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Introduction

Rail Racer 2 is under construction

The background

Every day on the planet Earth, hundreds of tons of meteorites enter our atmosphere. Most of these objects are smaller than an average human fingernail, and burn up once inside our atmosphere. But sometimes the meteorites are massive enough to punch through and collide with the surface of our planet. What came to be known as Odysseus' Comet was assumed by the astronomers to be a meteorite of this latter type. But the astronomers were very wrong. Soon after entering our atmosphere, Odysseus' Comet exploded over the western hemisphere, and the results were catastrophic. No one knows even now what substance the meteorite was made of, but we do know all too well its effects. The explosion of light from Odysseus scorched vegetation that took years to grow back, caused hideous sunburns on humans and animals alike, and wiped out wireless communications for weeks. But these were not the worst. The blast was so bright that it instantly blinded every person not in a sealed room or underground. This amounted to nearly eighty percent of the population of the western hemisphere. Because of this, the economy of the Americas nearly collapsed, and had it not been for the help of the blind community, people that knew how to live life without sight, the results would have certainly been far worse. It has taken many years, but a balanced civilization has re-emerged, a civilization led and controlled by the blind. Every civilization needs its distractions, and amongst the blind majority, our main recreation is Rail Racing. Across the western hemisphere, we have set up tracks for our high speed sport. These tracks aren't like the old asphalt tracks of the 21st century. Our tracks are built on rails, with each racer assigned to a single rail as they maneuver around the course. The racer itself is a highly advanced sealed pod, in which the driver reclines as they operate the machine. The racer gives constant feedback to the driver as they race, letting them know the status of all systems of the racer. In addition, each driver has a pit chief that informs them when it is time to come into the pits for refueling and repairs. You can read the game instructions here: Rail Racer Instructions If you would like to join the ranks of the Rail Racers, read on.

Game play

Rail Racer can be controlled via a combination of the mouse, keyboard and joystick.
Although you can play using only the keyboard if you like, a mouse or joystick is highly recommended for best control.
Using the mouse, the driver will accelerate and deccelerate by pushing and pulling the mouse up and down respectively.
Likewise, you will need to lean into the curves accurately to maintain low lap times.
Gears are switched up and down with the left and right mouse buttons.
The tracks include hurdles which must be jumped by engaging your jump jets. This is handled by holding down the spacebar or middle mouse button, engaging the jump jets to get you over the hurdle.
If you don't clear the jump, you will crash, this is bad.
If you spend too much time in the air, you will add precious seconds to your lap time. This is bad.
Jumps take a careful timing balance, and is one of the most crucial parts of the game to assure good lap times.
Additionally, depending on which track you are racing, you may have to deal with loops that will challenge your timing.
Between races, you will have the option to purchase nitro, which will give you a temporary boost in speed.
Be careful though, because nitro is expensive, and you may spend more money than you earn if you wear out the nitro button.
Speaking of money, you will earn money for winning races, with more money earned for taking on harder competition and more difficult tracks.
Various system readings such as speed, rpm, current gear, and remaining fuel can also be checked via the keyboard.
Extensive documentation will accompany the full release of the game.

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