“Great news, great news! In case you were unaware, Apocalypse Road has reached the 500 mark between the writing of this article and the previous one. It is my firm belief that once Apocalypse Road enters the ‘wild’ that word of mouth will spread and it will do very well among people that are not frequenters of the GMT P500. Essentially taking the same path as Thunder Alley but maybe with even more appeal to those that might overlook a stock car theme. We played the game over the weekend to celebrate the achievement and I remembered just how enjoyable it was. All of the hard work put in by Carla and myself over the past three years really paid off. Rest assured, the game is complete and ready to go and the instant Mark asks me if we are ready, the answer will be a resounding YES.” 

---

A quiet calm had overtaken the track by the next morning. The Mountaineers were up early as always but Xtreme Hazard was bunkered into their barracks and the members of The Fist were sleeping off the previous nights excesses.  The brightness of the new dawn brought with it the Deadbeats from Orlando. The team, led by Lord Eckman, a shadowy, almost cult-like figure, had driven all night to reach the track from their home base in Florida. The moment the vehicles were chocked into place the entire team retired to the trailers for a siesta that would last most of the day. It would be another 24 hours before any prep would be done to the cars. The Deadbeats truly enjoy living down to their name.

One of the most important aspects for success in Apocalypse Road is understanding the tracks that must be mastered for victory.  Each track in the Apocalypse Road circuit contains unique elements not found on Thunder Alley or Grand Prix tracks.

Rough / Dirt Section: Each track has a dirt portion that must be navigated. When racing through the dirt, no lane changes are allowed so you really don’t want to get hung out on the wrong line through a dirt turn.

Jumps: A part of the rough section is the jump zone. The jumps have the same rules as the rough except that they can be dangerous to hang around in as events come up. Drivers want to get in and get out of the jumps as quickly as possible. If a car encounters trouble in the jump section, they are often placed in the trough. Cars in the trough are not considered part of any racing line and must activate and get back in one of the lanes before they can truly rejoin the race.

The Chute: In a game where players can and will lose cars, The Chute is the location where reserve cars will enter the track. With there being no pit stops and no yellow flags, there is no pit area like other games in the Thunderverse. Cars in The Chute are unable to shoot out or be shot at until they join the fray.

Joker Turn: Not every track has one, but they can become a strategic decision in races where they exist. There is a long way and a short way through the Joker turns. Players may choose either direction, and it is usually a good thing to send opponents around the long way if possible.

Apocalypse Road’s tracks are usually shorter and more varied than those used in either Grand Prix or Thunder Alley. As a result, using other Thunderverse tracks for Apocalypse Road can be less enjoyable with the fun directly tied to length. The longer the track the more spread out cars become. The more spread out, the less combat interaction. The less shooting and ramming going on, the longer a game will take. Strangely the inverse is not the same. The tracks in Apocalypse Road make fine tracks to race both Thunder Alley and Grand Prix. Since the dirt and jump sections are mostly covered in Apocalypse Road movement events, these tracks can be utilized for very interesting results in the other games.

I would like to thank the following people that have paid to sponsor drivers on the Deadbeat (purple) team in Apocalypse Road. In addition, Carla and I would like to thank Stephen Eckman for sponsoring the team. As you can see, every driver spot on the team has been purchased.

Deadbeats

Arender (25)                                                     Stephen Eckman

Gabriel “The Monster” Brooks (55)                    Martin (no last name given)

Laura Zyeraa (LZ3)                                             Stephen Eckman

Stina (115)                                                        Stig Morten Breiland

Teresa “The Dominator” White (121)                Darrell Janzen

Darrell “The Migraine” Janzen (811)                 Darrell Janzen

Aria “The Owl” DeBaz (OWL)                              Richard DeBaz

The Fearless Jarl (444)                                       Stephen Eckman

If you would like to name a driver on a different team for $20 you receive the following benefit.

• Driver Naming Rights allowing you to name one driver and assign that driver a 1 to 3 digit ID.

If this interests you, please contact Jeff Horger at jagrcz68@aol.com and we can get the ball rolling. There are still drivers available on the Green, Yellow, Black, Orange/Red, Light Blue, White, Pink and Light Green teams. Carla & I are happy to help all of you that want to be a part of the Thunderverse onto a team.

If you just want to play the game, we need your votes with your wallet on the GMT P500 right now. We’ve made the cut but there is absolutely no reason to not get your game reserved early. If you back it now the discount is pretty substantial ($72 down to $49) so now is the time to let your voice be heard. https://www.gmtgames.com/p-623-apocalypse-road.aspx

---

Previous Article in this Series: Apocalypse Road: The Essendarium – Part 3

Next Article in this Series: Apocalypse Road: The Essendarium – Part 5