Fast Lap:
6:54.95 by SLO_Jumper
Garage Settings:
2000 med tires/soft suspension
If you didn’t catch the review on “Citadel Namur”, after you read this review and run his newest track (and by all accounts thus far his best work to date) entitled, “X-Raid”, you’ll undoubtedly remember the name, “OLD_mumhra”. I’ve been eagerly looking forward to writing this review because (1) it represents a milestone for mum in terms of workmanship, layout, composition…everything, and (2) since it took me nearly nine months to do the review on Citadel, I figured I owed him one that was on-time lol. He put quite a few hours and a ton of effort into this one, and it shows. With that said I’d like to congratulate the guy right up front on a job extremely well done.
Ok let’s get rolling. Mum authored six tracks prior to making "X-Raid". They’re decent tracks, no doubt, but in terms of every measurable and intangible quality related to tracks and track making they don’t begin to compare to this one. The difference is mum opted to employ an asset available here at MTMG I’ve been harping on for…well, forever it seems like. He made a first draft and dropped it into the Beta Room asking for feedback. He took the feedback we gave him and went back to work on "X-Raid", returning with a track that was almost completely different in appearance. It was at that point I knew it was going to be a winner. To make a long story short, after seven pages of notes/observations/suggestions, “X-Raid” was a done deal. The morale of the story boils down to this: patience, an open mind, and a willingness to give it your absolute best effort. Mum had all three of those “characteristics” working overtime, and the result is a track he’s extremely proud of, as he should be. Moreover, it’s one heck of a ride, and will go down as one of my personal favorites.
Since mum is a friend of mine I’m at liberty to speak freely here. The truth is his first draft was horrible, just terrible lol. Of course, we didn’t tell him that…not directly. But I’m sure he thought it was strange to see testers scrambling to get to the nearest men’s room after only 3 minutes into a 7+ minute track, tossing their breakfast, lunch or whatever it is they had on their stomachs lol. SLO_Jumper, our resident shortcut specialist, said that first draft gave him severe migraine headaches, and he mumbled something about preferring to chew off his right arm than run another lap on that monstrosity. He races using his right hand, so I figured he was serious lol. I steered clear of it, choosing to limit my exposure to screenshots taken by the brave souls who ventured out onto mum’s first draft. All I have to say is it’s a good thing I drank that bottle of Pepto Bismol before viewing the pictures lol. Yes, I’m making fun of mum, and he knows it. The truth is his first attempt was in need a major overhaul, and he was more than up to the task, coming back with a much-improved starting draft. By the way, don’t buy into the statement mum made in his readme that he doesn’t deserve all the credit for “X-Raid”. He most certainly does. Yes, he had help from track masters Mal, Winterkill, and Phin, as well as input from pro racers, SLO_Jumper & SLO_Scrooch, but he’s the guy that did all the work, with the exception of the billboard stands Mal made (and charged him a pretty penny, too!). “X-Raid” serves as notice that mum has risen to a new level of track making. I love this guy’s attitude, his work ethic, and he’s a lot easier to get along with than someone else I know whose name I won’t mention
(Phin lol).
“X-Raid” happens to be the name of a type of BMW his fellow countryman Gregoire de Mevius drives in the famed Paris to Dakar race. As a matter of fact, this track is mum’s interpretation of that grand event, which was inspired by SMP Creations’ version of the same race. It would be considered poor form to compare the two, so I won’t, and neither did mum, who admitted to liking their tracks better! Since mum wrote his own synopsis of “X-Raid”, I’ll forego my description of his track. Here’s what he had to say:
“
The start of the race takes place in Paris. After a several turns you jump over a river and end up in Granada (Spain) on an asphalt road that ultimately changes to dirt. Next up is the African desert, where you’ll pass through two villages (Ouarzazate and Tidjika) and a little airport (Atar). Further down the road you’ll encounter the dunes close to the Atlantic Ocean, and finally a long stretch on the Dakar beach. Normally a single lap is sufficient for most racers, however, if you want more, there’s a huge bridge that takes you back to the start line to begin anew.”
Direct and concise, mum – well done. I don’t do concise too well, which is why I opted to use his description of the track lol. What it doesn’t tell you, however, is how nice this track looks, and how much fun it is to race on, even alone. Not every track has that particular quality/characteristic, which isn’t necessarily good or bad; it simply “is”. Before I start wrapping this up, here’s a little quote by mum during the latter stages of beta testing I’d like to share with everyone:
“
So now I have a little question for you guys. Who decides when it's good enough to release? Looks like I'm not allowed to do so lol.”
LOL that line came about when mum was calling it a wrap, saying he was ready to release the track. Phin pulled back on the reins, recommending he hold off on it because there was more work to be done. Mum complied, and we cranked out another two pages of notes/observations, but later he made the statement you just read above lol. With all the work that went into the making of this track we managed to squeeze in a little horseplay.
The Copey Rating for X-Raid is a no-brainer in my opinion: a double-clutch, slam-dunk “
10” out of 10 possible points! I love this track, and I’m not surprised that it’s already been picked to go on SLO’s Always Podded List when we do our next update. Mum, again - you did one heck of a job on this track, partner – you really did. It was a sincere pleasure working with ya, bud, and I’m very much looking forward to the next round.
In closing, in order to truly appreciate "X-Raid" you have to experience it as opposed to sitting here reading this review. As a tribute to mum, and a means of giving everyone a taste of what to expect, I asked Winterkill to take some of his world famous screenshots of “X-Raid”. Actually his pictures aren’t really “world famous”. I threw that in for Wint mostly; he likes that kind of stuff lol. Thanks a heap, Wint!!
<center><img src=http://mtm2.com/~forum/images/xraidbymumhra.jpg></center>
![[:P]](./images/smilies/smilie_wag.gif "Razz")
