Hello, Nuke Watchers. This guide is a collection of every trick and fact we know about the game. Our understanding of how things work changes every now and then, and every discovery we make will be registered here. You will also probably notice that we mention "New Game+" categories. This refers to the categories that allow you to start with upgrades (Escape%, Hard%, Death% and Swear%)

1.1 Getting the game to work If you are wondering how to run the game now that flash is no longer web supported, note that there are ways to run the game without needing browser support. Flash game files can be run independently on your computer with a Flash Player. We in the moderation team endorse the use of Flashpoint to make it easier. Please check the "resources" tab for more information and links.

1.2 How to Record Any way to capture the screen will do fine. If you have no idea of programs to do so, we recommend OBS which is free and easy to use. The game runs at a fixed 30 framerate so setting your recording to this framerate is useful to save space. You can get a timer for your own personal reference, such as LiveSplit. Don't worry if your manual timer isn't perfect. Your runs can be retimed afterwards.

2. Upgrades in New game+ categories First off, we gotta talk upgrades. Most upgrades are always an advantage, but I have to mention the bumper, since it's the only upgrade with a clear downside. The bigger your bumper, the harder it is to turn your car. So, you have to ask yourself either you'd rather have a car with top handling, or a car that can take many hits with less speed reduction. This is personal preference based only.

3. Speed 3.1 Speed Conservation Strats Then, if you wanna beat records we obviously need to talk about speed conservation. You must avoid collision with any entity. This includes zombies, soldiers, fences, quarantine signs, abandoned cars and pretty much everything. Just do your best to not crash. However, if you were to use your handbrake for a moment prior to impact, the speed reduction penalty is lesser. This happens beacuse the game has greater speed reduction penalties when you are driving at max speed, and braking a little just before crashing avoids this.

3.2 Game Quality and TPS This might come as a surprise for some, but flash games do not run at a stable framerrate nor ticks per second no matter how good your hardware is. This said, the speed of the game itself is related to the quality you play it on. Playing it on the lowest quality will speed up the actual speed that the game runs at. Screen size is also a factor here. I must confess I don't fully understand how this works, but I have tested it and timed it driving on Evans City: For instance, just reducing the screen size below the normal minimun and playing at minimun quality can save around a full second. Of course, reducing the screen size that much isn't worth it, but it's another game fact. In summary, keeping the quality to low improves your times slightly

4. Damage in New Game+ Soldiers and bullets aren't a problem as long as you are not playing on Highway to Hell. John Creaseman with max armor can take a lot of bullets with ease, and regenerates HP pretty fast. You just have to ensure you don't take a lot of constant damage and you will be fine. Be aware, explosions drain a lot of your health too. Crashes don't, though.

5. Dealing with Helicopters Let's talk helicopters. You have to make a decision here, for there are currently two approaches.

   5.1. Traditional Way This approach consists in taking every helicopter as soon as possible and keep on playing normally. As said before, bullet helicopters aren't normally a big problem. They don't represent any significant threat, but ground missiles are dangerous. You must pay close attention to the radio. Granted, helicopter spawns are fixed, but the radio is a great reminder of when exactly it is going to happen. If you are planning on rushing the helicopters (And you will want to if they have missiles) the idea is staying close to the signs on the side of the road prior to the spawn of the helicopter. When you hear the first radio warning, the helicopter is around two signs away of spawning. If you calculate it properly, you can hit the helicopter before even seeing it. And if you are very lucky, it is possible to drop it down before it even starts shooting. The first dangerous helicopter spawns during North Side Park so beware. It's the most critical part of a speedrun of this kind.

   5.2 First Helicopter Exploit (New Game+ categories) There is another approach that consists on keeping the first helicopter that spawns in Central City all the way to Tunnel Drive. You might think this sounds stupid, however, it's a very overpowered strat. For what we understand at the moment, the game generation works on differents stages of chaos and debris, that organically grow when you progress in the game. However, it is not only affected by your progress but also by some enviromental circumnstances. One of these is the presence of a helicopter. In summary, keeping the first helicopter makes the driving much easier because it changes the way the obstacles are generated. This brings its own batch of new problems, thought. The most important thing is that you need to pay attention in order to not kill the helicopter on accident. It sounds stupid, but it happens. You will also need to avoid bullets constantly, but given that it is the first helicopter to spawn, it has the weakest firepower and John Creaseman can take it easily with a fully upgraded armor (This strat still runs with no upgrades, but it is significantly harder to maintain beacuse of this).

6. Handling Death. This can sound obvious, but the best way to beat the game with a decent time is in one single push, without dying. This requires some skill and might seem very hard if you are new, but isn't impossible to achieve. The already mentioned helicopter strat makes this much easier if used properly. Let's say however you were to die. The best way to do it is doing your best to get to the checkpoint, and then abort and start as fast as possible (If you die, spam spacebar to skip the RP menu, and be ready to get your mouse over Drive To button). If you were on 100%, Hell% or Survivor%, be aware that aborting won't give you any points you might need for upgrades.

7. RNG Is RNG involved on RoTD speedrunning? Yes, to some extent, but it shouldn't matter. The way car structures are placed, the specific formation of the checkpoints and the enemy spawns are randomized within certain boundaries. As a result, every run will look kind of similar, but if you look closely it will never be exactly the same. Normally, this won't have a big impact on runs. It shouldn't make the game harder. However, some weird combinations can happen where you can't avoid both and have to choose either a jet carpet bombing or a car crash, so pick your poison. Generation isn't perfect but it is good enough.

Well, those are the basic things to know. For more complex guides (specially regarding how to get good times on 100%, Survivor% and Hell%) you are pretty much on your own for the moment. Good luck and godspeed, Nuke Watchers.