1. #1

    How to end a track?

    I was wondering i've been shortening my new track down to i guess normal length, but I am wondering how do you know when you have a decent track set and its length is just right and not to overwhelming? I also have 1 other problem i've been noticing is my obstacles don't really flow from one to the next and so on how do you guys get your tracks so good??? ???? ??? i cant figure it out..... fail .. and is this in the wrong forum? i didnt know where to put it..
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  2. #2
    ben1bob's Avatar Senior Member
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    Re: How to end a track?

    this is why i don't make tracks and admire those who do.

    it's so tough to get them really good. i hope somebody helps you, i can't. sorry
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  3. #3

    Re: How to end a track?

    lol np, yea it is tough to make tracks i give these guys credit, i dunno how they do it i feel like they could still make something way better then me with there hands tied and blindfolded..... and with a darn broken 360 controller.. and ... no tv.. HOW????? maybe ill find out,.....(bum bum bummmmmmmmm dramatic music!!!) only time will tell.
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  4. #4

    Re: How to end a track?

    Originally Posted by haze4200
    I also have 1 other problem i've been noticing is my obstacles don't really flow from one to the next and so on how do you guys get your tracks so good??? ???? ??? i cant figure it out..... fail .. and is this in the wrong forum? i didnt know where to put it..
    Well... I'm starting to get tired of all this "flow" talk. I think levels today are a bit overdesigned when it comes to "flow". Flow is something you will eventually get in a track, no matter if its designed for it or not. Creating too much artificial flow in level design makes the tracks less flexible when it comes to how to do the track can be done in the fastest way. It's ok for some maps like "Pro Speedway", but please don't overuse it!

    I can get flow in Forza 3 too, even if none of the tracks are designed for this and that car, and there's no way you are "supposed" to do a track. The level design in Trails HD is more like Trackmania tracks (designed for one car).

    Oh well... That didn't answer your quiestion
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  5. #5

    Re: How to end a track?

    this is true concentrating on that alone would probably not be a wise decision. i just feel like my tracks suck and i dunno. thx for your input ill hold on to it.
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  6. #6

    Re: How to end a track?

    Originally Posted by haze4200
    I was wondering i've been shortening my new track down to i guess normal length, but I am wondering how do you know when you have a decent track set and its length is just right and not to overwhelming? I also have 1 other problem i've been noticing is my obstacles don't really flow from one to the next and so on how do you guys get your tracks so good??? ???? ??? i cant figure it out..... fail .. and is this in the wrong forum? i didnt know where to put it..
    It's difficult to know when you should start wrapping up your track. I try to stay close to what the devs did for their tracks. For a perfect run on a hard difficulty track, it should take about a minute or less to complete. If the track is extreme, maybe have it run a bit longer, and if it is medium, I would top it off at about 40 seconds for a smooth, clean run.

    Most of the time, someone is going to find a faster way to do your track than you can do it (at least if you make friends further up the leaderboards), so sometimes the time a track takes is tough to gauge. For a hard or extreme track, it can be a pain to get a clean run to determine the length of your track, so you might want to take note of the time on the clock when you restart checkpoints. That way, you can find out how long each obstacle took you when you make it by without faulting, and add up the times.

    You could also count the number of obstacles in comparable tracks which are already included in the game. You don't need to have the same amount, but it could be a starting point for you.

    Finally, I would encourage you to get the feedback of others. Share your tracks, and then listen to the feedback that people provide.

    Now for flow. There's a lot of talk about flow lately. When I design a track, I also worry about the flow between my obstacles. For most tracks, if someone plays them enough, they will find a flow.

    When I first played the harder or extreme tracks in the game, I would pause every time I passed an obstacle. Sometimes I still do, but for the most part, I just keep riding. Checkpoints can often lead to a mental barrier when you're learning a track. Look at some of the top replays on harder or extreme tracks and you'll see riders who find flow everywhere.

    That said, you can also design your track with at least some flow in miind if you choose.

    You could just have simple transitions from one obstacle to the next (tracks like Logsplosive or Classic use this a number of times) or you could have an intended "line" that will yield the best outcome (Technique, or Container Rush). Creating a "line" for the rider is much more difficult to pull off.

    If I am designing a track with a line, I have to test the track hundreds of times both from the beginning and each checkpoint along the way. Build one obstacle, test, build the next, test, have your rider come out of the obstacle, and place the next obstacle where you'd like the rider to land into it. Test it, make sure that you can smoothly go in and out of the obstacle. Once you know you can do it, make sure you can do it 10 more times. It sounds tedious, but by the end, you'll have the line down. You'll be able to practice it from the start and new obstacles faster than you would have before.

    I could go on and on, but this is already lengthy. If you want to hear more of my opinions, let me know. Hope this has helped, at least somewhat.

    Good luck!
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  7. #7

    Re: How to end a track?

    That is so helpful ty much for your time writing that i appreciate it. i shall try that.
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  8. #8

    Re: How to end a track?

    heh nice thread, its a cool question to ask. Like i mentioned in your thread haze if you shorten the track down in length you will have more object memory to add alot more detail/lights/physics to your track.

    You have a good overall design style to your tracks and nice obstacles. Now this thing people talk about 'flow', its the hardest thing to do in track building, because its basically taking a simple enough driving line or usually medium in difficulty and basically allowing the player to 'connect' with every ramp/object seamlessly. These take the most testing and a good eye for distance. If you test a certain section for example, try going from a nearby checkpoint and go as fast as the bike can go (phoenix is best because of acceleration), if you bump your head, miss the ramp, crash or bump on something in the way then you need to fix it and try again.

    Hard/extreme tracks are the easiest to make because you can just throw objects together and go well i cant do that in 5-10 tries, but 11th go i did!. In my opinion its the decoration and the fun of the obstacles that make really good tracks of that difficulty type. So both take alot of time to do but in different ways. You cant please everyone though! some people love flow, some people love hard obstacles, or insane physics. Perhaps if your starting anew and wanting to wow some people, go for a hard/extreme course throw in some cool obstacles ive seen you do already but this time really concentrate on the decoration to make it stand out. Some sort of funky theme.
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