Car:  Firestorm 2/Icestorm
Author:  LaserBeams (a.k.a. John Beams)
Email Address:  laserbeams@re-volt.com

Description:  This car contains two skins, Firestorm 2, and Icestorm.  FS2 is a sequel to Firestorm, my first actual car that did not look like a rounded box, and Icestorm is a car based on FS2 with a totally awesome skin by Triple6s.

The Skins:  The two skins included are Firestorm 2 and Icestorm.  To switch between skins, run the SwitchPaint.bat file.  (Originally there were going to be two separate cars included, but I didn't feel like writing a second set of parameters.  And some people really don't like one skin over the other.)

Extra cool stuff you should know:  The parameters for the FS2 were designed with the online racer in mind.  It is a relatively fast car at 47 mph, but still slow enough to fit nicely into the pro bracket and within range of the better "stock" racers out there.  It will probably give people like Arto/Ajalkane (a Toyeca racer) a run for their money.  The acceleration is not super, by any means, but it will get up to top speed nicely in about 3-4 seconds on normal road conditions.  The turning is quick and responsive, and it has a small turning radius allowing it to reverse/correct direction quickly while moving slowly.  The tires have relatively good grip, making for good control on ice, but there's something about grass/mud/gravel it really hates.  I would recommend you use this mainly on pavement, as it is a sports car, and acts like one.  It is *not* an offroader (but can be in a pinch, say in Toys in the Hood 2 - hehe =Þ ).  Resistance to bombs/clones and blue-electric-warpy things is good too, for reasons you will see below.  It has a low rolling friction, so if you don't hit anything, you can keep going at a respecable speed after getting zapped, too.  Its light weight and hence good power/weight ratio allows it to perform some spectacular jumps.  You can do some neat skateboard-like tricks in Sk8][ too, like grinds, 360s, and some others I don't know the names of.  Ask SuperTard.  Anyway... something particular to this car, that I have never seen in *any* other car ever, is its uncanny ability to right itself after collisions, being flipped and being exploded.  Most of the time.

Thanks go out to:  srmalloy, for some "real-car-detail-ideas", triple6s, SuperTard, DSL_Tile, and Scloink for playtesting and suggestions, triple6s for making the second skin, Scloink for suggesting Icestorm, and DSL_Tile and Scloink for help with the parameters.  And everyone for keeping their mouths shut about what I didn't want to get out. :)  And especially triple6s who put up with my incessant striving for pixel-level accuracy, and my eventual realization that "his" 1 pixel mistake was my fault.

* Play Information *

Top speed (observed):  47 mph
Rating:  Pro
Drive:  FWD, rear engine (that means it's weird, and it's center of gravity is behind the center)

* Construction *

Base:  New car from scratch.
Editor(s) used:  Rhinoceros for the body and wheel models and hull design, 3D Studio Max 2.5 for texturing and conversion to *.ase format, ASE2PRM from Ali for the *.prm files, Photoshop 5.0 LE and Paint Shop Pro 7 for the textures, Pablo drawing tablet for drawing the flames and some other details, and A.X.E. for hexediting the actual *.hul file.

Known Bugs:  The game says it's RWD, but it's not.  It's FWD.

* Copyright / Permissions *

Authors MAY use this car as a base to build additional cars, however, if you do, include this *entire* file at the bottom of yours, and make sure you modify more than just the skin or parameters.  If you want to repaint the car, there is a file called template.bmp in the car folder, which contains the locations of all the texture mapping on the car body.

You MAY distribute this CAR, provided you include this file, with no modifications.  You may distribute this file in any electronic format (BBS, diskette, CD, etc.) as long as you include this file intact.