A few questions about the 'hands up' mechanic

[phittte]

The 'hands up' mechanic is never properly explained in game. I know that you jump a bit farther if you put your hands up, but that's very vague and I don't know whether there is more to it. That's why I have a few questions:

1. Does it have any effect if you put your hands up while you're not jumping? Do you slow down? Speed up? Nothing?

2. Do you need to put your hands up shortly before you jump/leave the ground (pretty sure that's the case, just want to confirm it)?

3. Does it matter whether the hands are still up during the jump? Does the jump become longer if you put your hands up for the whole jump or do you only need to put them up before/when you leave the ground?

4. Since jumps become longer, do you also become faster if you make a longer jump this way?

5. IIRC the tutorial says that putting the hands up 'evens out' your car a bit. What does it mean? Does it go back to a straight position? I couldn't really see/feel an effect, but it may be subtle.

[VahidSlayerOfAll]

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[Akane]

[Note - I am not a developer of the game, I only run the 3 monthly events that give in-game rewards]

Originally posted by phittte:

1. Does it have any effect if you put your hands up while you're not jumping? Do you slow down? Speed up? Nothing?

It does not affect your speed. It raises your suspension slightly (as it slightly reduces the affect of gravity on your soapbox) but nothing drastic.

Originally posted by phittte:

2. Do you need to put your hands up shortly before you jump/leave the ground (pretty sure that's the case, just want to confirm it)?

The Arms Up mechanic applies whenever all 4 of your wheels are not touching a surface. It does this by slightly reducing the affect of gravity on your soapbox, so you lose less height over the same distance.

Some adventure mode and community maps may require no arms up, others may require arms up for the entire jump duration and others may only need arms up just a little bit to clear a jump (e.g if you enter jump with slightly slower speed).

I would personally recommend only arms upping if you cannot clear the jump without doing so, or the level tells you to arms up there with a sign.

Originally posted by phittte:

3. Does it matter whether the hands are still up during the jump? Does the jump become longer if you put your hands up for the whole jump or do you only need to put them up before/when you leave the ground?

See answer for 2. Jumps only become longer while the arms up button is pressed.

Originally posted by phittte:

4. Since jumps become longer, do you also become faster if you make a longer jump this way?

No, over jumping a jump due to too much arms up usage is usually slower. You will want the least amount of airtime as possible for the best times on levels with jumps.

Originally posted by phittte:

5. IIRC the tutorial says that putting the hands up 'evens out' your car a bit. What does it mean? Does it go back to a straight position? I couldn't really see/feel an effect, but it may be subtle.

Arms Up and braking has additional mechanics when in the air:

- Pressing the Arms Up button will make your soapbox level out so that it's fully horizontal (e.g flat to the ground). It also flattens you out if your soapbox is tilting to the sides.

- Braking while in the air will stop the rotation of the soapbox. It has no effect on your speed.

- Left/right steering will turn your soapbox in place.

Both of these mechanics can be combined together.

[phittte]

Originally posted by Akane:

[Note - I am not a developer of the game, I only run the 3 monthly events that give in-game rewards]

[...]

Thanks, that's a perfect explanation for everything I asked!