GTC AFRICA: GAME GUIDE by Jamie Stafford/Wolf Feather FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM Initial Version Completed: June 8, 2002 FINAL VERSION Completed: July 3, 2002 ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== JOIN THE FEATHERGUIDES E-MAIL LIST: To be the first to know when my new and updated guides are released, join the FeatherGuides E-mail List. Go to for information about the list and to subscribe for free. ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== CONTENTS Spacing and Length Permissions Introduction Championships Team Status Circuits Wish List Contact Information ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== SPACING AND LENGTH For optimum readability, this driving guide should be viewed/printed using a monowidth font, such as Courier. Check for font setting by making sure the numbers and letters below line up: 1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ============================================== PERMISSIONS Permission is hereby granted for a user to download and/or print out a copy of this driving guide for personal use. However, due to the extreme length, printing this driving guide may not be such a good idea. This driving guide may only be posted on: FeatherGuides, GameFAQs.com, f1gamers.com, Games Domain, PSXCodez.com, Cheatcc.com, gamesover.com, Absolute-PlayStation.com, RedCoupe, InsidePS2Games.com, CheatPlanet.com, The Cheat Empire, a2zweblinks.com, Gameguru, cheatingplanet.com, RobsGaming.com, neoseeker.com, ps2fantasy.com, and vgstrategies.com. Please contact me for permission to post elsewhere on the Internet. Should anyone wish to translate this driving guide into other languages, please contact me for permission(s) and provide me with a copy when complete. Remember: Plagiarism in ANY form is NOT tolerated!!!!! ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== INTRODUCTION GTC Africa combines rally racing with wheel-to-wheel racing action across the continent of Africa. The settings are definitely intriguing, and some are eye-catching enough that it is very easy to focus on the scenery (such as Kenya's waterfall with a rainbow) and not the often-tricky race course itself. In fact, if an area is particularly scenic, it is generally an indication that that portion of the circuit is very difficult. This game also introduces something rather novel in racing games: Team Status. In many racing games, all that matters is that the player earn enough points in a championship to win the championship. Team Status takes this a step further, so that the driver's skill - measured in the amount of damage a car receives during a race - is factored in. Team Status is only used in Championship Mode. To begin playing, go first to Options and adjust all the settings if necessary. Then go to Single Race and participate in both of the initially-available circuits; this will give the player a good feel for the game and also allow the player to test the various cars owned by each team. ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== CHAMPIONSHIPS Championship Mode contains three championships: East Coast Championship, North-South Challenge, and African Tour. It is especially important to win as many events as possible early in each championship, as it will become more and more difficult to perform well in the latter races of a championship. In each championship, points are awarded ALMOST in FIA style: P1 10 points P2 6 points P3 4 points P4 2 points P5 1 point P6 0 points For comparison, FIA style is as follows: P1 10 points P2 6 points P3 4 points P4 3 points P5 2 points P6 1 points Thus, unless a driver has a significant lead in championship points entering the final races, simply finishing a race DOES NOT guarantee earning points. The East Coast Championship uses the following circuits: Cape Town Lesotho Botswana Zimbabwe Zambia Tanzania Kenya Ethiopia Eritrea Egypt The North-South Challenge uses the following circuits: Egypt Libya Tunisia Morocco Mali Nigeria Congo Angola Nambia Cape Town 2 The African Tour uses all the circuits from the two previous championships. ============================================== TEAM STATUS At the beginning of Championship Mode, the player chooses a team, and starts with a Team Status of 50%. As the player performs worse and worse in the championship and the car receives more and more damage, the Team Status drops; the better a driver's performance in each race and the less damage a car receives per race, the Team Status rises. Fortunately, teams do understand that some damage is likely to occur in a race; cars swap paint, the rear end swings out on tight corners and bangs a barrier, etc. Thus, if the car takes less than 10 points of damage, this has no effect on the Team Status. However, at 10 or more points of damage, the Team Status fluctuation per event receives a penalty, which can generally be offset by performing well in a race. In an extreme case, the car can receive 30 or more damage points in a race, which results in a penalty of -6% to Team Status; only a race win - which earns +8% to Team Status - will keep the driver's Team Status from dropping after that race. Team Status is also important for finishing each race. In Championship Mode, the driver must complete each race within the time allotted. If the Team Status is higher than 50%, the allotted time is slowly raised. However, if the Team Status is lower than 50%, the allotted time is slowly reduced. A higher allotted time obviously allows more time for race completion, thus slightly easing one of the driver's many concerns during a race. However, as the allotted time decreases, this adds more and more pressure on the driver. ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== CIRCUITS GTC Africa boasts a total of nineteen circuits. Unfortunately, the game does not provide a circuit overview until that circuit is loading; a course map is not even provided until the race is underway. Therefore, here are the nineteen circuits of GTC Africa, along with both what the circuit-loading screen states and my personal observations. Cape Town Loading Screen: Mainly tarmac road, with a short off-road hill climb, twisting down into a high-speed coastal run punctuated by fast bends. Personal Observations: This first circuit is fairly easy, but it is still possible to overcook corners and lose valuable race positions. Extreme care must be taken along the coast, as several of the corners are much tighter than they at first appear. Lesotho Loading Screen: Dry dirt track with wide sweeping bends, grit, sand, and a short tarmac section. Personal Observations: This is also a fairly easy circuit, but beware the banking on either side of the course, as it can easily cause the car to flip. Botswana Loading Screen: Fast, dry gravel track and a short tarmac road section with fast straights and tight challenging corners. Personal Observations: Good power out of the corners is key here. Take care in the final straightaway, which contains several jumps and a narrow bridge; coming off a jump somewhat askew is likely to destroy any chance of winning here. Zimbabwe Loading Screen: Short tarmac section with dirt track descending into a twisting muddy gorge, then winding sharply through the countryside. Personal Observations: The twisty section between the mountains is an excellent place to pass by getting on the inside of an opponent and bumping the other car(s) off the optimal racing line. Except the twisty mountain-floor section, the course is fairly well- marked. Zambia Loading Screen: Fast, dusty track, twisting through a lush, populated valley. Personal Observations: This course is roughly in a figure-eight configuration. Take extreme care with the final portion of the circuit, as the course is narrow with fences on either side; single-file is almost certainly preferable here. Tanzania Loading Screen: High-altitude tarmac road snaking across a mountain, covered with ice and snow. Personal Observations: This is another course in a figure- eight formation. If running in a pack, go through the tunnel single-file to avoid incurring A LOT of damage, as the tunnel is VERY narrow. Also, brake well before exiting the tunnel, as the road takes a nasty left-hand perpendicular turn. Kenya Loading Screen: Slippery jungle track with tight bends, opening up onto a baked dirt track twisting across a sweeping dusty plain. Personal Observations: Whenever possible, straightline the consecutive tight S-curves. Also, keep the eyes on the road, especially around the waterfall. Ethiopia Loading Screen: Slippery dirt and mud track with many tight corners. Personal Observations: This dusk race has reduced visibility, so intimate knowledge of the circuit is key to success here. The course itself is lined with high, steep banks and occasional boulders, so keep to the racing surface at all costs!!!! Also, on the approach to the tunnel, it appears that the tunnel is essentially non-existent, like the fake tunnels in Warner Bros.' Wile E. Coyote cartoons; however, keep powering on through, as the 'fake' appearance is simply an illusion created by the upward slope of the dirt/mud road through the tunnel. Eritrea Loading Screen: Fast tarmac road climbing from a village into coastal hills, descending into a sandy, twisting beach section. Personal Observations: It is VERY easy to slip off the road here, especially in the sandy section at the end. Egypt Loading Screen: Dusty, tarmac road with sandy sections and many sharp bends. Personal Observations: It is VERY easy to overcommit to the many consecutive hairpin corners. Also, this race takes place at dusk, so visibility is fairly poor. Libya Loading Screen: Hot, dry and barren desert section on tarmac road, twisting over sand into the cool shadow of the hills before emerging again onto baking tarmac. Personal Observations: It is IMPERATIVE to stay on the racing surface, otherwise, the sand will slow the car to a snail's pace and allow the competition to quickly catch up and make easy passes. In the final third of the circuit, the road runs directly into the blazing sun, making visibility difficult. Tunisia Loading Screen: Largely tarmac roads, with a high-speed dash past beach-front hotels and a twisting section past a Roman amphitheater in the desert sands. Personal Observations: Drivers who get caught out in the sand here will lose speed, but not nearly as much as in Libya. Beware the boulders, lampposts, and palm trees along much of the circuit. Intimate knowledge of the course is key to success here, as many corners are unsighted on approach. Shortly after passing the hotels, the road narrows with fences on either side. Morocco Loading Screen: Tarmac road winding through a fortified town, then dirt road snaking upward into the surrounding hills. Personal Observations: This tiny venue is extremely tricky. There are several points where the road briefly diverges, which - if used judiciously - can allow for easily passing a pack of cars. However, the many trees and lampposts provide constant obstacles all along the circuit. Also, there is a section of consecutive hairpin corners - all on an uphill slope - which will make players wish they were attempting to pass the Complex String Time Trial in the Arcade Mode of Gran Turismo 3!!! Mali Loading Screen: Cracked earth road skirting a lake before climbing into a twisting hill section. Personal Observations: Climbing the mountain is made very tricky with the position of the sun. Excellent cornering will be required descending the mountain. Nigeria Loading Screen: High-speed circuit with tarmac and dirt track sections, circling a volcanic crater lake. Personal Observations: This almost perfectly circular circuit is highly unique in that it also offers a split in the course; however, the Start/Finish 'Line' is actually two Lines as they are located about two-thirds of the way along this split!!! Perhaps the best path to take at the split is to the right, as this provides the best possible racing line when the two paths rejoin at the entrance of a narrowed corner. Congo Loading Screen: Deep jungle mud track with fast bends and straights with jumps. Personal Observations: To quote JP from SSX Tricky, 'Le retour de la jongle!!!' The road is certainly wide enough for two-wide racing; some sections may even accommodate three-wide racing. However, there are barriers on both sides of the road almost the entire way around the circuit, so there is no recovery area in case a driver overcooks a corner. It is also quite interesting seeing the birds fly by :-) Angola Loading Screen: Fast dirt track, with a sweeping desert section. Personal Observations: This course has several jumps, some of which can be treacherous because - if taken at full speed - the landing zone is directly against a barrier. Some corners are better approached as wide U-type corners. Nambia Loading Screen: Dirt track and tarmac through narrow gorges and across wooden bridges. Personal Observations: Due to the narrowness of the circuit, expect passing here to be extremely difficult, almost as difficult as passing at the Grand Prix of Monte Carlo in F1 racing. Fences and rock cliffs line most of the circuit, with several large boulders also providing incentive to keep using the brakes. Cape Town 2 Loading Screen: Inner city, street driving on tarmac with many tight bends. Personal Observations: This is even more annoying than the Complex String circuit in Gran Turismo 3 :-( This course is almost entire comprised of right-angle turns which double back on themselves. Even worse, the brief straightaways between the corners are too long to treat these as wide U-type corners. Also, plenty of fencing blocks any possibility of shortcutting a corner, so passing to the inside of an opponent on braking will be quite difficult here. Driving on the cobblestone streets feels really weird if the vibration function is activated. ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== WISH LIST Since race venues are only unlocked by performing well in Championship Mode, drivers should be permitted the opportunity to take a few practice laps at each new venue in Championship Mode. This would be FAR better than 'forcing' drivers to participate in races with no prior knowledge of the venues in their first time through the Championships. Qualifying would be a nice addition to the game :-) It is very easy to forget how many laps have been completed and how many remain; having a lap counter, or a message indicating Final Lap, would be greatly beneficial. Since accumulating ZERO damage points in a race is rare, this should be rewarded by the team by raising Team Status, perhaps by 4% or even by 6%. ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== CONTACT INFORMATION For questions, rants, raves, comments of appreciation, etc., or to be added to my e-mail list for updates to this driving guide, please contact me at: FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM ; also, if you have enjoyed this guide and feel that it has been helpful to you, I would certainly appreciate a small donation via PayPal () using the above e-mail address. To find the latest version of this and all my other PSX/PS2 game guides, please visit FeatherGuides (). The latest version will always be posted at FeatherGuides, while other Web sites may lag behind by several days in their regularly-scheduled posting updates. ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== ======================================================================= Wolf Feather Jamie Stafford ======================================================================= Just as there are many parts needed to make a human a human, there's a remarkable number of things needed to make an individual what they are. - Major Kusanagi, _Ghost in the Shell_ ======================================================================= What isn't remembered never happened. - _Serial Experiments Lain_ =======================================================================