A good day to all you Wangan Maxi pilots out there, it's Tetsuo here.
It's the rainy season. I hate the rainy season. I feel less than 100% because of the low air pressure, everything is covered in mold because of the humidity, I'm depressed, and I don't even go driving because I can't enjoy myself. What's a man to do at a time like this? Ah! There is a certain game called Wangan Maxi 3.

And, so, for a change, the Wangan development team set out en masse to a certain location the other day to play Maxi in the arcades.
In the midst of all the people playing Wangan, we boldly jumped in and took up the challenge! Nagamatsu, clad in his judo uniform, howled "Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!!", and was chucked out the door by the staff (not really).

And the results of the VS Battles between the development staff were ...

Uchida ⁄ Kobayashi ⁄ Takenaka > Maeda > Tetsuo ⁄ Nagamatsu > Newcomer Yamamoto
→ Or at least, that's what the results should have been, but ...

This is what they actually were: Uchida ⁄ Kobayashi ⁄ Takenaka > Maeda ⁄ Nagamatsu ⁄ Newcomer Yamamoto > Tetsuo

What are these results all about? I dunno if these guys have been sneakily getting in some training behind my back, but it certainly seems like these results pretty much show how things stand these days. Ha, ha, ha.

What's holding me back? Well, I'm no good at dealing with the other cars. Recently I've noticed that strong players are in a different league when it comes to avoiding the other cars. How do you avoid cars when you're cornering??? I can't figure it out. If I see another car on my line when I'm coming out a corner, you think I'm going to get out the way? So ... I end up banging straight into other cars.

I thought a bit about this difference between me and other players. ... And I think it's about body control.
If you can rapidly predict the route that your car and the other cars are going to take, and you can consciously change the direction of your car to revise your line, for sure you can pass the other cars and your rivals easily.

Pinpoint your line, then aim the nose of the car to the gap in the line, or the exit of the corner, as if you had predicted what was going to happen just a moment in the future, then, as you come out the corner, slip through by the thinnest of margins, with a hint of rubbing wing mirrors, bespattering your rivals with a cloud of dust as you accelerate off into the distance.
Eh? What are you talking about?
By the time I get a clear image of myself taking a line through the other cars scattered around the race course, there are already no signs of any rivals in the back mirror, and I can hear a sonorous fanfare lifting my spirit.
[ What breathtaking speed we have here! ]
[ Ah! Just like a DE- V-I L ... ] ...

That's the deluded driving analysis of me, Tetsuo, worst driver on the Wangan team.

By the way, when I'm driving, I can't think about the self-styled Team Ambience, traction, behavior, settings, or anything like that. Even in my real car, I don't know how much to adjust the rebound and the compression of the suspension, so I just don't mind about it.
But I also think that doing what those of the orthodox school - people who can calmly try out the behavior of different machines when they race - do might be a good idea. Saying that, what I don't understand, I can't understand. The people who enjoy themselves are the winners! Think you from the bottom of your heart, dear reader. It's truly people like you who are right for "Team Ambience"

~Three requirements for Team Ambience~

• The right driving for the right area.
• Even if you have nothing, try to look good, and trust the vibe.
• Always believe that when you really try, you can be really fast.

Come on, join us!

(Original article in Japanese released on 6.25.2008)