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Stunts (video game)

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This article is about the computer game Stunts. For other uses of this term see Stunt (disambiguation).
Stunts
Game title screen
Developer(s)Distinctive Software, Inc.
Publisher(s)Brøderbund, Mindscape
Designer(s)Don Mattrick
Kevin Pickell
Brad Gour
Rob Martyn
Stan Chow
Platform(s)IBM PC (MS-DOS), Amiga
Release1990
Genre(s)Racing game
Mode(s)Single player

Stunts (also distributed under a title 4D: Sports Driving) is a racing game developed by Distinctive Software, Inc. (DSI). The game was published by Brøderbund in 1990 for the United States and published by Mindscape for the United Kingdom in 1991. The influence of the classic game Test Drive (also by DSI) is easy to spot because of the similar graphics and game structure. The game was also similar in style to Geoff Crammond's Stunt Car Racer. The game was originally made for the IBM PC and then ported for Amiga. The Amiga version is quite slow on the most common Amiga models if all graphical details are used.

Description

File:Stunts race.png
A Stunts race in progress

In Stunts, players may race laps, with the aim of completing each race as quickly as possible. However, laps in the game may also feature special track areas such as loops, jumps (including those over tall buildings), slalom roads and corkscrews. Players may race on a track (or off the track), within a large square area defined and surrounded by a fence. Players can either race against the clock or choose between six different opponents. Stunts features 11 different drivable cars, with either automatic or manual transmission. Replays of races may also be saved, and reviewed using a selection of camera views. In addition, there is a built-in track editor that lets players design their own tracks with different track parts easily.

Before being released as freeware (see next section), Stunts included a primitive form of copy prevention. Each time after running the program, players had to complete a specific phrase found in the game manual before being allowed to race. If the player failed to complete the phrase three times, the race was loaded, but shortly after, the player was told that he or she did not deactivate the car's security system, and the car crashed. After this, the player was returned to the main screen.

Stunts today

Although the game is more than 15 years old, it has a large fanbase worldwide. During the late 1990s, the game was released as a freeware to the Internet by the game developers after the game was originally declared abandonware. This allowed Stunts to be distributed freely on the Internet while websites catering for information and downloads for the game appeared, increasing public exposure of the game. The compact size of Stunts, which is only 1MB when zipped, may also had contributed to the game's popularity. Online Stunts competitions, in which the competition master would receive race replays on certain tracks per e-mail, is also booming.

At present, worldwide Stunts communities remain strong and active. Forums and websites dedicated to the game remain operational, several Stunts competitions are still organized and the first World Stunts Meeting took place in Budapest, Hungary on August 2004.

The games Trackmania and Trackmania Sunrise are widely considered to be the spiritual sucessors of Stunts. Both of these games feature a track construction kit, allowing players to create Stunts-esque courses, with the option to race against other competitors or play in a time trial mode. Both games offer loop-de-loops, spirals, and banked curves in addition to allowing the player to create courses that utilize the third dimension much more than Stunts was ever capable of.

There's also a free software game called Ultimate Stunts, an attempt to create a modern Stunts-like game from scratch.

Cars in the game

File:Stunts car.png
The car selector. Pictured here is a 25th Anniversary Edition Lamborghini Countach.

Opponents in the game

In addition to racing against the clock, there are six opponents of different skills available. By increasing talent, these are:

  • Squealin' Bernie Rubber
  • Herr Otto Partz
  • Smokin' Joe Stallin
  • Cherry Chassis
  • Helen Wheels
  • Skid Vicious

Additional screenshots

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