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    The Track Creator Guide

    The Track Creator Guide

    Intro

    Hi all,

    My name is Bert James, and I have decided to do a write up on making a guide to how to build a track great, keep its performance and to help encourage other builders to be better and help even the best of editors a reminder of what can happen when building a track.

    After the response I got from my previous thread 'What makes a track... awesome?' I did some looking into it and got some really good feedback so many thanks for spending your time to respond there.

    I think an actual guide is something we all need to help the track central of today along a bit more to provide us with more great tracks and to know what people want from a track, not just great decoration but better lines, in fairness to be a true artist you must have both qualities. We all started somewhere, I know I did!

    Just another note, this thread is not quite in order just yet, my ideas and others have been thrown in here, if there is anything else to be placed in here, just send me a private message and I will get on it. So many edits will be made, please try and be patient with me.

    The Unwritten Rules.

    When making a track, have you ever been stumped by what you want to make? Needed some guidance on how to work an Object position event or how to make a custom object look right? Or even better yet, a track look awesome?

    Sure we want the whole shebang, but what makes a track awesome? Many people have gone through and said without a decent driving line then the tracks environment isn't going to cut it altogether.

    These are the golden rules on track making.

    Starting your build

    The beginning; when starting a track, you need to know where to start, well what track are you going to make? Is there something that is stuck in your brain but need that little nudge? Google can be your friend.

    Look up images to help engage your cogs and get knuckled down into making your fantasy build.

    Theme:

    Are you going to make a track that's bland or a proper theme to the track, maybe a dump site or a city with a rustic kind of environment maybe, an alien invasion of some sort? Don't just sit there, get on with it!

    If you feel that you don't know where to begin with a line, don't fret, build the environment to fit the line later, you can make it good and merge it into the line then that's a bonus!

    Key points to remember, is the track going to be a light or a dark track? Remember these are key elements into design and making a track decent to ride, you want to get the best performance out of the track, keeping it smooth, it's frames per second up, anything about 55 is briliant but keeping performance at 60FPS is the best!

    Lighting:

    This is really important as if you are making a track in day time, there is some important things to know.

    The bike, it has a headlight, if your track is already bright, why would you use your headlight? Extra shadow casting causes screen tear and lag. This is where performance slows down and glitching in the screen can really mess up your tracks, so take note. Go into the bike settings and turn the light down to 0, if it's inbetween day time and night, maybe give it a slight tweaking, it's standard setting is at 10. You really don't need anything too strong.

    The same goes for the sunlight settings also, a decent amount for lighting is about 30, it doesn't have to be excessive. You want the track to work, right?

    When making a dark track then the headlight is a necessary requirement into shadow casting, but more importantly, you need to know what obstacle you are coming upto next, this is a massive step into track creativeness as you want enjoyment and replayability, these are really important. Keep the setting quite high, or use the moon light to cast from behind or in front of the rider, this can add depth to the track.

    If a track is bright then use realism to cast a kind of sihlouette in the background as this would make sense as the light coming at your eyes would block out the backing in itself.

    (Light Objects & Natural Lighting extended)

    Certain light objects give off different variations of light and effect, some act similar to a point light, except point lights have no object with it, it acts as a tool card, it is really handy for creating less lag also. (You can check the performance of your tracks when using them also, the only problem with some lights they don't always shadow cast an object right as some lights go through the objects as though it isn't there, so be wise on the choices you make.

    The best part about lights is some of them are very small and can be used as an object in the game to merge as a custom object, be sure to turn the light properties off so it doesn't affect the track in performance.

    The same rules apply for lights in lighting but natural lighting is better to use as it is based from the Sun & Moon, note that this will shadow cast everything in the game and can affect performance, check your humidity settings and change them to be duller if need be if it is slacking in frames per second, try to keep an optimum of 57 to 60 if possible.

    (Realism of lighting of the moon is duller as it is reflected light of the sun, performance works better with darker tracks but this means you'll need to use the bike light to help see what obstacles are coming up next.)

    The basics:

    When placing a line you have to know the ins and outs of Trials, your skill level... this can also differentiate how you build too. If you think you're highly skilled as a rider you might seem to over step the boundary of what a beginner, easy, medium, hard and even extreme track actually is.

    I've seen players go into a track and turns out the extreme track has gone beyond what an extreme actually is to a ninja, a very common mistake. But practise makes you better at anything with time.

    Take a chance to look back the original, default, non dlc tracks and look how they are all arranged, you'll start to notice a pattern of how they are laid out, the flatter the ride with less threats becomes seemingly easy. But with more hops and jumps with even shortcuts, then following with danger zones become harder.

    You can then take these obstacles and implement the flow into your track, the more difficult a track becomes, the more trickier the techniques to get a better time so take caution.

    Lay down obstacles like you've seen in a standard trials track. If you seem to be stuck, look at some Uplay recommended tracks, as the people in there have good material and have the knack for what lines are.

    Also, check the Recommended Builder Category as they have got good lines so you can see the extent of how they have laid out their lines and wrapped the environment all around the line.

    You can learn a lot about the editor and what you thought to yourself seemed an impossibility a plausable course of action. Even the pro's started somewhere! You have to keep that in mind. You don't just make it the first time and make a masterpiece out of it.

    There are many tutorials and guides from the previous game Trials Evolution, with the one and only CannibalShogun, you can see their editor streams with BlueBadger400 also at 3pm GMT time every Tuesday here on RedLynx Stream

    Custom Creator objects:

    Ever seen a custom made object that you thought was in the game editor itself? There are loads of people out there that do this and you'd be surprised how many of them can go amiss.

    Using big objects and small ones to make their very own custom object, this requires a lot of patience cause you have to get the right balance in making objects so they don't glitch through one and another, it can get quite tricky but the reward is a lot better if people notice it. It livens up the track and adds depth to go looking for more hidden gems laying around in the track.

    To start looking through the objects can be a bit of a pain but make key points on what objects are already small and implement them to other objects to customize it up. Doesn't matter what it is as long as you know it suits, if it doesn't... kill it off and try something else that's better.

    Ambience:

    Each track comes with its own ambience, the effecting colour of the sun or moon in the track and it can differentiate the track a bit, getting certain colours to look right you may need to move the sun/moon out of view for this matter, but if you are going for realistic lighting then you should have the sun/moon in view, this helps also with shadow casting.

    There is a selection of 3 certain parts of the sky settings, you have the Zenith, the Middle and the Horizon, depending where your sun/moon is should depict where your casting line should be for lighting, as the moon's lighting is a casted reflection of the suns light it helps change up the track for realism terms.

    Draw your focus on making the right colours for your track cause it shows you've worked at it and not kept it standard, it would be too bland otherwise. Spicen it all up! Give it a dark tinge at the Zenith then make the colours alter just ever so slightly when changing the medium part then the Horizon. You can make some really cool skies doing this. Play around with it - don't be shy, give it a try.

    Playing the field:

    We have certain spots in a track which show up and go in the track, you have to make sure your draw distance is well verified on the track as certain objects can come into view as you progress through a track.

    You have the Min/Max draw distance for the terrain itself and for objects, you need to set a good placement for this as it can help for track performance and keeping your frame rates up also. This is key to increasing your tracks overall feel, mountain ranges look nice, but you can alter this too by keeping the max view distance at the near highest point, but this depends on your tracks performance later on near the end of the tracks finished point.

    Checkpoints:

    Where and why should we have them? Are they really necessary? Absolutely!

    Good checkpoint placement is really needed in track building, even if the track is easy for you or for anyone! Some people might just want to play through a track and haven't got the experience to always 0 fault on a straight run, this goes for all difficulties. It is really an important thing to have!

    Not everyone can go in on a blind run and know what is coming up next, fair warnings can be usually measured by the pros but the newbies, you have to be more user friendly. The harder the track it will be less forgiving anyhow so don't make it too much of a big step away from the standard tracks.

    Keeping a checkpoint on a horizontal surface is the best thing for a rider, if you need to place a cp down and there is some kind of mound where the needs to be one, have a little lip behind the rider just slightly or avoid it and make the area flat. Nobody wants to start on a non-flat surface as it can be more antagonising for the play riding the track.

    You can also make things more interesting by having a bit of machinery for a checkpoint instead of a checkpoint itself.

    This requires more work but if it looks good, keep it in, all for adding more depth into the track.

    Turns in the Driving Line (Spline Points):

    This isn't really necessary but you can do it by adding spline points into a track. When making the line you'll get the choice of putting a turn in the driving line, try to avoid really sharp turns and also going to the right on the driving line, make sure it is going to the left, this is so you can see what is coming up next as if it was going to the right then you won't see the obstacles in the distance not giving any indication of where your rider has got to go next.

    This can be handy for left turns so you can see but once a person has got use to the line, chances are they won't see it as they are too focused on what is there at the moment.

    Try to avoid putting checkpoints on the curves and putting jumps that turn in the air as it won't add to the realism of track testing, this can be a problem too for the wheels buckling on a turn also, you'll notice if you test the track and go slow around the turn, if you're trying to get a turn in, make it subtle.

    (Note: This isn't always necessary in track building.)

    Testing the line (Optimum Track Length):

    This is a big step on your track and it must have a good line as it is key in replayability for the trials community. But what is the right length and choice of lines?

    Where as an easy track seems to flow sweetly, it is easier for you to travel from a to b in an alloted time, where as a harder track takes longer as the obstacles aren't as smooth. You need to jump and hop over certain obstacles differently so you need to take action in your building and make it the same difficulty throughout, no easy obstacles and then one or two difficult sections, the difficulty should be one set through out, unless it's a skill game, only then should it's difficulty go up on progression.

    Remember if your skill level isn't upto par, get someone who is more adapt, more of an avid player than you to try the track. If you're too skilled and can't predict the line as good, get someone else to play it that isn't upto your skill level or an experienced builder, there are plenty about to ask.

    25 to 50 seconds is the preferable target, any less and it feels like saying was it worth it, but too long makes you think, this just goes on forever and it becomes tedious.

    Crash cams & Animations:

    Have you got a few falling areas in your track, got some areas where there could be or should be some? Add them, they add a little screen shot to the track, not only that if you add animation to it, it makes it looks worth while, adds funny moments to the track also.

    Animations in the track give something else in the track to look at but try not to make it too distracting from the driveline and try not to add too much to the driveline, if you do however, make sure you can't hit the object that is getting in the way, ie: a robot flinging in front of the rider in the driveline unless the only way of hitting it is bailing out at it. If you're hitting it then set your animations elsewhere or activating the area trigger before hand.

    Good animation adds to the track and if it makes sense should go in the main theme. Add these with your crash cams and you've got yourself some good variations.

    If you are using a custom camera for the drivingline purpose, chances are other riders are not going to enjoy it due to the sudden change in view over the track, try to avoid using this during the track and use them for the previous reasons stated above. This can spoil the good run you are putting in, unless and only unless you are making a face onwards style track, looking like a Super Mario layout, this is fine as long as you can still see what is upcoming next for an obstacle.

    Sound Sources:

    Have you got a track where there is lots of machinery or have you got a track where you are in the swamp? Add sound sources to the track so it makes you feel like you are there in the moment. It is handy to have these things in the track to add more depth to a track, it can be worth while, if it is necessary then turn down the in game volume to check out the FX side of things, don't let it all get drowned out, but don't blast the volume upto 200% for no reason, this can ruin a track.

    Multiplayer Testing:

    It's good to know the true performance of a track, no better way than to test with your friends.

    This way you get to know how the track is in all its quality, getting your friends to test also helps know what a track is missing or what objects are pointless in one place but would be better in another area.

    This may cause a bit more lag and screen tear but you'll know where it is more likely to happen.

    Effects:

    These aren't always necessary but they do add more to the track if implemented correctly. Using OPE's (Object Position Event's) you can make some really cool animations.

    You may have a jet fly by but it needs to take off first but it needs to charge up, changing the particle alpha in the effects help a gradual build up and also keep somethings in motion too, and you can stop them at any given time to start a new one.

    Problems that can occur while using these effects are particle settings can be very unstable at times depending on your lighting, depth of field and area that you are in corrisponding to where you are and where you are later. If you have some effects later on in the track but aren't really needed at the point, turn them on later and visa versa, if you are later on in the track and can't back track to see the other effects, turn them off as it can improve your performance vastly.

    (Effects with Sounds)

    Some of the effect cards have sound sources that go with the effects, be careful when applying loads of waterfall cards for instance it can make a droning sound of cards all at once when you could make use of just a regular sound source that doesn't keep the same sound overlapping the same noise, this makes the drone effect and you want to be able to stabalize that if you are on the same obstacle and stuck there for awhile then it can be annoying for the riders to hear this when concentrating on an obstacle, not only that but making this better for the riders also improves the performance as you're using less complexity of each and individual effect card, it doesn't seem like much but in the long run it can make a great deal.

    Track Quality Improvement:

    Is your track working fine, how is the line feeling overall?

    If you feel that some things need changing, then do so, if you are happy with what you've got then you need to start double checking your animations and breaking your track.

    Yes, breaking your track.

    Sometimes you can go through a track and you'll press B or the circle button for PS4 users and you'll see somethings that have happened already and it's been reset when you've reset to checkpoint, you'll need to go back into the settings of these animations and check the reset in checkpoint is off, this will show that there is no deja vu going on here.

    Are there any areas that you can bailout into or places you can squeeze through with your rider that you shouldn't be able to get to? Fix it up and add some custom cameras and patch up some errors, don't just stick bombs in an area thing that will be cool for a death cam or a fault area, use some thought and plan it out.

    Links on Tutorials

    Stuck with an animation but don't know how to go about it? Post up on the forums here:

    Or have a look at these wonderful editor tutorials that can help you out in no time:

    Introduction
    Getting Started
    Curves and Decorations
    Triggers & Events
    Lighting
    Editor Basics
    Spline Points & Checkpoints
    Object Basics
    Track Settings
    Advanced Object Properties
    Game Camera
    Custom Camera
    Bike and Rider
    Physics Bubble
    Gluing, Grouping & Favourites
    Editor Settings
    Seed Buildings
    Terrain Modification
    Custom Environment Settings
    Area Tools
    Sound Sources
    Lights
    Physics Forces
    Custom Collisions
    Physics Joints
    Triggers & Impulses
    Bike & Rider Events
    Object Events
    More Events
    Data Sources
    Filters
    Operations
    Controller Inputs
    Object Position Event
    Vector Tools
    Advanced Checkpoints
    Building a Supercross Track
    Building a Skill Game

    Pro Tips:

    Optimization
    Rules of Thumb

    For anything more advanced use these tutorials by other trialists:

    Advanced Editor Tutorials:

    Pneumatic Bog484

    Want to know how to get your character moving with ease? Look no further cause this guy will blow your mind with his brain.

    His name is Pneumatic Bog484 and this is the guide on first person movement.

    Character and the basics.

    Jumping and Movement.

    Running Motion

    Footsteps to Motion

    3D Coordinates and Rotation

    Each guide will take you steadily through step by step. I highly recommend getting used to impulses and data resources and object position movements in the tutorials set above by CannibalShogun. Getting to understand these better will far better yourself in understanding how everything works in this game.

    If you can combine all this to knowledge, you'll be making some incredible stuff in no time.

    Check more stuff by Pneumatic Bog484 on Trials Fusion, his skill games are not to be reckoned with this editor genius.

    SwampBalls

    Want more tutorials? Gee you are fussy aren't you!

    Ok... ok... here is another whacky genius that knows his stuff in the editor, we have here a PS4 user on our hands but also a part of the OTHG too.

    Here is SwampBalls, his guides will test your brain also, if there is anyone that knows what goes on in the editor, it's this guy.

    Animating the rider - Part 1.

    Animating the rider - Part 2.

    How to make an earthquake via a camera.

    Ramp Allignment by Editor Rotation Numbers.

    Animation & Looping.

    Check out SwampBalls on Trials Fusion for some insane tracks, speed lines and also for whacky fun animations! Trust me, this guy knows what he's doing!

    Medal Times/Faults:

    Setting a time can be quite tricky at times and knowing what is the best ideal times for the medals? Getting a professional to play the track for you can help and would be worth while, there are plenty of riders out there that would be willing to help out.

    A track regardless of difficulty from beginner to extreme should have 0 faults for platinum and should require a fast run to get the medal.

    A gold requirement also depicts on difficulty, beginner and easy and also medium should require 0 faults but as the harder mediums should require some leeway and then hard to extreme come along, the margin should be set higher.

    Silver should have faults on the earlier difficulty level tracks but should be a lot more on the later levels.

    Bronze is just for passing the track. (Can't be edited)

    If you feel a track can be done really quick then take so many seconds off of the person who can get a rapid time so it creates fairness to the community, but then be more lenient to the harder and extreme tracks as the techniques require more precision.

    Preparing for the upload? Make sure to double check any mistakes that could be prevented, play in a party so you know what else should be going on or shouldn't.

    Take precaution!

    Bike Selection:

    Have you selected what bikes should run through the track yet? Have you tried the line with all of the bikes? Just because the track is a hard doesn't mean that it can't be done on the slowest bike, give it a try or get someone else to try the bike out, chances are they are going to enjoy it for the challenge. Add the bikes if they can pass the track, exceptions are as goes though, like the foxbat, this is mainly for FMX and should be for FMX only.

    As for the Panda, use this for tracks that have really thick wide plates so it works well for the quad, if everything else works then include them in too, unless it is a pure panda track.

    Unicorn, I feel this mythical creature should have its own unique ground to run purely on its own because it's for the fantasy world, becareful when you make landings that are too steep with this ride as the physics are not the same as the bikes given in the game.

    Name, Description and Picture:

    Ever looked at your track and thought of what name to give it before uploading it? Make something worthwhile to show and help remember it by, it could get your track showcased.

    No one wants to see an impossible6149273 as a name or a
    Mytrack label, it looks awful and wouldn't suit to what your track is really about. You should always label the track to how it looks or somewhat close to it.

    With the description involved with the track it's cool to come up with something unqiue! Check out some tracks and see what display they've put up and come up with your very own. If you're struggling, look up a quote on google.

    So what is the picture going to be of your track? A picture should paint a thousand words, it should stand out and look at its best!

    Don't just stick the camera in the riders head, actually take a photo of something in the track that looks good, maybe of the custom object you've made or a few obstacles with the decoration with it, make it stand out.

    Lest we forget when we look on track central and see a track with the bike and rider or the camera glitching into an object, it looks horrid. Lessons to be learned here.
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  2. #2
    UPDATE 28/10/2015

    Titles added, and underlined for better paragraphed areas.

    Evo Tutorials added in the Linked Guide Section, pretty much the same as the Fusion Editor, might have slight different options or areas but concept is still the same.

    UPDATE 5/1/2016

    Lighting and Natural lighting under title of lighting added.

    Effects & Sounds (Droning) added to this section also.

    Thanks for the added suggestions, if you want more on anything specific then don't fret to send me a PM here or DM me on Twiiter under @NovaDarkStorm.

    UPDATE 28/3/16

    Advanced Editor Tutorials added with listings of Pneumatic Bog484 and also SwampBalls, these guys have great editor tutorials, be sure to follow them on youtube or on twitter as they will update their feeds with creations.

    Note they also do tracks and skill games, they really do push the editor to the extremes.
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  3. #3
    Coming Soon!
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  4. #4
    Morfyboy's Avatar Senior Member
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    Written up beautifully mate.. Defos recommend it to any new builders to Trials, and to any 'more recognised' builders who we all know.
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  5. #5
    ozy's Avatar Senior Member
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    Awesome write up Nova,
    Pretty much everything covered,
    Would like to see a link to this article from the Fusion community dashboard in game
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  6. #6
    Thanks mate, still need to do the bits inbetween like the guides to be implemented and other things I will be working on also are going into the reserved section.

    1 for updates, the next one for What makes a track awesome layout.
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  7. #7
    Hey Nova, reading this again I would like to see the headings bolded and maybe a size increase, just so it doesn't seem like such a big block of text.

    Cheers.
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  8. #8
    Edited, updated, see second post for updates. Cheers Stego, it was deffo on my to do list.
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  9. #9
    New update added to the OP. See second post for updates, and more will follow in due time.
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  10. #10
    Devils_Demon's Avatar Member
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    Nice write up. Another tip i would give is don't be afraid to delete large sections. No matter how long you spent on it. I remember spending 2 weeks trying to get a certain idea to work.I eventually got it working but it just didn't feel right. It wasn't exactly how I pictured it and I hated it. After a lot of contemplation I decided just to scrap it completely. 3 cps worth of building, 2 weeks of testing and trying to get it right all deleted with a press of the square button. It was hard to do but the track ended up being much better. Most people would think "damn that section sucks, but I spent 2 weeks on it so no way am I deleting it".
    No matter how long you spent on a section, delete it if you don't like it.
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