The Truth to Stop n Swop

What? No.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

They're not the most flashy, but they do the job!

I've been playing Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts since it's release date. Funny that this game is cheap at $39.99, but then I also spent $20 in an S-Video cable because the text was unreadable on my SDTV (It makes such a difference), and another $30 on a Messenger Kit after I stressed out for days using the damn Xbox 360 controller to type blueprint and photo information! These purchases feel like such rubbish in the long run buy my gaming has been much more enjoyable! HUR HUR!

But anyway, I was asked by my friend Katzii on Xbox Live to offer some advice on vehicle-building for the game. Given what I DO know would be a TLDR, I decided to dig through my pile of 48 blueprints for some of my more used contraptions and explain what makes em tick!

Or fail!

By the way, I'm 100 jiggies into the game! HEEEYAH!
This is a slightly-modified version of a bike I made in the demo: The Rubbish Arrow. With just the arrow and seat, it runs ok. The addons made it a wobbly pile of junk. Either way you do it, it's best not to ride this thing up hills, hence why this is rubbish.

My first main vehicle here. The Strawberry-Banana. I have a wierd thing with naming things in video games. My Pokemon are named after my dead pets, my Harvest Moon/Viva Piñata sheep are named after Mexican foods, my Viva Piñata Horstachios after characters voice-acted by Dan Green, my Disgaea 1 soldiers are named after characters from Rareware games (except for my throwaway magic users who were named after condiments) and my Disgaea 2 soldiers are named after my original characters, it goes on. For BK:N/B, I decided out of nowhere to name all of my vehicles after dessert flavors, and Strawberry-Banana was born. This was a simple racer built from the Land Chasis 1 with some fuel jars, high-grip wheels, and an egg gun in case needed.

I used this for a lot of my earlier races and general driving around. The balloon is there became completely useless, but I didn't bother to get rid of it.



L.O.G KICK
This is merely the LOG pusher with a boot-in-box addon (two is pictured now but before there was just one, so this is actually LOG KICK 3.0). This simple modification has gotten me through many Jinjo Brawling/Hurling challenges with incredible ease. Just have it in your grasp and launch that kick to see that Jinjo fly!

Later challenges will require power upgrades, so just change the engine.

This vehicle also works well in the Stony Kickball challenge.


Water Polo
Lacks a real name because this was originally a throw-away vehicle assuming I'll never need it again after the Water Polo challenge at the Jiggoseum. This is a water version of the LOG KICK built from the Boat Chasis 2. Works the same way, but with extra space for the Jiggoseum's huge balls.

Strawberry-Banana 2.0
When the races get faster, you'll need a faster car. This one was upgraded to one medium engine and later on an extra small engine was added on. The balloon was replaced with the spec-o-spy to look for Jinjos, the Radio came from Jingaling's Bingo Hall and some blocks were altered to compact the car a bit.

Rubbish Delivery Service
Good for quickly hauling lots of small things around an island. Bad for lugging giant coconuts. Modified version was never saved because I found a better way to complete that challenge.



Hardcore Lime
Building this thing felt like an Xbox plane. Originally built from an Air Chasis 2, I needed something that would race to the air where I'd finally stop leeching and modifying LOG's Trainer Plane with more engines. Spec o Spy was added for above-ground jinjo searching, but otherwise, the back of this plane was so clunky and pointless. It felt like I was flying a garbage pile.

Still, it won me plenty of air races.

Hardcore Lime Bomber (Hardcore Lime 3.0)
Loaded with tons of weaponry to pop some patches on Mr. Patch. BAD IDEA as it was too heavy to fly decently and adding more engines, fuel and ammo just made this a larger pile of garbage.

It was after this that the my Hardcore Lime series was retired.

Strawberry-Banana 3.0
Faster! We need faster! AAAAH! TOO MUCH JUNK IN THE TRUNK!

With no more room to load on anymore power, The Strawberry-Banana series was also retired, but not before Strawberry-Banana Flyer (4.0) was developed to take to the air with folding wings. That was a failed upgrade.

Strawberry-Kiwi
Also built from the Air Chasis 1, I made this one as a lighter, faster alternative to the Hardcore Lime to be used specifically for races. I had just then got my first small Jet so that became the power source.

Speed is not a problem here at all. However, try racing through the LOGBOX 720 stage without crashing about in every manner possible over the course of five seconds.



Barbo Kenkiller 2
Pink, girly, and will fill your intestines with all manner of launchables. What?


I like Frozen Yogurt!
Folding wings allows this to convert from car to plane while grenade guns shoot targets, floaters give sailing access, and large box with rail add-ons for carrying extra large rubbish.

A 2.0 is in the works


Box O' Chocolates 2
It has clockwork Kaz bombers, homing torpedos, a laser, grenade guns, two small jets, one large jet, large engine, energy shield, many many fuel and ammo canisters, and two foldaway propellers to fly when needed. After I took that picture, I upgraded it to have a Spirit of Pants and replaced the floaters with more ammo crates.

Guaranteed to knock out some teeth.

Upgrades are also in the works.

Mixed Berry (1.0)
With the game beat and upgrades to all basic parts availible, it was time to create a new main. Now it's possible to create the compact car of my dreams without the weighdown of tetrising engines and fuel tanks that so slaughtered my Strawberry-Banana baby. This one was built completely from scratch by stacking together just the bare necessities: Seat, wheels, engine, fuel, folding wings, floaters, and Fulgore's Fist. A total of six blocks and four poles were used for cosmetic appeal while two L-poles held together small frontal propellers.

Unfortunately, racing is impossible on this vehicle since its excess speed and lack of weight will have me flung into the air at every tight corner and hill slope, so right now it's just an explorer vehicle.

Wings spurt out when you believe it can fly!

There's also not enough floaters to keep the car completely high and dry, but it serves it's purpose nonetheless!

Moral of Mishaps:
When building go-things in this game to serve a purpose, stick with what you absolutely need and use as little else as possible. If anything, you'll probably make fifty mods on any single vehicle until it runs absolutely perfect for a challenge. That's always been my case.

???

Fwarrgh!

No updates in nearly six months here? That's terrible! Huge slump is definitely one of them, but if there's anything I need to make posts of when I get back in gear is of the following:

Comic-Con 2008 and the portfolio crits I've endured
Crash: Mind over Mutant
Anything that looks like art that I seemed to have vomitted out over the last five months

And stuff I don't remember.

But today...

You'll see...