Driving

Driving is a primary feature in Shattered and Shattered 2.

Summary[]

Almost any vehicle can be hijacked and driven around by the player. There are various reasons behind this, the most common one being the fact that vehicles can be used to get around the map (and to-and-from missions) faster. Each vehicle has its own specs, such as braking, acceleration, handling, horns, etc. Each vehicle also has its own top speed in Shattered (main article: Measuring speed in Shattered).

Entering a vehicle[]

Shattered[]

Driving involves approaching any vehicle and pressing a key to hijack it. In Shattered, several animations go along with hijacking a vehicle. Any passengers inside a vehicle will flee when the player attempts to steal the vehicle. If the vehicle is occupied:

James will shoot the driver's door off with an aura bullet, drag the driver out of the vehicle and get in.
James will reach inside the vehicle through the driver's window, breaking it, and grab the driver and pull them out, breaking the door off with it, and get in.
If the player has a bad rep, James will shoot the driver with an aura bullet, killing them, and will proceed to drag the driver out and get in.
James will grab the driver's door, rip it off, and punch the driver in the face, knocking them out. He will then throw the driver out of the car and get in.

If the vehicle is unoccupied, such as a parked vehicle:

James will shoot the door off with an aura bullet and get in.
James will attempt to open the door like a normal person. This has a 50% chance of succeeding, meaning there is a 50% chance the door is locked. If the door opens, James will get in like normal. If the door is locked, James will shoot the door off with an aura bullet, and get in.

Shattered 2[]

In Shattered 2, all animations from the first game are present. James and Chris share the same animations, except Chris uses light energy rather than aura, since he possesses Light Manipulation, not Aura Manipulation.

NPCs[]

NPCs drive vehicles around the map in all Shattered games. In Shattered, the most common vehicles include Taxis, sedans, and SUVs. Civilians can also sometimes show a case of road rage, honking excessively at the player or other NPCs and speeding around and past them if they stand in front of their car for too long, or drive lousy. Emergency vehicles such as police cars, fire trucks and ambulances can also be seen and heard speeding through the city with their sirens wailing, as is the case in real life. If the player follows the the emergency vehicle, eventually, they will lose track of the vehicle and the vehicle will despawn or respawn elsewhere, out of sight of the player.

In Shattered 2, these features are greatly expanded to give the game more realism. NPCs can now also be seen getting in and out of vehicles, starting the ignition, and driving away. They can also be seen parking, and very rarely, two or more vehicles will collide, causing a car accident. The two drivers and any passengers will exit the vehicle and argue, similar to real life. There is a 20% chance that if the player witnesses this, the two drivers will start fighting, and the player can break up the fight to earn 5 Tin.

Realism[]

In Shattered, the realism of car crashes is moderate, as there is a small chance that the vehicle can explode if it is the victim of a head-on collision, or if the vehicle flips over, resulting in instant death for the player. However, serious car accidents that would cause devastating damage in reality only cause a few scratches and dents in-game, similar to other major open-world driving games such as Grand Theft Auto and Watch Dogs.

In Shattered 2, detail is greatly improved, as serious car accidents that would cause devastating damage in reality now do cause serious damage to vehicles in-game. As such, accidents such as side swipes and head-on collisions are usually powerful enough to cause massive damage and even disable or destroy vehicles. Again, if a vehicle explodes, any persons inside and around the vehicle during the explosion are instantly killed, even the player.

Trivia[]

The system of measuring speed only appears in Shattered. It was eliminated in Shattered 2 due to its "lack of realism" and does not appear in any other game.
Driving was originally not meant to appear in Shattered, as the player would rely on their powers to navigate around the map, but was eventually added. This is reflected in the lack of necessary driving during the campaign, as most missions do not require the player to drive at all.
- However, the player is required to drive Joey's car in the mission Running With Scissors. This part of the mission was added because driving was added to the game around the time when the mission was written, as before this mission, driving wasn't added to the game.
There are 81 drivable vehicles in Shattered, and 85 in Shattered 2.
It was originally hinted at that driving may not return in Shattered 3, because by that point the player will be able to fly around the map, as well as other fast-travel options, rendering driving unnecessary. However, Chris6d confirmed on December 14, 2020, that the player will still be able to drive vehicles.