Car damage occurs when a vehicle belonging to the player or an opponent is damaged.
Damage can be caused by collisions, falls, powerups and explosives. When a vehicle is damaged enough, it becomes wasted.
Car damage indicator
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| 1. Engine |
| 2. Front left wheel |
| 3. Front right wheel |
| 4. Steering |
| 5. Drive shaft |
| 6. Rear left wheel |
| 7. Rear right wheel |
The car damage indicator is located on the HUD in the Carmageddon games. It shows which parts of the player's vehicle are damaged, and how damaged they are. An exception to this is the PlayStation game, in which there is no distinction between vehicle parts.
Damage can be fixed using the repair function.
Car damage levels
The following examples show damage to the engine, from left (fine) to right (fatal).
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Visual indications
Damage levels can also be determined by looking at the vehicle:
- No smoke, bright bodywork = Fine
- Light grey smoke = Mildly damaged
- Dark grey smoke, dark bodywork/missing parts = Greatly damaged
- Black smoke, flames, possibly one half missing = Severely damaged/Wasted
Cosmetic damage
Carmageddon II introduced cosmetic damage, known as crushage. Sections of bodywork can become loosely attached, falling off if more stress is applied. Tail-/head-lights, windows and windscreens can also be smashed.
Car splitting
The sequel also added the ability to split a vehicle in half, either side-to-side or front-to-back. This almost always lead to car being automatically wasted. If the player car is split side-to-side, and more of the front half remains than the back half, the player can survive! Best repair quickly though...
Bending
Carmageddon II allowed cars to have their chassis bent out of shape. It is unclear how much damage this does, as it mostly happens to computer controlled opponents, but it can't be easy to drive when your car is shaped like a crescent moon!
On consoles
- Carmageddon 64 and the PlayStation version share a limited damage model, similar to the first Carmageddon's: Cars deform and blacken as they are damaged. There is no cosmetic damage, splitting or bending.
- The Game Boy Color version and cellphone versions have no damage model at all, instead showing damage through life bars[confirmation needed].
Player (in)vulnerability
- In Carmageddon's single-player mode, the player can be severely damaged but not killed.
- In Carmageddon's Network Play mode, and in all modes from Carmageddon II onwards, the player vehicle can be wasted.