Fatal Racing
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| Fatal Racing | |
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| Developer(s) | Gremlin Interactive |
| Publisher(s) | Gremlin Interactive |
| Designer(s) | Les Spink and Ade Carless |
| Engine | Custom |
| Release date(s) | 1996 |
| Genre(s) | Racing game |
| Mode(s) | Single player and multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | N/A |
| Platform(s) | x86 |
| Media | CD |
| System requirements | 486 DX2-66 MHz, Pentium really recommended. |
| Input | Keyboard or joystick. |
Fatal Racing, known as Whiplash in the USA, is a 3D stunt car racing game developed by Gremlin Interactive and published in 1996 for the MS-DOS OS.
Fatal Racing can be considered to be a hybrid of Stunts and Destruction Derby. The player picks among a broad selection of cars and drives through tracks with loops, corkscrews and insane jumps while trying to smash into other cars to destroy them and at the same time cross the finish line first. There is a variety of different camera views available in the game, "in-car", chase-cam, etc. Multiplayer is supported by IPX/SPX network and modem, in addition a split screen option is also available. Fatal Racing supports graphics resolutions of 320x200 and 640x480, the latter being very demanding on the hardware available at the time of the game's release.
The names displayed for drivers of cars in the race not controlled by human players all come from famous robot or computer characters from science fiction movies and television (Kryten from Red Dwarf, Slave from Blake's 7, Robby from Forbidden Planet, etc.), though this can be changed within the game's options.
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[edit] The Teams
- Auto Ariel - France - Fouette 270ZX - Car Numbers 1 and 2
- A green and magenta car (cyan/magenta in the Advanced carset) with a top speed of 173 MPH for the normal car set and 196 MPH advanced. It is a good all rounder (though slightly more biased to cornering rather than speed) with its only weakness being its somewhat less than average durability. The AI generally finish in the middle of the pack. This car has an appearance similar to that of the Renault Laguna of its time. The default computer drivers are Hal and Sal (from 2001: A Space Odyssey).
- DeSilva - Italy - 511 GTi - Car Numbers 3 and 4
- A magenta and yellow car (blue and hot pink in the Advanced carset) with the best acceleration in the game, but it has the drawback of having the slowest top speed on the grid (166 MPH normal, 191 advanced). Another downside is that its weight/mass is very low, making it easy to get bumped around. Although on paper the durability looks better than average, due to its light mass the car spins easily when slammed into and therefore ends up taking more damage than other cars would, and at that, it cannot do nearly as much damage to other cars. The AI almost never win, but they may, on some rare occasions, finish in the top 5. Next to the Million Plus team, the DeSilva AI are quite destructive despite having low weight, thanks to their likeness for going the wrong way (and sometimes ruining a race). Despite its cons, as a player-driven car it can excel on the tighter tracks providing you can stay out of trouble. The default computer drivers are Zen and Slave (from Blake's 7).
- Pulse Engineering - Great Britain - Errent V8 GT - Car Numbers 5 and 6
- A near all-red (near-all orange in the Advanced carset) car that is one of the few teams that have the ablilty to power-slide, done by turning at quite an extreme angle. It has fairly average stats apart from its poor grip, but as a pretty good top speed (176 MPH normal, 199 MPH advanced), but cornering with other cars out on the grid ends up in disaster if the rear end of the car collides with another car in the wrong way while power-sliding. The AI on this team usually don't finish last unless they get destroyed first. It takes a bit of getting used to but can be a very quick (and fun) car when driven well, and provided that the driver doesn't get into trouble. The default computer drivers are Bishop and Ash (from the Alien movie series).
- Global - USA - Celerity MKII - Car Numbers 7 and 8
- A very quick and durable car overall, this white and red (which changes to green in the Advanced carset) vehicle has great top speed (178 MPH using the normal car-set, 202 MPH for advanced) and as the best durability in the game, therefore it can take the most punishment before being destroyed or even having to pit. It also as an heavy mass, but its grip and turning ability is sub-par, so cornering ability is not as good as the more nimbler cars such as the Mission Motors and Million Plus cars. The acceleration is fairly poor, but is significantly better then Reise Wagon and Million Plus. Because of the fact that this car has so few weaknesses, it is usually the highest placed of all the AI cars. This car is easily the fastest of all on the vast majority of tracks in the Premire Cup, but is as quick, if not faster than, the Reise Wagon team otherwise. The default computer drivers are Nomad and Voyager (from Star Trek).
- Million Plus - Japan - Ninjato - Car Numbers 9 and 10
- It's a white and blue (changes to pink in the Advanced carset) car, with the best grip out of all the cars available, as well as a bit of weight to avoid getting pushed around too often. However, its top speed is only 174 MPH with the normal car set, 193 MPH for the advanced. This leaves it the fifth slowest on the grid and is paired with equally slow acceleration and the worst durability. Although on paper the turning looks poor, the excellent grip actually makes this car incredibly nimble, able to take most corners at full speed. The AI drivers for this car are easily the most destructive and will often turn round and drive the wrong way around the course, leading to some serious collisions, more so when the other teams' drivers are in large groups. Despite all this, the car can end up being a race winner provided the driver doesn't bother with destroying opponent teams' cars. The default computer drivers are Bob and Vincent (from The Black Hole).
- Mission Motors - USA - Spectre/Chimera Turbo SE - Car Numbers 11 and 12
- This green and light purple car (changes to orange and cyan in the Advanced carset) is an alternative choice to an Auto Ariel for an all round car. It as the best breaking, excellent grip, a decent top speed (172 MPH normal, 194 advanced), and accelerates almost as quickly as the DeSilva cars, as well as good turning. Sadly however, the car does not last long because with bad durability and quite low mass it can be knocked around quite easily and not be able to do much damage to other cars. Despite this, they may sometimes finish in the top 3. The default computer drivers are Marvin and Eddie (from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy).
- Zizin - Japan - KLR 330 - Car Numbers 13 and 14
- A white with blue and red car (changes to cyan with red and orange in the Advanced carset), this is one of the very few teams that can drift. The stats of this car is somewhat similar to the Pulse. It's significantly slower than the Pulse car in respect to top speed, traveling 169 MPH on the normal car set, 197 MPH in the advanced, but has better acceleration. This however, leaves the team as the second slowest in terms of top speed. It has the worst grip out of all the cars in the game paired with the best turning, at least on paper. In reality however the back end of the car swings out while power-sliding around corners and colliding with other cars is sometimes difficult if not impossible to avoid in large packs. Although the car is fairly heavy and durable, due to colliding with more cars on corners it is usually worse off (at least time and speed-wise) then lots of other cars with worse durability. Due to its many weaknesses, the team is classified last if no other teams' cars end up getting destroyed. This is quite easily the hardest car for anyone (AI or human) to drive and is best avoided. The default computer drivers are Holly and Kryten (from Red Dwarf).
- Reise Wagon - Germany - Merkur/Mercur GT - Car Numbers 15 and 16
- An all blue car (all pink for the Advanced carset) with the highest speed. It is capable of going 184 MPH in the normal car set, 209 MPH in the advanced. It is the heaviest and second most durable car on the grid, as well as the fastest of all the cars available in the game, but it comes at a high price: Acceleration. This car is literally a snail off the line and it can slide around corners somewhat, albeit at a very slight angle. The turning is very slow and therefore relies on sliding around the corners to get around them safely. Also, due the pairing of high speed and extremely heavy weight this car can literally become a moving wrecking ball. For racing however, the acceleration and poor breaking can make pit stops a nightmare, and cornering can be somewhat difficult while trying to either avoid other cars or destroying them. They are often seen taking the checkered flag, most often in a one-two finish in the Grimlin Cup events, but are otherwise upper midfield finishers. If you have the skills and you want to beat lap records, this is the car to use as the lap times it can reach are usually untouchable by other cars. Just don't try to touch this if you are a beginner though! The default computer drivers are Robby and Gort (from classic 50's sci-fi films Forbidden Planet and The Day the Earth Stood Still).
[edit] Gremlin Cup
Le Grande Royale is the simplest of all courses, featuring a turn which features two alternative roads, various series of winding turns, and a hairpin. The longest circuit of the game (not counting the Bonus Series), taking just slightly over a minute to complete a lap. This is easily the easiest circuit in the game as the course offers no real stunts - thus, if driven through well, pitting may not even be required.
Snake Pass is a short and winding course which has extreme height changes and jumps which constantly change in slope. The final turn and the third to last turn are the most difficult to take for any car, thus pitting is almost mandatory.
Big Dippa takes features from Snake Pass. However, this course features a big jump which often goes over the changing ramp slopes, several hairpins, and even more extreme height changes from Snake Pass. The ramp slopes, while only placed after the first turn (which, after that has a very large jump which can avoid these), cars that are too slow can catch some airtime, which can lose a lot of time.
Death Drop is a maze of sorts; this course has various paths which have a huge impact on laptime. This track has two "roundabouts" which extensively feature this, the first one having a ramp which can vary in slope, the second holding one of two pit areas in the middle. The pit area is located off to the right after the two round abouts and the second to last turn. Because of this, it's very difficult to defend your position here because the paths on this course are unpredictable.
Tsunami Twister is a course which feature a jump which causes the car to barrel roll in mid-air. Due to the poor pitting AI here many of the AI drivers will often end up getting eliminated. The pits are located to the left of the first turn, which is quite narrow and short, thus causing some problems when pitting, moreso in the faster cars.
The Bridge is a multiple path oval-like circuit which features a bridge that drops and rises. Next to Le Grande Royale, this circuit is one of the most simplest. Like Tsunami Twister, this course also has its pit area off to the left on the first turn, but is nowhere near as narrow or short.
Siamese is a circuit featuring two loops, a hairpin, and a 270 degree turn. This course's pits are at two locations, similar to Death Drop - one after the first loop, the second after the second loop and the 270 degree turn.
Gateway is the final circuit in the series. It introduces a corkscrew and combines much of the above mentioned circuit's features into one. This course is mostly left-hand turns. After the loop is a large jump, which if taken poorly can cause badly damaged cars to miss the pit area after it.
[edit] Premier Cup
The Reaper This course is packed to the gills with jumps. Similar to Tsunami Twister, a lot of competitors end up getting eliminated due to the multitude of dangerous jumps. Widest, but one of the longest. The pit area is located on the seventh turn, off to the right (and like Tsunami Twister), it is very narrow and short. This course is one of the few courses where destroying all the competitors before going the full race distance is possible, but it is extremely rare.
Free Fall has a course shape similar to Gateway, except there is a huge "forked" curl which merges into a single road about midway into it. The course also features a small jump that may sometimes cause the car to suddenly drop. This course features four turns, not including the loop.
The Crab has a completely unique feature, making a half loop before leading into a barrel rolling drop which may sometimes cause cars to land on their roof provided they go too fast or going too far off to the left of the track. the pits are located just before the starting line to the right, and due to its dangerous location make for some nasty side-on collisions.
The Switchback utilizes 2 corkscrews and a balcony on a lower part of the circuit. One of the longest tracks, it takes about 45 to 50 seconds to lap the circuit. The pits are located off the left after the first corkscrew. Though it seems like falling off the balcony near the end of the lap is a bad idea, it can shave off valuable time and seconds on the final lap.
Fly By is a figure of eight which has a similar jump to Tsunami Twister in the middle of it after the first turn. It also features a fork which in the middle and the edges cause the car to crash. This course is nowhere nearly as difficult as its Gremlin Cup counterpart Tsunami Twister due to the track being far wider in many areas, and is also easier to make a pit stop on. Here, the pits are before the first of four turns.
The Coffin Run is a circuit which features a corkscrew followed up by a small jump as well as several narrow bends. The start of this course is the same as the Bridge, except it is much more extreme. After that section comes an area with a left hander which leads into a long right-hand turn, which have walls that can flip a careless driver's car. The pits are located off to the left on the starting grid.
Devil's Hairpin is a circuit which features a small part of the track where it is possible to land on another part of the course, and end up falling behind in the process. This course composes of four turns, the second having an area which is narrow and if taken off to the left of the track, can cause a car to fall very far behind and even flip the car over.
Nemesis shares similarities to Gateway, but are now taken to a much higher extreme. The large jump of Gateway's is now gone, but now there is a dip in the road which if taken incorrectly can cause damage.
[edit] Bonus Cup
The Bonus Cup is a secret, hidden cup that only becomes available once the Premier Cup has been beaten at the highest difficulty level. None of the races have names, they are simply referred to as Race 1, Race2, etc. Each one is an extreme, physics defying course in which the race is usually ended through the destruction of all competitors rather than driving the full distance. Examples include a small high-walled circular course with an average 10 second lap time, and a long T-shaped course with randomized jumps causing huge levels of damage where pitting to repair is usually required every other lap.
[edit] Artificial Intelligence behavior
When the player (or another AI) causes a large amount of damages to he or she, at the next given oppourtunity it may strike back. Upon the teams the behavior is also different; Global tend to be more aggressive than the others, DeSilva tend to try to impede other racers, Million Plus may sometimes try to go the wrong way or simply stand in the way. The player's AI teammate can also follow (or disobey) his or her orders.
[edit] Enhanced 3D version
Later, there was an enhanced 3dfx Glide version of the game made. This was bundled with some Voodoo Cards as "Fatal Racing 3D". There was also a patch available, however it was only for the American variant of the game (Whiplash). This enhanced version is however hardware specific, so it requires a Voodoo I Graphics Card to function correctly.
