BANANA BOAT

Banana Boat was created as my entry in the MTM Guild Track and Truck Expo 2003. As I understand it, the main point is to have fun and try something new while creating a track with a good all-around theme. I always have fun making tracks, and I always try to come up with something new. Since this rumble is to undergo official judging, I am including this file to describe how it came into being and to credit the contributions of others.

Concept
Innovations
New Horizons
New Stuff
Old Stuff
Notes
What People Are Saying

Concept (Where I got the idea for Banana Boat) I always enjoyed the "Scream II - Crazy Train" rumble. I am somewhat known for the originality and playability of my rumbles, and I kick myself for not coming up with this idea first. On the other hand, I'm just glad that SOMEONE thought of a mobile rumbling platform. Unfortunately, Crazy Train has several problems. I can never seem to find a copy for other people to download when I want to play, and the Race screen doesn't say who the author is. (The MTM Guild says "Pounder and Moneymaker", but has no further info or website link.) I would like to give the author(s) a big pat on the back! Another difficulty for me is that it is pretty big (over 3.5 MB zipped up tight). My free webspace only takes files 2.8MB or smaller, so I couldn't post copies for my friends. (I'm only 56K anyway, so it would take forever even if I could fit it on my site.) I took it upon myself to improve upon a good idea (while keeping the zip file as small as possible). With my newfound ability to remove the train whistle from moving objects (see "Innovations" below) I took the opportunity to use a different kind of vehicle for a change. (In fact, I used LOTS of different moving objects, NONE of which blows a train whistle!)

Innovations (Brand-new discoveries about the game... I think!) — I made full use of a trick I came up with for creating moving objects that do NOT have a train whistle. (Whew! Blessed silence!) This is my second such track if you count "Asteroids" which I whipped up in a single morning as more of a demo. Track makers can see how I do this here. — I discovered that the Banana Boat tended to become insubstantial in the "no-man's-land" at the very edges of the world. This means that if you are riding on top of the Banana Boat when it "goes off the edge" and pops up on the other side (track makers know what I'm talking about), you will tend to "fall through" the Banana Boat to the ground. I tried all sorts of tricks, including using sideways teleporters to "shoot" trucks past the danger zone. Then I finally discovered that smaller objects do NOT have this problem. So I inserted several smaller invisible boxes into the Banana Boat that move along with it. Problem solved! You can now ride it all the way around the world with no problems! (Well... mostly! The more players, the more likely someone might fall through. Just try to remain moving as you exit the "Amazing Maze" and enter the zone of Reflecting Geysers.) — I discovered a better way to make "elevators". I always used to create a 2-dimensional model with an all-black (invisible) texture. I learned that you can make an elevator without assigning a model to the object box. Simply give the pink object box a height of ZERO to make it 2-dimensional. This leaves the X and Y coordinates resizeable, while they are normally fixed if you assign a model to the object box. It also eliminates the "invisibility field" effect caused by hiding behind a model that uses black to generate transparencies. (See my "Hyper Cat" track as an example... you can sit on top of an elevator there and be hidden from the view of trucks beneath you.) The only drawback in using this new method is that it is more difficult to line up multiple elevators (a task many people already found very difficult the old way.)

New Horizons (Things I've never done before, and problems I licked) — I made the backdrop from scratch. (Well... I used the Aa4fixd.bin model as a starting point, but the graphics are all mine.) This was my very first other than on "Green Cheese", which doesn't really count because it doesn't make use of varied weather. (It is just a big cube that blocks out the different weather conditions.) Banana Boat can be played in any weather except for snow, which I disabled as inappropriate for the setting. Unlike any other backdrop I've ever seen, this one is different all the way around. This means your rear view is NOT the same as your front view, like it is in every other track I've played. If this is a "first", then move this entry up into the "Innovations" section. — Music! I added a .MOD tune for the first time ever. Not exactly a "hard driving" rumble tune, but very appropriate to the setting! — Making the Banana Boat itself was a new venture for me as a fairly major BIN Edit-beginner's project. I began with the TUGBOAT.BIN model (from MTM1???). I am slowly learning BIN Edit... maybe I'll be ready to enter the beginning Truck-Making competition in 2004! Anyway, I stripped off the superstructure and created an awning over the hull, complete with supports and fringe around the top. I flattened the back end. A little resizing, a few adjustments, some fresh graphics, and viola! — I animated a model for the first time. I shrunk the "Sharkey" model converted from EVO 4x4 by Malibu350. Then I used Oliver Pieper's BIN Animator program to give it life again. — I made a plane FLY! I've never seen this before and it was really quite simple, so I wouldn't be very surprised if somebody beat me to it. (If not, then move this up to the "Innovations" section too.) But this is certainly the first flying plane without a train whistle! (Trick: I simply plotted a single vertex a few thousand units below the airplane model. This gave it a new invisible bottom to ride upon, far below the visible plane. You can still hit the invisible part if you drive up to the plane, but it does not interfere with the game. It is only eye-candy.) I used the same trick to make my "Hellcat", "Wildcat", and "Jungle Cat" trucks ride upon the second Banana Boat. — I was doing my best to come up with new things for the Expo, and the airplane was borrowed from EVO 4x4 (extracted by Malibu 350). So I modified it further by adding a trailing banner ad. More BIN Edit fun! — In my very first track ("Clawfford's World") I noticed that the water "slowing" effects disappeared at the bottom of my lake. I surmised that this was how the "River Country Powerboat Race 2" (by Team Death) was created, but I never tested my theory until now. My early runs of the Banana Boat revealed that moving on its roof was like I was driving in water. So I set the entire track's altitude to -255 and that fixed it! No more "splashing" and "sliding" on top! (I also have TWO identical copies of my sand texture... one with the "SAND" surface attribute, and one with the "DEFAULT" surface attribute for underneath the Banana Boat's course so that driving on top is not quite so slippery.)

New Stuff (New Textures and New or Modified Models) — I made a pretty nice "white sand" texture from scratch. I always had problems making the 64x64 tiles seamless (since the "working" area seems to vary between 60x60 to 62x62 in actuality). I found a system that seems to work. — I included models of my "Hellcat", "Wildcat" and "Jungle Cat" trucks to entice others to download them. ;o) Also included is the "Big Red Truck" from my TRUXX.POD. — I thought Johnny Castaway (©2000 Galt Technology Inc.) would be a nice bit of background scenery. Download the free original screen saver from Galt Technology that has been a favorite hilarious addition to desktops for years! — I removed a few of the below-the-waterline faces from the "SIBoat" model and resized/reproportioned it to make it seem to cruise my shallow water at the proper depth. (Originally converted from Evo 4x4 by Malibu350). — It took forever, but I created the CYCLONE.BIN model. I started with the big TUBE.BIN model (author unknown), stripped half of it away, and modified, modified, modified. Whew! It moves, and has an animated texture. It may not look terribly realistic, but I've never seen anything like this in MTM2 before. It'll blow you away! (Literally!) I should probably put this in my "New Horizons" section above, since it was actually tougher to make than the Banana Boat. But as one of my last additions to the track I am now an "old pro" with BIN Edit ;o) Besides, it only involved deleting , moving, copying, and flipping existing faces and vertices. No new points were plotted. — I made a little pelican from scratch. — I found, edited, and included several new sound effects including seagulls, buoys, a propeller plane, and a heavy wind. — I modified the bamboo wall texture from MTM1's "Yucatan Adventure". — I made all-new textures for my ski ramps and docks. (I know the planks look a lot like the texture I made for "Hyper Corral", but they're different - trust me.) — Since you can't stack ground boxes on top of one another, I had to make a model for the awning over the pier (near the start of the rumble.)

Old Stuff (Unmodified Models and Textures from Elsewhere) — I used the "KIsailbt" model and the "SIBOAT" model converted from Evo 4x4 by Malibu350. Also the various "KIcabins", "KIrocks" and "SIpalms". They look great, and help bring the setting alive. I suppose I could've made my own trees from pictures on the Internet, but the other models would've taken forever to create from scratch. I know the Expo is looking for new stuff, but 100% new would take a much longer time. It's much more efficient to borrow scenery objects from elsewhere - especially when its readily available and looks great! And after all, it's just mainly background... anything new occupies a much more prominent spot in the rumble. — I borrowed a couple textures from MTM1 (grass and rocks from the Highlands Rally).

Notes — I mentioned in the MTMG forums that I am very fast creating a track once I get an idea. The thought of waiting 3 months to submit my work gave me pause, because I wanted to be able to play it right away. But "real-world" things cropped up. I got busy with a new job, and my Mother decided to move from her house of 37 years. I was having a hard time finding a spare moment to simply go online much less create a track. Before I knew it, the deadline was upon me. So I spent some sleepless nights (staying out of the Gaming Zone) and every free waking moment to sneak Banana Boat in under the wire. Don't think that I did a sloppy job though! Remember, I always work fast. Banana Boat still took more actual working time than most of my other tracks. — I noticed that my animated objects (most notably the geysers) leave reflections of other nearby objects (such as Johnny Castaway, The Banana Boat, buoys, or even your own truck). Instead of worrying about it, I simply named them the "Reflecting Geysers" to let others know I am aware of the phenomenon, and perhaps make some people think I did it on purpose. ;o) — If I missed any credits, I'm sorry. I typed up the info after completing the track, and some of this stuff is several months old. If anybody sees anything they think they should be credited for, let me know and I'll update these notes. — I would like to dedicate this track to the Frazys. Frazy #1 is IAM_Frazy, a teammate who went out of his way, above and beyond the call of duty to help me out in some non-MTM2 matters. I have a "personalized" rumble in mind for you soon, bud! Frazy #2 is the newborn son of IAM_SpidyWeb and Ti_Grumpy. Congratulations, guys! — Thanks to FIRE_G_h_o_s_t_ for trying to help me play-test ;o) and to IAM_MaxPilot, IAM_SpidyWeb, Ti_Grumpy, and Ti_Rat for taking the time to download this thing knowing it was an incomplete test-version. Thanks also for keeping it under wraps until the Expo judges said it was okay to release to the general public. I know you all are aching for something new, and I hope this doesn't disappoint! Thanks to Ti_War and Ti_Squirt for helping test the updated "lite" or "sleeker" version of Banana Boat that cuts down on synchronicity problems. Thanks to everyone else who enjoyed the earlier release and spread it throughout the Zone. Now go forth and spread this NEW version! ;o) — This is the LAST and CURRENT version of Banana Boat. (It is the ONLY re-release. Unless you helped me play-test, then there is only one other version you may have. The old version was 9.13 MB. This new version has been trimmed down to 8.78 MB.) Replace your old POD file with this one. You will not have to download any more copies if you have this one. After playing for a week or two, I found that there was some problem with people getting "out of sync" with each other. (This phenomenon occurs sometimes in Crazy Train too). Individual computers consult each other with regard to proper truck positions in the game, and correct themselves. Unfortunately, the game doesn't care whether or not moving objects are in the same place from one computer to the next. So if somebody's computer "pauses" a little, his Banana Boat may drop behind a bit. Cumulative pauses make the effect worse until his Boat is so far behind that he appears to be floating in the air behind everyone else's boat. For best game play, AVOID hitting F4 to change from windowed to full-screen mode. Don't hit ANYTHING that will cause a little pause in your game. If you need to go to your OPTIONS to adjust your volume or something, then you might as well ask everyone to return to multi or wait until next game. Otherwise your Banana Boat will be too far behind everyone else's by the time you get back. This final version of Banana Boat uses reduced texture sizes (from 256x256 to 64x64) to decrease pauses caused by slow computers. It seems to help a bit, and I have done my best to retain detail. Other notes about getting out of sync: High-speed access players will usually enter the game faster, and the 56K players will start off a little behind right away. This is not as much of a problem after the first game. The SECOND game (after your computer has "memorized" the track) should have VERY LITTLE incidence of getting out of sync unless someone messes with their game (or gets a popup, or other interruption). 56K players should try to stay towards the front half of the Boat, and High-speed players should stay towards the back half to retain a common ground. I would HOPE that people don't take this knowledge and try to get out of sync on purpose and get into a position where they can't be hit. When that happens, I just ignore their score at the end of the game because they didn't participate in the rumbling. Let 'em brag all they want. If they continue to get out of sync on purpose, then they are cheating and should be ignored or booted. (This is called the "Steve Syndrome".) But this last version of the track is pretty good, and with a little understanding of the synchronicity phenomenon and how to avoid it, everyone should have a great game!

What People Are Saying Very a-peeling! Nice work, Claw! - Yamana (Team IAM) I'm Nearly Crazy, but you're totally bananas! - Crazy (Team Titanium) This track is sure to make a big splash! - FishWithGuns (Team IAM) This rumble is really slick! It really sinks me! - ExXoN (Team Titanium) Where's the race? - Redneck (Team ATL, then SLO, then ATL again, etc.) Wheeee! You're all jerks! The Black Knight always triumphs! Click this link! - Steve (Adolescent and generally obnoxious Zone hacker) Judges, judges! Nobody has seen this track before you - it's first release is for the Expo! Don't disqualify me! I'm only making this stuff up for fun! Nobody actually said these things! (Well, okay... maybe Steve and Redneck...)