• Garage Settings:
1600 med tires/soft suspension
• Fast Lap to date:
1:31.64 by SLO_COPE
If you’ve ever wondered what happened to the kind of tracks where you just get on and drive without first having to dissect it into digestable sections just so you could practice, practice, practice in order to be moderately proficient, _MoNkEyBrNz_ may well have the answer in the form of his new track, “Rockhouse Raceway”. If his name doesn’t ring any bells, that's okay. He's not exactly a newcomer to the track making scene, however, he has been on e x t e n d e d vacation from the craft, but hey – who cares, right? He’s back and he’s sporting a little something for those who simply want to hop in their truck and mash the gas.
_MoNkEyBrNz_ (MB) told me prior to starting this track that he wanted to do something along the lines of early MTM 2; a moderately fast dirt track with ample elbow room for all. Interestingly enough, when this track was first released, the jump shortly after checkpoint one (shown
here) was anything but “fun” for some since they were unable to clear it without casting a rope across then swinging over lol. Seriously though, it was cause for concern since rookies and possibly intermediate drivers would have a tough time clearing it. Even pros had to be mindful of how clean their turn was after cp one to ensure they wouldn’t hit the edge and pop up into the air, losing time. Actually, that’s still the case for the pros, but what he did was add an alternate route so that racers can opt out of the jump and take the safe route around, as shown here. Another option is to do what Team Death did in a few of his tracks; add an invisible lip to the edge of the other side so that if you came up short you were still ok. Personally, I like MB’s choice. The beauty of it is the difference in time between the two routes is almost negligible. In fact, I’m certain the alternate route will prove to be faster on occasion as rubbing and bumping thru checkpoint one will result in some racers coming up short over the jump.
Critically speaking the only thing worth noting is the pervasive alignment issues with his textures . . . mostly the
off-road stuff. It’s purely cosmetic, hence no cause for concern. Besides, he’s just getting into the swing of things again, so how about we cut the guy some slack, huh lol. The few models he used are all set correctly - nothing floating or submerged into the terrain.
The fact is there’s just not much to talk about when it comes to Rockhouse Raceway, and actually that’s a good thing. The turns are very basic/fundamental, there’s nothing to really trip racers up or that requires extensive practice in order to be competative. The real beauty of this track is in the kind of racing it will produce, which is fast-paced, close-knit, drama-filled battles with down to the wire finishes. That’s what it’s all about, that’s what people remember, and it’s the very thing that will make this track quite popular with rookies, intermediates and pros alike. As great as the more complicated rallies and long circuits are, inevitably you end up with people falling woefully behind, mostly due to lack of familiarity and/or skills to keep pace. You won’t find that here, and it’s why I feel that despite MB’s “I’m just getting my feet wet again” phase, it's the kind of track that will keep racers going back for more.
As for the Copey Rating, admittedly I struggled with this one, debating whether or not I wanted to assign a number to this track given that this is MB’s first outing (to my knowledge) since his Mudweiser 2 track back in ’99. What it comes down to is this: It’s not pretty, but no one will care, it won’t matter. Because of the simplicity of this track everyone (for the most part) will have a viable shot at taking the flag. You’re likely to see a tight cluster of racers lap after lap, with each trying to hold their positions in order to make a move at the very end to take it all. It’s the stuff great races are made of . . . and it’s why Rockhouse Raceway gets an 8.5 out of 10 possible points!
Nice work on this one, MB. Sure, it was a tad frustrating at first with some of the little hang-ups/set backs you encountered, but you stayed the course, and even went the extra mile to ensure AI was good to go. All that’s left to say at this point is, “welcome back, bud”.
