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Text File | 1999-01-10 | 4.1 KB | 94 lines | [TEXT/ttxt] |
- Riding Tips
-
- Practice
-
- Dirt Bike 3D is a little more difficult to master than
- previous version of Dirt Bike, but with a little practice,
- you will soon be mastering the triple jumps. If you are
- new to Dirt Bike and you find the bike difficult to
- control, start with the Novice Bike. The computer will
- do the steering for you. Once you get the hang of the
- throttle, advance to the Intermediate bike. This bike
- is the same as the Expert Bike, but the rear distance
- is longer, making it more difficult to flip over backward
- from over accelerating. With this bike, you will have
- to steer for yourself. Once you get the Intermediate
- bike mastered, graduate to the Expert Bike.
-
- Basics
-
- The only controls you have available are the throttle
- (mouse up and down), steering (mouse left and right) and
- shifting (X and Z keys) if you aren't using automatic
- transmission. Suprisingly, these controls are all you
- need to master your riding technique. Dirt Bike
- defaults to Automatic Transmission, which means that
- you only need to control the throttle and steering. When
- using manual transmission the first press of the X key
- starts the engine, but the bike is in neutral.
- You can then move the mouse up and down to feel how
- the throttle works. Since you are in neutral, the
- bike won't move. If you press the right arrow again,
- you will be in first gear.
-
- Starting Off
-
- When first learning to ride a dirt bike, you are
- likely to do the same thing most people do when they
- start riding a real dirt bike. They rev the engine,
- pop the clutch, and flip over backwards. To start
- properly, it is best to lower the throttle, then raise
- the throttle slowly. Lower the throttle slightly
- before shifting into the next gear. Once you get to
- be a good rider, you will likely move quickly through
- the gears and keep the throttle just as high as you can
- without lifting the front wheel too far off the ground.
-
- Jumping (and gyration)
-
- Once you master the throttle and gears, you will want
- to get on to the exciting stuff. All you need to do to
- jump is to hit a hill at a high enough speed. To be
- able to land properly is another story. This requires
- an understanding of what motocross riders call
- "gyration". Gyration is the ability to control the
- rotation of the bike while it is in the air by using
- the throttle. Gyration works because of "conservation
- of angular momentum". In simpler terms, if the rear
- wheel is turning and you stop it quickly, the whole
- bike turns instead. Conversly, if you speed up the
- rear wheel by hitting the throttle, the bike rotates
- the other way. The way it works for real motocross
- riders is this: if they feel like they are going to
- flip over backwards while they are in the air, they
- step on the rear brake and stop the rear wheel from
- spinning. This bring the front of the bike down. If
- they feel as if they are going to flip over frontwards
- while they are in the air, they goose the throttle and
- this brings the front of the bike up. In Dirt Bike,
- you do the same. To bring the front end up, you
- increase the throttle. To bring the front end down,
- you lower the throttle. Since the amount of gyration
- depends on the speed of the wheel, the maximum gyration
- effect will occur in the highest gear.
-
- Expert Riding
-
- Once you have learned to start and jump, you will no
- doubt want to get some high scores. The first step is
- a good start. This just takes a lot of practice to get
- the maximum acceleration without flipping over
- backwards. Also see "Designing the Ultimate Bike" to
- see how to design a bike for good starts.
-
- When jumping, you don't always want to jump as far as
- possible. First of all, you can only accelerate when
- your back wheel is touching the ground, which can't be
- done if you are in the air. Second, if you can land
- your bike on the downhill side of a hill, you save some
- of the momentum that you had built up. You can help
- the situation by hitting the jump at the proper speed
- and then using gyration to line the bike up in
- preparation for the landing. Again, it is always
- important to adjust your bike's geometry and suspension
- to match the track you are racing.