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• Replay: N/A - it won't produce a complete lap
• Garage Settings: 1900 med tires/soft suspension
• Fast Lap to date: 3:35.96 by SLO_Jumper
Nope, it’s not a new track; just one of several that unfortunately didn’t receive a “formal review” because I was otherwise occupied. Since that’s no longer the case I decided I would play catch-up and review a few of the tracks some may have missed or are relatively new to the scene, and mind you, these track are definitely worth writing about.
SLO_HotShoe’s Mountainous Jump was dedicated to SLO_Jumper—a guy who’s been with our team pretty much from its inception. Oh and hey, I’ll get to the track in just a minute. For the moment indulge me while I tell you a little about a guy who I personally consider one of MTM 2’s all-time great racers. You’ll always hear discussions (or sometimes arguments) about who the fastest racers are or were. I don’t plan on venturing down that road because it’s all opinion-based stuff for the most part. Additionally, the name of this section of the forum is called “Track Talk”; not “Supreme Racers of the Universe & MTM” lol. Still, you can’t dispute facts, and if you have a look at the impressive Hall of Fame site Jump setup for Team SLO, you’ll see that his resumé is pretty darn impressive. Furthermore, having raced him countless times one-on-one, in tourneys, as well as during friendly group sessions with our team members over the past several years, I have first-hand knowledge of what he’s capable of on the tracks. The guy is simply awesome—period. I’m definitely not overstating the point when I say the manner in which he systematically breaks down some of the most difficult layouts is nothing short of brilliant. On top of that, the lap times he’s able to produce on these tracks have prompted many to accuse him of being a cheater lol. He’s anything but. In fact, his character and integrity are beyond reproach. Still, accusations of that sort don’t surprise me where he’s concerned. Heck I’ve been tempted to call him a cheater a time or two myself lol. Seriously speaking, Jump is a class act from top to bottom. In the 5+ years I’ve known him he’s been a great friend and exceptional teammate, and from where I’m standing Shoe’s tribute to him is extremely well deserved.
Since this is a track review and not a SLO_Jumper ego inflater lol . . . I’ll cap off this portion of the review with this: I don’t believe you can crown one individual as MTM’s greatest racer. There were and still are too many fast guys out here. That and no one person is great on every track. However, in my humble opinion, if you’re naming names, going down the line of exceptional racers who’ve graced this game, it would be a gross injustice if his name wasn’t in the mix.
Ok, now it’s time to get down to business. Mountainous Jump originally started out with asphalt textures. However, Shoe was having a few creativity issues (about 37 of them) with respect to the layout, so he opted to go with dirt, which he felt more comfortable working with. Additionally, he found that using textures from Mal’s Evo conversions even easier, which has pretty much become status quo for him. Since Jump likes tracks of all kinds, switching texture sets wasn’t a problem. Coming up with a layout that would appeal to him was quite another story. Jump likes challenges, and if check out some of the more difficult tracks (Valley of Kings, ZooN Climber, Adrenaline Tester, X-Raid Tourney Version, Strange Brew, Cumbria Rally+, ValveJob’s Lakebed Extreme, etc., etc) on our HoF page, you’ll find that he owns the times on those babies. While Mountainous Jump won’t have you pulling out your hair and screaming obscenities like say . . . the late, great Guitar Bill’s Cumbria Rally+ and Valley of Kings, it’s definitely not for sissies lol. Overall the layout is built for speed, but Shoe threw in a couple of switchbacks that if you’re not paying attention, will definitely do bad things to your truck’s exterior . . . and any anyone who happens to be within close proximity when you go tumbling across the road. The banked switchback at checkpoint 5 is imperfect by design; you’ll simply have to practice it in order to figure out the best line to take. Even then you’ll have to fight it the entire way through. I’d love to provide a few tips for everyone, but uh . . . I’m still figuring out all the best places to crash lol. What I can tell you is this is a typical Shoe track: forest-based (he’s got some weird obsession with the woods and trees that’s . . . well it’s just not normal lol), beautiful to look at, a superb layout, coupled with a few passage ways that have to be massaged in order to successfully negotiate. For Mountainous Jump he threw in something truly special, dare I say original even. I’ve run a few thousand tracks, and I’ve never seen anything like it, so if it’s not original to MTM, then I respectfully apologize to whoever came up with the idea. Here’s the kicker though; I’m not going to give it away in this review; you’ll just have to see it for yourself, and believe me, you’ll know exactly what I mean when you uh . . . hit it lol. But if you decide to run a few laps on it (and I highly suggest that you do), see if you can guess what Jump does recreationally. Yes, he’s military—career military with just about 27 years in, which explains the jets and hangars. But the highlight of the track is all about what he does for fun, as a sport . . . and he’s darn good at it, I might add!
Unfortunately Mountainous Jump won’t register a full replay, but it’s probably not needed. There are no shortcuts to speak of, however, as I alluded to earlier, there are indeed a couple of areas that will require patience to work out and ultimately perfect. I will tell you this: when approaching checkpoint 5, slow up before you enter the tunnel. The operative word is ‘before’ lol. Lastly, when approaching checkpoint 8, reduce your speed once again, then proceed into the right turn with caution. There are no guard rails in that area (or anywhere on this track for that matter), so uh . . . good luck lol.
Objectively speaking . . . well I can’t say I have anything to really complain about. That’s not to suggest its perfect, because it most certainly isn’t, but it is extremely well done. Shoe really put a ton of time and effort into making it because he wanted it to be something special. Personally, I think he quite possibly surpassed his own expectations. Getting back to objectivity, the jets . . . as they taxi down the runway, you’ll find that you’ll hit portions of the model that you can’t see. Maybe Phin/Mal/Wint can shed a little light on this, but if I had to guess, I’d say since the objects are in motion it’s not possible to make it so that the collision properties are accurate. You can circumvent the effect, however, by staying close to the fence on the extreme left or right as you proceed down the runway. Still, it’s a characteristic (not flaw, because I don’t know if it actually is) that will get your attention, and quick lol.
In wrapping things up I’m sure it comes as no surprise that Mountainous Jump checked in at a very impressive “10” on the Copey Rating scale. Shoe never ceases to amaze me with his creativity, his artistry, and most notably, his generosity. This one wasn’t easy. Heck I’m sure none of his tracks were easy to make (save for maybe HotShoe’s Trail – his track making debut), but with this one he had to overcome creativity slumps (because of his desire to deliver a layout that was appealing to Jump first and foremost) and several technical issues that frustrated him to no end. If you’re wondering how I know all of this stuff, it’s because he seems to always seek me out when he’s in the mood to gripe and complain when making a track. So yeah, I hear it all lol. He got all the kinks worked out in the end, however, so with that said . . . awesome track, Shoe—outstanding, work partner. You are indeed one of a kind when it comes to making tracks, my friend. And for the public audience, that’s not bias; it’s just a fact. One that I’m sure is shared by many.
If I may interject a personal tidbit in here, I’m extremely proud to have both Shoe and Jump as friends/teammates. For most people this is just a game, but to quite a few of us it’s much more than that . . . and tributes of this kind serve as testimonials to those words.
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however I for one think you deserve that much Copey lmao
