[General Topics] Menneisyys:
Also, make sure if you have a WM5-upgraded hx4700 or Dell Axim x50(v) you don’t install it into the main storage, only on a storage card. The reason for this is that the game often writes to state / config files in the home, which, if it’s in the built-in flash ROM, will, sooner or later, result in a time-consuming compaction. Please also see the comments here on this matter.

Compatibility

The game is compatible with all WM2003+ devices (not compatible with previous OS’es; that is, don’t expect PPC2k2 compatibility, unlike with, say, earlier builds of the original SkyForce). I haven’t had any problems on any Pocket PC’s I’ve tested the game on: the Pocket Loox 720, the Dell Axim x51v, the HTC Universal (all VGA devices), the QVGA HTC Wizard (running at 240 MHz to avoid stylus speed issues), the HP iPAQ 2210 and the WM5 Airis T620 (QVGA devices) and, finally, the WM5 HP iPAQ hw6915 (a square-screen device).

It runs in both portrait and landscape modes, using landscape orientation (with a game area wider than the height) in the latter. The ability to work in both cases is of great help for users that have Pocket PC models with a not very good screen, polarization-wise (for example, the x50v/x51v). Kudos to iDreams for this too!

It also supports vibrating; I’ve, however, after playing the game on the HTC Universal and HTC Wizard, haven’t seen it being used at all – not even at running on mines. I don’t know how it’s supposed to work. In the official iDreams forum, this S60 thread states you need to enable vibration on your S60 smartphones. On my doing so on my PPC PE’s (by switching off sounds entirely), I couldn’t make it work either. Hope this minor glitch will be addressed by the developers.

Note that the game does NOT use high resolution on VGA devices, despite what the blurb at ClickGamer states (“Pocket PC VGA resolution (fullscreen 640x480)”). It uses pixel doubling. However, if you're a VGA owner, this shouldn’t stop you from giving it a try - the visuals are really-really good even with pixel doubling!

Controls

Fortunately, everything related to controlling (including manual turbo mode, which isn’t really needed in the easy and normal difficulty level but you MUST use it in the last two leagues of the hard difficulty level) is accessible on the screen, by using the stylus. As a rule of thumb, you will want to control the car by the “analogue” stylus as it offers far better controllability (except for, sometimes, the car’s being hidden under the stylus) than the “digital” hardware D-pad.

You’ll only need the latter (if you don’t reconfigure your buttons) for shooting rockets and putting down mines. If your Pocket PC has a jog dial, you will want to play the game in Portrait mode, use the stylus to control the car (even including the manual turbo mode) and use the jog dial for the two kinds of weapons – it’s FAR easier to control the car this way than using the D-pad. On my Pocket Loox 720, which has a jog dial, it’s a treat to play the game using the jog dial to shoot / mine.

Unfortunately, the excellent PPC PE utility SmartSKey (see this for more info) doesn't work with title either, as with most other games.

However, the game does support the volume slider of some? most? Pocket PC phones if you explicitly redefine the game keys in Options. Just double-click Rockets and press the volume slider upwards and do the same with Mines and downwards. This will work independent of SmartSKey and makes gaming much easier on a lot of devices; for example, the HTC Wizard.

In-game tips; some stuff you need to be aware of

The game offers numerous (there’re about 33-34 of them and they’re shown in a sequence) tips upon starting to race. Some of them are just ads (like this), some general wisdom and / or silly stuff (also see this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this and this) , some more useful ones (also see this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this and this), some mention future (not yet existing) upgrades.

There are, however, two tips (mostly shown in the introductory, obligatory Quick Race) that can cause misunderstandings. One of them (see this) states weapons slow down your car. This is REALLY misleading and is not at all true. I’ve even done some speed tests. With the fastest car & all the possible upgrades, the car is capable of about 155 mph, with fully loaded weapons AND without them.

The other (see this) states you can earn 200 XP’s with reading the manual. This is pretty misleading too (at first, I’ve also searched hard for this in order to collect the 600 XP needed for unlocking the Championship mode as quickly as possible) – the PDF manual can only be read offline and you can’t make the game give you the 200 XP in any way. Yes, you’ll need to work through some Quick Races to gain access to the Championship mode.