Sparking stuck Warthog
Posted August 31st 2016
Associated movies
- BCM195 - Heroic; Sparking stuck Warthog (6:26)
Outside the main facility, it's quite easy to get a Warthog stuck in such a way that it gives off continuous sparking and potentially also a shower of rubble. It's a phenomenon I found by accident back in May 2014, thanks to some clumsy driving while working on my Augmented ascent fight article.
Imagine you're outside on the grassy expanse. There's a slope on the right, leading up to the facility's outer platform. To get stuck, drive at full speed up the slope but deviate to the left so the front of the hog gets wedged between the slope and the platform. You'll have the best chance when you're just trying to get the left of the front trapped, but it's also possible to get the right front trapped.
Incidentally, it'll be handy to set things up by getting a nearby beach checkpoint, to make repeat tries most convenient. Get it by heading for the facility from the site of the overturned hog near the entrance to the island's interior path.
If the hog sticks, you'll find that it causes continuous sparking from contact with the platform - even when you dismount. The source of the sparking is usually obscured, but if you're lucky it may be visible. Sometimes there's a continous stream of rubble too, cascading onto the ground and making quite a lot of noise. Both of these things are fun to have a close look at.
Rubble can spray out in a heavy stream with large chunks, or a light stream with only fine chunks, and I've noticed that you can get both types at once (that's the case with the very first clip in BCM195 actually).
Dismount dive
If you make a passenger dismount and he doesn't end up too far from the hog, you'll probably find that he then dives away from it (see pic), as if perceiving it to be moving. Evidently this is linked to the hog's unusual state. It's stationary, yet the game apparently doesn't consider it settled.
Freeing the hog
In regard to freeing the hog, most likely you'll find that you can't reverse out; it's stuck too firmly. You'll probably be able to free it with some type of blast near the front though, to shunt it down the hill. You can potentially also free it with melee, which sometimes works even if you're hitting the back.
Sometimes the hog has a flip prompt (when you deviated left sufficiently far, in getting stuck), but you may find that a flip doesn't do anything. As with melee, it can depend where you're standing. Let me also mention that I had one case where doing a flip at the hog's front didn't work, but doing it at the rear did.
Hunter fun
Something else you can have some fun with is Hunters, who'll be present if you've been to the substation to open the main facility's inner door (you'll be able to get a rocket launcher after that). The nearest Hunter tends to get preoccupied with Marines in the stuck hog, enabling you to go up close to him without being attacked - although his distant buddy may send shots your way. You may even be able to stand on top of the Hunter.