Traumbrecher
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When all else fails, die in a fire.
Posts: 203 
Registered on: July 2015
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Post by Traumbrecher on Dec 17, 2015 16:53:53 GMT
[Originally posted this in the Racing section, then noticed this section afterward. Link to original: nodo.freeforums.net/thread/5158/looking-helpful-track-criticism-version]Hey guys, I just finished putting together a bunch of races on the PC version based on the tracks for the 2016 Trans Am Racing Series schedule. Now, I've only just put in a few laps on each in testing and creating to make sure they're all functional, but I'm open to helpful criticism. Ideally, I have an event in mind that I'd like to put together on PC for this once I get some feedback on the tracks and make sure they're ironed out nicely. My idea is going to be a 2016 Trans Am Racing Series event for all Imponte models in the muscle class (Dukes, Ruiner, Phoenix, Nightshade). Linked below is the playlist on Social Club to download/play them: socialclub.rockstargames.com/games/gtav/pc/playlists/playlist/lThWVT0zz0qc8GkADgC2-Q Let me know what you guys think of each track, what could be improved, etc. I tried to keep each track as similar in track shape to its real life counterpart as possible, some are slightly more accurate than others, of course. |
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Post by therealroadkill on Dec 18, 2015 0:14:38 GMT
I don't know if I have any useful advice for you, but I did download your playlist, will check them out and (the big reason I'm commenting here) I am some what interested in your event. I still suck at racing but the more I join, the better I'll get, looking forward to learning more.
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Hertz
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Winner of Chiliad-Sandy Triathlon
Posts: 580
Registered on: December 2015
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Post by Hertz on Dec 18, 2015 0:28:53 GMT
I ran all the races two laps each in GTA mode. Since muscle class was default I raced in blackfin for most of these. Keep in mind that I don't usually like open space races like airport or zancudo normally anyway. Here are few suggestions:
1. Too many wrenches, it can be blinding at light and cause issues. Use some light source?
2. There are problems with some checkpoints in tracks like #7 and #8, where two are so close together that once you see the third checkpoint it's already too late.
3. I'm not sure but I think it's track #9 where barriers lie a lot. The optimal line is to ignore the barriers and cut everything.
4. I'm not sure about pit stops on some of these either. Some are really elaborate to take the speed out of cars in the pit lane while in some other cases they just... are alternate routes.
5. The checkpoints in few cases are pointing at where car would be heading, not the actual turn. There were tendencies in these tracks to have checkpoints too out to the exit of the curves, which can be confusing in consecutive corners.
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Traumbrecher
Member
When all else fails, die in a fire.
Posts: 203
Registered on: July 2015
Steam: Traumbrecher
Social Club: Traumbrecher
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Post by Traumbrecher on Dec 18, 2015 4:35:32 GMT
I ran all the races two laps each in GTA mode. Since muscle class was default I raced in blackfin for most of these. Keep in mind that I don't usually like open space races like airport or zancudo normally anyway. Here are few suggestions: 1. Too many wrenches, it can be blinding at light and cause issues. Use some light source? 2. There are problems with some checkpoints in tracks like #7 and #8, where two are so close together that once you see the third checkpoint it's already too late. 3. I'm not sure but I think it's track #9 where barriers lie a lot. The optimal line is to ignore the barriers and cut everything. 4. I'm not sure about pit stops on some of these either. Some are really elaborate to take the speed out of cars in the pit lane while in some other cases they just... are alternate routes. 5. The checkpoints in few cases are pointing at where car would be heading, not the actual turn. There were tendencies in these tracks to have checkpoints too out to the exit of the curves, which can be confusing in consecutive corners. 1. Not sure how to add a light source to a pit lane, but I can remove some wrenches to make it easier to see at night. 2. Thanks, I'll look into that and try to spread them out better. 3. Hmm, can you be a little more specific on this one? (Exactly which track and are there specific corners or is it almost every corner?) 4. You're right on that. Some of the tracks I felt like including a pit stop meant to slow down the racer, while others I gave it more of a high speed pit stop that just really cuts you down only a few seconds based on the real world track design. Obviously I took artistic liberty with all of them, as most tracks just have a straight through pit stop design, but with ones like the NOLA Motorsport Park (#10), I felt like just having a nice long pit lane that arcs off to the side and gives just a little bit of zig zag matches up to the real world version a little better. My wife tested them out last night with me, too, and gave me a couple pointers of her own, like needing to put some arrows out on the pit lane on #10 because as you're coming up to it at full speed, it's easy to think you're coming up on a solid wall with no exit. I'll be tweaking that as well. 5. I also noticed this on some tracks last night when running them with my wife and made a mental note to go back and tweak on these. I ended up working super late tonight so won't have time to tweak on them until tomorrow after work. Luckily, I'm pretty much off work all next week and will have lots of time to tweak on these and make them better. Thanks for the suggestions and if you think of any other critiques or tips, please let me know! I'm new to messing with the creator and am open to any advice on making the tracks look prettier. Is there any way to bypass the 100 prop limit? It's pretty hard to make some of these with only 100 props (which is why I used so many tire wall barriers instead of concrete barriers, the tire walls are so much longer and end up being able to create a longer track out of it). |
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Traumbrecher
Member
When all else fails, die in a fire.
Posts: 203
Registered on: July 2015
Steam: Traumbrecher
Social Club: Traumbrecher
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Post by Traumbrecher on Dec 18, 2015 4:39:24 GMT
I don't know if I have any useful advice for you, but I did download your playlist, will check them out and (the big reason I'm commenting here) I am some what interested in your event. I still suck at racing but the more I join, the better I'll get, looking forward to learning more. I'm open to any and all suggestions, so don't hold back!  The more you practice, the better you'll get at it. Broughy's racing school youtube series is pretty helpful to begin with for good beginner racing techniques. If you're interested in checking out more advanced tips and techniques, I recommend checking out a book called "Ultimate Speed Secrets: The Complete Guide to High-Performance and Race Driving" by Ross Bentley. I've been slowly reading through it myself and am only about 25% of the way through, but it's got some great explanations of what to do and why, using physics to explain why the car behaves like it does. Excellent read if you're serious about getting better at racing. |
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Post by Oh_Darn on Dec 18, 2015 11:01:36 GMT
I will do a run through the tracks when I have the time. I think it might be a smart idea to wait with your event since end januari/begin februari three major event will start (SATCC season 3, Grotti F1 season 2 and the MCEC season 3). SATCC and F1 will be alternating on friday's so that will be a total of 16 weeks and the MCEC being on saturday for 10 consecutive weeks. I know I dont want to race 3 events per weekend and probably many more with me.
If you host an even during that period it will be very likely only a few people want to sign up and that would obviously be a shame with the effort you already put into it by creating the tracks etc.
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Traumbrecher
Member
When all else fails, die in a fire.
Posts: 203
Registered on: July 2015
Steam: Traumbrecher
Social Club: Traumbrecher
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Post by Traumbrecher on Dec 18, 2015 16:45:33 GMT
I will do a run through the tracks when I have the time. I think it might be a smart idea to wait with your event since end januari/begin februari three major event will start (SATCC season 3, Grotti F1 season 2 and the MCEC season 3). SATCC and F1 will be alternating on friday's so that will be a total of 16 weeks and the MCEC being on saturday for 10 consecutive weeks. I know I dont want to race 3 events per weekend and probably many more with me. If you host an even during that period it will be very likely only a few people want to sign up and that would obviously be a shame with the effort you already put into it by creating the tracks etc. Good point, thanks for the tip! I'll take that time to try to refine the tracks and line out the details and such. |
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Traumbrecher
Member
When all else fails, die in a fire.
Posts: 203
Registered on: July 2015
Steam: Traumbrecher
Social Club: Traumbrecher
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Post by Traumbrecher on Dec 20, 2015 5:18:56 GMT
I took the time yesterday and today to watch through the entire MCEC Season 2 playlist on Broughy's channel and really pay attention to the track designs, prop use, and checkpoint placement. I then spent the afternoon going back and editing all 11 tracks to utilize a much cleaner design and I think it really helps to clue the driver in to where the racing line is as well as the next checkpoint (at least much better than before). I've uploaded all of the new versions, so if you guys have the time to run through them again and let me know what you think, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks for the tips and critiques, guys! Keep it coming. |
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The more you practice, the better you'll get at it. Broughy's racing school youtube series is pretty helpful to begin with for good beginner racing techniques. If you're interested in checking out more advanced tips and techniques, I recommend checking out a book called "Ultimate Speed Secrets: The Complete Guide to High-Performance and Race Driving" by Ross Bentley. I've been slowly reading through it myself and am only about 25% of the way through, but it's got some great explanations of what to do and why, using physics to explain why the car behaves like it does. Excellent read if you're serious about getting better at racing.