It's simple : The machines are lifted and propelled forward by the power of cool.

it is clear that the device that must be in use must indeed perform some kind of gravity manipulation. The anime and GX both have segments where the vehicles are being used on natural terrain which means that this is something that is part of the vehicles themselves, not part of the tracks. I suppose the vehicles are designed to be attached to the ground below them by changing the gravity vector to go towards the surface inmediately below it. In real life, vehicles need a high amount of downforce to perform better, and FZero machines are kind of like space ships, but they are meant to be used for racing, so it would make sense for them to use a system that tries to prevent them from flying and keeps them stuck to the ground so as to increase downforce. This could also explain the sort of aerodynamic plane like shapes but not plane like enough to be capable of truly flying such as a lack of wings, tho that would not be needed in outer space but you get what i mean, the design is made to decrease drag and increase downforce... or at least that is the best explanation i could possibly come up with to justify the way the fzero machines work. After all, they are not real... lol

the arwings in star fox also use g-diffusers--add to that the fact that Fox McCloud's dad is an F-Zero pilot, and you'll realize that star fox and f-zero share the same universe

1:50 an idea I just had is that maybe dirt and ice are simulated. As in a computer in the machine detects it is on the hazard, and changes how the machine behaves accordingly.

One actual technology that I havent even heard being mentioned is the Ground effect. This is an actual phenomenon known in aviation where the wings of a plane or vehicle trap a cushion of high pressure air below it that stops it from touching the ground. It occurs up to a few meters above ground and is dependent on the size of the vehicles and its wingspan. The Soviets became experts on this technology in the 1960's and created a bunch of ships that would use the ground effect to fly above the surface of the ocean at 500-600km/h. These became known as Ekranoplan, with the most famous one being the gigantic KM, or Korabl Maket which was a prototype used in the Caspian sea. These vehicles also share many design elements with the F-zero machines. So the F-zero vehicles could very likely be ground effect vehicles.

So, I'm going to examine this more from a "how can we make this a reality as soon as possible" point of view. And here's the thing... we _can_ easily make a viable analog to F-Zero, at least in regards to the Mode 7 games, with technology that not only exists today, but existed for quite some time. In fact, there was a company that already did this in small scale - Axon Racing. It's no longer in production, I believe the company that made it went under, but it was a skirtless RC hovercraft about 1/10th the size of a car. It used a ducted fan blowing air through a set of air channels angled to direct that air inward towards the center of the vehicle, creating a cushion of air that contained itself via air pressure rather than the use of a flexible skirt like a normal hovercraft, and then a second ducted fan was used for propulsion. This small, electric-powered hovercraft was capable of reaching speeds of over 45mph with only minor upgrades (in stock form it would top out at around 25mph). It wouldn't work for all designs as it requires a flat-bottomed chassis (Cosmic Dolphin is out of the question), but this would be a very easy way to make a real-life analog to an F-Zero machine or other anti-gravity racer (Axon Racing was actually inspired by Wipeout).

I just think of the machines as performing a gravity lock with the ground below them to maintain a nondestructive bond. It's cool to see a connection between Starfox and F-Zero. I already like to imagine F-Zero and Metroid as belonging in the same universe, so may as well throw in Starfox too.

5:23 Perhaps the computer explanation for it's hover has a from of override when driving on complicated tracks, where instead of checking for the planet's gravity it checks for the track's "down" direction. Also explains why the machines follow normal gravity when they leave the track.

I always thought the antigrav system consisted of a combination of electromagnets, an accelerometer or gyroscope and some part of the machines exhaust going downwards. Then, a machine can just adjust the intensity of each part of the system to make sure it sticks to the ground. That could also explain why when it goes airborne tries to reorient itself

I think it's like a passive sort of hover technology that is working all the time but tracks have like some sort of magnetic or electrical field that can make them "stick" to the track. I mean you can see there are regular asphalt roads in the GX story missions like in the Samurai Goroh race and the Michael Chain mission and those roads don't have any bizarre flips or turns. The bomb mission is kinda interesting though because is is on a "powered" road. There are these bus/tram vehicles that seem to be totally automated on that road that 'stick' to the outer lanes as you approach. So these powered roads have other uses besides making you go upside down, in this case it's being used for some public transportation line (you actually do go upside down on that road though).

the whole G Diffuser thing makes sense. And if its protecting rhe pilots it makes more sense

Can't wait for your next video. And to inevitably hear your thoughts on 99.

DUDE I literally just found you right before the weekend and watch your videos before I fall asleep. I love how you are dedicated to F-Zero and how you make corrections. I almost see it as your personal "thought blog" on a series you clearly love. That's totally fine too. I don't come here looking for data that has been gone over with a fine toothed comb because I know you'll give me corrections if needed. Keep up the great stuff man. I'll look forward to more content on a series that needs more love and discussion whenever you feel like posting.

I just discovered your channel about a week ago. I really like your videos. Keep up the great work! Grüße aus Deutschland 😊

I will very likely be here the next time you upload. I like your style. It is simple, to the point and just.. solid. Do what feels best.

Regarding the rapid speed changes that would be fatal to most organisms, it's possible that the cockpit has a special pressurized system to mitigate momentum significantly, you can also see in GX pilots leaning closer to the glass the faster they go and they start to shake in their position icons. A completely solid frame is necessary as crashing at such a speed would turn them into crushed cans, not to mention the fragile, presumably nuclear power plan that drives the entire machine. In mission 6 of GX, you can see passenger and work vehicles on the road, and they are powered by a similar propulsion system. It's feasible that 600 or so years into the future, engineers have discovered a faster, and more efficient means of travel for ground based vehicles, and in GX, it's revealed that the Deep Claw is an ordinary street going vehicle, barely modified to be functional for Octoman. You can see various locations that appear to either be on earth or another planet, such as the canyon in mission 2 or the city in mission 3, and those appear to be perfectly flat roads. The gravity manipulation system allows them to fight against Earth's gravity, but if you were to encounter a loop de loop on earth, the machine would be unable to go up the curve, since there's no gravity to counter. Ironically, the obsolete wheeled vehicles can. And the race tracks, or other 'suspended' routes have buildings that seem to be the power sources to give them their 'gravity' for the machines (and maybe other objects, such as people) to use and work against. You can crash into the buildings but you can't scale them, because they lack gravity.

When talking about how fast they are I think it’s important to remember in the universe it’s a spectator sport, you want something you can actually watch and build tracks for

the gravity drive explanation is likely a bit off. Under the gravity of a planet, it will orient itself with the planet, but there could be a bypass put into various roads and tracks to put an override of that base system, and it can be overriden if the nearest gravitational force is weak. Every section of road's thick enough to handle tech inside it.

Thanks so much for the work you put into these videos Link Zero. I played F-Zero years and years ago as a child but have recently discovered a love for the series and the game and your channel has beeen an amazing resource for learning more about the mechanics and backstory of the games. Honestly everytime I watch one of your videos it makes me excited to play and I go grab my Anbernic and bash my head against the brick wall of getting better and have made great progress which is so satisfying and enjoyable. Even the "every character" shorts have made me race some characters I wouldn't have otherwise just to get a feel for how their silly backstories and personalities relate to their in game feels. I want you to also enjoy making these videos and feel proud of them however much time that takes. Thanks for the update. I hope you do take the time to enjoy doing what you enjoy to do rather than enforcing arbitrary deadlines on yourself.

Maybe the machines hover with some quantum levitation that works with magnets in the tracks and supra conductors at -200 degrees C in the moving object/machine

Wasn't there a background image in the menu of F zero x/ expansion kit that shows the engine of a f zero machine?

My headcanon for how these machines work is the G-Defuser system actually gives the machines flight, but the tracks have powerful magnets to keep the vehicles from flying off the tracks, however, this still doesn't explain how the vehicles are able to drive off road or use the feature of flying to get to places instead of driving on the roads. I guess some things just don't need answers.

You think the science behind F-Zero machine will head spin, take a look at the race machines from Vertexer that race on hard light tracks. Videos of the game are here on youtube.

It always bothers me when peoole suggest that the G-Diffuser is the what allows the machines to float. It's not, it's what allows the machines to go fast while carrying a human inside the machine. G does stand for gravity, but it's a measurement of *force*. 1G being the amount of force you naturally experience from the pull of Earth's gravity. G-forces can be incredibly dangerous. Real-world fighter pilots cannot survive more than 9 g's and it's the biggest inhibitor limiting real-world vehicles from going fast. A G-Diffuser is likely a theoretical device that, as the name suggests, diffuses G-force. It allows the machine to reach high speeds whike carrying a pilot by reducing stress on the human body. As mentioned in the video, it's also likely why every tiny collision in F-Zero and Star Fox isn't immediately fatal. It's also likely spacecraft in the Metroid universe also have G-Diffuser systems as well since they travel at warp speeds, too. All that said, the question of what allows F-Zero machines to float is certainly an unanswered question, but I don't think it's related to the G-Diffuser. We know F-Zero machines don't need to be on a track or road to stay afloat. But they don't seem to fly freely, either. And we've never seen any indication that they're capable of hovering over the surface of water or anything like that, either. Though I'm not sure we've ever seen that interaction demonstrated outside of falling into Big Blue and the like which is likely affected by hitting the surface at terminal velocity (these machines do weigh thousands of Kilograms). Judging by the sounds we hear F-Zero machines make on start up, and the physics they exhibit, especially in the 2D games, I suspect it's concentrated air pressure that allows a machine to hover off the ground. There are what appears to be air vents along the bottoms of the machines. Hovercraft are a real type of machine that exists in the real world, they can travel at high speeds without friction by using concentrated air pressure to float off the ground. But they aren't very practical since it's difficult to make them stop due to the lack of friction. Even airplanes need long runways to land and slow safely to a stop. F-Zero Machines *do* have brakes, though, and we see them being used on natural terrain, too. So it's not related to that, either. Perhaps there's some shift in air pressure combined with the G-Diffuser that allows the machine to safely, and quickly, slow to a stop and hover in place without tipping over. Speaking of which, in order to drive over natural terrain, an F-Zero machine would require some sort of gyroscopic tech as described in the anime. Otherwise it would be incredibly dangerous and could fall over on sudden changes in angle. Though it's possible some combination of the thrust from the jets and pilot input can correct on this, just like the way machines handle in midair. But that brings us to the question of how F-Zero machines defy gravity during races: And I think that explanation comes back to the magnets. Magnets are used to pull, not repel, machines toward the track while air is used to prevent contact with the track. This allows the machine to move up, down, and all around as long as there's a track below it. It's also entirely possible there's an advancement in tech between F-Zero and F-Zero X. F-Zero tracks never go upside down or anything of the sort. And when the machine comes to a full stop, it lands on the ground. At least for these earlier machines, I think the thrusters might be doing a lot of work to keep the machine afloat and the magnets are only used to keep the machine steady and aligned after collisions. I hope this essay is interesting to read through. It was just a few thoughts I had while watching the video.

Instead getting drowned in bigger projects you could make some more Shorts.

When i writh F-zero, for an error i writh G-zero😂😂😂 And i don't know what is it, but now i know.

Saying 1000kmph isn't 'fast' within a racing context because fighter jets exist is a bit silly. Take the speeds of current F1/prototype cars, give it a few hundred years, and that's where they would realistically end up. Excellent video otherwise, the entire anime explanation for it is silly, and comes off as, 'We want to make it make more sense, so we are going to simplify the concept and make it uninteresting and dumb.'

Days of ruin is definitely my favorite advance wars for pvp.