I think there should be some unofficial standards put into place regarding user made tracks. Some of the things I wish to have as these standards are:
[list:27lhq29x]
[*:27lhq29x]Must have creators name (or initials) at the start of the track e.g. DC-Tunnel, BMX-Wheel[/*:m:27lhq29x]
[*:27lhq29x]There can only be a little/no spots where graphics are noticeably slowed down on the main track[/*:m:27lhq29x]
[*:27lhq29x]The track must be set to the right skill level e.g. Inferno II couldn't be set as beginner, middle name:danger couldn't be set as extreme[/*:m:27lhq29x]
[*:27lhq29x]It must be passable, so no tracks that have no finish lines[/*:m:27lhq29x][/list:u:27lhq29x]
The only viable way I think this can be achieved is by having a volunteer group of trials fans test each track posted on here then comment on the thread saying it is acceptable.
Anybody with me?
That is a pretty good idea actually. The lag in some levels really kills the whole experience for me.
I've uploaded a track with no finish line.Actually it did but I blocked it because I was just having my buddy test one of the sections I was tweaking and I knew there was a chance that someone else may download it with the 15+ people on my list that play Trials.
It's a well thought-out idea but will we get the people who are willing to check each and every track beforehand? It seems like a very mundane task.
Here are my design guidelines and a checklist for testing the tracks. My view is that most of the user tracks I have played have been way too hard to be fun. Of course if you only have QcChopper, Skumbag and Lestropie on your friend list this might be fine, but I usually like tracks which have a nice flow and which I actually want to play again after I have finished them.
Desing guidlines:
Pick a theme, don't mix every idea to the same track. Don't make the track too long. Make the track fun. Give it a nice flow. If something annoys you, modify! Add check points. Add more checkpoints after every harder obstacles. Keep the distance between checkpoints short. Test the track from every check point multiple times. Avoid too hard places. Make the riding line clear (pile the objects so that it is clear where the bike wheel is going to land). Avoid custom cameras unless nescessary. Test. Fix. Test. Tune. Test. Finalize. Brag.
Check list:
Can you continue from each checkpoint? Also, is it more difficult to continue from a checkpoint instead of not faulting in that place in the first place?
Is there enough of checkpoints? Is there a place that feels like you just did something difficult and you still have to do another difficult spot? Add a checkpoint already!
Are there any misaligned objects causing the bike to bounce where it is not supposed to be? Nothing is more annoying than misaligned floor causing a bump that takes your speed away before a big jump.
Can you play every intended driving path smoothly?
Does the game lag at any point? Also check situations like explosions, bike being on fire and heavy bike collision. Physics, particles and rendering require partially distinct resoures so figure out what the bottle neck is. Lights are rendering heavy. Particles (explosions) also cause some extra rendering work on top of being a task of their own (setup and animation). Lights and lots of particles is usually a bad thing.
Is there any blockiness in the rendering? This is caused by too many lights in that area. Some of the effects like small fires are lights too.
Does the camera go through objects? Is the player view blocked at some point? Custom camera might be needed.
Is custom camera used in a bad way? Do not use special camera in hard places! This can make the obstacle much much harder.
Does the difficulty match the description? If you aim for medium there shouldn't be any hard parts. If you aim for hard, there shouldn't be any extreme parts. Generally try to keep the track difficulty equally hard for the whole track.
Do you have to wait anywhere for physics to do something? Players don't usually want to wait no matter how nice your physics thingy is. Try to trigger your physics earlier if this is the case.
Is the driving path clear? Is it not clear where to continue? Add some direction signs. This might actually be a problem in your level design if this is the case.
Is there any flow in the track? Are there places that are annoying or cause most of your faults? Do the jumps match the landing places? Can you continue the track smoothly even without doing the jumps or tricks perfectly? Is there enough of driving in the track or is it just physics trick after physics trick?
Is there only one way to clear a obstacle? This can be hard to tell as you usually know how the obstacle needs to be played, but it can be extreme annoying for other players to try to find the one way to clear a hard obstacle even if you think it is very easy. Especially, if you have trouble passing your obstacle with the way you intended, you probably should tune it down a bit so that it can be passed with more general skill set. Generally you should avoid hard obstacles that look easy and aim for easy obstacles that look hard.
Is the track fun? Not every track need to be a 'challenge'.
Is the track technical enough for your target audience? Even the easiest tracks can have places where skill brings some time savings.
Is the track too short / too long? Not every track need to be maximun length. 10 seconds one obstacle tracks aren't that much fun either.
Does the medal limits match the track? Platinum should be pretty hard and be the target for your friends, maybe even your own record from testing. Gold should be a reasonable good score. Silver limits should be something reasonable to aim for during the first few runs. (not like 5 faults, 2 mins in an extreme track that takes 200 faults for the first try).
Does the track look nice? Who cares. Well, you could add some explosions for the graphics junkies.
You know what? You are dead right. I just realized out of all 95+ tracks I have only a few make me want to play them again. I would mostly run through a level and just forget about it.....Thanks for the checklist Jorma, I need to get back to the editor I've been away sooooo longOriginally Posted by [COLOR="#80FF80"![]()
Yup agreed, only a few have i played over, i like to make my tracks with flow and speed, i just recently made two extreme tracks, as i hate extremes they are just not as fun as racing to get a good time.Originally Posted by [COLOR="#80FF80"
The theme is also a good one, i noticed alot of people just made a lot of random stuff i try to stick to mostly metal, or mostly wood, with the same types of objects that i think goes good with each other, for example, i think tires and metal with pipes go good, i think barrels and wood go together good and boxes too.![]()
It would be a very big task but even if we get 5 people and just check the 'important' peoples tracks (people who post them here with effort, not just "hai these r my tracks. Play them mk!") I'm sure we could get it done.Originally Posted by ink3i
I agree with the flow point but extremes can have flow it just takes quite a bit of practice to get it. Theme is also very important to me, I hate it when you get a cool track that works well but it feels like your playing three tracks at once. One minute your in a dark hole, the next your in a theme park or you jump from a metal ramp and land on a wood one. This is the kind of thing I want to improve with tracks because most creators can do these things but they have no reason to.Originally Posted by 420
I try to follow most of those guidelines when I create a track. Most of my tracks follows the same theme, except maybe Fogged Up Night because the beginning was so heavy that I had to go lite in the end, I was still experimenting much.
About he FLOW thing, I don't believe in flow, when I play Trials, I want to emulate the sport of motorcycle observed trials, and maybe do some whacky stunts with physics, but I don't care for full speed tracks, flow is relevant in Supercross I don't like ramp jumps, this has nothing to do with the sport of trials in my mind. I totally understand that most people enjoy fast tracks that are more Supercross than Trials, but I am not most people and my tracks aren't for everyone either, but I have a target public and I believe that my tracks are generally apreciated inside that public, although somewhat limited. I try to please a wider audience sometimes with a noobed up track but to me, a track that is enjoyable in the long run is a challenging track, more challenge = more replay value in my book. I don't care much about the competition aspect, I don't play for bragging rights, I do to have fun, which means I have to be challenged to be entertained, and to get better.
Anyways, with so many talented creators around, everybody can find good tracks for their personal tastes. That makes me think, many people bug me to do an easy track, why not ask McDonald's to serve cream of asparagus soup while we're at it?![]()
I also like playing and making the extremest extreme tracks around. As most players don't like too hard tracks I've decided to make alternate easier versions of my harder tracks.Originally Posted by QcChopper
First time posting here, been reading some of the suggestions and walkthroughs and have all these crazy track ideas running around in my head now. Working on my first track and I have to say I wish I had discovered this game soonerthink Borderlands is going to take all my attention when it comes out next week). The level editor is amazing, and I do agree with Jorma's wall-o-text suggestions. I used to love making levels for the old Duke Nukem' 3d game, would spend hours tweaking them, and I think Trials reawakened that in me.
So I'm just going crazy with my first track, huge ramps, rocket-propelled loop de loops, explosions threatening to kill the rider every 100 feet, my goal is to make the rider scream and hoot as much as I can. I'm trying to get all this out of my system so my 2nd track will be gold. Had a question though, it's a fairly simple track, only a few parts requires you to use some skill so it's easy, but I test it alot and I'm using the medium skill bike (The Scorpion and sometimes the Evo) so should I base the skill on the track, or the optimum bike to use. I only ask because I think the beginner bike doesn't have enough acceleration and will leave you plummeting to your death in some parts.