Lost Alpha cars in detail

General talk about Lost Alpha dream project

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What's your favorite car in Lost Alpha?

UAZ
1
8%
Lada / Lada Cabriolet
0
No votes
Niva (white/green)
2
15%
Tuned up Niva
2
15%
Moskvich Cabriolet
1
8%
Tuned up Moskvich
2
15%
Tractor
0
No votes
RAF Truck
0
No votes
Kamaz
2
15%
BTR
3
23%
 
Total votes : 13

Lost Alpha cars in detail

Postby Shredstorm » Mon May 12, 2014 5:27 pm

I had a hard time finding info on vehicles available in S:LA, so I'm gonna try to list all the things I learned so far. At the time of posting I reached Dark City for the first time (using S:LA v1.30013).


Controls:
F - open door or trunk while looking at it, also get in/out by looking into/out of the car when the door is open
W/S - throttle/brake
A/D - steering
B - start/stop engine (you can just press it, no need to hold it)
H - Horn (pretty useless, since NPCs don't go out of the way when you use it)
Space (jump) - hand brake (not really useful, since 180°s are only possible on Lada and RAF truck)
L (headlamp) - headlights (pretty weak though)
Shift (low crouch) - switch gear (not sure what this is used for since all cars are automatic. Any ideas?)

By activating a car's trunk menu you can access its inventory, repair it or refuel it. To repair the car, just click on the repair button, no consumables or tools needed. To refuel it, you need to have a fuel canister (the dark green, rectangle shaped one) in your player inventory, this picture by xonedl helps if you're not sure how it looks: link. One fuel canister fills up the fuel bar fully, so if you don't want to waste fuel, wait until your tank is almost or completely empty before you refill.

If you'd like to see the vehicles in action, this guy's youtube video shows all of the cars Barkeep has for sale.


Vehicles:
(The stats were measured by me with a stop watch, so they might not be super accurate, but they will give you the idea. Fuel consumption is the percentage of a full tank spent on a drive from the inner Bar area entrance to the garbage transition point and back)

UAZ
0-60 8.0 sec
60-0 1.6 sec
Top speed 90+ km/h
Top speed (R) 25 km/h
Fuel consumption: 34%
Image
This green military jeep with no roof is a mixed bag. While it can go pretty fast after accelerating for quite a while, and it's moderately stable (it flips from time to time, but usually gets back on its wheels too), it has the worst trunk ever. :lol: Its trunk/refuel/repair menu is accessed by clicking on the spare tire hanging on its back end. Unfortunately, that tire is prone to falling off (along with other car parts), at which point you lose access to the trunk menu and everything that was in the trunk inventory, because the tire can't be interacted with after it falls off. Things that cause it to fall off range from recieving damage, hitting harder bumps, to merely entering/exiting the car or just driving away from a halt. Also taking certain items out of the trunk makes it fall off. Pretty unreliable as a loot machine, only viable as a one time transport from point A to point B imo. It also has a thing where it seems hard to exit the car from the driver side, but all you have to do after you open the door is look all the way down and left and then click F.
One can be found next to the building on the right after entering Darkscape from Dark Valley, and another one is next to the road just outside a yard with a house and an armored vehicle in it, south of the southern exit from the mines in Darkscape. Can also be bought from the Barkeep for 150k, but so not worth it.


LADA / LADA Cabriolet
0-60 4.0 sec
60-0 2.6 sec
Top speed 68 km/h
Top speed (R) 18 km/h
Fuel consumption: 38%
ImageImage
Didn't notice a difference between the two models aside from the roof, Cabriolet version actually still has the roof since you can stand on it, it's just transparent. The car handles well and can make sharp turns, but you will end up on your roof if you try to take a 90° turn above 30km/h or so. Can do sweet 180° turns with the handbrake, even at lower speeds. Has a weird metal scraping sparks effect everywhere when going through bushes. When the doors are open, there's not much room to get in/out, and getting out of the car bumps it against your character and in rare cases can lead to your car jumping high up and flipping on its roof. Haven't found one in the world yet, but Barkeep sells both (regular 150k, Cabriolet 200k).


NIVA (white/green)
0-60 9.0 sec
60-0 2.6 sec
Top speed 100+ km/h
Top speed (R) 28 km/h
Fuel consumption: 30%
ImageImage
This mini SUV is pretty maneuverable, stable, and quite fast after accelerating for a while. It comes in two colors, and the white one has a bugged trunk. The trunk lid falls off after taking out some items (those that make the car jump a bit when taken out, for example the fuel can and, funnily enough, mouse corpses), which makes the trunk menu unaccessible and makes you lose everything you had in it in the process. The green version seems a tiny bit faster and doesn't have the trunk problem (tested by inserting and retracting 4 gas cans countless times, and it didn't break, while on the white one it happens on first try usually). It's also very light, so you can push it by just walking into it.
The white version is sold by Barkeep for 150k, but you can find one parked near the street, outside the southwest part the monolith building in Dark Valley and is the car you're supposed to run away from the helicopter in, towards Darkscape. Keeping it is just not worth it because of the trunk bug, just use the one you find to run away from the chopper all the way to the tunnel next to the bridge in Darkscape. If you test it during the mission and you like how it behaves but would like to buy one with a working trunk, buy the green one from Barkeep for 150k. According to xonedl's post, there is another Niva parked leaning at a tree, south of Monolith base in Radar, at the exit/entrance to Dead City.


Tuned up NIVA
0-60 2.5 sec
0-110 5.5 sec
60-0 1.0 sec
Top speed 110 km/h
Top speed (R) 38 km/h
Fuel consumption: 17%
Image
This white tuned up version of Niva has awesome acceleration, speed and braking. It looks like a cleaned up regular Niva with a small spoiler, side skirts and sick rims. While still looking beat up, it's the cleanest looking car in the game, up to the point where some might find it doesn't fit the surroundings. I tested the trunk extensively and it's reliable. It is one of the most fuel efficient cars out there.
The only downsides, albeit small ones, are: 1) the whole car (particularely the side skirts) is pretty low, so getting temporarely stuck on rubble and corpses will happen from time to time, but I never managed to get stuck in such a way that I wasn't able to wiggle myself out relatively easy. 2) Turning the engine off while moving slows this car down noticably, so to do it effectively, you'd have to go real fast.
It is sold by the Barkeep. It costs a hefty 200k, but very much worth it imo.


Tuned up MOSKVICH / MOSKVICH Cabriolet
0-60 4.5 sec
60-0 2.6 sec
Top speed 110km/h
Top speed (R) 30km/h
Fuel consumption (Tuned up): 17%
Fuel consumption (Cabriolet): 45%
ImageImage
The differences between the two versions seem to be stability and fuel consumption. Cabriolet flips on its roof if you as much as look at it, up to the point where it's frustrating, and it uses up fuel way too fast. The tuned up version however, is as stable as a rock and is one of the most fuel efficient cars in the game. While you'd have to try REALLY hard to flip it, It can't make very sharp turns. Trunk seems sturdy enough, tested it by repeatedly retracting a bunch of heavy cans from its inventory, and it didn't fall off.
The tuned up version can be found in Darkscape, parked next to a building surrounded by anomalies, a bit east from the spot where you can find the UAZ in the south. One can also be found at the beginning of the Countryside level (west side). If you can't afford to buy your own car and want to use one of the free ones, this is the car you should get and take good care of, since it's the only good free car which doesn't have a bugged trunk inventory (afaik).
Barkeep sells both versions for 200k.


TRACTOR
0-60 forever :lol:
0-25 2.5 sec
25-0 1.5 sec
Top speed 25km/h
Top speed (R) 25km/h
Fuel Consumption: 390% :shock:
Image
A tractor, :lol:. Just no.
The good thing about it is that the whole lower part of the body is an access point for the trunk menu, which probably makes it the most reliable vehicle for storing loot. The bad thing, apart from it being super slow and needing a running jump to enter it after opening the door, is its fuel consumption. It simply devours gas, and coupled with its speed you can hardly pass one third of the whole road in Darkscape in it before it runs out of gas.
It can be found in the abandoned village east of the southern mines exit, and can be bought from the Barkeep for 150k, but even for free, just not worth it at all.


RAF TRUCK
0-60 4.0 sec
60-0 3.5 sec
Top speed 60 km/h
Top speed (R) 15 km/h
Fuel Consumption: 34%
Image
This truck, while stable, is pretty wobbly, and might make you dizzy after a while. It can make sharp turns and accelerate pretty quickly for a truck, but the top speed is pretty low. Contrary to what one may think, it gets damaged pretty easily with gunfire. The trunk menu is accessed via the box sitting on the loading surface in the back. The tests seem to indicate it's reliable, but it sure seems like it could easily detach and just slide off. Also, like the Lada, it has the same weird sparks effect when going through bushes. Funnily enough, this is the only car apart from Lada that can do 180° turns with the handbrake. Has pretty high fuel consumption.
For 200k (Barkeep) though, no thanks.


KAMAZ
0-60 7.5 sec
60-0 3.0 sec
Top speed 90 km/h
Top speed (R) 23 km/h
Fuel consumption: 94%
Image
This is one HUGE truck. So huge in fact, that you'll have real trouble getting it out of the Bar area, although it's possible. It has a big fat truck engine sound, if that's your thing. Almost feels like Truck Simulator. :lol:
One big downside is that, while the trunk menu is accessible on the side of the truck, the truck inventory button is disabled, so you can't put anything in it, only repair it or refuel it. The trunk inventory can apparently be enabled in the game files (according to Skulman54's post). If you want it, Barkeep sells it for a hefty 300k. I'll pass.


BTR
0-40 4.0
40-0 1.5
Top speed 40
Top speed (R) 20
Fuel consumption: 96%
Image
A big 8-wheel armored vehicle monster. It's capable of high caliber automatic fire with left mouse button, which is kinda fun, but pretty unaccurate (you're gonna need a good few seconds of spraying to kill a guy with it). After clicking pretty much everywhere on it for a few minutes, I've concluded it has no trunk menu, which would mean it can't be repaired, refuelled or used to store loot. Pretty meh for the astronomical price of 500k Barkeep sells it for.


Zaporozec
0-60 11.0 sec
60-0 2.0 sec
Top speed 70 km/h
Top speed (R) 18 km/h
Fuel consumption: 15%
Image
This little car is unfortunately only available via the spawner menu at the moment. It's fairly slow, but has the best fuel efficiency of all cars (slightly better than tuned up Niva and tuned up Moskvich in that regard). While its front trunk and single door breaks away easily, the trunk in the back (the one used for the menu) seems reliable after thorough testing. Its passenger door is missing, but you still can't enter the car from the passenger side. Best thing about this car, apart from low fuel consumption, is the fact that it's small enough to get through spaces other cars might not. Hopefully it will be added to the game.



Useful vehicle tips:


- Stay away from anomalies or you'll get hurled up in the air and won't start falling until the triggered anomaly animation is done, and by then you'll usually be so high above the ground the vehicle will be damaged severely after the fall or blown up with you in it. Same applies for Burers, the ones in the Forest managed to hurl my car around until it exploded, but if you whizz by them relatively fast you'll be in the clear by the time they realise you're there.

- You can't buy a second car from the trader at the Bar if you've bought one already. In order to buy a new car, you would have to destroy the one you already bought from him first. One not too important, but quite useful thing about a car you buy from the trader is that it will be marked on the map as "My car", so it's easier to find it if you go on foot and want to come back to it.

- While highly frustrating, it's still possible to reach certain maps in a car (like for example Bar --> Yantar --> Bar), but you need to be good at clearing obstacles and you have to imagine that you have to position your car in such a way near the transition point so the driver touches the transition location. Remember that you can use the camera buttons (F1, F2, F3 by default) to get an out of car view, makes it easier to navigate in tight spots.

- Fuel canisters you can use to refuel your car can be found on the following locations: 3 canisters next to the wall behind the white Niva you use to run away from the helicopter (Dark Valley, monolith building), 2 canisters are in the yard of the Agroprom building (at the spot where you save Mole; if some explode during the fight, come back to the area later cause they might respawn if destroyed), 3 canisters are next to the armored vehicle in the military outpost in the southeast part of Rostok Factory level. That's all I've managed to find by now, but these are 8 full tanks, which is a lot to go around especially if you use the tip below. According to some people who post on this forum, fuel canisters occasionally appear in traders' inventory, but I haven't seen that so far. Some other noteworthy locations (that I haven't managed to check out myself yet) are 3 cansiters at the bottom of X10, 3 canisters in Forest, at the buildings in the middle of that area, 3 canisters in the bandit base in darkscape (large compound near center of the area), and sold reliably @ mercenary base in construction area.

- You can save on fuel by reaching a certain speed (about 2/3rds of the speedometer works great for me), turning your engine off, and then just cruising like that until you're slow enough to need to turn the engine on again, rinse and repeat. This works better with faster vehicles like Niva or Moskvich. Just make sure you don't drive over any bushes (even small ones) while cruising with the motor off, cause it slows you down considerably.

- In the 1.30013 version of the game, when you talk to Barkeep about buying a car (while having more than 150k on you), and click one that costs more than you have, the game will crash. So don't get discouraged thinking a car is bugged if you try to look at it while not having enough money, just make sure you have enough money before you click it.

- My suggestion on which cars to use when and how to build a small car park (the way I did it): Take the white Niva at the monolith building (leave the fuel canisters for later, putting them into Niva's trunk will likely cause the lid to fall off while retrieving them), and run away from the heli in it, all the way to the tunnel next to the bridge in Darkscape. When you exit south of the mines, go south towards the road. Leave the UAZ next to the road there for later, and go get the tuned up Moskvich east of there. Use the moskvich to get to the Niva you left at the tunnel. Use the Niva to go to bandit camp and X-18 and back to the southern entrance to the mines. Don't forget to save gas by crusing with the engine off as much as you can. When you're done in the mines for the second time, exit south and drive the Niva back to where you left the Moskvich (if you're low on fuel, you can drive east of the southern mines entrance through the woods and get the tractor in the abandoned village there, it should not run out of gas until you get to your Moskvich if you don't make detours). Drive the Moskvich to the monolith building in Dark Valley and get the fuel canisters. Exit north and drive through the forest (get ready to load saves a lot until you learn where the anomalies and burers are, also bring a few antirads). Leave your moskvich at your preferred spot near the Bar. Later, after finishing Rostok Factory and its lab on foot, sell everything you can to the duty trader in the gas-free Duty HQ building and travel light towards the military outpost in the southeast. Take the 3 fuel canisters there (30kg). Go to Darkscape via Cordon. When done in the mines, go south to the road and take the UAZ outside the yard with the armored vehicle in it. Stop on the left side before exiting towards Dark Valley and swap the UAZ you're in for the UAZ with a full tank. Go to Bar through Dark Valley / Forest. You should have one awesome car and an additional crappy one for just in case. If you have enough money to buy your own car from the trader at the Bar, you'll have three. 8)


That's it, I'll try to update this post with additional information when I find out more. If you'd like to correct me, or have anything to add, please do.
Last edited by Shredstorm on Sat May 17, 2014 2:49 pm, edited 10 times in total.
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Re: Lost Alpha cars in detail

Postby Shredstorm » Tue May 13, 2014 5:49 pm

I corrected/expanded a few things and added Kamaz and BTR to the list of cars.

Does anyone know what the "Change Gear" function (SHIFT or whatever key you have bound to low crouch) actually does while in a car, and what it's good for?
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Re: Lost Alpha cars in detail

Postby Skulman54 » Wed May 14, 2014 12:15 am

I think the KAMAZ can have its inventory put back in gamedata\config\misc\items. Check for vehicles.ltx and scroll down to has_trunk. Set it to true from false and set trunk capacity to about 500. Contact me on Steam if you need anything else.
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Re: Lost Alpha cars in detail

Postby xonedl » Wed May 14, 2014 1:57 am

There is another Niva parked leaning at a tree, south of Monolith base in Radar, at the exit/entrance to Dead City.
Personally still using the first Niva found at Dark Valley.
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Re: Lost Alpha cars in detail

Postby Shredstorm » Wed May 14, 2014 11:12 am

I added the fuel consumption, one more car (Zaporozec/ZAZ), and a few small things here and there.

Skulman54 wrote:I think the KAMAZ can have its inventory put back in gamedata\config\misc\items. Check for vehicles.ltx and scroll down to has_trunk. Set it to true from false and set trunk capacity to about 500. Contact me on Steam if you need anything else.
-Bwamo


Thanks, I tried it, it does work. Also, there's no need to change the trunk capacity, I left it at 0 to test it, and I managed to put around 300kg in it wihtout problems, being able to drive it afterwards, and retrieve the items.

Making the same change for BTR doesn't help unfortunately, since it apparently has no spot on it where you can access the trunk menu.

xonedl wrote:There is another Niva parked leaning at a tree, south of Monolith base in Radar, at the exit/entrance to Dead City.
Personally still using the first Niva found at Dark Valley.


Thanks, added the info. As for the Niva from Dark Valley that you're using, did the trunk lid in the back fall off yet? :D
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Re: Lost Alpha cars in detail

Postby Shredstorm » Thu May 15, 2014 6:46 pm

Added an additional location where a tuned up Moskvich can be found.
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Re: Lost Alpha cars in detail

Postby Shredstorm » Fri May 16, 2014 4:54 pm

Added additional fuel canister loactions.
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Re: Lost Alpha cars in detail

Postby Warick70 » Wed May 28, 2014 3:43 pm

I managed to use the Niva car from the monolith base for the most part of my game antil i read about the tuned up moskvich in this thread, my trunk never came off but my door did after i hit it with a tree... It seemed reliable to me, was able to load it with 21 fuel barrels (the 25KG ones) and was able to transfer them to the moskvich with a problem.

Added note: Thanks for the cars Info :P Big help in picking the best car for me.
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Re: Lost Alpha cars in detail

Postby GraalOtonami » Thu May 29, 2014 4:56 pm

The Moskvich(?) from the Countryside seems to have an absolutely MASSIVE hitbox, like it's twice the size of the actual vehicle, I avoid anomalies with enough distance for my elite detector to stop beeping and/or showing a blip, but it still hits the anomalies. It's most noticeable (to me) in Radar, trying to navigate the roads.
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Re: Lost Alpha cars in detail

Postby Shredstorm » Fri May 30, 2014 9:30 am

It would have to be a massive anomaly-only hitbox then, because I've driven the Moskvich through incredibly tight spaces (for example driving between a train car and a fence with hardly any room on each side of the car to spare). You mean the white car with the yellow roof, right?
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