==============================================================================
N E E D F O R S P E E D U N D E R G R O U N D 2
==============================================================================
* FAQ/Guide version 0.3
+ Features a new common questions section
+ More data on the cars section
+ Small improvements
Written by Luiz Gustavo Lisbôa (that's me, Falk)
email: falk85@uol.com.br MSN: falkvesa@hotmail.com
falk85@gmail.com
I'm not in anyway afilliated nor associated with Electronic Arts, nor EA
Games, THX Game or any other company mentioned in the game, such as a car
manufacturer. I just made this FAQ to help out other players around the
internet.
All trademarks here belong to their respective owners.
So please, don't sue. If I still did legal crap, I apologize, and please
tell me via email and I shall correct as soon as possible. Keep in mind that
messing up trademarks or game companies IS NOT my purpose here.
(wait till the guys from Brasília check out my HOT HOT NFSU logo)
+ Intro (read this first!)
+ Copyright Data
+ General Overview
+ Car's Awareness Systems
. World Map
. GPS
. SMS
+ The events
. Drag
. Street X
. URL
. Drift
. Sprint
. Circuit
. Out Run
+ NFSU 2 Cars
+ Visuals and car upgrades
. The stars system
. The visuals shops
. A word about car visuals
. Performance upgrades
+ Strategic Driving
. The nitrous-refill techniques
. Observations about the nitrous gauge
. the "hidden" races
. Car Lot transactions
+ Game continuity issues
+ After you finish NFSU 2
+ Known Glitches
. Rachel's SMS glitch
+ Common Questions (and their answers)
+ Special Thanks
This FAQ is not supposed to be an ultimate or final version or something. It
just contains data of my gaming experience that I think may be useful for
others, but as a player, I might have skipped some parts. Because this game
has been released very recently, few actually have deep knowledge like one
can have after a game has been released after a long time. And that includes
me. I think I just have enough knowledge to build a fairly informative
guide, but not 100% comprehensive as it should be. So, if you feel like
there's some crucial information missing, be patient because this document
may be updated with these new contents.
The data herein is directed to the game's career mode and attempts to soothe
player's most common difficulties. I hope you find this guide helpful in
some or all ways.
DO NOT email me asking how to unlock "car X", how to get past 34% of the game
or anything stupid in a general way, SPECIALLY WITHOUT READING THE ENTIRE
DOCUMENT. If you consider adding me to your MSN contact list, please first
send an email so I can know what do you want. Depending on your intentions,
you may be added or not. It is valid to remember that stupid questions will be
ignored.
If you choose to email me, PLEASE, CHOOSE ONE FREAKIN' EMAIL AMONG THE 3 I
GAVE YOU, DO NOT SEND STUFF TO ALL 3 OF THEM THE SAME TIME, FOR PETE'S SAKE.
The reason I made this FAQ is because I truly enjoyed playing this game, and
I sincerely wish you a good gaming experience.
This FAQ is also only and VERY ONLY supposed to be found at the following
sites:
- http://www.gamefaqs.com
- http://neoseeker.com/
- http://www.nfsu2.com.br
- http://dlh.net
Welcome to the world of Need for Speed Underground 2, the realm of hot cars,
high speeds and cute chicks! You will be driving into the city of Bayview,
battling to become the new king of the streets. But be aware, it may be the
case that something(s) get in your way until that happens.
Coming from Underground 1, you were involved in an accident caused by a
rival driving gang. So that means you lost your pimped-up vehicle, and that
you have to start all over again. At least you survived, and that's your
chance to show the bad guyz how to kick-some-ass!!!
On the beginning of the career mode, you will be driving Rachel Teller's
car, and your first mission is to drive it back to her. If you listen
carefully to the in-game instructions, you should have no problems with
that.
If you are experienced in the Underground series, the game's principles
should be no problem to you. But, in case you're a newcomer, this FAQ will
cover the basics to quickly get you on your way.
The game goes like this: by participating of races, you get paid if you win.
This money can be used to enhance your car's visuals and performance parts.
These upgrades will not only allow you to be more competitive, but will play
a major role when it comes to guarantee the game's continuity. The more
upgrades you get, the bigger the number of races you'll have access to.
Depending on how you win a race, you are also awarded reputation points,
which are supposed to help unlock new parts for further car enhancement.
If you make much more points or finish many seconds earlier than your
opponents, you gain reputation points, that can vary according to your
performance. However, since there are no explicit locations in the game
telling that reputation points are used for new unlocks, this is still
only a theory. Despite it seems to be just what it happens.
Mainly, this version brings 3 new racing modes: Urban Racing League or URL,
Street X and Out Run, which will be explained further.
This game is fairly long, has a decent story line, and of course, plenty of
speed an action. It comes with a variety of car models that come with
complete sets of stock parts that can be changed for others, in order to
upgrade it. The game will also feature some occasions where you are called
to take pictures of your car for a magazine cover or a DVD.
Anyways, I strongly suggest you to play Need for Speed Underground 2: it is
a great game that will keep you entertained for many hours to come.
Note: after you return Rachel's car, you'll be able to choose a car for you
to start your carreer. There are quite a few available, but I strongly
recommend you to pick either the Mazda Miata or the Peugeot 206.
*********************
The World Map
*********************
By pressing "M" into exploration mode, you can access the game's World Map.
A new window will be displayed showing a map of Bayview, your car, rival
cars, shops and events. These are represented by different types of icons:
shops are colored dots, events are little colored doughnuts, sponsored
events are "X". Your car is the green arrow and the opponent's is the orange
arrow. To the left part of this window you'll learn more about the events
and its respective colors in the map.
As Rachel says, you can change many options of the map along the game's
menus. This one's particularly useful: by clicking on an event name of your
choice be the left part of the window, you can choose to prevent it from
being shown on the map. It is a good thing to remember when your map is like
a Christmas tree. This way you can see events that are drawn below others.
It's called "filtering" the map. As you advance in the game, you'll realize
that new areas will be unlocked for you to visit in search of new races.
When these areas are not yet available, you'll see a red wall with a lock
drawn into it preventing you to go further in that street. It's funny to see
that the wall actually only works against the types of you, since other AI
controlled vehicles can come and go as they please =)
An easy way to find out what areas have been unlocked is to use the tiny
arrows located at the top of the World Map window. As you pan through the
options, the map will zoom into that particular area, so that you'll know
what he's talking about.
***********************
Using the GPS System
***********************
Your ride comes equipped with a GPS system (as well as thousands of other
gadgets) that allows you to quickly find a specific event or shop on the
map. To activate it, Press the "M" key to open the map subsystem, then use
your mouse to click at the point you want to go. The game'll ask you if you
really want to enable your GPS, and if you answer yes, you’ll notice that
after a few moments scanning for a connection, a blue arrow appears above
you. Be aware that the arrow will not just point directly at the target -
it'll actually teach you what streets you should get into in order to reach
your goal.
Sometimes the blue arrow will seem like it's jumping and as if it is pretty
indecisive about which way to get, but never worry - since there's normally
more than 1 route to choose from, when you get into split ways and wide
roads, it might be the case that your current alignment causes the arrow to
act like that. Just pick the street that seems to please you the most.
Even if you completely miss an entrance and the arrow points the opposite
way, it will re-draw another route and point into a new direction after a
while. At the expense of some time, sure.
You can rely on it to get to places within a limited time, when the game
demands such thing (like when there's a magazine willing to take a picture
of your car).In this case, you might not want to go against the GPS system,
cause you'll very probably waste time. So, be extra-careful to make sure
that you're going to where the arrow tells you to go.
There are quite a few regions along the city where the GPS will stop
responding, and a "searching satellite" message will show. Generally, this
occurs when you drive into a parking lot or a pull-over spot or something.
But never worry, these signal failures are hardly ever going to make your
life harder. If you engage your GPS and the arrow still won't show up, try
driving along the city for a few meters. It never fails =)
***********************
The SMS System
***********************
SMS stands for Short Message System and it does just what it says. From time
to time, under certain circumstances, someone of the game will send you an
SMS telling you of something good. There'll be an icon of a letter envelope
and a warning sound to tell you got new messages. Press Tab to open the SMS
window and read them. You can access many other options there.
The color of the envelope will vary depending on the subject, which can be a
new component to tune up your car, new visuals, or new cars. Additionally,
if you drive into red "i" located along the city, a green SMS envelope will
be sent to you - these are hints given by the game, most of them pretty
obvious, some others quite useful, telling you about new shop locations.
*** =================== ***
*** / The Racing Events / ***
*** =================== ***
*******
Drag
*******
One of my personal favs. Your objective is to speed up as most as you can in
a pre-determined straightway in order to reach the finish line. You don't
have to worry about reducing speed to enter a curve or numbers of laps and
the usual. In this mode, even if you use automatic shifting, you'll have to
shift gears by yourself, because a good timing when it comes to shift gears
is also one of your missions.
This is a rather different racing mode and a race ends pretty quickly. No
time for mistakes or crashes. The screen is also divided differently: to the
left will be located your now huge RPM indicator, and to the right, the N2O
and Turbo pressure indicators, when installed in your car. Don't worry,
they're also huge now =)
The reason for the gauges to be so big is that now you really have to pay
close attention to 'em, especially to your RPMs. Here's how it goes: when
you accelerate, you'll notice that the RPM indicator's needle will change
colors depending on how fast the engine's spinning. These colors represent a
few basic shift periods, shown in the screen when you change to a higher
gear:
< Short Shift! >
You have prematurely changed to a higher gear when your engine was running a
low RPM level. This is one of the cases you'll lose most time until the
engine gathers energy again. The RPM needle should be tinted white or
light-blue.
< Good Shift! >
You switched to a higher gear in a fairly good moment. The waste of power
can be quite smaller that when you short-shift your car. The RPM needle
should be tinted with a darker blue.
< Perfect Shift! >
Hey hotshot! Nice reflexes, you just shifted gears in the perfect moment.
This is the optimum shift when it comes to the time your engine will take
until it gathers rotation to perform the next shift. The RPM needle will be
tinted green, but it just remains green for a few moments. That's your
chance to achieve a perfect shift!
< OverRev! >
You took too much time to shift gears and the RPMs went too high. It's not
good to shift at low RPMs, but it's not good to change when they're
excessively high, either. You'll lose time and power in both cases. The RPM
needle should be tinted red.
Notice that if you remain too much time in the OverRev zone of your RPM
indicator without shifting gears, a red bar will begin to increase to the
left of your RPM indicator: this is your temperature, so be careful: never
let it grow too high or you'll get a blown engine message and your car will
shutdown. Definitely, your worst chance of reaching 1st place.
The controls are pretty different too: you sort of drive within pre-defined
lanes, so that your main concern is to remain accelerating and shifting in
the proper moment. The car will even make slight curves by itself when the
drag raceway is not perfectly straight. But don't rely on this too much: you
still have to avoid traffic by yourself. To do so, press your steering key
until the car changes lane. This can be pretty fancy since the car's
response will decrease at higher speeds, but don't give up until it changes
its lane.
Don't worry about performing small corrections on your path, because it'll
only tell your car to change a whole lane each time you press a key. This
will cause it to lose stability.
At higher speeds, the camera will begin to shake and the world will become
blurry, transmitting to the player a strong sensation of speed, despite some
players find it quite confusing sometimes. Turning off the motion blur in
the game's options can be a simple workaround.
Equip turbos to enhance your horse power and acceleration, and use nitrous
intelligently. Don't spend it all at once, wait for the proper moment to let
go some N2O: if you use too much when the race begins, it might be the case
that you'll not have any to the end of the race. But if you're too late, the
N2O will not make a miracle to you. Your sense of judgment will develop in
time.
************
Street X
************
One of the toughest. The drivers must race through a quite-frequently narrow
circuit, pushing each other in order to obtain the best alignment to
successfully enter a curve. It can be very frustrating sometimes, because
once you couldn't achieve a good position, it might be the case that you'll
not quite be able to reach the opponent or other racers until the end of the
competition.
This means that the Street X mode will quite often not forgive your
mistakes. To ensure better chances, give special attention to your ride's
handling, since you'll need to make very sharp curves. Sometimes when you're
supposed to make a U-turn, you'll actually need to perform a near full stop,
and then spin your car around, and accelerate again as fast as you can. To
keep the gas pedal down during a curve may not be a good idea, since higher
speeds will make your curve arc bigger.
Desperation and bad positioning at start are your worst enemies. But you can
always remain calm, restart the race, and give it another shot =)
***********************************
U.R.L. - Underground Racing League
***********************************
It's actually the less underground-looking event, since it'll take place in
closed circuits without any traffic, and you'll have to accumulate points
after each race to win. Sort of a mini-championship thing. An URL event
consists of 2 or more races, where 4-6 drivers compete. By the end, the one
with the highest score wins.
Not much to say about this one - just keep an eye on the AI rival cars on
the final lap, because they can become REAL nasty to you, popping out from
nowhere at ridiculously high speeds through nitrous.
*******
Drift
*******
In this mode, your objective is to achieve points by drifting. Depending on
your speed, number of wheels involved in the drift and the multiplying
factors, the score is affected accordingly. Mainly, if you drift pretty fast
with rubber being burnt from your 4 wheels, you'll score better than a slow,
controlled drift.
To drift, gather some speed and try to de-stabilize your car by steering
from one side to another quickly.
By the top-left corner of the screen there is a panel in which you can see
how many points you'll need to increase the score multiplying factor. Make
sure to keep it high to ensure that your drifts will be properly rewarded.
But watch out: if during a drift you hit a wall, none of the points you were
accumulating nor the multiplying factor will be kept. They'll all return to
their original states and you'll have to start another drift move. This can
be very frustrating, especially when you scored some serious points.
To give priority to the car control and trajectory is strongly recommended.
It's best to keep what you already reached then to risk yourself and lose it
all. Basically, there are 2 categories of Drift stages: the circuit-like
drift stages, and the downhill stage. On the circuit-like, the road is
mostly flat, you'll find stripes on the edges of the road all along the
circuit and you race against other cars in real time. When you drift over
these stripes located on each side of the road, you score many more points
than drifting over a regular surface. But be careful, since they are very
close to the walls.
The downhill stage is a little different: you don't actually see your
opponent's cars; you're supposed to beat pre-determined scores. Let us say
the AI car that ranked 1st scored 100.000 points - to win the race, you are
supposed to score at least 100.001 points. You get the idea. In a downhill
stage, there are no side-road stripes: instead, the super-score areas are
located in some parts where there's some sort of gravel or sand. Also,
another super-score condition is when an AI-controlled traffic car is
nearby. Stay alert for these opportunities, and take double caution not to
hit the traffic cars - their effect is the same of the walls. Another known
super score area are sidewalks found in certain parts of the downhill stage.
Very difficult to take advantage of them because of their proximity to the
guard rails.
In some downhill stages, there are also some sorts of shortcuts where the
pavement is not quite asphalt, and act as super-score areas. These are
actually quite wide, so they are supposed to be considered as top-priority
if you want to score some serious points! If done correctly, one can easily
score 40-50 thousand points in a single drift in these areas. Generally,
these shortcuts are located to your right, and their pavement is stone-like.
You can also sense a fairly strong change of grip when you drive through
'em.
The usage of the handbrake is very important; with it, you can achieve
higher curve rates, so you will also be able to perform better drifts.
********
Sprint
********
This mode consists of driving in a free-style course from point A to B. To
the upper right part of the screen, it is possible to see the course
completion in %.
These courses offer a variety of shortcuts, so you can save valuable time
using them. Looking at your mini-map can be a nice strategy to judge how
fast you're supposed to go if you desire to turn safely through sharp turns.
Balance things well, you're still supposed to actually drive by visuals, not
only by your map =)
*********
Circuit
*********
The circuit events take place in the middle of the city, along a course that
one can drive a number of times around it. Like the URLs, but with traffic
and no guard-rails or specific things you'd expect to see in a formula
something circuit.
Along the course, you'll see that there are plenty of virtual walls with
arrow-like polygons drawn into them, in order to make sure you'll grab the
right path. Remember that since it's actually inside the city, without these
virtual walls you'd have very nice chances of getting completely off course.
Which somehow could be funny for others to watch. For others =)
*********
Out Run
*********
Talk about freestyle. In this mode, you pick the race anytime, anyplace, and
the course is yours to invent. Surely, under a few circumstances...
The out run races go like this: you spot an opponent car while you're
cruising in the exploration mode (the orange arrows in the map). Then you go
after him. These cars are normally modified as well, so it's not that hard
to differentiate from traffic. Stick right behind it and wait for a signal:
when the opponent's ready, your mobile phone by the top-left part of the
screen will ring, and you'll also hear a mobile ringing.
You'll also notice that the opponent's brake lights will become blurry,
depending on the graphics card settings (the mobile thingy is more
dependable). If you press your "enter race" key (default: Enter), the rival
car will accept your challenge to out run it.
You are supposed to trespass it and set 300 meters of distance between you
and the opponent in order to win. The same goes on the contrary: if you get
300 meters away from it while he has the lead, you're basically screwed.
There is a distance gauge in the top-left part of the screen that indicates
that distance.
If you're behind him big time, a GPS-like arrow will show up (only it's
golden) so you can see where it is when you lost visual contact. If you have
the lead, try to out run your rival as much as you can: as said before, you
are free to create your own course in real time, so drive into sharp turns,
be unpredictable and you may increase your chances of winning.
Out Run races can also be used as a source to obtain unique parts for your
car: if you keep winning out runs one after another, after some time you'll
receive an SMS telling you that you acquired the right to get an unique part
- this part can be either a visual upgrade, an Engine upgrade, weight
reduction kit or nitrous upgrade. Further details about the uniques
management will be given later on.
Between the UK and US versions of the game, there are 31 cars. In this
section, you'll find their names, manufacturers and performance data.
The data herein has been obtained by putting all cars into the Dyno, then
reading their numbers. Notice that these numbers are read when the cars
have not received any kind of upgrade - they're in their complete-stock
state.
1. Acura RSX Type S
Type : FWD
Torque : 192 Nm @ 6600 RPM
Power : 149.3 kW @ 7550 RPM
2. Audi TT
Type : AWD
Torque : 320 Nm @ 2600 RPM
Power : 185.7 kW @ 6200 RPM
3. Audi A3
Type : AWD
Torque : 318.8 Nm @ 3350 RPM
Power : 186.2 kW @ 6650 RPM
4. Cadillac Escalade
Type : AWD
Torque : 515 Nm @ 4050 RPM
Power : 257.7 kW @ 5350 RPM
5. Ford Focus ZX3
Type : FWD
Torque : 181.9 Nm @ 4700 RPM
Power : 97.2 kW @ 5500 RPM
6. Ford Mustang GT
Type : RWD
Torque : 424.4 Nm @ 4350 RPM
Power : 223.6 kW @ 5800 RPM
7. Honda Civic Si
Type : FWD
Torque : 151 Nm @ 6600 RPM
Power : 118.3 kW @ 7550 RPM
8. Hummer H2
Type : AWD
Torque : 522 Nm @ 3400 RPM
Power : 242 kW @ 5350 RPM
9. Hyundai Tiburon GT
Type : FWD
Torque : 239 Nm @ 4000 RPM
Power : 135.5 kW @ 6250 RPM
10. Infiniti G35
Type : RWD
Torque : 364.8 Nm @ 4950 RPM
Power : 208 kW @ 5850 RPM
11. Lexus IS300
Type : RWD
Torque : 294.3 Nm @ 3900 RPM
Power : 159.8 kW @ 5450 RPM
12. Lincoln Navigator
Type : RWD
Torque : 479.3 Nm @ 2750 RPM
Power : 224.1 kW @ 5350 RPM
13. Mazda Miata MX-5
Type : RWD
Torque : 148.4 Nm @ 5800 RPM
Power : 95.5 kW @ 6650 RPM
14. Mazda RX-7
Type : RWD
Torque : 292.7 Nm @ 5650 RPM
Power : 190.7 kW @ 6600 RPM
15. Mazda RX-8
Type : RWD
Torque : 215 Nm @ 5950 RPM
Power : 177 kW @ 8000 RPM
16. Mitsubishi 3000GT
Type : AWD
Torque : 426.8 Nm @ 2500 RPM
Power : 238.4 kW @ 5800 RPM
17. Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX
Type : AWD
Torque : 290 Nm @ 3350 RPM
Power : 155.8 kW @ 5850 RPM
18. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII
Type : AWD
Torque : 368.9 Nm @ 3350 RPM
Power : 201.7 kW @ 5850 RPM
19. Nissan 240SX
Type : RWD
Torque : 215.6 Nm @ 4700 RPM
Power : 115.8 kW @ 5450 RPM
20. Nissan 350Z
Type : RWD
Torque : 369.7 Nm @ 5000 RPM
Power : 214.1 kW @ 5850 RPM
21. Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V
Type : FWD
Torque : 243 Nm @ 3900 RPM
Power : 130.4 kW @ 6250 RPM
22. Nissan Skyline R34 GTR
Type : AWD
Torque : 298.8 Nm @ 6550 RPM
Power : 206.2 kW @ 6600 RPM
23. Peugeot 106
Unknown (non-UK gamer)
24. Peugeot 206 GTI
Type : FWD
Torque : 192 Nm @ 3900 RPM
Power : 102.9 kW @ 6250 RPM
25. Pontiac GTO
Type : RWD
Torque : 495 Nm @ 3900 RPM
Power : 260.2 kW @ 5450 RPM
26. Subaru WRX Impreza
Type : AWD
Torque : 404.5 Nm @ 4200 RPM
Power : 223.5 kW @ 5850 RPM
27. Toyota Celica GT-S
Type : FWD
Torque : 175.9 Nm @ 6550 RPM
Power : 134.5 kW @ 7850 RPM
28. Toyota Corolla GTS
Type : RWD
Torque : 129.9 Nm @ 5000 RPM
Power : 83.6 kW @ 6650 RPM
29. Toyota Supra
Type : RWD
Torque : 285 Nm @ 5000 RPM
Power : 168.1 kW @ 5850 RPM
30. Volkswagen Golf GTi
Type : FWD
Torque : 234.7 Nm @ 2350 RPM
Power : 134.4 kW @ 5800 RPM
31. Vauxhaul Corsa
Unknown (non-UK gamer)
Notice that the Peugeot 106 and the Vauxhaul Corsa are only available in the
UK version, and that Acura RSX and Honda Civic are only available in the US
version.
*** ========================== ***
*** / Visuals and Car Upgrades / ***
*** ========================== ***
This is what NFSU 2 is mostly about: car tuning. In this section, you'll
learn about what parts can be added to your car and their effects to it.
During the game, you will receive SMS messages to inform about unlocks; that
is, new parts are available for you to purchase and pimp your ride, man.
These parts can be obtained in various shops along the city, each one of
them represented by a specific color on your map. By collecting "i" SMS
messages (the ones that are spread through the city and you drive over to
get), some of them inform you about the positions of these hidden shops. For
this purpose, I have generated a map from the screenshot of my own game. I
didn't copy anyone else's map, and you can actually see it's been taken from
my game. And I ain't nobody's bitch. There are 2 versions of my map: one
with descriptions on it, and one without them. Here are the links:
Just copy and paste. If you mistype, it won't go right (even rhymes and all
that). The most important part is that the .JPG extension must be in
upper-case because of my bastard server. Still, if you're sure you typed it
right and the images won't show up, mail me and tell me about the broken
link.
Remember that, by visiting new shops, you also unlock a big number of new
parts and that the reputation points are supposed to play a role on
unlocking.
The shops have different lights close to them, so you'll know when you're
coming close to these. An example of different light is the purple light
close to your garage, the one Rachel tells you to drop her ride. The shop
lights are just like that, only they are in colors such as yellow, blue,
cyan, red and green. Below, a brief cover about the star rewarding system,
and about the shops and their respective lights.
******************************
Visuals: The stars system
******************************
In this game, you can actively change the way your car looks by installing
visual parts or changing other properties such as its paint or adding
decals. Depending on how cool your car looks, you are awarded stars that
will call other people's attention and increase the amount of cash you earn
when invited to take pictures for a magazine cover.
Some shops offer options to personalize your colors; others will install
other parts such as spoilers or underglow neons.
Down below there's a list of what parts each shop will offer, depending on
how many parts you have unlocked in the game:
< Body Shops (green light) >
In body shops you can find skirts, spoilers, roof scoops, mirrors, hoods,
headlights and backlights, wide body kits and carbon fiber parts. You can
find anything in carbon fiber except for the lights, sure. Carbon fiber
parts are considered "cooler" than regular parts.
There are also options to convert your trunk and body kit to carbon fiber.
This will increase your stars for sure.
< Paint Shops (red light) >
In these shops, you can change the base-color of your car and paint many
other parts, like spoilers, roof scoops and all that. Depending on the paint
type and on how many parts have been painted in non-stock colors, your stars
will increase accordingly.
Carbon fiber parts cannot be painted, so you have to decide whether you'll
install a regular part or a carbon fiber part, and which of the two will
look or feel better.
In a paint shop, you can also apply vinyls and decals to your car; however,
you cannot apply these to a carbon fiber surface, like a hood, for example.
< Car Specialties Shops (yellow light) >
This is where you can install neons, new gauges, nitrous purge systems and
modify other structures like your trunk. Here, you can also install
hydraulic suspension kits, car audio and LCDs, and doors.
The finishing touch for any ride.
********************************
A Word About Car Visuals
********************************
The game offers a ton of options to personalize your car, and sometimes the
player may find it difficult to decide which part to equip, since some parts
that will look better may not always reward with more stars, or vice-versa.
For example: carbon fiber parts offer much higher star ratings, but may not
look as good as a pretty decent vinyl artwork. These parts will also limit
your car painting. But the coolest thing in the game is that you don't
necessarily have to equip the highest-rated parts in order to be able to
build a 10-star car. Here's why:
There are so many visual parts available and so many options to personalize
these parts that the star rating may reach its maximum without forcing you
to always use the parts that have the highest ratings. Specially when the
percentage of unlocks is fairly high.
I have had a tough time myself trying to increase the number of stars when
there were not many unlocks, and I had the impression I'd have to end up
building a completely carbon fiber-based car. But when I advanced more
through the game I realized it was not necessary.
Later on, I even managed to build a 10-star Honda Civic without really
needing to use carbon fiber at all, nor engine neons, or other things that
do not exactly please me.
Keep in mind that it is important to get more stars, but even more is to
have a car that you're glad to ride because of the way it looks. And that
fortunately, the game allows you to do that ;)
These upgrades will take care of the actual strength attributes of your car,
which are: acceleration, top speed and handling. They can be found in
performance shops:
< Performance Shops (blue light) >
Sells upgrades for your engine, ECU, suspension, brakes, turbo, nitrous, and
also offers weight reduction kits. Their relation to the attributes are:
Engine - acceleration and top speed
ECU - acceleration and top speed
Suspension - handling
Brakes - handling
Turbo - acceleration and top speed
Nitrous - acceleration and top speed
Weight reduction - acceleration and handling
3 graphic bars to the bottom of your car inform you about your ride's
current status. Depending on which parts have been installed, one or more of
the attributes will increase.
When you are about to install a performance upgrade, the game will ask about
which manufacturer you would like the part to be. It is up to you to choose
one brand for each part, but I don't think it actually affects the evolution
of your car in any way. Maybe it is a way to find out how much one loves one
brand or another.
**************************
Unique Upgrade Parts
**************************
As said before, you can get unique upgrade parts if you keep winning Out Run
races. The uniques, as well as other upgrades, can be found in 2 categories:
the visual or the performance uniques. Then, when you get the SMS, follow
the instructions in it then head to the shop where it's supposed to be
found. Remember that for visual upgrades, you must head to a specific Body
Shop, and for the performance uniques, you must head to a Performance Shop
that is also specific to this occasion. Don't worry, the correct shops are
displayed on your map and can be tracked by GPS.
The visual unique installation demands a little less attention, because only
one is distributed at a time: it can be a spoiler, or a wide body kit, for
example. However, something different goes with the performance uniques:
when you reach the performance shop to get your special part, there will be
3 upgrades available to choose from. You can pick either an engine upgrade,
a weight reduction kit or a nitrous upgrade. Decide which of the 3 suits you
better.
However, if you enter Out Runs regularly, you may be called enough times to
actually get all 3 upgrades for one car of your choice. Just remember what
was the upgrade you chose last time so you can make sure to always get a
different one. It may sound pretty obvious, but you can't actually see
anywhere in the game whether your performance part is an unique or not; you
can only feel like your car's become more powerful. So it is important to
remember which ones you already got.
In this section, you will read about some strategies to make sure you are
the first to cross the finish line, and about some tactical information that
is quite convenient to know, but you'll find them nowhere else but here.
(I'm not too sure about that last part =)
*********************************
The Nitrous-refill techniques
*********************************
Yeah, you read it right: you don't have to buy a new bottle of nitrous oxide
to keep bustin' out there in the streets: in this game, there are a few ways
to keep you filled with N2O's power. By driving in a stylish way and
performing sets of moves, you gather points that are quickly converted to
nitrous.
Above your RPM indicator, there is a blue gauge: it's your nitrous level
indicator. It has 2 levels: one represented by a dark-blue color, and level
2 is represented by a cyan-like color. Directly above these indications, the
stylish driving points mentioned above show up when you perform a move.
These nitrous-refill events are listed below:
< Avoided Accident >
Offers you 100 points, which can be obtained when you swiftly avoid
colliding with another car, generally coming the opposite way. It is also
possible to receive points by evading cars going the same way as you are,
but that will demand that you are at higher speeds.
It can be made in most racing modes, more frequently in the ones that
there's traffic; and also in the exploration mode.
To perform an avoidance, drive real close to an AI traffic car, for example.
Line yourself parallel to it and then make sure you won't touch yourselves.
Soon, there should appear that 100 points were obtained, followed by a small
increase on your nitrous level.
These points have a multiplying factor if the maneuver is performed
correctly in a row. The multiplier can go as high as 5X.
< Clear Section/Lap >
Can only be made inside a race. If you drive smoothly, without hitting any
guard rails or walls, at some locations the game will reward you with 150
points. This nitrous refilling tactic also has a multiplier, that increases
each time you clear one of the race's sections without bumping around.
About achieving a clear lap, the same goes: don't hit any guard rails/walls
during the whole lap. Also has a multiplyer, and is worth 500 points. WAY
tougher to do.
< Hydros / Bounce >
Can only be made with cars that have hydraulic suspension. Press and hold
"H" and then use an arrow key to lift a specific part of your car. For
example: the up arrow lifts your car's front, the left key lifts the wheels
to the left of your car.
Try to add some rhythm to your car's dance and the nitrous points will
gradually increase. A simple example of a dance is to press sequentially
down-up-up-down, and repeat this over and over, while the "H" key is
pressed.
You'll also receive nitrous points by bouncing with hydraulics: press and
hold the "J" key and then press another arrow key to bounce off a little.
You'll be rewarded nitrous points after a while.
< Reverse >
Driving backwards can ensure you some nitrous points. Depending on how long
you drive without bumping into anything else, you receive points
accordingly.
< Drafting >
By entering another car's vacuum region, you are awarded nitrous-points,
depending on how much time you remain in this region. To do this, stick to
your opponents’ rear and watch your points increase. Surely, there are
minimum speeds for an area of vacuum to be formed, so don't expect to get
nitrous just by chasing a 30 km/h turtle.
< Lead Lap / Position gain >
Can only be done in racing events that involve either one or both of these
(laps and positions), which sounds pretty damn obvious to me.
Every time you cross the start line as the race leader, you are awarded 150
points, multiplier-possible. Also, when you gain positions you receive
points, depending on the position you got.
< Spray show >
As weird as it may sound, if you purge some nitrous away from you, you are
awarded nitrous points shortly after. To perform a spray show, simply press
the N2O key while letting go on the gas pedal. Do not do it with the gas
pedal down because it will just speed you up, no spray show thingy.
You are then rewarded with 100 nitrous points, quite often more than you
wasted by throwing N2O away. Of course, if you pressed the nitrous key
quickly. You always have the option to keep it pressed all day long, but
that's not my business.
It's convenient to remember that if you modified your nitrous purge system,
the N2O cloud that is dispersed will look different from one car to another.
< Power Slide >
By performing a power slide (a sort of drift), you receive points, too.
Depending on how long you spent drifting, the points vary accordingly. Like
the drift stages, if you touch a wall or bump into someone, the power slide
reward will fall back to zero.
< 360s >
Not very fancy to do, not so easy to explain. Basically, consists of
spinning around drawing a circle in the ground with your car. Each 360 is
worth 400 nitrous points, so they're definitely something to try.
< Head Start >
If your car's got enough horse power and acceleration, you may be rewarded
with head start points quite often. Only supposed to happen in races, except
drift.
When the 3-2-1-go lady (I should work on this name too) tells you to lift
off, and you have accelerated very quickly, you'll advance further than your
opponents; that is when the game gives you 200 nitrous points. Remember the
horse power and acceleration attributes.
< Burnout >
Doesn't always happen, and is by far the most temperamental nitrous-refill
technique. It's based on how much time your tires get spinning without
pushing your car forward - that is, they spin so fast that they can't
generate traction.
It also depends on how much power your car can generate, your drivetrain
settings and all that. To do it, you can either push the gas pedal and hold,
while in automatic shifting, or accelerate to maximum in Neutral position,
then engage the 1st gear, while in manual shifting.
Remember that it does not always happen, and by the times you perform it,
it only happens once. If there is some formula to always perform a burnout,
I really don't know.
< Shortcut >
It happens when you, during a race or in exploration mode, find and enter a
shortcut. Normally these feature different pavement and are quite a bit
tricky to be found, but still do-able. You'll then be rewarded with 200
nitrous points.
< Hang Time >
You are awarded nitrous points depending on how much time you spent on the
air during a jump. While in flight, "Hang Time" will be displayed and the
nitrous points will begin to count, until you land once again.
< J-Turn >
This maneuver is performed by driving in reverse, then quickly performing
a 180 degree turn, and accelerating forward. To do this, drive in reverse
up to 70 km/h (don't let the reverse nitrous points begin to count) then
turn you car around and accelerate. If done correctly, you should gain 500
nitrous points.
Remember that 70 km/h is the minimum speed for the maneuver to be considered.
(Thanks for Wong Su Kun for this technique.)
< Cleared Accident >
By far, the less frequent. To make this maneuver, you are supposed to
drive above an AI traffic car. The more cars you overfly, the higher
your multiplier will be. Definitely some technique to watch out for,
since you get 1000 points for each car you drive above!
(Thanks for Wong Su Kun for this technique.)
*****************************************
Observations about the nitrous gauge
*****************************************
The nitrous gauge represents graphically how much N2O you have stored inside
your tanks. Well, since the stylish-driving points are given numerically,
wouldn't it be convenient if you could numerically know how much can be
stored in your tanks?
Sure it would. According to my calculations, each level of the Nitrous gauge
holds approximately 1475 points, and since there are 2 levels, a total of
2950 points. Not really, really useful, but it was something nice to know,
and something I could do =)
As well as your nitrous level can be increased, some amounts of N2O can be
taken away from you in case you hit traffic directly and cause an accident
for example. The situations of increase/decrease nitrous listed above are
the ones known by me, and some others were contributions from the readers
of this guide.
***********************
The "hidden" races
***********************
Well, they are not quite hidden, they are just not displayed explicitly on
your map. Sometimes, especially when you drive from one district to another,
you are subject to receive a phone call of someone telling you something
like this:
"Yo man, have you heard about the rumors of racing on the
district goes here>? I heard they were noobs and should be easy pickings, if
you're near, can you check it our and let me know? Thanks!"
or
"Hey dog, there's some racing going on the , I
haven't been able to pinpoint the exact location, but you should be able to
find it without much problem. That's it, cya, peace."
Then the guy hangs up the phone. Sometimes he says he's headed that way, and
the voice message may vary a little, but the important thing to get is the
name of the district in which he said the race was on.
It seems to be important to enter these races regularly, because there are
cases of players stuck at a certain point of the game with no events to
enter. When you enter these races, you reduce your chances of running out of
events.
I didn't really get looking for these races, myself. What I've done was to,
when enroute to a GPS-mapped event, stay alert for "enter race spots" that
weren't displayed on the map. My priority was to enter them, because since
their position was uncertain, I couldn't afford to race them later on. Since
you can't track them with GPS, it's easy to forget where they'll be some
next time.
This is a simple tactic that may ensure a better gaming experience, cos no
one really wants keep riding through the city without an objective.
***************************
Car Lot Transactions
***************************
Once in a while, you'll receive SMS messages telling you that some new cars
are available for you to get on the nearest Car Lot. That sounds nice, since
the sponsors are the ones who pay them for you. And you can hold up to five
cars, depending on how many sponsorships you got.
But be aware: if you already reached your maximum number of cars (which may
not necessarily be 5), AND you want to get another one, you have to get rid
of one. Take extra attention not to trade-in a car that you have already
tuned, bought upgrade parts and spent serious money on it. THERE ARE NO
REFUNDS. For that purpose, choose some car you haven't even touched or some
you modified very little.
When you chosse a new car and you have no space to keep it, the game will ask
you if you want to get rid of the car you are driving at the present moment or
some other. Be cautious to make your choice accordinlgy.
In NFSU 2, you can't sell cars either. The car trade-in and subsequent money
loss almost happened to me once, and happened to a friend of mine. So keep in
mind that losses on the Car Lot are possible and quite frequent.
The same concept is valid for getting cars when you still have space in your
garage: the parts you have will not transfer to your new ride. And you can't
sell them for the money.
In Need for Speed Underground 2, it is known that a large number of people
usually get stuck in a certain percentage of the game. This can be a
particularly big problem, because being stuck means:
a) No races
b) No cash
c) No action
d) Anger, impatience and a will to uninstall the game
e) A will to throw your computer through the nearest window
f) All choices above
Most of us know that option "F" is quite often the most common found out
there. I do not disagree with these players, since the game lacks, in some
way, a feedback to warn players about what to do to keep going. Mostly,
players will become careless since they can rely on their map and GPS to go
after races, but what to do when there are no more races displayed?
To avoid these situations of inactivity, there are a few things that can be
done to keep you away from this. This explanation will be given based on my
own gaming experience on NFSU 2, since I never really got stuck in any part
of the game.
Please, understand that there are no specific ways to get things moving for
"Player A who is stuck on 15%" or "Player B who got stuck on 43% of the
game". The apparent solutions for cases of inactivity are somewhat quite
generic, but appear to be effective despite of that. If still, after reading
and fully accomplishing the demands listed below, you can't get past some
point, DO NOT EMAIL ME asking what to do. This game has some glitches and
facts without explanation for which I CANNOT be held responsible.
The synthesis of this knowledge will be listed below, in a few rules:
1- Keep your stars shining in the sky
Always try to keep your stars as high as possible. It is known that the
magazine photo opportunities cause the game to keep going and new races to
be displayed. This situation may represent a quite unpleasant problem: ugly
cars.
Sometimes, one may not have many visual unlocks to equip their cars with; as
a consequence, not too many choices to make, and very easily the car will
not look as the player really, really wants. But you're stuck in the game,
doesn't know what to do, and is about to make a frisbee out of your graphics
card - who could stop this mayhem??
It happens that installing the visuals that are currently available just to
increase your star points are a way out. Yeah, carbon fiber everywhere, even
carbon fiber tires, just to make more stars and then some freakin' magazine
calls you out of the ashes.
Only if you're very lucky, in such cases your car won't look like kitchen
laminate paper or a walking circus. But remember it's for a noble cause:
they will call you for some photos, the game will go on and you can get rid
of these horrible visuals as soon as you think.
However, it's not all like gloom and doom out there. It's possible to don't
have a circus ride if you care about the unlocking tactics covered below.
And even if you passed the point you were stuck, congratulations, but keep
in mind that you can't relax until you're the king - therefore, never stop
enhancing your vehicle. By doing this, you will prevent this from happening
again.
2- To Unlock, hit the shop
Always get to visit new shops as soon as you can. By visiting new shops, the
game will unlock quite a few new parts for you. After a number of races, you
should receive SMS messages telling about a new part or two. But going to
new shops are also very important and must be considered as a high priority
duty.
Remember going to new shops especially when the computer gives you access to
new parts of the city. Every new area has its shops, each one of them will
bring you new parts.
3- Disappearing stars that don't become supernovas
When you get called by a magazine to take pictures of your car or to show up
on a DVD cover, a star will appear on the map as usual. However, there are
cases that when one of these stars are displayed, and you decide to enter
some race before taking the picture, the stars simply disappear. And that
can be pretty dam nasty.
I also took this risk quite a few times when on my way to take a picture,
found a hidden race and decided to enter it before talking to the magazine
guys. The reason why the star never disappeared might have been pure luck.
But I recommend you to don't take any chances: in this game, the cases where
players get stuck are for real. Give the stars high priority and get there
as soon as you can.
4- You are elle? No way, I'd rather stick to URLs.
Not so commonly known to players is that the Underground Racing League
events are quite possibly the ones of biggest importance. They are also
quite attractive because of the payouts. You can earn a lot of money if you
win. Plus, they are rather cool.
However, in case you're some drag freak that cares about drag races more
than anything, be advised that, in order to finish the game, you have to
complete all the URL events, PLUS you have to build a 10-star car. Only
after that, and only then, you will be allowed to face Caleb himself, the
motherf***a who ambushed you out 6 months ago.
My opportunity to race Caleb happened when I was at 65-66% percent of the
game complete and entering URLs like crazy. Then I noticed that there was a
new circuit event available. When I entered, there was a short comic-like
animation where Caleb called you out to compete with him face to face. And
that's what happens:
The circuit is very long, starts out near the airport, has 5 laps and it's
the only 1 vs. 1 circuit in career mode. If these are the characteristics
you see, then you've done everything right in the game and is ready for the
ultimate showdown.
*** ========================= ***
*** / After you Finish NFSU 2 / ***
*** ========================= ***
Raise a hand and wave to the crowd... you finished the game!!! However, it
is known that if one finishes the game, it's quite possible that the game's
completion rate never exceeded 65-66%. That's probably because of the way
the game was built. This section was written to provide you a little more
hours of fun on career mode.
As you finish the game, you'll receive an SMS message from Rachel Teller,
telling you (well, that's normally what tellers do =) that you finished the
game, and that by acessing the option "World Map" from you garage, you can
re-race any event. And that's where the remaining 34% of the game can be
completed:
In any moment while you're in exploration mode, hit Esc and then choose
"Jump to Garage". In there, press right once then select "World Map". By the
new window that appears, press the left or right arrow keys to select one of
the 5 game stages. Then, press up and down to select an event. Select the
ones marked as "Not Completed", then enter them.
And this is how you race the remaining 34%! However, you may notice that
just by doing what was mentioned above will not award you with points or
cash after the end of a race. But I noticed something pretty strange, and
somewhat quite useful: if you hit Esc when inside a race, then choose to
restart and win, you'll get the cash! It was something that happened to me,
but then I confirmed with other fellow players. I wasn't really trying to
discover this; I think I just restarted because I messed up some race and
then noticed this occurance.
I believe this is a glitch from the game or something. I don't really know
if there are patches to prevent you to exploit this, but who cares? Racing
for free is not quite my style, especially on Underground 2 ;)
As far as I know, besides the "Restart for cash" glitch described in the
previous section, the Out Run races have proven quite buggy sometimes.
I believe it's hard for the computer to actually determine who is winning or
when one car trespasses the other when it comes to a freestyle race course.
So it happens that, sometimes when the AI opponent crashes and you trespass
him, theoretically gaining the Lead... you just keep in second place, and
since your speed is quite often very high, you push the knife against you -
the distance increases dramatically, making it easier for the nutty bot to
score his 300 meters of distance.
Or sometimes when you nitidly have the lead, and then the computer takes a
wrong path. Apparently he's behind you, but then you lose the lead from
nowhere. And you're basically screwed. Also, there are cases that the
distance indicator seems to be uncertain of your actual distance from the AI
car when you're leading - it happens that the distance gauge begins to jump,
and once I could even defeat my opponent without reaching 300 meters. I
still had like 70 meters to go, but I think the AI just gave up ;)
I'm not certain if there are correction patches or any effort to correct
these at all. Anyways, it's nice to know that something spooky doesn't only
happen to you. Don't blame yourself and/or your computer. It might be the
game... just don't always use this excuse =)
It is also known that, at a certain point, Rachel sends you an SMS message
telling you to give back her car - NOW! Only one problem: You're on 47% of
the game, or in some cases you have even finished it. Here's how it happened
to me:
After I finished the game, I began to race the events that were still
remaining. After some race from stage 1, I received this message. But,
before freaking out, I remembered that I created a new account a short
while ago, to feel Rachel's car power compared to mine. I realized there
were 2 races you could enter with her car, on the meantime before you return
the car. Then, after completing these 2 races, I received the EXACT SAME SMS
I received after I finished the game!
Here's an explanation: most players (like me) feel like giving the car back
to her before anything else, and don't enter these races. But they are still
there somewhere. If, on some moment other than the car returning, you finish
these races, the game will keep on sending you the SMS in any ways. This is
a spooky glitch that confuse most players, but not something to be worried
about. I could still get 100% even after receiving this.
*** ===================================== ***
*** / Common Questions (and their answers)/ ***
*** ===================================== ***
In this section you'll find an ever-increasing database of questions I receive
the most via email. Since they are very stupid questions in general, I open
this section also as a method for idiocy avoidance. That is: make sure you
also read this, because the question you *might* ask may already be answered
here (I'm beginning to repeat myself, no?). The reason I used might is because
I don't necessarily think you're dumb enough to ask me one of these. Not really.
Seriously. Here we go:
Q: Where can I get the european version of the game?
A: In Europe.
Q: I'm in 20,735% of the game and there are some cars I wanna get, but I'm not
sure which I'm gonna pick. What do you think?
A: I think you should learn to make decisions. Plus, 20,735% of the game is
a very early stage and you should worry about improving the ride you already
have, not buying parts over and over every time a new car appears.
Q: How can I see the magazine/DVD covers again?
A: Someone with such amazing menu navigation skills should have no problem
with this little... task. However, if you DO want to hear my explanation
about it, I'll give you one: in carreer mode, enter your garage then choose
"View Rewards". It's as simple as that.
Q: I'm stuck in 9,25% of the game and I don't know what to do, I called my
parents and they said I should see a psychiatrist, what should I do? Do you
have any ideas?
A: Not really. Most of what I could've said about the game continuity issues...
was already said. So if you can't go any further, double-check my advices and
if you still can't do anything about it, start your game over again and
seriously follow the rules herein. It can't be THAT hard to finish the game
without getting stuck, since I did it without problems, and it was the first
time I EVER played the game, and I'm almost finishing it a second time. Oh,
and treat your parents well, they are far more experienced than you are =)
Q: I can't find any outrun rivals in town!
A: Geez, how do you ppl get to achieve this? For pete's sake... anyway, this
may be solved after you enter and finish a racing event.
Q: But there aren't any racing events available, what should I do?
A: What the... well, take a spin around the city and see if someone appears.
If they still don't show up, it might be a glitch. But still, the outruns'
importance for the game continuity is dubious. Don't totally expect the outrun
races to get the game going for you.
Q: Where can I find Megalow Parts Shop?
A: I can't believe I'm hearing this. No, really!!! How can someone NOT be able
to find the only performance shop that is shown on the map since the beginning?
If you can use the GPS, you can find Megalow Parts. I really, really tried very
hard to see if I could see any difficulty with this shop, but I couldn't, I'm
sorry. I even made a map with all the shops in the game, if you still can't find
it, look in the map.
Q: I have finished the game but I can't go any further than 97-98%. I ran all
races via the "World Map" option, but I'm still in trouble. What's wrong?
A: Not sure. The ones responsible for the percentage system must have been
smoking crack or something. There are cases where people can't run the last
2% or 3% of the game, but I don't know why. Really. Anyways, you shouldn't
worry too much - 100% just for bragging is not something to write home about.
Personally, I think you did a great job racing all the way through 97%.
Q: Are you gonna put more in-depth Dyno settings on your FAQ?
A: Yes. Very soon.
Q: Are you Brazilian?
A: Yes, I am. And Brazil is in South America. And we speak portuguese, not
spanish. Born in Brazil I was.
Q: Can I add you to my MSN?
A: Man, thank you for asking before actually adding me to your contact list.
Well, if you plan to maintain a neat conversation with me, and you are not only
doing it because you have to ask a (stupid) question that has already been
answered a thousand times in this guide, then you may add me. Again, send an
email first and tell me what do you want.
Well well, this is it... the FAQ is finally done. In this section I'd like
to thank some people who made this FAQ possible:
+ The guys at EA Games/THX for making such a neat game.
+ My family, specially father, mother, cousins and sister.
+ Christian Wall for helping me out with the Copyright and Legal Stuff part
of the FAQ. =)
+ Felipe Rijo for the advices about the reputation points, and the car
trade-ins.
+ Wong Su Kun for the missing nitrous refilling techniques.
+ The people from SENAC, great friends and unique figures =)
+ Special Thanks to Mano Ayram, for getting me the game and for letting go
on my delays on the college duties (sorry for getting addicted to this game,
bro =)
+ Special thanks for Hawk, my only official beta tester.
+ Special thanks to Guga, for motivating me on the initial stages of
development of this guide.
+ Pegasus, my beloved computer =)
and.... YOU! Thanks for choosing and reading my FAQ!!!!!
