Hydro Thunder

ArcadEd

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So I picked up a stand up hydro thunder cabinet a few weeks ago. Love the game, but something is bugging me. None of us seem to get any better than 5th place on any stage. We can hit all the short cuts and still not do it. In fact, we can even mess around on the stage and still get 6th.

On one level (Lost Island) I lower the settings in the options menu to 25 for ai and 25 for difficulty (50 is default). Made no difference.

Is there a bug in this game and should I update the roms or something?

It's really starting to bug me LOL.
 
I was having this same issue with my Rush 2049, I was getting my ass kicked in every race even when I thought I was driving good. After a while I just started winning races and getting better. I know I was frustrated at first too.
 
It's funny because my 6 year old was planning and got first somehow on one race LOL.

I honestly don't see how we can race any better. Just gotta keep trying I guess. I figured the thing was broke as like 10 of us have been trying for 2 weeks :)
 
It's funny because my 6 year old was planning and got first somehow on one race LOL.

I honestly don't see how we can race any better. Just gotta keep trying I guess. I figured the thing was broke as like 10 of us have been trying for 2 weeks :)
LOL, the same thing happened to me. I had 3 people over and we all played for a long time and kept getting 5th 4th 8th, I was getting frustrated. Not that yours doesn't have something going on with it but maybe its just a real challenge, that actually made my game more fun in the long run.
 
Wouldn't you think lowering the ai and difficulty for that stage would have made it easier though?

I think it's a ploy to steal quarters haha.
 
You probably just suck. ;) Heh, actually... you may want to check the setting for free race percentage... if you have free race for 1st place set, and a low setting for the free race percentage, I believe that'd cause the computer to cheat and make sure you didn't win. I'm pretty sure that's a setting on Hydro Thunder at least.

DogP
 
. if you have free race for 1st place set, and a low setting for the free race percentage, I believe that'd cause the computer to cheat and make sure you didn't win.

DogP

I'm not doubting what you say, but that's pretty lame. It explains a lot of perfect drives on race games that i've done, but still lost.
 
Are you doing the throttle cheat at beginning count down? Also, I never let my boost hit empty, release button and leave a Lil in reserve until more boost is achieved

Or you need to use a diff boat or you suck...😂
 
had the same problem with my arctic thunder,now my son holds most of the top spots. You gotta just keep trying.
 
You probably just suck. ;) Heh, actually... you may want to check the setting for free race percentage... if you have free race for 1st place set, and a low setting for the free race percentage, I believe that'd cause the computer to cheat and make sure you didn't win. I'm pretty sure that's a setting on Hydro Thunder at least.

DogP

I know for a fact these settings exist. I will see what i have them set too.

Yes on the throttle trick. The funny thing is, when we cross the finish line there are no other drivers around us.
 
My son can get in first place on all the tracks on RUSH2049 SE except #7. Takes time.

However on Hydro I agree. Never got in first on any track. Ill admit I need to sit down and take it serious and really study the tracks. I dont know the throttle cheat at the beginning. Please tell!
 
I usually only play when I am racing against another person, but I think I have been 1st on Lost Island before. Not even close on any of the other tracks. There are combinations of boats and tracks that make it almost impossible to beat the computer, but I don't remember what they are. I think using an easy boat makes it easier to place higher, but the times can be better with better boats.


Darin - Hold the throttle at neutral until the 1 starts to fade, then full throttle with boost to get a fast start.
 
I used to consistently get 1st on Lost Island nearly every time I played, unless I was on my 1st place free race (where the game cranks up the AI). The shortcuts actually matter very little, they really don't buy you any time, and their primary value is additional boost pickups. The trick is to carefully manage your boost -- you should be boosting constantly for 80-90% of the race. If you're not, you're missing a pickup somewhere. Also, never fully deplete your boost, so you don't have to wait for your boosters to redeploy before hitting a pickup and boosting again.
 
You probably just suck. ;) Heh, actually... you may want to check the setting for free race percentage... if you have free race for 1st place set, and a low setting for the free race percentage, I believe that'd cause the computer to cheat and make sure you didn't win. I'm pretty sure that's a setting on Hydro Thunder at least.

DogP

Ok, I have free race for win set on and the percentage is 13 percent. It ranges from 5-50

So does that mean you can only get 1st 13 percent of the time no matter how well you race?

Ed
 
Ok, I have free race for win set on and the percentage is 13 percent. It ranges from 5-50

So does that mean you can only get 1st 13 percent of the time no matter how well you race?

Ed
That's what I took it as... but maybe the manual explains it for sure.

About the super start... there's actually two different ones. You can hit the throttle at the last second to get the jump... but the better one is if you leave it in neutral, then hit full throttle after 3, then neutral after 2, then full throttle after 1. That gives you the jump as well as 4 seconds of boost. It may be reverse that you need to go into, if neutral doesn't work... I don't remember.

Also, don't forget about the secret boats (press pilot quickly 3 times on several different boats) and track (press pilot quickly 3 times on Lake Powell).

DogP
 
So that did it. I bumped that percentage up to 50% and I get much better races now.

You can tell some races you are just not gonna win no matter what, at least it seems that way. Anyway, it has made the game much more enjoyable. Thanks.
 
What if you just turn off free race for 1st place? That should just make it fair all the time, right?

DogP
 
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