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Trials Developer
Suggestions and improvements for future Trials games
Trials 2 Second Edition is the sixth game of Redlynx Trials series: Trial Bike, Trial Bike Pro, Trials Construction Yard, Trials Mountain Heights, Trials 2, Trials 2 Second Edition. It's very likely that we are continuing the series at some point in the future. No plans have been made yet, but it's never too early to speculate and brainstorm about all new possible (and impossible) features.
This thread will include all improvements suggested for future Trials games. Please post here how you would like to have the game series improved in the future. All discussion here by us is purely speculative. We are not developing a new Trials game currently. The earliest possible release date for the next game in the series is somewhere in 2009, but could be later depending on the progress of other projects we have.
If you have small extra feature suggestions and bug fix requests for current Trials 2 Second Edition, please post in the "Suggestions and improvements for Trials 2 Second Edition" thread: http://www.redlynxtrials.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2677.
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Trials Developer
Some ideas for future Trials games. Not just for the next edition, but for all future games in the series. Please remember that these are just ideas collected from the fans and the from the team. Nothing official.
Driver and bike customization:
- Detailed driver model customization. Something like Mass Effect character creation.
- Capture your own face and put it into the driver.
- Large set of unlockable costumes and accessories (different helmets for example and superman cape of course).
- Bike physics customization (dampers, engine, brakes) and different bike models.
- Real life bike and bike part brands. Real life drivers.
- Custom player created driver and bike is visible in multiplayer and in replays.
Multiplayer:
- Real multiplayer against other players. Tracks side by side. Unfortunate this needs separate tracks, and doesn't integrate that well to the current game models.
- Ghost based simultaneous multiplayer would work fine on current driving model, and on all tracks. Players like to compete on the tracks they know and like from the single player part.
Editor and player content creation:
- Full easy to use level editor integrated to the game.
- Players can share levels in-game and download and browse levels made by others in-game.
- Level browser should also show a quick preview of level and some level stats (how hard it is by analyzing how many players have passed the level and how much it took for each player).
- Level ranking/review system and level sorting by rank. Players can review levels (give 1-5 stars).
- Level creator ranking and search for levels made by chosen creator.
- Level creator achievement
Physics and animation:
- Improved physics and traction model for the bike and dynamic objects.
- Animated objects to the levels
- More animated lights (currently too static for my taste)
- Euphoria-style behavioral driver animation. The driver would try to save himself by grabbing to obstacles when falling for example and would try to cover his head before colliding to something.
- Bike back wheel should slide a bit sideways when accelerating heavily.
- Fluid physics: Water and mud.
Graphics
- Tire marks. Especially when accelerating hard and braking hard.
- Soft shadows
- Volumetric lighting and shadowing effects
- Antialiasing support
- New particle engine with normal mapped dynamic per pixel particle lighting and particle shadowing.
- Environmental effects: Heavy rain, dust, fog and sandstorms.
Gameplay:
- Full analog brake and accelerator.
- Extra buttons for separate back and front wheel brake for advanced players.
- Leaning up/down in addition to forward/backward.
- Curves to the driving path. Instead of the current straight line, the bike could move according to a curved path (automatically of course).
[UNDER CONSTRUCTION]
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Would be cool with paint jobs on your bike and rider. The game could also be bigger and more difficult if we could change the brakes power, accelertion and such. Then we had to plan more, not just ride. Also levels outside would be nice. It's kinda dark being inside all the time. Also snow would be cool, where you sink down or slide on ice.
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Real Multiplayer, two or more tracks beside each other. They could also become one track after the start, then you have to fight for the first position.
Breakable objects, like glass, ice, boxes that break and so on.
Flowing water. How cool it would be to try and get up a realistic looking stream with water pushing against you.
True analog steering. I know it would be harsh to players without a gamepad with analog steering, but it would add so much to the game.
3D steering.... Would be very nice.
Up and down movement.
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Senior Member
I was going to post this but Zakor beat me to much of the stuff, well, just for redundancy:
achievements that unlocks special suits representing each award for bragging rights.
loading multiple ghost (3) for 4 player races, each ghost would be of a different color with name (optional), AND use the same principle for true multiplayer.
an additional axis of control (up and down) to bend/stretch the knees of the rider to mimic real life trials movements.
A clutch to allow revving up your engine for a power start.
Springs and cloth physics.
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This is just bonus stuff that wouldn't affect to the gameplay but would make failing more enjoyable and the driver more likeable:
Implementing Euphoria or similar technology to ragdoll. Driver would (try to) avoid falling down by catching rails (if not knocked unconscious). After small bump he'd try to stand up or would make frustrated gestures: swearing to sky, punching ground, shaking head etc.
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Senior Member
Multiple checkpoint flag colors:
For levels with multiple paths, (like Rock Bottom) it could allow to respawn on the alternative path AND and track record for each path i.e. Rock Bottom A and Rock Bottom B
The flag triggering system would have to be changed because it couldn't work by simply crossing it from left to right. + it could allow some checkpoints to be placed to the left of a previous one.
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Trials Developer
Checkpoints: Alternative routes can be done with checkpoints that do not affect the whole height of the map. The checkpoint area should end to the next ceiling above it, and not affect below it. Alternatively we could implement it so that you have to drive near enough the checkpoint to activate it ("touch" the checkpoint).
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Senior Member
@ sebbbi, exactly what I meant, but I'll leave the mechanics to you guys, either way is fine with me. The trick will be to implement in a way that is easy to use in the level editor without limiting the use. I thought of "door" zones that you have to go through (just touch actually), Just a colored line maybe that you can click n' stretch freely like in Paint would be really easy to use in the editor. I thought of both the methods you described and this third one, which seemed the nicer to me when considering all factors...
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Trials Developer
We were recently interviewed by a Swedish magazine, and our CEO gave lots of official answers to many topics, including possible new Trials games.
Check the full interview here (it's in English):
http://loading.se/blogg.php?user_id=12&blogg_id=8603
Quote from the interview:
1. What kind of plans do you have for the future? Are we going to see a Trials 3? Or are you thinking about taking your ideas in an another direction and try something new?
(Cyphris)
In longer term, Trials game does provide number of larger expansion opportunities.
In Trials 2 Second Edition the simple controls enable the game to be extremely easy to pick up and start playing. Player needs to spend minimal time trying to learn the controls. However, when those simple controls are connected to a very realistic physics model, then you have a basis for continuous development. With that, the game is actually impossible to ever master to perfection. This is a game of developing your skills ? not the skills of your virtual avatar, or game character ? but your skills. And that game of skill development never ends, there is no upper limit.
However, when thinking about the possible future direction, it is too early to comment . We have been extremely happy and taken with the positive feedback Trials 2 Second Edition has gained. At the moment we are still fully focused on making sure that every buyer of the Trials 2 Second Edition is more than extremely pleased, by focusing on the tasks at hand. In order to take the game to next levels, this game needs to sell enough in order to provide funds to develop the next in the series. Even though our heart says that of course we would like to develop the game further, the harsh economic reality has to be taken into account as well. So we now do all we can to convince gamers that this game is definitely worth buying, and through this, we hope to be able to get into the next Trials games as well.