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These Dakar 2018 tips will help you get better at the game
Learn how to handle everything from navigating, to repairs, and driving on dunes with these tips from the developers of the new Dakar game.
The Dakar Rally Raid is one of the toughest races in the world. There’s plenty that can go wrong – from crashes, to navigational problems, and getting stranded and having to pull out of the event altogether. Big Moon Studios, the team behind Dakar 18, is hoping to emulate all the excitement and drama of the Dakar in their new game, which is out now on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
The ambitious project has one of the largest open worlds of any racing game yet, with obstacles around every corner to unsettle players and force them to adapt to their surroundings. Because of this, the game can be incredibly difficult to master, but we grabbed some time with director Paolo J. Gomes to get his top tips for beating the Dakar. Here’s what he said:
1. Play through the tutorial
According to Gomes, the most important tip for any player is to complete the tutorial mode. The game comes with five lessons to play through, which were devised from real training materials for drivers racing the Dakar.
“You need to do the five lessons,” explains Gomes. “The lessons will provide you with a progression [and will teach you] everything about the navigation and adapting for the various levels in the driving. For example, you start lesson one only following the track, then on the final one it is completely off-track where you have to follow caps. It’s a progressive system, with small roadbooks to help you adapt.”
2. Check the game menu for help with unfamiliar symbols
Navigation is a key part of Dakar 18. You will have to identify and decode symbols from your roadbook to ensure that you’re going in the right direction. Every now and then, however, you will undoubtedly come across a symbol that you don’t recognise and need some clarification for. Here’s where the game menu comes in to help. Gomes explained how it works:
“We prepared an official document from Fiat to implement. Every time you have some dots on the roadbook, you can go to the game menu and see the list of the icons, because sometimes you see an icon you don’t recognise in the roadbook. [There’s] a lot of them, a dozen of them – so, you need to be able to know all of them.”
3. Take advantage of your notebook
Before the start of each race, at the Bivouac, you’ll be able to have a look at the roadbook for the upcoming stage. This allows you to plan for the course ahead.
“Check the next stage roadbook,” says Gomes. “Paint the roadbook, too. You’ll have a paint option and you can see what’s happening ahead. And when you see these situations, pick up and note where the dangers are. Make sure you can avoid [them].”
The paint ability can be the difference between a devastating crash and finishing a race intact. It will allow you to see dangers ahead of time and adjust your route accordingly, helping you steer around dunes, soft sand, and wet patches of mud.
You have limited fuel on a bike
© Big Moon Studios
4. Repair your vehicle
You will also need to constantly perform repairs. Vital repairs should be done on the fly, while Gomes recommends using the Bivouac as a place to fully service your vehicle. He does, however, warn that there is a limit to how much you can repair, with the amount of resources and the number of Dakar points you have impacting upon what you can do.
“There are limits,” he explains. “For example, each car has extra tyres, but it depends if you have one extra tyre or two extra tyres. So, you can’t always be exchanging your tyres.”
He also highlights an added concern when it comes to racing with bikes – the issue of conserving fuel.
“You need to be aware that if you’re on a bike, you have limited fuel, so you need to see how [long] the distance is first. Some of them are similar [to the amount of fuel you have], so you can’t lose the refuel spots or you [won’t] get to the end. A lot of these are in the Bivouac, so take a look there.”
5. Take it slow
There’s a temptation in any racing game to put the foot on the gas and quietly hope that speed will carry you through unscathed. But, in Dakar 18, this will quickly land you in some trouble. Gomes advises that players try to take it slow at first and attempt to build their speed on subsequent playthroughs.
“It’s preferable not to accelerate to the max,” he says. “Just go fast enough so that you can be comfortable reading [the guidebook]. Nobody will do Dakar at 200 km/h. It is possible with some cars, like Peugeot and so on, but you will be crashing, so do Dakar at your [own] average speed.”
Don't go too fast or you'll crash
© big-moon-studios
6. How to handle dunes
Nowhere in the game is the issue of speed more relevant than when driving in the dunes. They are one of the earliest obstacles you will encounter in the game and have the potential to be a run ender.
“You don’t drive on dunes by speeding, because you don’t know what’s happening on the other side,” advises Gomes. “So, you need to go over the top at around 50 km/h or 60 km/h. Not too slow or not too much. Why? Because if you go too high, you will do a big jump and you will crash. And if you’re injured, you’re off the Dakar. If you go too slow -- say 10 km/h -- then you have another issue. Maybe if it is very cutted at the edge and you will get stuck [in the soft sand] at the top.”
Managing your speed will be one of the toughest challenges for players in Dakar 18. Every obstacle requires tactical thinking and swift decision-making on whether to tackle it head on or try to go for the long way around. Good luck out there!
