Overpass

Overpass

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The Ultimate Guide To Overpass
By Shameless
When I was reading YouTube comments under gameplay videos and trailers for Overpass, a lot of potential players were confused. They were unsure what the game is about and how it functions. But once you get into it, Overpass is actually very simple to comprehend. Hopefully, this guide will provide you basics on core gameplay and some tips and tricks to improve your experience.
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Gameplay Overview and Mechanics
Each Track is divided into 3 lanes – central, left and right. Each lane has a set of markers. Now, look at the top. You can see an eye. Your task is to blink (CTRL by default) in the correct lane when the eye alligns with the marker. As with any other rhythm game, everything is synchronized with music.

Look at the picture below. To pass through this segment, I need to move to the left lane and blink as the marker alligns with the eye. Then I need to move back to the center, blink when both allign and finally move to the right lane and do the same.



Of course, things get more and more difficult as you progress with timing windows getting shorter and markers being obscured by obstacles. Let’s talk about ratings. Blinking at exactly the right moment gives you a Perfect rating. Being off-sync gives you a worse rating from Great, Okay to Meh. Not blinking at all or blinking at the incorrect lane gives you a Miss. Each rating gives you certain amount of Data Points. Obviously, perfect ratings give you the highest amount. Missing gives none at all.

What are Data Points for? Levelling up and unlocking new Tracks and customize options. Before we move on to customization, let’s mention medals first. Each Tracks has 6 attainable medals:

Attempted – Automatically awarded for attempting a Track. Successfully clearing a Track is not necessary.
Cleared – Awarded for successfully completing a Track. To do so, you need to get at least 50% of Data Points in the level.
Unbroken – Complete a Track without missing a single marker.
Perfect – Complete a Track blinking at every marker with Perfect rating.
Lamps – It is possible to blink at lamps to gain additional Data Points. They are NOT required to pass a Track. Blinking at every lamp awards you this medal.
Everything – The hardest medal to attain. You have to blink at every possible marker and lamp with Perfect rating.

Now it’s time for Customization (TAB by default). Every time you level up, you unlock a random customization item. First customizable option is HUD. This changes the appearance of the eye we talked about previously. Same goes for marker. Palette, as the name suggests, changes the color palette. This can be very useful as some markers are harder to spot e.g. white markers on a white background.

Engines alter your speed. There are 4 engines to be unlocked. Ludo is unlocked be default. Core increases your speed while Blaze decreases speed. Last one is the Hare engine. Hare starts out slow but gets faster everytime you successfully blink at a marker. So while Hare is slower than Blaze at the start, it can be faster than Core at the end.
Game Modes
Overpass offers a variety of game modes. However, the only one available at the start is Discovery. Your goal in Discovery is to reach the end of your journey, discovering new Tracks and Detours. Note that once you clear a new Track or Detour, you can’t turn back. You can only move forward towards your goal.

Beating Discovery for your first time unlocks Perfection. Here, you can replay any previously unlocked Track or Detour from Discovery as many times as you want.

Finding and clearing all 32 Tracks unlocks Expedition. It’s essentially the same as Discovery, however, you need to clear all 32 Tracks before reaching the end.

After you’ve exhausted all Tracks, you can turn to Community. Overpass supports Steam Workshop. Not only can you directly download and play user made Tracks, you can create and share your own.
How to Find and Unlock Detours
Besides Tracks, you can encounter Detours. Every second Track of a new world has a detour you can unlock (e.g. HWY 102 Holding Hollow leads to a detour RT 124 Desert Divide; HWY 402 Harvesting Heights leads to a detour RT 45 Pleasant Plains...). All in all, there are 8 Detours to be unlocked.



Unlocking Detours is based on the position of these giraffes. Their position can be randomized:
  • If the giraffes are facing each other, all subsequent markers must be blinked at from the central lane
  • If the giraffes are looking to the left, all subsequent markes must be blinked at from the left lane
  • If the giraffes are looking to the right, all subsequent markers must be blinked at from the right lane
  • If the giraffes are facing away from each other, all subsequent markers must be blinked at from either the right or the left lane (in other words, you must avoid the central lane)
  • If the giraffes are leaning towards each other, the right and the left lane have been swapped. So, all left markers must be blinked at from the right lane and vice versa.
  • If the giraffes are looking up, follow the route as indicated.
CREDIT: arcten
About Dash Buddies
Dash Buddies are cute little bobble heads you can decorate your dashboard with. They don’t affect the gameplay in any meaningful way (besides maybe obscuring your vision a little).

In total, there are 4 Dash Buddies to be collected.



The heart is unlocked by getting all medals on all Tracks and Detours. This means blinking at every marker and lamp with Perfect rating.
The square bobble head is unlocked by reaching lvl.50.
The giraffe is unlocked by finding and clearing every detour (not sure about this one, need further info).
Lastly, the basketball is unlocked by completing a perfect Expedition trip.
Gameplay Tips
Overpass is a prime example of an „easy to learn but difficult to master“ video game. But it doesn’t have to be. The game features many accessibility options for players who perhaps don’t want such an intense gameplay experience and just want to enjoy the ride. This is extremely useful for completionists like myself who want to achieve 100% completion without investing too much time and move on to another game.

For start, let’s check the options menu. Go to options -> gameplay and look at accessibility. Auto Lane Switch automatically puts you in the correct lane of the next marker. Auto Input automatically blinks at the marker, giving you a perfect rating. You can have both of these options enabled at the same time without any penalty. The game will be essentially playing itself. Achievements won’t be disabled.*

Next up is Timing Window. It dictates how precise you need to be when blinking. By default it’s set to normal. Downgrading to easy makes the game much more lenient, making perfect ratings more attainable. I’d also recommend turning Flashing Lights off as there are certain tracks where it makes markers harder to spot.

Now, head on to one of the game modes (Discovery, Perfection or Expedition). By default, hit TAB and go to Palette. At level 1, only the basic white palette will be available. To make markers easier to spot, level up to unlock more visible color palettes. My favorites are Bean, Guac and Good Luck.

Now go to Engine. The Blaze Engine is certainly the best one for attempts at 100% as it slows you down a considerable amount which gives you way more time to blink at markers. Finally, there are lenses. The Central Lens eliminates all left and right markers and puts them in the middle. To get all medals in a track, you only need to worry about central markers and lamps.

TL;DR - here’s all you need to do in order to ease the difficulty.
Auto Lane Switch – ON
Auto Input – ON
Timing Window – Easy
Flashing Lights – OFF
Palette – Bean, Guac, Good Luck (or any other that makes markers stand out from the background)
Engine – Blaze
Lens - Central

*So far, I know of 2 achievements which will be disabled with any of these accessibility options enabled – Beginning to Believe and The One.
Achievements Guide

Warm up - Complete a Discovery trip
Awarded for completing your first discovery trip.


Not In Any Rush - Complete Discovery Mode using the most number of Tracks
Start a Discovery trip and play tracks in the following sequence:
HWY 101 Ancient Arches -> HWY 102 Holding Hollow -> RT 124 Desert Divide -> HWY 104 Surveying Sands -> HWY 202 Treetrunk Trove -> HWY 203 Rook Ridge -> HWY 304 Twin Track Turnpike -> HWY 403 Turbine Tunnel -> HWY 303 Bell Bypass -> HWY 402 Harvesting Heights -> RT 45 Pleasant Plains -> HWY 502 Digging Divide -> RT 56 Machine Mountain -> HWY 602 Billboard Boulevard -> HWY 603 Elevated Excursion -> HWY 702 Sailor’s Speedway -> RT 78 Caution Cliff -> HWY 802 Sky High Flyby -> RT 823 Heaven’s Hall -> HWY 803 Satellite Skyway -> HWY 804 Earth’s Edge




Cleared! - Clear a Track
To clear a track and advance, you need to gather at least 50% of data points in the level. You can also blink at lamps to gain additional points.


Seen It All - Clear every Track
There is a total of 32 tracks + detours.


Focus – Perfect a Track
Perfecting a track requires blinking at every possible marker with a Perfect rating. Lamps do not count.


Perfectionist – Perfect every Track
Get a Perfect medal on every Track. Detours included.


Let’s Get Lit – Lit a Track
Blink at every lamp. Note that you don’t have to clear the track to get this medal.


Lit AF – Lit every Track
Blink at every lamp on every Track. Detours included.


Decorated – All medals in a Track
Blink at every marker and every lamp with a Perfect rating.


So Medal – All medals on all Tracks
Blink at every marker and every lamp with a Perfect rating on every Track. Detours included.


Scenic Route – Find a Detour
Refer to „How to find and unlock Detours“


Zoologist – Find every Detour


Detour de Force – Complete a Discovery Trip using every Detour
Start a Discovery trip and play tracks in the following sequence:
HWY 101 Ancient Arches -> HWY 102 Holding Hollow -> RT 124 Desert Divide -> HWY 104 Surveying Sands -> HWY 202 Treetrunk Trove -> RT 23 Forgotten Forest -> HWY 302 Lantern Loop -> RT 34 Festival Flats -> HWY 402 Harvesting Heights -> RT 45 Pleasant Plains -> HWY 502 Digging Divide -> RT 56 Machine Mountain -> HWY 602 Billboard Boulevard -> RT 67 Concrete Core -> HWY 702 Sailor’s Speedway -> RT 78 Caution Cliff -> HWY 802 Sky High Flyby -> RT 823 Heaven’s Hall -> HWY 803 Satellite Skyway -> HWY 804 Earth’s Edge


Road Trip – Complete an Expedition Trip


Making Good Time – Complete an Expedition trip without breaking combo
The difference bewteen this and Road Trip achievement is that you need to get the Unbroken medal in every level.


Perfect Summer – Perfect an Expedition trip
Complete an Expedition trip, getting the Perfect medal in every level.


A New Adventure – Clear a World Track
Go to Community -> Browse World Map -> Browse Steam Workshop. Download and finish one of the user levels from Steam Workshop.


World Traveler – Clear 25 World Tracks
Complete 25 user levels.


Creator – Create & share a World Track
Go to Community -> Editor. You need to create a Track and upload it to Steam Workshop.


Having Options – Unlock a Custom Item
Level up to unlock a random Custom Item.


FABULOUS – Unlock all Custom Items
Reach lvl.50 to unlock all Custom Items.


Co-Pilot – Collect a Dash Buddy
Refer to „About Dash Buddies“
There’s a Party in My Car and Everyone’s Invited – Collect all Dash Buddies


Imperfect – Get an Unbroken medal on a Track with 0 perfects.
Clear a Track without getting a single Miss and Perfect. The best Track in my opinion is RT 34 Festival Flats. I’d recommend setting Timing Window on Normal as Easy timing windows tend to award you a Perfect rating even though you are miles away from the marker.


Noise Cancel – Get all medals on a Track with music and sfx set to 0
Go to options -> audio and put Music Volume and SFX Volume all the way to 0.


Beginning to Believe – Clear a Track using Memory lens.
One of the hardest achievements. Using Memory lens essentially means you will be driving in reverse. The only way to clear a Track with Memory lens is to memorise the entire Track or at least write it down on a piece of paper. I’ve tried turning Auto Lane Switch and Auto Input ON but the achievement didn’t pop up. However, I have found a pretty clever workaround.

The easiest way is to play any Detour as Detours only have one lane. The easiest Detour is the very first one – RT 124 Desert Divide – with the least amount of markers and lamps. Now, play this YouTube video on your smartphone of KrmaL beating the Track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVS1GiRA-3E&ab_channel=KrmaL

Synchronize that video with your game by starting both of them at the same time. Now you just need to follow Krmal’s video. Using this method, I was able to clear the Track on my fifth attempt.


The One – All medals on a Track using Memory lens
Follow the instructions above, making sure to blink at all markers and lamps as well with Perfect rating.


Cutting Corners – Complete Discovery Mode using the fewest number of Tracks.
Start a Discovery trip and play tracks in the following sequence:
HWY 101 Ancient Arches -> HWY 102 Holding Hollow -> HWY 201 Waterwood Way -> HWY 204 Overgrown Greenway -> HWY 301 Graceful Gates -> HWY 401 Power Path -> HWY 402 Harvesting Heights -> HWY 501 Cavern Crossroad -> HWY 601 Highway Haven -> HWY 701 Rolling Rock Row -> HWY 801 Cloud Causeway -> HWY 803 Satellite Skyway -> HWY 804 Earth’s Edge
Updates and Patch Notes
March 9, 2021
  • Added a guide for all giraffe positions in "How to Find and Unlock Detours" (CREDIT: arcten)
  • Grammar corrections
11 Comments
john football 17 Mar, 2023 @ 12:11am 
also i'm pretty sure that the heart dash buddy is unlocked by getting all the lamps on every track and detour, not getting all the medals
john football 16 Mar, 2023 @ 9:39pm 
literally just figured this out:
the giraffe dash buddy is unlocked by finding, clearing, and perfecting every detour, not just completing them
Not_Gumballer91 28 Mar, 2021 @ 11:07am 
This seems well done
Shameless  [author] 9 Mar, 2021 @ 9:03am 
Thank you for your response. I think the game should perhaps teach the mechanic of unlocking Detours with a simple tutorial rather than rely on trial and error.
arctnu 9 Mar, 2021 @ 8:03am 
Hey, sorry, it turns out that I was wrong about the last position. And I also forgot one other position.

I tested the giraffes on a custom map, and found out that if they are leaning towards each other, then you actually have to swap the left lane with the right lane (if marker tells you that you have to go to the right, you can instead go to the left and vice versa; if marker tells you that you have to stay in the central lane, then you just stay in the central lane).

Furthermore, I also found another position that I'm pretty sure I've never encountered until today – if the giraffes are looking up, then you have to follow the normal route, but the game gives you auto input for the duration of the "giraffe part".
Shameless  [author] 9 Mar, 2021 @ 3:04am 
Thank you :happymeat: I was never sure, especially when the giraffes where leaning towards each other. I included your comment in the guide with proper credit.
arctnu 8 Mar, 2021 @ 12:04pm 
As for the position of giraffes:

a) if the giraffes are facing each other, all subsequent markers must be blinked from the central lane

b) if the giraffes are looking to the left, all subsequent markes must be blinked from the left lane

c) if the giraffes are looking to the right, all subsequent markers must be blinked from the right lane

d) if the giraffes are facing away from each other, all subsequent markers must be blinked from either the right or the left lane (in other words, you must avoid the central lane)

e) if the giraffes are leaning towards each other, then you just have to follow the normal route
Shameless  [author] 27 Feb, 2021 @ 6:44am 
Thanks :2019love: I tried to cover as much as possible withing a single guide since there are no other guide available anywhere.
daglom 27 Feb, 2021 @ 3:57am 
Oh my god this really is the ultimate guide to overpass
Shameless  [author] 24 Feb, 2021 @ 2:52am 
You don't need to unlock Detours in order to get those achievements