Current Events > F-Zero 99!

(+) Yeah! (+)

I played two rounds today. First one I screwed up and picked Golden Fox on accident, got like 35th. Figured I would play another one, picked mah boi Fire Stingray, got first lol.

I haven't won since release yet since yesterday I've gotten 3 first place wins and one second place (was so close to first). I dunno what happened but damn it's clicked with me. Maybe it's just map knowledge.

I'd like to thank this topic for not only making me download the game but for also realizing the switch I bought used from GameStop was defective and allowing me to return it.

Every time the rumble occured from contact of another driver or hitting a wall the joycons would disconnect and I'd be stuck unable to accelerate or turn. Initially I thought the game was just that brutal until I was stuck on my fifth attempt of Big Blue with nothing happening staring at a wall after being bumped at the start line.

Here's a cool webm showing how much each vehicle recovers at zero health

https://imgur.com/1rZJCah

Picture of the final results:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/0/2/AAfOu0AAE3Au.jpg

Full heal is insane actually. I didn't know it was that wildin. I crash out with hockey puck a lot, and now I know the reason. At most it's 1 boost per lap

Keep in mind that that's only from Mute City 1's healing zone. Other healing zones are shorter >_> So basically Wild Goose is never gonna boost in those tracks lol

Don't forget that the Goose has quite a lot of energy behind this bar.

I think you can boost 5 times from max until it's close to empty.

And you don't have to worry about every scratch as soon as you hit half energy.

legendarylemur posted...

Yeah I'm trying to win with every car. Is it me or is Blue Falcon hot trash? With the other 3 vehicles, I almost never get below 15th place nowadays cuz regular queue is almost always just the same 2 maps anyways. With Blue Falcon, my peak is 3rd place but I regularly get around 33rd place avg

The biggest problem is Falcon is light as hell. He loses all speed upon bashing into anybody and getting flown to Narnia, and he isn't even that great top speed or acceleration. His turn is also somehow worse than the hockey puck, and of course it's worse than the chrome dome (I don't remember their names) which has the best grip. The 4th one nobody plays has the advantage of being great at tussling, which can help sneak into 1st with skywalk at the last second.

I don't understand what the actual advantage of using Falcon is. It's not like other vehicles have glaring weaknesses, but they have clear strengths. Falcon has the weakness of being unable to tussle at all, and no strengths lol. This vehicle is not made to be played on a 99 mode

Blue Falcon is the all-rounder. It's not the best at anything but it's not the worst at anything either - that's it's strength. I've won plenty of races with the blue falcon but it was my main in the original. I have been having a lot more luck with the harder tracks with loads of sharp turns (like silence). I think that's mostly because I know the tracks better than new players, but I do think it's at it's best on those tracks. It has good acceleration (better than fire stingray and wild goose) which helps a lot when you constantly have to slowdown for the turns (it's less punishing if you mess up too). You can also start slowing down later before a turn than in the faster, heavier machines. Golden fox has better acceleration than falcon, but falcon has better grip, making it easier to get a good line on the turns consistently with it.

Yeah I'm always bouncing around with Golden Fox and with that low durability, it usually costs the equivalent of a boost

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/1/3/AAT8UhAAE3NZ.jpg
So uhh... This is much harder than it looks. That 3rd lap is with a single boost, and I was playing like a man possessed

I got all the time run
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/3/3/AAT8UhAAE3Nt.jpg
Silence actually took me the longest, port town II second. The biggest issue was execution, though I found some weird quirks about Silence. In the straight away, if you boost, and then you do the sharp squiggly turn and bash into the inner wall, it's faster than just turning precisely through it. Also the beginning bit, if you don't retain max speed through the start of the lap and into the minefield, you lose a ton of time.

Those are the 2 key points in getting a good time on Silence, and it took me an eternity to figure it out

How do you get those race backgrounds? Just do well on a time trial?

Kaldrenthebold posted...

How do you get those race backgrounds? Just do well on a time trial?

Yeah, beat certain times in time trial. I'm still stuck on Silence and Port Town 2 times

Oh neat I need to do that then, I like how they look.

Yeah it's harder than you'd think. Funny enough the time attack strats are useful to know but usually not that helpful in practice cuz you'll just get jostled into the stratosphere. For the hardest 3 maps, Blue Falcon and Stingray seem to be the only two that can actually get these times? The other two vehicles don't seem to have the max speed to do it

I figured Fire Stingray was the ticket since I dont have to worry about chucklefucks knocking me around and messing with my slow acceleration during time trials lol

Yeah Stingray is my guy, gotten a few wins with them so that is what I would use probably. Definitely easier when you aren't getting bounced around,

Another tip is like when you do some thing and it works out, make sure to take a mental note of the speed in which you did it. Also if you slowed down and the next section lets you stay at max speed for a while (say a long stretch of straight or light curves), like you don't need to slow down and drift hard for a while, you should boost early to maintain max speed

Stingray in general has shit acceleration, so managing yourself in the highest speed possible is really important for great time

I've been all fire stingray and just switched to too two Blue falcon and instantly got way better results.

Also I'm less aggressive but still

At A and A+, I think like 90% of racers are the 2 bulky guys Golden Fox and Wild Goose. Stingray is by far the best vehicle if you're good at getting top 10 early in the race but consistency wise, the 2 bulk guys have the best jostle ability which leads to a lot of skywalks and less getting gimped in races.

They may even buff the speed type racers one day. Cool that you're doing well with Falcon cuz I always thought it was weak. I think from the speed trials, I learned that it's actually a lot better at turning and accelerating than I thought it was. Just that in the field, it'll get blasted to the opposite wall by anybody boosting so you can't take those golden paths to good turns in a crowd

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/2/2/AAT8UhAAE3gS.jpg
AAAAAA

this was the closest Knight Cup I ever done had. Set personal record on 2 places, only got 22nd on the first place, rest were top 10

Racing with Lemur was silly since it put us on separate teams then we tried to match for the same grand prix

It's just becoming more and more impossible to win stuff like Knight Cup with my skill level tbh. Just the existence of a single guy with 99+ wins means regular ppl ain't winning that. On my 2nd place run, there was a guy who was 800 points going into the last race, and he luckily crashed out. Even then it was straight up impossible to win due to point differential, since I got 6th in the last race.

Sigh I ranked out for the first time. Was third place in a grand Prix then death wind I was just so stupid and kept messing up. I'm so irritated with myself

I had two consecutive races today where I came out of a super boost onto a red car. In the second instance, it was two red cars next to each other. Bounced off one, into the other, into the barricade. That one really sucked. Ive never had that happen to me in at least a hundred races, then it happens in consecutive races.

Also. Id never gotten 1st place with Stingray. Did it in a team match today (it doesnt unlock the car colors for a 1st place finish). I didnt see how much I won the race by, but it was the first time in F-Zero 99 where I went like the final lap and a half in the lead, and never even saw someone come close to me. Felt pretty good.

Finally starting to pick up wins more frequently now in either GPs or Team Battle. Haven't won a full GP yet, but going from 4 wins to 8 in a few days has been nice.

I tried out this game starting 4 days ago and I'm having fun. But then I read this topic and see a bunch of people getting 1st all the time. Meanwhile I got in the the top 10 just once and haven't even finished a Grand Prix cuz I rank out or crash out.

Best I can do is 5th place in 99 matches.

Phantom_Nook posted...

I tried out this game starting 4 days ago and I'm having fun. But then I read this topic and see a bunch of people getting 1st all the time. Meanwhile I got in the the top 10 just once and haven't even finished a Grand Prix cuz I rank out or crash out.

"All the time" is an overstatement.

I got my 8 single wins in total, 0 (mini) grand prix, and I think that's already a lot for most people in this topic.

Just work on not crashing out, and you will be fine. You need consistency for a grand prix, especially since you need to place top 20 in the 4th race.

Top 20 on Death Wind is pretty much automatic if you hit every boost pad. Might need to boost around the beginning 1/4 to 1/3 if you have the energy for it, but other than that, it's smooth sailing.

JMPzero posted...

Top 20 on Death Wind is pretty much automatic if you hit every boost pad. Might need to boost around the beginning 1/4 to 1/3 if you have the energy for it, but other than that, it's smooth sailing.

True, the biggest risk on Death Winds is probably playing with blue falcon, because he gets yeeted by every touch.

Already missed too many boost pads because of that, and I honestly think that Death Winds has my worst results so far.

Phantom_Nook posted...

I tried out this game starting 4 days ago and I'm having fun. But then I read this topic and see a bunch of people getting 1st all the time. Meanwhile I got in the the top 10 just once and haven't even finished a Grand Prix cuz I rank out or crash out.

Ive gotten 1st place 3 times in 100+ races. And it took me at least 50+ races to get that win for the first time.

As far as Grand Prix goes, I swear that I crash on the first race more often than I finish it. I just get too aggressive, and eventually use a boost when I really really shouldnt (as I immediately say Fuck, that was stupid to myself).

The_Popo posted...

Ive gotten 1st place 3 times in 100+ races. And it took me at least 50+ races to get that win for the first time.

As far as Grand Prix goes, I swear that I crash on the first race more often than I finish it. I just get too aggressive, and eventually use a boost when I really really shouldnt (as I immediately say Fuck, that was stupid to myself).

The only time you should be aggressive in a grand prix is when you can get a KO.

If you are able to get 10th place every race, you already have 900 points. That's usually not enough to win, but if you get a nice top 3 and top 5 in some race, you already end up with ~925 point, and that can be enough.

But in the end, it's still about luck and your enemies.

I had the grand prix of my life , and it was still only 2nd place with 938 points.

Big oof that big blue out of all races dragged my down.

Karovorak posted...

The only time you should be aggressive in a grand prix is when you can get a KO.

I know that when Im not doing a GP. But for some reason, I become stupid in the moment and do things in a GP that I wont do in normal races. I have no idea why hence the Fuck, that was stupid to myself.

The_Popo posted...

Ive gotten 1st place 3 times in 100+ races. And it took me at least 50+ races to get that win for the first time.

As far as Grand Prix goes, I swear that I crash on the first race more often than I finish it. I just get too aggressive, and eventually use a boost when I really really shouldnt (as I immediately say Fuck, that was stupid to myself).

If you wanna get first, you should pick one of the 2 middle vehicles. They're resilient to being pushed around. This will let you practice a lot of the little things. In the loading menu, they actually tell you a lot of the hidden mechanics in the game

If you hold down b4 you land, you avoid losing a bit of speed. If you hold down b4 you jump, you actually jump higher. Hold up and you do a shorter jump, which is actually faster by a little bit, but harder to do and sometimes worse. If you're sliding, releasing the accel and pressing it has a good chance of stopping the sliding. Breaking a bit and drifting in hard turns and avoiding hitting the wall is actually faster than hitting the wall for every vehicle except Blue Falcon I think? You can also just boost to get to max speed regardless if you decide to hit a wall or get pushed into the oblivion. Skywalks have a weird property where if you're running out of the skywalk on a curve, they let you finish the curve. If you know the best skywalk points, it'll cut a ton of time. If you boost into a rough surface, you don't lose speed, but you will go slower while in the rough surface. KO extends your max boost and also recharges it by that much. Turning is slower than sliding to the side in straight paths.

I feel like I'm forgetting some things, but yeah all else is just regular skill shit, like each vehicle has their own optimal path to do certain turns. Each vehicle has their own strategy like the Fox needs to boost twice early and then use all of its boost going into the pit stop.

There is also a wall in Silence where if you're Stingray, on the last zigzag turn, it is actually optimal to boost early in the turn, bash into the last wall. That won't make sense in words, ngl. But uhh... just know that that is just the truth. I can't explain it other than just try it.

It's not an easy game lol. People definitely aren't just getting a shitload of 1sts just out of whim. It's through a lot of practice and knowledge

legendarylemur posted...

KO extends your max boost and also recharges it by that much.

KOs against grey bumper do that.
KOs against other players additionally recharges your energy to max.

And this increase in max energy stays for the full grand prix.

I had a feeling that was the case. It's not reliable to rely on the player KOs but sometimes you get lucky.

I know JMP is a big KO enthusiast. I try to just get ahead early, which means KOs mostly come from the grey npcs

Yeah, the reward of getting a player KO is just crazy good, so they are worth quite a risk.

So, if you see someone burning, let the inner asshole of you come out and finish him off.

Even if it's the last turn of a race, the increase in max energy can mean another safe boost for every race for the rest of the grand prix.

Queen Cup releases later today. Finally, some new tracks.

I was finally getting deep into the Golden Fox train cuz it's all the rage these days. I came off of Blue Falcon, and Golden Fox is basically just a direct upgrade in every single category, except it has slightly worse grip and max speed, which are entirely nullified by having 2 more boosts per lap.

Golden Fox can also get the 1:48 in Silence in practice. It really depends on how well you do that last turn. You just have to turn off the goddamn machine, just navigate it calmly and boost out of it I think? I can't really see any other way.

In Grand Prix races, does anyone actively hunt bumper cars to increase their meter for later rounds? I came across this video, and while I could see the benefits of having more meter, Id image youre also compromising way too many points from lower rankings for it to be extremely beneficial.

https://youtu.be/N9tvDenI8do?si=6TnniDn9QP-DEbxE

Scarecrow17 posted...

Queen Cup releases later today. Finally, some new tracks.

Is this update going to have the datamined offline modes as well?

https://stealthoptional.com/news/f-zero-99-offline-modes-are-coming-to-the-battle-royale-racer/

spikethedevil posted...

Is this update going to have the datamined offline modes as well?

https://stealthoptional.com/news/f-zero-99-offline-modes-are-coming-to-the-battle-royale-racer/

I think its just the Queen Cup for now. The offline modes might come after King League and maybe Ace League if we get the BS tracks this year.

Well... while I was sick and couldn't play for 2 days, people got really fucking good at this game. I think over time, I'm gonna be a Stingray main cuz my best peaks are with Stingray. The hockey puck is still stably top 25 every game but I'm having trouble getting consistent top 10s like I used to.

All the new maps are interesting. Canyon is pretty tough, Death Wind II is gonna be a doozy when the King Cup releases... Haven't done White II yet.

Digging having more options to race on

S rank is so random when it comes to rivals.

One match, Ill come in 5th and only beat 1 rival.

The next match, Ill get 54th and beat 3 rivals (and none of them crashed out).

Higher ranks are much more aggressive with boosts. At the mo, at A+, it's pretty hard to lose rank cuz at least 1 guy crashes out

Rank means nothing until you hit S2 where you can drop down in skill rank. I'm gaining and losing rank at a rapid rate now.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/1/2/AAT8UhAAE4v0.jpg
Got all the new time trials. They're all doable with Stingray, several of them are doable with Fox and Goose too. Fox can probably reach target time on all of them, Goose is a bit dubious on some of them

Man I just can't reach White Land 2

Any tips for not ranking out White Land 1?

I've done all the time trials with Falcon so they're all possible