We had the opportunity to talk with ScorpioNNN,
currently ranked as the #1 NFS Underground Free Run player on NFS.onl
about his background, driving style, and view on the game and community…

General

1. Please introduce yourself. How did you get into NFS Underground?

I got myself into the game since I was 5 and played it as a kid on my father's desktop.
Recently, in 2023, I searched randomly on Google "nfs underground online" and I found Redhair's mod on a site.

2. Since when have you been active in NFS Underground scene?

I've been active since September 2023.

3. How often do you play NFS Underground these days?

Depends. Nowadays my time schedule is full but whenever I have the motivation or reason to play,
you will find me in the game for 1, maybe 2 hours.

Driving Style and Setup

4. You are currently the top Free Run player on NFS.onl. What do you think makes a great hot lap run?

A good hot lap run needs to have 3 essential things: Racing Lines,
fine technique usage (DT/DS) and/or good understanding of the car.
Depends on each driver what he is good in more or less but knowing all 3 will always bring a great lap.

5. You play both with keyboard and a gamepad that the game detects as a wheel. Which one do you prefer, and why?

I don't like one specifically because both of them use game breaking glitches in the first place.
For sure, DT feels closer to how the game is intended to be played and DS gives you more freedom than on DT to your driving,
but I will choose keyboard because that's how I first started playing NFSU when I was little.

6. Does your driving style change depending on the input device?

Of course, not just from the input device, from the TJs/Cars I am driving with too.
On Keyboard I feel more "connected" to the game; I have more of a grip on my actions
because you don't need to concentrate on the angle
of your joystick and usually when your car drifts they don't do as hard as on Wheel.

Cars and Strategy

7. You often pick cars that others avoid. Why do you like using unpopular cars?

I never liked driving the RX-7. For me, it feels like the car is using you, not you using the car.
With stability off I love to drive it but with Stab On I don't really.

8. Do you believe some cars are underrated in NFS Underground?

Probably yeah. But most of them are way slower than the RX-7/Integra/Neon/Miata group.
Peugeot 206 lacks power but has Integra handling,
240SX likes to oversteer too much but it has better high-end power than RX-7 etc.
In the car ranking, everything above the Focus can be underdogs in online.
The rest have some sort of defect to them (jumps too bad, scrapes the sidewalk, bad gearing, no handling)

9. How much time do you spend testing different cars and setups?

Depends from track to track, but I have an idea of what I should try in about 5-10 laps.

Motivation and Experience

10. What keeps you motivated to keep pushing your limits in Free Run?

Mostly for fun and the competition with Marchiii and GTB over the overall no.1
across the last year were a good enough reason to push myself.

11. What's your personal favorite track or car in the game?

My favorite track is Terminal because it feels like a rally stage and my favorite car is the Skyline on keyboard.

12. Have you played other NFS titles? You mentioned liking NFS Porsche - what do you enjoy about it?

I used to play Underground 2 online a lot from 2014 to 2016 and I have played all the NFS games.
I enjoy NFS Porsche because it has a good vibe/atmosphere;
EA knew the best how to catch the vibes of a location and implement them in their game.
Races are in cool places, you have to drive fast in fast cars and it's my first game ever. Also love the soundtrack.

NFS.onl and Community

13. What's your opinion on NFS.onl as a platform for rankings and hot laps?

I think it is pretty good. UI is simple and the site overall looks good.

14. Is there anything you'd like to see added or improved on NFS.onl?

I would like if we had drag/drift races in there. Anything else I don't know, the site overall is complete in my eyes.
Maybe clan wars or a seasonal leaderboard for hot laps.
Who gets the best times across a month wins some type of points/currency on the platform and can buy things.

15. Any advice for players who want to get better at NFS underground?

Most of the time results come with time. You won't get a good time in your first 15 minutes.
You need to practice and understand the things I mentioned (at Q4).
Racing online or watching hot laps will help you with that a lot but personally I would try to discover things I don't know myself.

Many thanks to ScorpioNNN for this exclusive interview.
We're grateful for your time and wish you all the best in your future runs.