F-Zero/Track Features

A number of special track features appear on many circuits as a way to help or hinder pilots. Knowing how these features will affect your machine can mean the difference between first and last place.

Rough
Areas of rough will slow your machine down as you pass through them. Courses will often have rough flanking the sides of the track, though the rough can appear anywhere. Light rough won't slow your vehicle very much and can be driven through with no apparent effect when using S-JETs $($$)$. Heavy rough, on the other hand, will significantly slow even machines that are using their turbo.

Anti-Gravity Guide Beam
The guide rails are what keep the tracks afloat and the cars safely within the circuit. While they are meant to keep vehicles in the track, using jump plates can allow you to fly right over the rails. Be careful though, touching the guard rails will cause your machine's power to drop.

Land Mine
Land mines are placed on the track surface and will detonate when driven over. Not only will the detonation cause damage, it will also violently throw your machine around the track. This could cause you to crash into another racer, the guard rails, or even more mines. Land mines are often found in large groups all in one place. Use extreme caution when piloting through mine fields.

Jump Plate
Jump plates act much like springboards, launching your machine into the air. After making a jump, your speed will increase while airborne (except when jumping at full throttle). When jumping, pressing will pitch the nose of your machine down. While this allows you to get back on the track and end your flight more quickly, it also causes a rough landing that will decrease your speed. Pressing while airborne will pitch the nose up, keeping you airborne longer and softening landings to keep your speed intact.

Jump plates are invaluable for often letting you soar right over track hazards that might otherwise slow you down. You can also use jump plates to fly over guard rails. While this can allow you to cut corners, be careful to be back on the track before you come back down or you'll crash out. Also watch just how much track your shortcuts allow you to skip—skip too much and you'll get a foul.

Down-Pull Magnets
Often found right after jump plates, powerful banks of down-pull magnets will cause a loss in altitude and cut jumps very short. Passing over these magnet banks while on the ground will cause a loss of power as your machine is violently pulled to the track surface.

Left- and Right-Pull Magnets
These magnets work on the same premise as their downward-pulling counterpart. Found on the shoulders of a track, these magnets pull you toward the dangerous guard rail and cause power loss. Countersteering is often the best way to avoid these hazards.

Magnetic Field Block Coat
Magnetic field block coats (a.k.a. slip zones) are icy-looking regions of a track that have been treated to reduce traction. Without traction, your machine runs through these areas entirely on the momentum you had upon entering the slip zone. Be careful when using slide turns {} in slip zones.

Dash Zone
Dash zones (or dash plates) work much like S-JETs but are an integrated part of the track. Driving over one will provide a brief speed boost for your machine. Dash zones often appear in series.