This should be common knowledge, but the intent of track reviews done here at MTMG is to provide feedback and constructive criticism. The focus is not to accentuate negative aspects of a track, but rather to highlight favorable qualities of the author’s work, and if it applies, point out areas that can be improved upon to possibly preclude duplication of the same types of flaws in future works.
Cr@$hC@rt’s “Desert Rose (Fixed)” is an MTM 1 rally that begins in a city, then takes you to a desert area, back to the outskirts of the city, ultimately finishing up in the city itself. Cr@$h is new to the track making field, and there’s little question his potential to be a solid track maker (reference the review on “Speed Oval”). After running “Desert Rose (Fixed)” it’s clear to me the guy has what it takes in terms of showcasing his flare for variety; he just needs to put a little more thought into the course layout, and possibly take more time to develop his ideas.
For example, if you run the track strictly according to its layout, it’s just over 4 minutes long. Now take a look at this
replay and notice how I dissected the track and completed it in only 1:44. My personal philosophy on shortcuts is that they should be the exception and not the rule, otherwise it defeats the purpose (time & effort) of laying out a course. Force the racer to find and make the shortcut work in their favor, and it shouldn’t be a easy. There should be an element of risk involved if the racer fails to properly execute the cut, but if done properly, he/she should be rewarded with a slight advantage in terms of time saved. Furthermore, a track of this length requires more than 6 checkpoints, and to further negate cuts, Cr@$h could have made strategic use of landscaping, water, and models.
His model placement in the desert could have been better as well. Some were recessed too far into the ground, while a few others were floating slightly above ground. On the positive side, he didn’t inundate his track with tons of unrelated items just to fill empty space (although he certainly had plenty of room to make use of a few more decorative models), and he stuck to the desert theme pretty well, however, he kinda went cactus crazy out there lol.
The texture work could’ve benefited from more attention to detail given the number of alignment blemishes & blending flaws. Also, I'm guessing that he purposely left large portions of the course's terrain extremely rugged. My opinion here is sometimes "less is more" where that sort that sort of thing is concerned. Something to think about, anyway.
Yes, Cr@$hC@rt’s “Desert Rose” could benefit from a little nourishment in the form of thinking his layout thru a little more. He should also place more emphasis on closing down obvious shorts and doing away with excess gimmickry in the form of turns and narrow passages. Spread those characteristics out from track to track instead of trying to throw them all into one project.
Finally (and yet again), I highly recommend the MTMG
Beta Room . I can’t say enough good things about having such a resource ready and available for anyone’s use.
The Copey Rating system churned out a “5” out of 10 possible points for “Desert Rose (Fix)”. It definitely shows Cr@$hC@rt’s potential; he just needs to take his time and put it all together, as well as solicit objective input from those more experienced than himself. I’m here to tell ya, it pays off in a big way. Keep pluggin, Cr@$h - you’ll get there, bud.
<font size=1>
Edited by SLO_COPE (12-01-2003)</font>
