MTM2.com

You can download my first track, Moon Canyon, here:
http://www.sealteamsix.com/kylejcrb/moonv02.zip

Here's a direct excerpt from the readme file:
The big trucks head to the moon for the upteenth time in my first track, Moon Canyon. It's not the greatest track ever, but it's smooth and fun.

<<The Terrain>>
I tried my best to make 'moon' type terrain I could, but it was not easy. I started with Random Terrain and worked from there, but that "working from there" wasn't a simple task. Some sections are rough, but that is the way I intended it. Even though some sections are rough, this track is very drivable, and I think would be a blast in Multiplayer.

<<The Textures>>
Creating the textures was the toughest part of this project, so don't be surprised to see a few misalignments. I used Sausage Softwares Reptile to randomly generate the texture, and then used PSP to make the moon rock to concrete transition and the turns. I think it turned out rather well for my first outing.

<<The Scenery and Models>>
This track is not loaded down with models, but the scenery that is there does it's job. There are some giant boulders, some small rocks, turn signs, and soon to come, rock arches for checkpoints. The boulders, signs, and rocks are easy to move around, since you're on the moon.

<<Known Bugs>>
No Checkpoint markers-so follow your finder
Small texture alignment problems-Not small enough, though
Terrain kinda messed up-It's supposed to be rough, but i'll need to smooth some parts, I just know it
Rocks fly away-Aparently this is a problem MTM2 has. When something that has the mass of a monster truck(about 5 tons)in MTM2 pushes around something that weighs about 3 lbs.(That's how much I set the small rocks for) in this game, the model goes flying into oblivion and you never see it again. So, if you want to fix this, don't push anything around that's moveable for a long time on this track.
Backdrop-It's currently set to the Tumbleweed drop. I've made a backdrop, but loading it makes Traxx crash. Also, I can't set a cloudy weather mask(No lens flare, thats why I want it) since I'm using Traxx V 1.2.

Well, that's basically my track. Drive it and let me know what you think!

-KyleJCrb
KyleJCrb@hotmail.com OR KyleJCrb@ignmail.com
Web page: http://don'tgotoneyet.com
ICQ #: Don't have one

Sounds promising for a first track. I'll probably go check this one out a bit later this evening (or early in the week). But I can give you a bit of helpful info.

Object weight.

5000 absolute minimum
10000 objects move easily
25000 slows the truck
50000 impedes the truck
75000 gives the truck a hard time
99000 maximum. Takes a bit of effort to move (no sarcasm).

For weather masks, you'll need to do some extra tweaking after the track is absolutely finished. In the SIT file, set the weather mask to 510 (I believe). Go here for more info on that.

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[This message has been edited by Phineus (edited 30-09-2000).]

Thanks for the help, Phin. I'll be sure to fix it up next update.

Anyway, I was reading over my info about the track, and realized something was missing. I didn't know what, but it was. After awhile, it finally clicked; track layout and shortcuts! I forgot to describe the track layout and tell you where SOME of the shortcuts are, so here it is:

The track layout is nothing too special, but I tried to integrate things from other tracks I had raced on, and it turned out pretty good. I made a downhill-corkscrew turn, which is pretty good, a cool banked turn in a crater, and a jump that jumps down into the same crater and back up onto a bridge. See if you can find anything else.

You should find at least 2 shortcuts(there is one more if you can follow your finder in here:
1. When you head down into the crater, turn before you come to the actual turn and shave some seconds off your lap time.
2. Right when you get on the bridge across the road to the corkscrew turn, pull a hard left onto the road below and head for check 4.

There is one more. Use it if you can find it, but be careful, since it can slow you down more than it can speed you up if you take it wrong.

-Kyle

Looks good for a first beta of a first track.

Things you might want to consider.

Put direction signs on normal or complex level.

For that matter, put some of the rocks on normal and complex level. Personal note. I don't like things blocking the road, no matter how easy they are to move. Save that sort of thing for complex mode.

See this note to see how you can apply one color palette to a different texture. Then, rename the back drop and textures it uses. Use one of the scrapyard texture act files, and apply it to the backdrop texture. Play with it until you can find a suitable appearance. Check that the names are correct. Use the texture replacer to update the backdrop bin with the new textures. Reset the back drop in the track. Voila. You have an appropriate looking back drop with better colors.

Maybe think about moving the start/finish line to a different spot...

I already got the backdrop all finished, it displays perfectly in BinEdit, but I load it up in Traxx and it crashes I have the MFC dlls in the Traxx dir(since that is the error I'm getting) and am still having problems. I thought about going into the .sit file, but I don't know if it'll work in the game or not. Help


-Kyle

Backdrop face types


Saving a backdrop


Magic Numbers


All part of the Binedit help section .

Now this poses another problem for me; the save box in BinEdit doesn't open. I click save as backdrop, and no box pops up, making saving impossible.

Two easy fixes.

1. reboot and try again. If that don't work, then

2. download binedit again. Support files can go in the same folder, you must set the preferences. Where did you get the copy you're using.

I have both copies of BinEdit(MS and SGI) and I got them both from MTMG. I rebooted and it still doesn't work. I've redownloaded too, but maybe I should try again. There are no error messages or anything, which is wierd. Could it not work because I'm using Windows ME(2000)?

-Kyle

I have updated Moon Canyon! It's not that much different, except some scenery objects have been moved(You'll notice no matter what scenery level you're racing on) and a few others. A full list is below:

<<Fixes>>
Fixed MOST Texture alignment problems-And I didn't even have to make new textures to do it!
Smoothed Some parts of the terrain-I raced on one part over and over that wasn't too smooth, so I smoothed it out a litte.
Fixed the first hill-I realized it was too high if you were going too fast, and you flew into the side of a cliff. I lowered it so you don't fly as far.
Rock and sign "Flying" bug fixed-I only fixed the rocks you most likely will come in contact with, so if you hit one that's off the track a little way, it'll still fly off.
Set some objects to higher detail levels-I got a message from Phineus saying to do this, so I did. So now even if you race with "Sparse" detail levels and have a slow comp, the track will not bring down your frame rate as much as before. But, if you want the full experience, please race with "Complex" detail levels.
Added Preview Picture-I doubt this will be the final, but it works for now.

You can still d/l it from the same place: http://www.sealteamsix.com/kylejcrb/moonv02.zip