Racing Live Game Basics and FAQ What is Racing Live? Racing Live is a MMO developed by Storm 8 that is available from the iTunes store for the iPhone and Touch. How much does it cost? Racing Live is currently FREE. What makes Racing Live different? Racing Live is more complex than other Storm 8 games in terms of their fighting (racing) system. It is necessary to understand the relationship between cars and various types of car parts in order to have an effective strategy in the game. What is the objective of the game? There are no predefined objectives for the game. It is up to each player to set their own goals and objectives. This can take many forms including: Character Level Racing Record Cash Flow Car Collection etc. What are the different character types available? There are three character types in Racing Live: Bankroller: Gain Cash Faster Gearhead: Gain Integrity Faster Speedster: Gain Fuel Faster Recommendation: Bankroller or Speedster. Character Status Indicators On your main screen, you will see indicators of your character's current condition. (1) Cash: The amount of Cash you currently have (not including amount in the Bank). (2) Experience: Your current experience points and the number required to reach the next level. (3) Level: Your character's current Level. (4) Fuel: Fuel is used for Street Jobs. It is automatically regenerated on a timer. (5) Integrity: Integrity is an indicator of your character's current health. It is automatically regenerated on a timer. (6) Focus: Focus is used when you initiate a battle against another player. Each attack requires one focus point. It is automatically regenerated on a timer. Game Timers Racing Live is a real time MMO that continues to run even when you are not actively playing. Each time a particular game timer counts down to 0, it starts over again. I refer to this as one cycle. Game timers continually regenerate your Integrity, Fuel and Focus points up to their maximum. You will also receive your current Cash Flow Income every cycle. (1) Cash Flow Timer: Receive your income every 60 minutes for Gearhead and Speedster. Every 50 minutes for Bankroller. (4) Integrity Timer: Regenerate 1 point every 2 minutes for Gearhead, 3 minutes for Bankroller and Speedster. (5) Fuel Timer: Regenerate 10 points every 4 minutes for Speedster, 5 minutes for Bankroller and Gearhead. (6) Focus Timer: Regenerate 1 point every 2 minutes for all character types. Character Level and Experience What are the benefits of increasing my Level? Every time you increase your character level, you will gain: 3 Additional Skill Points Ability to use 5 additional crew members when fighting Full recharge of your Integrity, Fuel and Focus Points. An increase in level may also: Unlock additional Street Jobs Unlock additional Cars Unlock additional Real Estate Unlock additional Car Parts How do I increase my Character's Level? Your level is increased by earning experience points. Each level has an increasing experience point requirement. How do I earn Experience? You can earn experience by completing Street Jobs or successfully winning a race against another player. Skills There are five types of skills: Speed: Increases your ability to attack other players. Initially begins at 1. Handling: Increases your ability to defend attacks by other players. Initially begins at 1. Max Fuel: Increases your maximum Fuel points. Initially begins at 100. Each additional point increases your Fuel by 10. Max Integrity: Increases your maximum Health points. Initially begins at 100. Each additional skill point increases your Health by 10. Max Focus: Increases your maximum Focus points. Initially begins at 3. Requires 2 skill points to increase by 1. How do I increase my Skills? Every time your character increases one level, 3 additional skill points are available for you to allocate as you wish. Once a skill point is allocated, it cannot be changed. Cash, Income and Real Estate Cash is used to buy Cars, Car Parts, Real Estate and Repairs. How do I earn Cash? Cash can be earned by completing street jobs, buying real estate and successfully racing other players. Real Estate Real Estate is the primary source of income in the game. Each property that you buy adds to your Cash Flow. Each additional property of the same type costs 10% more than the previous property of the same type. Additional real estate becomes available as you increase in level. They can be sold for 50% of their original purchase price. Cash Flow Cash flow is an indication of how much money you earn every cycle depending on your character class. Each property provides a specific income that is added to your Cash Flow Income. Upkeep costs are automatically subtracted from your Income. Cars In Racing Live, it is very important to understand the role of Cars. While you automatically can use up to 5 crew members per character level, they are NOT used if you do not have a car for them. This is probably the single most common mistake that most players make in the game. Example: I have level 10 with 50 crew members. I MUST HAVE at least 50 cars in order to use these crew members in a race. This is worth repeating: Crew members without cars are NOT USED. Car Parts Car Parts is also another area where Racing Live departs from the standard Storm 8 formula. While there are 3 categories available (Performance, Handling, Extra), you are NOT limited to 1 item from each category per crew member with a car. See the Racing Live Car Parts Guide for additional details. Upkeep Some cars and car parts have an Upkeep requirement. This upkeep amount is automatically deducted from your Income every cycle (either 50 minutes or 60 minutes depending on character type). If you do not have enough income to cover your upkeep costs (negative income) then your cars/car parts will be automatically sold every cycle until your income turns positive again. Street Jobs Street Jobs are one way to earn experience and cash. They each have individual requirements in terms of Members, Fuel, Cars and Car Parts. Additional street jobs are unlocked as you increase in level. Racing (Fighting) By racing other players, you can earn experience points and cash. You must have a minimum of 27 integrity points and 1 focus point to initiate an attack. You can also be attacked as long as you have a minimum of 27 integrity points whether or not you are online. It is important to understand the way fighting works in order to successfully attack another player or defend against an attack. For detailed information, see the Racing Live Racing Strategy Guide. My Crew and Recruiting Your crew plays an important role in Racing Live. Crew members are used whenever you fight. The maximum number of crew members used in each fight is equal to 5 times your current level. For example, if you are level 12 then up to 60 crew members are used whenever you attack or defend but THEY MUST HAVE A CAR. Extra crew members are not taken into account. Crew Code This is a code unique to each player. It is used to recruit other members into your crew. Recruit You can invite other players into your crew if you know their Crew Code. Alternatively, other players can invite you if they enter your personal Crew Code. These invitations must be manually accepted or rejected. My Crew Here you can view the members in your crew and (optionally) remove them. Loot Loot are special items that cannot be purchased within the game. They can be randomly earned by completing specific street jobs. Occasionally, Storm 8 provides special loot items that can be unlocked by installing products from the iTunes store. Bank You can deposit your current cash into the bank for safe keeping. There is a 10% fee for this service that is automatically deducted from the amount deposited. Cash that is in the bank cannot be lost when you are attacked and can be used for the Mechanic. However, it must be taken out of the bank in order to buy items. Mechanic You can recharge your Integrity (Health) to the maximum at the mechanic. Cost depends on your level and must be paid from the bank. Prestige Points and The Agent Prestige Points Prestige points are spent at the Agent and can be purchased through the iTunes store or at http://racinglive.storm8.com/buy/ The Agent At the Agent, you have the option to use reward points for: Cash (10 points). Amount you receive depends on your current income. Refilling Fuel, Focus or Integrity (10 points). Automatically recharges selection to maximum. Add 1 crew member (20 points) Change your name (30 points) Change your class (50 points) News Feed Shows a summary of your recent fighting activity and personal comments left on your account. Broadcasts You can broadcast messages to all members of your crew or view messages from your crew members. Comments You can send or receive personal messages from other players through the Comments section. They do not have to be members of your crew. Racing Live Racing Strategy Guide Racing Overview Racing Live has one of the most misunderstood fighting (racing) systems among the Storm 8 games. It is very important to understand the way the system works in order to play the game successfully. There are several factors taken into account in a race: Crew Size: Number of crew members brought into the race by each player. Cars: Number of cars brought into the race by each player. Car Parts: The attack or defense point value of the car parts used on each car brought into the race. Skills: The speed (attack) or handling (defense) skill points of the respective players. Luck: A random chance factor just to keep things interesting. How it Works (1) Player Level / Crew Size The first consideration is the player's level. This constrains the number of potential crew members that can be used to 5 per level. Example: I am level 10 with 80 crew members, I can only use up to 50 crew members. The extra members are not taken into consideration. (2) Cars Owned EVERY crew member MUST have a car. If you do not have at least 1 car for each allowable crew member, then crew members without cars are NOT used. Example (continued): Even though I can use up to 50 crew members, I only have 40 cars. This means that only 40 crew members are actually utilized.  (3) Car Parts The number of car parts used in the race is constrained by the number of cars used in the race. It does not matter how many crew members you potentially could have used. The only consideration is how many cars are used. Further complicating things, each and every car can be equipped with 1 of every item regardless of category. You are NOT limited to 1 performance, 1 handling and 1 extra part per car. Every car can use up to 1 of every existing car part that you own.  The only one exception are Stage 1 Turbo Kit/Stage II Supercharger/Stage III . Only 1 Turbo/Supercharger type can be used per car. Example (continued): I own 50 Cold Air Intake, 35 Stage 1 Turbo Kit, 12 Upgraded ECU, 8 Performance Exhaust, 5 Nitrous System. I will end up racing with 40 Cold Air Intake, 35 Stage 1 Turbo Kit, 12 Upgraded ECU, 8 Performance Exhaust, 5 Nitrous System for a total of 90 enhancements. Note that even though I have 50 Cold Air Intake and can use 50 Crew Members, only 40 are actually used as I only own 40 cars. You can see this in action by playing with the Racing Live Spreadsheet. Racing Live Payouts Relative to income, the payouts from beating another player are disproportionately large in Racing Live. For example, at level 35, the maximum that you can win by successfully attacking another player is $35,842. This is equivalent to the income from more than 3 Beach-Side Mansions (the highest income property available at that level). This exacerbates the already brutal income/upkeep ratio that exists in the game. Personally, I think the system needs to be changed but, as it stands, it is recommended to either have high defense (handling) or make sure you bank your cash. Racing Process Attacking and defending follow essentially the same calculation process. The only difference being whether speed (attacker) or handling (defender) points from cars/car parts are used. Attacking In order to initiate an attack against another player, you must have at least 1 focus point and a minimum of 27 integrity points. A successful attack generally earns you anywhere from 2 to 5 experience points. Additionally, if your opponent has any unbanked cash, you can earn up to ~1100 * their current character level. A failed attack results in 0 experience but you do not lose any cash. Defending As long as you have 27 integrity or higher, you can be attacked by another player. A successful defense generally earns you 1 to 2 experience points. You can not earn money by defending. If you lose against an attacker, you can lose up to ~1100 * your current character level in unbanked cash. Calculating Race Results Although the exact racing formula is unknown, it can be approximated by understanding each of the factors involved in a race. Definitions: Attack/Defense Points: The total attack/defense point value of the cars and car parts that you utilize in a race. Skill Points: Your character's current attack (speed) or defense (handling) skill points. Total Attack/Defense Score: The calculated total point value based upon your attack/defense points and skill points. Total Attack Score = Attack Points * (a % of your Attack Skill Points) Total Defense Score = Defense Points * (a % of your Defense Skill Points) Crew Size/Cars The number of cars that you can use is constrained by the number of crew members that you can utilize (5 crew members per level). Remember, every crew member MUST have a car or they are not used. Car/Car Parts and Attack/Defense Points You can use up to 1 car per crew member and 1 of every car part per car. Each of these cars/car parts has an attack and defense point value that is used to calculate your total attack or defense points in a race. Attack: Used to calculate your Attack points when Attacking Defense: Used to calculate your Defense points when Defending The game automatically uses the best car that you own depending on whether you are attacking or defending. When attacking, cars with the highest attack points are automatically used - the defense points of the car is not taken into account. Conversely, when defending, cars with the highest defense points are automatically used regardless of their attack points. This calculated attack or defense point value largely determines the outcome of a race. The player with the higher value will usually win. Skills Your character's current attack (speed) and defense (handling) skill points also play a role in races. Only your speed skill is used when attacking and only your handling skill is used when defending. Keep in mind that the skills of your crew members do not matter. While the exact formula is unknown, my testing has shown that your skill points serve as a multiplier to your total attack or defense points in a race.  Luck While the results of most races are fairly predictable once you understand how attack points and skills are calculated, there is still some randomness involved. It is not uncommon to win 3 races in a row against an opponent and then lose the next one (all other factors unchanged). This "luck" tends to play a greater role when the two players are closely matched. Opponent Selection To keep things fair, you can generally only race against players that are similar to you in level and crew size. This restriction does not apply to cars, car parts and skill points. Also, both players must have a minimum of 27 integrity in order for a race to take place. Attacking When attacking, you have a significant advantage because you can choose your opponent. By looking at their crew size, cars and car parts, you can predetermine the outcome of most races. Generally, the attack process begins through the Race button on the home screen. This brings up a list of randomly selected opponents that are similar to you in level and crew size (for exceptions, see Open Season). Each of the opponents has their crew size listed and their name can be clicked on to view their profile. This profile screen contains a list of all their cars and car parts. By analyzing this information and comparing it to your own, you should already have a good idea if you can defeat them in a race. Defending When defending, you can only rely upon having a high total defensive score. Any cash that is not in the bank can be lost if you lose. Open Season At the higher levels, you may suddenly see your race list populated with players that fall out of the normal restricted range. This occurs because there are fewer players at the higher levels and the game automatically extends the range of available opponents in order to populate the list. While this may seem unfair, it is a part of the game and occurs because you have leveled faster than the majority of other players. When this occurs, it is recommended that you maximize your crew size and cars.  Strategy Tips These are some general tips based upon my own experiences: Crew Size There is no advantage at the earlier levels to having a larger crew. As long as there are enough players of similar level, you will only be competing against other players with similar crew sizes. Limiting crew size makes sense because it is much cheaper to buy cars and car parts for a smaller crew than a larger one. This also results in reduced upkeep costs and an increased income stream. The effectiveness of this strategy at your current level can be seen by looking at your race list. If the players on the race list all have the same crew size (or less) than yourself, then it should be safe to proceed. However, if you see that most opponents have a larger crew size, then you should increase your crew size to at least match theirs. I personally like to start with 9 crew members and only increase the number if absolutely necessary. Remember that building a large income stream - especially at the higher levels - is critical to your long term success. Skill Points In my experience, skill points can play a significant role in a race. If your strategy is to focus on building income or camping at the earlier levels, I would recommend allocating a greater percentage of your skill points to defense. This will allow you to fend off most attackers even if they have a superior attack score. Cars Make sure you have at least 1 car for every crew member. Personally, I try to loot my cars through completing street jobs (Mitsubishi Eclipse and Police Cruiser). If you need to buy cars, the Mini Cooper offers the best value in terms of upkeep vs attack/defense points (at least until level 40+). Having a fancy car makes no difference when it comes to calculating race results - only the points matter. Car Parts Until absolutely necessary, I only buy car parts that have no upkeep. Make sure that you have 1 of each car part for each car. For upkeep items, buy car parts that offer the best upkeep/attack or upkeep/defense ratio depending upon your needs. Racing Live  v2.1 ** Update 2.1: Added Hyundai i20 Loot Car ** ** NOTE : MAJOR Changes with all updates as of 7/9/2009 and NEW FEATURES ** New Features Version 2.x of the Racing Live Cheat Sheet allows you to enter in information for an opponent or for testing "what-if" scenarios. The additional information is optional but can be very useful for testing different configurations or figuring out why you lost to an opponent. Character For Level, put your current level in Racing Live - this is VERY important as the cheat sheet calculates a lot of information (available real estate, usable members, etc.) based on this information. For Crew Members, put the total number of crew members that you have in your crew. Real Estate For Real Estate, fill in the number of each property type that you currently own. For properties that you do not own, leave them blank or just put a zero. Car Parts Similar to Real Estate, fill in the number of each type of car part that you own. Cars Once again, fill in the number of each type of car that you have. The following sections are automatically calculated for you. Income Cash Flow, Upkeep and Net Cash Flow should match your Racing Live Profile. This is a quick way to verify that you have filled in all the fields correctly. There is also a % indicator next to upkeep that indicates upkeep as a % of your cash flow - this is a good indicator to keep track of as too high an upkeep % will really limit your future earnings potential. Real Estate Optimizer This automatically calculates the next property that you should buy based on the best available ROI. It automatically calculates the ROI on all of your existing properties (based on the data you entered in the real estate section) and recommends the optimal next purchase. For detailed information see the Racing Live Real Estate Guide. To see the actual numbers, click on the "Real Estate" worksheet at the bottom of excel. In addition to recommending the next purchase, it also indicates how much it will cost. Crew Members Based on your input in the character section, the cheat sheet automatically calculates how many members you can actually use (5 per level maximum). Racing This calculates your total usable Attack and Defense points based on the cars and car parts that you can actually use when you fight someone. This is a fairly complex calculation as the game automatically chooses the best available cars/car parts depending on whether you are attacking or defending. Remember, this only calculates USABLE points. Extra parts or unused cars are not factored in. Only the BEST USABLE speed cars/parts (when attacking) and BEST USABLE handling cars/parts (when defending) are used. For more information, please see the Racing Live Racing Guide . Cars This provides a quick glance at how many total cars that you own and - more importantly - how many cars are actually usable when fighting. Car Parts Once again, a quick summary view of how many Performance, Handling and Extra Parts that you own. However, the most important number is "Total Usable Enhancements" which is how many of these car parts you will actually use when fighting. If you entered everything correctly, this number should match the number you see when you race another player. Assets Just a fun fact about how much money you have spent in the game buying real estate, cars and car parts. Fuel Boost Again, a summary view of how much bonus fuel you gain per cycle assuming you buy the appropriate properties. The light green fields are for entering in your opponents information. It can also be used for "what-if" scenarios to evaluate whether you should buy new cars/parts/etc. Racing Live Street Job Guide Street Job Overview In Racing Live, completing a street job earns you cash, experience and sometimes loot. Each street job has different requirements including: Minimum Fuel Minimum Members Minimum Cars Minimum Car Parts Prior Loot Item Successfully completing a street job earns you a random amount of cash (based on a range) and a set number of Experience Points. Also, some street jobs offer a random chance of obtaining a loot item. Additional street jobs are unlocked as you advance in level. Street Jobs Strategy Until you have a significant income stream, I recommend that you focus on "Race on a Bet" and "Escape from Police" as these two jobs both offer the chance of receiving a car as loot. The looted cars (Mitsubishi Eclipse and Police Cruiser) are an excellent value in terms of upkeep costs versus speed/handling points. They also have the added benefit of being free. The cash savings by not having to buy alternative cars will allow you to more quickly increase your cash flow. If you outgrow these 2 cars, then I recommend focusing on street jobs that offer the most cash per fuel point. This will help supplement your income as it is much quicker to earn experience through racing other players rather than through street jobs. In terms of experience per fuel point, the best street job is "Trail a Rival" which only requires 56 fuel. If you do not need the cash from street jobs, then this is your best choice as it does not require you to allocate skill points to max fuel. Racing Live Real Estate Guide Real Estate Overview Racing Live has the lowest starting ROI for real estate of any of the Storm 8 games. It also has some of the highest upkeep costs (relative to income) for cars/car parts. This combination makes it extremely difficult to build a large income stream unless you are extremely patient. It is critical that you maximize the ROI on every Real Estate purchases while minimizing upkeep costs. The income provided by real estate properties is earned every 50 (Bankroller) or 60 (Gearhead, Speedster) minutes depending on your character class. This occurs whether or not you or actively playing. Upkeep costs are automatically deducted at the same time. Return on Investment (ROI) The key to maximizing your income from real estate is understanding the concept of ROI. If you view real estate as an investment of your Cash, then the ROI on that investment is equal to the income provided by that property divided by its current cost. This number is commonly expressed as a percentage and indicates the rate of return for that particular property. When choosing which property to buy, you should always choose the one that provides the highest available ROI in order to maximize your investment and income. The cost of each type of property increases by 10% with each purchase, decreasing its ROI. This provides incentive to advance in level in order to unlock additional real estate types that provide a higher ROI. Real Estate Analysis Racing Live has a total of 11 types of real estate with a starting ROI of 0.83% to 0.318%. These relatively low initial ROI rates means that it takes much longer for a property to pay for itself and that the income provided by each property is relatively low. The highest income property (City Raceway - 27,000) can barely cover the upkeep of a single Bugatti Veyron (21,000 upkeep). When you consider that every car can be equipped with 1 of every type of car part, it is very easy for upkeep costs to grow faster than your income. Strategic Recommendations There is a large level gap between the Downtown Loft (Level 18) and Chop Shop (Level 25). I recommend using the early levels to build up a strong income base and slowing down your rate of advancement after level 12 or 18 as the early properties offer the best starting ROI rates. Due to the low starting ROI of real estate in Racing Live, adjust your target ROI % accordingly depending upon your strategy. It will take a long time to acquire property even at the lower levels. Camping If you choose to camp out, then focus on minimizing upkeep and maximizing handling. If possible, limit your experience point gains to defensive wins. TIP: Keep your crew size at 9 members until absolutely necessary (see Racing Live Racing Guide) and camp at levels 5,12,18. Bank Cash losses from racing in Racing Live tend to be very high relative to income. For example, at level 35, you can lose up to 35,842 every race. This is VERY HIGH considering the highest income property in the game (City Raceway) only pays 27,000. It may be worthwhile to bank your money despite the 10% service fee unless you have a very strong defensive setup. Basically, if your total losses per hour average more than 10% of your income stream, then it makes more financial sense to use the bank.   Real Estate Level Income Starting Cost Starting ROI Parking Space 1 25 3,000 0.833% Used Car Lot 1 50 7,000 0.714% Gas Station 3 125 15,000 0.833% Condo 5 350 55,000 0.636% Car Wash Service 10 1,000 175,000 0.571% Parking Garage 12 1,500 330,000 0.455% Downtown Loft 18 2,700 700,000 0.386% Chop Shop 25 4,800 1,100,000 0.436% Grand Car Showroom 30 7,000 2,000,000 0.350% Beach-Side Mansion 35 11,000 3,250,000 0.338% City Raceway 40 27,000 8,500,000 0.318% by SKT168 CODE SVMS4 ----
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