The Official SOA Track Thread
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Gamertag: Son Of Apathy (please message me telling me that you are adding me for the Trails HD tracks as I do not accept random requests from people so to get me to accept please message)
Hey riders,
My first post and with it comes my first track, I'm pretty new to the forum and you could say pretty new to Trails HD having it for just over three weeks now. I've been downloading some of mates tracks and making my own and one that I am pretty proud about nears completion and because of that I'd love for you people to test it out and have some fun on it http://forum.redlynx.com/forum/image...on_e_smile.gif
I'll be posting up leaderboards on the forum so people can see who is fastest aswell as news on future tracks that may be coming out in the future. Critisism is something that I welcome although please keep it constructive, I don't want people telling me that my track is crap, if it is crap then at least tell me how to improve!
Thanks a lot and I hope you have fun burning down the track.
SOA.
1: Gauntlet (BETA)
Gauntlet is the first track created by Son Of Apathy for public use. The track begins with a small drop from a raised platform which then drives up onto another platform from which the first test begins. Five lollypops must be cleared before balancing over stumps, boxes and climbing up to the roof of the warehouse where the map takes place. From this the track descends underground before quickly working its way up to ground level for an explosive finish having many deadly surprises along the way.
Note: As this is a BETA based on feedback Gauntlet may feature a few small changes. (18/8/2011)
Leaderboards for Gauntlet:
1: Chicago AJ - 1:03.398 w/ 0 faults
2: Jar3tt88 - 1:43.726 w/ 3 faults
The Official SOA Track Thread
Welcome to the forums! It's always nice when new people show up... Especially when they come with tracks.
You don't NEED to go through the hassle of running your own track leaderboard though (by all means do it if you will enjoy it!).
You can sign up and register your custom tracks at http://www.TrialsHD.net and let the website take care of showing people medals, rank, and a few other things.
Plus, it's FREE.
I will be sending a FR in about 2 minutes to try your track. Please expect criticism (hopefully constructive).
Re: The Official SOA Track Thread
Well I'm totally new to the track editor so I guess that my track is really basic compared to the stuff that the people have been making on here but constructive critisism is more than welcome mate http://forum.redlynx.com/forum/image...on_e_smile.gif I'll sign up for that leaderboard soon so that I don't have to run my own.
Thanks!
The Official SOA Track Thread
Fast XBL response. I like that! Thanks.
The Official SOA Track Thread
Ok, here are my thoughts on Gauntlet. I will try to go in order.
I had 1 fault at 1:43.002. I played it about 15 times.
I really don't like the rock in the very beginning, it's random. Sometimes it falls in the driving line, sometimes it rolls onto you after you land.
The long piece of wood that makes the ramp to the low ceiling area isn't held up by anything. One end is embedded through a barrel.
Just a pet-peeve of mine, I feel like it should have some type of support (This goes for a few sections where the rider is on thin pieces of wood). Most of the track has good structure, so these few areas seem more "off" than if the whole track was just floating.
I DESPISE the glass that falls onto the line in front of you. When you have good speed the glass can embed itself into the rider's neck causing a fault.
I would probably end the track where you need to go under the wooden wall beams. The track itself isn't that difficult, but, at 1:30-2:00, it's LONG (for my tastes). Ending the track earlier allows you to do background and structure decorations.
As a first track, it's not bad at all. You should watch out for texture glitching, it happens when 2 objects are in the same place. The game engine alternates between which piece's texture to render causing a flickering effect. Moving a piece slightly to the left or right of the driving line will remedy this little problem.
If you want to place lots of the same objects together, such as barrels, rotate them a little so that they don't all look exactly the same, this adds realism to your track.
Make sure that when you are building your line that you aren't just kinda tossing stuff together. Make a track that you REALLY enjoy playing.
You've got a pretty good grasp on the editor, and you know how to do decorations. I can see you making a ton of good tracks if you keep at it.
Also, everyone makes tracks differently, and everyone makes different tracks. Keep trying, you already have the basics down.
Re: The Official SOA Track Thread
Thanks for the feedback mate. I've taken away the rock at the start (to be honest I doubted whether it should have been there or not) and all of the track has supports now, I've tried to look at each plank and hook it up to something to add a level of realism.
The next time that I make a track I'll be sure to make it shorter but seeing as I've made the foundations I think it would be a waste to cut them out. So, Gauntlets length will stay the same however my future tracks will be considerably shorter to ensure that I appeal to riders like yourself and so that I can add more decorations as it does get hard to make everything look perfect when the track is so long.
The flickering has bee fix'd, I just rotated the two pieces of wood and they stopped straight away - thanks for that tip.
So, it looks all good to go again I think, I'll have another run through it tonight and change a few things to make it as good as I can and then see what everyone else on the forum thinks of it (thinking of starting a new track later this week)
Be sure to post your best score on the leaderboard Shifty!
The Official SOA Track Thread
Don't get too caught up on trying to make tracks that you think other people will like. Instead make a track that you like and that you are proud of. With over 1,000,000 players there is bound to be someone who enjoys the same style of track as you.
If the track is finished I will download the final version, play through it a while, and then post my time.
PS: I notices that a lot of my "feedback" post cab be viewed a me saying that the track is bad, or has a lot of problems. That's not my intention. You're first track beats the crap out of my first track. I would say that after you get 3-8 tracks done, you will understand the editor better and be able to make things that seem impossible right now.
You already show that you have at least a basic understanding, and you can switch from Basic to Advanced. That's ALWAYS a good sign.
Re: The Official SOA Track Thread
No offence was taken and thanks for the compliments, it means a lot (:
I'll just make a few changes to make it to the point where I am happy with it and then I'll upload it again for people to play and start posting highscores.
Re: The Official SOA Track Thread
Ok I didn't look at Shifty's feedback so if some advice is duplicated, sorry lol
You asked for my time so thats 3 faults, 1:43.726. First thing I would say is make that platinum time a lot less than 2:30, it could prob be around 1:30 for plat.
Please note, anything I'm about to say is just trying to help you better as a track maker and not wanting to discourage you in anyway. Some things will also just be my opinion.
I noticed that some of the objects on your drive line weren't centered and straight. An easy way to do this is to tap the right stick and objects snap to the drive line, VERY useful; I couldn't design without this trick.
When I'm making a track, I always make things that are realistic for the rider. Adding structure or having things relate to each other is a good thing. I've never been a fan of just putting the most random stuff together, it doesn't look right to me. I try to pick a few objects to use in a track, and I use those for the decoration and the drive line. If I have no ideas what to do for deco, I just use things from the drive line, to make it look like the track is being built or something.
I'm just going to make some picture examples because it will just be easier to show than try and explain in words. When you first start up a track, I like the rider to be immersed in the track it self. Decoration is an important part of the track as much as the drive line IMO. Adding floor and wall tiles help to make a track your own and give it some spice.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a4...tStart-Son.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a4...etStart-Me.jpg
What I tried to do with your beginning was make the space feel more filled. You're in a large empty warehouse, and you really don't have anything exciting going on. Try to build an atmosphere for the track.
Heres an example for more structure. You want to try to make it realistic not flimsy things that would fall down. Also you had one random middle ramp piece just floating, lay things on top of other objects, or stack them up!
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a4...ucture-Son.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a4...ructure-Me.jpg
Notice how I added an edging to the wooden ramp pieces? Small details like this set apart the ok tracks from the great tracks. Added stability to the overall structure, and fixed the floating ramp piece. All these things add to make the track look better http://forum.redlynx.com/forum/image...on_e_smile.gif
Avoid texture glitching, happened a few times through out. Always off set pieces slightly.
The driving line is pretty good, but some parts don't flow well together. Alot of riders love flow, it gives the track replayability.
Random boms blowing up and glass falling from no where? You can also see the floating glass if you restart at the checkpoint. Always test from checkpoints multiple times, fault alot everywhere. See whats annoying on the track line. That box part I would change you can't see with the exploding bombs and there there is a hole with not alot of room after. Slows you down alot.
Overall try to keep the tracks shorter, this also gives you the chance to make more detailed tracks. 30-45 secs plat is good.
Large drops are very difficult to not be luck based be careful.
Keep the difficulty of a track similar throughout, not really easy then really hard.
Use signs to help riders, not trick them. Need a slow down sign before that large drop.
Don't ever hide the rider, especially behind an explosion.
Edit- Shifty pretty much said everything I did haha nice....
Hope thats helpful to you. Like I said check out my track making tutorial in my sig, its got alot more detailed info.
Re: The Official SOA Track Thread
Great post mate^ the pictures certainly helped and I understand what you mean. I'll get onto it right now!