San Francisco Rush 2049 (Arcade)
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San Francisco Rush 2049
For the releases on Nintendo 64 and Sega Dreamcast, see San Francisco Rush 2049 (Console).
"Rush 2049 takes the driver 50 years into the future with a city landscape that looks familiar but is definitely out there! The city is teeming with the effects of another Gold Rush, but this time it’s 200 years after the original discoveries. Mining for gold deep beneath the city has resulted in layers of underground tunnels where hidden gold coins can still be found by racers who dare to take these challenging shortcuts."
-The San Francisco Rush 2049 Website
San Francisco Rush 2049 is the final Rush game released on Arcade and 5th generation systems, it is also Atari Games' last developed game. It features 4 brand new futuristic tracks, as well as a reimagining of The Rock from San Francisco Rush The Rock: Alcatraz Edition. For the first time, players are able to record data with a save system called Team Rush. This allows players to record lap and race times, mileage, and unlock new cars and tracks.
San Francisco Rush 2049 would later receive an update a year later for select locations called San Francisco Rush 2049: Tournament Edition, which brings the additions of Tournament Mode, two new tracks designed by Rush 2 and Rush 2049 home port developers, and four new cars.
Release
San Francisco Rush 2049 released for Arcades on June 15th. 1999. It shipped as single sit-down cabinets, however are commonly found as two or more units for multiplayer races. It includes a 4-speed shifter and Atari's proprietary force-feedback steering. As a step up from the original San Francisco Rush release, 2049 ships with a 27" VGA monitor, 5-channel surround sound, and has the capability to run at 60 frames-per-second during gameplay. For a more in-depth look at San Francisco Rush 2049's hardware specs, see Arcade Hardware.
San Francisco Rush 2049 would also see a release on September 6th 2000 for the 5th generation console Nintendo 64 and the 6th generation console Sega Dreamcast. These releases were handled by Ed Logg his development team, previously responsible for San Francisco Rush and Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA, both for Nintendo 64. These version are not direct ports of the arcade version, rather they are built on the driving model established in Rush 2. The home release of Rush 2049 introduced wings as a brand new driving mechanic, and the additions of the Stunt and Battle modes. For additional info on the home releases see San Francisco Rush 2049 (Console).
Gameplay
Like its previous entries, San Francisco Rush 2049 can be played Solo or against other drivers in head-to-head races. When playing solo, drivers can choose between a standard race against 7 drones, or their own ghosts to compete for the best time.
Returning from the original San Francisco Rush is the difficulty-tiered handling model, this time however handling can be changed per car. Normal handling gives the driver the most control out of the options, however it also has to lowest top speed. If the driver wishes to have a faster drivetrain, they will have to sacrifice control by selecting Advanced, or Extreme handling.
Exploration is more important than ever in this San Francisco Rush 2049. Locating all of the hidden shortcuts beforehand ensures that drivers will have the competitive edge needed to win. In addition, drivers can also find hidden Gold Coins giving them access to exclusive racing liveries.
Tracks
"3 new tracks plus two hidden tracks with dynamic track elements that change on each lap. Outrageous, layered shortcuts and super stunts!"
The tracks will have you racing through various districts of San Francisco. Many parts of the city have been given a new futuristic look, while some of the more historic locations have remained untouched.
Along the way, drivers may come across hidden shortcuts when veering off the race course. If driven optimally, shortcuts can provide a competitive advantage that may be just enough to close the gap between driver and 1st place.
Even further off the beaten path, drivers may come across hidden gold coins. There are 100 gold coins hidden throughout each track, and drivers willing to find them will get rewarded along the way.
Cars
"The year 2049 has produced astonishing breakthroughs in automotive design and functionality. Car selection ranges from the most conceptual to practical, technological to retro classical."
Players can choose one from six futuristic racing vehicles (and one unlockable 70s-era muscle car.) There are no inherent advantages to picking one car over another, so players can choose any car they prefer when facing the competition. Pressing View 3 on the car select menu allows players to choose their desired handling model: Normal is suitable for new player; Advanced for those who have learned the roads; and Extreme, for those seeking the ultimate challenge.
Pressing View 1 will cycle paintjobs for every car. Like the cars themselves, paintjobs offer no competitive advantage and are a purely cosmetic choice.
After registering for Team Rush, players become eligible to unlock an additional car and paintjobs. The unlock conditions vary depending on the car, with some being a lot harder to earn than others. Players who seek to complete the game will have to earn an additional 23 paintjobs (counting the first 70s cuda unlock) in order to complete their save.
Tournament Edition
San Francisco Rush 2049: Tournament Edition is an upgrade to San Francisco Rush 2049 developed by Midway Games West Inc. It was intended to allow players to compete against each other remotely on the Midway Tournament Network, but was shuttered within a year. A modified version of the hard drive image exists, allowing access to the two extra tracks without being connected to MTN. However, this version does not allow access to any new cars. This hard drive image was presumably handed out to the few arcades allowed to keep TE after MTN shut down, as the extra content would not be accessible anymore without modification.
Differences from original 2049
- Four new vehicles and two new tracks (Dawn and Dusk) are available for tournament play only.
- Driving physics are tweaked to make Extreme handling harder and closer to Rush The Rock.
- The time limit for account creation was increased. Original 2049 gives 15 seconds to enter your new account's PIN, while TE adjusts it to 90 seconds to give the player enough time to enter their phone number and full name, both of which were required to receive prizes from MTN. The 90 second timer was left unchanged in SE.
- Abort abuse skips were patched, preventing track skips and even punishing fast players sometimes by sending the player backwards on the track if they abort.
- A player can now sign out of an account and sign back in while selecting a track, car, or transmission.
- The Just Play/Join Team Rush screen when starting a new game was replaced with choosing between original Rush 2049 or Tournament mode. Without connection to the MTN servers, this screen is completely absent and the game goes to the track selection immediately, much like SE. The background design changes when switching between options.
- Continuing as a Team Rush member is still possible on credit play. By signing in on the attract screen, the game will start signed in, and subsequent plays will automatically log in until the credits in the machine are depleted.
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Original 2049 -
Tournament Mode
- The wide futuristic font used for the timer and street names was replaced with a more generic font. The speedometer design was also changed.
- The race timer now displays thousandths of times, instead of just hundredths. At the end of each lap, it also shows the time difference between the current lap and the first place time of the track.
- The Atari logo attract animation was modified, showing the Midway logo instead, and cutting off before the voice can say "Atari Games". By holding the Music button, it can still be heard.
- The attract mode has extra sequences regarding tournaments, including currently running tournaments, advertisement videos of MTN, and how to sign up.
- During tournament play, a MTN watermark is placed in the bottom left corner of the screen.
- A dot matrix LED sign has been placed on the top of the marquee, showing tournament information.
- A minus symbol is displayed on the speedometer when driving in reverse.
Test Locations
Based on information found on the hard drive, TE was tested at the following locations:
- Starbase Arcade in San Rafael, CA
- Special Effects Arcade in Scotts Valley, CA
- Friar Tuck's Game Room in Calumet City, IL
- Golfland USA in Sunnyvale, CA
- Paddock Bowl in Pacheco, CA
- Diversions Game Room in San Antonio, TX
- Gala North in Carol Stream, IL
Special Edition
San Francisco Rush 2049: Special Edition is a modified version of Tournament Edition that was released as both an upgrade kit and standalone machine by Betson Enterprises in 2003. It features all of changes that TE made to the original game with the MTN content removed. As the two versions are very similar, a SE security PIC will work for running TE. Conversely, a TE boot ROM will run SE as well, but not the other way around. Special Edition is also the only version of an arcade Rush to also be released in an upright machine as well as the regular sitdown machine.
Differences from Tournament Edition
- Midway Tournament Network references and information, such as the attract mode sequences and test menu options for connecting to the servers, are removed.
- Track 6 and 7 are unlocked for solo and linked play, instead of being locked behind tournament play.
- Track 7: Dusk is labeled as Advanced difficulty in TE, but Extreme difficulty in SE.
- When the attract mode shows both new tracks with the leaderboards, a "Special Edition" graphic replaces "Fast Times" at the top.
- The "Tournament Edition Support Team" credits image in the attract mode has been replaced with a similar "Special Edition Support Team" image.
- Tournament exclusive cars are usable outside of tournament play. 3 of the 4 cars are immediately available for play on a new Team Rush account.
- The LED sign test in the test menu is unavailable, however the sign might still work (unverified).