LEGO Racers Questions about the weight and balance of the car

[dy_enforcer]

I read a manual of LEGO racers and found out that:

-more bricks means more speed and easier steering but less acceleration

-less bricks means less speed and harder steering but has a better acceleration

-If you stack one side of the brick and added more only on that side, it would unbalance the weight of the car causing the steering to look awkward

 

I try this myself with two of my custom racers, Booster Benny and Betty Octane, but to be honest, I don't see much difference.

 

Does it really affect the performance whenever I build a car? if so, Does it also affect the mod as well when you place like say green, tan or dark grey bricks, etc?

[Fifi La Fume]

In Brutalmoose's review, he tested it and it turned out to be a hoax. So yeah, it's pretty much a lie.

[CaptainGolem]

I don't really know, but when I added bricks only to the rear of the car, there was a noticeable difference in the balance of the car, especially when using turbos. It was in the '99 version I think.

[Lair]

14 hours ago, CaptainGolem said:

It was in the '99 version I think.

if this is true and car size affecting speed and control is seriously another difference between the 99 and 01 versions and all the time trial and speedrun records are rendered invalid as a result until it can be verified which version they were done on i am going to go f****ing nuclear

[CaptainGolem]

8 hours ago, Jessietail said:

if this is true and car size affecting speed and control is seriously another difference between the 99 and 01 versions and all the time trial and speedrun records are rendered invalid as a result until it can be verified which version they were done on i am going to go f****ing nuclear

I didn't have time for any in-depth analysis, but I wanted to compare the two versions by building the same car and doing a time trial at Imperial Grand Prix. I think the difference is really obvious, you can see it in the video below:

 

[Cirevam]

It looks like Jessie has permission to go f***ing nuclear. That is a significant difference. Somehow, I remember testing this shortly after getting the game when it first came out, but I never put all the bricks on the rear. I didn't notice anything at the time, but I was 9 years old...

[Fifi La Fume]

Well. I stand corrected.

[dy_enforcer]

Whoa! Looking at the test video from CaptainGolem, there is a slight difference between the two versions. The 1999 did have some affect on the balance but the 2001 version didn't. Interesting! I have to test this myself on what version I have for LEGO Racers.

 

EDIT: I tested it myself and I was shocked and excited that my copy is the 1999 version. 

I also did an attempt to put bricks on one side to the left of the car. no effects when you drive it but if say you go to a ramp and make a jump there, there is a slight lean to the left when falling down. Same can be said on the right as well as the front but the front just dives in straight away 

And yes, MOD colored bricks is also affected by the balance as well

 

This is pretty cool and I'm happy that my dad gave me the 1999 version of the game. It makes me think of those racers I created and how it balance itself when I use it, though to be fair, there is not much difference when I played the game other than my skill

Edited February 12, 2018 by dy_enforcer
edited for testing the game's mechanics

[Lair]

Winnie Imperio will be spared for now.

 

I'd like to know how this applies to different language versions of this game, and if there are any updated versions for them like the standard multi version's 2001 release.

• From CaptainGolem's Czech Racers videos, at least going by the warp sound effects, it seems like they use the 2001 version, though I don't know if that's any good indication - I know Cenega only started releasing Lego games in Poland and the Czech Republic starting in 2001.
• The Russian, Hebrew, Japanese, and Korean versions, on the other hand, all came out in 2000, so I don't know how much of which version's code they used, or if there were any updated versions for all of them.
• The Japanese and Russian versions seem to use the 2001 warp sound
• The Hebrew version uses the 1999 warp sound
• The Korean version seems to just be is just the standard 1999 multi-language version. That makes no sense but considering that the Korean version of Rock Raiders didn't seem to bother dubbing the dialogue I wouldn't be terribly surprised, I guess whoever translated the games from this era were lazy. Lego Island's Korean dub seems pretty high-effort though, so I have no idea.

Don't yet know how the physics differ in all of these, I'll write a more comprehensive report later like I did with the Stunt Rally differences. Or maybe just a big topic asking if people can check their copies of various other games for stuff like this.

[aidenpons]

what is this heresy

 

The second question that springs to mind is "Can we mod this?"

[Lair]

I'm gonna guess the physics engine is build into the EXE file or some related non-JAM file, so probably not really.

[dy_enforcer]

Another test on the weight and balance. This time I use the Level 2 green power-up aka Flying Turbo Boost.

First test: no bricks = normal

Second test: bricks stack on front = normal

Third test: bricks on the back = normal

Fourth test: bricks on the left = car leaning on the opposite side, so when the bricks stack on the left, the car leans on the right

Fifth test: bricks on the right = same as fourth test except the opposite

 

This would be really interesting if I could post pictures here but for some reason the print screen won't allow me too, because it only shows me the track picture.

If you guys be kind enough to give me hints on how to print picture in-game. I would gladly show this to you all

[aidenpons]

1 hour ago, dy_enforcer said:

This would be really interesting if I could post pictures here but for some reason the print screen won't allow me too, because it only shows me the track picture.

If you guys be kind enough to give me hints on how to print picture in-game. I would gladly show this to you all

F10, I think, should save a bitmap in the game's folder.

 

Also, I suspect that putting -alphatrans in the Target box for your shortcut (right-click -> Properties) may have some effect.

[Greycatmon]

https://www.twitch.tv/jarbal/

I'm streaming now to test it out for myself. I'm going to use every chassis with bricks stacked on all 4 sides to be sure.

[lol username]

Also relevant: You can go up the back of the IGP shortcut on the 2001 version but not 1999. The track data is identical, so the difference must be in the physics.

 

 

Also, last month I used Beyond Compare 4 to spit out a nicely formatted report of what files differ from the 2001 and 1999 JAM contents. It's not the first time someone's done a comparison, but it's more readable IMO. I've just uploaded it here:

 

As you can see, the only differences to the track data are making the Pirate Skull Pass load screen consistent with the others (they gave the map a blue frame), and some mysterious changes to Rocket Racer Run. Greycatmon had mentioned encountering a bug where laps weren't always counted on that track, and he's on the 1999 version - and one of the files changed for the 2001 release is STARTFIN.BVB, and another file (COLLIDE.WDB) which doesn't have much in it, but references STARTFIN.BVB if I remember correctly. So I suspect they just fixed that problem.

 

And hey, as long as people are discovering features they didn't know existed but were always in the manual: Super sliding exists, y'all.

 

[aidenpons]

Super sliding exists, y'all.

 

I recall knowing that exists, but after experimentation because you also have to brake you're slowing yourself down. Great for U-turns or Adventure Temple Trail, but beyond that it has no uses.

[lol username]

1 hour ago, aidenpons said:

Great for U-turns or Adventure Temple Trail, but beyond that it has no uses.

... As if it's supposed to have other uses? It's an advanced technique *specifically for* those situations, lol. And for speedrunners it can be a deciding factor in getting world records, as I'm sure their experiences on Ice Planet Pathway can attest to (just ask Greycatmon or the other person fighting for the record, whose name I'm forgetting at the moment). Greycatmon didn't know about it for a while and was having a hell of a time matching or surpassing the other guy's record because of it.

[dy_enforcer]

On 2/14/2018 at 12:09 PM, aidenpons said:

 

 

 

I recall knowing that exists, but after experimentation because you also have to brake you're slowing yourself down. Great for U-turns or Adventure Temple Trail, but beyond that it has no uses.

 

On 2/14/2018 at 1:37 PM, Terrev said:

... As if it's supposed to have other uses? It's an advanced technique *specifically for* those situations, lol. And for speedrunners it can be a deciding factor in getting world records, as I'm sure their experiences on Ice Planet Pathway can attest to (just ask Greycatmon or the other person fighting for the record, whose name I'm forgetting at the moment). Greycatmon didn't know about it for a while and was having a hell of a time matching or surpassing the other guy's record because of it.

True. I watched Greycatmon's video and he already got a time on Ice Planet Pathway for 1:20:23 on twitch. Grey also mentioned that he did this because he saw Kaz's videos, which I do not know where it is, used the super slide technique to get the best record. If anything, it is useful and I tried this via switching the control keys, back arrow to / for brake. It really works out in the end but it will take tons to practice to get used to it.

 

EDIT: I have to revive this topic because I would like to share something from you guys:

Look at the picture I just edit:

On the left is mine while on the right is someone's else's picture that I borrowed.

Tell me which version of LEGO Racers belongs to each picture?