CRAZY TAXI TECHNIQUES

This page contains aspects of the game that didn't fit in the other sections of the site.

Wall-Stick

What Is It?

Wall-stick typically occurs when your cab skids sideways into a wall at high speed. Your cab will get "sucked" onto the side of the wall instead of remaining on the pavement. Sometimes your cab will be stationary during wall-stick (when it occurs after a Braking Crazy Drift, for instance), but it can also occur while your cab is traveling at high speeds. While you are in this wall-stuck state, you will earn money via the Tip Multiplier as if you were executing a Crazy Drift.

Wall-stick can be good or bad depending on your situation. If you've built up a lot of money via the Tip Multiplier, you may choose to Braking Crazy Drift into a wall at the destination in the hopes of achieving wall-stick. If successful, you'll increase your fare even more via tip money as your cab hangs on the side of the wall. However, the one big negative about wall-stick is that there's no sure way to end it. Things may be fine as long as you have enough time to earn that extra tip money, but ideally you'd also like to get your +5 second bonus too. The game may not allow your cab to drop when you want it to, and you may miss out on those critical Speedy customer ratings.

What Can I Do About It?

The good news is that there is a way to prevent wall-stick. You just need to make sure your cab rotates enough so that one of its rear corners strikes the wall instead of its side. During a Braking Crazy Drift, if you strike the wall you're skidding toward with a rear corner of your cab, you will stop instantly. This comes in very handy when your game time gets low and you can't afford to waste any seconds. You'll also dodge wall-stick if a rear corner of your cab is the first part to strike a wall when you're driving at high speeds. The cab will just scrape the wall for a split-second. This is important to know when you're going for high Tip Multiplier Bonuses, since being stuck to a wall while speeding along often results in hitting a vehicle parked on the side of the road.

Anything Else?

Absitively!

  • When you want your cab to wall-stick, it helps to rotate the steering wheel a quarter-turn towards the wall just before the side of your cab strikes it.
  • Your cab can be oriented in two ways during wall-stick. Its wheels can either be toward the wall or away from the wall. If a front tire stikes the wall first as you slide sideways into it, you usually get the wheels-toward version and the wheels-away version when a rear tire hits the wall first. BTW, the wheels-toward version earns tip money a bit faster than the wheels-away one.
  • If you are stuck on the parking lot wall between the R.B Station and the Baseball Stadium in the "wheels away from wall" flavor, you may be surprised to find yourself driving through buses parked flush up against the wall. Apparently, collision detection is assigned to the "roof" of your cab rather than the undercarriage and you're occasionally able to slip through unscathed.
  • Traveling at excessive Limiter Cut speeds during wall-stick can be dangerous. You are extra-susceptible to the infamous teleport bug when doing so.

Impact Bounce

What Is It?

Impact bounce is the opposite of wall-stick. Instead of your cab being sucked onto a wall, it is repelled off of it at high speed. This most often occurs when you initiate a Crazy Drift too close to a wall you were hoping to stick to.

What Can I Do About It?

You can only try to avoid impact bounce; by the time you realize it occurred, it's already too late. The best way to prevent it is to initiate your Crazy Drifts early enough so you start earning tips from them before striking anything. (Though, if you're driving really fast even this may not be enough...)

Anything Else?

Posilutely!

  • Walls aren't the only objects in the game you can impact bounce off of. Objects that are normally "destructable" when you hit them head-on can initiate impact bounce if you Crazy Drift the side of your cab into them. These include phone booths, hot dog carts, even the pile of boxes near the Levi's Store!
  • Some "safe" objects that won't cause impact bounce are trees, lamp posts, some signs (like the one in front of the KFC entrance), the lifeguard tower, and other vehicles.

Teleport Bug

What Is It?

The exact circumstances required to cause the teleport bug remain a mystery, but there are two factors that are always present: very high speeds combined with the impact of another vehicle (usually a heavy one traveling in the opposite direction). Most often, you'll fall victim to the teleport bug when you're repeatedly Limiter Cutting on the highway between the Baseball Stadium and the Police Station. You'll just be zipping along then accidentally strike another vehicle. Then one of two things may happen:

  • Similar to wall-stick, your cab will remain stationary or move at a slow speed while stuck to a nearby wall. The two differences between this and regular wall-stick are that the front of your cab will be pointed straight up into the sky and you will find it extremely difficult to "unstick" yourself from the wall. This version is almost always bad for your game, as it'll requires a significant investment in time to get your cab to drop. Oh, every now and then you can choose which way you want to go by turning the wheel hard to the right or left. You may still be stuck to the wall, but at least you can make progress towards your destination while you are.
  • Your cab will "materialize" at a different location on the map, traveling at a very high speed away from the point of impact. This version can either instantly ruin your game... or make it one of the best you've ever had. Why? Because the distance from the impact point and the direction you are moving when you regain control of your cab seem to be random, and from time to time randomness will work in your favor. Occasionally, a teleport will help you get to your customer's destination. Alas, the vast majority of the time your cab will be swatted back in the direction it came from.

What Can I Do About It?

Avoiding the teleport bug is like avoiding impact bounce; the most you can do is take preventative measures, but there's still no way to guarantee it won't happen. If your cab is experiencing wall-stick, go easy on the Limiter Cuts, especially when you're driving on the highway. When you're driving very fast, take extra care to avoid hitting heavy vehicles like limosines, SUVs, and especially U-hauls, buses, and 18-wheelers (actually, this is good advice all the time anyway).

Anything Else?

Just two tales of personal experience...

  • Late in one game, I dropped off a customer with 46 seconds left on the customer timer (rather than the usual 19 seconds), all thanks to a lucky teleport on the highway.
  • On the other hand, one time when I was Limiter Cutting towards the Levi's store I fell victim to the teleport bug and got stuck pointing straight up on the parking garage awning where you pick up the old lady. Unable to free my cab, it remained there until time ran out. (I, however, got up to get another dollar's worth of tokens...)

Gas Pedal Maximum

What Is It?

The Gas Pedal has a maximum value that should be triggered when you push it all the way to the floor. However, wear-and-tear on some machines can take its toll and you may not be able to access this maximum value. If this is the case, no matter how hard you try you'll never be able to execute Crazy Dashes or Limiter Cuts. It's pretty annoying when you come across one of these "lame" machines, since you can't play the game the way you're supposed to.

What Can I Do About It?

The only solution is to ask a game technician to adjust some important settings for you. Detailed instructions describing this 10-minute process can be found below. Print them out and present them to your arcade's game technician.

Anything Else?

Sure thing.

  • If resetting the Gas Pedal Maximum doesn't cure the problem, the Gas Pedal Minimum value may need to be adjusted as well. I've played on one machine where completely releasing the Gas Pedal would not trigger the minimum value. As soon as you pressed the Start Button, Alex would immediately be selected as your driver since the game thought you were (always) stepping on the gas. This scenario can also interfere with Crazy Dash and Limiter Cut execution.
  • While we're at it, the Brake has maximum and minimum values just like the Gas Pedal. If you've played on a different machine that had more responsive braking, the Brake Pedal Max and Min values should also be adjusted while the technician still has appropriate screen up...

(Instructions for Game Technician)

These instructions walk through the process of adjusting the Max and Min values of the Gas and Brake Pedals on a Crazy Taxi arcade machine so players will be able to execute the extremely important "speed boost" moves.

  • After opening the "coindrop door" you will have access to a Select Switch and a Target Button.
  • When the Target Button is first pressed, the game goes into Test Mode after a brief ROM check. A black screen with main menu options in white lettering will appear on the screen. Flip the Select Switch until the "Volume Settings" option is highlighted, then press the Target Button.
  • A new screen will appear with menu options that allow you to adjust settings for the Steering Wheel, Accelerator (a.k.a. Gas Pedal), and Brake Pedal.
  • Use the Select Switch to highlight the Accelerator Max option. Now as you step on the Gas Pedal, a hexadecimal value reflecting the pedal angle will be displayed on the screen. The Max value will be assigned to whatever angle the Gas Pedal is held at when you press the Target Button.

When you're all done and reset the machine, the Gas Pedal will trigger the Max value (essential to getting Crazy Dashes and Limiter Cuts to work) when it is pushed down to (or beyond) the angle you've set.

When Crazy Dashes and Limiter Cuts work sporadically, or not at all, it's often because the Accelerator Max value has been set with the Gas Pedal pushed completely to the floor. When this is the case, the only way to ensure these critical moves will work is by pushing the very top edge of the Gas Pedal all the way down to the floor every time you execute them. That's tough enough, but once you factor in physical wear-and-tear on the machine itself, consistently getting the Max value to trigger becomes that much more difficult or even impossible.

To prevent this from happening, you set the Max and Min values for the Accelerator and Brake Pedals to include a "buffer."

  • For the Accelerator Max setting, push the Gas Pedal to the floor, then let it rise back up a bit. Push the Target Button when there's approximately a 1/2" gap between the top edge of the Gas Pedal and the floor. For the Accelerator Min setting, add a tiny buffer by pressing the Gas Pedal down very slightly when you push the Target Button.
  • I recommend adjusting the Brake Pedal settings the same way (1/2" gap from all the way down for the Max, and very slightly pressed for the Min to be certain the brake will never be partially triggered when released).
  • That's it for the pedals. Feel free to adjust the Steering Wheel if you think it's necessary, exit this menu, then exit Test Mode via the main menu to restart the machine.

Players should have no problem getting their Crazy Dashes and Limiter Cuts to work now. They may also notice they're able to stop their cab in shorter distances if the Brake Pedal needed adjusting. Overall cab control should also feel substantially crisper (to experienced players). Best of all (for you), the machine shouldn't require additional wear-and-tear adjustments again due to the buffers you've added.