F-Zero Central Staff Ghost: Surface Slide Course Giude

Surface Slide
The Optical Wing based custom machines have a good balance of handling and MTS ability. If you want to MTS a lot in this course, any of the D rated body parts will do. You can also try Quick Star/Cannon or any of the other E rated body parts, but those machines will be a lot more slippery. Black Bull is the machine with the WR in this course, but it is also very tricky to handle. Fat Shark isn’t the best machine for this course, but if you are able to boost, quick turn and MTS well it can potentially get a time well under 1’45.

The reason I used the Triple Z booster instead of Titan G4, other than to simply show other good boosters, is because I thought it suited the course better than Titan G4, at least in this level of play. The booster has a slightly better MT due to its lower acceleration, so after a boost it will maintain its speed better. And because there is only one energy strip, there will be times where you won’t be boosting, which I think suits Triple Z better. It’s not a massive advantage so if you want to stick with Titan G4 you certainly can and still get a good time on this course

Lap 1
Right away, after hitting the edge of the first of two boost plates, with a D rated custom machine, it is probably better to not MTS. Though if you are racing against a ghost and it turns out to be better then go right ahead. If you are using Quick Star/Cannon you definitely want to MTS about a second after hitting the boost plate.

On the small jump, based on past experience with racing against the ghost, it is faster to NOT dive downward and land level, but instead to glide in the air without adjusting your pitch at all. If you are using Black Bull, then I’m not 100% certain if that’s still the case.

As you approach the long turn, stay close to the left wall, and MTS the turn. Take note on how the machine is angled in the video right before I start the MTS. You want to exit the MTS once your machine begins to get close to the wall. You want to avoid overextending a MTS by turning less sharply since doing that will greatly reduce your MTS speed and your MTS exit speed.

However, with a machine like Quick Star or Black Bull, you are able to continue the MTS by sort of gliding right next to the inside wall without any issue, due to weird physics associated with any banking turns. It may take some trial and error before you get an idea of how much you can MTS without crashing or losing too much speed from over extending it.

On the S turns, even though I perform slide turns, it is preferable to quick turn them. If you are decent with MTSing, you can perform a big MTS on the first turn and then quick turn the second turn. If you are using Black Bull, you probably want to MTS both turns since his quick turn makes it loses so much speed.

On the first slight right turn after the S turns, you can perform a MTS there if you’d like. I opted not to so I can carry more speed to doing a MTS on the long turn. I did a single MTS there but it is certainly possible to cut time by doing two or three MTSs total.

On the final two turns, you can MTS either or both of them. MTSing the last turn in particular is tricky because of the large hump. If your machine goes through that hump at a sharp angle your machine will lift off, which will cancel the MTS. You can potentially go over the wall and go off course if you aren’t careful.

In the last straight, you can do some MTSing there as well. If you have already practiced MTS chaining, you can try some of that, but because it’s somewhat narrow and curves slightly to the right it can be somewhat tricky.

Lap 2
The first turn is indeed very MTSable. If you are using an E rated custom or Black Bull, I would MTS that turn after using a boost. But with D rated machines, it is probably better to not MTS it at all in order to build up more speed for the next turn.

Try to hit the boost plate before the drop. And like in lap 1 don’t pitch the nose down. If you misaligned the jump, use L or R to ensure you don’t miss the track.

I take the left refiller to make sure I don’t hit the outside wall when performing the high speed MTS. If you boost well enough you should be able to MTS the entire turn.

After the turn, you have many options for how to use your remaining boost. One thing you can do is to boost at least three times heading into the long turn, and then perform a MTS. If you’re going fast enough, you can MTS the entire turn, but it is tricky to do so without lifting off (due to the hump) or hitting the wall.

Alternatively you can boost fewer times to save your energy for the start of lap 3. What I did was sort of a hybrid of both strategies, but I played it very safe on the long turn MTS, and I still don’t MTS the last turn, which will certainly save you some time if done well.

Lap 3
While I recommended to not MTS turn 1 with D rated customs, because you have a lot of energy spent already, I would recommend to MTS it this time around. If you are using an E rated custom, try to not go too fast and too far inside the turn since you can potentially get the MTS cancelled by lifting off the track.

If you decided to go with the “save over half of my boost for lap 3, now is the time to start boosting. If you saved enough you will be boosting as you enter the refiller. If you have some energy left as you enter it (about 20% of the bar), that’s okay since at the speed you are going, you won’t be able to recover all of your energy anyways. It’s more boost to be used in the rest of the run.

If you are very low in energy because you used most of your boost in lap 2, use up the rest of your boost until you have no more energy. Once you hit the refiller on the right side, boost once and perform a MTS (you may want to stick with the left side if you’re using Quick Star).

For the rest of the lap, like in lap 2, you have some choice in the matter. I played it incredibly safe to make it not too difficult to beat, and as a sort of challenge to you to see if you are able to beat this relatively clean run (I know I hit the wall once by accident).

Boosting 4 times to get a fast MTS on the long turn will use up most if not all of your boost. You can delay your boost slightly so you can do three boosts headed to that turn instead. After the long turn, you may want to use one boost (probably the last one you can do at this point) before the last turn to MTS it, though it might be risky while you are at very low health. Alternatively you can do a boost into MTS or MTRS right before the finish.

Have fun with drifting (MTSing) in this course