_______________________________________________________________________________
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
___ __
/ | ______________ _____/ /__
/ /| | / ___/ ___/ __ `/ __ / _ \
/ ___ |/ / / /__/ /_/ / /_/ / __/
/_/ |_/_/ \___/\__,_/\__,_/\___/
____________________________________
____________________________________
_____________________________________
______ _ _ _ _____ ___ TM
| ___ \ | | | | | | | __ \ / |
| |_/ / __ _| |_| |_| | ___ | | \/ ___ __ _ _ __ / /| |
| ___ \/ _` | __| __| |/ _ \ | | __ / _ \/ _` | '__| / /_| |
| |_/ / (_| | |_| |_| | __/ | |_\ \ __/ (_| | | \___ |
\____/ \__,_|\__|\__|_|\___| \____/\___|\__,_|_| |_/
(R) Taito
_____ _ _ ___________ ____
| __ \ | | |_ _| _ \ __|
| | \/ | | | | | | | | | |__
| | __| | | | | | | | | | __|
| |_\ \ |_| |_| |_| |/ /| |___
\____/\___/ \___/|___/ \____/ ( 2007 EDITION )
______________________________________
Version 3.90
3 January 2007
Copyright (C) 2005--2007 by TownRanger
aka Leslie Y.W. KEUNG
______________________________________
~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~
"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"
:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:
: ------------------------------------------------------- :
: Arcade: Battle Gear 4 :
: ------------------------------------------------------- :
: _______________________ :
: ______________/ FAQ/Walkthrough v3.90 \______________ :
: | | :
: | Platform - Arcade | :
: | The Game - Battle Gear 4 | :
: | Producer - Taito (R) | :
: | Genre - Driving | :
: | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | :
: | The File - FAQ/Walkthrough Version 3.90 | :
: | File size - 318 kb | :
: | File pages - 273 in Mircosoft Word (R) | :
: | Author - TownRanger | :
: | Email - (See Chapter X, Code: %CntSubk)| :
: | First published - 11 August 2005 | :
: | Last revised - 3 January 2007 | :
: |_____________________________________________________| :
: :
: -------------------------------------------------------- :
:':':':':':':':':':':':':':':':':':':':':':':':':':':':':':':
_______________________________________________________________________________
D I S C L A I M E R
_______________________________________________________________________________
Battle Gear 4 (TM) is copyright Taito (R). All car makes, car models, and
arcade games that appear in this document belong to their respective
manufacturers / owners. The writer has no affiliation or association with
Taito (R), any arcade game producers, or any car manufacturers mentioned in
this document. All copyrights are acknowledged.
This document and its contents are copyright 2005 - 2006 TownRanger. This
document may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. This document cannot be placed on any website and/or otherwise
distributed publicly without my advanced written permission. The use of this
document on any other website or as a part of any public display is strictly
prohibited, and is a violation of copyright.
A lot of research, compilation, and translation are done in the writing of this
document which takes time and effort. If you want to use or link this document
on your non-profit making website that grants readers free access, always email
me for my permission first. Notice also that permission may or may not be
granted.
_________________
[End of Disclaimer]
_______________________________________________________________________________
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
_______________________________________________________________________________
(To find something quick, hold the Control and the F key to trigger the Search
function. Copy, and paste the shortcut code into the Search. Press Find to
skip right into the section you are looking for.)
-= Chapter =- -= Shortcut =-
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
1) About
1.1 Version History .............................. %VHistI1
1.2 About This Guide ............................. %AbFAQI2
1.3 Battle Gear 4 ................................ %AbBG4I3
1.4 Battle Gear 4 Tuned Version (Pro) ............. %AbBG4T4
2) References
2.1 Additional Sources ........................... %RAdSI21
2.2 Contributors ................................. %CtbrI22
CHAPTER II: GAME BASICS
3) Getting Started
3.1 The Machine Setup ............................ %MStUp31
3.2 Starting a Game .............................. %StGme32
4) Game Modes, Course, Car and Tune Selections
4.1 Race Mode .................................... %RacMd41
4.2 TA Mode ...................................... %TA.Md42
4.3 Battle Mode .................................. %BtlMd43
4.4 Multi-player Race Mode ....................... %MpRMd44
4.5 Choosing your Car ............................ %ChCar45
4.6 Choosing a Course ............................ %ChCrs46
4.7 Choosing a Tune .............................. %ChTun47
5) Awards
5.1 BG Points .................................... %BGPts51
5.2 Drift Points ................................. %DrtPt52
5.3 Skill Points ................................. %SklPt53
5.4 BG4 Titles ................................... %BGTtl54
CHAPTER III: THE INTERNET MY GARAGE ONLINE
6) The Netkey, and My Garage Registration
6.1 Which Car is the Best? ....................... %Best?61
6.2 Purchasing the Netkey ........................ %PurKey2
6.3 Online Registration of My Garage ............. %ORgMY63
6.4 Login/Logout ................................. %LgIOt64
6.5 Retrieving Login Name/Password ............... %Rtrvl65
7) My Garage
7.1 Do's and Don't's ............................. %DsDnts7
7.2 Access to your Car via My Garage ............. %ToMGg72
7.3 The Important Pages .......................... %ImpPg73
7.4 Access a Setup aka Setting ................... %AcSUp74
7.5 Parts Change ................................. %PtChn75
7.6 Sticker Addition ............................. %StkAd76
7.7 AT/MT/Reverse MT Toggling .................... %AMRTT77
7.8 Special Shiyou (Sample/Vinyled) Cars ......... %SSVC378
CHAPTER IV: TUNES, PARTS, AND SETUPS
8) Tuning--Performance Upgrades
8.1 Brake ........................................ %TnBrk81
8.2 Tyres ........................................ %TnTrs82
8.3 Suspensions--Front Stabilisers ............... %SFASb83
8.4 Suspensions--Rear Stabilisers ................ %SRASb84
8.5 Suspensions--Spring Set ...................... %SSpgS85
8.6 Spring Set--Springs .......................... %StSpg86
8.7 Spring Set--Dampers .......................... %StDmp87
8.8 Spring Set--Ride Heights ..................... %StRHt88
8.9 Bodykit ...................................... %BdyKt89
8.10 Traction--Transmission ...................... %TrTmn80
8.11 Traction--Final Gear Ratio .................. %TrFGR8a
8.12 Traction--Gearbox ........................... %TrGBx8b
8.13 Aeroparts ................................... %TnAPt8c
8.14 Engine--Swapping Engine Type ................ %TESpE8d
8.15 Engine--Engine Levels ....................... %TEElv8e
8.16 Engine Coolant .............................. %TECln8f
8.17 Mufflers .................................... %TnMfl8g
9) Dress Up--Visual Upgrades
9.1 Body Colour .................................. %VBdCl91
9.2 Headlight Colour ............................. %HltCl92
9.3 Mud Flaps .................................... %VMFps93
9.4 Accessories .................................. %VAcRf94
9.5 Rims (Affects Performance!) ................... %VRWP!95
9.6 Circumference Colour ......................... %CmfCl96
9.7 Rims Colour .................................. %RWClr97
9.8 Window Colour ................................ %VWdCl98
9.9 Boost Meter .................................. %VBstM99
9.10 Oil Pressure Indicator ...................... %VIOPI90
9.11 Oil Thermometer ............................. %VIOTm9a
9.12 Tachometer .................................. %VTcmt9b
9.13 Clock ....................................... %VIUCk9c
9.14 Water Thermometer ........................... %VWtTm9d
10) Setting Up Your Car
10.1 Stability and Control ....................... %SbCtl01
10.2 Engine Power Output ......................... %EPOpt02
10.3 Grip VS Drift ............................... %GpDrf03
10.4 Advanced Tips and Suggestions ............... %ATpSn04
10.5 Boost Positions ............................. %BPbps05
CHAPTER V: DRIVING TIPS
11) Driving Guidelines
11.1 General Driving Tips ........................ %DGDTpa1
11.2 Camera Viewpoints ........................... %DCVPta2
11.3 Drivetrains--FF, FR, MR, 4WD ................ %DDTrna3
11.4 Speed Control ............................... %DSCtla4
11.5 Cornering--Line-taking ...................... %DLnTka5
11.6 Cornering--Apex Hugging ..................... %DApxHa6
11.7 Drifting--Inertia Drift ..................... %DDInDa7
11.8 Drifting--Braking Drift ..................... %DDBkDa8
11.9 Drifting--Sidebrake Drift ................... %DDSbDa9
11.10 Drifting--Straight Drift ................... %DStDta0
11.11 Drifting--Powerslide ....................... %DPwrSaa
11.12 Drifting--Shifting Drift ................... %DShfDab
11.13 Drifting--Feint Motion (Weight Transfer) ... %DFMWFac
11.14 Drifting--4WD Drift ........................ %D4WDDad
CHAPTER VI: COURSE GUIDE
12) Courses
12.1 Choushoukyuu--Ultra Beginner Level .......... %CCSKDb1
12.2 Shoukyuu--Beginner Level .................... %CSIDMb2
12.3 Chiuukyuu--Intermediate Level ............... %CCunkb3
12.4 Joukyuu--Advanced Level ..................... %CJMncb4
12.5 Choujoukyuu--Upper Advanced Level ........... %CCJSMb5
12.6 Dokyuu--Dreadnought Level ................... %CDAknb6
12.7 Choudokyuu--Ultra Dreadnought Level ......... %CCDEub7
CHAPTER VII: CAR GUIDE
13) Cars, Reviews, and Optimum Settings
13.1 Citroen Xsara Coupe VTS ..................... %VTSCnc1
13.2 Ford Focus ST170 ............................ %WF0Fdc2
13.3 Honda--Accord Euro-R ........................ %CL7Hdc3
13.4 Honda--Fit 1.5S ............................. %GD3Hdc4
13.5 Honda--Integra Type R ....................... %DC5Hdc5
13.6 Honda--NSX type S ........................... %NA2Hdc6
13.7 Honda--S2000 ................................ %AP1Hdc7
13.8 Mazda--Atenza 23Z ........................... %GG3SMc8
13.9 Mazda--Demio Sport .......................... %DY5Mdc9
13.10 Mazda--Roadster RS-II ...................... %NB8CMc0
13.11 Mazda--RX-7 Type RS ........................ %FD3SMc1
13.12 Mazda--RX-8 Type S ......................... %SE3PMc2
13.13 Mini Mini Cooper S ......................... %RE16Nc3
13.14 Mitsubishi Motors--Colt Plus Sport-X ....... %Z23WCc4
13.15 Mitsubishi Motors--Lancer Evolution IX GSR .. %CT9ALc5
13.16 Nissan--Fairlady Z Version ST .............. %Z33FLc6
13.17 Nissan--March 12SR ......................... %AK12Nc7
13.18 Nissan--Silvia spec-R Aero ................. %S15NSc8
13.19 Nissan--Skyline GT-R V-specII .............. %BNR34c9
13.20 Peugeot 206 RC ............................. %206Pgk0
13.21 Renault Lutecia Renault sport V6 ........... %BL7Xbk1
13.22 Subaru--Impreza WRX STi spec C ............. %GDBSbk2
13.23 Subaru--Legacy B4 2.0 GT spec.B ............. %BL5Sbk3
13.24 Toyota--Altezza RS200 L Edition ............. %SXE10k4
13.25 Toyota--Celica TRD Sports M ................ %ZZT2315
13.26 Toyota--MR-S S Edition ..................... %ZZW30k6
13.27 Toyota--Supra RZ ........................... %JZA80k7
13.28 Toyota--Trueno GT Apex 3door ............... %AE86Tk8
13.29 Toyota--Vitz RS 1.5L 3door ................. %NPC13k9
13.30 Volkswagen New Beetle Turbo ................ %9CAVcb0
CHAPTER VIII: FAQ
14) Q&A/Summary ....................................... %QASmy8d
15) World Records, and Statistics
15.1 Hall of Fame ................................ %WSHoFe1
15.2 The WR Index ................................ %WSWRIe2
15.3 Cars Rankings ............................... %WSCRne3
16) The Swappables
16.1 Swappable Engine List ....................... %TSEnLf1
16.2 Changeable Drivetrain List .................. %TSCDTf2
17) Bugs and Glitches
17.1 No New Internet Browser ..................... %FBugGG1
17.2 No Level Backtrack .......................... %FBugGG2
17.3 Link Play Trap .............................. %FBugGG3
17.4 The Hidden Daytona Course ................... %FBugGG4
CHAPTER IX: MISCELLANEOUS
18) Resemblances aka "The Ricers Section"
18.1 Resemblance of Cars in Initial D ............ %MRsmIDh
18.2 Resemblance of Cars in FnF .................. %MRsmFFh
19) Machine Locations ................................. %MnLoctn
CHAPTER X: CONCLUSION
21) Contacts / Submissions ............................ %CntSubk
22) Credits ........................................... %XCrditl
________________________
[End of Table of Contents]
_______________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
_______________________________________________________________________________
This chapter outlines some general background information about the game, this
document, and the sources of information in compiling this guide.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) About
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This section deals with:
(1.1) Version History - The updating record of this guide
(1.2) About This Guide - Software involved and locations of this guide
(1.3) Battle Gear 4 - The game focused in this guide
(1.4) Battle Gear 4 Tuned (Pro) - The upgraded version of the game after this
guide is published
===============================================================================
1.1 Version History .............................. %VHistI1
===============================================================================
Revisioning of this guide is always jotted down in this section.
Every hundredth of a version number counts towards the tweaking of the text or
the layout, for example, the fixing of typos, grammars, or the layout. After
such minor modificiations are done, I will indicate a newer version by adding a
0.01 or 0.02 depending on the amount of the correction work done.
Every 0.03rd to 0.99th of a version number indicates the addition of new
information. That can be things like new ideas in doing a course, data of cars/
courses/parts, or information about tunes and setups. Again, the number
increases with how big the work done is.
Every unith of a version means I have rewritten the guide in a whole or in more
than 80% of the overall contents.
Every English letter put at the end of the version number indicates an
acknowledgement of website(s) which accept(s) hosting this guide. The letter
will be left out in the next revision if I have done some more modifications
other than adding the sites.
_____________
Version Alpha: Today I was inspired to buy a key, and then to write all these.
8 Aug 2005 - First draft, Unpublished (6kb)
____________ - Added the Disclaimer, FAQ, Contributions, and Credits sections
Version Beta : Boredom drives me to go ahead with this guide.
9 Aug 2005 - Second draft, Unpublished (19kb)
- Edited a majority of the text
- Finished the format and organisation of this document
____________ - Fixed the layout problem
Version 0.06 : Addicted to BG4. *Mind lost*
10 Aug 2005 - Added the Game Basics section
33 kb - Edited the format of the section dividers
_____________- Fixed some typos
Version 0.13a: Can't put up with the inadequancies that remain in this guide.
11 Aug 2005 - Added the Drivetrains subsection
38 kb - Credited the very best site owners CJayC and Kenshin
- Edited some text
- Fixed all the typos
- Fixed a numbering error
- Rewrote some subsections in Introduction
____________ - Rewrote and reorganised the whole Game Basics Section
Version 0.24 : Tomorrow is the day we turn into a host family; my cousin's
13 Aug 2005 going to spend two entire weeks in my home. I'm sure he'll
64 kb occupy my PC to play Sims 2 day and night. The game lags in his
PC so he's gonna play it on mine. I gotta grasp the time to
write this guide.
- Added some websites
- Added Courses
- Drafted Driving Techniques, and Tunes and Parts
- Edited a majority of the text
- Fixed some typos
____________ - Rewrote Section 1
Version 0.34 : I'm not at sitting at a full-tune yet but my times on Monaco.
14 Aug 2005 and Akina drastically improve
72 kb - Added an ASCII title
- Added Tunes and Parts
- Fixed all the section and subsection dividers
____________ - Fixed some numbering errors
Version 0.48 : I got to do a revision. I won't have time to play the game once
8 Sept 2005 after school starts.
115 kb - Added IGN's site that accepts this guide
- Added BG4 Titles, Cars, Driving Guidelines, Translation Guide,
The Machine Setup, Internal Upgrades, Hall of Fame, and Drifts
- Edited a majority of the text
- Fixed some typos
- Renamed some sections and subsections
____________ - Tweaked the ASCII
Version 0.55 : I didn't play the game for a while. Focus on this FAQ instead.
9 Sept 2005 - Added a partial Translation Guide, Do's and Don't's, the
126 kb Glitched Oval-shaped Ultra-beginner Level Circuit, and Speed
Reduction
- Changed the contact policy
- Edited some text
- Fixed a formatting inconsistency in some sub-subsections
- Fixed a numbering error in ToC
- Fixed some spacing errors
- Renamed Section 8
____________ - Reorganised many subsections
Version 0.56 : Sorry, I made a huge mistake with the inaccurate information.
10 Sept 2005 - Edited some text
133 kb - Fixed all the typos
____________ - Fixed the inaccurate nitro tips
Version 0.60 : Here comes to 60%. The most frustrating part is always the
13 Sept 2005 translation of "My Garage" and the myths of the best settings.
139 kb - Added some optimum car settings
- Added Swappable Engine List, and Changeable Drivetrain List
- Added Top-end Racing Museum's site which provides tuning info
- Extended the Translation Guide
- Edited some text
- Fixed some typos
- Reorganised all the miscellaneous information
____________ - Swaped Sections 5 and 7 for space to include the cars' settings
Version 0.77 : I went through a proof read of this guide today and was really
24 Sept 2005 obsessed with my ever-respawning language mistakes.
154 kb - Added a fruitful description of springs and dampers from
SimRacingWorld
- Added a fan site
- Added the translations suggested by a board user daytona99
- Added some optimum setups for some cars suggested by fellow BG4
players
- Added more Q&A's
- Edited a majority of the text
- Fixed all (hopefully...) typos and grammar mistakes
- Resequenced some subsections
____________ - Started a subsection on car setups
Version 0.80 : I will keep on writing until this guide comes to a completion.
28 Sept 2005 - Added car reviews
162 kb - Edited some formatting
____________ - Edited some text
Version 0.98 : After my pause I can't seem to catch up with my previous times.
26 Oct 2005 I will try to make the guide as informative as possible before
222 kb I recall my BG4 skills later. An early Happy Halloween!
- Added the fan site Technique of G
- Added the translation pages
- Added the reader MazinKaiser1001's RX-7 review (THANKS!)
- Added the reader dodgethis's contribution
- Added the reader Shiseirou's Impreza review
- Added the reader Qoo's contribution
- Added the reader K.T.'s Z33 review (THANKS!)
- Added the subsections Resembling Cars, and Comparisons with
ID3 and WMMT2
- Added more Q&A's
- Added more course descriptions and guides
- Added my comments to the WR, and the "WR Index" that I invented
- Edited a majority of the text
- Edited those stuff that I just regurgitated
- Elaborated the Cars section
- Finished the Tunes, Parts, and Setups Section
- Fixed all the spelling errors
- Fixed all the grammar mistakes
- Fixed the section dividers
- Reorganised Sections 3 to 8
- Reorganised all the loose and unclear information
- Rewrote the whole Section 2
____________ - Updated the Hall of Fame
Version 1.05 : I have left out the game for more than a month. But when I came
23 Nov 2005 back TA'ing on Monaco the day before, I managed to beat my own
230 kb ghost by 6 whole seconds!
- Fixed some grammar mistakes
- Fixed some typos (Aye, they're ever spawning!)
- Added J1M's explanation of the Onemake TA Mode
- Added J1M's discovery of different steering feedback for every
car in the same machine
- Added Seishirou's elaboration of handbrake drift
- Added K.T.'s suggestions of resembling the DC2 and SXE10 in ID
- Added K.T.'s BG4 forum which I granted the permission to host
this guide
- Added All Cars Rankings on all courses
____________ - Split Section 9.1
Version 1.07 : I've decided to quit the game. It's way too costly and I can't
28 Nov 2005 put forth my theory into practice not even those six of my own
233 kb best CP times. I may consider finalising this guide as well...
- Edited some text
- Added soranGTR's S15 review
____________ - Updated the Hall of Fame
Version 1.10 : It's last night that I heard of the new tracks and vinyls Taito
2 Dec 2005 will add in BG4. Right on time; ok, I can't quit but come back.
240 kb - Edited some text
- Fixed some grammar mistakes
- Added the future new courses and vinyls
- Added new ideas in the comparison between BG, ID and WMMT
____________ - Updated the Hall of Fame
Version 1.28 : HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE!! But damn, my IE is bugged and I won't be
24 Dec 2005 able to access the Racegame Forum to get the new info about the
253 kb new courses. Anyway I stopped the game for yet another month
and I've got to work on my skills.
- Edited a majority of the text
- Fixed some typos (Why are they ever respawing?)
- Edited the Driving Guidelines section
- Added the new shiyou cars
- Added the new course descriptions
- Added the new BG4 titles given rise by the two new courses
- Rewrote the whole section 6.1
____________ - Updated the Hall of Fame
Version 1.32 : M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S !!! Better late than never...
27 Dec 2005 - Edited some text
257 kb - Added MATT's Honda Fit setting
____________ - Added resemblance of Keisuke's Project D new fd
Version 1.37 : I'm gonna chill out... BG4's an addiction or fascination? Well,
31 Dec 2005 shit's been happening all over this entire year. I got to pull
262 kb myself out of the gutter. Right now's the end of the damn year
2005. I'm looking forward into 2006; I'm sure I'll be in luck.
- Added the Roadster's optimum setting on Chiuukyuu
- Added a big secret, although some time ago, revealed by a
talented player named BigHD
____________ - Updated the Hall of Fame
Version 2.37 : I reinstalled my copy of Windows and got the IE bug fixed. I
31 Jan 2006 took a deep breath, and saw the sun ouside; things gotta
266 kb change. Look a new year has begun.
- Added the shortcut system in the Table of Contents
- Added different Chapters
- Added a Choudokyuu GTR setting
- Added daytona99's BG4 leaflet pages
- Added the Taiwanese gamers' forum for reference
- Added the Choushoukyuu and Choudokyuu rankings
- Completed the Tunes, Parts chapter
- Completed the visual upgrades section
- Edited a majority of the text
- Edited the Table of Contents
- Fixed all typos (but why are they still there? Arrgghhh!!!)
- Fixed some grammar mistakes (Thanks to Odie)
- Fixed some typos
- Removed the redundant subsections of the vinyled Shiyou cars
- Removed the subsection RR drivetrain
- Removed the ID and WMMT comparison subsection
- Renumbered all the sections
- Reorganised the entire walkthrough
- Tweaked the formatting
- Updated the car rankings
____________ - Updated the Hall of Fame
Version 3.00 : It's been so long that I have updated this guide. If it's not
9 Nov 2006 the coming BG4 Tuned version I'd have quit the game forever
278 kb because I have been overwhelmed with emotions... Now that I
got a one-year contract signed, and I can chill out and find a
life of my own. "Welcome back TownRanger!" I said to myself.
- Added preview on the Tuned Version
- Added information about the Tuned Version
- Added Wikipedia's site which is providing a link to my guide
- Added the rally suspension
- Added the drift tires
- Added the "coming soon" Drift Mode
- Added a few Q&A's about BG4T
- Added links to daytona99's youtube videos
- Edited some text
- Fixed the inaccurate information in Sections 3) and 4)
- Removed Section 19) Comparisons with ID and WMMT
- Tweaked the ASCII arts
- Updated the car rankings
____________ - Updated the Hall of Fame
Version 3.30 : Not intended as I thought, the game still does not draw much
16 Nov 2006 people in. I need more practise to herald the coming BG4T!
282 kb - Added some video links
- Added advanced tips and suggestions
- Added Motormagazine's site URL
- Completed (really) the pending "Coming soon..." for the
internal visual upgrades (I haven't noticed I have left them
____________ out for so long)
Version 3.86 : Referring upwards, I nearly have forgotten that I have been
28 Dec 2006 working on this guide for so long more than one year.
317 kb - Added official course data descriptions and elaborations
- Added some differences across BG4 and BG4T
- Added a detailed Choushoukyuu Reversed guide
- Added the "My Garage" PC page
- Added email policy
- Added machine locations in Malaysia, Singapore, and New Zealand
- Added brief information about BG4T and BG4T Pro
- Added Bugs and Glitches
- Added the Boost Position subsection
- Edited the format of Version History
- Edited the format of Course Guide
- Edited some text
- Fixed some formatting errors
- Fixed some typos
- Organised the info about "wheel feedback for different cars"
- Reorganised Section 1
- Removed the redundant importance idea in Section 8) Tuning
- Peplaced all the annoying "Coming soon..." announcements!
- Tweaked the document heading ASCII arts
____________ - Tweaked the subsection dividers
Version 3.90 : H A P P Y N E W Y E A R !!!
3 Jan 2007 The Internet connection in Hong Kong had died for 4 days, as
318 kb the optical fibres were destroyed in an earthquake in Taiwan...
- Added DustyEX90's, Skyy S.K.Y.'s and Jhnoy's contribution
- Apologies to Dusty EX90
- Added new email policy
- Added X Zone's website (Thanks to Skyy S.K.Y.)
- Fixed the inaccurate engine information (Thanks to DustyEX90)
===============================================================================
1.2 About This Guide ............................. %AbFAQI2
===============================================================================
This document is written with Microsoft (R) Notepad (R) in the font Fixedsys
with a font size of 12 points. Each line has a fixed width of 79 characters
regardless.
This guide can be displayed properly on Notepad (R), IE (R), Netscape (R),
Microsoft (R) Word (R), and Mactonish (R) BBEdit Lite (R). If you are opening
this file in Microsoft Word, I suggest you may change the font into Courier New
and a font size of 9 points so as to preserve the formatting.
Some of the illustrations in this guide are based on a comparison with BG4's
counterparts in the arcade racing games Initial D (ID), Wangan Midnight Maximum
Tune (WMMT), and the PS/PS2 Gran Turismo series (GT). A little experience in
those games will help make this guide more comprehensive.
This guide can only be found on the following websites:
GameFAQs-----------http://www.gamefaqs.com/coinop/arcade/game/926539.html
Gamespots----------http://www.gamespot.com/arcade/driving/battlegear4/
Gamestats----------http://www.gamestats.com/objects/765/765683/help.html
IGN----------------http://faqs.ign.com/objects/765/765683.html
Wikipedia----------http://zh.wikipedia.org/w/
index.php?title=Battle_Gear&variant=zh-hk (only ONE line)
The above guide locations will subject to future changes if some other sites
are allowed to host this guide. Do not worry if I have allowed you to use this
guide but have not included your URL in the above since it could be quite
cumbersome to update this guide with nothing more than one single web address.
If you happen to find this FAQ, or part of this FAQ, being displayed on any
sites other than those listed above, please do let me know by email or a thread
in GameFAQs' Battle Gear 4 board.
The newest version of this Battle Gear 4 Guide can always be found on GameFAQs.
It is there that I will first send the update to.
===============================================================================
1.3 Battle Gear 4 ................................ %AbBG4I3
===============================================================================
The terminology BG4 henceforth refers to the game Battle Gear 4 released by
Taito in June 2005. Up to now (December 2006), the game can mostly be found in
arcades in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, and some
parts of Northern Europe.
Being the fourth installment of the arcade network racing game Battle Gear
which specifies fully customised tuning, drifting, and mountain and circuit
racing which of all require high skills, Battle Gear 4 was released on Taito's
newly added TypeX+ arcade system.
Unlike the TypeX system in which BG4's predecessor BG3 is installed, the TypeX+
system has now been upgraded into a high-end PC-based platform:
___________________________________________________________________________
| |
| TypeX+ System Specifications (high-end PC-based) |
|___________________________________________________________________________|
| |
| OS : Windows XP Embedded (customised) |
| CPU : Intel Celeron 2.5GHz FSB400 (upgradable to Pentium 4 2.8GHz) |
| Chipset : Intel 865G |
| Memory : DDR266 DIMM 256MB (supports up to DDR400 2GB) |
| Graphics : Radeon X800XT 256MB |
| Audio : AC97 onboard 6 channel audio CODEC with SPDI/F output |
| Lan : Onboard 10/100 Base-TX |
| IDE/SATA : ATA100 2ch/SATA1 2ch |
|___________________________________________________________________________|
"The hardware is upgradable and changeable per game, from the basic setup to
a pretty much state of the art setup.
"The 'Plus' version of Type X Hardware has some upgrades to the graphical
capabilities, including partical effects and a few other tricks, this is to
bring it in line with current PC hardware technology."
(Source: System 16)
With highly improved graphics in a SVGA resolution of 800*600 and the support
of Dolby Digital 5.1 TX surround sound system (TM) which is for Taito's
exclusive use only, Battle Gear 4 enhances the gameplay, and features both
Japanese and European domestic and racing cars.
Pity that normally we cannot own the BG4 arcade machine at home!
===============================================================================
1.4 Battle Gear 4 Tuned Version (Pro) ............. %AbBG4T4
===============================================================================
A new installment of BG4--BG4's sequel known as Battle Gear 4 Tuned, aka BG4T,
is released in Japan on 28 November 2006. With any luck, I believe that Hong
Kong is the second market which BG4T hits. The official BG4T URL is here:
-----------------http://www.battlegear.net/bg4tuned/index.html
On 28 November 2006 in Japan, BG4T was released with live connection with
the Internet in every single arcade where the game itself can be found. It is
believed that Taiwan will both have the game updated to BG4T by January 2007,
providing their BG4 machines have Internet connection.
The need for me to open this new subsection is revealed.
"What is it that is so new in the tuned version?" This is the first question
that pops up in my mind. Taito would not let us down; they did a real good job!
First off, BG4T and BG4T Pro accounts for two different and new installments of
the current game BG4. The main and only thing that makes BG4T Pro superior is
the new hardware.
BG4T Pro includes,
- 5 new courses (More to "loot"),
- 23 new cars (That's never too many I guess),
- 5 new vinyled and "tuned-beforehand" cars, AND
- as for the hardware, new cabs with an H-shaped shifting knob, a clutch,
a 1024*768 screen resolution (which is more than that of 800*600 of its
predecessor BG4)
A newer and more powerful hardware system on which BG4T is installed is given a
new name of BG4T Pro. The original BG4 machines can still have the updated
version Battle Gear 4 TUned version installed, and thus a new software on an
old machine is named BG4T.
If time allows, I'll be compiling yet another document about "The Differences
between BG4 and BG4T". Stay tuned. One thing for sure, I am now working on a
BG4T project since after my submission of the new game BG4T data is accepted by
CJayC on GameFAQs, meaning that I will soon compile a separate document
accounting for all the exclusive things in BG4T. Once if that is done, I will,
however, be still updating this BG4 guide.
Done generally with the above, we are now moving into the details about BG4T...
#===================#
| The 5 New Courses |
#===================#
What a pity that I missed the location test in Hong Kong some time ago. That is
a trial version of BG4T temporarily installed in the local arcades. Now that I
can only stay at home, and watch hardcore the google and youtube videos by
the BG4 enthusiasts from Hong Kong (among one of whom is daytona99, the
moderator of the BG4 Racegame Forum from where I get a bunch of useful
information).
With a little tryout in these new courses with my very good friend Odie, I
would like to point out a few things about the courses. Details are left to be
included in my coming documnets.
1) Dokyuu B aka Akagi
----------------------
Carried on from BG3, Akagi is back! That is the very well known plot in
Initial D that "hooks" racing gamers' bottoms into the seat to challenge
this course.
Players of BG3 and Initial D have been complaining about the left out of
Akagi in BG4. The course addition in 20 December 2005 does not make it up
to players' expectation simply because Akagi is still yet missing.
Taito named Akagi "Dokyuu B", and is ready to release it in BG4T. Akagi is
always the most fascinating course that strap you in through its high speed
hairpins. My only complain is that Taito took away the sakura blossoms in
the BG2 old days!
2) Shoukyuu B
--------------
I have no idea where this course resembles. Probably this is Taito's
original course. I would describe this course as a overly high speed
runway judging from the map. The six major turns in this course will not
bore you. This is a gravel course.
3) Chiuukyuu B
--------------
I guess this is a resemblance of the Fuji Speed Runway. The race is in the
evening with lightings of the buildings on. I could see some tight corners
in this gravel course.
This nightscene is where the plot is set for the new Drift Mode.
4) Joukyuu B
------------
Snow! At last Taito includes a different weather condition in its BG
series that actually affects the handling of your ride.
If there had not been this only snow course, why would Taito have added
the new snow tyres as an option in My Garage? Yes, but finally Taito
decided to have the snow tyres automatically installed on your ride once
if you pick this Joukyuu B course. That way players who have registered
"My Garage" does not have to waste BG points on a snow setting.
5) Choujoukyuu B
----------------
The rally atmosphere makes this course so unique! Taito's inclusion of the
new rally suspensions is your friend here for no question. There are also
jumps in this muddy course! How can I resist that? Sega Rally? Not anymore!
Now we can see an RX-7 running rally!
#=============#
| 23 new cars |
#=============#
Carried on from the BG predecessors:
------------------------------------
- HONDA NSX type R (NA6)
- HONDA Integra Type R (DC2)
- HONDA Civic Type R (EK9)
- MAZDA Savanna RX-7 GT-X (FC3S)
- MAZDA Eunos Roadster (NA6CE)
- MITSUBISHI FTO GP Version R (DE3A)
- MITSUBISHI Lancer GSR Evolution IV (CN9A)
- MITSUBISHI Lancer GSR Evolution III (CE9A)
- NISSAN Skyline GT-R V-Spec (BCNR33)
- NISSAN Skyline GT-R (BNR32)
- NISSAN Silvia K's (S13)
- NISSAN 180SX Type S (RPS13)
- SUBARU Impreza WRX Type R STi Version VI (GC8)
- TOYOTA Celica GT-Four (ST205) (The 4WD one in rally competitions)
- TOYOTA MR2 GT (SW20)
- TOYOTA Corolla Levin SR (AE85)
New cars exclusive in BG4T:
---------------------------
- CITROGEN C4 2.0 VTS
- HONDA Civic SiR (EG6)
- MAZDA Roadster RS (NCEC)
- MITSUBISHI Lancer Evolution IX MR
- SUBARU Impreza WRX STi Spec C (GDB)
- SUZUKI Swift Sport
- VOLKSWAGEN Golf GTI (1KAXX)
#==========================================#
|5 new vinyled and "tuned-beforehand" cars |
#==========================================#
If you have any of these cars, you can now have it full tuned for free in BG4T.
- MITSUBISHI Lancer Evolution IX Rally Art
- NISSAN Skyline GT-R R33 NISMO LM
- NISSAN Skyline GT-R R33 NISMO LM
- TOYOTA Altezza TRD
- NISSAN Fairlady Z ORC
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2) References
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No guide is an island.
The two following subsections outline some useful websites, and the various
contributors for further information,
(2.1) Additional Sources - official sites, leaflets, Online discussion forums,
and fan sites from where I extract information.
(2.2) Contributors - people who sent me emails with constructive inputs.
===============================================================================
2.1 Additional Sources ........................... %RAdSI21
===============================================================================
As referenced in this document, there are some additional sources which provide
the necessary information that helps a lot in the writing of this FAQ:
#================#
| Official sites |
#================#
. Taito
http://www.taito.co.jp/
. Taito BG4
http://www.battlegear.net/index2.html
. Taito BG4 Tuned Version
http://www.battlegear.net/bg4tuned/index.html
. Screenshots of BG4
http://www.battlegear.net/bg4/gallery.html
. The BG4 "My Garage" page (in Japanese, requires broswers with UTF-8 support)
http://four.battlegear.net/web/mb/
. The BG4T "My Garage" page (in English for PC users)
http://four.battlegear.net/web/pc/
index.do;jsessionid=0001C-IqzaXaHNQDsN4Yo2Nyq4P+Sparrow3ID
(Single-lined only)
. The BG4 AI-tuned page (in Japanese, requires broswers with UTF-8 support)
http://www.battlegear.net/bg4/asobi_keyless_set.html
. BG4 machine locations (in Japanese, requires broswers with UTF-8 support)
http://four.battlegear.net/tenpo_list.html
#==========#
| Leaflets |
#==========#
. BG4 Quickguide by Taito BG4 Battle Gear Project Team 2005
(The BG4 promotion leaflets found in arcades. A copy is scanned by onw of my
readers daytona99 here)
http://www.pbase.com/lamkiuwai/bg4_guide
#===================#
| Translation pages |
#===================#
. Sleipnir
http://www20.pos.to/~sleipnir/software/sleipnir/index.html
(Suggested by daytona99 but there are bugs in the programme)
. Excite.com
http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/body/?wb_url=http://four.battlegear.
net/web/mb/
(Single-lined only)
. Edict Project
http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/japanese.html
(You can't miss this one!)
#========#
| Forums |
#========#
. GameFAQs' Battle Gear 4 message board (but nearly dead...)
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/gentopic.php?board=926539
. The Racegame Forum (in Cantonese and Chinese, requires BIG5 browsers)
http://forum.racegame.org/thread.php?fid=13
. The Taiwanese gamers' fourm (literally) (in Chinese, requires BIG5 browsers)
http://www.player.game.tw/bbs
#===============#
| BG4 fan sites |
#===============#
. daytona99's instruction page on the registeratin of "My Garage"
http://www.pbase.com/lamkiuwai/bg4_reg
. BG4 Quickguide (scanned by daytona99)
http://www.pbase.com/lamkiuwai/bg4_guide
. Technique of G (in Japanese, requires browsers with UTF-8 support)
http://my.reset.jp/~rhythm/projectg/technique.htm
. Motormagazine, Japan (previews the Battle Gear 4 Tuned Version)
http://www.motormagazinesha.co.jp/medialog/modules/wordpress3/index.php?p=34
#=============#
| Video Sites |
#=============#
. Skyline BNR34 Choudokyuu 3'05"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUpWJ_jnNzo
. NSX-R Choudokyuu 3'06"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEGyIsHtj9I&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykUHtquWD_k&mode=related&search=
. Fanmade BG4 vids on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-tDclNfmtU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a29uiOa-2po
(Find out more on Youtube yourself!)
#=================#
| Other web sites |
#=================#
. Harald Pietschmann's answers to 4WD related questions
http://www.4x4abc.com
. SimRacingWorld
http://www.simracingworld.com/content/279/
. System 16
http://www.system16.com/taito/others
. The Magic Box
http://www.the-magicbox.com/0502/game050218b.shtml
. Top-end Racing Museum (Literation) (in Chinese BIG5)
http://home.kimo.com.tw/jub20011/subjectweb/racing/racing002_15.htm
. X Zone's, Singapore, website (Thanks to Skyy S.K.Y.)
http://www.zonex.com.sg/ZoneX1_Gamemachines.htm
===============================================================================
2.2 Contributors ................................. %CtbrI22
===============================================================================
. daytona99
- Permission to include his personal translation page
- Permission to include his BG4 leaflet photos
- Permission to translate his pinned BG4T thread on Racegame into English
. dodgethis
- The correct order of the Suspension options in "My Garage"
. DustyEX90
- Providing us with engine information (I'm no machanics person, thanks!)
. J1M
- The Onemake TA mode
. Jhony
- Discovery of the handy shock-absorbing functionality of the Street
Suspensions
. K.T.
- Nissan Fairlady Review
. MazinKaiser1001
- Mazda Rx-7 fd3s review
. Odie
- Buying a key
- Gaining BG points
- Tuning up cars
- Experiments on boost-on battles
- Figuring out what boosts do
. Qoo
- Question on how to add a sticker
. Seishirou
- Subaru Impreza review
- Clarification of the handbrake drift technique
. soranGTR
- S15 review
. viiictor
- Machine location in Belbourne, Australia
- "My Garage" bug in excite's online translator
. Skyy S.K.Y.
. smart_kidz
- Machine locations in Singapore
Want your nick up? Send me your car review, or any constructive ideas. I will
always credit you in the next revision if your input is published.
As for contacting me, please refer to section 21) Contacts / Submission
(code: %CntSubk).
________________
[End of CHAPTER I]
_______________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER II: GAME BASICS
_______________________________________________________________________________
This chapter deals with the things you should know about the game particularly
if you first started the BG series. The cars, courses, and game modes will be
discussed. Also, there will be descriptions of the Netkey and the Internet
registration of creating an online account aka "My Garage".
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3) Getting Started
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In this section, I will first describe the physical features of a BG4 machine.
I will then talk about the car, mode, and course selection screens.
===============================================================================
3.1 The Machine Setup ............................ %MStUp31
===============================================================================
The first thing in a BG4 cab that attracts my eyes is the roll cage installed
across the top of the seat and the screen. The arcade where I first saw the BG4
cabs is really smart; they put them right next to its predecessor BG3 ones. A
contrast in the graphics is made very obvious and I was then hooked into the
game. Thanks to Odie who showed me the BG4 cabs or else I would not have been
able to see them. Am I just blind? >_<
Get in the cab from the right. Seat down and remember the shifting knob and the
handbrake are on your left. That does not affect me though; I drive on the
right IRL.
There is a little knob underneath the front edge of your seat. Pull it up and
you can move your seat forwards and backwards. Adjust it so you can seat
comfortably with your arms and legs stretched effectively.
Try testing whether you can full lock the wheel with your arms and full
throttle with your right foot. If you have to move your waist or bottom in
either action, that means the steering wheel and the pedals are way too far
from you. Pull up the little knob under your seat and forward yourself. The
best setting position allows you to full lock the wheel without moving your
upper body but your arms only, and to fully step on either pedal without moving
your bottom but your foot/feet only.
Look at the screen. Beneath it is a dashboard with the steering wheel in the
middle. Look between the wheel and you will see a red light that is the upshift
indicator. On the right in between the wheel and the dashboard, there is the
key ignition in which you will have to plug your Netkey. To your right, there
are the coin slot and the yellow-and-red Start button. To the left of the
wheel, it is the red-and-white Triangle Hazard button. To your very left, it is
the green-and-yellow View Change button.
Let us go down a bit. You will see a little red trigger on the left of the
machine. Taito calls it the Overtaking Switch which is the trigger for the
turbo boost/nitro (It is not a switch! It is a trigger...). Below is the
shifter which indicates Up and Down, and the handbrake.
Before inserting the coins to start a game, seat down and test everything
first. Make sure you can reach all the buttons and knobs with your hands. Also
make sure you know what and where they are.
Look back at the dashboard. Look up at the upper right to the right of the
screen. A Netkey dispenser is up there. The BG4 cab functions as a key vending
machine with another coin slot just below the dispenser.
There are two coin slots; one on the dashboard right next to the Start button
which is used for game credit inputs, and the other up the dashboard below the
Netkey dispenser for key credit inputs.
Now let us move out from the machine and watch it from behind. You will see the
TX Surround box which illuminates red, purple, and white. The red light
indicates the player's pressing of the brake, the purple the pulling of the
handbrake, and the white the use of nitro. Remember these colours because you
will find them handy when you are observing another player playing the game in
a way that you can just watch and learn when to brake and when to use nitro.
===============================================================================
3.2 Starting a Game .............................. %StGme32
===============================================================================
Now that we are in a cab! Fight your way through the queue (if there is any).
Prepare the coin(s)/token(s) necessary for a credit in a game. Insert it/them
into the slot right next to the Start button. When the game detects enough
coin(s)/token(s) for a credit, it will prompt you a screen with a large picture
in the middle, which illustrates how to plug the Netkey in and how to ignite.
Ok, at this very first stage, let us assume you do not have a key yet. Press
the Start button to start a game. Next, you will see a counting screen from 15
to 0. It is the wait time for other players to join in and challenge you, same
as that in Daytona USA. If you do not want challengers, press the Triangle
Hazard button.
A quick and effective way to refuse challengers is to hold the Triangle button
just after you are done with a credit. Hold the Triangle button to press start
to avoid challengers.
I always hold the Triangle button to ignite; that way, granted, no one can
"play" with me. It is not binding but if you decide to accept challengers,
prepare to get fished or annoyed by complete n00bs. That happens.
If you have a key already and have registered an online garage (you will know
how later in this section), you can plug in the Netkey and turn the ignition to
continue with your car. You will see your beloved car appearing in the screen
under your keyname!
In either case, you will be brought to the
A) Tuning selection screen if you are using a key, OR
B) Car selection screen if you are not using a key followed by yet another
tuning selection screen.
We are now done with the whole progress in general. But before we move further
into some real actions in our ride, I would like to point out some more
baseline information in advance.
Press the throttle or press start to continue with the mode selection...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4) Game Modes, Course, Car, and Tune Selections
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are the four different game modes in BG4: Race Mode, TA Mode, Battle
Mode, and Multiple-player Race Mode. In BG4T there are one more different game
mode but I am not including it here. I am saving it for my upcoming documents.
===============================================================================
4.1 Race Mode .................................... %RacMd41
===============================================================================
We are in luck; Taito included the exact English words here. Deciding on the
Race Mode, you can choose to compete against the AI or some human opponents.
If you choose to race against the AI, you can use your steering wheel to choose
a course. You will know it because of the maps being displayed. The default
difficulty level is Lv.1, the easiest. Press the Triangle button to increase it
one level by one. The highest is Lv.14.
The higher the AI level you win in a single race, the more BG points you will
get. BG points are the currency in BG4 that allows you to install upgrades on
your car to increase its performance. We will be talking about BG points in
later sections in this guide.
So if you are decent enough, beat some high level AI a few times to earn BG
points faster and full tune your car eariler. That is easier said than done
though.
In a race where there's full of AI/human cars, there are many factors which
affect the performance of the drivers. Say for example, if a car has a better
launch at the starting grid, it will take the lead and has an advantage to
occupy a better line in the entire course such as hugging the apex or blocking
its rivals that are rushing from behind and are about to overtake. The
inevitable ramming may also make a difference that usually does not happen if
all cars are running on the same track all alone. Speed gain/loss during
ramming becomes an unpredictable factor in all races.
===============================================================================
4.2 TA Mode ...................................... %TA.Md42
===============================================================================
Here this is your choice of getting yourself familiar with a course or racing
against yourself. You can have a ghost car of your own, the best TA record
holder's of that course, or no ghost.
The least stressful way is to do the TA mode without a ghost car. Another
advantage about the TA mode is that you will not get frustrated by the blocking
and ramming of the other cars. The ghost is physically not there; it is only a
visible image for imitation.
To set a ghost, you can steer to make your choice. Taito includes English words
in the ghost selection screen. You cannot miss them. You can choose your own
ghost, no ghost, the number one world record's ghost, or the Onemake Pace that
gives you the ghost of the fastest driver on the same car make as yours, except
that the tuning and body kit in those cars can be different from yours.
There is a time limit in the TA mode. If you suck that much you will not be
able to make your way to the finish line before the timer resets zero. But that
way you will still gain some BG points.
The BG points you gain in the TA mode are the same as in you win a race against
Lv.1 or 2 AI rivals. This is not the case in ID that the TA points gained are
far less than that in the LoTS mode.
If you force quit in the TA mode by plugging out the key, you will gain 1000
BG.
===============================================================================
4.3 Battle Mode .................................. %BtlMd43
===============================================================================
As for battling against a human player, the points you get count on the class
of your and your opponent's (opponents') car(s).
The Battle Mode option is written in English in the screen which is the option
on the right hand side. It is in English; you cannot miss it.
I once accidentally challenged another human player and that was not my fault,
not my pathetic showing-off of my fishing experience (No, it's an accident! I
swear by the name of TownRanger). I inserted the coins and I was about to press
the Triangle Hazard button (This is my habit of holding that button to prevent
fishers, or bad guys who will give you enormous hassles after they lost in a
battle against you). The button was broken. Nothing happened. I then sensed
someone else in another cab was looking at me. Yes, he inserted the coins just
0.000001 second earlier than I did. I was in that case considered to be
challenging him.
Since that guy did not press the Triangle button at the time I was inserting
the coins, the game registered him to be accepting challengers; whilst I was
done with one credit and the game registered me as wanting to challenge him.
There is no way to think of abandonment issues; the Triangle button is not
broken but the game disables it once someone else accepts challengers. I guess
I can call this a bug.
(Notice: this bug has been fixed in the debugged version of BG4T and BG4TPro)
So if the other guy looks more like a foul creature, or if a person sort of
rushes to the machine after s/he sees you, be very careful and make your quick
decision of whether or not to battle him/her. Press the Triangle button if you
do not welcome challengers. I always HOLD it when I turn the key to ignite.
When you choose the Battle Mode with up to a maximum of three human players,
the default will leave boost on. With boost on, the car taking the lead will
suffer from a handling penality in that the car outhandles and prones to
traction loss easier than as usual; and the car(s) behind will receive a slight
speed boost and grip the ground better than it normally does (Thanks to Odie
for his observation about this. I was battling him one-to-one that day but I
noticed nothing).
To turn the default boost off, ALL players should highlight the Battle Mode and
ALL players have to HOLD the View Change button and then press the gas to
confirm. That is the mode selection screen which prompts you with the options
Race Mode (on the left) and the Battle Mode (on the right).
The screen will then prompt an orange box in the screen. The orange box will
have yellow texts in it saying something like "Hande Nashi Shiken Joubu",
meaning "No Handicap; True Skills Determining Win/Lost". And all players should
be STILL HOLDING the Veiw Change button BEFORE stepping the gas pedal to
confirm. That is why I mentioned that all players should have come to an
agreement of boost off before hand.
My suggestion is do not be afraid to ask the other player(s) for a challenge
(if you want so), and also ask if they want boost off. It would be nice to tell
them in advance that the game will have boost on as default. Yes, you may be
seen as a freak that way but it is good to have clarified the boost issue in
the first place so as to prevent conflicts of fishing or getting fished.
===============================================================================
4.4 Multi-player Race Mode ....................... %MpRMd44
===============================================================================
This is both a "fun-added" and a "value-added" mode. Two or up to a maximum of
four players are working together to defeat the AI's, and defeating one another
as well. What is so fun in this mode is that all the players, including the
AI's, involved will be struggling for the first place in this race. Each party
involved must win against both the other human and AI opponents.
Like in the single player Race Mode, you can use the Triangle button to
select an AI level.
The multi-player race mode has no boosts. All the cars handle "normally".
Because of the presence of the computer opponents, Taito just cannot add a
boost in this mode to the player's advantage because if they did so, then their
specially programmed supercars can be defeated easily with boosts in the human
player's car.
If you win in the first place, your rewards will be the same as that you will
get in the aforementioned single player Race Mode. But hey! What about your
partner?
===============================================================================
4.5 Choosing a Course ............................ %ChCrs45
===============================================================================
Now that we are about to move on to a course...
There are altogether 7 courses in BG4 (4 more in BG4T but will not be mentioned
here).
The maps of the courses are provided at the lower-middle part of the screen. In
the top-right corner, there is a little statistics about the weather and length
of each course which may prove to be use... less!
Use your friend the steering wheel to cycle through the seven maps. You will
notice that at the very bottom, there is a tiny little white box with a
fraction of number inside, 1/7, 2/7, 3/7, ..., 7/7, which is actually the
difficulty scale of a course. 1/7 is the easiest; whilst 7/7 is the hardest.
The names of the courses are written in Japanese. Do not worry; we will discuss
them right now. They are not the real names of these real life courses being
resembled but a description of the difficulty of a course.
Ranged from the easiest to the hardest, the five courses are:
No. Jap Name What it means Resemblance
1/7 Choushoukyuu - Ultra Beginner (I have no idea. Email me if you have.)
2/7 Shoukyuu - Beginner (Resemblance of Mt. Myogi)
3/7 Chiuukyuu - Intermediate (I have no idea. Email me if you have.)
4/7 Joukyuu - Advanced (Resemblance of Monaco, Monte Carlo)
5/7 Choujoukyuu - Upper Advanced (Resemblance of Mt. Shin Myogi)
6/7 Dokyuu - Dreadnought (Resemblance of Mt. Haruna, aka Akina)
7/7 Choudokyuu - Ultra Dreadnought (I have no idea. Email me if you have.)
(1/7 is the easiest, whilst 5/7 is the hardest)
Details of each of the courses will be provided not now but later. Those
details are wordy and are inappropriate to be put here at this beginning stage.
Press the gas to decide on a course. And then there will be two arrow-like
text boxes flying into the screen: one on the left and the other the right.
They are, again, written in Japanese Kanji (Chinese characters).
The textbox on the left reads "Normal Direction", and the right "Reversed
Direction". Use the gas to pick one. When you highlight one of them, the map
will have an animated arrow thing showing you the route!
===============================================================================
4.6 Choosing your Car ............................ %ChCar46
===============================================================================
As for the car selection, steer left or right to cycle through altogether the
12 car makes in the game. If you highlight one particular car make, you can see
what models the game has under that car make. Read the screen until you come
across with the car model you want.
To get to a car model, say for example, Rx-7, first of all find out its car
make. In that case, you will have to steer to find out the car make Mazda.
Highlight it, and press the gas or the Start button. You will then enter
Mazda's model selection. One of the options is the Rx-7 in this example.
If you change your mind, you can press the brake to leave the car make, and
will be brought back to choosing the car makes.
Notice that the car make Citrogen have only got one model.
Let us take the Mazda Rx-7 again as an example. Enter the Mazda screen, and use
the steering wheel to cycle through the car models available. Highlight the
Rx-7. Press the View Change button to toggle through a set of different colours
which make the car looks different. Press the gas to confirm if you are done.
On a side note, colours other than the ones you see on the screen are also
available if you have a Netkey to spend BG points to buy a unique colour.
There is a "class meter" in the top-left corner of the screen. It indicates
what class the car model belongs to. There are four classes ranging from best
to worst:
Class S --> Class A --> Class B --> Class C --> Class D
The default (untuned) cars only have up to a maximum of Class A. When tuned,
every car can reach Class S. However, the "nature" of the cars remains intact.
That is to say, if a Class D car is tuned, it will get the Class S title, but
it is still weaker than another tuned Class A car (although they both have the
Class S title after at least some tuning process). The Class S only tells that
a particular car is tuned but not necessarily the best on top of a Class A car.
Due to a bad programming (I guess I won't call that a bug or glitch), some
tuned cars could be overpowered and rub off on cars of the same class with the
same tuning. One of a pro-player who goes by the name Daytona99 comments that
a tuned Peugeot 206 (Class C) can easily stand a chance against any tuned Class
B cars.
Confirmed with the car model, you will see the AT/MT selection screen pops up.
AT is automatic transmission (the AI changes gears for you) whilst MT is manual
transmission (you have to shift yourself). MT is recommended because you can
have a better control over your car but if you are rather new to racing games,
you may have to choose AT in order not to be confused with gear changing.
Shifting could be a confusion for newcomers. If you do not understand what I
mean by changing gears or shifting, I highly recommend you to choose AT, and
you will thank me later.
After choosing your car and the gear changing, now we are about to enter the
tune selection screen...
===============================================================================
4.7 Choosing a Tune .............................. %ChTun47
===============================================================================
The course and car are done. The game is designed for you to pick the right
tune to fit the course you are encountering now.
If you are not using a key, you will now be given an option to the tunes of
that car model you picked. Here are the three tunes available for selection:
(Details of the below tunes will be explained in the section "Advanced tips and
suggestions")
1) Normal
- Stock car (The whole ride remains intact)
- Normal speed
- No nitros or speed boosts
2) Street,
- Tuned with Street bodykits and Street suspensions
- Mild-high speed
- No nitros or speed boosts
3) Sports, AND
- Tuned with Street bodykits and Street suspensions
- High speed
- No nitros or speed boosts
4) Racing
- Tuned with Racing bodykits and Racing suspensions
- Very high speed
- With nitros (in NA engines) or speed boosts (in turbo engines)
If you have a Netkey and have tunings of your own, the game will load from the
Internet the names and settings of your tune(s). You are advised to remember
how you have tweaked your car in which tune so you can choose your most
appropriate one.
Use the steering wheel to cycle through these tunes, and then if you are ready,
hit the gas to confirm.
Ah, finally, the loading screen! We are about to be in the car for some real
actions! Keep your attention up!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5) Awards
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One more very final thing before the real business...
Like in ID3 and WMMT2, you will not get nothing after feeding the cab with
coins and finishing a run or else the fascinating game save system needs not to
be there. You will always get a nice little something as a reward.
In BG4, you will get...
===============================================================================
5.1 BG Points .................................... %BGPts51
===============================================================================
Here is Odie's description of the BG points:--
"When you race, do Time Attack or play against the AI, you earn something
called BG points (a form of money used to buy parts for upgrading).
Roughly per game you get around 70000-90000BG depending on circumstances."
To my findings, the BG points you get are as followed:--
. 1000 if you force quit by turning the key back to its initial position, or
by plugging the key out of the ignition (key reader),
. 60000 if time is up in the TA mode,
. 70000 if you finish the TA mode without a ghost,
. 80000 if you finish the course slower than the TA ghost car does (that could
be your ghost or anyone else's ghost),
. 90000 if you finish the course faster than the TA ghost car does,
. 85000 if you get the first place against level 1 computer opponents.
(increases by 5000 with each level; up to 150000 in level 14)
As aforementioned, you will need the points to tune up your car. The more
points you get, the more tunes and parts you can purchase. Details of the tunes
and parts will be included in the section Tunes, Parts, and Setups.
===============================================================================
5.2 Drift Points ................................. %DrtPt52
===============================================================================
After each run, the game will sum up the extent and the number of drifts you
have done and then give you a total score of it by the name of Drift Points
(Dorifuto Pointo) which is highlighted in yellow in the right bottom of the
screen. It will NOT be recorded in "My Garage" though, and I doubt whether any
one has ever noticed it. The reason the Drift Points has to be there is for
reference only. I see it as the Style Points you get in the PC game Need for
Speed Underground.
It seems to be pointless to discuss whether the more Drift Points the better or
the worse. That is more like a personal driving style to be reflected by that
score. The way you tend to be fast and drift into a corner will make you exit
the corner slower; and if you drift less, you can pull out with a better
exiting speed. Either way will compensate the total time you clear a sharp
corner regardless.
"Slow in fast out" is the key to dominating in ID and is also applicable in
BG4 here since your car loves to drift, i.e., usually you cannot grip all the
way unless you break to 10km/h. I will discuss this later in the section
Driving Guidelines.
On a sidenote as a preview, the coming BG4 Tuned version in Dec 2006 will have
got the most out of this Drift Points thing. There will be another special game
mode that counts not on your time but your Drift Points. The more you drift,
the better you will score in this Drift Mode. Prepare for some more BG points,
you will need them to purchase the drift tyres to challenge your Drift Points.
In BG4T, the addition of the Drift Mode utilises the full use of these Drift
Points and so the BG4 drift point idea is more like a concept in BG4.
===============================================================================
5.3 Skill Points ................................. %SklPt73
===============================================================================
You can earn skill points if you win against the AI. Your skill points are
independent on the level of the AI. That is to say, you earn one skill point
after getting the first place in each race regardless of the level of the AI.
The accumulation of skill points grants you different titles. Yes, this title
idea is same as that in WMMT2. The higher level you have stood a chance
against, the better title you will get. This will be explained in the following
subsection.
I have heard from a pissed off user on the Racegame Forum that, however, if you
skip a/some level(s) of AI in the Race Mode and have won the first place, later
when you get back to the lower level(s) and manage to get in first, the game
does not reward your win with a skill point. This is another bug that I refer
to.
Let me give a brief example, if you have not played Levels 1 and 2 but you skip
right away into battling against the Level 3 AI's, and if you win, of course
you will get one skill point. But if you come back to do Level 1 and 2, and you
win, you will get nothing!
That is probably because the game confuses your levels. That you have won a
certain level means you must have won the lower one(s) in advance. The game
presumes that you are doing the levels in order. I think I can call this a bug.
Imagine an experienced player beat all level 15 AI's on all the courses in both
the normal and reversed directions WITHOUT DOING THE LOWER LEVELS IN ADVANCE,
s/he will get only 14 skill points out of the seven courses! S/he will get
stuck with it forever!
===============================================================================
5.4 BG4 Titles ................................... %BGTtl74
===============================================================================
After you get the champion out of a race of 4 against another three AI
opponents, you will gain skill points and eventually your title will be
updated. The logic is a bit similar as that in WMMT2 except that you do not
have to take your card out to update it because it is done miles away in
Taito's server in Japan.
Frnakly speaking, my Japanese is not fluent enough to accurately interpret all
these titles without translation loss. So if you have alternative ideas, please
drop me a line. I always appreciate it and will credit you in the next
revision.
Some names make no sense to me. I will indicate them with a question mark (?)
at the end. The arterisk (*) refers to the colour of your car. If you manage to
do a paintjob for your car in My Garage, your title also alters accordingly!
For the sake of ease for reading, I will divide every ten of the titles as a
group. Here we are...
TABLE 1: BG4 Titles
/----------,----------------------,-----------------------------------\
| LV | Name (Literation) | Name (Meaning) |
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 0 | Wakaba Maaku | Young leaf mark (?) |
| 1 | ShouShinsha | Beginner |
| 2 | Shinjin | New figure |
| 3 | Kakedashi | Outrunner |
| 4 | Genten | Starting point |
| 5 | Hanninmae | Half presence (?) |
| 6 | Junia | Junior |
| 7 | Soyokaze | Light Breeze |
| 8 | Ashigaru | Footman |
| 9 | Sanryuu | Nine third-rate (?) |
| 10 | Shokyuu | Beginner's class |
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 11 | Kyuukyuu | The 9th class |
| 12 | Hachikyuu | The 8th class |
| 13 | Nanakyuu | The 7th class |
| 14 | Rokukyuu | The 6th class |
| 15 | Gokyuu | The 5th class |
| 16 | Yonkyuu | The 4th class |
| 17 | Sankyuu | The 3rd class |
| 18 | Nikyuu | The 2nd class |
| 19 | Ichikyuu | The 1st class |
| 20 | Nobiisu | Novice |
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 21 | Wakashishi | Young lion |
| 22 | Wakamusha | Young warrior |
| 23 | Yasei ji | Wild boy |
| 24 | Niryuu | Second-class |
| 25 | Ichininmae | Ahead of 1 person |
| 26 | Buraiha | Roguish sect |
| 27 | Samurai | Samurai |
| 28 | Genteikaijo | Limitless |
| 29 | Dasshu | Dash |
| 30 | Shodan | First grade |
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 31 | Shoudan | Joining steps |
| 32 | Sandan | 3 steps |
| 33 | Yondan | 4 steps |
| 34 | Godan | 5 steps |
| 35 | Rokudan | 6 steps |
| 36 | Nanadan | 7 steps |
| 37 | Hachidan | 8 steps |
| 38 | Kyuudan | 9 steps |
| 39 | Jitsudan | Picked up steps |
| 40, 41 | (*) no Ichiryuu | The (*) 1st Class |
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 42, 43 | (*) no Rentatsusha | The (*) practice runner |
| 44, 45 | (*) no gikou | The (*) technique sect |
| 46, 47 | (*) no Jukurensha | The (*) expert |
| 48, 49 | (*) no seimitsukikai | The (*) precision machine |
| 50, 51 | (*) no kenkyaku | The (*) good walker |
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 52, 53 | (*) no shunsoku | The (*) swift runner |
| 54, 55 | (*) no shougeki | The (*) impact |
| 56, 57 | (*) no yajuu | The (*) brute |
| 58, 59 | (*) no moujuu | The (*) fierce beast |
| 60, 61 | (*) no tokkouyarou | The (*) suicidal-attack fellow (?)|
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 62, 63 | (*) no daten | Ten of (*) (?) |
| 64, 65 | (*) no gekiryuu | The (*) swift current |
| 66, 67 | (*) no toppuu | The (*) gust |
| 68, 69 | (*) no neppuu | The (*) scorching wind |
| 70, 71 | (*) no senpuu | The (*) cyclone |
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 72, 73 | (*) no reppuu | The (*) ambush wind |
| 74, 75 | (*) no shippuu | The (*) gale |
| 76, 77 | (*) no boufuu | The (*) storm |
| 78, 79 | (*) no taifuu | The (*) typhoon |
| 80, 81 | (*) no faiitaa | The (*) fighter |
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 82, 83 | (*) no puraido | Pride of (*) |
| 84, 85 | (*) no fooku | Fork of (*) (?) |
| 86, 87 | (*) no mahha | Mach of (*) |
| 88, 89 | (*) no jetto | Jet of (*) |
| 90, 91 | (*) no kakudantou | Nuclear warhead of (*) |
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 92, 93 | (*) no roketto | The (*) rocket |
| 94, 95 | (*) no eesu | The (*) ace |
| 96, 97 | (*) no chanpu | The (*) champion |
| 98, 99 | (*) no Kingu | The (*) king |
| 100, 101 | (*) no chouichiryuu | The (*) five-handed star |
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 102, 103 | (*) no chousoku | The (*) super-velocity |
| 104, 105 | (*) no kyousoku | The (*) ultra-velocity |
| 106, 107 | (*) no soku | The (*) speed |
| 108, 109 | (*) no onsoku | The (*) sonic speed |
| 110, 111 | (*) no kousoku | The (*) light speed |
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 112, 113 | (*) i dangan | The (*) bullet |
| 114, 115 | (*) i zenkaiyarou | The (*) open Zen fellow |
| 116, 117 | (*) i ryuusei | The (*) meteor |
| 118, 119 | (*) i inaduma | The (*) lightning |
| 120, 121 | (*) i hinotama | The (*) fire gem |
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 122, 123 | (*) i rekka | The (*) burning flame |
| 124, 125 | (*) i susei | The (*) comet |
| 126, 127 | (*) i senkou | The (*) flashing light |
| 128, 129 | (*) i ishakisho | The (*) chariot lieutenant |
| 130, 131 | (*) i yuusho | The (*) courageous lieutenant |
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 132, 133 | (*) i tousho | The (*) combat lieutenant |
| 134, 135 | (*) i mousho | The (*) challenging lieutenant |
| 136, 137 | (*) i tetsujin | The (*) ironman |
| 138, 139 | (*) i kenja | The (*) sage |
| 140, 141 | (*) i tatsujin | The (*) acquirer |
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 142, 143 | (*) i kaiden | The (*) heritageous |
| 144, 145 | (*) i meijin | The (*) celebrity |
| 146, 147 | (*) i choujin | The (*) superhuman |
| 148, 149 | (*) i sennin | The (*) hermit |
| 150, 151 | (*) i musou | The (*) invincibility |
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 152, 153 | (*) i bushin | The (*) wargod |
| 154, 155 | (*) i mugen | The (*) fantasy |
| 156, 157 | (*) i oni | The (*) ghost |
| 158, 159 | (*) i saikyou | The (*) strongest |
| 160, 161 | (*) i eiyuu | The (*) hero |
|----------+----------------------+-----------------------------------|
| 162, 163 | (*) i oou | The (*) dominator |
| 164, 165 | (*) i teiou | The (*) emperor |
| 166, 167 | (*) i raijin | The (*) thundergod |
| 168, 169 | (*) i fuujin | The (*) windgod |
| 170, 171 | (*) i majin | The (*) devilgod |
\----------'----------------------'-----------------------------------/
(Source: The Racegame Forum)
(English translation by me)
Unfortunately, Taito edited all these titles in the sequel BG4T. The ones above
achieved will all be erased once if you plug your Netkey into a BG4T cab. Later
I will have the new BG4T titles ready, and will post them into another BG4T
guide.
_________________
[End of CHAPTER II]
_______________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER III: THE INTERNET MY GARAGE ONLINE
_______________________________________________________________________________
This chapter deals with the basic steps about registering an online garage.
This chapter is broken down into the two sections 6) the Netkey, and My Garage
Registration, and 7) My Garage.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6) The Netkey, and My Garage Registration
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This setion introduces the Netkey and the starting process of an online garage
registration.
Note that the tuning of cars in BG4 are all done and can only be done via the
Internet. That is to say, you must have a computer with Internet connection.
A broadband connection is optional but at least a 56K connection should be
workable and stable. A 56K connection is more likely to fail at all time; this
may cause problems to your car stored in Taito's database. And the car data is
stored in Taito's BG4 server but not inside the key in your hand. A stable
Internet connection is a must.
As quoted from a gentleman who goes by the alias of Odie on GameFAQs' Battle
Gear 4 Message Board:--
"Unlike games like Initial D, getting points racked up does not mean your
car is performing a tuning process, in fact it does nothing on the
machine. Everything is done via the internet."
If you do not have access to a computer or the Internet, you may try to find an
Internet cafe, or do it in your school or workplace (make sure your school/boss
let you access Taito's website which is normally classified as a game site).
If that is still not possible, you will end up with a stock car. That way you
are not recommended to purchase a Netkey. This will be discussed in the sub-
section right below.
As Odie told me, some arcades in the UK will have the BG cabs disconnected from
the Internet. If that is the case, the points and titles you gained after a
game cannot reach Taito's server and you will then get stuck with a stock car.
There is nothing we can do but ask the arcade attendants whether they have BG4
ONLINE before deciding to buy a key for the game. If they do not, it is
pointless to buy a key because you cannot customise your car by any chance.
Odie continued to inform me (thanks, doggie! Ehh... I mean Odie) that if a cab
does not have internet connection, a cover which covers the key ignition will
be closed. This prevents non-internet cabs from being plugged in with a Netkey.
===============================================================================
6.1 Which Car is the Best? ....................... %Best?61
===============================================================================
To start off, the very first question that may pop up in one's mind is arguably
"Which car is the best among all the 30 cars Taito featured in BG4?"
Questions like "Which car's the best" or "Which one should I get among car X
and car Y" are therefore commonplace in beginners' minds.
Your choice here depends. You can just pick up a car that you fancy, or you can
make careful considerations--handling, appearance, class, make, and whatever.
It is self-explanatory in that the Class A cars have the most powerful stock
engine and output. Along with the tier upgrades of altogether four engine
levels, the Class A cars will always remain a dominating role. Take a look at
the number 1 world records, and you will realise that it is the R34, RX-7, and
NSX, being the Class A cars, that sit at the top. They are the cars that every
one ranging from beginners to pros can count on.
Any cars other than the Class A ones are your choice of practicing your driving
skills in that if you manage to manuevour them well and then have a chance to
switch to a more decent car later, you will pull out a lot better and can get
the most out of the Class A power.
Another reason I can think of is what I call an RPG choice; you may simply pick
the car you have or you fancy in real life if it is also in the game.
Apparently, there is a (mis)conception about the physically large cars being
"sluggish" and reluctant to turn aka understeer. BG4 is a highly simulated
racing game, and there are no straightforward answers to questions that
general. The turning ability of a car is determined by many other factors like
how the car is tuned, the drivetrain of a car, the way the game programmes a
car, and most compellingly the driver's skill. Remember, however, practice
makes perfect.
The popularity of the physically smaller cars seems to be making an idea stand
out--the smaller a car is, the less likely for its back to have wall contact
when exiting a sharp corner, and hence they are versatile. Having said these,
you may go for any of these small cars; Toyota Vitz, Mini Cooper, Nissan March,
and Renault Lutecia aka Clio.
What causes you to lose speed, in fact, is burnout and unnecessary fishtailing.
The likelihood of traction loss, however, is more or less the same in all cars
regardless.
We all subsconsciously believe, and I must frankly admit, that settings DO help
but is NOT the only factor. What is most important is the driver's skill.
===============================================================================
6.2 Purchasing the Netkey ........................ %PurKey2
===============================================================================
The possibility of BG4 remaining a competitive edge against ID and WMMT is
probably its game save function with its Netkey in that you can store your car,
your battle and TA records on the Internet which they update themselves
automatically and allow you to tune up your car at home via the internet.
- DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY TO BUY A KEY IF YOU HAVE NO INTERNET!
- DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY TO BUY A KEY IF YOUR ARCADE HAS NO INTERNET!
To trigger the Internet auto-save function, it requires a specific key produced
by Taito and Netsys, which they call Netkey. A screenshot of the Netkey is
provided by the URL's below:--
-------------http://www.system16.com/taito/others/bg4_key.jpg
-------------http://www.system16.com/taito/others/bg4_keybox.jpg
The Netkey has a black, yellow, or red plastic holder and a silver shaft. On
one side of the shaft, it prints Battle Gear in red; and on another, it marks
your key's unique key number.
There are four different shapes of the holders but they all function the same
of course. The holder in fact does nothing; it does not have a chip, module, or
any magnetic strips installed in it. It is only plastic. It does not store data
whilst Taito's server does.
What the Netkey does is add its unique key number on the shaft into the
database of Taito's BG4 server. With the player's input of the key number, car
name, make, and model into the server, the database recognises all these data,
and hence it is able to update your records.
As quoted from Odie:--
"OK apparently you must have a key and an arcade with BG4 connected online
(Live) to the Japanese server in order to register online for your garage.
Buy a Key and then insert coin(s)... stick in the key and turn on the
ignition... you will be asked to choose car, model and your name."
When you first start the game, the screen will prompt you whether or not you
have a key. If not, press the Start button and you will be given a chance to
test driving any car. If yes, insert the Netkey into the keyreader and ignite
the car. You will hear an engine roaring sound regardless and the game starts
to load your car.
It is intended that when you are about to buy a key from the BG4 cab, you have
to put a different kind of coins/tokens with a higher value into the slot on
top of the dashboard right underneath the sample Netkey dispenser. The BG4
cabs function as a key vending machine.
The reason Taito installed another slot on the BG4 cabs is that a key costs
much more than each game play does in a way that coins/tokens with a higher
value, and thus a different size, are needed for the purchase of a key. If the
same coin/token slot is used both for a game and a key, it would be cumbersome
to put in so many coins/tokens at a time to buy a key.
Odie points out that if a BG4 arcade machine is not connected online, the
screen will display words like "Internet connection not available. Do not use a
key". That means you should not buy a key either.
===============================================================================
6.3 Online Registration of My Garage ............. %ORgMY63
===============================================================================
You have to register in the following URL:--
------------http://four.battlegear.net/web/mb/
Again, if you have no Internet connection, you cannot upgrade your car via the
Net. Or if your arcade does not connect the BG4 machines to the Internet, you
will get no BG points (the in-game currency) after each play.
Before proceeding to the online registration, it is essential to make sure that
your Internet browser supports the Japanese language because Taito up to now
has only built a Japanese registration page. It is recommended that you may use
the platform Windows XP (R) with IE (R) 5.0 (or above) built-in that is granted
to support all languages.
If the Japanese Katakanas are displayed properly, you can have access to the
option "Maigaraaji" which is a phonetic borrowing of "My Garage".
Odie writes,
"What you have to do here is to find My Garage and then create a login
account, it will ask you to input your Key ID (located on the key shaft),
Car name, Make and Model."
Many thanks to daytona99 who grants me the permission to provide a link to his
personal "My Garage" translation page here:
------------http://www.pbase.com/lamkiuwai/bg4_reg
The above URL by daytona99 provides highly organised step-by-step instructions
and is written in English!
daytona99 also recommends a piece of software that can do the job. It is
available for a download here:
------------http://www20.pos.to/~sleipnir/software/sleipnir/index.html
Unfortunately there has been users of the software reporting an error message
when they come across sending the information back to Taito's server.
The most feasible solution is to put the URL this way:
------------http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/body/?wb_url=http://four.
battlegear.net/web/mb/
(Single-lined only)
That ends up with a very intelligent translation done via Excite. So far it is
the most trustworthy method until after Taito releases an official English
page if they will.
Some Key ID characters on the key shaft can look similar as in "Z" (zet) and
"2" (two), and "I" (eye) and "1" (one). Make sure you do not mix them up.
When creating a login account, you will be invited to input a Login name of 6
to 8 characters for your identification. Your Login name should contain BOTH
letters and numbers. This Login name is NOT the same as your screen name--the
name you entered in the in-game input screen. The Login name is required for
BG4's database to indentify you online when you access My Garage. That is not
to be confused with your screen name which is the name that shows up in the BG4
machine's screen after the key reader recognises your key.
Below the textbox for your input of a Login name, there is another textbox for
you to enter your password. Memorise your password by heart because if you lose
it, the chance that you can retrieve it is less than 1%. This will be explained
later.
To sum up in brief, the Login name is used at home on the Internet for the
server to identify you, whilst the screen name is displayed on the BG4 cabs in
an arcade for other human players to identify you.
The Car name, Make and Model are already automatically detected in the first
time you undergo the registration process because the data of the car you have
just chosen has been sent to Taito's server. But the registration page will
still prompt you to enter your car data and your input data must match with the
one which Taito stored in their server. This is to re-confirm the player's car
and to prevent errors made by either the server or the player.
After that you will also have to input a supposedly real name of yours. That
must be typed in no more than 10 Sengei (Complete) characters with each of them
having a width double of an English letter. You need a Chinese or Japanese
characters input system here. If you cannot decipher what I mean, sorry I
cannot help you with this technical matter. If your computer does not support
Sengei inputs, you may go on the Internet, and copy and paste some words on a
Japanese or Chinese webpage. That is the only solution I can think of.
You are then asked to input a password that you can memorise well. If you
forget it, Taito will NOT help you if you live outside Japan. Remember it well.
===============================================================================
6.4 Login/Logout ................................. %LgIOt64
===============================================================================
Odie continues to write,
"Thats it! Once you have done that, login with said l/p and start changing
your car. You can change car colour, add stickers, perform GT4 style
bodykit/external/internal upgrades using BG currency etc..."
The Login URL is:
http://four.battlegear.net/web/mb/li1.do;jsessionid=0001GyKhKsOxweMYJxHhHQCNIz2
+Sparrow3ID
(single-lined only)
Use your Login name to log in the "Maigaaraji" (My Garage) page. That is not
your Key name, nor your supposedly real name. Needless to mention you will be
asked the password.
It is important to note that the login names are case-sensitive. Capital and
small letters make different stories. It can be both lucky and unlucky that
Taito does not require your email address to register a BG4 online garage. Do
not worry if you do not have access to an ISP mailbox but the downside is Taito
will not inform you with your lost login name and password via email.
Remember to always logout after each session even if you are using your own
computer at home. Your BG4 login name and password are way too important; once
you lost it, there will be a 99% of chance that you cannot retrieve them. You
do not want to encounter any "accidents" that may make you lose your login name
or password, like your computer being hacked, or someone else who shares the
same computer with you may (un)intentionally alter the password in some way.
To log out, keep clicking on the bottom-left of the page which says "Modoru"
(Back) in Kanji until after you are back to the "Meinmenyu" (Main Menu) page.
Choose "Roguauto" (Logout) in Katakana.
===============================================================================
6.5 Retrieving Login Name/Password ............... %Rtrvl65
===============================================================================
Unfortunately, Taito will NOT send you your lost or forgotten login name, and/
or password via email under all circumstances as what they have clarified in
their official BG4 site. Instead they have given us the customers' service
hotline which we can seek help from, hopefully. Call and explain your situation
to them if and only if you can speak fluent Japanese or if they can speak
English (I don't think so). If you are outside Japan, the hotline seems to be
of very limited help.
So keep your login name and password safe. DO NOT LOSE THEM. Sorry for being
wordy; maybe this is a symptom of OCD (Obssessive Complusive Disorder) but you
just cannot lose your Login name and/or password. Do not lose them.
In case you lost it, be prepared to buy another key and re-start tuning all
over again. There is nothing you can do about it if you are outside Japan. So
do not lose them.
DO NOT LOSE THEM!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7) My Garage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here in this section, we will take a deeper look at the My Garage thing...
===============================================================================
7.1 Do's and Don't's ............................. %DsDnts7
===============================================================================
Before we move on to look deeply into the game BG4, there are something you
should bear in mind in the first place.
+ Ask the staff in your arcade whether or not they have online BG4 connection.
+ Be prepared to pay a relatively high price for the Netkey and each gameplay.
+ Forget all about your skills in Daytona USA, ID3, and WMMT2. The skills are
not transferrable. They are very different.
- Buy a Netkey if your arcade does not have BG4 connected online (live).
- Lose or forget your login name or / and password.
- Use a BG3 key because it is not backward compatible with the BG4 key reader.
- Open two or more Internet browsers at a time to access one single My Garage;
you can end up with data corruption and loss of BG points!
- Spend days and nights tinkering your car; it is all down to your skill only.
===============================================================================
7.2 Access to your Car via My Garage ............. %ToMGg72
===============================================================================
After logging in with your username and password in the "Maigaraaji" (My
Garage) page, you can pick the option "Kasutamaizu" (Customise) to customise
your car.
What follows is a bunch of stuff that draws your attention to something else...
The online "My Garage" is huge with numerous separate web pages all written in
Japanese. Taito, I am sorry to say that it is a fool's hope to expect all your
overseas customers / consumers to know YOUR native language. Japanese is never
a dominant language in Asia, Europe, or the US.
It, however, could take years for me to pinpoint every single page. So I will
simply talk about the most important pages, and a few "how to?" questions...
===============================================================================
7.3 The Important Pages .......................... %ImpPg73
===============================================================================
Since I was informed that there is an online interpreter which grants free
access to all Internet users. I will simply provide the link here:
http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/body/?wb_url=
http://four.battlegear.net/web/mb/li1.do&wb_lp=JAEN&wb_dis=3
(The above is ONLY ONE URL and is single-lined)
Starting from mid 2006, "My Garage" has been made available with an English and
PC version. Not only is it brought to us in comprehensible English, but also it
has a better appaearance and is more user-friendly.
For celleular phone users, access to "My Garage" is possible with the mobile
page that Taito deserves if you have internet connection in your cellphone. The
"My Garage" page being discussed in this subsection is directed towards this
mobile version of "My Garage" which is written in pure Japanese.
My hard work in the translation guide is redundant. However, some users on the
Racegame Forum comment that the above translator tends to alter the coding and
the source of the My Garage page, resulting in a parameter error when they try
to send the information back to Taito's server. Probably this is because Taito
has put encryptions in "My Garage" in order to reject any possible Internet
browser's plug-in which may be a potential trainer to do online cheatings. This
is more like a technical issue and that I do not want to go any further. I have
never heard of any cheating methods like that either.
As a matter of fact, most readers here are not residents in Japan and so we do
not have Netcash, the online real life money exclusive in Japan. Taito only
accepts payment via Netcash. That means all the paid functions on My Garage are
never enabled for those outside Japan, for example, uploading of your own
stickers, organising an online BG4 team, and showing the detailed record of
your battle and TA sessions.
Back to business, I will brake down the series of the site "My Garage" into
separate pages and pages. That are where most helps are needed.
The Login URL is:
http://four.battlegear.net/web/mb/li1.do;jsessionid=0001GyKhKsOxweMYJxHhHQCNIz2
+Sparrow3ID
(single-lined)
The below translation guide of the "My Garage" page is broken down into the
following parts:
- A box which indicates the contents to be found in one single webpage
- Translations included in parenthesis ()
- Hyperlinks indicated by a pair of colons (::)
- An arrow and a letter (e.g., --> a) which indicate the page you will go to
when you click on the link
- Those I think are unimportant will be indicated by three dots (...)
#======================================#
| The very first page after logging in |
#======================================#
_____________________________________________________________________________
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Entoransu (Entrance) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| . Yookoso [your user name] san (Welcome Mr/Ms [your user name]) |
| . Riyouryou... (If you pay, you can use the Garage Extension function) |
| Riyouryou... :Kochira: (To pay, click :here:) |
| :Meinmenyuu ni sumu: (:To the Main Menu:) --> a|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| :Roguauto: (:Logout:) |
| (C) TAITO 2006 |
|_____________________________________________________________________________|
#==================#
| a. The Main Menu |
#==================#
_____________________________________________________________________________
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Meinmenyuu (Main Menu) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Shouyuu BG: [your BG points] BG (Total BG: [your BG points] BG) |
| |
| [?] :Meinmenyuu Keisetsu: (:Main Menu Explanations:) |
| |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| :Kasutamaizu: (:Customise:) --> b|
| :Rankigu (Chuundo): (:Ranking (Tunned):) |
| :Rankigu (Noomaru): (:Ranking (Normal):) |
| :Oonaa Houhou: (:Owner Information:) |
| :Gareeji Settei: (:Garage Setting:) |
| :Maichiimu: (:My Team:) |
| :Riyou...: (:Pay:) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| :Roguauto: (:Logout:) |
| (C) TAITO 2006 |
|_____________________________________________________________________________|
#======================================================#
| b. Car Select (before confirming the Customise page) |
#======================================================#
_____________________________________________________________________________
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Kaaserekuto (Car Select) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| [?] :Kaaserekutotowa?: (:What is Car Select?:) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|:1 KEYID:[no. on your key shaft]: (: Click here to |
|:[your car make]: access your car:) --> c|
| |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| . Tourokutaisu (no. of cars registered) |
| (no.) |
| (:Kurumaotsuikatouroku:) |
| (:Add more cars:) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| . Paakingusupeesu (Parking space) |
| Suki[no.]kusho |
| ([no.] of space left) |
| :Kyuunyuu: |
| (:Buy:) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| :Meinmenyuunimodoru: (:Back to Main Menu:) |
| |
| (C) TAITO 2006 |
|_____________________________________________________________________________|
#===================#
| c. Customise Menu |
#===================#
_____________________________________________________________________________
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Kasutamaizumenyuu (Customise Menu) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| . Serekutonokuruma (The car you have chosen) |
| 1:[your car make] |
| KEYID:[no. on your key shaft] |
| 2:[your car make] |
| KEYID:[no. on the key shaft of your second car] |
| [and so and so...] |
| :Hokanokurumaoserekuto: |
| (:Select other car(s):) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| [?] :Kokumenyuunokeisetsu: (:Explanation of each menu:) |
| |
| |
| :Chuuningu: (:Tuning:) --> d|
| :Doresuappu: (:Dress Up:) --> e|
| :Kokushousettei: (:Page setting:) |
| :Kaadeeta: (:Car data:) |
| :Sensokudeeta: (:Record data:) |
| :Messeji: (:Messages:) |
| :Sutekkaa: (:Stickers:) --> f|
| :Raibaru: (:Rivals:) |
| :Chiimukotsudou: (:Team activites:) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| :Meinmenyuunimodoru: (:Back to Main Menu:) |
| |
| (C) TAITO 2006 |
|_____________________________________________________________________________|
#=======================================================#
| d. Setting Select (before confirming the Tuning page) |
#=======================================================#
_____________________________________________________________________________
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Settinguserekuto (Setting Select) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| [?] :Settingutowa?: (:What is Setting?:) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| . Settingu (Setting) |
| 0 [Setting name] 1 (Here is a list of bulletin points. Have one of |
| 0 [Setting name] 2 them checked and you have chosen that setting. If |
| 0 [Setting name] 3 you have purchased more than one setting, you are |
| given the choice to toggle between them. The first |
| setting is free of charge." )|
| |
| . Nanioshimasuka? (What would you do?) |
| _________________________________ |
| | Chuuninguhesumu (Enter Setting) | |
| """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" |
| ________________________________________ |
| | Settingunaheshin (Change Setting Name) | |
| """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" |
| ___________________________________ |
| | Settinguirran (View all Settings) | |
| """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" |
| __________________________________________ |
| | Settingukopii (Copy/Buy another Setting) | |
| """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| . Sousettingusu (Total no. of Settings) |
| [no. of settings you have] |
| :Kyuunyuu: |
| (:Purchase Setting:) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| :Kasutamaizunimodoru: (:Back to Customise Menu:) |
| |
| (C) TAITO 2006 |
|_____________________________________________________________________________|
(Note: The first setting is free of charge. From the second on, each setting
costs 200,000 BG Points. )
The subsections which follow base on readers' questions of how to do something
with that Japanese "My Garage" page. I will put the solutions here
step-by-step. I hope that could be feasible.
So if you have a(ny) "How to..." question(s), do not hesitate to email me or
leave a message on GameFAQ's Battle Gear 4 Board.
===============================================================================
7.4 Access a Setup aka Setting ................... %AcSUp74
===============================================================================
Login to your garage. There are three links in yellow; choose the middle one.
1. You will be in the screen where the number of your BG points is displayed.
From that down, find out the link below the green question mark which reads
"Kasutamaizu" (Customise).
2. You will then see your car model/s. Make your selection.
3. Ok. Your car model appears on the top-left corner of the screen. Again, find
out the green question mark with square brackets. The link below it is the
"Chuuningu" (Tuning) option that brings us to the car's setup.
4. The next page comes with four boxes that you can click on. The first one
grants you access to that particular setup. The second one allows you to
change the setup's name. The third gives you an overview of what you have
done with that setup. And the last box will deduct BG points from you
because it opens up yet another setup for your car.
5. So if you have more than one setup for a car, you will in the above page see
some bulletin points. Those bulletin points refer to the current setups of
your car. Choose one setup to deal with by clicking a bulletin point.
===============================================================================
7.5 Parts Change ................................. %PtChn75
===============================================================================
I suppose you have no problem accessing the tuning page and hence a setup for
your car right now. If not, please refer to the subsection 3.2.1 right above.
1. Login. Choose your car. Enter the customise page. Then tuning. And a setup.
2. To change parts, here we are in the right place. You will find SIX links in
the group of "SouzokukeiChuuningu" (Control Tuning), and THREE links in the
group of "PawaakeiChuuningu" (Power Tuning).
3. Things here are so complicated. To keep my discussion within manageable
accounts here, let me simply pick the suspension to focus on. The logic will
be the same when you purchase other parts.
4. Let us say if you want to buy and then change the "Sasupenshon" (suspension)
you will first of all need to find out the link "Sasupenshon". A page with
pictures shows up.
5. On the very right side of each picture which shows you its association with
the actual part, you need to click the yellow link there. Another pages pops
and that is where you wil need to make a putchase by clicking the click on
the right side.
6. If you have more than one part, similar to the customise page, there will be
bulletin points. You may choose one part by selecting one bulletin.
===============================================================================
7.6 Sticker Addition ............................. %StkAd76
===============================================================================
Login. Select your car. Choose "Kasutamizu" (customise).
1. To change your sticker, in this screen you should access the SIXTH link
counting from the BOTTOM which reads "Sutikkaa" (sticker).
2. Find out the rest yourself. That is pretty straightforward.
===============================================================================
7.7 AT/MT/Reverse MT Toggling .................... %AMRTT77
===============================================================================
Login to your garage and select your car. Then,
1. You will see the name of your car on the top-left corner of the screen. That
is where we start.
2. See a green question mark in square brackets? From that down, we choose the
third option which is written fully in Kanji (Chinese characters). Well,
that is the only option all in Kanji in the entire page.
3. Click it and we will be brought to another screen. Choose the option which
is above the BGM one. That is also the one below the greeen question mark.
4. That's it! You will see a box with the options MT / AT / MT(reversed). Pick
your one and remember to click the box on your very right to confirm your
choice.
5. For your interest, MT is manual transmission; AT is automatic transmission;
and MT(reversed) is tricky--MT(reversed) refers to an upshift by pulling the
gearstick UP, and a downshift by pulling it DOWN, which is the exact
opposite way for the default shifting control.
====================================