Speed Pads are a racetrack feature that is part of the core Wipeout gameplay mechanic. They are triangle or chevron-shaped platforms on the road surfaces of a racetrack. When a ship flies over a speed pad, its engine will get a power charge that is transferred into the thrusters, giving the ship a temporary speed boost.
Tips and Techniques[]
- Passing through a speed pad in the opposite direction will push the ship backwards, effectively slowing it down.
- Using rear-fire weapons on a speed pad, or multiple successive speed pads, will increase the likelihood of an opponent hitting them.
- Performing a sideshift after hitting a speed pad will slightly increase the speed boost potency.
- In Wipeout Pure, activating a Turbo while flying towards a speed pad will cause the speed boost from the Turbo to be overridden by the one from the speed pad.
Trivia[]
- There is no official description of how the speed pad works.
- Due to Wipeout Fusion's significantly revamped physics engine and track designs, the speed boost gained from using speed pads may be comparable to using a Turbo.
- Wipeout 2048 is the only game in the series where every unique ship model has a unique sound effect when hitting a speed pad. This was not carried over to Wipeout Omega Collection.
- The AGRC-era FEISAR Prototype is features a unique fuel system which provides a permanent increase in engine power gained from hitting speed pads, allowing it to go faster than the particular given speed class during a race once its boost meter is fully charged.
- It is worth noting that the ship will start off slower than the entire grid at first. Furthermore, the boost meter will lower itself upon each weapon impact and collision, and will be reset to the lowest charge level at the start of a new lap.