FreeGameDev

This thread intent is to generate new ideas for STK development. I'm not a developer, but it might be a good place for developers and modders to look through and see what catches their fancy. Here is an interesting post adding flare to games http://freegamer.blogspot.kr/2012/05/de ... -game.html


Head on Collisions:
If you hit a wall, object, or when two players hit each other head on. Add a crashing sound effect and have the circling stars which are used when a player is hit with an enemy attack. Maybe some cartoony effect like http://lh4.ggpht.com/_dvKhzCDAgM4/SwVxA ... 5B4%5D.jpg or http://thumb11.shutterstock.com/photos/ ... 6350,2.jpg or
http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j33 ... /crack.jpg

Hard Landings:
If your kart falls from a certain height when you land a graphic (in the same vein as the circling stars) appears below your kart http://www.pjsinnam.com/udo_toons/Images/WHOMP!LDG.jpg this one is a little small http://i.neoseeker.com/ca/yoshis_island ... _thumb.jpg
There should be an accompanying sfx.

Ramps in the Adventure Overworld:
It would be cool if the overworld was a mixture of challenges and a playground with ramps, loops, big cliffs and objects that you can hit and move (like maybe the soccer balls, the sheep, and boxes).

The three above features would make crashing and racing around the adventure mode really fun.

The Bubble Gum Revision:
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=3995
Make the bumblegum a shield that lasts for a short time. If the shield is hit by an enemy attack it pops leaving a texture splat of gum several times larger than the current gum model. The splat causes a smaller slow down (because its spread over a larger area) than the current gum. If the shield is not popped it disappears and the player can use the gum as it appears currently in the game.

Skies
Some of the skies look like they belong in a more serious game. I think of STK has a cartoony style.

I think i will try to think about collision in the future
http://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?i ... mages4.gif

My greatest wish:

Android port of STK

This is a good thread idea. Saves me from starting a whole new topic for my suggestion. ^^ I'll go ahead and quote myself from the Ubuntu forums, where I asked Arthur_D the same question. =P

johnluke728 {l Wrote}:Would it be easy to implement an option to disable boosting from skids? While I know you can just as easily not map a skid button to everyone's controllers, it would be an interesting option for parents so the whole family can just focus on a good, clean game without the pressure of competitive racing, or completely handicapping the speed demon(s) in the bunch.

Sounds kinda silly, but it always annoyed my parents whenever I would powerslide like crazy on Mario Kart for an extra boost around the corner, giving me and my sis an edge they couldn't keep up with. I'd keep telling them it was an effortless thing to do, but they were convinced it was "cheating". Finally had enough of it around Mario Kart Wii and haven't played with them since. XD What? My sis and I were brutal on the track, we fought dirty and loved it! It's impossible not to do. > : D

He told me there's a variable in SuperTuxKart's configuration script for tweaking the boost value, "bonus-force", so it's technically already an option. Although what I'm suggesting is to make a tickbox in the settings menu for disabling boost speed or returning the value to its default. In my opinion, this would give STK a quick and easy an advantage over other wacky racers, allowing parents to just disable boosting no matter what buttons are mapped to everyone's controllers, without the need to constantly remove the skid button from button configurations or hurting the itchy trigger finger of speed demons in the family; fewer complaints about "cheating" and such. "There, you're not doing that for this race, son. Now take it easy and have some fun with us. Save the competitive stuff for your friends, okay?".

I think the new skidding is just PERFECT (even better than other Mk-like).

Maybe it could interesting for beginners to choose like in Mk between the old skidding :"Automatic skidding" (good for beginner), and new skidding "Advanced skidding" (good for good players )."

I think it's close to perfect too, actually; I quite enjoy the way skidding works now. Not quite as rough on my analogue sticks as older Mario Karts. =P I was just suggesting a way for families that could care less for competitive play to enjoy the game with less arguments about who's going faster than who. XD

And this is a good idea , i think the system will not be so difficult to create (I'm not able to code just 2D and sounds); both skidding are already made

Concerning skidding, making it "optional" makes the game inconsistent IMHO.
I still prefer the one in Crash Team Racing (CTR) -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK15Ll_EOkQ -> look at the gauge at the bottom right: it fills up while skidding, going from green to red. When it becomes red, we press a button and it triggers a turbo. This can be done 3 times for a given skid.

Anyway, in STK, the new skidding makes the game a lot less boring IMHO, because we finally have something to do when there is no opponent near us or when travelling through the overworld.
However, I think waiting for the smoke to become green gives too little advantage compared to the yellow one: it seems to be better to do 2 yellow skids instead one 1 green.

Otherwise, I think STK misses jumps, moving obstacles, cannons (hiker, you coded one right? I didn't see it in any track...), holes... In CTR, hitting the skidding key while jumping gives you a boost when we touch the ground again. This could be cool in STK as well, IMHO

And last but not least, there is a need for graphical improvements still, in particular lightmaps should be used in all tracks I think.

Funto {l Wrote}:Concerning skidding, making it "optional" makes the game inconsistent IMHO.

Totally disagree (IMHO) just few people will play with the "old" skidding. The new skidding isn't optional but the old one is optionnal (only few people will play with it) THAT is different.

I prefer the skidding from ---> walt disney world magical racing tour (like current Stk)
I never really enjoyed Skidding from Crash' team


The differences between karts can also be the skidding system with "fast" kart with current Stk skidding (better for straight races) and slower kart with more efficient skidding "Crash' team skidding" (better for sinuous races)


In both ways, people who know how to use the skidding will take the advantage so our parents have to use their brain and learn xD

Improving the drifting as it currently makes small hops at the beginning and the perspective is changed very fast.

Maybe it would make sense to add something like www.osmbugs.org but for Level bugs/improvements. So you drive with your car to a certain position within the map and could report markers with descriptions to help the map designers

Totoplus62 {l Wrote}:Totally disagree (IMHO) just few people will play with the "old" skidding. The new skidding isn't optional but the old one is optionnal (only few people will play with it) THAT is different.

By "switching to the old skidding", do you mean for everybody or for each individual player? I think the most important is to not give an advantage to people who use the old one (in that case, it would be ok, as the new one gives a boost but the old one doesn't).

Totoplus62 {l Wrote}:I prefer the skidding from ---> walt disney world magical racing tour (like current Stk)
I never really enjoyed Skidding from Crash' team

I played World Magical Racing Tour too (maaany years ago ), and I still prefer the one in CTR. My opinion on this is that the one is CTR is more oriented towards hardcore gamers, as it is harder to master and gives more control. The player decides exactly when he triggers the boost and he must wait for the gauge to be as full as possible to get the biggest boost possible. For the record, in CTR, the really hard part was the time trial mode, where we had to play against N. Oxide's ghost on all tracks, and mastering skidding was more than necessary.

Totoplus62 {l Wrote}:The differences between karts can also be the skidding system with "fast" kart with current Stk skidding (better for straight races) and slower kart with more efficient skidding "Crash' team skidding" (better for sinuous races)

Well, that's interesting, I don't know exactly what to think about it...On one hand, it makes the game more inconsistent, but on the other hand, it:
- gives karts unique abilities
- makes room for "karts for beginners" vs "karts for experts"

Totoplus62 {l Wrote}:In both ways, people who know how to use the skidding will take the advantage so our parents have to use their brain and learn xD

Yeah
A good balance needs to let the game accessible to beginners/casual gamers (they should be able to finish the game) but still let advanced players enjoy more difficult challenges that unlock interesting enough rewards (again, for CTR (yes I love that game) the history mode was relatively easy, but the time trial mode was hard as hell ).

Funto {l Wrote}:

Totoplus62 {l Wrote}:

Totoplus62 {l Wrote}:The differences between karts can also be the skidding system with "fast" kart with current Stk skidding (better for straight races) and slower kart with more efficient skidding "Crash' team skidding" (better for sinuous races)

Well, that's interesting, I don't know exactly what to think about it...On one hand, it makes the game more inconsistent, but on the other hand, it:
- gives karts unique abilities
- makes room for "karts for beginners" vs "karts for experts"

Well, i have an idea !
-The fastest, easy to control karts with old basic skidding ---> for your parents !
-Slower karts with current Stk skidding --> for normal players !
-Slowest, hard to control karts with most efficient skidding "Crash' team skidding" --> for expert players !

So... You don't have to disable the skidding ! You just have to choose your kart
It permits to balanced the game and this is not more inconsistent than "weight" in Mario kart
The 2 characteristic of a kart: Speed, Skidding boost
--> The gameplay is enhanced and balanced, the approach is unique; a game for casual and hardcore gamers

Despite the problem of inconsistency, I don't think it's fair to need a slow kart to have CTR-style skidding. I prefer the approach that says a kart is hard to drive, but once you master it, it's worth it: take control of the beast
For example, in the very first Gran Turismo, the Dodge Viper was very hard to drive, but once you managed to drive it, you could use its big power to outperform opponents
That's actually the opposite approach to your proposition ^^

Just think about this : -our parents play with the fastest karts and easy to control --> a lap in 1:30 min (No advantage because: no boost with skidding)
-We play with slowest karts and most difficult to control (without using skidding boost) ---> a lap in 1:48 min
-We play with slowest karts and most difficult to control (with skidding boost) ---> a lap in 1:25 min !

In fact with the right method: these karts (kart 3 with Crash skid) are the fastest of the game but you have to be an expert player, the method is difficult --> but when an expert player drive the fastest karts (and easy to control) : a lap in 1:30

I (personnaly) think this idea has a high potential i will play with these karts all the time (It is very rewarding ! )


Three categories of karts with two karts in each category

Kart 1 --> Speed:**** /Boost:---- /Handling:**** (beginners ---> Simple skidding)
Alternative: Speed:***- /Boost:*--- /Handling:****

Kart 2 --> Speed:***- /Boost:**-- /Handling:***- (intermediate ---> Current skidding)
Alternative: Speed:**-- /Boost:***- /Handling:***-

Kart 3 --> Speed:**-- /Boost:**** /Handling:**--(expert ---> Ctr skidding)
Alternative: Speed:***- /Boost:**** /Handling:*---

Speed: Maximum speed you can have without bonus
Boost: Power of the boost obtained with skidding, permit you to overtake speed limit
Attitude/handling: I think this is clear
(--> people should have the same gifts )

It was a great brainstorming tonight funto !

Yes this way seems cool to me
We still have to deal with the fact that adding a new key binding (triggering the boost) is not cool as STK already has a lot of those (I couldn't map them to wiimote input as a consequence).
Maybe it could be merged with the nitro key? (you wouldn't use nitro at the same time anyway).

And we have to deal with explaining to the player that there are different skidding styles (no boost, automatic, semi-automatic)...(tutorial mode, which BTW could be merged with history mode IMO, with some character explaining the things to us as progress to help us in our quest - again, as in CTR ).

this is very clear !

For the tuto we just have to create a track with plots (of audacity ? ) that explain you how to skid (This is easy to learn ! )
And in the menu you choose between:
-Tuto with kart for beginner (simple skidding)
-Tuto with kart for intermediate player (Current skidding)
-Tuto with kart for expert player (Ctr skidding)

I hope people will love this !

Funto {l Wrote}:Maybe it could be merged with the nitro key? (you wouldn't use nitro at the same time anyway).

Why not. Can you use your keyboard?

All idea is very good. Good Luck !

Totoplus62 {l Wrote}:



this is very clear !

For the tuto we just have to create a track with plots (of audacity ? ) that explain you how to skid (This is easy to learn ! )
And in the menu you choose between:
-Tuto with kart for beginner (simple skidding)
-Tuto with kart for intermediate player (Current skidding)
-Tuto with kart for expert player (Ctr skidding)

I hope people will love this !

well the milestones list said something about diffeerent charateristics for karts........ some could have better spped, skidding, power-ups, crashing, etc....

Funto {l Wrote}:Yes this way seems cool to me
We still have to deal with the fact that adding a new key binding (triggering the boost) is not cool as STK already has a lot of those (I couldn't map them to wiimote input as a consequence).
Maybe it could be merged with the nitro key? (you wouldn't use nitro at the same time anyway).

And we have to deal with explaining to the player that there are different skidding styles (no boost, automatic, semi-automatic)...(tutorial mode, which BTW could be merged with history mode IMO, with some character explaining the things to us as progress to help us in our quest - again, as in CTR ).

I had a thread on this, see here viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3578

Crossing the Finish Line
In multiplayer games, a sfx plays for the first player to cross the finish line.

Funto {l Wrote}:Concerning skidding, making it "optional" makes the game inconsistent IMHO.

I see this risk as well. I would imagine that people starting on easy will discover skidding still on easy, before feeling comfortable to move to the next level.If a feature like this is not available on certain difficulties, it feels indeed inconsistent, and makes it more difficult to go to the next difficulty.. On the other hand, I can see the reason for asking this, and family use of STK is important to me. Perhaps a 'disable' skidding option, though then again: we can't support everything. Can you just map all skidding keys for the players to an unused key? This would most likely work well enough if you want to race against non-skidder.

...

However, I think waiting for the smoke to become green gives too little advantage compared to the yellow one: it seems to be better to do 2 yellow skids instead one 1 green.

That's possible. How should we improve this? Make it last longer? Or even faster? I find the biggest problem is to distinguish the colours, but with current work on particle effects (in trunk) that might improve.

Otherwise, I think STK misses jumps, moving obstacles, cannons (hiker, you coded one right? I didn't see it in any track...), holes... In CTR, hitting the skidding key while jumping gives you a boost when we touch the ground again. This could be cool in STK as well, IMHO

I totally agree with most of this. I kept on asking for jumps and mentioned the cannon to whenever I am asked for opinion, but no one uses it Might be catch 22: unless people see those things in action, they might not think of it and use it. So: someone should just start

Re jumping: this is (iirc still) partly implemented: you can actually skid while jumping, which means you will turn faster and get the bonus quicker when you touch down. I used this behaviour while tuning the skidding parameters (for a while the karts were fast enough that they would fly just before the 90 degree left turn in the canyon of Hacienda - skidding in air was quite fun )

So artists: pleeeease add some jumps, and look at the cannon

Cheers,
Joerg

heyda {l Wrote}:Improving the drifting as it currently makes small hops at the beginning and the perspective is changed very fast.

We had contradicting opinions here - some people found it hard to see where they are going when the camera moves too slow. So atm we settled with the behaviour we have, and (afaik) you are the first one to mentioned that it is too fast.

Maybe it would make sense to add something like www.osmbugs.org but for Level bugs/improvements. So you drive with your car to a certain position within the map and could report markers with descriptions to help the map designers

You can already take screenshots in game. We just don't have the processes in place (and number of artists) to make an automated submission feasible.

Cheers,
Joerg

Funto {l Wrote}:We still have to deal with the fact that adding a new key binding (triggering the boost) is not cool as STK already has a lot of those (I couldn't map them to wiimote input as a consequence).
Maybe it could be merged with the nitro key? (you wouldn't use nitro at the same time anyway).

STK has indeed too many keys already. So this will not be an option. Also having the option to use skidding later (do I understand this correct) makes skidding easier, since you don't have to judge when to skid (so that you can actually use the boost).

And we have to deal with explaining to the player that there are different skidding styles (no boost, automatic, semi-automatic)...(tutorial mode, which BTW could be merged with history mode IMO, with some character explaining the things to us as progress to help us in our quest - again, as in CTR ).

Different features in karts are certainly planned, but I am not sure if a kart will no skidding boost. Automatic skidding might be a good idea, which could be in addition and independent of kart skidding parameters. Basically we could try to reuse the AI for players. But this is very hard to get right, and might be very annoying if the karts start/stop skidding at wrong locations. I admit I am not keen on doing this.

Cheers,
Joerg

Why not put the jumps, ramps, and cannons in the story mode overworld? Everyone who plays the game would get to try them out. There could also be signs that inform the user of controls and a small challenge. "Can you drift around this corner? Press and hold v to try. You'll get a speed boost ". There could be presents so that the user can see the power ups.



Would it be hard to code in support for generating sparks or big collision "WHAM!" when karts hit something head or land from a large height?

Totoplus62 {l Wrote}:

Thanks for the pictures. Adding support for different kart characteristics is on our todo list. The main problem is screen space: with split screen you have 4 karts on the screen (atm). Not sure if we have to redesign the GUI a bit for that to work.
...

For the tuto we just have to create a track with plots (of audacity ? ) that explain you how to skid (This is easy to learn ! )
And in the menu you choose between:
-Tuto with kart for beginner (simple skidding)
-Tuto with kart for intermediate player (Current skidding)
-Tuto with kart for expert player (Ctr skidding)

I hope people will love this !

I have mixed feeling about the tutorial: how many people would actually use it? Would you prefer sitting in a tutorial race over and over, or try in a race anyway? Would it make STK look to complicated?

Would a tutorial actually help to reduce unnecessary question (I sit on a fence and am not rescued ... from someone who didn't know about the rescue button).

Funto {l Wrote}:Maybe it could be merged with the nitro key? (you wouldn't use nitro at the same time anyway).

Why not. Can you use your keyboard?

I want to support other input devices, esp. gamepad and wiimote, so the number of keys STK uses is a big problem. See separate thread in the mailing list.

Cheers,
Joerg