn’t use ammo, and it can make long trips
without Weapon Shops. It will carve up large vehicles but struggles with the
smaller ones. For those, you go around them or speed past them, and use your
Flamethrower. Should it run out of ammo, you have the old reliable Machine
Gun. As a last resort, you always have the Oil Jet. Feel free to add more
armor to the Left and Right, but I find this to be just about enough, and
I’d rather have the weight capacity for cargo.

D1_2_C: End Game Car

For the end of the game, when space and weight are no object whatsoever, I
worked out one more design:

Drvr: Roman Item Pt Loc
Car: Beast Mode Plant
Cost: $21780 Large 10 Ctr
Tires
Body: Luxury Solid 12 F-L
Chas: Ex. Heavy Solid 12 F-L
Susp: Heavy Solid 12 F-L
Solid 12 F-L
Max Wt: 6600 Weapons Am
Max Sp: 19 Armr Laser 02 Frt ??
Top: 90 F: 60 M. Gun 03 Frt 20
Hcl: 03 B: 60 Flmthr 03 Bck 20
L: 44 M. Gun 03 Bck 20
Wt Left: 0000 R: 44 Oil Jt 03 Bck 20
Sp Left: 05 U: 01 ...... .. ... ..
Acc: 10 ...... .. ... ..
Bat: 99 ...... .. ... ..
...... .. ... ..
...... .. ... ..

Beast Mode uses up all available weight for weapons and armor since it has
only one job to do. It would fare well in the arena, though you couldn’t take
any salvage goods, so it is specifically designed for the final Courier job
of the game. Even though the Laser and Flamethrower are the primary weapons,
when the game is on the line, the Machine Gun is the most reliable weapon so
I like having one facing both forward and backward. The Oil Jet is actually
the real key to the last part of the game, where there are simply too many
enemies to engage them all and you need to evade.

D1_3: Body Types

The Pickup Truck is the best buy in the game, holding much more weight than
any of the other frames yet costing less than several of them. You do give up
1 Handling Class to some other body types but the Pickup is easily the best
car for Courier jobs, and could be adapted for even more armor and weapons in
the Arena as well.

Personally I like the added handling ability of the Luxury Car for the
toughest parts of the game so that’s what the Direwolf and Beast Mode utilize.
I don't see any value in any of the other body types.

D1_4: Chassis, Suspension and Tires

Don’t skimp on the Chassis, Suspension or Tires. The Extra Heavy Chassis
allows you to maximize the weight of your car and weight is generally the
most limiting factor. The Heavy Suspension gives you maximum Handling Class,
and you will be sacrificing 1 HC for driving a Pickup Truck for a HC of 2
even with the best suspension. Meanwhile, tires often take damage and losing
two of them can be devastating, making your car uncontrollable, so it’s worth
the money and weight to invest in the Solid Tires.

D1_5: Power Plants

The Large Power Plant is a requirement, for it maximizes your Acceleration
and Top Speed, at these weights at least. There’s really no benefit to the
Super Power Plant for these cars and weights and it’s really never worth the
money, space and weight vs. the Large. Don’t skimp with a Medium Plant.

D1_6: Armor

You’re always going to want to max out on Front and Back armor. The armor to
the Left and Right are some of the last elements you add to a car after you
max out armor to the Front and Back, and place the weapons you want; and you
never really need Underbody armor, just avoid any and all mines. The 40 armor
to the Left and Right of the “Direwolf” holds up a little better than the 60
to the Front and Back. If I could add 20 more points to the Front or Back, I
would do that much faster than adding more to the Right or Left. “Beast Mode”
has a little more armor to the Left and Right though it rarely utilizes it.

Keeping the armor at its current level on the “Little Mule” allows it to have
enough weight capacity to take a 1000-lb. payload (of which there is at least
one in the game) plus salvaged goods (100 lbs.) or a smaller package (of
which there are several between 0-100 lbs.) It also keeps costs below $15,000
so it can enter into Division 15 Tournaments as well as well as 20 and do
well. Division 15 only pays $4000 but the opponents go down quickly without
spending much ammo or armor of your own so it can be profitable, and it gives
comparable Prestige to Unlimited events. You can choose to go with more armor,
obviously, at the cost of payload capacity and it will take you out of
Division 15. Alternatively, you can add even more payload capacity by taking
armor off the left and right sides. I’ve been happy with this mix.

As for the “Direwolf”, leaving the armor where it is enables it to have 280
lbs. capacity for salvaged goods, which weigh 100 lbs., plus some cargo. The
“Direwolf” will travel to Manchester and Atlantic City for their Autoduel
Championships and it’s nice if you can handle some light Courier jobs along
the way, or at least salvage some goods. There are also some really great
Courier jobs for under 100 lbs. Additional armor to the Left, Right or
Underbody wouldn’t really be utilized anyways.

Finally, “Beast Mode” is not interested in Courier jobs so it adds a bit of
armor to the left and right, even 1 to the Underbody.

On all cars, I would pretty much always make the trade-off of 6-7 points of
armor in exchange for an Oil Jet, which can bail you out when your Front
and/or Back are breached.

D1_7: Weapons

D1_7_A: Overview

Weapon Cost Weight Spaces DP CPR WPR
A Machine-Gun $1000 150 1 3 $25 2
B Flamethrower $550 465 3 3 $25 5
C Rocket Launcher $1050 215 3 3 $35 5
D Recoilless Rifle $1550 315 3 5 $35 5
E Anti-Tank Gun $2050 615 4 6 $50 10
F Laser $8000 500 2 2 -- --
G Minedropper $550 165 3 3 $50 5
H Spikedropper $150 40 2 5 $10 5
I Smokescreen $300 40 2 5 $10 5
J Paint Sprayer $400 25 1 2 $10 2
K Oil Jet $250 25 2 3 $10 2
L Heavy Rocket $200 100 1 2 -- --

The game’s manual would tell you that an Anti-Tank Gun does more damage than
a Recoilless Rifle, which does more damage than a Machine Gun. This may be
technically true but it isn’t practically true in the game. The game also
states that the Laser and Recoilless Rifle are more accurate than the Machine
Gun, but accuracy doesn’t work the way the game says that it does, nor the
way I believe it was intended. For whatever reason, the Machine Gun is the
most accurate, most reliable weapon in the game and the damage seems
comparable to other weapons, though the Laser at least seems a tad more
powerful. The Recoilless Rifle, Anti-Tank Gun and Laser are all somewhat
less accurate than the Machine Gun. As far as damage, if you think of damage
as the % chance of hitting x damage per hit, you will understand that the
Machine Gun might also be the most damaging weapon because it has the highest
% chance to hit. That stated, the Laser does more damage when it hits, and
the Flamethrower is accurate and damaging. And don’t overlook the Oil Jet.

Weapon
Machine Gun Most reliable, accurate weapon in the game, maybe the best.
Flamethrower Most fearsome rear-facing weapon in the game.
Rocket Launcher Cheap but inaccurate and only conditionally effective.
Recoilless Rifle Inferior to the Machine Gun in every way.
Anti-Tank gun Inferior to the Machine Gun in every way.
Laser Deadly and has limitless ammo, struggles with some targets.
Minedropper Mostly ineffective.
Spikedropper Light and cheap and surprisingly effective.
Smokescreen Defensive item, can throw an enemy off but unreliable.
Paint Srpay Defensive item, can throw an enemy off but unreliable.
Oil Jet A real life-saver! Purely a defensive item but a great one.
Heavy rocket Cheap but inaccurate and only conditionally effective.

D1_7_B: Machine Gun

The Machine Gun is hands down the best bang-for-the-buck and bang-for-weight-
and-space in the game, despite being an introductory weapon in your first
Arena combat. It is probably the most accurate and reliable weapon in the
game and therefore it might be the best weapon, period. It doesn’t do as much
damage as some other weapons but will hit so much more frequently that it
generally makes up for it, and with good Marksmanship, a Machine Gun will
stop even the most heavily armored cars with repeated hits. Those hits can
run you through ammo, so on the “Little Mule”, I have a second machine gun in
case the first runs out of ammo, which it sometimes does. On the “Direwolf”,
it is the backup rear weapon to the Flamethrower. Machine Guns are so
reliable that my end-game car, “Beast Mode”, mounts a Machine Gun to the
front AND rear of the car so that I always have one handy, because I trust it
more than the Laser against a lot of foes.

D1_7_C: Flamethrower

The Flamethrower might be the most fearsome weapon in the game, and is the
weapon of choice against motorcycles, tricycles and smaller cars. If allowed
to face a Flamethrower forward, I probably would and it is the one weapon I
feel as secure in using as I do the Machine Gun. It is similar in accuracy to
the Machine Gun but typically does more damage. It often seems like a single
blast can hit a single enemy car 2-3 times for major damage and kill it
outright. Plus it creates a smokescreen so you can sometimes use it
defensively to make a getaway. The only downside besides its placement
restriction is that it is a cumbersome 565 lbs. fully loaded and the
ammunition is expensive. I tend to favor it and run out of ammo on it first.

D1_7_D: Rocket Launcher & Heavy Rocket

Rockets are cheap and destructive but undependable at long range and unusable
at point-blank range and therefore not worth investing in.

D1_7_E: Recoilless Rifle & Anti-Tank Gun

I find the Anti-Tank Gun and Recoilless Rifle to be entirely inferior to the
Machine Gun in combat, not even taking price, weight and space into account.
Even though their rounds are larger, they don’t hit as frequently. There’s
absolutely no reason to invest in those weapons.

D1_7_F : Laser

Lasers are comparable to Machine Guns in effectiveness and a must-have on
high end combat vehicles due to their unlimited ammo. One Laser costs and
weighs more than two Machine Guns and it’s slightly less accurate in my
experience, but it’s really deadly when it hits. Lasers certainly carve me up
when I face them. With high Marksmanship, I knock out Arena Championship cars
with 2-4 hits of the Laser, compared to 6-8 for the Machine Gun. At the same
time, I feel like the Laser beam is too thin to hit certain smaller cars,
especially those annoying Laser motorcycles, and I’ve gotten killed more than
once as a result. I find it slightly less accurate than the Machine Gun,
probably because the beam is thinner, leaving me unconvinced that it’s a
better weapon than the Machine Gun overall. However, it’s the best weapon for
dealing with large, heavily-armored cars and the unlimited ammo makes it
perfect for Arena Championships and for long road trips where you can’t get
to a Weapons Shop to reload.

D1_7_G: Minedropper

I find the Minedropper incredibly less effective than the Spikedropper,
despite it being heavier, costing more and taking more space. I guess enemy
cars invest more in their underbody armor than in their tires. When I’ve
tried the Minedropper, it hardly works. That doesn’t mean you should go
driving or walking over enemy mines but it does mean you should not buy a
Minedropper.

D1_7_H: Spikedropper

The Spikedropper is only $150 and 140 lbs, yet I really like it as a rear-
facing weapon for cheap kills. Against larger cars, it’s very easy to hit
though it might take a few spikes to get the kill. Against smaller cars, it’s
harder to hit but you can often take them out with just a spike or two. It
can be hard to hit with because there’s a delayed effect, i.e. you have to
drop the spikes and wait for an enemy to run over them. However, it can be
very efficient, sometimes disposing Division 15 enemies with only 2 spikes,
and if an enemy is right behind you, you will automatically hit with each
spike. It’s a great, cheap way to deal with enemies that, say, only drop
mines or only have a machine gun up front. Sometimes I’ll drop 5 spikes only
to see the enemy destroyed after hitting 2, so it can be inefficient in that
way, but I don’t mind because the ammo is cheap. Just be careful not to use
it against heavily armed enemies, who are carving you up with a Laser while
you’re waiting for them to run over your spikes. Use the Flamethrower on
them.

D1_7_I: Smokescreen

My Flamethrower already creates a smokescreen which sometimes makes an enemy
stop chasing me, if that’s even something I’m interested in. On its own, the
Smokescreen is unreliable at throwing off enemies. Stick with the Oil Jet.

D1_7_J: Paint Spray

Similar to a Smokescreen, this is a defensive item which should throw an
enemy off your trail. It is presumably more effective than a Smokescreen,
though I’ve tried it sparingly and not found it to be very effective or
reliable.

D1_7_K: Oil Jet

The Oil Jet is an interesting and extremely useful item that can easily get
overlooked. An Oil Jet only weighs 65 lbs. and takes 2 spaces for $250 but it
can be an absolute life saver if your Front and/or Back armor are breached.
If an enemy is tailing you, a single blast from the Oil Jet will very
reliably throw him off your tail for a few seconds, which is all you need to
make a getaway. Unlike the Spikedropper, the Oil Jet pretty much works
instantly and only needs one hit to do its thing. It is the key to completing
the final courier mission of the game, when you’re dealing with waves of
tough enemies, sometimes two or more at a time.

E. Combat

My primary advice for all combat, both arena and highway, is that you need to
check your car carefully after each encounter and make sure you’re ok to keep
going. If you’re not, there’s no shame in calling it off and living to fight
another day, and that’s true whether it’s an Arena duel or a Courier job. You
can either exit the Arena, or if you’re on a Courier job, go back to the city
you came from. It’s ok to turn back.

Tactically, you want to make your enemies work a bit to get to you. Don’t
drive directly at them, stay off-line to one side or the other, make them
shoot your side on their approach. When you’re on the highway and you pick up
an enemy on your radar, hug one side of the road and you’ll make them adjust
to you. Then you can either back up to use your front-facing weapons, or
speed past them to use your rear-facing weapons, or maybe even speed past
them and avoid combat altogether if combat is something you want to avoid.

E1: Amateur Night and basic combat principles

The principles used in Amateur Night are the principles I’ll use throughout
combat, both in the Arena and on the Open Road.

You start out with Amateur Night. It might be for Amateurs but it’s not easy.
You and 5 other “amateurs” are provided a basic car with a front-facing
machine gun and minimal armor. Of course, the other 5 contestants have no
interest in battling each other and all are in it to see you dead! I’ll start
by turning right and hugging the bottom rail, driving all the way until I
reach the right rail, then turning north and hugging the right rail. Once I
get an enemy on my radar, then I keep hugging the rail, which is just off-
line from the enemy, which makes him adjust to get to me once we’re on the
same screen. When I get close, I slow down and try to draw the enemy in. Once
he starts shooting at me, I go in reverse and let the enemy pursue me. He
might shoot my side a bit first but is more likely to miss me altogether.
With the right rail containing his movement, sooner or later, he will drive
himself directly into line with my front-facing weapon, and I can often knock
out Amateur Night opponents with 1-2 shots. Rarely do I take any damage as
long as I fire quickly. Check yourself after each combat for ammo and damage.
You can spare 4 rounds per enemy without having to sweat, and as long as you
have at least 2 rounds per enemy remaining, you have enough to win. As far as
damage is concerned, you want to note if your sides or tires are damaged, but
you kind of have to win the event and you haven’t really invested anything
into your new Driver yet, so even with low armor, you might as well stick it
out to the end. I mean, if you fail here, you might as well start the game
over. After the first kill, I’ll go back to hugging the right rail and
driving north, then engage the second enemy and repeat what I did with the
first guy. Then the guy along the top, who is the most challenging. If you
hug the top rail, he won’t engage you. If you drive towards the middle, you
probably won’t have a rail to work with. You still want to keep him off line
from you until you’re ready to line him up with your machine gun by going in
reverse, then space bar until he’s dead. Then reach the left rail, which
might require going around some obstacles, so stay towards the north rail as
well, then come south along the left rail and you can finish off the final 2
contestants. After you defeat the 5th guy, you’ll get some happy music and a
note that he was the last opponent. Then drive out the south exit and you
win the event!

E2: The Arena and Highway

Once I’ve progressed past Amateur Night, I’ll then build my “Little Mule” for
Division 15 events, and I’ll continue to use the Machine Gun as my primary
weapon. I can still sometimes dispose of enemies with just 2 Machine Gun
shots, though others may take more and I will often run out of ammo on one
Machine Gun. In City Championships, I’ll easily go through 5-8 rounds per
opponent. I’ll often need the ammo from both of my Machine Guns, plus some
spikes and Flamethrower attacks to get through the event. This is where the
Laser comes in handy, since it doesn’t need ammo and can often carve up the
bigger vehicles with fewer shots, but you won't have one in Division 15.

No matter my weaponry, I’ll basically follow the same plan as Amateur Night
with all other Arenas and even the highway: hug the rail, force opponents to
come to where I want them to come. There are a two key differences from
Amateur Night however, aside from more opponents in number, variety and
strength. Unlike Amateur Night, if you take damage, you have to consider the
option to exit the Arena or turn around on the highway. The other change is
the use of rear-facing weapons as a method of dealing with enemies.

After each combat, you need to decide if you’re ok to keep going or not, and
it’s perfectly ok to leave an Arena event and lose a little Prestige and a
few bucks instead of losing a Driver you’ve invested time in. If you’ve
defeated some enemies, you’ve gained some Marksmanship, so it’s still
progress. After each fight, check your ammo, check your damage to all sides,
check your tires too. If you’re down to 00 on any one side, check to see if
your Driver or Power Plant have taken any damage. If either have taken
damage, you could be dead with one hit. If you’re down to 00 in your Front or
Back, see if you’ve lost any weapons. Even if you haven’t, if you’re at 00
you should probably consider an exit or turn around on the highway. If you’re
down to 00 on your left or right side but your Driver and Power Plant are
unharmed, you can probably manage it but are still taking a risk, obviously.
If any of your tires are down to 00, you’re going to have problems
controlling your car, and losing 2 tires can completely cripple your vehicle,
so again, you might just want to turn around. If you’re out on the road, one
other option is to risk it and use your Oil Jet to evade all cars between you
and your destination. You might make it but your weapons, body armor, power
plant and even cargo might get lost in the process. You can turn back, try
again or even go to a Joe’s Bar and sell the job, then get repairs and
reloads. You’ll take a small Prestige hit but so what? You’ll increase your
Marksmanship and Driving abilities, maybe even make a little money from the
sale once repairs and reloads are paid for. It’s progress, and way better
than dying. It just kind of depends on how far along you are in the Arena or
out on the road, if you only have 1-2 opponents remaining you might risk it,
more than that and I wouldn’t.

I also make use of rear-facing weapons for a variety of reasons. Primarily is
in case your front armor gets depleted, you have another facing from which
you can shoot and defend, letting you spread damage between your front and
back. Also some enemies seem to make an effort to attack your rear. Another
reason is that I struggle to hit smaller vehicles such as motorcycles and
tricycles, especially with the Laser, and I often prefer dealing with them by
using my Flamethrower, which can’t face forward. Yet another reason is that I
like using the cheap ammo of the Spikedropper for a few efficient kills to
spare the ammo from my Flamethrower and Machine Gun. When using rear-facing
weapons, I’ll hug the road as above but instead of backing up, I’ll speed
past the enemy and let him catch up to me, then once he’s directly behind me
I’ll flame him to death. If the enemy is close behind me, I can often dispose
of enemies with 1-2 shots of the Flamethrower and rarely more than 4-5, but
enough that I tend to run out of ammo on it. I’ll then use the same tactics
with my Spikedropper. I’ll get them to follow me then drop spikes. In
Division 15 Arena events, it typically only takes 2 spikes. In Unlimited or
Championship events, it can take more like 5, and I’m often getting shot with
a Laser in the meantime so on the “Direwolf”, I ditch the Spikedropper for a
rear-facing Machine Gun. I would use a second Flamethrower but they are so
very heavy.

Sometimes an enemy will really lock onto me with a Laser, turn my armor into
swiss cheese and next thing I know, I’m dead. It happens. Make sure you back
up your “Driver” file frequently.

F. Courier jobs

Once your Prestige is in the teens, you can start picking up decent Courier
jobs, which will go a long way to establish your Prestige, Driving, and
Marksmanship. You need to start with a car with enough weight capacity that
you can load up 2-3 Courier jobs at a time. You’re also going to be visiting
the AADA a lot. If you don’t see good jobs, quit the game, have another go at
it, continue with saved driver, locate and choose your driver, then try the
AADA again and it will have new jobs. If you’re relying upon Atlantic City as
your bank account, just focus on gaining quantity of missions over quality to
build your Prestige, and you do that by getting missions to the same city or
at least the same route (e.g. NYC-Philly-Atc City). Good jobs are less about
pay and more about space and weight, also check against any short deadlines.
Taking a large, heavy item one city over is one thing, taking it three cities
over is probably not worth it. Let’s look at these jobs as an example,
assuming you’re in New York on Mon 3-8-2030:

Item 1: Assorted small-arms ammo
Dest: Weapon Shop in Boston
Weight: 200 Spaces: 2 Due: 3-15-30
Value: $200 Pay: $640

Item 2: Grenades
Dest: Weapon Shop in Albany
Weight: 300 Spaces: 6 Due: 3-15-30
Value: $200 Pay: $400

The truth is that neither of these jobs are really good when there are jobs
that pay in the thousands, so if you don't have any jobs right now, I
probably wouldn't accept either of these, but there are circumstances where
the Grenades job could work for you. The first job might look OK since it
doesn’t weigh much or take up much space, but taking it 2 cities over is a
big deal and not worth it for $640. There is another AADA in Albany that will
probably have better jobs than that Assorted small-arms ammo. But Grenades
can work, here's how:

Let’s say I already have a job to the Gold Cross in Boston loaded and I’m
just looking to fill up my car, and I’ve already spent a few minutes visiting
the AADA with Quit & Save and Continue, but my Prestige isn’t high enough to
get some of the better jobs that come along. Then I might take the second job
because I still get the Prestige, then I get to Albany and dump it off, boost
my Prestige a little, then visit the AADA in Albany until I get a better job,
probably to Boston but maybe even Manchester. Then visit the AADAs there and
just keep working along the same road (NYC-ALB-BOS-MAN), picking up cargo and
dropping it off, but this is hindered when you take cargo more than one city
over, so if you’re going to do that, it has to pay well and hopefully not be
too cumbersome in terms of weight and space. A single road trip like this,
with maybe an Arena Championship thrown in, can boost your Prestige by 20-30
points.

I also might take the Grenades job if it was to Philly, and I had other jobs
there or in Atlantic City. Visit the AADA in Philly, and maybe it will take
you to Atlantic City. You can visit the Casino to make money, Garage to
reload or maybe pick up a Mechanic Lesson and even the Arena if you want to
jump into a quick Division 15 or 20 event. But mostly, I will Quit & Save and
Continue until I fill my car with jobs along the same road, either the north-
to-east corridor or the south-to-east corridor.

If you’re running out of time on a Courier job, selling it at a Joe’s Bar
is better than nothing. You’ll take a -2 Prestige hit but probably profit
more than the actual run since you won’t have to replace ammo and armor, so
it’s not that bad a trade-off, just don’t make it a habit.

Combat on the highway is largely the same as the Arena, make sure you check
yourself after each encounter, and if any sides were breached, check to make
sure you didn’t lose any cargo by using F5 to see if you’re still carrying
everything you left with. As in the Arena, when you approach another car, it
is always an enemy, stay to one side of the road and don’t drive down the
middle. One difference in taking the highway is that you can sometimes
choose to avoid combat altogether. There are enemies that will engage you in
the sections of overgrown areas of the road where you’re definitely going to
want to avoid combat. If you start to run low on ammo or armor, you might
want to start trying to avoid engagements by going around cars and making
them chase you. Some will let you go, others will match your speed and
pursue, forcing you to deal with them using your rear-facing weapons. This is
where you might want to invest in defensive weapons like the Oil Jet.

If your Power Plant gets destroyed or runs out of batteries, you can get out
of your car and walk to a city. Best bet is walk back to the one you came
from. If you engaged and destroyed every car you passed, you will get back
safely, even if it means losing your car and your cargo. If you did not
destroy any car you engaged, they will run you over and kill you on sight.

G. Walkthrough/Storyline

This may miss out on some of the game content, but is an efficient way
through the game.

G1: Getting Started

It is Friday, January 1, 2030. My Driver looks like this and yours will look
similar:

Roman

Money: $02000
Prestige: 00

Health: 03
Body Armor: 00
Clone?: No

Driving Skill: 30
Marksmanship: 20
Mechanic Ability: 00

Go to the Truck Stop and buy a set of body armor. Then go to the Arena, get
the schedule of events and sign up for Amateur Night and make sure you win it
(refer to the COMBAT section). Back to the Truck Stop for another night, go
back to the Arena the next day and it’s Amateur Night again, sign up and win.
After another night at the Truck Stop, take a Mechanic’s Lesson at the Garage
for $500. Another Night in the Truck stop and now it’s Saturday, do your
third and final Amateur Night. I would do a second Mechanic’s Lesson for
another $500. Probably a good time to save your “Driver” file.

Now that you’ve got a Driver worth investing in, it’s time to load up on
cash by going to Atlantic City. Catch a bus at the Truck Stop to Philly, and
from there to Atlantic City. You should have over $5000 in your pocket when
you arrive, take it the Casino. Unlike real casinos, you can and probably
will make money at this one. I prefer Poker but you can play either that or
Blackjack. I’ll generally bet around 10% of my total, so $500 early, and once
I’m past $10,000, I’ll start betting $1000 and after $20,000 I’ll be $2000,
etc. Keep playing until you have at least $50,000 and I'd actually suggest
playing to $100,000. The gambling doesn’t always work out in your favor so
if you happen to go broke, you can sleep on the couch at the Truck Stop and
they'll let you enter back into Amateur Night at the local Arena until you’re
back on your feet. Once you’re back on your feet, go back to the Casino until
you win.

Once you’ve earned a cool $50,000 or more, take the bus back to Philly and
back to New York. Do another Mechanic’s Lesson and spend another night at the
Truck Stop. Now go to the Gold Cross and create a clone for $5000. That
takes a day, so go take a night in the Truck Stop. Save your “Driver” file.

In case you feel like earning money at Atlantic City is some kind of cheap
shortcut through the game, feel free to skip it, but good luck earning money.
As I’ve stated, Arena events and Courier jobs tend to be money losing
propositions in the early going. If you really want, you can build a $5000
car with machine guns and armor to the front and try to win enough Arena
events to earn $15,000 so you can build a Pickup Truck tough enough to carry
Courier loads and win City Championships.

By frequently updating the “Driver” file, you can probably get through the
game without a Clone, but on principle I like to have one.

G2: Your First Car

You’re ready to build your first car so go to the Assembly. I recommend a
$15K-or-under Pickup Truck that can be used for Courier jobs, with plenty
of space and weight available for payloads. It will also serve you in Level
15 events. You might eventually build another car for all-out combat and
Arena Championship events, and possibly another for the end of the game. More
about this in the VEHICLES section.

G3: Building Prestige and Skills

It’s probably about late January now. I consider this stage of the game the
most challenging other than the very end. You can no longer do Amateur Night,
but you don’t have the Prestige to get good Courier jobs, plus you’ll find
the roads between cities to be very tough. The Arena is no picnic either
until your Driving and Marskmanship get higher. Plus, as mentioned earlier,
at this stage both Arena events and Courier jobs are typically money-losing
propositions, so you need either a solid bank account to fall back on or
you’ll need to take some trips to the Atlantic City Casino. You’ll get paid
for winning an event or making the delivery, plus for any goods you salvage
and sell at the Salvage Yard, but you’ll spend as much or more in ammo and
repairs. Plus, Mechanic’s Lessons are another cash outflow. Therefore you
want to focus on events that you can win and Courier missions you can
complete, which is why I suggest focusing on Division 15 Arena events for
now. That stated, your next key date is the New York City Championship on
February 20. It will be a challenge at this stage but the rewards are worth
the risk.

For now, you need to win three Division 15 events on Tuesday nights, build
up your Mechanic ability in between, and keep your eye on the date so you
don’t miss the Feb. 20 championship. Winning a Division 15 event will get
you 2 Prestige and $4500, plus it will increase your Marksmanship and even
your Driving. The Division 15 event will play almost exactly like Amateur
Night, only this time your 5 opponents will not be identical to you nor to
each other, though they still share the common goal of eliminating you. Now
that you’ve built up your Mechanic ability, after each victorious combat, as
long as there are no enemy cars nearby, get out of your car with “G” or F7
and walk over the dead car to search for parts and ammo. The parts can be
worth thousands. Cars that catch fire never have any goods, in my experience.

After each event, make sure you do things in this order: Stop at the Salvage
Yard to sell any goods you have, stop at the Weapons Shop to buy ammo, then
go to the Garage. Charge up your battery if necessary, repair your car, then
take a Mechanic’s Lesson. Then spend one night in the Truck Stop, and it will
be Tuesday again, time for another Division 15 event. You need to win at
least three Division 15 events without dying to get your Prestige into the
teens. You’ll need a solid bank account, as after each event, you’ll spend
$1000 or more on ammo and another $1-4000 on repairs for every event you win.
After you’ve won three events, it should be about time for the New York City
Championship on Feb. 20 so do NOT take another lesson. Make sure you save
your “Driver” file before you enter. Going into it, my Driver looks like
this:

Roman

Money: $90802
Prestige: 12

Health: 03
Body Armor: 03
Clone?: Yes

Driving Skill: 36
Marksmanship: 46
Mechanic Ability: 31

The Feb. 20 New York City Championship will be a challenge with Driving and
especially, Marksmanship abilities so low. You will have to face 8 opponents
this time, and they will be stronger than any you’ve faced so far. Still,
I’ve done it with the above Driver driving my Little Mule, so not even with a
Laser-outfitted combat car. Collect your 3 Prestige and $9500 and spend
another night in the Truck Stop, then visit the Salvage Yard to sell goods
(if any), Weapons Shop to reload, and Garage to repair and charge up, one
more night at the Truck Stop and you’re finally ready for decent Courier
jobs.

G4: Courier Jobs and City Championships

When your Prestige is in the teens, which you can accomplish with three
Division 15 wins plus the New York City Championship win on Feb. 20, you can
get access to decent-paying Courier jobs. Courier jobs are great because they
give you both money and typically 2 Prestige, plus you build Prestige and
Marskmanship by taking down cars on the road, plus you build your Driving
ability with the miles you log, far more than in the Arena. There is more on
these in the “Courier jobs” section of the guide. Much like Arena combat,
Courier jobs can be a losing proposition in the early going as you pay for
ammo and armor, but it’s worth it to build Prestige, Driving and
Marksmanship. Meanwhile, you should start participating in City Championships
as soon as your Marksmanship is in the 40s, and other than the occasional
Division 15 event, there is little reason to participate in Arena events.
You’ll want to organize your Courier jobs around these Championships:

New York - Feb 20
Atlantic City – Mar 27
Manchester – Apr 3
Albany – Apr 24
Boston – May 1
New York – May 15

You may not make it to Manchester but it’s there if you happen to be out that
way, and there are frequently lucrative runs to OSI there. Do all the rest of
the Championships, and you don’t even have to win them all, though you might
as well. If you're really diligent about picking up Courier jobs, you might
not need more than 3 Championships to get your Prestige into the 90s, but at
worst, you should be where you need to be after you win the May 15 event in
New York. I’ve actually done it with just New York, Atlantic City, Manchester,
plenty of Courier jobs in between plus one more Division 15 event and got my
Prestige to 95.

For now, you’ve got more than a month between the New York Championship and
the one in Atlantic City, so you’ve got time to take some Courier jobs back
and forth, maybe take a Mechanic’s Lesson. Even as you progress, you’re going
to want to stay centered and keep your cars stored in New York, home to every
type of useful building including the FBI. It’s a large map and once your
Prestige hits 20, you can start following rumors to high-paying Courier jobs.
See more under “H. Rumors and Missions” but if you want to get through the
game faster, I recommend sticking to the chain of Atl City-Philly-NYC-Albany-
Boston-Manchester. These six cities will give you plenty of good Courier jobs
plus five different Arenas to visit. There’s really no reason to go as far as
Pittsburgh or Baltimore or Buffalo, or to go all over the map chasing rumors
when Philly, NYC, Albany, and Boston all have AADA’s and good Courier jobs
between the three cities. The Gold Cross centers in NYC and Boston often need
expensive items run back and forth, plus there are lucrative runs to Origin
Systems in Manchester, a quick and easy drive from Boston. South of NYC, the
Atlantic City casino often needs expensive equipment delivered and you can
make some money at the casino while you’re there. Stop in Philly’s AADA
along the way for more jobs, plus Philly’s Pet Store is sometimes a customer
for deliveries. NYC, Boston, Manchester and Atlantic City are all good places
for Arena Championships to really boost your Prestige.

Following the Feb. 20 New York City Championship with some Courier jobs, say
a run to Boston and back, stopping at Albany in between, your Prestige should
be in the 30s and your Marksmanship in the 60s. Championships are the
priority, if there’s no Championship then I prefer Courier jobs but if you’re
in a town with an Arena on a Tuesday or Wednesday night with your $15K
Courier Car, you could jump into a Division 15 or 20 event and win without
too much difficulty, maybe make a few bucks if your Mechanic ability is high
enough, but definitely boost your Prestige. One thing to note is that I would
absolutely avoid Unlimited events, even with your best combat car. Unlimited
events are actually harder and deadlier than Championships, plus they pay
less and give 2 Prestige instead of 3 so I wouldn’t bother. Stick to Division
15 or 20, or just skip the Arena altogether outside of Championships. Courier
jobs are better at building Prestige and skills, especially Driving. Compete
in all the Championships in your corridors of Atlantic City, Philly, New York
City, Albany, Boston and Manchester, running Courier jobs in between. In fact
Albany, Boston and New York all have their Championships within a month of
each other, try to do all three when that happens, and see if you can take
any packages back and forth. I’ll go to the AADA and if there are no good
jobs, I’ll quit and save and try again. If there’s one, I’ll take it, then go
the next day for another, and quit and save until I get it. Two jobs is
enough and it lets you carry some salvage goods, but three jobs are better if
it’s possible. If you complete Courier jobs and win City Championships, you
will gain Prestige, Driving and Marksmanship very quickly. In fact, by the
time you win the Atlantic City Championship on Mar. 27, your Prestige could
very well be in the 60s and your Marskmanship in the 80s. If you can make the
Manchester Championship on April 3 and do some Courier work along the way,
which should be fairly easy to do, you can take your Prestige into the 90s.

G5: Open Game

Once your Prestige is into the 60s or so, and certainly by the 80s, and
your Driving and Marskmanship have improved accordingly, it's a fun part of
the game to reach. At this point, you qualify for any and all Courier
missions, your skills are high enough to win a lot of battles with ease, and
you can pretty much go wherever you want or do whatever you want. Feel like
going out to Pittsburgh or down to DC? Go ahead, and do a Championship while
you’re there. Heck, you could bus out to Pitt, build a car, win a
championship, then just leave it and bus back to New York, though in the 6
days you’ll spend on this, you could get a lot of Courier work done. Check
the Truck Stops for rumors and you can follow them to some high-paying
Courier jobs as outlined in the “H. Rumors and Missions” section. I advise
using the bus to follow the clues to get those jobs instead of driving all
over the map but it’s up to you.

Meanwhile, Arena events and Courier jobs will start paying off financially.
You'll get higher paying Courier jobs, your high Marksmanship means you’ll be
able to do Arena events and Courier jobs while spending very little in ammo
and armor, and With Mechanic Ability at least in the 30s, salvaging goods is
another income generator, netting you $1000 or more. So you’re earning more
and spending less, and now Arena events and Courier jobs are money makers
instead of takers. The full map is pretty much your oyster right now, you can
follow rumors, tote precious cargo, build cars everywhere, and win
City Championships all over the map. Have fun!

As mentioned earlier, to get through the game the quickest, just stick to the
Championship circuit and geographic corridors that I already outlined and you
will get through the game very fast once you get going. If you get good jobs
and win your championships, you may only have to go from NYC to Manchester
and back once or maybe twice total, and/or a Courier run to Atlantic City
thrown in between. I did NYC on Feb. 20, then Atlantic City on March 27, then
Manchester on April 3, always taking at least 2 and sometimes 3 loads of cargo
with me by using Quit, Save & Continue to get jobs along the same route, and
really I wasn’t that choosy about them since they all seem to give 2 Prestige.
By the time I was back in New York from Manchester, and of course dropped off
my 2 Courier jobs, I was at 93 Prestige. I picked up a Division 15 event, hit
95, then walked over to the FBI building and finished up the game by April 22.
Another time I was more choosy about getting higher paying jobs, won the
Atlantic City championship, skipped Manchester, then did Albany, then Boston
on May 1 and by the time I got back to NYC and completed whatever Courier jobs
I was running, my Prestige was already over 95 and I was ready for the final
stage of the game. Had I gone a tad slower than that, I would have jumped
into the NYC Championship on May 15 and that would have done it, you should
have the Prestige you need by then unless you’ve really sunk all your time
unnecessarily into Mechanic’s lessons, you don’t need to be above 50.

G6: Mr. Big

Once your Prestige hits 95, your Marksmanship should be in the 90s as well
and your Driving ability over 60. Make sure you’re flush with cash as well,
at least $50K, which you probably are. Check for rumors at the Truck Stop and
you’ll hear that the FBI wants to talk to you in NYC, which is where you
should be based anyways so this should be fairly convenient for you. They’ll
give you a job to take down the mob by getting stolen brain tapes from
Watertown back to New York. The abandoned building in Watertown is actually
Outlaw Headquarters, and you’ll need the password “Rumplestiltskin” to get in.

This is a really challenging task. Take your best car and make sure it has an
Oil Jet, you might even want to design a car specifically for this mission
which will have no weight or space requirement. See my car “Beast Mode” in
the “D1_2_C: End Game Car” section. Whatever you do, definitely build a
Luxury Car with maximum handling class, don’t fool around with anything less
here, not even a Pickup truck.

When you’re ready, save your “Driver” file, drive up to Albany, repair and
reload, then drive to Syracuse. Load up on any ammo here since you won’t be
able to do it in Watertown. Once you get to Watertown, get any repairs and
charge your battery. Make sure your ammo situation is decent, or go back to
Syracuse, and take another shot at it. I’m serious, go back and reload, and
see if you can get through it with less ammo, either by relying upon your
Laser or by avoiding combat altogether, because you’ll need the ammo,
especially Oil Jet ammo, for your way back. When you’re ready for do-or-die,
consider saving your “Driver” file again (I don’t in order to keep the “Open
Game” going but up to you), visit the Abandoned Building, use the password
“Rumplestiltskin” and enter the Outlaw Headquarters. You’ll be given the
brain tapes, informed that your clone has been eliminated, and identified as
a FBI mole before you leave!

Now you’re a marked man. Do NOT save your driver file here -- This part of
the game is very challenging (usually takes me at least 3 tries) and there’s
a chance you or your car are simply not up for the mission. You can’t really
hope to win through combat, at least not all the way, there are just too many
of them. I like to rely upon the Oil Jet, but even too much of that can get
you killed if your Back armor gets breached. What I find works best, is
mostly rely on the Oil Jet, but try to soak up some damage to the Front when
you can. When there’s just a single opponent, take him on with your Laser and
your Front armor as long as you your armor there isn’t too depleted. If there
are multiple opponents, or your Front armor gets depleted, use the Oil Jet,
though if I think I can get a quick kill, I’ll sometimes use the Flamethrower
instead. When in doubt, go with the Oil Jet, just be careful that your Back
armor doesn’t get too shredded. They will be coming after you with wave after
wave of tough, well-armed cars as you drive from Watertown to Syracuse and
from there to Albany, sometimes they will come at you two or more at a time.
Furthermore, there’s no Garage in Syracuse so you can’t repair, though there
is a Weapons Shop to at least reload. So from Watertown to Syracuse and
Syracuse to Albany, that’s two tough roads you have to travel with no
repairs. Also, any time you stop in a Truck Stop, someone will take a shot at
you and sometimes, they hit. Your body armor should absorb it, but you’ll
have to replace it. Once you make it to Albany you can repair, recharge and
reload, but the road to New York will be the toughest one you face. So again,
try to spread the damage between your Front and Back by engaging single
opponents with the Laser and the Front, and deal with multiple opponents by
evading with the Oil Jet. They may blockade you at certain points, and you
can use your guns at these moments if you want, though I’d rather just try to
maneuver around them and hit the Oil Jet. If you make it to the FBI, you win
the game. Good luck!

H. Rumors and Missions by [email protected]
H1: Basic Rumors
H1_1: Joe’s Bar
H1_2: Truck Stop
H1_3: Casino
H2: Missions
H2_1: Decoy Arena Prize
H2_2: Clone Heart
H2_3: Mob Trial
H2_4: Fixed Races
H2_5: Mr. Big

H1: Basic Rumors

H1_1: Joe’s Bar

Any Joe’s Bar - Listen for rumors
I hear four-fifths of autoduellists without clones don't make it past a month
of dueling.
Try Atlantic City if you're ever low on cash.
People have really been happy with body armor.
Fnord's releasing its Super Limited Edition High-Performance 340 ZXY bi-turbo
Trans-Am GTO Cobra next month.

H1_2: Truck Stop

Any Truck Stop - Listen for rumors
I hear they actually put up speed signs last week.
I hear they pay cash for payloads at Joe's.
Be careful on the less travelled roads.
The IRS is really cracking down on tax evaders. (Humorously, this one can
actually come true, if you win too much at the Casino.)

H1_3: Casino
Atlantic City - Earn 1 Prestige for winning each listed dollar amount.
Losing does not reduce Prestige, not even losing $900,000 at once.

$200,000
$400,000
$600,000
$800,000

Win $910,000 or more, and you will be audited by the IRS when you leave the
Casino. There is no loss of prestige for this.

The IRS finally catches up with you and collects $100,000 in back taxes,
unfortunately the fines come to an additional $250,000.

H1_4: Missions

Any Truck Stop - Listen for rumors

Prestige Required
20 They have some information you would be interested in at the Weapon
Shop in Scranton.
Decoy Arena Prize

40 They're looking for you at the Washington Truck Stop.
Clone Heart

60 Go to the Dover Truck Stop for some info on a nice courier job.
Mob Trial

80 Word is a driver's needed at Joe's Bar in Baltimore.
Fixed Races

95 They want you at the FBI in New York.
Mr. Big

**It is possible to take the bus to each town and learn the next clue, but
you must have a car to begin and complete the delivery portion of each quest.

**The most current mission rumor at a Truck Stop or Joe's Bar supercedes all
previous rumors. It is therefore recommended to complete each mission in turn
before passing the next Prestige requirement. If you have already gotten all
the rumors you need for a particular mission (or looked at the spoilers
below), you can still pick up and complete the mission deliveries, you just
can't get any new clues.

One way around this is to purposely lose Prestige (lose in the Arena, sell
courier tasks at the bar), until it is at the level required for the rumor
you need...but you have to gain it all back to take down Mr. Big.

H2_1: Decoy Arena Prize

SCRANTON - Weapon Shop
Wanna help the Autoduellists? Go to the Dover Weapon Shop. Remember the word
"San".

DOVER - Weapon Shop
Organized autoduelling needs you. Check in at the Syracuse Weapon Shop.
Remember "Antonio".

SYRACUSE - Wespon Shop
They need a hand at the Harrisburg Arena. Stop by the Scranton Weapon Shop
for more info. Remember "Rose".

HARRISBURG - Arena - the password is San Antonio Rose
We need you to take a decoy prize to the Manchester Arena, but you don't have
a car. Come back later.
or
We need you to take a decoy prize to the Manchester Arena, someone will load
it immediately.

Item: Decoy prize for the Arena.
Dest: Arena in Manchester
Weight: 0 Spaces: 0 Due: (10 days)
Value: $0 Prestige: 12 Pay: $6000

H2_2: Clone Heart

WASHINGTON - Truck Stop
Senator Phogbound needs a new heart. the know more at the Buffalo AADA.
Remember the word "Great".

BUFFALO - AADA
Gold Cross needs a reliable Driver. They know more in Pittsburgh. Remember
the word "White".

PITTSBURGH - AADA
The clone heart is in New York. Go to the Washington Truck Stop for more
into. Remember "Whale".

NEW YORK - Gold Cross - the password is Great White Whale
We need you to take a clone heart to the Boston Gold Cross, but you don't
have a car. Come back later.
or
We need you to take a clone heart to the Boston Gold Cross, someone will load
it immediately.

Item: Clone heart for Senator.
Dest: Gold Cr in Boston
Weight: 0 Spaces: 0 Due: (5 days)
Value: $800 Prestige: 12 Pay: $8000

H2_3: Mob Trial

DOVER - Truck Stop
The Feds need a driver. More info at the Providence Truck stop. Remember
"She".

PROVIDENCE - Truck Stop
The Watertown boys have some valuable information. They know more in
Scranton. Remember "Sells".

SCRANTON - Truck Stop
The D.A. has an airtight case against the Philly mob. Ask around in Dover.
Remember the word "Shells".

WATERTOWN - Truck Stop - the password is She Sells Shells
The mob's done if you take this to the AADA in Philly, but you don't have a
car. Come back Later.
or
The mob's done if you take this to the AADA in Philly, someone will load it
immediately.

Item: Evidence against the Mob.
Dest: AADA in Philadelphia
Weight: 0 Spaces: 0 Due: (8 days)
Value: $170000 Prestige: 12 Pay: $11600

H2_4: Fixed Races

BALTIMORE - Joe's Bar - Listen for rumors; if there are no rumors that day,
try again after spending a night in the Truck Stop ($10) or Hotel ($200).

The FBI needs a good driver at the Wash. Salvage Yard. Go to the Old Building
in Albany. Remember "Horn."

ALBANY - Old Building (Abandoned Building)
The mob has been fixing races. They know more at the Buffalo Salvage yard.
Remember "Little".

BUFFALO - Salvage Yard
There are some hot goods around that the feds want. Hit Baltimore for more
info. Remember "Big".

WASHINGTON - Salvage Yard - the password is Little Big Horn
Get these autoduel fixes to the FBI and heads will roll, but you don't have a
car. Come back later.
or
Get these autoduel fixes to the FBI and heads will roll, someone will load it
immediately.

Item: Proof of fixed autoduels.
Dest: F.B.I. in New York
Weight: 0 Spaces: 0 Due: (8 days)
Value: $150000 Prestige: 12 Pay: $10500

H2_5: Mr. Big

NEW YORK - FBI
We have an important assignment for you.
Mr. Big has gotten one of his men into Gold Cross and wants to set up a
bootleg brain tape operation.
If he suceeds, he'll own the whole East Coast before long.
But if we act now, we can foil him, and get the evidence to put him behind
bars.
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to go to the Outlaw HQ,
which we know is in Watertown, and pose as their courier. Take the brain tape
they will give you, and bring it here. It is vital evidence.
The password they will want is "Rumplestiltskin".
Good luck!

WATERTOWN - Outlaw Headquarters (Abandoned Building)
With this tape in Pittsburgh, we'll have it made, but you don't have a car.
Come back later.
or
With this tape in Pittsburgh, we'll have it made, someone will load it
immediately.
And just to make sure your heart is in this, you won't have a clone to fall
back on.
As you leave, you hear someone yell "Get that guy! He's with the FBI!" You
barely make it out the door.

Item: Bootleg brain tape.
Dest: F.B.I. in New York
Weight: 0 Spaces: 0 Due: (no set date)
Value: $300000 Prestige: ?? Pay: $50000

Any time you enter a Truck Stop after this, someone will take a shot at you.
If they hit, it does 1 damage to your Body Armor, or to you, if you're not
wearing Body Armor but you should always wear Body Armor!