Track revamps and replacements for STK 2.0

Re: Track revamps and replacements for STK 2.0

Postby tempAnon093 » 16 May 2019, 09:01

CinusMinus {l Wrote}:Thinking about Fort Magma this is what came to my mind:
Vulkan.jpg

That's an excellent drawing! I really like the track going through the lizard/dragon.

QwertyChouskie {l Wrote}:https://samuncle.net/cloud/index.php/s/3eD0kMkM57ogU18
Giant smoke cloud using shaders. :)

https://samuncle.net/cloud/index.php/s/vW0w4piZq3Fi2o1
Better example of the lava flow.

That lava is well animated, I love it. Can't wait to see some tracks with that surrounding it.
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Re: Track revamps and replacements for STK 2.0

Postby Anon » 10 Jan 2020, 10:33

There is also one non-official track which could see inclusion if it receives a visual overhaul (no pathing changes required) : Paradise Peaks. The only blend I've found is a 0.8 compatible one however : https://forum.freegamedev.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=5631 . That version also doesn't have some graphical enhancements, but it shouldn't be an issue as it would have to be overhauled anyway.


Oh hey, I'm still getting some attention here years later. Neat.

I can probably dig up and upload the .blend file for the version I ended uploading to addons if anyone's interested in working with it. It'll still be a Blender 2.5x/2.6x file for STK 0.8x, but it might be a bit more organized and nicer to work with. It may or may not also have more refined drivelines— I designed the turns to be sharp and non-repetitive explicitly because I'd gotten bored of all the other tracks available at the time, but I don't remember whether I decided they were too sharp, narrow, etc and adjusted them after uploading that file.

Alternatively, you could get try getting an updated version from @xedgarx on the addons site, who seems to have ported it to the Antarctica engine when that was still new:
https://online.supertuxkart.net/addons. ... dise-peaks

The graphics would definitely need an overhaul, in not just aesthetic but also technical terms. Performance was quite bad in 0.8 because I made the clouds using hundreds/thousands of billboards; I assume that might be doable with custom shaders now? I also wrapped the entire mountain in a transparent shell in order to tile a fossil pattern (and a couple wall drawings) over it— I was aiming for a melancholic backstory of an extinction event, but I neglected the rest of the scenery for it, while increasing the rendering cost and covering all the solid stone with only two textures.


On another note:

While there's a lot of talk about "graphical enhancements" in both here and the ranking thread, it's not really clear what that means.

Samuncle had a really good visual style guide that described a graphical theme based on handpainted, cartoonized-yet-realistic textures inspired by Team Fortress 2; is that still official? Otherwise, I don't think saying "How beautiful [it] looks according to me" and "nice models", "nice textures" etc will be too helpful for any artists trying to help create a coherent game.
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Re: Track revamps and replacements for STK 2.0

Postby Alayan » 11 Jan 2020, 17:34

Anon {l Wrote}:I can probably dig up and upload the .blend file for the version I ended uploading to addons if anyone's interested in working with it. It'll still be a Blender 2.5x/2.6x file for STK 0.8x, but it might be a bit more organized and nicer to work with.


That would be nice. :)

Anon {l Wrote}:IWhile there's a lot of talk about "graphical enhancements" in both here and the ranking thread, it's not really clear what that means.

Samuncle had a really good visual style guide that described a graphical theme based on handpainted, cartoonized-yet-realistic textures inspired by Team Fortress 2; is that still official? Otherwise, I don't think saying "How beautiful [it] looks according to me" and "nice models", "nice textures" etc will be too helpful for any artists trying to help create a coherent game.


I'm not a 3D graphics expert, so I don't have precise technical explanations for everything. When I point out stuff like obvious polygons in 3D models where there shouldn't be, or textures that look terrible, or an environment that seems empty, I think that's clear enough, but I can't go on about how shaders should be used, etc.

The existing best-looking tracks (Cocoa Temple, Black Forest, Gran Paradisio Island, Ravenbridge Mansion, Cornfield Crossing) offer a point of reference for the visual style and techniques.
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