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Mac100% 1999 April
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MAC100-1999-04.ISO.7z
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MAC100-1999-04.ISO
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Best Game Library
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Dirt Bike 3D
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Manual
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Riding Tips
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1999-01-10
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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.