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Kirby Air Ride Guide

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Kirby Air Ride APWorld

What is this?

This is an APWorld for the Archipelago multi-world, multi-game randomizer: archipelago.gg

This APWorld allows you to play Kirby Air Ride in an Archipelago Multiworld, or solo.

How do I set this up?

Setting up the game and instructions on where to get the apworld file, yaml file, and mod files are in the setup guide.

Poptracker

There is also a poptracker for this apworld, created by @lightning8282!

Get it here!

Game modes and goals

Kirby Air Ride has three independent game modes: City Trial, Air Ride, and Top Ride. The mod adds a fourth checklist/mode of its own, the Archipelago checklist.

You can enable any combination of them, each with its own goal, locations, and progression settings.

Setting a mode's goal to "None" disables that mode entirely, so none of its checklist locations will exist.

When more than one mode has a goal, you only complete your game by completing every one of them, and your items share a single pool across your enabled modes: any of your items can land at any of your checklist locations, so an Air Ride unlock might be found on a City Trial checkbox, and vice versa.

City Trial

Air Ride

Top Ride

Archipelago checklist

EXPERIMENTAL: this checklist is incomplete and under active development. It does not yet have all 120 checkboxes. Logic or checks for this may not work properly.

Access gating

Most categories of content can be locked behind AP items. When a category is gated, that content starts locked and you must find its unlock items to access it; the checkboxes and races that depend on it become logically reachable only once you have the unlock. When a category is not gated, that content is available from the start and no unlock items are placed for it.

The gateable categories are:

Generation will choose one starting unlock item for the following categories. Each is picked at random and given to you for free before your run begins:

If you already preset an unlock from one of these categories in your start inventory, generation keeps your choice and skips the random pick for that category. The remaining gateable categories - events, copy abilities, base abilities, patch types, game items, box types, and Top Ride items - are playable without any unlock, so they get no starting item.

Shuffle checklist rewards

Many checklist boxes (red boxes) award a specific reward when ticked in the base game: a machine, a Kirby color, a music track, a sound test, a Dragoon or Hydra part, and so on. "Shuffle Checklist Rewards" controls only those reward items.

Checklist rewards gated

Some checklist boxes award a minor extra when ticked: a music track, a sound test entry, an ending, a Top Ride rule, and so on. "Checklist Rewards Gated" controls whether those non-progression rewards are part of the multiworld at all.

The Dragoon and Hydra parts are never affected - they are progression (they build the legendary machines), so they always stay in the multiworld regardless of this option.

What does randomization do to this game?

Randomization decides which AP item is attached to each checkbox you complete, and which unlock items you must find to reach gated content. No in-game locations are physically shuffled.

What does another world's item look like in Kirby Air Ride?

There is no change in the graphical appearance of other worlds' items. Completing a checkbox sends whatever AP item is attached to that location.

What happens when the player receives an item?

The items you can receive include:

Checkbox filler items

Receiving a checkbox filler item for a given checklist gives you a purple checkbox filler in-game for that checklist. Look to the side of the checklist for the purple boxes. The game only shows up to 5 of them at once, but if you have unlocked more they are still yours and you can keep using them as they run out. There is a separate filler item for each checklist (City Trial, Air Ride, Top Ride, Archipelago). You cannot use these to unlock checkboxes that are goals.

Patch cap increase items

When "Patch Cap Min" is below "Patch Cap Max", the per-stat patch cap starts at the min and each Patch Cap Increase item raises it by one, up to the max. This is tracked per stat. For example, with a cap of 6, collecting a 7th Top Speed will drop you back to 6 until you raise the cap. Set the min equal to the max (both default to the vanilla 18) for a flat cap with no Patch Cap Increase items.

Permanent patch increase items

These items give a permanent +1 to a City Trial stat that persists for the rest of your run. They are in the pool as long as "Permanent Patches" is among your "Allowed Item Types". This also works in Air Ride and Stadiums.

You can change which modes these will apply to in the in-game settings menu.

Allowed item types

"Allowed Item Types" controls which categories of optional (non-progression) give items appear in your pool. All categories are on by default; removing one keeps all of that category's items out of your pool. It is independent of "Trap Types" - trap items are governed only by that option, so a category here never adds or removes traps.

Spawn Rate Up items

The City Trial and Top Ride item spawn rate starts at your "Spawn Rate Min" and each Spawn Rate Up item raises it by 10% toward your "Spawn Rate Max". A min below 100% starts spawns suppressed below vanilla; set the min equal to the max for a flat rate with no Spawn Rate Up items.

For CT, it not only affects the spawn rate, but the max amount of items that will appear in the City at a time. This will go beyond the vanilla max of 100.

Access-gating unlock items

When a category is gated (see Access gating), receiving its unlock item makes that content available for the rest of your run.

When items are applied

Received items for game modes like CT, AR, TR are applied immediately when playing, or if not, at the start of the next round/course.

Items that don't apply directly to in-game modes (checkbox fillers, reward items, etc.) are applied immediately.

Set "Trap Chance" above 0 to turn a percentage of your non-progression item slots into traps. "Trap Types" chooses which categories are in play (all on by default), and the selected categories are drawn at equal weight: Direct Damage (1 HP Trap), Stat Debuff (All Down, stat-down patches, etc.), and Fake Patches (items that look like stat-ups but are harmful).

With "Trap Link" enabled, traps you receive are broadcast to other players who have TrapLink on, and you receive the traps they broadcast in return. This is independent of "Trap Chance": you can take part in TrapLink even with no traps in your own pool.

You can enable or disable this in the in-game settings menu, or in your yaml. It works in all modes.

EnergyLink applies to every mode. While it is on, charging your machine, collecting patches and other items, and destroying objects (rocks, trees, coral, houses, etc.) in the City contributes energy to the multiworld's shared pool, and you can spend that pool from within the game to receive items.

You can enable or disable this in the in-game settings menu, or in your yaml.

There is an in-game menu where you can spend your pooled energy to purchase in-game items. You'll see the price listed below the item.

Auto-Charge

Auto-Charge (Settings -> Energy Link -> Auto-Charge in the in-game menu) spends pooled energy to keep your machine's charge meter topped up. It adds a steady amount over time, so it gently assists your own charging - holding A, or coasting and gliding - and your energy drains gradually rather than all at once.

The Auto-Charge Rate setting (Slow / Medium / Fast) controls how quickly the meter fills.

When on, dying links your deaths with other DeathLink players in the multiworld, and other players dying causes you to die. This works in all modes. In Top Ride, you just receive a negative effect.

You can enable or disable this in the in-game settings menu, or in your yaml.

Other features

In-game textbox

The mod includes a built-in scrolling textbox that lets you know what items your receiving and other information in real time!

Configure it in the in-game settings menu.

Reveal checklists

Each mode has its own "Reveal Checklist" option ("City Trial Reveal Checklist", "Air Ride Reveal Checklist", "Top Ride Reveal Checklist", "Archipelago Reveal Checklist"). With one enabled, that checklist starts fully revealed instead of filling in around the squares you complete, so you can read every objective from the start. On the Archipelago checklist only the squares that carry an objective are revealed.

Revealing is visual only - it does not complete or unlock anything.

Drop ability

With "Drop Ability" on, pressing Z discards your current copy ability in City Trial and Air Ride, or your current ability-power item in Top Ride. There is no vanilla way to get rid of an ability you don't want, so this is handy when you are hunting a checkbox that needs a different one.

Off by default. Toggle it in the in-game settings menu.

Air quick spin

Vanilla only checks for the L/R-flick quick spin while you are grounded on your machine - flicking in the air does nothing. With "Air Quick Spin" on, the check runs airborne too, in City Trial and Air Ride, for Kirby, King Dedede, and Meta Knight alike.

It still respects access gating: if base abilities are gated and you have not found "Unlock Base Ability: Quick Spin" yet, the spin stays locked in the air as well.

Off by default. Toggle it in the in-game settings menu.

Random start machine

With "Random Start Machine" on, City Trial starts you on a random machine you have unlocked instead of the Compact Star. If you pick a machine yourself from the Stadium or Free Run grid, your pick is kept.

With it off you get the Compact Star as usual, falling back to a random unlocked machine when machines are gated and you have not found the Compact Star yet.

On by default. Toggle it in the in-game settings menu.

Server sync

The client syncs your completed AP checks and items to your game every time you connect to the server. This keeps your game in sync with the server even if you lose your save file, start fresh for a same-slot co-op, or have had checks collected by another player.

I need help! What do I do?

Try the troubleshooting steps in the setup guide.

If you are still stuck, please ask us over in the "Kirby Air Ride" discussion thread in the "future-game-design" channel in the Archipelago Discord server! (Link)

Known Issues

Known bugs and issues are tracked in the GitHub issues here.

Feel free to report any issues or suggest improvements either there or in the "Kirby Air Ride" discussion thread in the "future-game-design" channel in the Archipelago Discord server (Link)

Planned Features

You can see a current list of planned features and other requests here.

Contributing

Contributions are very welcome!

Feel free to raise an issue or submit a PR! And you can always pop into the Discord channel to ask questions or collaborate!

Credits