MTM2.com

Hi folks
I made this track my last LAN party (hmm... maybe that explains the first four letters of the track name...) and wanted to make it a true drivers track.
At the same time it should be enjoyable also for MTM2 newbies.
Stated differently, it should be easy to complete a lap, but hard to do it fast:
you shouldn't get too easily the feeling of making a "perfect" lap.
As far as I'm concerned, I never had that feeling yet...

Of course it has that essential feature everybody wants to see in a track: the elk billboard

And yes, it's my first MTM2 track, so please tell me what you think.

Cheers
Rocketalces

Well. First thing i'd have to say is...It has a good layout I like... But there are alot of problems I saw. Texture alignments, some floating models, and this might be just a personal opinion..but.....the dirt part of the track is WAY too slippery for me. Kinda throws off the whole flow of things. Feels like the texture type is set to snow or something. It would prolly be fine if left with a dirt or just default type. But that is only my opinion.

The textures and models part is a pain i know but paying attention to those little details helps seperate simple/moderate tracks from the truly great tracks you can find aroound. Take a look at some of the Tracks that were made by MTM2 gamers.

But basically I'd suggest some beta testing and some alignment fixes if you decide to redo this track or make another one. Takes time and all but it's worth it I think. But prolly the best thing about your track is the layout (yes again). It's pretty sweet.

Just take your time and it'll come out right.

-Demigod-

I know about some texture alignement problems, but which are the floating models you mention?

Regarding the slippery part of the track, well, that's intentional. After a lot of trials it finally got the feel I wanted. First, when preparing to turn right into the offroad part, you slide over the mud and suddenly you get grip again on a small but almost clean asphalt section. If you have a FF-wheel it will nicely try to get out of your hands.
Second, a good racing line allowing you to keep maximum speed on the grass part is very rewarding because it acceleration is so bad.

rocketalces

I review a lot of new tracks, but since you actually came out and asked for feedback, I'm guessing you want to skip all the malarkey and get right down to business lol.

I agree with SYR_Demigod: nice layout, but the choice of texture settings in the off-road portion is suspect in my opinion. You have quite a few sharp turns in the areas where you've set the texture to either snow or mud (can't tell), and in my opinion it may have been better suited to match the setting to the textures you used, or just go with default as suggested by Demigod. Another option would be to limit the amount of area you used for that setting to preclude racers from flying off the road. <IMG SRC="http://mtm2.com/~forum/pages/smilies/smile.gif" border=0>

Getting back to the layout, I'm not opposed to blind jumps, but like yourself, I know many find them "less than pleasing", shall we say lol. Yours is a tad extreme, meaning that the racer has little time to think before he/she commits to the jump that could easily result in some serious wrecks. Still, racers adapt to a myriad of different track characteristics, and this one certainly isn't that difficult to overcome. I will say that the killer turn just before checkpoint 3 is...well, a killer. I'm a pretty decent racer, and that turn is tough for me! What confused me a little is your description: "...it should be easy to complete a lap, but hard to do it fast..." : I know the word "easy" can be subjective, so I'm just going to assume you're an excellent racer. As for doing it fast, my best lap after a few runs is 2:16, which isn't fast...and it wasn't easy lol.

When you couple the sharp turns with the amount of road surface you set to snow or mud (again, not sure which), it makes for a track even most pro's would shy away from lol. There are several tracks out there based on slippery road surfaces, with "Mud Moshin" and Team Death's "Snowbound" being the most extreme and possibly well known as far as I'm concerned. They're very tough tracks, but the difference is the authors based the layouts on momentum and continuous flow versus sharply angled lefts & rights. Pretty difficult to execute a 90º corner on snow, which is what you have at checkpoint 7.

Overall it's not a bad track, and the sections where the drivable surface is "normal" is quite enjoyable. The helicopter does what it's supposed to do, your checkpoints work properly, and the placement was smartly done as well. Here's the thing: if you made this track in hopes of it having mass appeal, there's a reasonable chance you might fall short in your expectations. However, if you made it because you enjoy making tracks and you would be more than content if only a few people felt it was race worthy, then that's all that matters. : ) If you lean more toward the former (mass appeal) I highly recommend using the beta section of the MTMG Forum to get input and suggestions prior to releasing a track. It's perfect for guys like yourself who are new to track making. Again, that's only if you'd like an objective critique (not ridicule or verbal abuse) of your work before it's complete. It's a great tool if you're striving to get the most out of your track making efforts. Hehe trust me, even most of the veteran track makers use beta testers, definitely give it some thought. Helps catch minor flaws like what you see below, and sometimes they can even suggest alternate ways to approach a specific portion in a layout. Ultimately the final call is yours. A beta tester's role is limited to finding errors and making suggestions - that's it.

Thanks for posting, Rocketalces, and I sincerely look forward to your next project!

http://www.xxxteam.net/upload/floating_tree.jpg
http://www.xxxteam.net/upload/fence.jpg