RACE 'N RUMBLE

BLS_Playa & OGX_TwoStroke are the fathers of the Race-Rumble format, so if you see these guys, be sure to thank them for their contribution to MTM 2.  It’s relatively easy to learn, and it's tons of fun.  Best of all, it combines both facets of MTM 2, bringing racers and rumblers together in a team setting.  Here’s how the game is played: 

GOAL:  Have the racer from your team cross the finish line first.

Basic Strategy:  Blockers assist racers to accomplish the goal by hampering racers/blockers on opposing teams.

You're paired off in teams of two - 1 racer, 1 blocker.  The rumbler typically does the blocking since racing skills don't come into play in that role.  There are, however, lots of racers who can block, and very effectively, so pairing two racers together isn't uncommon.  Up to four teams can play (obviously), however 2 vs 2 or 2 vs 2 vs 2 formats are more common.  For the racer it's pretty straightforward; try to finish the race first, minimizing the number of times you get hit/flipped/stopped by the blockers.   Speaking of blockers, they have free-roam, and are able to go to any point on the track to give them an edge in an attempt to impede a racer’s path to the finish.  Their mission is to either block another team's blocker to free up their teammate and enable him/her to proceed on, or block another racer to prevent him/her from making progress in the race.

After the first racer finishes the race and the "All trucks on final lap" message appears" the blockers have to complete a single lap, going thru all the checkpoints to allow the game to end.  In a friendly (non-tourney) contest, if all agree on the winner, the host can end the game immediately.  A few quick notes:

        The host can use “Ctrl-Alt-T” to activate teams, however, it’s not a necessity.

     Teams should pair up using the same trucks.

The following are a few points to remember and focus on as you learn the game.  It’s a team format, hence a coordinated effort generally yields great fun, and you might even win a few games to boot! J

   If you have a microphone/speaker setup, you can arrange a voice chat.  Hands-down it’s the best way to communicate, and let me add that microphones are ok, but headsets are ideal.  Periodically you’ll need to direct your blocker to a specific point or request that they take out a specific person, and such a task is easily accomplished via voice chat.

      Racers:  lap times mean nothing in RnRs.  What you’re striving for is perpetual motion.  If you don’t learn how to maneuver, the word, “humiliation” will take on a new meaning.  It’s impossible to teach someone how to employ evasive techniques on paper, however, I will say I’ve found dropping your speed a tad when approaching a blocker makes it easier to use evasive actions.  That’s not in every case, however.  You’ll have to figure out when and when not to adjust your speed.  

      Blockers:  One of the biggest no-no’s is trying to slam into a racer head-on at full speed.  Ideally what you want is to catch him or her trying to out-maneuver you, then impede their progression by getting your truck perpendicular to theirs.  Sometimes you get dead stops, but more often than not you effectively achieve a stop by forcing them into a situation where they crash…and it’s a great feeling lol.  The latter technique is great for racer’s who have “power lag”, making it all but impossible to affect a good stop.  If you can time it right, place your truck in their line, and hit “H” just before the point of impact.  It’s like hitting a wall from the racer’s perspective. J

     On the very last lap, if the race is close, communication becomes critical.  Racers will want to direct their blocker to a certain point or have them attempt to take out another closely competitive racer or even a blocker to further their team’s chances of winning it all!!

That’s just a quick rundown of a few points of strategy to consider.  Odds are if you play enough, you’ll discover different approaches and techniques to add to what you’ve read here.  It takes time and cooperation on both sides, but I promise you this – once you start to get the hang of it, you’ll love it.  Every game is different than the last, and that’s half the fun.  If you have any questions about the RnR format, please feel free to contact Team SLO and we'll do our best to answer your question(s) or direct you to someone who can. ________________________________________________________________

Garage Sets

Garage sets for blockers vary between 800 - 1400 m/s for quickness and power, however that's not carved in stone because it's possible to be an effective blocker with racing sets as well.  Automatic shifting is recommended for both racers and blockers.  Standard shift gives the racers more horsepower, but in RnR the emphasis is on perpetual motion, not speed per se.  And if you do get stopped, it's a lot easier to get into reverse using automatic as opposed to manual shifting.  

Finally, we've compiled a zip (plus a pod.ini) file, which includes 18 add-on tracks, some of which were made specifically for RnR.  We think it's a pretty decent collection of tracks for this format, and hopefully you will too!

Downloads