Airbrakes are a core gameplay mechanic in the Wipeout series, having been present in every Wipeout installment so far. They are designed to increase the centripetal force while cornering, allowing a ship to navigate the more complex corners without significant loss of speed. As a fundamental piloting technique, airbraking has become an integral part of the gameplay since the original game.
Introduction[]
A common misconception for first-time players to Wipeout is that AG racing ships can simply be controlled like driving a car. This causes them to neglect the airbrakes, which can lead to problems during races, especially on the faster speed classes which require faster reflexes on every corner. In addition, each individual ship comes with different Handling stats, which will significantly impact its turning capabilities.
Since AG ships are generally too slow to turn when moving, especially at higher speeds, airbraking becomes a very important AG racing technique, where one will be able to get through a corner unscatched. Each ship is equipped with two airbrake flaps, one on the left and one on the right. Each of them can be activated by pressing the Airbrake function button (typically the L2 and R2 buttons).
Techniques[]
Steer-braking[]
As stated before, airbrakes are very useful for the purpose of cornering. Steer-braking is the most basic airbraking technique available. It is simply using the airbrakes in conjunction with the normal steering. Triggering the airbrake on the same side as the turning direction of the ship will cause it to turn more sharply, which will come in handy when trying to get through a particularly difficult corner.
Double-braking[]
Double-braking is an airbraking technique that uses both airbrakes to grind the ship, causing it to slow down rapidly. Simply tapping both airbrakes will briefly slow the ship down, allowing pilots more time for reaction. If both airbrakes are held for long enough, the ship will eventually come to a halt. Despite the perceived low utility, double-braking can be useful in races, especially when the ship's shield energy is critically low. In games featuring Mag-Strips, double-braking is less effective on a Mag-Strip section.
Sideshifting[]
Introduced in Wipeout Pure, sideshifting is an airbraking technique where the ship is pushed sideways without changing the forward direction of the ship. A sideshift can be performed by double-tapping an airbrake. The direction of the sideshift depends on which side of the airbrake was used. This technique can be used to correct the racing line at the last second, or dodge an incoming weapon fire. Sideshifting cannot be performed mid-air.
Trivia[]
- Piranha is the only team in the series known to have manufactured airbrakes. Teams like AG Systems and Auricom have used Piranha's airbrake products for their ships during the F3600 League.
- It is also possible that AG Systems and Auricom may have outsourced Piranha's airbrake technologies even during the AGRC, despite the latter actively competing in said League.
- Wipeout 3 is the first game in the series with to feature visually functional airbrake flaps.
- Wipeout Fusion is the only game in the series to feature a "Brake Power" stat, which measures the strength of the airbrakes. Ironically, in the same game, despite the fact that Piranha was once an airbrake manufacturer, their ship in the F9000, the Piranha Swiftkiller, has a weak brake force.
- The Coca-Cola Cokestyle bonus DLC ship in Pure has no visible airbrakes, but features a similar functionality.
- All of the ships in Wipeout Pulse show their airbrake flaps opening outwards.
- The Fury variant of the Auricom FX350/400, along with the VR prototype variants of HD and Fury-spec ships, are the only ships in the game with mid-mounted airbrake flaps, as opposed to the traditional rear-mounted ones.
- Airbrake flaps in Zone mode close more slowly than regular ships, but the brake force of Zone ships, especially in Zone Battle, is generally much stronger, likely to compensate for the fact that they auto-accelerate and cannot slow down conventionally.
- The Van-Über FX350 and the AGRC-era non-Prototype Agility ships are the only ships in the game to feature more than one pair of airbrake flaps. In this case, they all have an extra pair of front-mounted airbrake flaps alongside the regular rear-mounted ones.
- Although side-shifting was introduced in Pure, story-wise, it has existed during the AGRC. It is unknown why side-shifting has since been banned starting from the F3600 and later on, until the FX300 where it was re-introduced.