+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +ELLER'S FAQ FOR TEST DRIVE 6 ON DREAMCAST+ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Version 1.0 9/21/2000 E-mail domain: ufl.edu E-mail address: eller Legal notice: I suppose this document is inherently protected by copyright law, but come on now, let's not take ourselves too seriously. It's just a FAQ for a video game. If you wanna put it up on your site, fine, if you wanna steal it and give yourself credit for it, fine. As long as the original is at GameFaqs under my name... but that's the thing. Nobody's going to do any of this, and that's the assumption under which I grant these rights. Heck, if you seriously think that you can make money by selling a piddling FAQ for a forgettable game, then be my guest. More power to you. I hereby waive my rights of protection as author of this document. I urge fellow writers of less-than-memorable FAQs to do the same. I mean, have you seen some of these legal sections out there? They're half as long as the FAQ itself! It's a waste of space anyway. Come on, admit it, you liked reading my legal section more than any of the pseudo-legal ramblings of those other FAQs. The way I see it, if you're going to blow a big fat paragraph at the top of your document, you should at least make it somewhat appealing to the 2 or 3 people who may eventually read it. Anyway, on with the FAQ... ---FAQ INTRO--- This is a pure FAQ. It will only be answering questions and compiling information that may be of some use to players of Test Drive 6. You WON'T find reviews, opinions, play instructions, or anything else that can be answered by the game manual/a Dreamcast web site/common sense. I wrote this FAQ because apparently someone requested it at GameFAQs, not because I felt the need to rehash the instruction manual. The idea is that this document should cover all the info about Test Drive 6 that you may not be able to find anywhere else, including the Internet. Now then... +++++++++++ +QUESTIONS+ +++++++++++ 1.) What are the differences between the cars? 2.) What are the differences between the tournaments? 3.) How do I unlock hidden cars and tracks? 4.) Does Cop Chase/Challenge mode unlock anything? 5.) Do the tracks exist in real life? 6.) Why didn't you cover X? 7.) Are there any cheats/codes for this game? 8.) Miscellaneous info +++++++++ +ANSWERS+ +++++++++ 1.) What are the differences between the cars? ---------------------------------------------- Cars in Test Drive 6 are modeled after their real life counterparts (more or less). Each has distinctive attributes for acceleration, speed, handling, and so on. Some of these attributes have been given a numerical rating (most of the time--but not always--the game's ratings for each car will be very close to the real life specs), but some can only be compared by taking the cars out for a spin. For example, the Caterham 7 and the old Boss 428 have similar enough stats in acceleration and top speed, but what the stat screens don't tell you (even though anyone with a decent knowledge of cars would know this already) is that the Mustang is hundreds (thousands?) of pounds heavier than the Caterham and can really be hard to handle for inexperienced drivers. Meanwhile, the little 7 can zip through corners more easily thanks to its smaller, lighter frame. It's just something to think about--use common sense when picking your vehicle. Below is a breakdown of all the cars in Test Drive 6. One thing to make note of: the 0 to 60 times are taken from the real life cars' times and are very accurate in that respect. However, with TD6's wacked-out physics, none of the times come close. In the game, a stock '90 Mustang (according to its stats, its 6.1-second 0-60 is tied for the worst) hits 60 mph in 4.1 or 4.2 actual seconds. The Audi TT, also with a reported time of 6.1 but with supposedly more lateral acceleration (0.91G versus 0.85G), takes about a tenth of a second *longer* to get to 60. Go figure. On the other end of the spectrum, the Speed 12 is supposed to take 2.8 seconds to get to 60, but a stock Speed 12 gets there in about 1.2. And, just because you're curious, I should mention that a maxed out Speed 12 tuned for acceleration will get from 0 to 60 in an outright ludicrous 0.7 seconds. The main thing to remember is that although the 0-60 times don't match up with their actual performance, all the stats are still relative from one car to the next. Therefore, the times shown in the game are still quite useful in comparing cars. CAR LIST ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year/Make/Model Class BHP 0-60 Top Accel Price ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1999 Ford F150 Lightning 1 360 5.8s 139 0.85G $ 24,000 1999 Lotus Elise 1 118 5.6s 130 0.89G $ 25,000 1969 Dodge Charger 1 425 5.6s 136 0.85G $ 26,000 1999 Plymouth Prowler 1 253 5.8s 130 0.87G $ 26,000 1990 Ford Mustang LX 5.0 1 255 6.1s 144 0.85G $ 27,000 1972 Plymouth Hemi Cuda 1 425 5.5s 140 0.85G $ 28,000 1982 Lotus Esprit Turbo 1 280 5.6s 130 0.88G $ 28,000 1968.5 Ford Mustang 428 CJ 1 510 4.9s 140 0.85G $ 31,000 1999 Audi TT 1 180 6.1s 145 0.91G $ 32,000 1999 Caterham 7 1 135 4.8s 138 0.92G $ 34,000 1999 Marcos Mantaray 1 340 5.4s 145 0.88G $ 35,000 1999 Jaguar XK-R 1 370 5.2s 152 0.91G $ 50,000 Dodge concept car 2 220 4.9s 155 0.96G $ 42,000 1999 Subaru Impreza 22B STI 2 302 4.9s 149 0.97G $ 43,000 1999 Venturi Atlantique 2 310 4.7s 170 0.90G $ 45,000 2000 Panoz Esperante 2 320 4.7s 160 0.97G $ 49,000 1999 TVR Griffith 2 320 4.1s 165 0.90G $ 50,000 1999 Shelby Series 1 2 320 4.4s 172 0.94G $ 55,000 1999 Nissan Skyline GTR 2 320 4.8s 155 1.10G $ 57,000 1999 Lotus Esprit V8 2 350 4.4s 178 0.93G $ 62,000 1997 Ford Mustang Super Stallion 2 545 4.3s 175 0.92G $ 65,000 1966 Shelby Cobra 3 425 4.1s 174 0.97G $ 65,000 1999 Saleen Mustang S351 3 495 4.4s 190 0.93G $ 70,000 1999 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage 3 420 4.7s 187 0.98G $ 72,000 2000 Jaguar XK-180 3 450 4.3s 180 0.91G $ 75,000 1999 TVR Cerbera 3 420 3.9s 185 0.97G $ 77,000 1999 Dodge Viper GTS 3 450 4.1s 186 0.95G $ 80,000 1999 Venturi 400GT 3 408 4.3s 181 0.97G $ 82,000 1968 Ford GT-40 4 485 4.5s 217 0.98G $ 500,000 1994 Jaguar XJ-220 4 542 3.8s 218 0.98G $ 500,000 1999 Dodge Viper GTS-R 4 525 3.2s 185 1.02G $ 500,000 1999 Lotus GT1 4 580 3.8s 195 1.20G $ 500,000 1999 Nissan R390 GT-1 4 550 3.9s 200 1.10G $ 500,000 1999 TVR Speed 12 4 800 2.8s 200 0.95G $ 500,000 Aston Martin Project Vantage 4 550 4.0s 200 0.96G $ 500,000 1999 Toyota GT-One 4 600 3.6s 225 1.10G $1,000,000 1969 Dodge Charger Police Car P 530 4.5s 136 0.85G ---------- 1999 Ford Mustang Police Car P 530 4.0s 190 0.93G ---------- 1999 Jaguar XK-R Police Car P 410 4.6s 152 0.91G ---------- 1999 TVR Cerbera Police Car P 460 3.5s 185 0.97G ---------- 2.) What are the differences between the tournaments? ----------------------------------------------------- Well, besides the expected differences of more cash and more races as you go up the tournament scale, there are also certain cars and tracks that won't be accessible in Practice or Single Race mode until you "unlock" them by winning specific tournaments. In order for you to easily choose which tournament you need to compete in, I have compiled all of the relevant information for each tourney. First, the races that make up the tournament are listed in the order in which they are raced, then the minimum and maximum wager amounts for each race in the tournament are shown. "Max Tournament Winnings" is how much you'd make if you entered the tourney, bet the maximum amount each race, and finished first in each race. The figure is simply: (tournament pot) + (winnings from all individual races) - (cumulative amount that was wagered on all races). So, for example, if you had $10,000 going into the Class 1 Tournament 1, and if you won every race after having wagered the maximum amount, you'd finish up with $32,500. The final three categories show you what cars and/or tracks you will unlock by winning the specific tournament. It's pretty self-explanatory... "Practice Car Unlocks" lists the cars you'll be able to race with in Practice mode after beating the tournament. "Practice Track Unlocks" shows the new tracks you'll be able to race on in Practice mode. And finally, "Single Race Track Unlocks" tells you which new tracks you can use in Single Race mode. NOTE: To see a table of all the unlocks listed by cars/tracks, consult section 3. +++++++++++++++++ +TOURNAMENT INFO+ +++++++++++++++++ ----------Class 1 Tournament 1---------- Race Lineup (3 total): 1. Pelton Raceway 2. Cape Hatteras 3. London Min Bet: $600 Max Bet: $2,000 Max Tournament Winnings: $22,500 Practice Car Unlocks: Caterham 7 99 Marcos Mantaray 82 Lotus Esprit Turbo 90 Mustang LX 5.0 99 Ford F150 Lightning 99 Plymouth Prowler Practice Track Unlocks: none Single Race Track Unlocks: none ----------Class 1 Tournament 2---------- Race Lineup (4 total): 1. England 2. Ireland 3. Egypt Backwards 4. Rome Min Bet: $1,000 Max Bet: $4,000 Max Tournament Winnings: $60,000 Practice Car Unlocks: none Practice Track Unlocks: none Single Race Track Unlocks: none ----------Class 2 Tournament 1---------- Race Lineup (6 total): 1. Lake Tahoe 2. England Backwards 3. Maui 4. Pelton Raceway 5. Jordan 6. London Backwards Min Bet: $2,000 Max Bet: $4,000 Max Tournament Winnings: $90,000 Practice Car Unlocks: 97 Ford Mustang Super Stallion 99 Shelby Series 1 99 TVR Griffith 00 Panoz Esperante Dodge Concept Car Practice Track Unlocks: Jordan Maui Lake Tahoe Single Race Track Unlocks: none ----------Class 2 Tournament 2---------- Race Lineup (7 total): 1. Rome Backwards 2. Caribbean 3. Switzerland 4. Ireland 5. Italy Backwards 6. Newcastle Backwards 7. Paris Min Bet: $2,500 Max Bet: $4,500 Max Tournament Winnings: $118,125 Practice Car Unlocks: none Practice Track Unlocks: Paris Switzerland Caribbean Newcastle Backwards Italy Backwards Single Race Track Unlocks: Paris ----------Class 3 Tournament 1---------- Race Lineup (10 total): 1. Rome 2. Cape Hatteras Backwards 3. New York 4. Italy 5. Maui 6. Jordan 7. London 8. Caribbean 9. England 10. Paris Backwards Min Bet: $6,000 Max Bet: $9,500 Max Tournament Winnings: $356,250 Practice Car Unlocks: 99 Venturi 400GT 99 TVR Cerbera 00 Jaguar XK-180 99 Saleen Mustang S351 Practice Track Unlocks: Newcastle Italy Paris Backwards Maui Backwards Single Race Track Unlocks: Paris Backwards ----------Class 3 Tournament 2---------- Race Lineup (12 total): 1. London Backwards 2. Caribbean Backwards 3. Egypt 4. Maui 5. Newcastle 6. Pelton Raceway 7. London 8. Cape Hatteras 9. Paris 10. Pelton Raceway Backwards 11. New York 12. Rome Backwards Min Bet: $8,000 Max Bet: $11,500 Max Tournament Winnings: $517,500 Practice Car Unlocks: none Practice Track Unlocks: New York Caribbean Backwards Single Race Track Unlocks: New York ----------Class 4 Tournament 1---------- Race Lineup (14 total): 1. New York 2. England Backwards 3. Lake Tahoe Backwards 4. Cape Hatteras Backwards 5. London 6. Paris Backwards 7. Pelton Raceway 8. Jordan Backwards 9. Ireland 10. Caribbean 11. Rome 12. Maui 13. Hong Kong 14. New York Backwards Min Bet: $12,000 Max Bet: $20,000 Max Tournament Winnings: $1,050,000 Practice Car Unlocks: 99 Nissan R390 GT-1 99 Lotus GT1 94 Jaguar XJ-220 99 Dodge Viper GTS-R 99 TVR Speed 12 Practice Track Unlocks: Hong Kong New York Backwards Jordan Backwards Lake Tahoe Backwards Single Race Track Unlocks: Hong Kong New York Backwards ----------Class 4 Tournament 2---------- Race Lineup (16 total): 1. Paris 2. Rome 3. Hong Kong 4. Pelton Raceway 5. London Backwards 6. Hong Kong Backwards 7. Pelton Raceway Backwards 8. Cape Hatteras 9. Rome Backwards 10. Ireland 11. New York Backwards 12. London 13. Cape Hatteras Backwards 14. New York 15. England 16. Paris Backwards Min Bet: $15,000 Max Bet: $25,000 Max Tournament Winnings: $1,500,000 Practice Car Unlocks: 99 Toyota GT-One Practice Track Unlocks: Hong Kong Backwards Switzerland Backwards Single Race Track Unlocks: Hong Kong Backwards 3.) How do I unlock hidden cars and tracks? ------------------------------------------- You unlock hidden cars and tracks by winning various tournaments. Well, to tell you the truth, there are no "hidden" cars or tracks in Test Drive 6. I mean, not in the sense of you being suddenly challenged by a McLaren F1 to a race at the Autobahn. All the cars and courses you "unlock" are available in Tournament mode. I would imagine that the reasoning goes like this: The game developers have a certain amount of cars and a certain amount of tracks. In order to increase the longevity of the title, they decide not to make all tracks immediately able to be raced on. So they come up with the idea of many tracks not coming up until later stages of long tournaments. Of course, if the only way to race on, say, Hong Kong was to build up to a class 4 car and wade through 12 races in tournament 4-1, nobody would be doing it. So, in order to keep some of the tracks a "surprise" for later in the game, but still able to be played at will once they've been found, the developers used the trendy "unlocking" system. It also solves the problem of motivation for a player to play through and win all of the tournaments to unlock everything, since there's no real ending to speak of. Grumble grumble..... ANYway, here's a list of the cars and tracks available before you win any tournaments. -Single Race Tracks- -Practice Cars- -Practice Tracks- Rome 99 Jaguar XK-R Rome Rome Backwards 99 Audi TT Rome Backwards London 68.5 Ford Mustang 428 CJ London London Backwards 72 Plymouth Hemi Cuda London Backwards 99 Lotus Elise Pelton Raceway 69 Dodge Charger Pelton Raceway Backwards 99 Lotus Esprit V8 Ireland 99 Nissan Skyline GTR Ireland Backwards 99 Venturi Atlantique England 99 Subaru Impreza 22B STI England Backwards 66 Shelby Cobra Cape Hatteras 99 Dodge Viper GTS Cape Hatteras Backwards 99 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Egypt 68 Ford GT-40 Egypt Backwards Aston Martin Project Vantage Now, here's a table that will tell you which tournament you'll have to win in order to get a specific car/track unlocked. CAR/TRACK CLASS/TOUR NUMBER --------- ----------------- ---Single Race mode----------------------------------- Track: Hong Kong............................4-1 Track: Hong Kong Backwards..................4-2 Track: New York.............................3-2 Track: New York Backwards...................4-1 Track: Paris................................2-2 Track: Paris Backwards......................3-1 ---Practice mode-------------------------------------- Car: Caterham 7.............................1-1 Car: Dodge Concept Car......................2-1 Car: Dodge Viper GTS-R......................4-1 Car: Ford F150 Lightning....................1-1 Car: Ford Mustang LX 5.0....................1-1 Car: Ford Mustang Super Stallion............2-1 Car: Jaguar XK-180..........................3-1 Car: Jaguar XJ-220..........................4-1 Car: Lotus Esprit Turbo.....................1-1 Car: Lotus GT1..............................4-1 Car: Marcos Mantaray........................1-1 Car: Nissan R390 GT-1.......................4-1 Car: Panoz Esperante........................2-1 Car: Plymouth Prowler.......................1-1 Car: Saleen Mustang S351....................3-1 Car: Shelby Series 1........................2-1 Car: Toyota GT-One..........................4-2 Car: TVR Cerbera............................3-1 Car: TVR Griffith...........................2-1 Car: TVR Speed 12...........................4-1 Car: Venturi 400GT..........................3-1 Track: Caribbean............................2-2 Track: Caribbean Backwards..................3-2 Track: Hong Kong............................4-1 Track: Hong Kong Backwards..................4-2 Track: Italy................................3-1 Track: Italy Backwards......................2-2 Track: Jordan...............................2-1 Track: Jordan Backwards.....................4-1 Track: Lake Tahoe...........................2-1 Track: Lake Tahoe Backwards.................4-1 Track: Maui.................................2-1 Track: Maui Backwards.......................3-1 Track: Newcastle............................3-1 Track: Newcastle Backwards..................2-2 Track: New York.............................3-2 Track: New York Backwards...................4-1 Track: Paris................................2-2 Track: Paris Backwards......................3-1 Track: Switzerland..........................2-2 Track: Switzerland Backwards................4-2 4.) Does Cop Chase/Challenge mode unlock anything? -------------------------------------------------- No, not unless you count being able to play Stop the Bomber after completing all 5 tracks in Stop the Racers. Not even completing all 5 tracks in Stop the Bomber has any effect. You don't get to play on any new tracks, nor do you get to use any new cop cars. Challenge mode doesn't have any purpose other than to net you easy money. Completing all the challenges, even doing so repeatedly and with phenomenal times, doesn't open up any new challenges. The purpose of both of these modes is to let you get a hold of some money if you're low. You have to spend money (on upgrades as well as in the form of wagering) in order to make money in this game, and if you are stuck at around zero cash, you can't even enter a race to make some dough. Cop Chase and the Challenges provide the only ways to make money without risking anything. This is their only purpose... well, ok, another purpose is to add a twist to the game and give it more playability, but to answer the initial question: no, these two play modes don't accomplish anything besides helping you get by financially. 5.) Do the tracks exist in real life? ------------------------------------- No. The programmers did, however, take actual famous sites and include them in their appropriate locations. But these are just pieces of scenery and have been transplanted for the sake of giving each track a bit of a regional identity. I mean, think about it... if you weren't questioning the existence of a road that links Big Ben to New Scotland Yard a mile or two away, then surely you had to notice something was wrong when you were driving under the Eiffel tower at 200 miler per hour... 6.) Why didn't you cover X? --------------------------- As I said at the beginning of this FAQ, my goal was not to give a review of this game, or to summarize the controls, or to offer what may or may not be helpful advice. The purpose of this document was to answer any questions that *could not be answered anywhere else*, at least without tedious research. This is a compilation of all of the concrete data regarding TD6, and hopefully it saved a few people some time or clarified for some people why the game acts the way it does. If you want a summary of the controls or of the different play modes, read the manual. If you want a review, go to dreamcast.ign.com (or don't, the review might scare you away from TD6). For those of you who think this FAQ is incomplete without some sort of "driving tips" or course walkthroughs, come on. To tell the truth, this game is hopelessly easy. Practice a couple of races, and then play through a tournament. It's not that hard. Even the toughest parts of the game, like getting all the Stop the Bomber chases completed, can be done if you just keep trying. Even if I did feel like holding people's hand through a subpar racing video game, I wouldn't have any strategic wisdom to dispense. The aforementioned Stop the Bomber missions all seem to come down to luck anyway. For races, buy the most expensive car and upgrade the heck out of it. Even if you spend half the time careening into walls, you can usually win if you have the most powerful machine and know how to tune it for each track. That's another thing: tuning. I was thinking of including a section on how to best set up your car for particular situations, but then I sat down and swept through Tournament 4-2 with all my GT-One's settings at dead center. My conclusion: Racing strategy doesn't play a role in Test Drive 6. Just stand on it and steer. For everything else I that could have included, it's just not stuff that belongs in a pure FAQ. 7.) Are there any cheats/codes for this game? --------------------------------------------- A few. They all have to do with what name you enter when you go into the race menu. Enter the following names for the effect listed: AKJGQ: Gives you $6,000,000. RFGTR: You can go right to Stop the Bomber in Cop Chase mode without having beaten the five Stop the Racers stages. ERERTH: Unlocks all the tracks in both Practice and Single Race modes. Note this doesn't unlock ALL the tracks in Single Race mode, only the ones that can normally be unlocked. DFGY: Unlocks all the cars for use in Practice Mode. There are also a few Gameshark codes floating around out there. 8.) Miscellaneous Info ---------------------- Here are a few facts about Test Drive 6 that probably won't be frequently asked questions, but nevertheless may prove useful to some players. * In Tournaments, you start out in last place for the first race. For every other race, your starting position is the position in which you finished the previous race. * During the stats screen when your selected car is spinning around, hold the L and R triggers in to stop the car from rotating. Then use left and right on the directional pad to rotate the car manually. * Cars will always sell for exactly half the amount you have put into them, even if you spent money on multiple upgrades for the same part. For instance, if you bought a $10,000 engine upgrade and then later bought a $30,000 engine upgrade for the same car, you'll still get back half the car's initial price plus $20,000 (half of the combined upgrade cost). * For single races, the prize money is as follows: 1st Place: (bet) x 3.5 2nd Place: (bet) x 2 3rd Place: (bet) x 0.5 So your earnings per win (1st place finish) will be: (bet) x 2.5 ...... For tournament races, the prize money is as follows: 1st Place: (bet) x 1.75 2nd Place: (bet) x 1 3rd Place: (bet) x 0.25 Pot Money: (bet) x 3 So your earnings per win will be: (bet) x 0.75 BUT if you win the tournament, your earnings jump to: (bet) x (number of races) x 3.75 (provided you win all the races). This makes your earnings per win average out to: (bet) x (3.75) ...... to compare the two earning rates, divide one by the other: 3.75(bet) / 2.5(bet) = 1.5 SO.... Winning tournament races is exactly 50% more lucrative than winning single races... just in case you were wondering. 9.) A final note ---------------- If anyone out there reads this FAQ and has a question, correction, point of discussion, etc., go ahead and e-mail me. My address is eller and my domain name is ufl.edu. If you don't know a.) why I did that or b.) how to turn that into a working e-mail address, then you're probably the kind of person that I don't want to hear from anyway. Have a nice day! -Eller