Database · Tutorials
Driving Basics
Driving Basics – entry from the Cyberpunk 2077 database. Navigating Night City can be a challenge. Narrow streets, dense traffic… But don’t sweat it. Here are some tips that will help you get around with any vehicle.
Entry
Navigating Night City can be a challenge. Narrow streets, dense traffic… But don’t sweat it. Here are some tips that will help you get around with any vehicle.
Maintaining Traction
Your tires can only handle so much at once. If you need to turn hard, avoid braking and accelerating hard at the same time. Brake before the corner, then steer smoothly into it. Stay off the brakes and gas mid turn, then accelerate gently as you come out of the corner. This will improve your speed and stability. When your tires start to smoke and squeal, it means you’re either approaching or exceeding the maximum grip they can provide.
Oversteer and Understeer
Ever entered a corner at high speed but it feels like your vehicle won’t turn? That's called understeer. To avoid it, slow down before entering the corner and try not to accelerate or brake mid corner.
Or maybe you’ve tried to turn hard at high speed but the rear of the vehicle whipped around, causing you to spin out of control? This is oversteer. Braking before the turn and careful acceleration mid corner can help prevent it, but you can also steer into the direction of the slide to correct it and regain stability. This is called countersteering.
During an oversteer slide, you can also keep your foot on the gas and apply the right amount of countersteer to enter and maintain a controlled slide. Congrats – now you’re drifting!
Effective Braking
You can brake in two ways: Brakes and the Handbrake. Regular brakes apply to all wheels and are the most effective way to bring you to a stop. If you apply them while stopped, they will put your vehicle in reverse. While in reverse, your input for Brake now accelerates and your input for Accelerate now brakes.
The Handbrake only applies to the rear wheels, so it is not as effective, but you can use it to execute sharp turns and reverse direction quickly if you use it without accelerating. If you want to slide (i.e. drift) through a turn, tap the Handbrake just before turning while continuing to accelerate. With the right countersteering and enough practice, you’ll be able to control your slide through the entire corner.
Keyboard (Digital) vs Controller (Analog)
Some driving techniques require gentle or gradual input for acceleration and braking. Unfortunately, keyboards don’t accommodate gradual input. Controllers are better suited for driving because analog triggers and sticks work best for slow, smooth inputs. Try pressing your Accelerate and Brake inputs gently at first, then gradually apply more pressure to experiment with how acceleration, braking and steering interact. Often just a little is just right.
Maximizing Camera Perspective
Each camera perspective has its own merits. First-Person Perspective (FPP) may improve your sense of immersion, giving you the impression you’re really behind the wheel. Third-Person Perspective (TPP), by contrast, improves visibility and awareness of your surroundings. But no matter which perspective you use, you can still manually rotate the camera and reset it with a single button press.
TPP has three camera distances you can select in game and two camera heights you can select from in the Settings. The camera system is intentionally designed to require more player input to get the best view of the action. It’s worth practicing and experimenting with camera control so you can learn to position it to see where you’re going before you get there.
Maintaining Traction
Your tires can only handle so much at once. If you need to turn hard, avoid braking and accelerating hard at the same time. Brake before the corner, then steer smoothly into it. Stay off the brakes and gas mid turn, then accelerate gently as you come out of the corner. This will improve your speed and stability. When your tires start to smoke and squeal, it means you’re either approaching or exceeding the maximum grip they can provide.
Oversteer and Understeer
Ever entered a corner at high speed but it feels like your vehicle won’t turn? That's called understeer. To avoid it, slow down before entering the corner and try not to accelerate or brake mid corner.
Or maybe you’ve tried to turn hard at high speed but the rear of the vehicle whipped around, causing you to spin out of control? This is oversteer. Braking before the turn and careful acceleration mid corner can help prevent it, but you can also steer into the direction of the slide to correct it and regain stability. This is called countersteering.
During an oversteer slide, you can also keep your foot on the gas and apply the right amount of countersteer to enter and maintain a controlled slide. Congrats – now you’re drifting!
Effective Braking
You can brake in two ways: Brakes and the Handbrake. Regular brakes apply to all wheels and are the most effective way to bring you to a stop. If you apply them while stopped, they will put your vehicle in reverse. While in reverse, your input for Brake now accelerates and your input for Accelerate now brakes.
The Handbrake only applies to the rear wheels, so it is not as effective, but you can use it to execute sharp turns and reverse direction quickly if you use it without accelerating. If you want to slide (i.e. drift) through a turn, tap the Handbrake just before turning while continuing to accelerate. With the right countersteering and enough practice, you’ll be able to control your slide through the entire corner.
Keyboard (Digital) vs Controller (Analog)
Some driving techniques require gentle or gradual input for acceleration and braking. Unfortunately, keyboards don’t accommodate gradual input. Controllers are better suited for driving because analog triggers and sticks work best for slow, smooth inputs. Try pressing your Accelerate and Brake inputs gently at first, then gradually apply more pressure to experiment with how acceleration, braking and steering interact. Often just a little is just right.
Maximizing Camera Perspective
Each camera perspective has its own merits. First-Person Perspective (FPP) may improve your sense of immersion, giving you the impression you’re really behind the wheel. Third-Person Perspective (TPP), by contrast, improves visibility and awareness of your surroundings. But no matter which perspective you use, you can still manually rotate the camera and reset it with a single button press.
TPP has three camera distances you can select in game and two camera heights you can select from in the Settings. The camera system is intentionally designed to require more player input to get the best view of the action. It’s worth practicing and experimenting with camera control so you can learn to position it to see where you’re going before you get there.
