WipEout 2048

WipEout 2048 is an original anti-gravity combat racing video game developed by Studio Liverpool for the PlayStation® Vita. It features brand new content in the form of 10 original tracks and 20 ships, a new single player campaign and online campaign, as well as content from WipEout HD in the form of Cross-Play Multiplayer and later Downloadable Content that added the HD and Fury campaigns into the game. It is the eighth installment in the WipEout series, and was mostly well-received by reviewers, though criticized by fans for lack of several long-standing features present in previous games.

The player competes in the 2048, 2049 and 2050 season's of the Anti-Gravity Racing Championships, also known as the AGRC, piloting anti-gravity racing ships that float above the circuits at high speeds. These anti-gravity racing ships are able to obtain and use various Pickups to disrupt other players or assist the pilot.

The Gameplay, rules and the objective differ based on the Game Mode that the player chooses of which WipEout 2048 offers 5 different modes.

The game was a PlayStation® Vita launch title, available both physically and digitally:

• Japan: January 19th, 2012^[1].
• North America: February 15th, 2012^[1];
• Europe: February 22nd, 2012^[1];

WipEout 2048's core gameplay is very similar to that of WipEout HD, as the game was developed off of HD's codebase.

Upon getting past the title screen, WipEout 2048 presents 4 choices (5 to 6 with DLC's):

• Single Player Campaign, with a series of pre-configured events;
  
• Online Campaign, the game's main online multiplayer mode, having events feature specific objectives to complete;
  
• AdHoc mode, letting players race against other PlayStation® Vita's nearby;
  
• Cross-Play mode, which allowed for online multiplayer against WipEout HD players using HD's content (limited without DLC).

Once in-game and the 3-2-1-GO countdown is over, you're off to the races. Expect speed, precision, combat, or all of the above. There are some common mechanics and traits that can be found in the game modes:

(sideshifts and airbrakes)

Pickups, also known as Items or Weapons (despite the category not being limited to them), are helpful power-ups that a pilot can obtain by going over a Weapon Pad, the game features two types of weapon pads, yellow and green, with the former offering offensive weapons, and latter offering defensive weapons. Only one can be held by a pilot at a time; when equipped, they get the choice to either Absorb it (ditch it in exchange for some Shield Energy), or to use it.

WipEout 2048 has 11 Pickups. Each one is unique - having their own use cases, varying degrees of usefulness, and even Absorbing for different amounts of Shield Energy. They are split into categories based on their nature. Some Pickups are unavailable for specific ship classes.

Ships in WipEout 2048 have Shield Energy. It is a resource that represents the structural integrity of your ship. The starting point is 100% Energy, and when it gets below 0%, the ship fucking explodes lmao.

Shield Energy is reduced by colliding with walls or other players, getting hit by Weapons, going out-of-bounds, or by performing Barrel Rolls. There are also ways to restore the craft's Shield Energy: for example, in Single Races, it is restored by Absorbing Pickups.

Shield Energy management is an important skill in WipEout 2048. Getting stingy will get you eliminated, setting you way back in the best case, or even failing the event entirely in the worst case. Having enough Ship Energy is also required to successfully perform Barrel Rolls, which are crucial^[2] for any high-skill pilot.

It is displayed in percentage points to the player; however, internally, Shield Energy is measured in units. Each Ship has a set capacity for energy units, with various Pickups replenishing set amounts of these units. The only thing that relies on energy percentage are the Barrel Rolls, with them always taking 15% of your Shield Energy when attempted. As such, ships with a lower Shield Energy stat are actually better for Barrel Roll-heavy gameplay: each Pickup the player Absorbs restores a higher percentage of these ships' energy.

Spin!

Barrel Rolls are tricks that you can perform while your ship is mid-air, awarding a speed boost if done correctly.

By pressing Left-Right-Left or Right-Left-Right on your steering input when mid-air, you can attempt a Barrel Roll for 15% of your Shield Energy. Your ship will attempt a 360° barrel roll, and if it completes before you land, you will get a quick burst of speed, not unlike a Speed Pad or a Turbo boost. If the ship lands before that happens, you will get disappointment, and your Shield Energy will be taken anyway. So you should probably be careful with that. It doesn't feel very nice, you know. You kind of just feel bad about your life when that happens.

Barrel Rolls are essential for high-level gameplay. They can be performed in spots other than the obvious drops through precise and clever maneuvers for just enough airtime. They enhance the resource management element of Shield Energy while testing the pilot's skill and directly rewarding them for good play.

Additionally, Barrel Rolls are closely related to Pitch control: pitching up can enable Barrel Rolls that would otherwise be impossible, and pitching down will decrease unwanted airtime - landing faster, wasting less time in the air and getting the speed boost sooner.

These blue arrow-shaped panels on the track's floor will give the ship a burst of speed when flown over. The speed boost is gained rapidly and will decrease back to cruise velocity over a few moments.

Speed Pads can be placed alone or in series, stacked horizontally or vertically, placed in challenging spots or next to Weapon Pads. Hitting one likely won't change the outcome of the race, but hunting them reliably will give the skilled pilot a competitive edge. Combined with Weapon Pads, Speed Pads also introduce an element of split-second strategy to the race.

When flown over, Weapon Pads give the player a random Pickup. They are cross-shaped and will be either yellow or green. Flying over a yellow pad awards an offensive weapon, while flying over green pads awards a defensive item. In Single Race, they will be disabled for a few seconds after someone flies over them; in Combat, there is no cooldown.

Weapon Pads also introduce strategy to the race, along with elements of resource management and randomness. A lucky Pickup could single-handedly change the outcome of the race in a split second; neglecting them in favor of going faster will compromise the pilot's Shield Energy.

( write lore reason for Mag-Strips being in 2048)

WipEout 2048 offers 5 game modes.

Single Race
Out-speed, out-smart and out-gun your opponents in the classic WipEout experience.

Time Trial
A full-length race against the clock.

Speed Lap
Prove your skill by attaining the fastest single lap time you can.

Zone
Your ship will conveniently accelerate for you, perpetually. Survive for as long as you can.

Combat
Take out your fury on other pilots, wreaking havoc and getting points for inflicting damage.

WipEout 2048 features 5 racing teams competing in the Anti-Gravity Racing Championships. Each participating Team has four ships: Speed, Fighter, Agility and Prototype.

When picking a ship, the game's menu presents you with four of the ship's stats: Speed, Handling, Health and Firepower. Though these frontend stats represent the ship somewhat, they are strong simplifications of the ships' actual (or, as the community dubbed them, secret) stats. Actual stats are more complex and precisely dictate how each ship handles and feels.

Below is a list of the participating teams. Each title links to the section that describes the WipEout 2048 ships. ( write team descriptions)

FEISAR

AG Systems

Qirex-RD

Auricom Industries

Pir-hana

WipEout 2048's Single Player Campaign follows a branching node structure, where completing an event unlocks the ability to play all events next to it. Each event features two objectives, a Pass objective, and an Elite Pass objective. There is a main line of events for each season, finishing with the season finale event, and various branches attached to that main line, completing those awards various extras such as specific ships or PSN® Trophies.

The campaign consists of Single Races, Time Trials, Zone events and Combat events. Some events have special conditions like a limited weapon pool, modified lap count or a specific objective like destroying your opponent's ship.

As you progress through the campaign your player rank increases, unlocking new ships and special events, those special events show up separately from the main node structure and are hidden until revealed using the PlayStation® Vita's rear touch-pad.

Lastly, progressing through the campaign gradually unlocks the ability to play Speed Lap on each track, on each speed class.

…

…

( write AGRC lore)

mention the community tab, friend activities, loading global and friend ghosts, music…

put development stuff here

1. Release date sourced from IGDB.