To say, “Oh that HotShoe guy is a good track maker” is like…well, it’s just a gross understatement is what it is. Sure, he’s kinda mouthy - talks a lot of trash before and after races, even if he loses (especially if he loses lol). Oh, and he typically falls short of having all the tracks he’s <u>
supposed</u> to have. In general he’s just plain annoying. Still, I consider the guy a friend…most days’ lol. To date I’ve recorded 257 different types of character flaws/shortcomings about HotShoe since he joined the team back in May of this year. However…what I absolutely, positively cannot criticize is his ability to come up with stunning tracks, and “Oregon Outback” definitely fits that description.
Like “Crater Lake” & “The Grade”, Shoe has once again fashioned a track after an area that actually exist, and it’s supposedly layout is a fairly accurate with respect to the real mccoy. Rather than bore you with my interpretation of the “Oregon Outback’s” track layout, I’ll post the author’s description. I think his works better anyway because it’s short (and everyone knows how much I like brevity lol), and he cites names of the roads and various areas throughout the track. Here goes:
It starts on a road going up to the Pine Mountain Observatory. It then drops over the mountain into Kutzman Basin where you usually see antelope running on the flat. After that it follows Power Line road back up to and over Pine Mountain, and back to the start line.That’s the gist of the entire run. What Shoe doesn’t mention is how he intermixed reality with creativity. To throw in a few examples, the cinder cone that winds its way up to cp 10 is in fact very real, however the jump-off isn’t. The “air time”, however, is a great change up, and I know for a fact there are racers who eat that stuff up! I personally like the sensation of height you get being in close proximity to the power lines connecting the towers. Also, according to Shoe the acute left turn at checkpoint 7 leading into the flats of Kutzman Basin is child’s play compared to the real deal. As hard of a time as I have making that turn in a “game” using imitation monster trucks, my guess is I’d be better off taking the real thing on foot lol.
What you’ll notice about tracks authored by Shoe are his trees, the larger ones, I mean. You see, he takes pictures of trees and uses them in his tracks, which is why they appear to a very “authentic”, greatly enhancing the visual quality of his tracks. He also made very good use of the textures Malibu imported from EVO 4X4, which serve to further enhance the beauty of this track, and nowadays a track’s visual quality is almost as important as its layout. It’s a sign of the times. That certainly wasn’t the case a year ago.
I was going to hold off on this, but after Shoe took the cheap shot at me in his readme about “marking trees” (much in the way animals mark their territory – yep, that’s what he meant lol), I feel it’s only fair to return fire.
Lots of things come out during beta testing that people in general are never made aware of. You see, Shoe maxed out the model count (limit is 256 individual models/541 total objects) with all the trees and vegetation in an effort to capture the look and feel of the real Oregon Outback. When it was suggested he add signs and fix a flawed tower model, he whined (yes, that’s right) about having to remove some of his trees in order to make such reparations and changes. Here’s a “small” excerpt from the forum thread where we were exchanging thought s and providing comments about the track:
SLO_SCATTER:
I had one question Shoe. Is there supposed to be wires between every tower, or just the first 2 towers?SLO_COPE:
Technically yes, Scat....but Shoe is such a tightwad with his precious trees he won't put em in! See, in order to put in more lines he's got to take out trees (1 for 1 exchange), and he's being a baby about it...the big sissy!Phineus:
HotShoe, you don't need to save the trees; they're not real wood 
Hahahaha - a little light-hearted fun at Shoe’s expense.
Truthfully I could easily expand on what I’ve written in terms of what I like about “Oregon Outback”, but experiencing Shoe’s work (any of it) will tell you more than I ever could in words. With that said, if you’ve already ran this track, it should come as no surprise this one’s a grand-slam home run, thus earning a Copey Rating of “
10” out of 10 possible points. I for one think it’s his best yet. Outstanding, Shoe! <u>Very</u> nicely done, partner.
