Elasto Mania

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Elasto Mania

Elasto Mania example screenshot. To solve a level, the player must collect all the apples and then reach the finish (the flower). Touching the black spikey object means losing the level.
Developer(s) Balázs Rózsa
Designer(s) Balázs Rózsa, Csaba Rózsa
Release date(s) January, 2000
Genre(s) 2D motorbike simulation
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Input Keyboard
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Elasto Mania (also known as Elma) is a 2D motorbike simulation game for Microsoft Windows and MS-DOS, and was originally released in 2000. Elasto Mania claimed to be "based on a real physical model." It explores the notion of elastic motorcycles. The goal of each level is to collect every apple spread throughout that level, and then to touch the flower to finish and move on to the next level. Some people play the game to try to solve levels as fast as possible, while others enjoy its puzzle-like nature, figuring out how to solve a difficult level.

Contents

[edit] Versions

Elasto Mania was created by Balázs Rózsa as a sequel to the game Action SuperCross (1997). There are four official versions of Elasto Mania - 1.0, 1.1, 1.11, and 1.11a, plus four unofficial versions 1.11h, 1.11hb, 1.2h beta and 1.2 (final). The concept of the game is very simple, but the game itself can be very difficult, especially for players new to the game. The free demo version has 18 levels while the full version has 54, and you can also find thousands of fan-created levels online. Some of those are gathered in so-called Level Packs.

[edit] Gameplay

The motorcycle is controlled by keyboard keys that cause it to:

  • Accelerate. If used uninterruptedly the motorcycle will slowly raise its front wheel, and as the balance shifts, quickly overturn causing the driver to hit his head on the ground. This can be prevented by periodically briefly releasing the accelerator, to balance the torque of the back wheel with gravity.
  • Brake. The brake applies to both wheels simultaneously. Because of the infinite friction between the wheels and the ground in the game, if the brake is not used very carefully, the rider will abruptly be thrown over the front wheel.
  • Rotate Left/Right. This is accomplished by the rider either pushing or pulling on the handlebars. This maneuver is used to climb obstacles and otherwise pass through broken ground, and also allows the motorcycle to land on the ground wheels down after a jump.
  • Turn around. The driver and the motorcycle frame turns around as a paper silhouette, in a comical fashion, while the wheels stay put, causing the front wheel to become the back wheel and vice versa.

Touching a killer (a rotating spiky wheel) with the wheels or helmet of the rider or hitting the drivers head into the ground, walls or ceiling will "kill" the driver, forcing you to restart the level.

All the apples in a level must be collected before the player can touch the flower and proceed to the next level. A few levels contain apples that changes the direction of gravity, causing the motorcycle to drive on the walls or in the ceiling.

Only the head of the driver is vulnerable. His body can overlap walls without injury, allowing for bizarre-looking situations, such as hanging upside down with the wheels on top of a thin floating island, with the rest of the motorcycle and the driver's body overlapping the island and his head being at a safe distance below it.

The game can be played by one or two players.

[edit] Community

Elasto Mania example screenshot.
Elasto Mania example screenshot.

The world records (fastest times) on the 54 levels included with the game are still being improved. The depth in Elasto Mania is not readily apparent; it takes many years for a new player to begin to appreciate the skills required to drive a world record.

The game enjoys a healthy worldwide community, primarily based around #across and #battle on IRCnet and the mopolauta and elastomaniac.com forums. Mopolauta stands for moped-board in Finnish.

Fans are still hoping for a sequel, but it looks like there won't be any. The creator of the game, Balazs Rózsa has announced in many emails for questioning players of the game that he is currently building on the sequel, but it seems there won't be any after all.

Balle is a term originally used by Elasto Mania players as a slang term for a "battle" — a contest in which (previously unplayed) external levels are released to the Internet, and players have a set period of time in which to drive their best time.

Elasto Mania has been awarded as the most attractive computer game, because of the unbelievable attraction coming from the game. Some people have said in interviews that they only needed to try it once, and since then they couldn't let go of the game.

[edit] Online playing

[edit] EOL

In the early months of 2006, a new patch for the game was published. This was unofficial though. One member of the community, "Milagros", had been developing an online patch, so players could compete or cooperate over the internet. This has been opening new doors, especially regarding the multiplayer record tables. Now players from Australia and Norway are playing together to make new world records.

However, the patch was never updated. Many people announced having trouble with bugs in the patch, but the problem was never solved.

[edit] Ballelma

Milagros released another unofficial online patch for the game on 22 January 2007 which allows practically unlimited number of players to see each other while playing in single player mode. The patch is still under early development and additional features requested by players are yet to be done, including ingame chat. For now, all the communication is done on an irc-channel #ballelma on IRCnet.

Players have the possibility to draw small bitmaps that replace their character's shirt so they can easily be identified.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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