Part 1: Ultimate FRHD NSB Ghosting Guide

Part 1: Ultimate FRHD Non-Spacebar Ghosting Guide
Contents
Part 1
1. Introduction: What you will find in this Guide
2. Ghosting in General: Getting the Basics
3. The Specifics: Ghosting in Detail
Part 2
4. Ghosting: Anything and Everything
5. Powerups: Ghosting Smart
6. Advanced: Pro Ghosting Techniques
7. Conclusion: Bringing it all Together

Part 2: https://community.freeriderhd.com/threads/14209/

1. Introduction: What you will find in this Guide
Hi there! Before we start, let me settle a few things. This guide will not explain how to spacebar, TAS, ghost on mobile, do curved tubing, complex bomb dodging or how to get featured ghosts. I also won't talk about using codes, scripts and apps to aid in ghosting.

If you want to use scripts when you ghost, check out FRHD Mod, Tool, Script and Editor Catalog

I will be going through the categories that make up featured ghosts, what makes them unique and how to go about them, along with Vehicle ghosting, ghosting tips, explanation of powerups and just how to generally play non-spacebar like a pro.

As this thread has no focus on featured ghosts, the purpose of this is to just get better at ghosting, learn a few things and impress others with your newfound skills. All ghosting examples involve the bike moving to the right of the screen. 'Left and right' inputs mentioned in relevant sections can be reversed when going to the left on a track.

Because of its sheer size, the guide will be split into 2 parts. Find the link to Part 2 above the Introduction. Alrighty, let's get into it!

2. Ghosting in General: Getting the Basics
Finding Your Place and Getting Started
Ghosting or FRHD nowadays consists of a 25% spacebar community, 25% decent non-spacebar community (nsb will be used from now on), 25% casual FRHD player community and 25% trackmaker-only community. As we go through this guide, those casual players will slowly drift towards decent nsb potential, those already nsb players will become even better, trackmakers will start ghosting more, and spacebarers will hopefully give nsb another go like in the old days (maybe create nsb only accounts).

Now into the proper stuff. Ghosting is something that usually comes with practice, it doesn't come naturally (unless you spacebar). Someone who has more points on FRHD is expected to be more experienced in ghosting and FRHD in general. So I would highly suggest you play a load of tracks and give a wide variety of tracks a go, on the plus side, you earn coins from certain achievements and unlock heaps of cool headgear!

Alright, so you've played a few hundred tracks and are starting to get good, you can complete most tracks (smooth, short or straightforward ones) without any deaths and recognise repetition in certain inputs (button pressing). But that is where most casual FRHD players stay, it is now time to take it up a notch and learn the real ways of nsb ghosting.

Finger Placement/The Bikes/Vehicles
When it comes to ghosting, it is important to find a comfortable way of having your fingers placed on the keyboard. Some games require WASD to be the main keys of input. In FRHD, for most players, it is simply the 'arrow keys' to move the bike and 'Z' to turn it around.

Everyone is different in the way they position their hand when gaming and in ghosting in this case, so spend some time finding the correct spot. This may sound simple, but ghosting also requires fast button pressing or inputs to compensate for spacebarers being able to pause the game again and again efficiently. Inputs don't always have to incorporate the ghost itself. Having solid finger placement near or on 'ENTER' or 'R' is vital so you can constantly reset ghosts till you get into a good one or get what is desired from ghosting a certain part of a track. WASD can be used as well to ghost and if you're comfortable with that then that's fine.

As most of you know, there are two bikes that you can select by pressing 'V'. The default bike is MTB which is the best for jump tracks, maintaining control and generally most ghosts. On a track, you can switch the default bike. The other bike is BMX which is very good at auto cuts, trials, trickghosts and heaps of other stuff. Some tracks only allow you to use one bike. More details about them will be talked about later along with the 'Bike Switch Glitch'. Onto the vehicles or powerups, you may call them, there are 4 of them. The helicopter is the most commonly used, then along with the blob, truck and balloon. More about them will be talked about later.

Campaigns
Be honest with me, have you done all the campaigns? It was the thing we touched when playing the game for the first time. Most people complete them all and never touch them again. Some quickly get through certain Levels but give up, don't bother finishing them or even don't get them to Gold. That last part is what we're addressing now.

In my opinion, the Campaigns are the best tracks to practice ghosting on. They may not be the best tracks in the game, but they were chosen to be featured on the Campaigns for a reason. When ghosting the Campaigns, continue from where you left off. Once you managed to complete them all (to an extent it doesn't have to be fast or good), you gotta go back to the start and re-ghost every single one of them till they're reasonably good/fast (to you're current ability). Try getting each campaign to gold.

The huge variety of track types, layouts and lengths helps develop the fundamental skills of ghosting which goes beyond the simple hold-up button pressing and left/right etc. Although we haven't yet gone into specifics about how to ghost in certain ways, there are still a few more things worth mentioning.

Improving/Practice/Shortcuts/#1 in the World
No matter how many plays a track has, it always feels good to be #1 in the world. But similar to the Campaigns, it is always nice to improve so the flow and inputs needed for a track or certain tracks are firmly implemented in the head. Practice makes perfect! A great way to do this is to find what is wrong/poorly done in a ghost so new shortcuts or methods to ghost on a certain track can be done/found.

But sometimes, most people are oblivious or naive about how to properly ghost tracks, so I hugely recommend checking out whoever is #1 in the World (click on their name and watch their ghost to get ideas on how to improve). By checking those ghosts, you will learn not only how to properly ghost certain aspects of a track, but what they're exactly doing.

3. The Specifics: Ghosting in Detail
Quick Rundown
So, now that you've got the basics down and know how to ghost in your way, it is now time to narrow it down to how to ghost fast (normal ghost), with a vehicle (powerup), do autocuts (shortcut an automatic track) and trickghosts (a ghost with tricks in it). Based on this guide, you will reap the most benefit from learning about fast ghosts and vehicle ghosts. Trickghosts isn't something we're going to look at much so don't worry about that, but I highly recommend paying close attention to auto cuts when you read it.

Before we get into that in the next section, there are a few special ghosting techniques, terminologies and tips I would like to go through which make ghosting a hella lot more fun and easier, get ghosts quicker and fast, and endless shortcut possibilities.

The Left and Right Arrow Keys
You use 'up' to accelerate and 'down' to brake, but my favourite and the most useful arrow keys are 'left and right'. Their importance is not meant to be understated, they are vital. Your average ghoster would simply use them to line up a jump in midair and little else. These keys are the key to a ghost. Gone of the days of overshooting jumps like an amateur, it's time you become a pro! In these coming sections, I will be explaining certain aspects of ghosting which will be later demonstrated in a recap video of pretty much all aspects of every type of ghost. All directions and explanations using the arrow keys are when the bike is in its normal facing direction (facing right)

Basics: Have you ever wanted to hit a jump super low or smooth without slowing down? Then look no further, here is how you do it! When lining up for a jump, try leaning back before you hit its slope so your front wheel lifts slightly. Then, release the 'left' arrow key and immediately hold down 'right' to cause the bike to fly over the jump/jumps super low. Not only is this simple, but very satisfying when an unsmooth jump becomes smooth and your ghosts suddenly become faster. It is important to note that the bigger the jump, the harder this is to do. For cases like this, letting go of 'up' just before reaching the fringe of the jump whilst holding 'right' can usually fix the overshoot. This is by far the most important use of these keys besides manoeuvering the position of the bike.

Another helpful use that you need to know is that the 'left' arrow key is known to speed up the bike, especially in loops, as the power that is driven backwards propels the bike faster as it hits a physic line (black line) on certain aspects of a track. This probably answers your lifelong question of "How the hell do those guys get ahead of me so randomly xD." Along with the 'down' button which is the brake which will be talked about in the next section, when using the 'left' and 'right' keys respectively with the brake, it enhances it, making it break harder. This is extremely helpful in pulling off shortcuts at ease to slow down quickly and only when intended, and also hitting more vertical jumps or ledges lower which isn't possible by leaning back and forward. Note that front braking flips the bike forward.

Challenge: You're probably familiar with offroads and climbs. You probably try and avoid them as they're hard. But it is important to know that you should always rely on your skill before timing, executing a track well is faster than nailing one part really fast but then losing focus and dying in one part which loses time. My tip for such tracks is to almost leave the whole ghost up to the 'left' arrow key. Let it do the talking. With the correct timing in acceleration on and off and leaning back at the right moments, the harder vertical or bumpy parts of the track will suddenly become smoother. But remember, whilst you're probably gonna spam the 'left' arrow key to get over certain physic lines, it is important to take your time as these tracks can be difficult, frustrating and sometimes long. Ensure you press 'right' when needed so the bike doesn't flip.

The Down and Z Keys
The 'down' and 'Z' keys are by far the hardest main input keys to master. I remember when I first started playing this game, I hardly used them at all. But the truth is, a ghost is not a ghost without these keys. If used correctly, they can completely change the flow and purpose of ghosts. With your newfound skills of hitting jumps low, it is time to take it up a notch and give you the skills to complete those harder tracks/obstacles.

Basics: Up until now, you've probably heard me talking a lot about making sure you hit jumps perfectly. Here is another method you can add to your arsenal when ghosting. Slowing down is costly in a ghost. For those tracks with semi-vertical-horizontal jumps, 'Z' is the best way to slightly slow down and hit those jumps fast and perfectly. Just as the front wheel touches/leaves the fringe of whatever jump you're attempting, press 'Z' once then twice almost immediately after to line up the jump with 'left' and 'right' arrow keys. 'Z' shifts the weight of the bike, allowing the rider to lean to the right more and slow done. This can also be done with flat horizontal jumps that have a connecting jump afterwards slightly downwards. Although you can do the 'lean back and forward' technique, sometimes it is impossible as, with the built-up speed of nailing other jumps, you need to slow down a bit or the bike will flip. 'Z' can also be used to lower the bike's flight off a jump. So, 'Z' ain't just some simple button you press to turn your bike around, it can improve the control of a ghost and also be used in more technical things which are going to be talked about later.

Let's get real, do you use the brake? I mean, you use 'Z' to turn the bike around but the brake for some people is useless or too hard to learn. This is all wrong. It may not be the easiest button to master or get used to, but once learned, you'll be using it all the time as it is super useful. Important to note, do not overuse the brake, it can slow down and get the bike to a stop sometimes unnecessarily or by too much force which ruins ghosts, only use it if needed. As mentioned in the 'left and right' arrow key section, using the brake with 'left' enhances it. This can be super helpful in shortcuts of loops, jumps, and hitting jumps lower and faster.

When you're trying to hit a more vertical jump low, go about it like mentioned in the previous section, lean back close to the curve near the fringe but this time when the front wheel is off the physic line, brake and line up for the next jump. As well as controlling your speed in vital places of a track when ghosting, it can also heavily aid you in shortcutting. In the example of a long loop, go full speed at the gap but just as the front wheel meets the edge of the end of the physic line (not going over just before it) slam on the brake and 'left' if needed and line up the cut or the following jump or lines from the loop. The longer you brake, the more likely the cut will be made. If there is one physic line, you can brake backwards when going downwards if you use this method with good timing.

Challenge: Have you ever wanted to survive a really big fall or fast trajectory towards a wall? Well, with your newly learnt skills with 'down' and 'Z' keys, I'm gonna tell you how to do it! Although in the next section, I'm going to talk about the two bikes and the vehicles, it is important to note that BMX is stronger than the MTB, meaning that it can survive bigger falls and hits. However, the MTB is much better for wall bouncing because of its natural springiness and shape. For long falls with BMX, holding down the brake can reduce the force applied to the bike. As mentioned heaps of times before, this can be amplified by having the front wheel elevated in the air slightly by controlling the bike with mainly 'left' and 'right' occasionally. If you do this perfectly, the bike and the ragdoll rider should remain intact.

With a similar purpose, leaning back on a falling start of a track can get the bike moving faster. Another principle utilizing this is when the bike becomes unstable. You just simply let go of 'up' and then hold 'down' and sometimes 'right' to stabilize the bike. Now onto wall bouncing, nothing much to it but it is a bit complex. In the example of a star (goal) being next to a wall and you want to go fast, lean back slightly at full speed into the wall and just as you hit it, press 'Z' to go back after hitting the wall and star, and the bike should bounce right back and you can adjust the recovery by pressing 'left or right'. Note though that you may not get it every time, same with falling.

The Bikes
Who could forget the bikes, the very things that make almost every ghost in FRHD. The other Powerup Vehicles with be explained in the next section of the guide. You all know the two bikes, MTB and BMX, both have their advantages and disadvantages first mentioned in Ghosting in General: Getting the Basics. The default bike is always MTB which is the best for jump tracks, maintaining control and generally most ghosts. It has large-sized wheels and a suspension-filled frame, pretty much like an MTB in real life. This makes it styled for the simplest of jump tracks and anything suited for its height and bounciness.

When a track is made, you can lock onto a bike or switch the default by pressing 'V' when playing a track. The other bike is BMX which is very good at auto cuts, trials, trickghosts and heaps of other stuff. Although it isn't the most used bike, its usage is very unique. Being smaller than the MTB, it can be used for trials with tubing and auto cuts, and with its smaller wheels, wheeling very low and doing tricks in a trickghost is very possible. Although being known to bounce quite well even without suspension, the BMX is stronger than the MTB, being able to survive higher falls if needed for ghosts.

The Bike Switch Glitch: I'm not going to go into much detail about the bikes, as you can choose which one you like the most or which one to use for tracks, it is just good to understand their usage briefly from this guide. However, this glitch I'm about to show you is groundbreaking (I don't know its founder please tell me in the comments). The Bike Switch Glitch is something I use daily now. Its uses are so versatile, that Featured Ghosts utilizing it are put into a separate category! But we're not here to talk about the Featured Ghosts Thread, this is a guide. So you may wonder, how do I do this glitch, and what is it? Well, simply, if a track has a default bike (Usually only set on BMX but can be vice versa like for holdup or auto tracks) by holding down 'V' just as the track loads, you'll be able to get the other bike!

You're probably thinking "But how does that work, you can't change bikes." Even though I use this daily, I still don't know how this works. My thought process was that as the track loads, holding down 'V' before the track can fully load the code that assigns a certain bike, you can bypass that and switch it before it loads. Such a glitch makes it possible to bypass the author's intention of a track's ride and produce better and faster ghosts with another bike which wasn't the default and was locked.

Thanks for tuning into Part 1 so far

TPlacella (TP)

Part 2: https://community.freeriderhd.com/threads/14209/

 

im not reading this

 

It's only one half so fair enough

 

TPlacella the fact the you competitively play this game and still don't spacebar blows my mind