Let me add my humble opinion about this subject. I will divide my post in tw parts:
1. The locked tracks; and,
2. The Story mode.
Part I - The Locked TracksPersonally, I don't like much the idea of locked tracks. In my personal case, I constantly face an annoying issue: a lot of tracks, turn back to the locked state if I don't play STK for more than 3 weeks.
The issue remains no matter the computer. I have experienced this using two different PCs. Maybe it's my fault for not properly removing the previous version or something, but it's a real issue.
Anyway, I think that locked tracks are not needed for more emotion or any sensation of progress. The game can make the new players feel rewarded by their efforts if they 1. reach
upper categories and/or 2.
New tracks or
packages are available to play.
1. The progress as driver can be achieved unlocking the modes based on experience. Ex. The new player drives on 3 tracks to complete the requirements. Then, he/she sees the message
"You have unlocked an upper category ".
"Now, the 'Experient Driver' level is unlocked".
2. After completing the dares, the new player may have access to a)
new tracks, b)
championships and c)
packages of tracks on Add ons.
Here, I come back to my idea about the packages.
The game would be organized in two parts:
1.
The official tracks, arenas and soccer games made by the developers or contributors and approved to be included in the main game.
2.
The thematic packages made exclusively by contributors. What kind of packages? Groups of tracks with some similarity in environment, era, subject or level of difficulty. Then, we could have packages like:
Sea Side - Formed by a group of add on tracks placed in a sea or with some proximity (beach, for example).
Sand Stormy - Tracks on deserts.
Time Machine or
Time Traveler - Tracks where the player go the past or the future to drive in the pre-historic time, old Egypt, Middle Ages, wild West, cyber futuristic metropolis, etc.
In any case, any track could be part of two or more different packages. Ex. "Shifting Sands" could be one of the tracks on "Time Traveler" package and "Sand Stormy" and "100 Nights" (a hypothetical package with a Middle Eastern theme). The packages don't need to be downloaded with the main game. The sequence remains normal:
I. The new player download and install the game;
II. The new player drives on the tracks with dares to win.
III. As soon as he/she complete the required track(s), a message appear informing the access to the tracks/packages on the add on list.
It's simple and doesn't add or increase the work for the developers.
Part II - The Story ModeThe Opening CutsceneWell, that introductory animation on the history mode is already outdated, don't you agree? I don't know if the developers are doing another one new in secret. In this case, let's see what they have to put on the game replacing that old one "movie". If not, two possible ways:
1. The newest introduction to the history mode could be done by a contributor. So, the developers or the community could choose between:
a) another animation in 3D;
b) an
Opening Cutscene like a history book as seen in "Cup Head" or a comic book;
orhttps://youtu.be/GuHm-BYUq9w?t=46sThe overworld envinronment may be replaced by a smart and very friendly user interface with a map, a panel or any other graphic that shows the possibilities for the new player to play the obligatory tracks to access the upper categories. In this case, the possibilities are diverse in every way in terms of visual, commands and buttons, etc.: High tech themed, old book, scroll down, ...
I can upload concrete examples of what I mean for Opening Cutscene and user interface. In my mind, the simplest opening chosen should be like it is in "
Cup Head": simple screens, one after one showing the history behind the game. Ex.
Page 1 starts
"One upon a time when a princess called Sara lived in her castle...". Page 2 continues the narrative showing a new screen:
"... however, one day, the peaceful reign was disturbed by an undesired visit: Nolok, the king of the Lava Empire took the decision to get the reign of Sara at any cost.."Page 3 continues:
"...Then, Nolok arrived decided to kidnap Sara and put her as a prisoner in the dungeon in his volcanic castle, bla, bla, bla"
Everything told as an old book or a comic book. No animation. No 3D objects. No "heavy" and big files to demand effort by the part of the players' GPU. Then, the player access the panel or map showing the icons/buttons to click. Every button or icon would be correspondent to some track to drive and has it name.
I'm not able to do this at the moment (I mean exactly now), but
I can draw my idea of opening in a storyboard and/or a new user interface to replace the history mode Over World map if the developers have an interest to see my suggestions.
PS. The word Story was practically abolished in Portuguese, so, I may have used history instead story at some point.