Drive Mad Awards, Gold Times and VS Mode Explained

This post replaces an older speedrun guide that described shortcuts and record times nobody could check. What this build of Drive Mad does have is a set of awards and a separate VS mode. Together they are the game's own idea of what to chase once you can finish levels. Here is what exists, without invented targets.

Level awards

Some awards are tied to specific Classic levels. In this build those levels are:

• Level 1: the Wheelie award, available right at the start.
• Level 11
• Level 24
• Level 36
• Level 59
• Level 180
• Level 184

The list is uneven on purpose. Four awards come early, one sits near the middle and two are deep in the last stretch of Classic. If you have finished level 59 and are wondering when the next one comes, the answer is not for a long time.

Level 1 having an award called Wheelie also says something about the game. Lifting the front wheels is an expected part of play, not just a sign that something went wrong.

Gold-time awards

The second group of awards is based on time, not on any single level. There are gold-time milestones at 50, 100, 150 and 200 levels. They reward finishing that many Classic levels fast enough to earn gold, so a run-through that only reaches the finish line will not collect them. Classic has exactly 200 levels, so the last milestone means a gold time on every one of them.

This is the closest the game comes to speedrunning. The target is set by the game, level by level, rather than by an outside timer.

Tips for gold times

• Finish a level once at a safe pace first. You cannot chase a time on a course you do not know yet.
• Look for spots where you let go or reversed out of caution and try holding forward there instead.
• Retry is instant after a crash, so trying a faster line costs little.
• Do not expect shortcuts. You cannot steer, so the fastest line is the course itself taken with better throttle timing.

VS mode

Apart from the four single-player worlds there is a VS mode, built around cups. The two this build names are the Grass Cup and the Wood Cup, and the Wood Cup shows a target of 125. You start a race with the Race! button. The game does not explain much more than that on screen, and this guide will not add rules it cannot show.

Where to go next

If you are still on the first awards, the controls and throttle post on this blog covers the basics. If you need a break from Classic, the post on the Monster Truck, Winter and Space worlds covers the side sets.

Drive Mad is a Fancade game by Martin Magni.