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Yeah, after quite some time i decided to make a track again. I dont have a name yet. Its like a few of my other tracks, in the theme part that is. Its tropical. I have no name for it yet, but i like it alot. I took my time making this one. Havent seen anyone in a long time.. i hope you guys check this out. Thanks.

http://geocities.com/mtm2dk/1betaunknown.zip

I have a number of things I'd like to look at here, but for now let's start with the jump to cp3.

If I use 1700 gears, I clear it no problem (provided I don't hit the pointing hilltop there ;-) but generally speaking, anything below that won't make it. Unfortunately, using 1700 gears prevents you gaining the necessary momentum to clear the couple jumps along the straight following the start line. 1500 or even 1300 handles those very well, but I couldn't clear to cp3 with those.

<center><img src="http://mtm2.com/~forum/images/dksunnamed01a.jpg" width="500" height="272"></center>

I was looking at perhaps using an alternate route but seeing the cp up top there rules that out. So, instead, have a look at what wint's planning for an upcoming track.

<center><img src="http://mtm2.com/~forum/images/dksunnamed01b.jpg" width="500" height="272"></center>

The little safety net will catch the trucks that don't quite make it and allow you to continue the race. It doesn't effect trucks that clear, and it doesn't add a terrible eye sore to the track. If you like the idea but can't come up with something on your own, perhaps he'll hook you up.

Alternately, you might change the approach to the take off spot. That might take a bit of work, and would probably mess up your trees, tho.

More to follow later this evening...

Hey, hey Dk - I'll have a look at it tomorrow, bud. Good timing though, because for the past several weeks I've been pretty tied up with other things, but this week promises wide-open for me with respect to MTM, so like, that's a good thing!

Dang good to see you back in action though, partner.

In this first picture "<a href="http://mtm2.com/~forum/images/dksunnamed01c.jpg">here</a>" we're approaching checkpoint 6. I find the hill before the turn has a tendency to make you either overshoot the corner, or force you to slow down more than what's ideal. Taking some of the hump out of it should be all that's required. The same thing can be said for the curve before the finish line (cp12). Now, bear in mind somebody like fila does that sort of thing on purpose, but I think he's the only one... and most racers (what I know about them is more than I can say) prefer a smoother corner.

Now, in "<a href="http://mtm2.com/~forum/images/dksunnamed01d.jpg">this</a>" picture, I have three items marked. Number 3 is the jump corner I just mentioned. Over shooting here can be deadly because there's nothing to stop you flying off into no-man's land. Number 2 is a truck trap. You fall in there, and you're a goner. In fact, there are several of those things all around the track. If you have them in to deter cutting corners, that's okay, but perhaps they needn't be so deep. A gully a couple feet deep can often times be enough to slow a racer down to the point they'll avoid them. Maybe once around the track looking for those sorts of things will be enough to eliminate the worst ones. And finally, number 1, is a tree with a trunk. I wondered why most trees are no collide but I could hit this one while making the jump without really even trying, but as viewed in traxx, I see you have all the checkpoints with tree trunks. So, that's okay, but I'd like to suggest either shortening this one or removing it. Nothing worse than having a good lap spoiled by the one collidable tree in your path.

For the third image, "<a href="http://mtm2.com/~forum/images/dksunnamed01e.jpg">here</a>", there's what looks like an unintended shortcut. If we can judge by the tree trunks, it looks like you meant to put an extra checkpoint in but maybe forgot or overlooked it. I think you should really put it in because without it you miss that nice corner and tunnel drive through... which is a good part of the course.

The flowing river idea is nice, but I could wish you used the water from the fix pod rather than the stock water. Looks a tad on the gray side. But it's done, so I don't think I want to recommend redoing it... unless...

Lastly, there are several ground box landings, which, of course, will stop you dead if you land the wrong way. I don't know if anybody has ever tried this, but you might like to lay object boxes on top of the ground boxes so they fit squarely (ie, no extra or overhang) to prevent the braking effect. Land on models instead of the ground boxes. You could probably use object boxes or invisible models - whichever driving surface you like better. The trick should work. So, it might be worth trying, at least for the landing area parts of them.

Speaking of ground box over passes, maybe I was being too complex yesterday when looking at that jump. I still can't make it any easier, but maybe all that's needed is an extra row or two of boxes... for us slow pokes who need all the help we can get ;-)

Over all, I really like what you have so far. The layout is very nice and the course is a good drive, with good use of over and under passages, and the way the track crosses itself many times works great. Looking forward to when this one is finished.

Very cool, i had noticed that problem with the ground boxes, i would have never thought to lay down object boxes. Im going to try and assemble something for that jump, i was just simply thinking of redoing it in general. Laying ground boxes farther out ruins the layout, ive been trying to mess with that for awhile. As for that spot where it looked like a checkpoint was needed, it most definitely was and im just a moron for forgetting it. Thanks for your help.

Hey Dk, sorry for not getting around to this sooner, bud. Been super busy, but still, I blew it - no excuses.

There's really not much to be critical of, partner . . . and what there is, Phin pretty much covered it. I did notice this tree wasn't set to facing, and I intend to go thru it again in the morning after I've had a good night's sleep. There are a few seams here and there, but I'm sure that's not news to you.

As for the jumps & the little humps before turns . . . personally, I view them as opportunities for me to distance myself from the poor saps who either forgot to adjust their speed accordingly or simply don't know the track lol. In short, I don't have a problem with them, but I know some do. If I had to make a call I'd defer to Phin's opinion and nix em.

Oh, I did overshoot cp 2 (in other words it didn't trip) coming off that jump once though, so you might wanna look at it. I'm heading to bed, but as soon as I get up in the morning I'll give it the once over with my Micron microscope lol.

P.S. I ran it using 1400 m/s

<table cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0"><tr><td class="quote"> this week promises wide-open for me with respect to MTM </td></tr></table>
Yeah, right

Rofl

I will try to take a look at it later this coming weekend. But I never helped with a beta... yet. I hope I can do this.

Hope I can find some time, cant promise anything

It's not hard, Ashes. Heck Phin doesn't know the first thing about making tracks, yet he's always in here spouting off about somethin' lol. Go for it bud. Sometimes a person will make observations that aren't necessary related to flaws or blemishes per se, yet their comments serve as a platform to new ideas for the track maker.

Hey DK, very nice track. Looks like a little tropical theme in there.

Anywho, I have a problem clearing the 2nd jump right after the start going to cp2 when I start lap 2. Now granted, I manuvered myself back to the straight before the finish line to do some more testing, and found that if I hit the brakes before hitting the jump, it would allow me to land on the downhill section before the 2nd jump and build enuff speed to clear the next jump. It's odd, because I clear both jumps fine at the start of the 1st lap. I'm using 1500 m/s.

I'm not saying that it's a problem. You may have planned it that way so drivers would use their heads instead of their lead feet.

Alrighty, here we go. You did a very nice job placing your models, man. All I saw was this tree en route to cp 2 that was ever so slightly off. I mean, it's pretty much negligible, but still, I had to come up with something!! Anyway, make sure that's fixed by the next version, pal lol.

Your checkpoints. I tend to think using some sort of marker would work better, and that's because when trying to shave corners to refine the line, it's hard to discern what trees are no-collide and which aren't; they're all the same. Sure, after 50 or so laps you'll remember where the cp's are, but I think you should be able to spot 'em without having to rely on memory.

The collision properties on your boulders are off. I know it's not your fault . . . but fix those as well lol.

Finally, there's a short to cp 4 (replay). Mind you, it's dang risky (actually I like it), but still, it's a short, and I figured you should know about it. Besides, I'd hate to see you have a meltdown like you did after Pirate's Bay was released lol. I still love that track though - shorts, flawed cp trip points and all. At any rate, the fix is pretty easy; just move it back near (or at) the corner.

That's it, man - that's all I saw. I'll have another spin thru it later today just because. I'm off to batting practice with my little guy for now, so I'll catch ya later!

Ack - forgot something. Yes, you do need to raise trip point for cp 2 - I went over the top again without setting it off. It's the timing/rhythm on the preceding jumps that'll do it. It won't happen often, but it's a problem nevertheless.