Lotus Challenge

Contents

• Quirks and Features
• The Cars
  • Car List
  • Cars By Class
    • Class Summary
• The Events
  • Track List
  • Collection
    • Car Grid
    • Track Grid
  • Challenge Mode
  • Championships
  • Single Game
    • Single Race
    • Other Events
• Gameplay
  • Getting Started
  • Example Walkthrough
• Miscellaneous Notes
• Special Thanks

1. When Lotus Challenge starts up, the first screen asks you to choose a country flag to set your regional settings (language, etc).
2. If no gamesave is found on the Memory Card in Slot 1, the program asks if you want to play the game or check another MC. Press [X] to play the game (assuming the MC in Slot 1 has at least 70K free space).
3. The program then shows various intro videos, after which, you're asked to select the method of steering. The default (Standard) is probably the safest choice.
4. The game's Main screen has 3 cars in the background and a Start button at the lower left of the screen. The Start menu includes:

   1 Player

   2 Players

   Options

   When starting a new gamesave, it's usually a good idea to set your preferences fairly early on, and you can do so now by choosing the Options item. The Options menu includes:

   Save

   Game Options

   Audio

   Display

   History of Lotus

   Credits

   Game Options includes Player Name and Controller settings. Save allows you to save your game progress as well as preferences.
5. Exit the Options menu and then choose the 1 Player item. The 1 Player menu includes:

   Single Game

   Championship

   Challenge Mode

   Collection

   Each item in the 1 Player menu offers at least one way of proceeding from here.
   • Single Game includes Single Race, if you want to start with something that's similar to an arcade Quick Race.
   • Championship offers something similar to a Career mode, if you want to get straight into the main part of the game.
   • The first challenge in Challenge Mode offers a quick way to unlock an additional car that can be used for a championship or other event.
   • Collection mode gives you an overview of what you've unlocked, and allows you to test-drive your unlocked cars in something similar to an arcade Free Run.
   If you're not sure where to start, the Example Walkthrough below describes one of the more common ways to proceed.

1. To get a general feel for the driving physics, do the first challenge in Challenge Mode. While driving, you can use [Triangle] to change the camera view and [R1] for fullscreen rearview. Once you've passed the challenge, choose [Quit] from the Finalize Race dialog. If you don't pass the test in the alotted 3 laps, you can do as many more 3-lap runs as you need to.
2. Enter Championship mode, and then do the B1 (Classic B Class) championship using either of the 2 eligible cars that are currently unlocked. When choosing a car, it's more important to choose one that you're comfortable with, rather than one that you think might be faster; the program chooses your opponents based on your choice, so choosing a faster car will also give you faster opponents. Note that you don't necessarily need to win all 3 B1 races at this stage; the goal here is simply to finish each race (regardless of the result) to unlock the B (Novice) tracks. After a race, you'll need to finalize the current race before you can move on to the next. Press [X] on [Save and Continue], and then answer either Yes or No on the next screen to either Save or Continue without saving. Choose the latter if you want to be sparing with your Memory Card, but remember to do a manual Save before you turn off the PS2 (assuming you want to save your progress).
3. With the first run of the B1 championship done, this step focuses on preparing for a second run. Enter Collection mode, and then compare what you see onscreen with the Car Grid table. You can use that table and/or the Cars By Class table to find out which cars still need to be unlocked, and which races you'll need to do/redo to unlock them. Learning the tracks is an important part of any racing game, so it's best to do so as early as possible. The Races column of the Championships table shows the tracks you'll need to know for each level, and you can try the methods below to see what works best for you.
   • A test-drive in Collection mode allows you to learn a track at your own pace and without the distraction of other cars on track.
   • Single Race allows you to learn a track by studying the driving lines of the AI cars.
   • You could also just redo the championship and use the Pause Dialog to Restart a race whenever it looks like you might not win.
   Once you've found your preferred method of learning tracks, you can get some practice before starting your second run of B1. Note that the races of a championship have to be done sequentially (e.g., there is no way to do the second race without doing the first one first). However, if you only need to win the second race to unlock a car, you can just go for a finish in the first race and then, after you win the second race, choose [Quit] from the Finalize dialog; there's no need to finish the championship if you only need to unlock just that one car.
4. Do the B2 (B Class) championship using any of the 3 eligible cars that are currently unlocked. You should already be familiar enough with the tracks to not have a problem with the tricky parts. However, the difference in car type (from classic to modern) may be significant enough to warrant some testing prior to starting the championship. If you're not familiar with any of the B2 cars, you could test all 3 to see which one suits your driving style best. If you skip pre-race testing and end up getting caught off-guard by your car's handling, remember that you can use the Pause Dialog to do a Restart whenever it looks like you might not win the race. Or, if you really don't like the handling, you can Quit and then choose a different car.
5. Do the A1 (Classic A Class) championship using either of the 2 eligible cars that are currently unlocked. This championship uses 4 new tracks, one of which will already be familiar from Step 1. As in Step 2, it isn't strictly necessary to win all of the races in the first run. The main goal here is to make the Pro tracks available in Collection mode and Single Race.
6. If there are any A1 races that weren't won in the first run, use your preferred method to learn the pertinent tracks before starting the second run. Once you know the Pro tracks well enough, do the second run of A1 with a focus on winning anything that wasn't won in the first run (including the championship itself, if necessary).
7. Do the A2 (A Class) championship using either of the 2 eligible cars that are currently unlocked. The Pro tracks shouldn't be too much of a problem since they should already be familiar from doing A1. Again, it might be a good idea to test the car that you plan to use, just to make sure it handles the way you expect.
8. Do the S1 (Classic Super Class) championship using either of the 2 eligible cars that are currently unlocked. As with the other classic championships (B1, A1), this step is mainly about unlocking new tracks (the Champion tracks, in this case). Do the first run with a focus on simply finishing all of the races. Then, use your preferred method to learn and practice the new tracks.
9. Once you know the Champion tracks well enough, do a second run of S1 with a focus on winning anything that wasn't won in the first run (possibly including the championship itself).
10. At this stage, there are 2 new championships unlocked (S2 and S3), and both of them use the same set of tracks as in S1. You can choose to do those 2 championships in either order but, in both cases, it's probably a good idea to do some pre-race testing beforehand. For the S3 (Formula Lotus) championship, if you want an easier go of it, I'd recommend using a Type 18 (1960).
11. With all championships now done, you should also have all cars unlocked. If not, you can use the Car Grid in combination with the Championships table to find out which races still need to be won.

• Demo Mode. As mentioned elsewhere, the game tends to go into Demo Mode much too quickly. This mode is activated after only about a minute or so, and there doesn't seem to be any option to turn off Demo Mode altogether. As far as I know, there are only a few things that can prevent the demo from kicking in:
    • Periodically pressing a controller button (e.g., D-pad, or unassigned button).
    • Being in an event (e.g., race, or challenge).
    • Being in a modal dialog (e.g., Pause, Finalize Race).
• Finalize Race Dialog. After a race ends, the game will display the "Finalize Race" dialog shown below on the left. Pressing [X] on [Save and Continue] brings up the dialog shown on the right.

  Finalize Race dialog [ Save and Continue ] [ View Replay ] [ Quit ]

  Save+Continue dialog Are you sure? [ Yes: Save and Continue ] [ No: Continue ]

• Pause Dialog. Pressing the game controller's [START] button while in an event brings up the Pause dialog which allows you to change various settings or perform various actions:

  Steering Sensitivity:	(slider)
  Steering Method:	[ Standard | Combined | Circular ]
  Driving Aids:	[ No | Full | Standard ]
  Vibration:	[ On | Off ]
  Volume sliders:	[ Music ] [ Engine ] [ Sound ]
  Actions:	[ Restart ] [ Resume ] [ Quit ]

• Raven-X, for the "All Cars & Tracks" cheat code contributed to GameFAQs.