Rapid Rider

To do: get screenshots, all original ones were JPGs

Official render of the Rapid Rider

If you are looking for the set, go here

The Rapid Rider, also known as the Cat, is a water-based vehicle used by the Rock Raiders for reconnaissance and material transportation across underground lakes and rivers. It resembles a small catamaran propelled by two small jet engines. It has a small Cargo Hold, two clamps to attach tools to, and a single seat for a sailor.

In the PC game

In the Windows PC version of LEGO Rock Raiders, the Rapid Rider is classified as a small vehicle, and requires two Energy Crystals for power. A Rock Raider must be trained as a sailor to use a Rapid Rider.

The Rapid Rider is one of only two vehicles that can be teleported at the Docks, the other being the Cargo Carrier. It can only travel across water, and it moves at a rather brisk 2 blocks per second. If a Rock Raider is carrying an object when they board the vehicle, it will be carried in the Rapid Rider's small cargo hold. The Rapid Rider is also the only vehicle that does not require the Support Station to be teleported.

Upgrades

The Rapid Rider can't actually be upgraded, as it can't cross land to reach an Upgrade Station. However, evidence of plans for upgrades can be found in the manual and code. The manual lists three upgrades available for the Rapid Rider:

• Engine: Costs 10 pieces of Ore
  The configuration code for the Rapid Rider shows it as having three engine levels, increasing the speed from 2 blocks per second to 3 blocks per second with the first upgrade, and from 3 to 4 with the second.
• Scanner: Costs 5 pieces of Ore
  Does not have any actual code to support this claim.
• Carry Capability: Costs 5 pieces of Ore
  Does not have any actual code to support this claim.

As all three of these upgrades cost the same as the upgrades for the Small Transport Truck, they were likely copied from its description, and never removed for some reason.

Dependency

The Rapid Rider costs 2 Energy Crystals and requires the following for teleportation:

• Rock Raider
• Tool Store [UP1]
• Teleport Pad [UP1]
• Power Station
• Docks

In the PlayStation game

File:RapidRider PS1.PNG

The Rapid Rider as portrayed in the PlayStation game

The Rapid Rider is used in several levels in the PlayStation version of LEGO Rock Raiders. It is the only aquatic vehicle in the game, and the only vehicle that can cross water besides the Tunnel Scout, the Tunnel Transport, and the Floating Platform. It can always be found resting at the shore of an underground lakes and rivers, and can't ever be teleported down. Bandit can drive the Rapid Rider slightly faster than the other Rock Raiders, making his use ideal for missions where it is the primary vehicle. However, it mostly finds its use in levels with a single large body of water; levels with multiple bodies that need to be crossed will usually use the Tunnel Scout instead, making Bandit's use unfortunately limited.

In other media

The Rapid Rider appears in all three Rock Raiders books, where it is always piloted by Bandit, who always sails into a frozen cavern containing Ice Monsters. In Rock Raiders - An Interactive Puzzle Storybook, Bandit has to sail through icy rapids (which are a maze for the reader to figure out) to escape an Ice Monster throwing icicles. In Race for Survival, an Ice Monster actually destroys the Rapid Rider, and Bandit must use its pieces to escape to the surface and off of the volcano. In High Adventure Deep Underground, Bandit is attacked by multiple Ice Monsters, who eat the Energy Crystals out of the Rapid Rider and destroy it, before Jet and Axle arrive to rescue him.

• 

  In Rock Raiders - An Interactive Puzzle Storybook

• 

  In Race for Survival

• 

  In High Adventure Deep Underground

The Rapid Rider was also featured in the online interactive comic, an online adaptation of the comic that came with first edition releases of the set 4920 Rapid Rider.