Hey hey race fans!
It's the biggest thing to hit Whyville since the Warp Wagon! It's the
Whyville SmartCars Arena! Check it out, down by the Sportzplatz!
Many of us have played the SmartCars Beta game, and the folks at City
Management want to thank us all for sending in our comments. Based on our
ideas and a few of their own, the SmartCars game has been expanded to an
entire racetrack, complete with bleachers, speed shop, and a special
nonstop tournament.
Now, me, I found the Beta version pretty tough to figure out, and
something short of exciting, so I was a little doubtful about making a
whole racetrack of the things. But when City Hall invited me in for a
sneak peek (so I'd get the scoop for this article!), WOW was I blown
away!! It's actually pretty cool!
Before you grab that checkered flag, though, you've got to get into the right
pole position by signing up to be a SmartCars racer.
Go to the Arena, then into the Hall of Champions on the
left. Once you're there, say hi to Bea, the lady who
runs the Challenge Desk. Click on her desk to sign up!
Once you enter your signature, you'll be able to challenge your fellow racers.
I know most of you will want to get straight to racing -- that's just what I wanted to
do when City Hall was giving me the tour! Here's what she said to do:
"Bea's the lady to talk to about challenging. To find out whom you can
challenge, click on her desk AGAIN after you've signed up. This will
bring up a list of the 10 people above you on the tournament ladder,
a whole bunch of times to schedule your challenge for,
and different racetracks to choose from. Pick one of each and
click the "Challenge!" Button at the bottom. A Y-mail will be sent to that
person, asking him to accept or decline your challenge. If he accept,
the race is on; if he declines, too bad. But it's important to
race a lot and decline as little as possible, in order to stay at the top
of the tournament ladder!"
Once you've sent a challenge, you're not done yet. In fact, you've only
just started. You'll need to get ready! In the SmartCars Arena, it's not
only the car that you design, it's also the lights that
you set up that decide whether you win or lose. If you don't know what I
mean, I suggest you check out the
Speed Shop and talk with Slim before continuing.
All your challenges are listed in the Race Book in your satchel.
There's a list of your pending races to help you keep track of the
status of your upcoming race. You'll be able to see there if the people you've
challenged have accepted, and it also links to the configuration page for each race.
The configuration page is where you set up your car and lights that will guide your car down the
track.
Here's a piece of useful info: if your car doesn't seem to want to follow the lights,
it might be set to avoid them. Click "Show Expert Mode", and you'll be able
to completely reconfigure your car. Again, if you're confused, you should definitely
visit Slim for some help.
Remember, give your opponents plenty of time to decide whether they want
to race you! You don't have to wait to set up your configuration, but you
can end up wasting a lot of time if they decline your challenge!
The Times will have more articles about the Arena next week, with more details
on the rules of the tournament, as well as how you can earn clams playing
SmartCars. It's going to be hard work, but I'm told that if you place in
the top 10 each week, you'll be up for some big payola!
From the grease monkeys and racing stripes under Bigfoot's hood,
Bigfoot Bill
Tips to keep in mind:
- Visit Slim at the Speed Shop for a tutorial and mess around at
the Practice Tracks to get the hang of it all
-
Sign up at the Hall of Challengers first.
-
Click Bea's desk again to challenge someone -- remember to pick a person,
time, and racetrack, and hit Challenge!
-
The Race Book in your satchel contains your up-coming races, the
tournament rankings, and your race history.
-
You also go to your Race Book when you want to configure your
racetrack. Don't forget to do this before each race!
-
In the configuration screen, "Show Expert Mode" will let you decide how
your Smart Car reacts to the lights you set up.
-
Don't forget to click Accept or Decline when you get a Y-mail telling
you that you've been challenged!
