Jalopy is an interesting little game that can be quite fun once you become aware of its quirks. This guide was originally written when the game was still in pre-Alpha and is being updated once more now that the game is finally released.

If your reading this then you were one of those like me, who have found the game's concept interesting enough to give it a try. Most likely you are also hoping to find more information on how to thrive and maximize your enjoyment of this wonderful little gem of a game. The first thing you must realize that even in its complete state Jalopy has quite a few little quirks on how it's played.

Quite a few of them will leave you stranded and unable to do anything beyond restarting back at the very start. Don't let this frustrate you too much, as some of them are intended to help give you a challenge, or make life interesting. That said there have been quite a few bugs during the Early Access this guide was originally written for.

That said if you find any bugs then as a player it is helpful if you take a moment to report them to the developers. Not only will they be happy to learn about it, but so will your fellow players. As such here is a link the bug report forum:

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/app/446020/discussions/2/

When you first load up the game you will be presented with the main menu similar to this:



I say similar because I discovered that this screen actually changes to show the current state of your save file. The Laika in the scene will actually match the current state of the Laika you drive in the game.

This means any upgrades you install will be visible every time you start up the game. The wallet will actually show your current amount of cash. The toolbox will if clicked open up the options menu. The newspaper will tell you which version of the game you are actually playing.



To get started however you want to click on the book. This will show you a list of options if your playing the game for the first time click New Game, however, when you come back after the first time you will want to click Continue.

New Game erases your current save file and has two options, Tutorial boots you into the game's tutorial and storyline. Skip Tutorial gives you a pre-constructed Laika, Uncle does not automatically start talking to you if you choose this, with the exception of telling you where the keys are whenever you sit in the car the first time for every run.

Continue loads your save file, however, unlike most games your save file does not contain any information on where you were in the game if you have not made it to the next Motel.

This means starting brand new or continuing from a previous play session you always start in the exact same places. However there are several key differences, starting New gives you a completely stock Laika, some assembly required. Loading the save file, on the other hand, gives you, your already constructed Laika plus it comes with any modifications or cargo it contained when you last played.

There is one important thing to note if you are a new player and skip the tutorial. Both the fuel and water tanks will start empty, unlike when you go through the tutorial when Uncle walks you through filling them the first time. If the fuel tank is empty, the Laika will not start. There is free gas, oil, and water at the starting location in the cabinet. Use these to fill the appropriate tanks to get your trip started and the car to start.

When you first start a new game you will be rudely woken up by an old man in a reality-defying coat. The texture of said coat always looks exactly the same regardless of how you look at it or how the old man is positioned.

This old man is known as Uncle Lufti, specifically, he is your uncle. And the first thing you need to understand is that he is one of the wonkier aspects of the game Weird coat aside, he is extremely forgetful. If you interrupt him, he will forget his place and either repeat what he just said or completely freeze into immobility while trying to find his train of thought. He's also somewhat bad with names too.

He's also your in-game tutorial guide, and the storyline involves getting him from Berlin all the way to his hometown in Turkey. Along the way, he'll tell you amusing stories that will actually give you a few hints about persistent landmarks, local history, and other random bits of trivia.

Initially, though he'll walk you through building your Laika and explain all the current components you will need to maintain while you play the game. As well as give you advice on how to keep things running relatively smoothly in regards to your car.

Now, remember how I said he is forgetful? Well, he'll forget to finish the initial tutorial if you do not wait for him to give you each instruction. Leaving you having to restart in order to reset his memory undoing all the work you just did. So for the first time you go through the tutorial be patient, let him say everything he needs to in order.

Mainly there are two things you need that won't spawn until he gives them directly to you. They are the Map and the Keys. Until you get those two items, restarting or quitting will result in you having to go through the entire tutorial again. Note all this can be skipped if you choose Skip Tutorial when starting a New Game. You find the Keys hanging from the sun visor in this mode.

As stated before the goal is to get him from Berlin, all the way back to his hometown of Istanbul. At the end of each section of the trip, he will get out of the car and make his way to whatever Motel room you have rented for the night. The suitcase he usually carries around will pop open at these times, allowing you to read documents which will provide the story of the game in addition to the bits of commentary he makes while on the road.

The first time you read them, they will unlock associated achievements.

The map book is a very important item, without it, you are stuck in the starting location. Its primary function is as follows, it gives you three possible routes to choose from. Each route shows the distance in kilometers it will take to get to your next destination. It will also show if there is a gas station on the route, as well as the expected weather and road conditions.

To use it you click on one of the routes, which will eliminate the other two before spawning in the procedurally generated road you just picked. Once the road is complete the gates will open and the weather will change to match what was in the entry.

Once you've driven onto this road the first time, you are no longer at any risk of repeating the tutorial anymore. Also once you have left home you can use the map to Return Home, which after you confirm you wish to do so will fade to back and teleport you back to Berlin. Or use Head back option to drive back to whatever location you were at prior to your last stay in a Motel.

If you change your mind you can use Continue Onward to bring up the next leg of your trip. As long as you haven't selected a route and are not in Berlin switching between the two options can allow you to fine-tune your route until you get the options you want.

The Laika has several components that you need to maintain in order to avoid getting stranded during your journey. These items are the Engine Block, Carburetor, Air Filter, Fuel Tank, Water Tank, Ignition Coil, Battery, and Tires. Without any of these, your Laika will not run either optimally or at all.

The Engine Block is the heart of your Laika, it determines just how fast your car will move on your journey. If it completely breaks down your car will grind to a halt. On the other hand, if it merely becomes damaged you'll notice a drop in speed, the sharper the speed drop the more damaged this component is.

The Carburetor is another essential component, and if you forget to install it your car will not start at all. It determines the actual Fuel Air Mixture that gets fed into the engine. The better maintained you keep this component the more efficient your engine will run. The more damaged it becomes the more fuel you will waste to cover the same distance.

The Air Filter is an optional but highly recommended part, it's function is to keep any dirt or mud out of the engine. This, in turn, lowers how much wear and tear your engine takes while running. The more damaged it becomes the more gunk gets into the engine and the more damage everything takes as you drive. On the other hand, the better Air Filters can significantly lower the engine wear by up to 30% on the best Carbolyte model.

If the Engine Block is the Heart of the Engine then the Fuel Tank is its stomach. This is where you will store both the fuel and oil that is ready for use. Given the Laika has a two-stroke design it means that you will need to first fill the tank with as much fuel as it can hold followed by adding a number of drops of oil in. A poorly maintained fuel tank will start leaking fuel, which can if you don't notice in time, leave you stranded out in the countryside. Better tanks hold more fuel requiring you to need to refuel less often to travel longer distances.

The Water Tank is an optional component that is not needed to have the engine actually run. It is however required to allow the windshield cleaner function of the wipers to work. It pretty much is identical to the Fuel Tank in regards to wear and tear. Also, better models hold more water, which means you can clean the windshield more often.

The Ignition Coil is one of the few components that doesn't take much wear and tear while you are driving. This is because it is only actually used when your first starting the engine, it takes power from the Battery and transfers it into the Engine Block. The more damage it takes, however, the more time and difficulty it will have to actually start everything. Better models start the engine faster and waste less fuel while doing so.

The Battery is another essential part that you need in order to run anything in your Laika. Without it the Ignition Coil can't start the engine, the lights, wipers, and radio will not work. It has two things you need to be aware of, both it's condition and it's Charge Level. Like with previous components the more damaged, it becomes the less you can actually use it as intended. The Charge Level though tells you how much power is actually left in the battery.

The Tires are needed to maintain control of your Laika when on the road. Without them, you will not be able to go anywhere. If they determine how much you grip the road as your going along, when in good condition you are able to, depending on your driving skill, able to avoid crashing into either guardrails or other vehicles. With these you might not notice a loss of control as they get damaged, then again you may find it get harder and harder to keep driving straight. Either way once a tire blows out you will spin out of control and crash, which will damage your engine.

It is recommended that you change these before they hit zero condition, however, if you have at least the bronze spanner, also known as a wrench, you can in an emergency patch up the tires enough to get you to your destination. There are currently three types of tires you can buy in the game, one for roads, one for when it rains, and one for off-road stunt driving.

The Dashboard, or Dash, is your primary interface for gaining information, as well as operating your car while you are driving. The first and most obvious part of it is the Steering Wheel. This is what you use to steer down the long twisting roads of the game. The wheel will also display what keys you need to press in order to actually have your move anywhere once it’s been fueled up and started.

Above the wheel, you’ll find both your fuel and speed gauges and the speed gauge will also keep track of how many kilometers you will have driven over the course of the current save file. The speed gauge will, of course, tell you just how fast you're going, while the fuel gauge, on the other hand, will tell you whether or not your car is about to run out of fuel.

There is also an optional digital display that you can install that will appear in this area, this display will give you a visual cue to the condition of your engine and tires while you are driving. When in perfect repair everything is greyed out, when they have some wear and tear the display turns yellow for that item, or red if it is completely broken.

It would be in your best interest to keep an eye on the fuel gauge, given the first time I played I didn’t notice it was at empty only to end up with the car stalled in the border checkpoint with no way for me to escape from the car.

To the left of the wheel are two buttons and a lever. One button is yellow, the one that is currently nonfunctional, and the other is red. The red one is important as it turns on your hazard lights which after a patch following release now causes the other drivers to stop and wait. Rather than ram into the rear of your car as they did constantly in the initial Alpha release.

The lever, however, is important for when your driving at night or during poor weather. It turns on your headlights which in turn lights up the road in front of you. Much like how it would happen in the real world it makes it much easier to see what is ahead of you when the lighting is poor.

On the right-hand side of the wheel are another lever, the radio and glove compartment. This lever activates the windshield wipers and it has a button on the end that triggers a spray of water onto your windshield.

As for the radio, the left knob turns it on, allowing you to hear some wonderful folk music that was created especially for the game. The other controls the volume making it either louder then quieter when you click it.

The glove compartment contains just two things, your wallet and the passports for both you and Uncle. Both of which return here if you drop them.

Your Laika is capable of transporting more than just you and Uncle around. In the back of the car, there is a compartment known as the Trunk. It is capable of storing a limited number of items plus two spare tires. However, each item added to the trunk increases the overall weight of the Laika which in turn increases the wear on various components.

At the Laika Dealership in towns, you are able to buy a storage rack which fits on the roof of your car and allows you to store a bit more, plus an additional two spare tires. Which means you can store a full set of tires. This can prove useful if you need to swap out your tires all at once.

Storing items, however, can be a bit finicky, sometimes you'll swear you can store something in the trunk or rack and it will not actually fit. Other times you'll find you can store quite a few items in and not be able to get them back out.

This has been somewhat fixed in a patch, Admittedly you likely will need to start a new game if your storage had gotten completely screwed up. Still, the easiest way to check if something will fit in the trunk is to click the center of the back wall. If an item or component will fit, then it will be automatically placed into the trunk.

Engine Components can be stored as well, however, given their sheer sizes they take up most if not all the space. You'll get more for your money if you fill storage with smaller items.

Like in real life, fuel, components, and upgrades all cost money. As does your stays in the various Motels you will find in the Border Towns you will travel to. If you are not careful you can rapidly spend the money leaving you broke and unable to continue.

There are however ways of making money, such as selling off components or other times of value that you can find along your trip. You can sell anything that has above 0.00 sell value, anything with a 0.00 sell value cannot be sold and is better left where you found it. However, if an item has a 0.00 buy value and extremely high sell value then that item is contraband and you can sell it for a lot of money if you are not caught by the authorities.

Any component with at least Condition 1/3 can be sold at either a Gas Station or the Outershop.

Your Wallet

The first thing you need to know of is the Wallet and where to find it. This item holds all your cash and by default comes with just 100 currency and is located in the glove compartment on the passenger side of the car.

Every time you want to buy or sell something, you need to get your wallet and bring it to a sales counter. Clicking said counter with it in hand will add or subtract money depending on whether you are buying or selling items. Dropping it will have it magically teleport back to the glove compartment.

Be careful cause you can accidentally store it in either the trunk or on the rack. So if you misplace it check those locations to see if that is where you put it.

Gas Stations

Gas Stations are indicated on your map by a Gas Pump icon and seem to appear on any route longer than 210 km. With a Stock Fuel Tank, the 210 km distance seems to use up nearly all your fuel.

At Gas Stations you are able to top up your fuel tank and buy any supplies you may need for your journey, so long as said Station has the item in stock. The items in stock are set randomly, so you will not always find what you are looking for.

More importantly, you can sell nearly anything at the Gas Station.

Note when purchasing items the gates to a Gas Station will close until you either pull the lever to cancel the transaction or pay the attendant. If you have paid and the gates seem bugged and are closed then pulling the lever might fix it. Possibly you picked up something to check the price and put it back, only the game didn't recognize that.

Outershop

The Outershop functions in an identical manner as the Gas Station, it even has a Gas Pump. The main difference is that unlike the Gas Station you can offload any Contraband you have managed to acquire here. The Outershop though only appears in Border Towns, so you can only visit one when you stop in town for the night.

Laika Dealership

Unlike the previous two stores, you can not sell anything at the Dealerships, which like the Outershop only appear in Border Towns. You can, however, buy upgrades for your Laika at these locations. Such as more storage via the rack, a protective bumper, mud flaps, and replacements for any components with the exception of tires.

If you have the money the replacements you buy can massively increase the performance of your Laika. However, the upgrades found here can be somewhat expensive which means you need to figure out how to make money in order to get these juicy upgrades.

How to make a Profit

You gain money by selling items or components. Any component that doesn't have zero condition can be sold for the selling price listed when you are holding it. On the road, you will come across boxes, both cardboard and wooden.

These boxes contain items that potentially can be worth money or nothing at all. Initially, you can only open cardboard boxes. You do this by carefully clicking on the packing tape holding it closed. Clicking anywhere else on the box will pick it up.

Inside the box, you will find items, some of which are potentially Contraband. When you pick up an item you want to check the selling price, so long as it doesn't say 0.00 then you can sell it at either a Gas Station or Outershop. These items are of various sizes and take up varying amounts of your cargo space. So you have to pick and choose just what items you want.

Wooden Boxes work the same way however unlike Cardboard you need a tool to open them. That tool is a crowbar and can sometimes be found at a Gas Station, however your more likely to find one at the Outershop hanging on a cork board display above a car jack.

The crowbar is used to on the Wooden Box's lock, which will promptly pop open the Box so that you can get the items. Again check whether or not the items have a sell value before loading them into the trunk or on the rack. It can be quite frustrating to get all the way to the store before finding out you can't actually sell the item in question.

Current Strategies

1) The Chop Shop Method- This strategy is quite simple and can potentially get you a lot of money early on. It takes advantage of the fact that currently, everything at the Starting Location respawns each time you restart or load a save. And I mean everything with the sole exception of the door you put on the Laika.

What that means is you can construct your Laika, travel to either a Gas Station or Outershop, and then proceed to strip your car of every component with the exception of two of the tires. Then once you've been paid by the attendant, use Restart from the Escape Menu to return to your starting location.

Then rinse and repeat. The downside of this method is having to rebuild your Laika every time you restart. The positive is, however, engine components can get you quite a bit of money initially. It, however, becomes less viable the more you upgrade and customize your Laika's engine.

2) Infinite Cargo Runs - This works on the same principle as the Chop Shop Method, only instead of components, you sell the car jacks, jerry cans, oil bottles, toolboxes and whatever you can fit in the storage at the Starting Location. You then drive to either a Gas Station or Outershop and sell everything in your storage before restarting again.

This can be combined with the Chop Shop Method, however, the cons to this are wear and tear on your components if you don't swap them out with the stock items at home.

3) Item Hunting - In this method, you start off with a Laika only loaded with the bare essentials and pick a particularly long route. As you drive you to keep an eye on the right side of the road when on the Autobahn or in little side roads later on. You are watching for boxes abandoned in various locations. Initially just the cardboard boxes, and later, once you have the crowbar, the wooden ones.

This option can potentially be the most rewarding in terms of cash, however, it depends heavily on the Random Number God in order to make a profit. This is also the intended way to make money once the game is completed. The cons are the need for sufficient storage space as well as wear and tear on your components.

To make this viable off the Autobahn you at least need to have also upgraded your fuel tank so that you don't get stranded.

4) Ground Hogs Wine - The concept of this particular strategy is another idea that uses the groundhog's effect to your advantage. Only with this one you are specifically using wine. Simply put pricing of trade items do not get set until you generate a route.

Wine currently has the greatest price variance in the game. It can either be fairly cheap or extremely expensive. If you pick up wine, either finding it on the road or buying at a shop when it has a low price. You can restart and regenerate your routes until you get the best price on the wine to sell it.

This however only works with found or bought wine, as items flagged as stolen get turned into trash bags when you restart.

In order to maintain your Laika, you need several essential items. These items should always be in either the trunk or on the rack once you get one. So have at least one of the following at the start of your trips.

• Crowbar - Needed to open the wooden boxes.
  
• Car Jack - Without this, you can't change a blown out tire.
  
• Jerry Can - Can be used to fill your fuel tank when on the road
  
• Oil Bottle- Same as the Jerry Can only to help maintain your Fuel Oil Mix
  
• Spare Tires - Replacement for any blown tires.
  
• Toolbox - This allows you to make emergency repairs to your engine

Anything else is entirely optional to your tastes and needs. Note on the Jerry and Oil Bottles, they respawn every time you restart in Berlin, however, their contents are persistent. This means if you use them while on the road then those ones will be empty when to restart your run, and will have to be replaced by the newly spawned or bought ones depending on where you are.

Also given you want to save as much space as possible for sellable loot there are several things you can do that will cut down on the space you need to dedicate to these essentials.



Above is my current setup for my trunk, one full set of spares in the trunk and on the rack, one Tool Rack, and two primed Jerry Cans.

The Tool Rack replaces the need to have a Jack or Crowbar taking up precious storage space when your driving along. It also gives you a spanner (wrench) that will allow you to eventually no longer need to buy toolboxes.

However, the Level 1 version only repairs up to a max of 33% of total durability which in the UI visually rounds down to the nearest full integer. The Level 2 version which costs more to get repairs up to 66%, and the Level 3 up to 100%.

Getting both the Storage and Tool Racks should be your highest priority starting out regardless because both increase your usable storage space. The first by flatly giving you more storage slots, the second by giving you a dedicated location for your tools. Also, you don't have to worry about losing either the Jack or Crowbar if you drop them anymore. They will automatically pop into their slots on the rack every time.

Now you may have noticed that I said I had two primed Jerry Cans in the trunk, since their contents are persistent, unlike in earlier versions of the game, you can save having to store oil bottles by adding oil to a full Jerry Can before you store it. What this does is if you fill your fuel tank with the primed can it will already end up with the oil mixed in without having to add more unless you refuel at a pump.

In order to successfully do anything, your Laika needs to be in decent condition. The better the condition the more your Laika is able to do for you. Much like the loyal dog, your car was named after, it has certain needs that you need to be aware of and keep on top off for best results.

Condition

Every component with the exception of the Extras has a Condition Value. This value simulates wear and tear over time. The longer you drive the more stress is put on your Laika. This stress, in turn, causes the Condition Value to drop. Crashes, either you crashing into something, or something crashing into you, is also a form of stress. It will cause the condition of your components to drop even faster.

Thankfully there are warning signs to alert an attentive driver that the condition of your components is getting low. In order spot these signs you need to keep an eye on the bonnet, speedometer and the fuel gauge. As well as the Digitial Gauge if you buy one.

For Engine Components, as they get damaged they start releasing smoke, first white smoke that starts leaking from under the bonnet to pitch black smoke once they are in critical condition. Depending on the component you can also notice a sharp drop in speed or fuel in the case of the Fuel Tank.

For Tires as they get lower in condition, you will find it harder to keep your Laika under control, you will even if you pay close attention notice the rubber of the tires will wear away once the Condition gets low enough. This is shown by at first white spots along the center of the tire to a long ragged white line once the tire is close to blowing out. If the tire blows out it will either be flat or if you drive it in that condition long enough will result in you having only the rims left by the time you change out the tires.

As the owner and driver of your Laika, you have several options for how to deal with Condition loss. The first and easiest option is simply replacing the damaged component. While this can be expensive if you've heavily customized your engine, the process is quite quick. Yank out the old part and place in a brand new one.

There is also the Toolbox, with the exception of Tires, the Toolbox is cable restoring one condition level per click with it in your hands. It can do this usually up to three times, four if you are lucky. This is the preferred option when out on the road far from any place you can get replacement parts. All you do is pick up a Toolbox you own and click on any component in the Engine Compartment. This will, in turn, raise the Condition by one level.

The Car Jack is an item you will use to help maintain your Tires. It is able to lift up one side of your Laika at a time. Attached to the jack is an item known as the Tire Iron, this functions as a special wrench designed specifically to loosen or tighten the bolt that holds your tires in place.

In order to maintain the condition of your tires, you need to the two items above to remove your older damaged tires and replace them with brand new ones. Unlike other components replacement is initially the only method for fixing your tires. As such it is recommended to always have spares on hand in case of a blowout.

Fuel

In order to go anywhere, your Laika requires fuel which is stored in the Fuel Tank. Your tank can be filled via two options that you will encounter on your travels.

The First Item you will encounter is the Jerry Can, this usually holds around 10 Liters of fuel in it per can. And is enough to completely fill a Stock Fuel Tank. The best thing is you can store a Jerry Can in either the trunk or on the rack quite easily. So if you run out of fuel out in the middle of nowhere you can at least fill up your thank possibly enough to either get to Town or to a Gas Station.

The Jerry Can respawn every time you return home, either via Restarting when in Berlin or by using the Return Home or Head back options in the Map. In order to refill the Can, you need to find a Fuel Pump. Placing it on the ground next to a pump and then clicking on it with the Pump Handle in your hand will fill it up much like a Fuel Tank.

This is good if you end up stranded with only an empty can in the middle of Nowhere and know there is a Gas Station somewhere ahead. You can take the empty Can and your Wallet and walk on foot to the Station.

The second option to refueling your Laika is the Fuel Pump, which is found at either Gas Stations or Outershops. In order to use this, you need to have the front of your car as close as possible to the pump. This is in order to minimize the distance between the tank and the Pump.

The Handle of the Pump can only go as far as the connected tubing can reach. Meaning if you park too far away it won't fill your tank, it will snap back to the Pump as if you dropped it.

Oil

One of the methods you can use to lower how much wear your Engine takes is by using Oil. Unlike modern cars, the Laika does not have a separate oil tank. As such you need to manually add the oil to the Fuel Tank.

Oli has four known states:

• No Mixture - There is no Oil in the Tank.
  
• Lean Mixture - One drop of Oil, promotes speed over engine wear.
  
• Optimal Mixture - Two Drops of Oil, Balances speed vs wear.
  
• Rich Mixture - Three Drops of Oil, promotes engine wear protection over speed

A single Oil Bottle contains three drops of oil.

Cleaning

Your Laika has the potential to get covered in mud and dirt as you travel, while it is unknown if this effects component, it does affect whether or not you can see out the windows. This fact is one reason you should always have a water tank topped off with water, so at the very least you can you can clean some of the mud off the windshield.

When at home or at a Gas Station you will have the opportunity to find and use the Water Bucket and Sponge. Using these items allows you to clean the mud off all parts of your Laika.

As you use the sponge it gets caked in mud, it takes three uses on a part of your car to get completely dirty. It then takes three clicks on the water in the bucket to completely clean the sponge off. Going back and forth between the bucket and your car will soon have it shiny and clean again.

The rain will also rinse off any mud that happens to be on your Laika, which means you can choose to drive on rainy days and the weather will clean your car for you. Handy if you don't want to be bothered with doing it by hand.

When you pick your route on the Map, you are also picking the distance you will travel as well as what the weather will be like during your trip. This can add an extra layer of difficulty especially if you haven't properly maintained your Laika.

Sunny

This is the easiest weather condition to drive in. On the map, it appears as a small icon of the sun. While driving you will find the sun shining in a blue sky, you will have the longest distance visible to you, and the roads will be clear of everything except other cars.

On these days you can make a great time for your ability to move at high speeds without loss of control so long as you've kept your tires in good condition.

Cloudy

Appearing as a white cloud on the Map, this is the second easiest weather condition. Even taking into account your visibility will be reduced compared to a Sunny day. The main danger of this type of weather is the mud puddles which can coat your Laika in mud and depend on your angle and speed make driving a tad bit more difficult.

Raining

The Icon for this one is a white cloud over vertical lines to represent the rain. When it is raining you will need to have your wipers on to keep the water from obscuring your vision. You will also have the reduced visibility and puddles of a Cloudy day with an added danger. If you go at high speed there is a risk of severe drifting when taking a corner. Also, you are more likely to simply spin out of control as you hydroplane down the road.

It is recommended to go much slower than you would during a Sunny day in order to maintain control of your Laika with pristine tires.

Storm

The Icon is nearly identical to Raining with the sole difference being black clouds instead of white. This is the most difficult of the weather conditions, it has all the dangerous of Raining only more so. While there are usually no puddles, your visibility will be significantly reduced, plus you will need to have your headlights on in order to see.

During a storm it is nearly as dark during the day as it is at night, this becomes more so when it is both Storming and night.

Like the weather, the conditions of the road also determines how hard it is to drive and how much damage the road might do to your Laika on your journey. Much like with the weather the map warns you if a route has good or bad roads. This also stacks with the effects of weather mentioned in the previous section.

Clear Roads

These are properly maintained and clear of all obstructions and are the easiest to drive down. These are the roads you want to go down if you have a completely stock unmodified Laika. They have no icon to identify them, however, unless you get one of the other road types this is what you will default to. They also seem to have the lowest chance of finding anything other than boxes when it comes to loot and salvage.

Dirty Roads

These roads normally show up in relation to the current weather, they have mud patches sometimes water puddles. Most of the same modifiers as the Clear Roads, however, you are more likely to have a mud-covered Laika by the time you reach the next Border Town.

Rough Roads

Similar to Dirty Roads these are independent of the weather conditions and usually appear with routes having an icon of a car on the edge of the roads. They can have anything that appears on a Dirty Road with the added hazard of potholes. These can send your Laika flipping up into the air and back down again, doing a number on your tires and possibly engine components.

You also have a slightly higher chance of stumbling across an Abandoned Cars which have a chance of goodies you can loot or salvage.

Dirt Roads

After Dresden you have a chance of ending up with these, they seem to pop up randomly and are likely determined by whichever Country you are passing through at the time. They are the second hardest type of road to drive along, especially in bad weather. Offroad Tires, however, are meant for these, and they give an unprepared driver quite a bit of frustration.

Insane Roads

Can be summed up as all of the above, in more quantities as well. They are shown on the map by an icon of a car in a ditch. These are quite literally the hardest roads to drive down period, especially when stacked with weather conditions. Your Laika will, if it manages to survive the trip, be a near total wreck by the time you reach your destination.

This also has a high chance of finding Abandon Cars, so while high risk there is some chance at a reward as well. If your willing to deal with a major repair job once you are done.

Weather and Road Condition isn't the only thing you will be informed of when picking a route. Knowing the icons means you will have some idea of the opportunities for salvage and resupply.

Gas Stations

As mentioned before as a place to sell your loot, this is also a place you can get critically needed supplies if you have the money for them. They appear as gas pumps on routes longer than 210 kilometers, which is the max distance you can go to the default Stock Fuel Tank before needing to refuel.

Abandoned Cars



Sometimes you'll stumble across abandoned Laika on cinder blocks, they won't have any doors either. However, they can sometimes have items in the trunk, under the bonnet, or in the seats. It is always a good idea to stop and check them out when you spot them. It's one way of getting free upgrades or items for your car. And like in the above image, they can sometimes spawn with crates nearby.

Junk Yards

If you see a question mark ( ? ) on the route then there is a very good chance that a Junk Yard will spawn. These are locations locked by a puzzle you need to solve in order to get inside, and are usually off on a side road in the manner that Gas Stations can be.

The puzzle is fairly simple, the Yard's gate will be closed with the front end of a Laika acting as a combination lock. The combination being one of the components is either missing, in need of repair, or need of fuel.

You will usually need to use parts from your own car to fit in for any missing components and the Laika Lock needs at least 1 liter of fuel in its tank before pulling the lever replacing the Ignition Coil. If you have everything correct then the engine will start up before opening the gate.

It's smart to immediately yank out any component you inserted immediately as the gate starts to open as the engine will effectively self-destruct in a sense a few seconds after you activate it.

The Junk Yards have a chance at spawning in any engine component on the various shelves littered throughout the yard. These components have a chance of being very good upgrades for your current ones, however, they are usually in extremely bad shape.

Most times I find stuff at condition 0 when here, but if I have room, I take them home to use my free toolbox to repair them for either installation into my car or to just sell them if what I already have is better. You will need to make a judgment call on whether or not the item is worth taking along if you have space for it.

Throughout your journey from Berlin to Istanbul, you will encounter challenges and times when things just seem to go wrong. From spinning out during the rain to finding yourself in a river due to taking a wrong turn.

Broken Windshield



The above image was taken on the final bridge just before arriving in Istanbul. Note the massive hole in the windshield of my Laika. All the other windows are in similar states. This problem will be a very common sight especially if you are prone to crashing. The fix, however, is simple if not straightforward.

To repair your windows back to a pristine state you must fully repair your car's engine, and possibly tires. The state of repair for your windows is directly related to how well you've been maintaining your Laika's components. The worse state they are in, the worse your windows will look.

Flipped Over

Yes, it is possible to flip your Laika upside down by driving at high speed off a cliff while trying to make a turn. Good news is as currently this problem automatically corrects itself without you having to do anything. Your car will magically flip itself back onto its wheels before you have even a chance to try to do anything.

Sadly this counts as a major crash when it comes to your components and thus it will do a number on the durability of everything. It even popped tire I had on the storage rack.

Bad Parking



While trying to find the Gas Station after having gone flying off a cliff and ending upside down a few moments before. I ended up going off another cliff only to get wedged between a building and yet another extremely high cliff. The answer to fix this mess was simple, I jumped down said cliff with wallet in hand and booked a room in the Motel shown in the picture.

Once there I slept to the next day, the Laika was of course still stuck when I woke up. The Restart option allowed me to wake up again in the bed I had just slept in and the Laika was perfectly parked in front of the Motel when I stepped outside the second time.

This section was written for the most serious game-breaking bugs that were present during Early Access. It is kept for posterity's sake, most of the bugs have since been fixed. However, I still get hit with the Mouse Glitch from time to time.

Old information

There are currently quite a few bugs that will end your journey earlier than the Hungarian Border. These can be annoying when they happen but there are known workarounds for them.

Mouse Glitch

This glitch has been fixed in the most recent patch, if it is still affecting you then I suggest holding your mouse over the spoiler below to see the workaround.

The Mouse cursor is not centered on the screen and tends to wander everywhere except where you want it. This has multiple causes, but two main fixes.

If you have a gamepad or joystick connected unplug it as it will conflict with your keyboard and mouse.

If you don't and this happens then hit the Escape Key to open the Menu then go to Options. All you have to do is click accept below the Mouse Sensitivity option. This will reset your cursor once you exit the menu and allow you to play normally.


Interactions Fail

At random times you may find yourself unable to interact with anything in the game. Depending on the severity of this, it is fixed either by simply opening and closing the Escape Menu, or Restarting your Journey.

This can be particularly frustrating when you are trying to sell items in bulk. As you lose an item that wasn't in storage when you last saved. It is recommended to sell items in lots where you get paid between each lot. This way you still get some money before the bug hits.

Uncle

Uncle is the buggiest thing in the game. He will forget his current status and position in the game with extreme regularity.



This is an example of one of the bugs you may encounter if you choose to bring him with you on your trips. Simply put he sometimes randomly hops out of the car and then tries to get back in while standing in front of the bonnet.

What is annoying is when he does this the handbrake refuses to function meaning you are pretty much stranded. His speech bubbles can also bug out showing random text or repeating what he's already said.

When Uncle bugs out the only way to fix things is to reset his AI, and you can only do that by Restarting from the Options Menu.

The good thing is the workaround is quite simple.

Don't Take Uncle With You.

As long as you've completed the Tutorial at least once and made your way to Dresden, whether or not you succeed in getting there. You can choose to ignore Uncle and not bring him with you on your trip. He'll be left behind at the Starting Location and you can play the entirety of the current game without him or his extremely forgetful AI.

So long as you don't get close enough to trigger his Good Morning speech he won't join you in the car. And the Keys will be in the sun visor.

This is no longer optional, currently, Uncle will leave the car at the end of the Tutorial and refuse to ride along with you. Eventually, the Devs will likely have him join you once again once they've fixed his buggy forgetful nature.

While hunting for any information on if anyone made detailed lists of all the stats I could ask to include in my guide I stumbled across something that will help everyone have a better idea of things. In short there is a Wiki for the game that seems to be relatively up to date.

If my guide did not answer your questions then maybe you’ll find what you seek there instead. You can find it by following this link: http://jalopy.wikia.com/