Problem w/ airbrakes and side-shifts

[asdfffdsa]

The only ship I use is Piranha and the only speed class I play is Phantom. This means that almost the entirety of my play is based on airbrakes and side-shifts, and even then it seems there are some corners that are just impossible to make (e.g. the second turn on chenghou project forward, but I've come to accept this latter fact).

The problem I'm having is that in order to effectively use airbrakes, I need high precision adjustments, and this means tapping the airbrakes. Of course, tapping the airbrakes will incite a side-shift--often accidentally, and then I eat the guard rail.

I'm guessing not, but is there any way to assign side-shifts to a different button?

In any case, any other players share this frustration?

[trackripper]

Yes, I suffer from accidental sideshifts through a corner sometimes and it does result in me eating concrete...
As far as I know of though, in the controls menu, there simply isn't a seperate button for sideshifts, it's always done through double tapping air-brakes, so I think you're out of luck.

Though, if you're merely tapping the airbrakes for adjustments, surely the steering would do that too if you held each correction for slightly longer and only occasionally used airbrakes?

[R3BU5ER]

No, you can't. But maybe trying to change the button-sensitivity can help. Because accidental side-shifts happen more often when your sensitivity is too high. But remember, on phantom class, especially in a piranha al the airbrake/steer/sideshifts should be made just before the actual corner, otherwise you will be too late and will crash into the wall. I don't know for how long you already play, but you will see that you will have to move before the moment is there!

[amplificated]

Can't change the airbrakes acting as sideshifts, sorry.

It happens to everyone, but there are levels of coping with it. Just getting used to the game minimises chances of it occurring. Ultimately though, the problem exists in the fundamental control scheme, and it will rear up at the most inopportune times such as in the middle of a good speed lap... and the only thing you can do is curse the game.

Also, as I'm the judgmental type, I'll just say I think that using a piranha is probably not the best idea, especially at phantom. There are better ships.

[Colonel]

I'd have to agree with amp regarding the piranha, but to each their own.

[asdfffdsa]

By "better ships," do you mean that the Piranha is simply difficult to use (but still competitive)? Or do you mean it's fundamentally gimped in the phantom class?

edit: Btw, just to clarify, I am relatively new to Wipeout HD. I was originally big into the game in 2009 for a few months, but then an unfortunate internet situation left me unable to play (americuhh). Now that's been (somewhat) resolved and I hope to get back into it.

[Colonel]

My point of view is that the Piranha's handling is so poor that it's almost unusable at Phantom. But I'm pretty poor at Phantom anyway.

[amplificated]

No ship is really bad, any of them can get a very good time on any track; it's just that ones with high handling and high speed stats are easier to work with to get good times. Also, there are no points for doing well "for your ship", so I don't see the point unless you're absolutely confident that you don't want to change (and not out of ignorance :P)

IMO go for the loyalty trophy (whichever one that is, I can't recall its name); it doesn't take that long, and you get to try out all the ships and see how they go for you. Whichever one you have the most fun with is probably the one you should use, but each has their own quirks you may want to go for from time to time. Maybe do half of the required amount of loyalty in the HD ship and the other half in the Fury variant.
If you like the Piranha over everything else after that, so be it.

[asdfffdsa]

Well, my dilemma is that I'm quite accustomed to the Piranha. In addition to being familiar with its handling (albeit a bit rusty at the moment), there's also just an attachment from using it for so long. I used it in the PSP wipeouts too.

But then I see a ship like Icarus which tops the Piranha in everything except armor *. I understand that shield matters in actual races, and I don't expect that the developers designed their tracks such that the optimal racing line(s) for each ship result in equivalent lap times, but if the performance gap is so huge that I'll need to depend on the competition's error, things could get rather frustrating after a while (though, being the underdog has its reward too).

So maybe I'll start experimenting with other ships instead of staying loyal to the boat all of the time.

* At least according to its stats as advertised. It kind of seems like each ship has somewhat of a unique behavior independent of the attribute scales.

Oh yeah, just want to get a question in too: the fury expansion introduced new appearances for the ships, and these have slightly higher stats than the original appearances. Are these increases in stats relegated to races where all of the players are using the new appearances? I have to ask because the new appearances look rather awful to me, but I don't want to be at even more of a disadvantage.

[trackripper]

You shouldn't be at a significant disadvantage if you're racing HD ship against Fury ship, I know top pilots who can easily hold off everyone else in AG-Systems HD or Goteki 45 HD :P

Experimenting with ships is good though, and sometimes the stats really don't speak for the ship's characteristics, eg. I feel that Triakis handles much better than Pirahna or Auricom, despite having the same Handling stat, so you really have to play about a bit with ships.

[james1976]

I've found the side shifting and braking a bit difficult with the L2/R2 buttons. I'm thinking of trying the L1/R1 suggestion. I think my main problem with it is how long it takes me to press those buttons.

[Archon]

There is no need to tap the airbrake multiple times through most turns. It is always a compromise between holding the brake through the beginning of the turn or pulling the brake gently and then sideshifting (a lot of turns require a quick brake, then a sideshift).

For chicanes (let's use the chicane out of the tunnel at the beginning of Ubermall Reverse as an example), you'll want to brake toward the turn (right), then brake very gently to the left and sideshift. It's like weaving. In Sol 2 toward the end of the lap, the turn before the drop (where you can barrel roll) requires you to hug the inside, gently airbrake right once, then a second time, and then side shift right.

Racing lines are about minimizing commands, minimizing braking and turning. Sideshifts are a way to "cheat" the line by either not having to turn or not needing to airbrake as hard or for as long. Look at your lines and see where you're getting accidental sideshifts. See if you can brake heavy once or twice instead of braking lightly four or five times. Or, see if you can replace airbraking entirely with one well-placed sideshift. I have my airbrake sensitivity down to 40%. I started playing at 60% and will even kick it down to 30% for Zone. I noticed I was braking at times when it wasn't needed at all. Where I was shaking back and forth and kept tapping left and right to adjust my alignment, I developed a much straighter line and did away with those "fine tunings." Go into Speed Lap and see where you can trim the fat off your line; less braking, more even braking, sideshifting on straightaways, and following the proper racing line through wide turns rather than hugging the inside and tapping the airbrake all the way through.


Also, there are no points for doing well "for your ship", so I don't see the point unless you're absolutely confident that you don't want to change

If I can snag a competitive time with Harimau while the top 50 is a wall of Icaras, I'll call that a victory. FOR NATURE!

[TwitchySpitfire]

Well, my dilemma is that I'm quite accustomed to the Piranha. In addition to being familiar with its handling (albeit a bit rusty at the moment), there's also just an attachment from using it for so long.

Historically, Icaras was my very first team (HD at that). I remember enjoying it, but I remember feeling a pinch when I saw that many players used the Fury Icaras and, to my own bereavement, couldn't handle the Icaras in Phantom mode. It was at that point I joined the forum officially.

The next team I tried was Auricom and my enthusiasm rose. However, it was the HD craft and I was still fairly horrible at Phantom speeds. I switched teams yet again, and this time it was eG-X. I had, for some time, tabooed using Fury ships as I simply wanted to separate from the community in general. Yet, Fury eG-X was attracting my attention on the team select screen; thus, the result was I was fairly competitive after numerous Speed Laps.

Strangely enough, though, I migrated to Mirage (HD) and ever since then I've really grown into the game. All I fly now is Mirage and eG-X; I never fly Auricom now unless it's the Fury version and I will pilot the Fury FEISAR for the nostalgia of the older games.

I would recommend jumping outside that comfort zone with your team. Your skills will change and evolve with the other teams, and you may actually find yourself migrating back to Piranha and racing more competitively.

[james1976]

I'm actually finding myself in a similar boat to the poster above.

My favorite team is Feisar. I've raced it more than any other, online and off. But I am finding that while I can get perfect laps and good times on Venom and some Flash class races, I've had to experiment with other teams on the more difficult tracks (for me) and the Rapier and Phantom class races. At one time I thought EG-X or AG-Systems would be my alternate team, but now it's looking like Assegai will fill that role. Though I'll still race them all from time to time just to test myself with them.

[Oryx Crake]

the accidental side shifts are usually a byproduct of having to compensate for how the ship handles in my experience. the more you have to tap the brakes the more often it'll happen. in a ship with good handling I find that most often you rarely have to resort to tapping the airbrakes wher just one big push at the start of the corner will do you fine. as for the HD ships I do believe the sebenco climb phantom time trial world record is still held by a harimau HD so you dont have to worry about that.

in any case Piranha doesnt have many supporters so would be nice to see some more skilled players in it but pick the ship that feels best to you personally I go for harimau of mirage fury