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Post by D.Shostakovich on Jun 6, 2017 6:16:40 GMT
Imagine two tracks: one with a great landscape but monotonic propping (e.g. mostly stunt tracks with guardrails and elevated stunt tracks as walls), the other with nearly no landscape (e.g. open sky), but visually appealing propping. Which one would you give a higher rating? Assuming there's no functional problem with prop usage on either track, and all other aspects of these two tracks are identical (including layout).
I saw this post by st_of_dec in the GP-Creators crew, so I want to share my opinion here. I actually started this argument with him because we had quite divided views upon some tracks.
IMO drivers don't tend to focus on, and don't want to get distracted by landscape when driving on a track. What comes into their mind the most is the immediate propping of the track. BC24h is a beautiful track, but when racing on it, you don't spend any time paying attention to its landscape unless you're on the back straight, do you? What matters more to me is how does a track deliver an aesthetic and preferably realistic racing environment, rather than where the track is located. LSIA tracks used to be very boring before Cunning Stunts, but nowadays with all those advanced propping, one can make a fantastic looking track in LSIA. Sorry to Swanie but I gotta say I don't like Raton Canyon Turnpike as much as Laguna Seca (I'm guessing these are the two tracks being referred to in this thread). RCT is a good track with a nice landscape, but I don't really care anything beyond the track limit, and the track appearance really is a little bit plain.
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Post by jbcarfreek on Jun 6, 2017 7:46:55 GMT
I focus on both, most of my tracks have "the best landscaping, its great its absolutley great" but quite monotone propping but that is to keep it in the same theme. Altough that said I do some advanced tunnels/bridges/pitlanes to keep the track interesting especcialy on a straight to camouflage the lenght of said straight. but i still think the question is wrong, most monotone stunttracks have just a really boring and usually flat layout.
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Post by D.Shostakovich on Jun 6, 2017 9:10:30 GMT
I focus on both, most of my tracks have "the best landscaping, its great its absolutley great" but quite monotone propping but that is to keep it in the same theme. Altough that said I do some advanced tunnels/bridges/pitlanes to keep the track interesting especcialy on a straight to camouflage the lenght of said straight. but i still think the question is wrong, most monotone stunttracks have just a really boring and usually flat layout. First of all I'm not saying that achieving both is not possible. The question raised here is given that everything else about two tracks is about the same, which track would you prefer. I guess I should've made it more clear that the opposite to monotonic propping is not necessarily using all kinds of different props with different colors, which creates a chaotic look, but rather a rational prop choice combined with a good color scheme and proper decorations to the track.
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DV8R
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Post by DV8R on Jun 6, 2017 12:17:47 GMT
It may not be a needed thing to have a good landscape to make a track good, but it does play a part in it.
Like most aspects with making a track in GTAV, you need to consider almost every small detail that could help in making it better.
(Unless your intention is to make the track look like its floating) I think any tiniest bit of stunt road that goes into the air, so that when you're driving on it and not moving around the camera all you see is sky, I feel the creator needs to do something to at least prop a taller wall around it or at least put sponsor signs around the edges so there isn't just nothing.
Even if when you're racing you aren't paying attention to it, it's probably more of a subconscious thing that it will notice every time you drive around on it. Better to have at lest something, rather then nothing.
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st_of_dec
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Post by st_of_dec on Jun 6, 2017 15:18:29 GMT
Although the question supposes you to choose one(which means you need to give up another),I believe these two do make a track more attracive.
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Post by Skirakzalus on Jun 7, 2017 23:35:53 GMT
My take on this is that using the landscape to some degree is always an option. It may be difficult if you start building a track close to the ground and at some point keep running into obstacles, or even if you start working on the layout as it is floating in the sky and put it into template once you got the basic proportions (which I did with Laguna Seca and Tsukuba). Finding a good spot for those can be near impossible, but I especially with Laguna Seca I tried for quite a while.
Using props on the other hand may not always be an option, especially when running low on props or having the memory limit almost maxed out. And this stuff is something I always put last, first comes making a hopefully good layout, then it's about minimizing potential issues. Optical fluff always comes last. This is also the reason why my tracks will likely never look as nice and clean as the ones from Black, for example.
But overall the purpose of both is the same: Tracks should look more realistic (not floating) and have landmarks so people can easily identify where they are on the track, which makes memerizing corners easier since it's more destinct from each other.
Also themes play into these things as well. My version of Laguna Seca has run-off areas because the realy track has some as well and they can help a bit with crashes, although on the other hand people also use them as extension to their racing line. I imagine Swanie's Raton Canyon having mostly normal road pieces due to it resembling a touge track which is basicly a set of mountain roads, which can be rather mondane when it comes to width. It wouldn't be in the theme to put down some fany eye-catchers and it's also not needed since the surrounding mountain sides give a clear indication of where you are. At least I never had the issue of feeling lost on the track.
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MerryPranxtr
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Post by MerryPranxtr on Jul 27, 2017 21:45:22 GMT
I tend to approach tracks like I do clothing. I go for comfort first. The track equivalent might be a nice flow, smooth transitions, and sensible changes. But the clothes I'm more apt to wear (and races more likely to bookmark) are those that also add a little cleverness in color, style, shape, dynamics, etc.
That said, it kind of depends on the situation and what it calls for. Unless I'm throwing together an impromptu clown outfit, for example, I'm never going to wear a red plaid top and blue plaid pants. But if a race presents itself in a clownish way and intends to be hilarious, then let the crazy colors, props, and scenery fly.
In that way, as a race creator it's about setting the appropriate expectation. If you set up a Panto or Dune race, maybe don't make it look like a world-renown supercar track. Then again, a good amount of irony and humor in the description could flip that idea on its head.
Sometimes when I create a race, I tend to get boring with the color scheme by favoring consistency. My Top Gear test track is super boring, but the point of that one is to improve your best time on a level course with different cars. I tried to add a dash of interest by including some Del Perro Pier rides at one end, which look better at night, and trees along the way to give a bit of perspective. There's definitely an art to mixing it up and perhaps I'll get there with more practice.
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dubmatik
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Post by dubmatik on Jun 2, 2018 13:34:00 GMT
Good question.
I'd say the props are more important, but in the end I think it's a matter of balance.
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PaperMonkeyBoy
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Post by PaperMonkeyBoy on Jul 15, 2018 2:58:22 GMT
Landscape is nice, It's just extremely tedious and time consuming making tracks, eg when I go to delete a tree I placed on a ramp and it deletes the ramp instead, have random objects clip through your track like posts and rocks, it's annoying. So I just build a track in the sky with no landscape, I love it, but it's so annoying having to build it.
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wess3lopjescherm
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Post by wess3lopjescherm on Jul 15, 2018 12:22:32 GMT
i would prefer the landscape.
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