______________ ____________ \ __________ \ / ________ / \ \ \ \/ / / / \ \ \ / / / ______________\ \______ \/ / /______________________ / ________ ________ \ / ______________ \ / / ____ \ / ____ \ \ / / \ \ / / / /__/ / / /__/ | / / \ \ / / /_____ / /_____ / \ / __ \ \ / /_______ \ /_______ \ \ \ /______/ \ / / / ___ / /___ / / / \ / / / / / /____/ // /____/ / / _ \ ______/ / / \ \_________/ \_________/ / / \ \ \ \ \ \ _______/ / \ \ \____ \ \ \ / / _ \__________\ \ \ \ \ / / / \ __________ / / / \_________ /________/ / \ \ \_________/ / / /______________/ \ \ / / \ \ / / \ \_______________________/ / \___________________________/ ASCII ART by Viktor Nilsson SSX 3 Complete FAQ Version 1.0!!!!1!!oneoneone!!! (Final Version - 5.10.04) Compiled by gondee gondee6@yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------------------ | Advice by members of the Merqurycity.com Message Boards, | | the PS2 SSX 3 Gamefaqs.com boards and Internet | | contributors: gondee, Vix, ssxtitan, Viktor Nilsson, | | Dreaming Gamer, YoshiXL, countercycle, MrChaos, | | confessor, Silverstarfire, Gamer EX, DeathloksBear, | | UltimateApocalypse, Cody Ritchie, Krystony, Ghoti, | | happymachines, laidback0783, Jesster, Ravage, Gehodra, | | bonsai, irritatedlittleman, yuping00, FishEye, Rob, | | bryan haddon, Bad Karma, Wilson Tam, Cpd4224, vivi2000, | | Ru4Egames, WaPiTi, Mathochist, rikamaru, Gamingnerd | | Renato, Andrew, Dan Karies, Renato, AOSO, Frost | | michael-007, igloo, and other tip submittors. | ------------------------------------------------------------- If you are an author listed on this FAQ, and you want me to remove your submission, just e-mail me: gondee6@yahoo.com. Version Details --------------- ~ Version 1.0 - Added two great revamped racing guides from laidback0378. Added the great "Wired Gate 180" Trick from igloo. Finally added the Merqurycity.com scoreboard section to the guide so that you can compare your scores to the offline records that the best of the best get. Added Awesome 7.5 mil Style Mile guide from MrChaos. Added Happiness, Throne and Schizophrenia guides from michael-007. ~ Version 0.99a - Added a Peak 3 Jam guide of sorts from laidback0378 and the other great members of Merqurycity.com. - since the Peak Jam is so long, it features "High Scoring Locations" on the run. Added a few new Advanced Techniques from AOSO and Frost. Added an AMAZING 6 million+ guide from MrChaos. Added new Superpipe guides from yours truly since the old ones were so outdated. Added a Launch Time guide transcribed from a movie by MrChaos. Fixed the names of the rail ubers - big thanks to DDRKirby for the heads up. Added location of Snow Jam Wormhole. Requests: If you find any more High Scoring Locations on the Peak Jams, send me an e-mail describing where they are. Remember, these are areas where you can do jump after jump over and over by repeatedly turning around and doing them again and again. =============================================================================== TABLE OF CONTENTS =============================================================================== Note: To find a particular section, copy the bracketed words [these] into the "Find" command of your browser and you will jump directly to that section. Prelim: Introduction a. FAQ Introduction [PrelimIntro] b. Is this official [PrelimOfficial] c. Submission Policy [PrelimSubmit] d. About the different sections [PrelimAbout] 1. Gameplay System a. General Overview [GameplayOverview] b. Character Attributes [GameplayCharacter] c. Gameplay Controls [GameplayControls] d. Assorted Features [GameplayAssorted] e. Combo System [GameplayComboSys] f. Tricks - Uber/Monster [GameplayUber] g. In-Depth Uber Guide *NEW* [GameplayUberDepth] h. Monster Tricks [GameplayMonster] i. Handplants and Board Presses [GameplayHandplant] j. Advanced Techniques *NEW* [GameplayAdvanced] k. Frequently Asked Questions [GameplayFAQ] 2. Track Guides - Walkthroughs [TrackStart] Prelim: Mode Explanation [TrackModeExplain] PEAK 1 [TrackPeak1] a. Junction [TrackJunction] b. Metro-City Breakdown [TrackMetroCity] b-1: Finding the Subway Rail [TrackMetroSub] c. Crows Nest [TrackCrowsNest] d. Snow Jam [TrackSnowJam] d-1: The Snow Jam Wormhole [SnowJamWormhole] e. R&B [TrackR&B] f. Happiness [TrackHappiness] g. Peak 1 Race [TrackPeak1Race] h. Peak 1 Jam [TrackPeak1Jam] PEAK 2 [TrackPeak2] i. Intimidator [TrackIntimidator] j. Style Mile [TrackStyleMile] k. Schizophrenia [TrackSchizo] l. Ruthless Ridge [TrackRidge] m. Launch Time [TrackLaunchTime] n. Ruthless [TrackRuthless] o. Peak 2 Race [TrackPeak2Race] p. Peak 2 Jam [TrackPeak2Jam] PEAK 3 [TrackPeak3] q. Kick Doubt [TrackKickDoubt] r. Perpendiculous [TrackPerp] s. Gravitude [TrackGravitude] t. Much2Much [TrackMuch2Much] u. The Throne [TrackTheThrone] v. All-Peak Race [TrackAllPeakRace] w. All-Peak Jam [TrackAllPeakJam] 3. Challenges [ChallengeStart] a. BIG Challenges [ChallengeBIG] PEAK 1 [BIGPeak1] Crows Nest [BIGCrowsNest] Happiness [BIGHappiness] Snow Jam [BIGSnowJam] R&B [BIGR&B] Metro-City Breakdown [BIGMetroCity] Junction [BIGJunction] PEAK 2 [BIGPeak2] Ruthless Ridge [BIGRidge] Launch Time [BIGLaunchTime] Schizophrenia [BIGSchizo] Intimidator [BIGIntimidator] Style Mile [BIGStyleMile] Ruthless [BIGRuthless] PEAK 3 [BIGPeak3] Gravitude [BIGGravitude] Kick Doubt [BIGKickDoubt] The Throne [BIGTheThrone] Much2Much [BIGMuch2Much] Perpendiculous [BIGPerp] b. Career Highlights [ChallengeCareer] c. Platinum Medals [ChallengePlatinum] 4. Collection [CollectStart] a. Collectibles [CollectCollect] b. Rewards [CollectRewards] c. Hidden Characters [CollectHidden] 5. Characters [CharacterStart] a. Character Bio [CharacterBio] Allegra [BioAllegra] Elise [BioElise] Griff [BioGriff] Kaori [BioKaori] Mac [BioMac] Moby [BioMoby] Nate [BioNate] Psymon [BioPsymon] Viggo [BioViggo] Zoe [BioZoe] b. Bolt-Ons/Accessories [CharacterBoltOn] c. Frequently Asked Questions [CharacterFAQ] 6. Various Details [DetailsStart] a. Music [DetailsMusic] b. Cheats [DetailsCheats] c. SSX 3 Online [DetailsOnline] d. Frequently Asked Questions [DetailsFAQ] 7. Measuring Up [MeasureStart] a. Merqury City Scoreboard [MeasureBoard] b. Online Records [MeasureOnline] c. Frequently Asked Questions [MeasureFAQ] 8. Epilogue: Assorted Details [EpilogueStart] a. Legal [EpilogueLegal] b. Thanks and Credit [EpilogueThanks] c. Contributors Section [EpilogueContrib] =============================================================================== ONE MOUNTAIN, THREE PEAKS, INFINITE POSSIBILITIES =============================================================================== a. FAQ Introduction [PrelimIntro] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= SSX 3 is the latest installment in Electronic Arts Snowboarding Series. This FAQ will attempt to cover every aspect of this ginormous game and provide a single go-to source for help should you need it, (and you will probably need it, heheh.) Judging simply by the size of the game, you will be playing this game for tens, if not hundreds of hours if you want to get everything and bask in the glory of your 100% completion. It won't be easy, but I can guarantee you it will be a lot of fun. b. Is this guide official? [PrelimOfficial] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Nope. In the spirit of 7-Up (proud sponsor of SSX 3, lol): "Never has, never will be." This guide is nothing more than an attempt by fans of the game to help out others and provide a means of assistance to master SSX 3. The info in this guide comes from various sources across the internet, and I will wager, will often be much better than any official source you can buy. The collective SSX Community is one smart group, and players always find better methods of playing a game than a guide that was written before the game was even released. I will always attempt to validate any info here, but as with any FAQ, there can be errors. If you would like to report an error, please read the submission policy in the next section. c. Submission Policy [PrelimSubmit] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This guide is a huge undertaking, and is going to encompass, literally, hundreds of hours of work and dozens of people. If you want to be one of the people who help contribute to the Complete SSX 3 FAQ, please let me know: gondee6@yahoo.com. I will gladly take any submissions you can give me, but don't forget to take a look at the Table of Contents to get a good idea of what I'm looking for. All authors will recieve an author credit as well as a short bio in the "Contributors Section" at the end of this guide. Read my SSX Tricky FAQ to get a good idea of what this will entail. :) Please note that I reserve the right to edit any submissions for punctuation, grammar and spelling, in order to make the guide the best and most readable it can be. This doesn't entail altering the guides in any editorial way, however. As author, what you have written is yours. However, as compiler I also have the responsibility to keep this guide streamlined, and this includes the right to remove those parts of the guide that are obsolete or incorrect. For the most part, however, your work will remain in the guide "as is" and complete, for good. Again, send any submissions to gondee6@yahoo.com. Thanks! d. About the different sections [PrelimAbout] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= There are six main sections of this guide. All are organized (I think) relatively well and should be easy for readers to navigate. This guide is primarily written to be easy to read and printout (no useless ASCII stuff other than the pretty header, heheh) as well as detailed and complete. The GAMEPLAY section will explain all the various intricacies of the control system that you need to learn when playing SSX 3. This section also attempts to explain the trick system and cover it in detail. The trick system in SSX 3 has been given an overhaul, and is now more detailed than it has ever been. In years past, gamers have uncovered advanced techniques to get the most out of the trick system, and these techniques will be explored here. The TRACKS/WALKTHROUGHS section will have explanations of all the different modes in the game, as well as xtremely in-depth walkthoughs for EACH track. Pay attention to these, they can help you get over those rough spots and also set records. Each track should have multiple guides, and I will label the difficulty of each guide from "beginner" to "Master" in order so readers can pick the best one for their skill level. Each track will also have a time or score goal so you can know what the goal for each walkthrough was when it was written. The CHALLENGES section will list all 88 BIG Challenges in the game and offer a paragraph or two on how to pass them. Not to be taken lightly, the BIG Challenges are some of the most difficult parts of the game, and each Challenge will be rated in difficulty from "easy" to "insane". The reward for each Challenge will be listed as well, so you can pick those challenges you want to do to get the rewards you want the earliest. The COLLECTION section (hey, that rhymes) will list all the various things you need to collect in order to complete the game 100 percent. There are two basic modes to SSX 3: Competition and Collection/Adventure. The Collection portion of the game is enormous, with over 1000 Bolt-ons (accessories), dozens of tricks, hundreds of rewards and other things as well. The CHARACTERS section will list bios for the characters and initial information about them, as well as the specialized collectibles that only those characters can use. It will also contain information (with spoilers) about any returning or hidden characters that may (or may not) be in the game. The DETAILS section lists the various items that didn't really fit into any one category. I will cover the music section, the cheats and online play here, and explain anything else that may crop up that doesn't fit into any one category. The MEASURING UP section encompasses the various means of competition available to SSX 3 Players. It will cover both the Merqurycity.com SSX 3 Scoreboard and give an explanation of the Online Competition available. The EPILOGUE covers all the various legal, thanks and version updates. I've placed this at the end of the guide so readers can get directly to the meat of the SSX 3 FAQ. End of Explanation. In the words of DJ Atomica: "Enough talk...time to ride." =============================================================================== SECTION ONE: GAMEPLAY SYSTEM =============================================================================== a. General Overview [GameplayOverview] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The gameplay system in SSX 3 is very complicated, and this section will attempt to document all the various facets of gameplay. There are Four Basic selections to choose after you press Start at the title screen. Single Play, Conquer the Mountain, Multiplayer and Online Mode. Single Play mode is strictly an opportunity to play events. No freeriding or exploration is available here, and you can only play those tracks that you have unlocked in Conquer the Mountain. Conquer the Mountain is the main event. Here you power up your characters and do basically everything that is possible in the game. In order to unlock tracks in Single Play, you need to pass them here first. Multi-player is a chance to race your buddy. Two player, etc. Online is a game selection available for Playstation 2 only - see the Details section in section 6 in order to get the lowdown on how to play online. b. CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES [GameplayCharacter] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= All character attributes are rated from 1 to 11. 1. ACCELERATION is the rate at which your rider achieves top speed. The higher this attribute is, the faster they can reach 75MPH/120 KMH. 2. EDGING is the ability to turn. The higher this is, the sharper your boarder will be able to turn and navigate the twisty tracks of the mountain. Your boarder will take wider turns the lower this attribute is. 3. SPEED is ability to maintain top speed. All boarders top out at 75MPH/120KMH, eventually, but at lower levels you will not be able to achieve this until you have fully powered up your character. 4. SPIN is the ability of your character to spin and flip during jumps. The higher this attribute, the easier you will be able to perform 180s, 360s, flips, backflips and so forth. 5. STABILITY is the factor which affects how easily you land tricks and wipe out when you are turning sharply. At lower levels, you need to land perfectly to not get a stumbling animation, and you will also wipe out if you turn too sharply. 6. TOUGHNESS affects how easily you can be knocked down when someone punches you and how easily you wipe out when you collide with something. At low levels, a simple tap of a shoulder button can knock you down. At higher levels, the person will need to charge their punch before they will knock you down and simply tapping the shoulder buttons will only cause you to spin out if you are hit by a punch. 7. TRICKS is the factor that boosts the speed of your Ubers and Super Ubers. Your level 1 Ubers will be much slower to initiate and finish at lower levels. This affects all Ubers, but most noticeably the level 1 Ubers. PURCHASING ATTRIBUTE POINTS: +---------------------------+ Purchasing attribute points is essential to winning and conquering the mountain. You can buy attribute points at the Lodge at the different stations on each peak. Buying attribute points becomes more expensive as you get your character more powered up, so you'll need some serious cash before you can get them all the way finished. Each point, one through eleven, is made up of five "units" and these units are more expensive as you increase your characters skills. Each unit for the first point costs $250. At level 11, each unit costs a whopping $5000 points. At $82,000 dollars to power up one attribute, it will cost around $574,000 to fully power-up your character, so get crackin'! More info on this from Vix: This is the range of each level of the attributes....for example, say you bought all of the first block for each attribute, it would cost $8,750, then you go and buy all of the second block for each and that would cost $17,500... you get the idea: Level 2 - $8,750 Level 3 - $17,500 Level 4 - $26,250 Level 5 - $35,000 Level 6 - $43,750 Level 7 - $52,500 Level 8 - $61,250 Level 9 - $70,000 Level 10 - $87,500 Level 11 - $175,000 c. GAMEPLAY CONTROLS: [GameplayControls] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Below is a Table of Actions depending on where you are and what buttons you push. All systems are present. :) ON THE GROUND Action PS2 COMMAND +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Turn left/right Right or Left - Left Analog Stick or D-Pad Build Speed Up - Left Analog Stick or D-Pad Slow Down Down - Left Analog Stick or D-Pad Crouch/Jump X button - press and hold to crouch, release to jump Prewind Spins/Flips Press and hold D-Pad direction while holding Jump button Use Boost Square Button Board Press (Nose) Right Analog Stick Up Board Press (Tail) Right Analog Stick Down Push Opponent Any Shoulder Button (L1, L2, R1, R2) Block a Push L1+R1 IN THE AIR Action PS2 COMMAND +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Grab Board Any one or combination of shoulder buttons (L1,L2,R1,R2) Tweak a Grab Press and hold a grab, then push Square button Do late spins/flips Press D-Pad In-air Adjustment Left Analog Stick Handplant Press and immediately let go for a handspring, press and hold for a handstand. Push D-Button in any direction to lean. MISCELLANEOUS ACTIONS Action PS2 COMMAND +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Reset Boarder Select Button Pause Game Start Button Wipeout Recovery Square button (press until recovery bar is full) Grabs List - Each time you grab any combination of shoulder buttons in the air, you do a grab. Each grab has a name, though only 6 of them have Ubers attached to them once you get your boost meter charged up. Remember that if a grab has a secondary name like "Method MADNESS", that's the "tweaked" name of the trick and you need to first do the grab and THEN push the Tweak button to tweak out the grab. Here's the list of grabs based on the different game systems' shoulder buttons. Consult your instruction booklet if you still have questions. Gamecube has one less grab than the PS2 or X-box. BUTTON COMBINATION GRAB +---------------------------------------------+ L1 Method L2 Mute R1 Stalefish R2 Indy L1 + L2 Nosegrab R1 + R2 Tailgrab L1 + R1 Melancholy L2 + R2 Swiss Cheese L1 + R2 Stiffy R1 + L2 Lein L1 + L2 + R1 Stalemaskey L1 + L2 + R2 Seatbelt L1 + R1 + R2 Chicken Salad L2 + R1 + R2 Spaghetti L1 + L2 + R1 + R2 Shifty Tweaked Grabs List: Below is the list of every single grab in the game when tweaked, courtesy of Dan Karies. :) Regular Grab Tweaked Grabs - PS2 +-------------------------------------------------------------+ L1 (Method) Method MADNESS L2 (Mute) MUTATION R1 (Stalefish) FILET O' Stalefish R2 (Indy) SINFUL Indy L1 + L2 (Nosegrab) NOSEBLEED R1 + R2 (Tailgrab) Tail WAG L1 + R1 (Melancholy) GLEEFUL Melancholy L2 + R2 (Swiss Cheese) RIPE Swiss Cheese L1 + R2 (Stiffy) IFFY Stiffy R1 + L2 (Lein) MEAN Lein L1 + L2 + R1 (Stalemasky) FRESH Stalemasky L1 + L2 + R2 (Seatbelt) BUCKLED Seatbelt L1 + R1 + R2 (Chicken Salad) RUBBER Chicken Salad L2 + R1 + R2 (Spaghetti) MEATBALLED Spaghetti L1 + L2 + R1 + R2 (Shifty) NIFTY Shifty X-BOX GAMEPLAY CONTROLS +----------------------+ ON THE GROUND Action XBOX COMMAND +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Turn left/right Right or Left - Left Analog Stick or D-Pad Build Speed Up - Left Analog Stick or D-Pad Slow Down Down - Left Analog Stick or D-Pad Crouch/Jump A button - press and hold to crouch, release to jump Prewind Spins/Flips Press and hold D-Pad direction while holding Jump button Use Boost X Button Board Press (Nose) Right Analog Stick Up Board Press (Tail) Right Analog Stick Down Push Opponent Any Trigger (Left Trigger, Right Trigger) Block a Push Left Trigger + Right Trigger IN THE AIR Action XBOX COMMAND Grab Board Any one or combination of buttons (Right Trigger, X,Y,B) Tweak a Grab Press and hold a grab, then pull Left Trigger Do late spins/flips Press D-Pad In-air Adjustment Left Analog Stick Handplant Press and immediately let go for a handspring, press and hold the black button or white button for a handstand. Push D-Button in any direction to lean. MISCELLANEOUS ACTIONS Action XBOX COMMAND +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Reset Boarder Back Button Pause Game Start Button Wipeout Recovery X button (press until recovery bar is full) Grabs List - Each time you grab any combination of shoulder buttons in the air, you do a grab. Each grab has a name, though only 6 of them have Ubers attached to them once you get your boost meter charged up. Remember that if a grab has a secondary name like "Method MADNESS", that's the "tweaked" name of the trick and you need to first do the grab and THEN push the Tweak button to tweak out the grab. Here's the list of grabs based on the Xbox Controller. BUTTON COMBINATION GRAB +---------------------------------------------+ X Method Y Mute Right Trigger Stalefish B Indy Right Trigger + X Nosegrab Right Trigger + B Tailgrab X + Y Melancholy Y + B Swiss Cheese X + B Stiffy Right Trigger + Y Lein Right Trigger + X + Y Stalemaskey X + Y + B Seatbelt Right Trigger + X + B Chicken Salad Right Trigger + Y + B Spaghetti Right Trigger + X + Y + B Shifty Name of Grab Tweaked - X-BOX +--------------------------------------------------------+ X (Method) Method MADNESS Y (Mute) MUTATION Right Trigger (Stalefish) FILET O' Stalefish B (Indy) SINFUL Indy Right Trigger + X (Nosegrab) NOSEBLEED Right Trigger + B (Tailgrab) Tail WAG X + Y (Melancholy) GLEEFUL Melancholy Y + B (Swiss Cheese) RIPE Swiss Cheese X + B (Stiffy) IFFY Stiffy Right Trigger + Y (Lein) MEAN Lein Right Trigger + X + Y (Stalemasky) FRESH Stalemasky X + Y + B (Seatbelt) BUCKLED Seatbelt Right Trigger + X + B (Chicken Salad) RUBBER Chicken Salad Right Trigger + Y + B (Spaghetti) MEATBALLED Spaghetti Right Trigger + X + Y + B (Shifty) NIFTY Shifty GAMECUBE GAMEPLAY CONTROLS +--------------------------+ ON THE GROUND Action GC COMMAND +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Turn left/right Right or Left - Left Analog Stick or D-Pad Build Speed Up - Left Analog Stick or D-Pad Slow Down Down - Left Analog Stick or D-Pad Crouch/Jump A button - press and hold to crouch, release to jump Prewind Spins/Flips Press and hold D-Pad direction while holding Jump button Use Boost B (Red) Button Board Press (Nose) C-Stick Up (Yellow Stick) Board Press (Tail) C-Stick Down (Yellow Stick) Push Opponent Any Shoulder Button (L, R) Block a Push L+R IN THE AIR Action GC COMMAND +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Grab Board Any one or combination of shoulder buttons (L, R, Z) Tweak a Grab Press and hold a grab, then push B (Red) button Do late spins/flips Press D-Pad In-air Adjustment Left Analog Stick Handplant X-Button - Press and immediately let go for handspring, press and hold for a handstand. Push D-Button in any direction to lean. MISCELLANEOUS ACTIONS Action GAMECUBE COMMAND +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Reset Boarder Y-Button Pause Game Start Button Wipeout Recovery B (Red) button (press until recovery bar is full) Here is the list of grabs based on the Gamecube controller: BUTTON COMBINATION GRAB +----------------------------------------------+ R Method L Mute Z Stalefish R + L Indy L + Z Nosegrab R + Z Tailgrab L + R + Z Shifty Regular Grab Tweaked Grab - GC +----------------------------------------------------------+ R (Method) Method MADNESS L (Mute) MUTATION Z (Stalefish) FILET O' Stalefish R + L (Indy) SINFUL Indy L + Z (Nosegrab) NOSEBLEED R + Z (Tailgrab) Tail WAG L + R + Z (Shifty) NIFTY Shifty d. ASSORTED FEATURES [GameplayAssorted] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= BOOST BAR DETAILS: +----------------+ The Boost (or Adrenaline bar) shows the boost you've obtained from doing tricks on the mountain. You use boost to speed up when you are on the snow, boost down rails and to increase the heighth of your jumps. There are 3 boost levels, each signified by a different color. The speed boost for each level increases, with white causing the most increase in speed. You have a time limit in which to fill up the boost bar before it runs out, signified by a beeping reminder and a soft sound effect. CLEAR - You have no boost at all - do tricks! RED (NOT GLOWING) - This is the initial level of the boost bar that you must fill up. Once you have filled up this particular bar, you can do Uber Tricks. YELLOW (GLOWING) - You have reached level 1 of your boost bar and can now do Level 1 Ubers. It takes 4 Level One Uber tricks (spelling "Uber" in letters above the boost bar) before you can reach level two. WHITE (GLOWING) - You have filled up the second level of your boost bar and can now do Level Two Ubers. Once you do five Level Two Ubers (and fill up the world "Super" above the boost bar) you achieve the final step: RED (GLOWING) - You have now spelled out "SUPER UBER" above the Uber bar and are given unlimited boost for a limited amount of time (usually a minute or so.) During this time you can boost without running out, and if you manually reset you will not lose any boost at all. You will hear a small beeping and the red sphere above the boost bar will slow down as you near the end of your unlimited boost period. MANUAL RESET: (Select button for PS2) +-----------------------------------+ Pushing the manual reset button causes your character to immediately reset their position on the track. This feature is critical to get out of spots where you may be unable to move or are trapped in the terrain. The bad part of this is that using the manual reset button nearly drains you entire boost bar upon reappearing. CRASH RECOVERY +-------------+ During some crashes you will see a bar appear near the bottom of the screen. This is the crash recovery bar - tapping the boost button (square for PS2) will allow you fill this bar up and recover from crashes while still keeping your boost. It will also allow you to recover in midair and continue to do tricks if you fill it up before you land. If you do NOT fill the crash recovery bar, crashes can sometimes go on for 10 seconds or more! In some cases, filling the crash recovery bar will reset your character as though you had tapped the manual recovery button (Select for PS2). In most of these cases, using Crash Recovery allows you to keep your boost, whereas pushing the manual reset button uses nearly all your boost. BONUS ICONS/STYLE POINTS +-----------------------+ There are a new set of point and multiplier icons in the game and they may take some getting used to because many of them look the same. Here is the basic breakdown: =====[ RACING EVENTS ]===== Speed Boost - looks like a lightning bolt and causes your rider to hit max speed for a short time without using any boost. Trick Boost - looks like a purple set of arrows coming out from a single point. This icon greatly increases your trick ability enabling you to pull of some crazy tricks. I would say it easily quadruples your point stat for a short time. ===[ FREESTYLE EVENTS ]=== There are many more icons to identify in Freestyle events, but they fall into 2 basic categories - point bonuses and trick mulipliers. Thanks to FishEye for this info. Point Bonuses: Yellow er... "spikey ball" = 2000 points Blue Square = 3000 points Whitish (it's probably Platinum) colored Square/Diamond = 5000 points Black Square/Diamond = 10,000 points Trick Multipliers (multiplies the total of your trick by the number indicated): Yellow "X" = 2X multiplier (doubles your trick score) Blue "X" = 3X multiplier (triples your trick score) White (again, probably platinum) "X" = 5X multiplier (total times 5) Black "X" = 10X multiplier (trick total times ten) ===[ STYLE BONUSES: ]=== Style bonuses are bonuses given out when you do different techniques during a jumping trick. They vary and have different names depending on what you do when you are in the air: STALLS - Stalls are done by prewinding in one direction and beginning to flip/spin in that direction, and then pressing and holding the opposite direction. For example, I prewind down/left and jump, continuing to hold down/left and spinning that direction. Then, while I am still in the air, I press and hold UP/RIGHT (the direct opposite of down/left) and my character "stalls" out in the air, meaning their flips/spins stop. The word "STALL!" appears at the top of the screen and style points begin to accrue. The point bonuses get larger the longer you hold the stall, and you can now continue spinning/flipping in the original direction you held if you just resume holding it (like down/left in the above example.) LATE FLIP/SPINS: Late flips/spins are pretty much in the same boat, and acquire style points. You do them by switching over to only ONE direction if you jumped using a two-direction system. What do I mean? If I prewind and jump using UP/RIGHT, and then switch over to holding RIGHT only, I will get a "LATE SPIN!" Style bonus. Likewise, if I hold UP/RIGHT when jumping and then push UP, I will get a "LATE FLIP" bonus. Please note that Late Flips/Spins bonuses can only be done using one of the two directions you began flipping in. If I were to jump using UP/RIGHT and then press and hold LEFT, I would get either a "STALL!" or "OFF-AXIS!" bonus. OFF-AXIS: Off-axis bonuses are a little trickier to get, but are cool to look at. After a little research, and thanks to Ben Goldsmith for the tip, Off-Axis spins are almost any spin done in a direction other than the opposite of what you prewound. Basically, off-axis tricks are done when you push one of the other directions other than the one directly across from your prewind direction. For example, when you prewind DOWN/LEFT, and then once you are in mid-air, if you push either RIGHT or UP, you will begin spinning off axis. However, if you pushed both UP/RIGHT you would get a "STALL" bonus because it is exactly the opposite of the direction you prewound. You can also get off-axis spins if you push additional non-stall directions on the control pad, ie if you prewound DOWN/LEFT and push DOWN/RIGHT, you may get an off-axis bonus. Here is a quick reference guide from Gehodra until I figure out exactly how to get Off-Axis Tricks: off-axis is: forward/left to forward/right forward/right to forward/left backward/left to backward/right backward/right to backward/left INVERTED: Inverted bonuses are given when you do particular spins while your character is upside down (pushing directions in mid-air other than the one you prewound.) It can be tricky to get these, and it takes practice to get them purposefully. Don't count on them too much but enjoy the style points you get from inverted tricks. Here is a quick reference guide from Gehodra until I figure out exactly how to get Inverted Tricks: inverted is... ex: forward/left to backward/left forward/right to backward/right backward/left to forward/left backward/right to forward/right These "Style" bonuses are very cool to get, and add a lot of flavor and variety to your tricks. But remember that these style bonuses are always received INSTEAD of the points you would have received for your regular tricks and spins. Therefore you must decide if it is worth it to do a particular style tactic, because it may mean less points overall if your character is high enough in their stats. If I STALL out a trick, I will get STALL bonuses, but I am also losing the points I got if I would have just continued flipping/spinning. If in the case of STALLING out a trick, I may get 2500 points in STALL bonuses, but lose the 4000 points I would have gotten if I had continued to spin/flip normally. e. Combo System [GameplayComboSys] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The combo system in SSX 3 is a completely new feature that may take old SSX veterans some time to get used to. You will see within playing the game for a few hours, however, that the combo system is absolutely vital to master in order to achieve many of the game's point requirements for gold and platinum medals. The trick system works like this: once you engage in anything that scores points; rails, a jump, board press etc, a combo string begins. After you finish your current trick and begin another one, a counter will appear at the top of the screen that says "1x" - this means you have completed a combo of one move. The small circle above the 1x is the time limit that you must do another trick to continue the combo. The time limit between combo moves is around two seconds. With each successive move, the counter increases one ( 2x, 3x, 4x, etc.) and the combo bonus you get increases. In order to get the full bonus of the combo bonus, however, you must finish the combo. If you wipe out before finishing your combo, you will lose the ENTIRE combo bonus. That means the longer a combo goes on, the higher the score and more risk to you that you may crash and lose the entire bonus. The combo system may seem simple, but the scoring system behind it is actually very complex. To explain, we got an explanation straight from EA Big itself, in the form of SSX 3 Team Member Cody Ritchie: "When you do a trick, you points immediately get counted and add to your score. If you're doing a combo, a portion of the trick's score goes into the combo score, or 'pool'. The higher your combo is, the higher the portion that goes into the pool. So when the combo is low, only a small part of your trick goes into the pool, and when the combo gets higher & higher, a lot more of the trick goes into the pool. It even goes above just a portion, so that double your trick goes into the combo! So the least you get is trick x1.5 (trick score + half trick score) and as high as trick x 3 (trick score + 2x trick in combo score.) So if you do a huge monster trick worth 50,000 and your combo is high, then it would give you 0k into your score right away, and add 100k into the combo score. If you finish the combo (or cross the finish line) then the entire combo score gets added to the real score and that's your total. If you wipe out at any time, you always keep your regular score, but lose the entire combo pool. Now, as far as multipliers are concerned, they DON'T affect the trick combo score, just the regular score. So if you bust a huge 50,000 point trick through a 10x multiplier, and your combo score is high, you get 500,000 into the score (trick x10 mult) and the BASE trick x2 into the combo (100,000), for a total of 600,000 (if you land the combo) Some hints for high scores would be: * Do big scoring tricks after the combo is high, or you're missing out on points (you'll only get 1.5x instead of 3x, half as much!) * On big airs, it's more worth it to hold a single uber the entire time, than doing several in a row. The points accumulate faster for holding than when switching, plus you can get a long grab bonus. If you're trying to fill the uber meter, then do several small ones to get to the bigger scoring tricks. * Monster tricks are great for smaller jumps: it takes quite a big jump to do a 50k uber trick, but some monster tricks are quick and can be landed off a short jump. They can be tricky to pull off in a pinch though, find simple ones." Thanks Cody! :) f. UBERS - Rail/Air [GameplayUber] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= RAIL UBER TRICKS: New to SSX 3 are Rail Ubers. You do Rail Ubers by pushing one of the shoulder buttons (L1, L2, R1, R2) anytime when you are on a rail and your boost bar is at least at level 1. There are four Rail Ubers in the game, and they are the same for every character. Each is initially worth between 3-4000 points and are holdable, like all Ubers. Rail ubers, however, accumulate points much slower than Air Ubers. They still count towards your SUPER UBER total, however. A cool little trick with rail ubers is that you can get many more in a row if you go very slow on a rail instead of boosting past it. Just use the left analog stick to keep balanced on the rail and touch the boost if it looks like you may fall off. AIR UBER TRICKS: There are three levels of Uber tricks, but these "levels" mainly denote how long the animations are. The higher the level, the longer the animation and time needed to pull off the trick. Although the Ubers each character initially has are different, you can reassign any Ubers in the Lodge (except for Level 1 Ubers, those stay the same, and each character is given one particular set and it is unchangeable.) However, if you weren't given that Uber from the start, you must buy them using the money you have earned. The Cost column below shows the cost of each Uber that you can purchase from the Lodge. Trick Name Trick Level Cost +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ STALEFISH - R1 + Square buttons +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Springer Level 1 Cost: Default by Character Tricky Flicky Level 1 Cost: Default by Character G-Money Level 2 Cost: $10,000 Superman Level 2 Cost: $10,000 Smithereen Level 3 Cost: $15,000 Torpedo Level 3 Cost: $15,000 INDY - R2 + Square buttons +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Extended Play Level 1 Cost: Default by Character Can Opener Level 1 Cost: Default by Character Mattrickulater Level 2 Cost: $10,000 Karolicker Level 2 Cost: $10,000 Judo Level 3 Cost: $15,000 dnL Boost Level 3 Cost: $15,000 METHOD - L1 + Square buttons +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Reach Around Level 1 Cost: Default by Character Mahogany Level 1 Cost: Default by Character Jib-O Level 2 Cost: $10,000 Indian Level 2 Cost: $10,000 Hand in Hand Level 3 Cost: $15,000 Kort Martial Level 3 Cost: $15,000 MUTE - L2+Square buttons +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Clean Sweep Level 1 Cost: Default by Character Counter Point Level 1 Cost: Default by Character Bar Hop Level 2 Cost: $10,000 SSXorcist Level 2 Cost: $10,000 dnL Level 3 Cost: $15,000 Katana Level 3 Cost: $15,000 TAILGRAB - R1+R2+Square buttons +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Amazing Spenco Level 1 Cost: Default by Character Jay Tear Level 1 Cost: Default by Character Morgan Grinder Level 2 Cost: $10,000 Slinger Level 2 Cost: $10,000 Svelton Level 3 Cost: $15,000 Lukeloo Level 3 Cost: $15,000 Acrobat Level 3 Cost: $30,000 Superman Barspin Level 3 Cost: $30,000 Capo Level 3 Cost: $30,000 Banger Level 3 Cost: $30,000 Pommel Me Level 3 Cost: $30,000 NOSEGRAB - L1+L2+Square buttons +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Big Unit Level 1 Cost: Default by Character Kickin A' Level 1 Cost: Default by Character Madonna Level 2 Cost: $10,000 Vacation Level 2 Cost: $10,000 Footloose Level 3 Cost: $15,000 Trickitello Level 3 Cost: $15,000 Walking the Dog Level 3 Cost: $30,000 Sugar Rush Level 3 Cost: $30,000 LaLaLa Lock Step Level 3 Cost: $30,000 Pirouette Level 3 Cost: $30,000 Guillotine Level 3 Cost: $30,000 g. Uber Tricks Guide - by laidback0378 [GameplayUberDepth] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=