Wrench’s Facts: Base Battles

While a majority of the competition between the Dragons and Scorpions occurs on the racetrack, the battle continues beyond the Racing Circuit. As drivers from both groups encounter one another, engines roar and missiles fly as they seek to establish control of the Eat My Dust world. One key strategy to gaining the edge over your rivals is to know the Dragons’ and Scorpions’ bases inside and out.

The team bases are the perfect place for players to meet up with their pals and discuss strategy on how to stay on top. The only thing to fear in your team’s homebase are the handful of Zombies that always seem to find their way in. But any skilled racer like you should know how to handle those types of challenges. Your team’s home base also gives you access to your 1 safe haven around the game, your garage! Invite friends over, work on your custom racing machine, or simply style the space to your super cool standards. The choice is yours!

Not afraid of crossing enemy lines? Show your rival racers what you’re made of by paying them a visit next time you’re cruising the streets of Eat My Dust!

Lead Your Team to Victory

The battle for dominance rages on between the Dragons and Scorpions—which side are you on?  While drivers on either side debate about whose team is better, there is one way to decide which force is truly number one: the Team Scoreboard.

Check the Team Scoreboard located next to the Racing Circuit’s entrance before each race to determine how much of a lead your team possesses or the amount of ground you need to make up to even the playing field.  The scoreboard takes a number of factors into consideration such as drivers’ racing times, place finishes, and the number of enemies dusted.  It takes a well-rounded team to be number one and getting your team into a winning position is as much a team effort as it is an individual accomplishment.

Your rivals may disagree with you on which team is better but ultimately, talk is cheap.  Round up your crew and let your driving do the talking.  At the end of a hard day’s work, you will be able to point to the Team Scoreboard to silence your critics and prove once-and-for-all which team owns the streets.

Wrench’s Facts: Zombie Dusting 101

With so much action surrounding the heated rivalry between the Dragons and Scorpions, it can be surprisingly easy to overlook the fact that the racetracks become littered with zombies every now and then.  For brave, skilled drivers, these zombies are nothing more than a nuisance.  But for novice racers, there are a few tricks that Wrench wants to share with you that are incredibly helpful should you ever find yourself facing off with a horde of zombies.

Pedal to the Metal
Seeing a horde of zombies approaching can be a frightening sight, but always keep this fact in mind: zombies are slow.  Maintain a safe distance and speed away in your car if zombies ever get too close.  Staying on the move will ensure that you never get cornered as you pick off zombies while they struggle to chase you.

Choose Your Tool of Destruction
Now that you know how to successfully evade a zombie attack, the next step is figuring out how you want to dispatch your undead pest problem.  There are three common methods to disposing of zombies: powerful attacks, quick attacks, or simply running over them!

Powerful attacks are perfect for taking out large groups of zombies or bigger undead foes since they do lots of damage and have a large blast radius.  Clear your way through mobs of zombies with this type of attack or easily dwindle down a big zombie’s health.  However, if this is your preferred weapon, make sure you’re accurate as they can have a long reload time and less ammo than other types.

Quick attacks employ rapid fire and are great for keeping zombies at bay.  While they do less damage, these types of weapons typically have more ammo, thus requiring less accuracy.  A word of caution: when using these types of weapons you need to be constantly moving as they don’t have the firepower to clear a large wave of zombies should you get stuck.

Finally, there’s nothing like simply cruising through zombies with your trusty vehicle.  Rev up your engine, build up speed, and smash through zombies with ease.  The zombies won’t know what hit them as you clear out one zombie after another and quickly speed away to safety after each run.  It may not be as efficient as using a weapon, but this method is arguably more fun.

Stock Up on Ammo
Prepare for success before and during zombie attacks by visiting the store to stock up on ammo or collecting ammo as it appears on the road.  Maintaining a large supply of ammo can be the difference between victory and being overwhelmed by the undead so keeping this tip in mind is crucial.

With Wrench’s help, you will be a zombie-annihilating machine in no time.  Remember these pointers, lock and load, and burn some rubber to show these zombies what you’re made of.  Before long, they’ll be thinking twice before trying to invade your territory again.

Check Out the School of Dragons FunZone at JumpStart!

Have you visited the new FunZone in JumpStart yet? If you are looking for an exciting, new adventure this summer, head on over to JumpStart and check out the School of Dragons FunZone! The FunZone gives players a sneak preview of the upcoming game School of Dragons, which is based on DreamWorks Animation’s hit film, How to Train Your Dragon. If you think you are up to the challenge, hurry to JumpStart’s Central Park or DownTown and test your hand at Fireball Frenzy!

Also, if you have not completed the maze in the FunZone, you are missing out! If you manage to make your way through the maze, there is a special surprise waiting for you!

Check out the new School of Dragons FunZone in JumpStart and if you like what you see, make sure to sign up for the exclusive Beta version of School of Dragons which releases later this month!

Wrench’s Fact- What’s your Racing Style?

Whether you realize it or not, each racer has their own style when it comes to winning a race. As you’ll see, each of these racing styles has their own weaknesses and strengths. However, you will often find that the racers who consistently finish near the top have chosen a style that fits their personality and then, through hard work and perseverance, perfected it by minimizing its weaknesses and maximizing its strengths.

 

Run and Gun

Run and Gun racers provide some of the most interesting races on the tracks. Their primary goal each race is to stay in the thick of the action by constantly shooting their opponents and staying with the pack. These racers live for thrill of dusting their opponents and gradually pulling ahead after devastating their opponents. To hang with this crowd, you must be one tough cookie!

Lead Driver

Lead Drivers are their own special breed. This select group solely relies on speed and handling. Rather than collecting ammo, they focus on amassing as much nitro as they can in order to gain a large lead. These racers are unconcerned with their opponents and ignore retaliation because they are so intent on achieving maximum speed and working their way to a massive lead. However, lead drivers tend to struggle and lose close races if they can’t establish a big lead.

Support

Support drivers are by far the rarest type found on the race track. Support drivers usually work as a team with a lead driver or two and focus on helping them win the race. Rather than seeking glory for themselves, Support drivers use their weapons and cunning to slow down other racers allowing their teammates focus on building a substantial lead. These team players are not concerned with earning the top podium spot for themselves but rather seek to better their team as a whole.

The Late Bloomer

Late Bloomers are all about high risk and high reward. Easily the source of the most exciting finishes, Late Bloomers focus on establishing their lead as late as possible. These racers stay in the middle of the pack for most of the race, but unlike Run and Gun racers, they keep a low profile. Because they are often overlooked and typically don’t surface as a threat until late in the race, Late Bloomers lull their opponents into a false sense of security. However, during the last half lap or so, these drivers spring into action and do whatever it takes to eek out a win.

Now that you know a little bit more about these different racing styles, be sure to head out to the track and try them out. Once you find a style that suits your personality best, make sure to practice it and build your car in a way that can maximize its strengths.

Play Capture the Flag to Celebrate Flag Day!

Did you know that June 14^th is Flag Day? Flag Day celebrates the adoption of the United States flag by the Second Continental Congress in 1977. The week of the 14^th is called Flag Week and it’s common for people to celebrate with a barbecue or other patriotic celebrations. However, in EMD we like to celebrate a different way- by playing Capture the Flag! Be sure to gather your friends and head on over to the Badlands to get started!

Strategy is key to winning a game of Capture the Flag, or CTF as we call it. Being able to work together as a team plays a large part in developing your team’s strategy and changing it as the game progresses. Without proper communication, it is easy for a team to have too many players attempting to capture the other team’s flag and thus exposing their own. On the other hand though, if no one from your team pushes forward to capture the flag, then it is impossible for your team to win.

 

Sometimes during a game of CTF, your team will need to change your strategy. This often happens as the time limit approaches or one team secures a substantial lead. Changing your teams strategy might be as simple as just sending more players forward or as complicated as executing a ‘feigned’ retreat to draw the other team away from their flag. Regardless of what your strategy is or how it changes throughout a game of CTF, communication and cooperation are keys to CTF.

Armed with this new knowledge and these helpful tips, be sure to assemble your friends head on out to the Badlands during Flag Week to earn some coins playing CTF.

Wrench’s Facts- Perfecting the Turn

Do tracks with lots of curves and turns scare you? Do you often find yourself falling behind on those tight corners? Most racers don’t realize that making the perfect turn isn’t all about handling- in fact, all aspects of the car contribute to its ability to round a corner.

When approaching a corner, be sure to take an exterior approach. This means that if you are turning left, you should be on the far right side of the track. Taking an exterior approach will help to decrease the angle of the turn, allowing you to maintain a higher speed.

Surprisingly, when rounding a corner, you should apply your brakes as late as possible but before you actually start to turn. By driving straight and slowing down rapidly, your car will slow down faster. However be sure not to brake too much!

As you enter the curve, accelerate enough to maintain a constant speed throughout the turn. This is where your car’s suspension and handling will make an impact. A car’s handling directly impacts the speed at which it can make a turn. Similarly, a car’s suspension will help to keep all of the tires on the ground, although too much suspension can make it difficult to control. Once you are ready to start exiting the turn, be sure to progressively increase your acceleration while decreasing your turning.

In conclusion, just as mentioned before, it’s not only your cars handling but also its speed, acceleration, and off-road attributes that contribute to the perfect turn. Be sure to head over to the mechanics shop and use your new knowledge to tune your car for the next big race! -Wrench

Dragons and Scorpions Rivalry

A long time ago, before the zombies attacked and the Scorpion racers came together, lived many racing crews. These early days of racing were dominated by a few select crews- the Dragons, the Panthers, and the Tigers. The Tigers’ strength was in their ability to build extremely fast cars that could cut through the air at such a speed, they could barely be heard. While this speed was a great offensive strategy, they often lacked a critical defensive tactic, firepower. While the Panthers were just the opposite, creating the best firepower they could muster, with their elite scientists, yet lacking with their speed. The Dragons, however, prided themselves on their ability to both build fast cars and make strong weapons. Over time, this allowed the Dragons to become the strongest crew on the streets.

However, during their rise to the top, internal trouble arose. The Dragons were led by their fearless leader Torch. Under Torch, the Dragons strictly held to their most absolute law- no Dragon can celebrate after a win. This rule embodied the Dragon mindset; they believe that there was no need to celebrate each win because they had won many times before and only saw victory in their future. This firm belief was just one of the things that set the Dragons apart from other racing crews.

However, Sting, a young rising star within the Dragons, refused to hold to this standard. He believed that each win was a display of hard work and desire to win and that celebrating was a way of showing passion for the sport of racing. Torch believed that if Sting was allowed to remain a Dragon, he would corrupt the other members and cause the Dragons to lose respect in the eyes of other racing crews. After Torch confronted Sting and he refused to change his ways, Torch was forced to dismiss Sting from the Dragons.

As a result, Sting was compelled to rise up and bring a new power to the tracks. From here, the Scorpions were born. The Scorpions soon became a top-tiered racing force and were the rising competitors for the Dragons. Eventually, as Scorpions and Dragons dominated the raceway, the other teams had moved on and left this ancient rival to continue their feud in ‘The Circuit’. Each side is always looking for new recruits, to join the ranks, and to help win the ultimate battle.