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Single Race is a classic game mode (Arcade in Wipeout 2097) that appears in every Wipeout game. The objective of this mode is simply reach the finish line before the others.

Gameplay[]

One single race has a number of contenders (depending on the game); e.g. in Wipeout 2048, there are 8 contenders.

The gameplay is simple, as seen in most typical racing video games. Players have to race their way to the first place. In races, all speed pads and weapon pads are active, so take advantage from these (though the weapon pads can be disabled through the weapons settings). Speed pads temporarily increase the ship's speed, while weapon pads get players a random weapon. Each player can only hold one weapon any time. Players can use the weapons to temporarily slow down opponent ships and inflict damage against them. Players can use items to take significant advantage in the race. In addition, they can also use the airbrakes to take the advantage when cornering. In later games, players can also use sideshifts to avoid impacts with the wall and even excute barrel rolls to get a temporary boost at the cost of a portion of shield energy.

In races that feature elimination, the shield energy indicates how much damage the player's ship can sustain before being destroyed, depending on the ship's shield or health rating. This deteriorates by getting hit by weapons, hitting the wall or an opponent ship, or falling off the track. Barrel rolls also cost a portion of shield energy (depending on the ship's shield rating in Wipeout Pure, 8% in Wipeout Pulse, 15% in Wipeout HD/Fury), even if failed. When the shield energy is below 20%, there will be a warning message – "Energy Critical" – accompanied by a beep sound, which becomes faster when the shield energy is below 5%. If the shield energy drops to zero (and the ship gets hit once more), the ship will explode, resulting in the player being eliminated from the race. However, in online multiplayer races in Wipeout HD/Fury, eliminated players will respawn with a little amount of energy instead. It is also possible to win a race by eliminating all the opponents.

In Wipeout 2097, Wipeout 3 and Wipeout Fusion, to recover shield energy, the player has to drive through the pitlane. In later games, the pitlanes have been omitted. In their place, a new method to restore the shield energy is introduced. The player is now able to absorb any weapons or items in possession. The value of shield energy restored depends on each of the weapons. The more powerful weapons tend to restore more energy compared to the others when absorbed. It is highly recommended to absorb weapons when the shield energy is low.

Clean Racing[]

A new variation to single race introduced in Wipeout Omega Collection, clean racing has all weapon pads disabled, though it does allow one turbo per lap, barrel rolls cost no energy, and all opponents' ships are in ghost form. This variation only appears in Online Multiplayer.

Race Length[]

The length of a race depends on the speed class. The race ends in a preset number of laps. This also applies to each individual race in a Tournament.

In Wipeout, each race has 3 laps, regardless of the speed class or game mode.

In Wipeout 2097 and Wipeout 3, the number of laps for each speed class is as below:

In Wipeout Fusion, all races in AG League have 3 laps. Challenges have varied numbers of laps.

In Wipeout Pure, Wipeout Pulse, and Wipeout HD/Fury, the number of laps for each speed class is as below:

NOTE: The Vector class does not appear in Pulse nor HD/Fury.

In Wipeout 2048, all Single Races in the Single Player Campaign (except for Single Lap Sprints and Finals) have 3 laps, regardless of the speed class or difficulty. A+ Challenges and two of the Prototype Challenges have 10 laps. Speed Lap sessions have an infinite number of laps, ending only when the player decides to end the session.

However, with its Racebox added in Wipeout Omega Collection, the number of laps in each speed class is set as below:

  • C and B Classes - 4 laps
  • A Class - 5 laps
  • A+ Class - 6 laps

Contenders[]

In Wipeout, there are 8 ships with 2 pilots per team.

In 2097, there are 3 pilots per team in each race, leading to a grid of 12 ships. When the Phantom speed class or the Piranha ship is selected, the grid is extended to 15 ships. Wipeout 64 always has a grid of 15 ships.

In Wip3out, each race features 3 pilots per team with 12 ships total, limiting the grid to only 4 teams in each race.

In Fusion, each team has 2 pilots and the grid expands to fit 16 ships total.

In Pure, Pulse and HD/Fury, the grid is limited to 8 ships total. In single-player and split-screen multiplayer races, no two identical ships appear on the grid, irrespective of livery, leading to a total of eight teams participating in the race. Note that this only applies to AI opponents.

In 2048, each race once again is limited to 8 ships total. However, given the limited number of playable teams in the game, there can be more than one of a particular kind of ship, as seen in Single Player Campaign events, most of which feature a predetermined combination of AI opponent ships each.

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