LaPaLu 
======
by Banago Embrechts
aka Rocketalces, "the fastest elk of the internet"

rocketalces@freesurf.ch

30. November 2002

LaPaLu Design Criteria
======================

I designed the track for one of my LAN-parties (hmm... maybe that explains the first four letters of 
the track name...) and wanted to make it a true drivers track. 
At the same time it should be enjoyable also for MTM2 newbies.  
Stated differently, it should be easy to complete a lap, but hard to do it fast: 
you shouldn't get too easily the feeling of making a "perfect" lap. 
As far as I'm concerned, I never had that feeling yet...


Things you will find in the track
=================================
- Something for your left foot: 
	a couple of hard braking zones
	a jump requiring appropriate speed to avoid missing the next corner
	(I know: some people see this as a mark of bad tracks :-) 
- Esses where the truck can be balanced at the limit
- Very slippery areas to practice the art of power sliding 


Things you won't find in the track
==================================
- No shortcuts, i.e. no alternative routes. Corner cutting, where possible is of course encouraged! 
- No collision provoking intersections
- No train crossing

Beginner friendly 
=================
- Easy to learn 
	- Know where to go, almost impossible to get lost, 
	  no confusing embranchments or multiple crossings
	- Know where you are, distinctively different looking areas
	- Know the basic track layout after 3 or 4 laps
- "Back to track" routes:
	- when falling from the bridge after check-point 5, drive uphill and turn right
		 there is a passage just below the bridge
	- when falling downhill after missing the right corner after check-point 6, 	
		follow the mud path
	DO NOT CALL HELICOTPERS in these two situations: they won't fly you where you want to go,
				 because of the concentric layout of the road to the summit. 
- Drivable in "chase near" view with minimal view-angle above roof


AI computer-trucks
===================
This is a difficult track, and it is even more difficult to teach a decent racing line to the AI-dumbos. 
The behavior of the AI is not only setup dependent, but also very much machine dependent. 
I conjecture that the steering correction is updated every frame and implicitly assumes a minimal 
time before the next adjustment. (For more information about this topic, consult the MTMG Traxx forum)

The higher the frame rate, the wider the AI-trucks go in the corners. 
On my computers, they work best with frame rates around 40. 
Above 100 fps, the AI is definitely getting mad (even on the stock tracks they miss checkpoints).

I spent a lot of time with the AI course, optimizing it for my machine, before discovering that it was 
pointless. For example, at the end of the long slippery downhill straight from the summit, 
there is a segment where the AI trucks have to brake. Alignment and spacing wrt to the previous segment 
is critical. I thought I got it right, i.e. trucks making a nice shimmy and slow down, perfectly aligned 
for the following left-hander. A change of a few pixels in Traxx and the AI completely misses the curve, 
or drives at 90°angle into the rock wall, or wants to do other silly things like spinning around. 
And the bad news is that a change of less than 10 fps has the same effect! 

The included AI-course is not the fastest I made, but it is slightly more tolerant
regarding fps range. If it works on your computer, it should run laps around 2:40 with
setup 1500-deep-soft.


Credits
=======
Big thanks to: 
- TRI for making the game. Most textures and objects are from the original Mtm2 tracks 
	Scrapyard and The Height (Alaska).
- The makers of Traxx
- Malibu for his great site from where I got all other objects and textures I did not make myself.
	http://malibuco.hostme.com/
- Monster Truck Madness Guild (MTMG), my primary MTM2 source of information 
	http://mtm2.com/~mtmg/
- Rocketlady and Hurricane for test-driving & friendly support

Copyright 
=========
This track is freeware. It can be distributed and copied freely, provided:
- this text file is bundled with the track file 
- the track is not modified without explicit permission
- no payment of any kind is involved

Use of checkpoints and building textures is granted to all track designers  
if source is listed in the credits.

	
Legal Disclaimer
================
Blah blah blah
No liability, neither implicit nor explicit is taken with the distribution of this track. 
I assume no responsibility whatsoever for degradation of relationships of any kind 
caused by excessive computer gaming etc etc.  


This is my first MTM2 track. Any feedback is welcome. 
Enjoy 

Rocketalces
"the fastest elk of the internet"

rocketalces@freesurf.ch
