Hotshot Tales, Part 8: Multi-Kills, Melee, and Killfeeds

Hotshot Tales, Part 8: Multi-Kills, Melee, and Killfeeds

One of the best bits about the Drive or Explode and Barrel Barrage modes in Hotshot Racing is that, unlike in the other modes, you can eliminate opponents directly. In the former, this can be done through melee (via hitting a car that is close to exploding); in the latter, you'll need to collect a barrel by completing a sector, and then place that barrel behind you such that an opponent hits it (although this will only result an elimination if the victim has 20% health or less, given that collisions with barrels only cause 20 damage each). However, with the former being a much rarer occurrence in Drive or Explode, most eliminations in that mode are the result of a player remaining below the target speed for too long, or taking too long to complete a sector after the leader has done so.

In contrast, direct melee kills are impossible to achieve in Barrel Barrage, but it is possible to achieve an indirect melee kill by pushing a badly damaged opponent into a barrel. Drive or Explode also allows you to achieve indirect melee kills, but doing so in that mode involves hitting an opponent so that they lose control, spin out, and fail to complete the sector or reach the target speed soon enough to avoid elimination. It's more likely, however, for a player to be eliminated on their own by not traveling fast enough (without the effects of a collision with another player) for too long, or to reach the end of the sector in time.

In both modes, however, it is possible for the same player to cause a multi-kill, whether throughout direct or indirect means, or any combination of the two. Here, a multi-kill refers to scoring two or more kills in the same event. It can even arise from hitting two very heavily damaged opponents at once (or at least within a second of each other), but this is extremely rare (as are multi-hits in general). Moreover, the game won't keep track of any times a player hits a barrel (unless you placed it yourself and/or it resulted in that player's elimination) in a single-player Barrel Barrage race. And therein lies the problem: that mode (along with Cops & Robbers and Drive or Explode) desperately need a killfeed (similar to that found in many first-person shooter games, and even some vehicular simulators) that constantly shows who hit/killed/turned whom. And for good measure, the post-race screen should also show how many hits/kills each player got during a race.

However, I have managed to achieve multi-hits and multi-kills (though rarely simultaneously) multiple times in Single Race modes other than Arcade Mode, and in some of my attempts, I even scored at least one melee kill, whether directly or not. Even so, winning a race in those modes after accomplishing any of these feats remains a challenge, although it is still possible with a lot of skill - and a bit of luck.

To give you an example, here's a recent Barrel Barrage race on Expert difficulty over the full 7 laps that resulted in me being the sole survivor.

Above, from top: Highlights from a 7-lap Barrel Barrage race on Expert at The Marina using Marcus' Carbon. I got at least 10 hits and 4 kills this time - an impressive performance considering that I came close to being eliminated at one point.

This race was chaotic from start to finish - my first kill was against Aston (in a Shadow) on the first lap, made easier by the fact that his car was badly damaged after completing just one sector. My second kill (against Keiko's Super F-90) came after I hit her car with five barrels (which took me three laps). By that time, Viktor and Toshiro (in a Blade and Wild Line, respectively) had already been eliminated, although I managed to push the former into a barrel to take him out. Just before completing the fourth lap, Mike's Athena fell by the wayside, and I went after Xing's Sentinel, which was now so badly damaged that a pair of barrels would finish it off - and sure enough, it exploded after I hit him twice with my barrels. And right before I started the last lap, I took out Alexa (who had just been lapped) with one last barrel; from then on, I just had to avoid the other racers' barrels for one lap to win - which is exactly what happened.

Above: A compilation of some of the greatest hits (including all four of my direct kills) from the Barrel Barrage at The Marina. I even managed to push Keiko into a barrel, taking some damage in the process - but I survived and was able to cruise to an uncontested victory after all of my opponents had been eliminated.

And here's an example of a direct melee kill I got in a Drive or Explode race at Temple Ruins.

Above: This is a rare example of a direct melee kill in a Drive or Explode race. I hit Alexa's Stallion from the right-hand side coming into the final turn at Temple Ruins, and since her car was already badly damaged, it was enough to eliminate her on the spot. I went on to win this particular race, with Xing's Alpha being the only other finisher, albeit several seconds behind and on the brink of elimination.

In short, it's always satisfying to get a direct kill in a Barrel Barrage or Drive or Explode race, and even more so if you manage to do it more than once (a rare feat, whatever the circumstances). Indirect kills will also have the same effect, though not to the same extent. In any case, I think a sequel should have a killfeed for both of these modes, to better keep track of who attacked (or eliminated) whom over the course of a race.