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The first time I ever heard of this guy was when I did the review on his track, “Long Jump”. I was genuinely impressed by not only the workmanship, but also his unique layout and style. Well here I’m back to review another one of his tracks, and once again, this guy has made me raise an eyebrow (or two).
My first impression of “The Pit” was that it seemed to be borne from what used to be a condemned rumble. Hehe—I certainly hope he doesn’t take offense to that because I don’t mean it as an insult; it’s merely the first thing that popped into my head when I saw it. Still, I was taken by the uniqueness of it…how different the layout was, which is reminiscent of what I said about “Long Jump”. I suppose one could reduce it to it’s simplest form and say it’s just a basic track housed in a big, open coliseum-like structure, but there’s more to it than that. The whole design is a radical change from what you typically see today. This guy seems to have no qualms about “stepping outside the box” and trying different approaches, and I for one find that admirable.
As for the track, the layout of it is essentially a series of rights for “X” number checkpoints (cp’s), and then it switches up and goes into a series of lefts for the same number of cp’s, all within a “coliseum” (of sorts) over a body of water, which forms kind of a pit (hence the name). The road texture is the exact same stuff he used in “Long Jump”, which I likened to Alpine’s “Cascade Summit”…and it is, I don’t care what Phin says! Hehehe. I’m guessing he intentionally left it a bit rough around the corners. Some may not find the effect a satisfying one, but I think it makes what would be somewhat of a cakewalk kind of track into something significantly more challenging. What many may not realize is the difficulty in this track stems from the subtle unevenness, and not being able to land on the exact same bump when coming off the little “mini pit” jumps he’s thrown in (nice touch!). Consequently, you have to adjust to the bounce you get, as well as to your opponent if he/she happens to be in your face…so to speak. This track definitely lends itself to ample bumping and banging, as each racer tries to jockey for position and look for an opportune time to attempt a pass. It’s tailor-made for those who like their racing a little close…and just a little rough – literally! Finally, if you put 5 or more racers on this track, and the field gets spread out enough, there very well could be a few near misses, or even mid-air collisions over “The Pit”!
This one certainly won’t make you ooze with delight as you try to take in all the visual wonders and absorb all there is to see as you’re racing around the track. First of all, there’s just not a heck of a whole lot to see. Secondly, you’ll have enough to worry about just trying to maintain control of your truck, as well as watch the other guy/girl. Third Day used simple models and bins as décor because his focus was on the track itself, not creating a visual spectacle. His goal was to have people’s enjoyment stem from his “idea” represented by the track itself, not the supporting visual effects.
Well, it’s my bedtime (and Geritol time), and what that also means is it’s “Copey Rating” time! I like the overall originality, I like the simple but tough combo he pulled off by intermixing a basic, but unique layout with the ever so slightly undeveloped sections of roadway, combined with semi-banked corners and miniature pit jumps. Most of all I like this guy’s willingness to take creative risks. This one receives a 8.5 out of 10 possible points, but I’m going to go one step further and dub Third Day as “the one to watch”. Very nice work, bud – definitely keep it up!!
[This message has been edited by SLO_COPE (edited 12-05-2002).]
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