A general evaluation of STK tracks

A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby Alayan » 12 Feb 2019, 18:55

This is a follow up on my previous thread with the same topic : https://forum.freegamedev.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7865

Most of the tracks in STK are the same, but there are a few new addons and some tracks have seen improvements.

The main difference is an extended rating system. Instead of just giving 0 to 5 points for graphics & ambiance, and same for gameplay & fun, before summing up, I will examine some more detailed criteria.

Tracks in STK mostly are devoid from important dynamic changes, hence I won't take this as an evaluation criteria here.

Evaluation guidelines

1. Graphics (out of 7 points)

How beautiful the track looks at decently high settings according to me. This includes having nice models, nice textures, having a coherent visual theme, decent contrast, etc.

2. Music (out of 2 points)

How nice the track's music is and how well does it fit to create an ambiance.

3. Challenge (out of 4 points)

The greatest the difference between skilled and less skilled player in the track, the more it is considered challenging. This is also a proxy for a "not boring" track : having some difficult sections requiring good accuracy or good timing make things much more interesting than a lap of Alpine-2 with no place at all to get an advantage. Hence, "somewhat challenging but boring" will see reduced points here.

4. Newbie-friendliness (out of 2 points)

Is the track enjoyable for someone racing on it for the first time and not having a big experience in STK ? Difficult tracks without some easier path (which would be slower for a decent player but is actually faster for someone having trouble with controls) can lose points here.

5. Alternative paths and shortcuts (out of 2 points)

While the quality of alternative paths and shortcuts influence other ratings, it deserves its own mention.

6. Item placement and karts start position (out of 2 points)

These can't make a bad track good, but they can make an otherwise good track bad.

7. Length (out of 1 point)
Tracks of different lengths can be great, but too short tracks create too short races (or too many laps) and long tracks force too few laps or too long races.

Rating list

For items placement, this list do not take into account the SVN fixes of the last few days. Take it as a "snapshot" as of early February.

Track #28 : Black Hill Mansion [4.5/20]
- Graphics [2/7] : Suffers from many issues like poor-res textures, polygonal curves, tree floating in the air, user accessible track limits.
- Music [1.5/2] : The music is the only good part of the track. It's decent and fits the theme well.
- Challenge [0/4] : The track is technically difficult to master with its narrow roads and big curves, but the overall gameplay is awful and it's broken with skips.
- Newbie-friendliness [0/2] : the very narrow road and big curves. It doesn't help that at one point it's better to go around the intended road element on the grass than to suffer the kart jumping and often crashing.
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0/2] : the track is broken so it technically has shortcuts, but none of them intended nor enhancing gameplay.
- Item placement and start position [0.5/2] : item placement is acceptable in most places, but the banana in the very narrow tunnel is bad. Also, karts in the start positions are extremely close to each other, guaranteeing many collisions.
- Track length [0.5/1] : Even following fully the intended path it is too short.

Track #27 : Zen Garden [8.5/20]
- Graphics [3.5/7] : QwertyChouskie fixes, most notably water in the river bed, have enhanced this aspect of the track. The tracks also get points for being consistent in its theme. But many textures and models are not on par, with noticeable polygonal curves.
- Music [2/2] : The music fits well with the track.
- Challenge [2.5/4] : The initial serie of narrow curves look scary at first, but it isn't that complicated to handle. The overall driveline of the track isn't very interesting.
- Newbie-friendliness [0.5/2] : The road is very narrow, and the suggested driveline before the bridge is both slower and more risky than cutting through grass. Many newbies crash there.
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0/2] : This track technically features a shortcut, but it's a very poor one.
- Item placement and start position [0/2] : many bananas on the narrow road after the start could be excused, but the profusion of item boxes in the big curve is insane. The karts in the start position are way too close to each other.
- Track length [0/1] : way too short

Track #26 : Fort Magma [9/20]
- Graphics [2.5/7] : there are some decent graphics aspects, like the heat distortions in the magma tunnel (though it has issues). However, most textures are poor, the lava pillars are static and completely unconvincing, moving lava is seen flowing down from nowhere in black pillars, the tracks features the worst case of polygonal curve of the game...
- Music [1/2] : the music doesn't fit very well for the castle of the evil boss of the game
- Challenge [2/4] : there are many occasions to fall off-track in the first half of the track. Otherwise, the general driveline is somewhat bland and would benefit from a redesign from the ground up.
- Newbie-friendliness [1/2] : not very complicated, but the magma part and the last curve before the lap line often cause trouble
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0.5/2] : the road separate in two identical path inside the castle, not adding a lot to the gameplay or fun.
- Item placement and start position [1.5/2] : some nitro placement is dubious but it's overall acceptable.
- Track length [0.5/1] : slightly over 30s a lap is too short

Track #25: Shifting Sands [9/20]
- Graphics [2/7] : The road and sand texture look bad, and the transition is poor too. The far away background is low quality, the track pushes having a dominant thematic color into monochrome excess. Many obvious ugly polygonal curves. The theme is consistent, however.
- Music [1.5/2] : The music fits with the track's theme, but isn't all that enjoyable either.
- Challenge [0.5/4] : There is almost zero challenging part in the track. The toughest elements are catching some nitros and avoiding the bananas after the bridge. It's almost impossible to make a come back on a good player without item advantage.
- Newbie-friendliness [2/2] : The fact that this track is easy to master make it quite newbie-friendly.
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [1/2] : The track features two ways to get into the pyramid. However, there is not a noticeable difficulty difference, making the slower path hard to justify.
- Item placement and start position [1/2] : The bananas, nitro and item boxes are not too rare or frequent overall, and they're placed in simple but effective patterns. The karts are a bit too close in the starting position.
- Track length [1/1] : decent track length

Track #24 : Bovine Banyard (former official track) [10/20]
- Graphics [2/7] : both models and textures are poor
- Music [1.5/2] : the track had a nice music, but the addon uses the new cornfield crossing music which fits it less well
- Challenge [2.5/4] : the amount of bananas actually create some challenge
- Newbie-friendliness [2/2] : newbies can follow along without major issue
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0.5/2] : features an unplanned and poor shortcut
- Item placement and start position [1/2] : nitro abuse and arguably banana abuse
- Track length [0.5/1] : too short

Track #23 : Hacienda [10/20]
- Graphics [3.5/7] : Many low quality textures and low poly model, with dull sand areas. Still good in the theme and better looking than some other tracks.
- Music [1.5/2] : decent music
- Challenge [2/4] : good use of second level skidding is important, but otherwise there is no major challenge. The zipper-jump in the building works poorly.
- Newbie-friendliness [2/2] : simple enough to not disorient newbies
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0.5/2] : There is a shortcut through the sand but it doesn't bring much to gameplay.
- Item placement and start position [1/2] : the first serie of item boxes is very close to the start, too close. I would remove it and do a few related adjustements. In the building, replace the lone item box by two. In the canyon, put the first two item boxes a bit earlier, replace the second group of item boxes by two small nitro cans on the inner side of the curve and a big nitro on the outer, while replacing the nitro close to the end by item boxes.
- Track length [0.5/1] : too short

Track #22 : Oliver's Math Class [10.5/20]
- Graphics [3.5/7] : Besides shadow pixelating even at max graphics, which I think is not track-specific, I have a hard time pointing to clear issues, but overall the track simplicity feels cheap. With exploration, one can find a lot of interesting details, like the posters showing other tracks, but this is far from enough to make it on par with the best-looking tracks.
- Music [1.5/2] : a STK classic
- Challenge [2.5/4] : The curves are hard to master, and the sortcut is challenging. The track loses point on being very repetitive and so easier to learn by repetition. It's also too easy to be attacked by a kart a lap behind, increasing randomness.
- Newbie-friendliness [1/2] : behind the happy ambiance and childish outlook, this track is quite hard for newbies with its curves.
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [1/2] : features a shortcut which requires decent skill to master.
- Item placement and start position [1/2] : the start position is good, but I think the item and nitro density is too high
- Track length [0/1] : way too short

Track #21 : Canyon 42 (addon) [10.5/20]
- Graphics [4.5/7] : One of the best looking addons tracks, but still suffer from many common issues for model and textures. It has a lot of interesting details, but important scenery like the rocks, and the rocks-road transitions, is only average.
- Music [1/2] : Lacks a unique music, and the Hacienda music doesn't fit as well with the theme
- Challenge [0.5/4] : The path is too easy to follow and doesn't give enough opportunities for a more skilled player to gain time, even though the varied banking of the curves is fun. A detail : I find the lap line not clear/obvious enough.
- Newbie-friendliness [2/2] : the path is easy to follow
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0/2] : none
- Item placement and start position [1.5/2] : I'd prefer to have more lateral space between karts in the starting position. Item placement is decent though not outstanding.
- Track length [1/1] : good length

Track #20 : Snow Peak [11/20]
- Graphics [2.5/7] : polygonal curves, low-res textures, barely noticeable falling snow, low variety making all parts of the track feel the same, no details like closed roads to elsewhere.
- Music [1.5/2] : acceptable
- Challenge [2.5/4] : doing great in this track requires mastering proper use of red skidding, and good trajectories. The wooden bridge has significant issues in reverse however.
- Newbie-friendliness [2/2] : without drifting, the risk of going too fast and falling off-track is not that high
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0/2] : none
- Item placement and start position [2/2] : the item placement and start position are very good
- Track length [0.5/1] : 30s per lap is shorter than ideal

Track #19 : Lost Chasm (addon) [11/20]
- Graphics [2.5/7] : unclear theme, poor textures, everything is grayish
- Music [2/2] : decent music
- Challenge [3/4] : this addons is in this list in the first place because it has a decently challenging and fun driveline, though it is not very smooth.
- Newbie-friendliness [1/2] : not the clearest of tracks to follow
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0/2] : none
- Item placement and start position [1.5/2] : some nitro placements are dubious
- Track length [1/1] : correct track length

Track #18 : Green Valley [11/20]
- Graphics [2/7] : horrible grass, 2D trees, many unnatural modelling transitions. The water looks good though.
- Music [1.5/2] : peaceful but a bit boring
- Challenge [4/4] : a candidate for the title of hardest STK track, with those rocks in the middle of the road in many place, and many occasions to fall off road.
- Newbie-friendliness [0.5/2] : a newbie will crash a lot
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0.5/2] : there is an unofficial shortcut, but it isn't great
- Item placement and start position [1.5/2] : the big nitro cans create too much imbalance, the rest is good
- Track length [1/1] : good track length

Track #17 : Volcano Island [11.5/20]
- Graphics [5/7] : There are many details one could nitpick over (for example, the clearly polygonal curves or the bland sand) but the overall quality is fine and better than many tracks.
- Music [1.5/2] : The music is enjoyable but the introduction phase is too long in my opinion.
- Challenge [2/4] : Proper use of red skidding is essential to be good at this track, but that's about it, most drivelines are simple to find and follow
- Newbie-friendliness [2/2] : while it is possible to fall off-road in some spot, the road is wide enough and curves are gentle enough that this is easy to drive
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0/2] : none
- Item placement and start position [1/2] : the big nitro can close to the end is a bad choice. Some bananas in strategic spots could make it less trivial.
- Track length [0/1] : the track is long, which by itself is fine, and quite repetitive, which combined with length is an issue.

Track #16 : Minigolf [11.5/20]
- Graphics [4/7] : Once a contender for the title of nicest STK track, it has aged and is clearly inferior to the new-gen tracks in visual quality. But it remains decent and consistent in theme.
- Music [1.5/2] : simple but effective
- Challenge [3.5/4] : one of the few tracks where taking all curves at full speed is not advisable. Really test the skills of the player, but loses half a point for that big explosive ball.
- Newbie-friendliness [0/2] : newbies keep crashing and are often frustrated.
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0.5/2] : the alternative path between nitro and items is decent but not more. The shortcut towards the end through the grass is passable.
- Item placement and start position [1.5/2] : the latest version features some improvements to item placement which has become decent. I think that the item boxes close to the start line are too much and too close, however. The kart starting positions are good.
- Track length [0.5/1] : too short.

Track #15 : Green Hill (addon) [12/20]
- Graphics [5/7] : rather nice looking track
- Music [0.5/2] : the music is average, and it doesn't fit the track
- Challenge [2.5/4] : with all this nitro, keeping the good skidding lines requires some acuracy
- Newbie-friendliness [1.5/2] : where to go when the first two separated paths join back can be confusing
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [1/2] : the track do feature two alternative paths, but they are poorly balanced when it comes to difficulty/length.
- Item placement and start position [0.5/2] : karts are too close to each other in the starting position, and the track suffers from a bad case of big nitro can abuse
- Track length [1/1] : about right

Track #14 : Around the Lighthouse [12/20]
- Graphics [4/7] : low quality textures. It would also be less bland if the road went closer to the sea level and allowed to see some nice effects like waves onto rocks.
- Music [1/2] : too repetitive and doesn't blend all that well with the track
- Challenge [3/4] : With the grass slowdown working properly, taking the curves optimally requires significant skill. Loses half a point due to the annoying invisible walls.
- Newbie-friendliness [2/2] : rather straightforward
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0/2] : none
- Item placement and start position [1.5/2] : 6 opportunities to get an item box in a lap is a lot for a short track like this
- Track length [0.5/1] : too short

Track #13 : Paradise Peaks (addon) [12.5/20]
- Graphics [3/7] : Every part of the track looks the same, and these rocks could look a lot better
- Music [2/2] : good music which helps defining the track's theme
- Challenge [3.5/4] : taking all the curves well requires precision, and the ability to cut some short by going off-road but at the risk of falling is nice
- Newbie-friendliness [1.5/2] : a bit hard for newbies, but quite manageable
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0/2] : none
- Item placement and start position [1.5/2] : some nitro cans placements are dubious
- Track length [1/1] : good length

Track #12 : Nessie's Pond [12.5/20]
- Graphics [3.5/7] : The theme is consistent, and the curves look enough like curves (that the borders are made of straight lines is noticeable but much less obvious than in some tracks). However, many textures and models are low-quality. The grass, the water, the vegetation and Nessie are among the main culprits.
- Music [2/2] : A scottish-sounding music which is dynamic enough for a racing game and fits well with the theme.
- Challenge [1/4] : This is one of the track where the time difference between players of different skills is the smallest, because the road is wide enough that accidents are rare.
- Newbie-friendliness [2/2] : It's easy on newbies without being boring.
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [1/2] : It had no intended shortcut or alternative path, but jumping over the river after cutting over the grass makes a great shortcut for the most skilled players, which with the grass slowdown is decently balanced.
- Item placement and start position [2/2] : Item placement is decent, start positions is good with karts not being too close.
- Track length [1/1] : about correct length, though more on the short side.

Track #11 : The Old Mine [13/20]
- Graphics [4/7] : the theme is well followed and it looks decently when racing, but there are many typical issues : poor textures, poor road-wall transitions, no water splashing effect (compounded sometimes by missing rescues), exceedingly polygonal irregularities (or regularities) in the walls and ceiling.
- Music [2/2] : a good music
- Challenge [4/4] : one of the contenders for the title of the most challenging STK track. The random mine cart can be frustrating at times, but overall it's very skill-selective
- Newbie-friendliness [0.5/2] : a newbie won't get lost, but he will crash again and again
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0/2] : there is no real alternative path or shortcut. Unlike most tracks which would benefit from a harder section, the old mine would be improved with an alternative mine tunnel allowing to skip the wooden bridge (which is one of the hardest sections especially for newbies) at the cost of being slower for players who don't crash often.
- Item placement and start position [1.5/2] : some nitro placements are dubious (impossible to get without crashing or slowing down a lot)
- Track length [1/1] : it would almost be on the short side, but for most players it's impossible to complete a fast lap without crashing

Track #10 : Ravenbridge Mansion [13.5/20]
- Graphics [6/7] : looks very good with the night and the rain, but details like splashing water and more convincing grass/swamp would be welcome;
- Music [1.5/2] : decent and fitting, but not outstanding. There is another music however which seems to have been composed for Ravenbridge Mansion and is not used ?
- Challenge [0.5/4] : not so easy that it would be boring for a good player, but not very challenging either. Loses half a point for no reverse mode support and another half point for serious AI issues.
- Newbie-friendliness [2/2] : a wide road and not too many traps
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [1.5/2] : features both a shortcut and an alternative path. The alternative path is a kind of trap, so perfect balance is not needed, but the shortcut could be improved.
- Item placement and start position [1/2] : the kart disposition at the start is terrible. It's too easy to catch the big nitro in the banana/nitro/banana. The rest is rather good.
- Track length [1/1] : good track length

Track #9 : XR591 [13.5/20
- Graphics [4/7] : obviously polygonal curves and models, some bad quality textures (including the main road texture), and insufficient contrast between road and off-road in some parts of the track
- Music [2/2] : a very good music
- Challenge [3.5/4] : this track is one of the, if not the, most challenging track in STK. It loses half a point for some road smoothness issues, especially in reverse, and for the tunnel walls which make it too easy to "slide" on them.
- Newbie-friendliness [0/2] : a newbie has a hard time with not crashing and with understanding where the road is going.
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [1/2] : with most of the broken unwanted shortcuts fixed, the tracks only feature one road separation into symmetrical part and a decently challenging shortcut allowing to bypass it.
- Item placement and start position [2/2] : both are very good overall
- Track length [1/1] : the length is about right, if anything on the short side but players will almost always lose time in mistakes there

Track #8 : Abysses [14/20]
- Graphics [5.5/7] : What is outside the driving area is very nice, but it's not what is seen the most, and the interior is somewhat bland.
- Music [2/2] : fits the track's theme well
- Challenge [1.5/4] : most of the difficulty here too is in the proper skidding curves
- Newbie-friendliness [2/2] : simple enough for newbies
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0/2] : none
- Item placement and start position [2/2] : the starting positio is decent, and item placement too
- Track length [1/1] : about right

Track #7 : Northern Resort [14/20]
- Graphics [4.5/7] : The theme, the sky, the falling snow are well done, but the low model quality, somewhat polygonal curves and poor textures affect this track too.
- Music [2/2] : a good music
- Challenge [4/4] : avoiding the bananas, not falling, getting the nitro cans, and skidding a lot requires significant skill.
- Newbie-friendliness [1.5/2] : too many occasions to fall for a newbie
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0/2] : none
- Item placement and start position [1.5/2] : while there is a lot of nitro and item boxes, most of it is smartly placed. The second big nitro can ought to be on the outer edge of the curve, not on the inner part. I'd also remove the very last nitro can and item box. There is already a huge amount of nitro and item boxes, these are easy to catch (especially in reverse) and help too much a chased player.
- Track length [0.5/1] : slightly too short

Track #6 : STK Enterprise [14/20]
- Graphics [5/7] : overall good look, though not up to the level of tracks like Cocoa Temple
- Music [1.5/2] : fits the track well
- Challenge [4/4] : definitely one of the hardest track in the game
- Newbie-friendliness [0.5/2] : there are many occasions to be confused by not turning at the right point or to crash or fall
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [1/2] : while there is no shortcut, it has a few alternative paths which add a small plus
- Item placement and start position [1/2] : the starting position is decent, but there has been some abuse in item placement. It's one of the rare track where it can be hard to use all your nitro ! I'd remove the nitro between the two close bananas (after the road has been split and reunited). In the area following the tight curve with three small nitro cans, I'd remove two of the four nitro cans (one on each side), and at the end of this section I'd remove the two small nitro cans left of the banana. Even this may not be enough but it should make thing saner.
- Track length [1/1] : not too short, not too long, just right

Track #5 : Candela City [15/20]
- Graphics [6.5/7] : Consistent theme, nice models, decent textures, many small details if one look around instead of just racing. Some noticeable polygonal curves however.
- Music [2/2] : Nice and fitting music.
- Challenge [2.5/4] : The first curve is very tricky, but the rest of the track is rather easy.
- Newbie-friendliness [1.5/2] : It's hard to get lost, and apart from the aforementionned curve a newbie can manage.
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [1/2] : the main road divided into two with many small connecting paths with items is a nice defining element.
- Item placement and start position [1/2] : the two big nitro cans are a significant balance issue. The starting positions would be better if the kart would be placed on a somewhat wider area.
- Track length [0.5/1] : 30s a lap with drifting and nitro in SuperTux is too short

Track #4 : Cornfield Crossing [15.5/20]
- Graphics [6/7] : The visual theme is consistent and enjoyable, with good quality of models and textures
- Music [1.5/2] : Nice but not amazing music
- Challenge [3/4] : correctly avoiding the bananas while collecting nitro, and finding the good drifting lines, require skill
- Newbie-friendliness [2/2] : it's easy to follow the intended path and there is no very hard section triggering too much crashes
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [0/2] : none
- Item placement and start position [2/2] : the nitro cans, item boxes and bananas are not too rare nor too frequent, and their placement contribute to the challenge
- Track length [1/1] : in the sweet spot

Track #3 : Black Forest (addon) [17/20]
- Graphics [7/7] : the latest version of Black Forest has risen to be the best looking track in STK in my opinion. Many elements are great, like the trees, the rocks, the houses, the train... and there is a lot of enjoyable detail like the nice river or the birds. It still has some weaknesses, like the ugly base grass texture (mostly hidden with additional grass or flowers on top), but I'm giving it a top mark to reflect its status as nicest track of the game.
- Music [0.5/2] : the music is nice and peaceful, and some like it, but it is neither unique to the track nor do I think it fits it so well. A unique musical theme would be a great enhancement.
- Challenge [4/4] : taken separetely, most of the sections are of very reasonable difficulty, but as a whole the track gives a lot of opportunity to make mistakes.
- Newbie-friendliness [1.5/2] : while driving fast without crash nor hitting a banana is hard, in most places you can't fall down or get lost.
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [2/2] : while the track features no traditional shortcut (the railroad tunnel could be considered one however), it features two branching in two different paths. The balance of speed and difficulty is quite good.
- Item placement and start position [1/2] : nitro and banana placements are suboptimal in several portions of the track. The biggest issue (the bananas of the monastery road) will be fixed but some other parts could be enhanced.
- Track length [1/1] : while it is long, it is never boring with different elements both in gameplay and in visuals

Track #2 : Gran Paradisio Island [17.5/20]
- Graphics [6.5/7] : One of the best looking tracks, with a lot of small details integrating well together between the sea and the airport.
- Music [2/2] : good fit
- Challenge [2.5/4] : the huge airport curve is not very hard, but skidding well and not falling when taking the first shortcut requires some skill.
- Newbie-friendliness [2/2] : the main path is easy to follow
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [1.5/2] : the secret path with the two big nitro cans is poor, but the two main paths are nice now that the zipper jump has been made slower to improve balance.
- Item placement and start position [2/2] : the item placement is good, the starting position is decent though the karts could be spread wider
- Track length [1/1] : correct length

Track #1 : Cocoa Temple [18/20]
- Graphics [6/7] : some polygonal curves but for the most part one of the best looking STK track, though performance is a serious issue on weak graphic cards and/or in network play.
- Music [2/2] : a good and fitting music
- Challenge [3.5/4] : while following the best path has become easy for me with experience, it's actually challenging and make skill differences quite clear.
- Newbie-friendliness [2/2] : by following the easiest (but slowest) path, this track is not too difficult for newbies.
- Alternative paths and shortcuts [2/2] : the best track without contest when it comes to alternative paths and shortcut, with three alternative path and one shortcut all well balanced between speed and challenge. They are not as good in reverse mode, however.
- Item placement and start position [2/2] : the start position could benefit from karts being on a wider area, but this is a minor point.
- Track length [0.5/1] : a bit short
Last edited by Alayan on 04 Mar 2019, 05:41, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby QwertyChouskie » 12 Feb 2019, 23:24

Zen Garden could probably be improved a lot just by upscaling the whole track in Blender, maybe I'll try this soon.
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby Andet » 13 Feb 2019, 00:14

Great list :D ! Really detailed. I'm not going to rank all the tracks but I'll say the ones where my opinion is the most different.

I would rate Snow Peak lower (as in worse, not a lower number). It could be a nice track if it had a visual upgrade, but I think the current graphics are just too outdated for the track to be at the level of most of the other tracks. I guess it depends on how much you value the graphics category. It also feels a bit redundant since there's already a snow track (but to be fair, Tux is a penguin so maybe it doesn't hurt to have multiple snow tracks).

Lost Chasm I would put higher on the list. I think the graphics and theme are fine, and the track feels very unique.

I like Volcan Island because of its atmosphere and theming. The music makes it feel like a resort-type track, which goes well with the basic layout and easy difficulty. I'm okay with the length since it's only 2 laps.

I would put Black Forest at #1, because of all the (well-balanced) routes that make it especially interesting. It feels very well-polished and replayable. I think the music fits because the track feels less like a race to the finish and more like an adventure, thus more relaxed music seems appropriate. Cocoa Temple and Gran Paradisio Island are also really good tracks, though.

QwertyChouskie {l Wrote}:Zen Garden could probably be improved a lot just by upscaling the whole track in Blender, maybe I'll try this soon.


That's exactly what I was thinking :) ! I would really like to see how this turns out. I think the same could be said about Minigolf to a lesser extent.
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby tempAnon093 » 13 Feb 2019, 00:22

While I don't think Blackhill Mansion is a particularly good track either (has anyone else noticed the top and bottom of the skybox???), I admit to liking that difficult U-turn inside the mansion and going into the tight underground tunnel afterwards. Yes, the U-turn is too tight of a turn to take at medium speed, but I don't mind.

With Zen Garden and a couple of others, I personally don't think short tracks are a bad thing. Variation is good, if people want to 1v1 Rust try a short quick match, that map is fun for it.

Black Forest is excellent. It is very long but has lots of variation both in the track and graphically, and has many alternate routes so it is certainly never a chore to drive the extra length.
With a bit of work on the grass (height, placement, appearance), some textures and possibly a bit less saturation in some parts, it could easily be one of the best tracks in the game (edit: I did not mean to suggest it already isn't).

Cocoa Temple is another favourite of mine. It has many different sections and alternate routes, and even a 90° bank! (if not obvious from one of my other posts, I love unusual track elements)

[I will review more tracks/points later, especially more of the parts I agree with]
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby Alayan » 13 Feb 2019, 01:19

QwertyChouskie {l Wrote}:Zen Garden could probably be improved a lot just by upscaling the whole track in Blender, maybe I'll try this soon.


It would be worth a try indeed !

Andet {l Wrote}:I would rate Snow Peak lower (as in worse, not a lower number). It could be a nice track if it had a visual upgrade, but I think the current graphics are just too outdated for the track to be at the level of most of the other tracks. I guess it depends on how much you value the graphics category. It also feels a bit redundant since there's already a snow track (but to be fair, Tux is a penguin so maybe it doesn't hurt to have multiple snow tracks).

I don't care that much for the graphics. I agree they're very basic, I told as much in the review.

I don't mind having two snowy tracks, after all we have two "desert" tracks with Hacienda and Shifting Sands, and some others themes have been/are/will be present in more than one official track.

Andet {l Wrote}:Lost Chasm I would put higher on the list. I think the graphics and theme are fine, and the track feels very unique.

I like the track, but the visuals are "everything is grey" and the theme seems weird to me. I rated the "challenge" part (which includes if the driveline is good) correctly.

Andet {l Wrote}:I like Volcan Island because of its atmosphere and theming. The music makes it feel like a resort-type track, which goes well with the basic layout and easy difficulty. I'm okay with the length since it's only 2 laps.

The thing I don't like much in the track is that, besides the lava tunnel, it's repetitive when it comes to both visuals and gameplay. Proving that I can take a tight turn once is ok, but at some point it's too much.

The current assets now have a few added bananas and fixed the weird big nitro can, which should make things better.

Ultimately, having some "harder but slightly faster" alternative path would really make this track shine in my opinion : keep the newbie-friendliness, while offering more variety and challenge. It would easily gain 2-3 points on my list if it was done properly - though, to be honest, I'm not so sure as to where such an alternative path/shortcut should be...

Andet {l Wrote}:I would put Black Forest at #1, because of all the (well-balanced) routes that make it especially interesting. It feels very well-polished and replayable. I think the music fits because the track feels less like a race to the finish and more like an adventure, thus more relaxed music seems appropriate. Cocoa Temple and Gran Paradisio Island are also really good tracks, though.


I like Black Forest a lot, but the weird banana and nitro placement, and the music, lose it points. Graphics and challenge/driveline variety are better, but not so much better (and I'd have to rate other tracks very harshly if I tried to remain consistent gave less to Cocoa Temple for graphics or challenge !). Now, this may be a weakness of my rating system, which is better at pointing flaws to correct than at giving an overall judgement, but with those two issues fixed it would become clear #1.

Now, I think you have a good point that a too dynamic music wouldn't be a good fit either, and wouldn't value enough the "exploration" or "adventure" part (especially if we implement egg hunt mode for it !). But the very peaceful music isn't good for "adventure" either in my opinion. I'd like a music with a touch of "epicness".

Andet {l Wrote}:I would really like to see how this turns out. I think the same could be said about Minigolf to a lesser extent.

For minigolf, I feel there is a lot of potential in pushing further the idea. Looking at real minigolfs, I'm sure one could come up with other interesting path patterns for a race and for a bigger minigolf track.

The work to make such a revamp would of course be significantly higher than just a small upscale of the current track (main downside), but it could allow to make it again one of the best STK tracks.

tempAnon093 {l Wrote}:Variation is good, if people want to 1v1 Rust try a short quick match, that map is fun for it.

A 3 laps race on a typical track is around 2 minutes. I'd personally call it short already. 3 laps in 1m15s is so quick that if you lose a few seconds to a crash/attack soon after the start, you'll rarely have the chance for a comeback, the race is too akin to rolling dices imho. And short also means less gameplay and visuals variety. A longer track allows to present a more varied drivelines and offer more exploration.

Of course, not every track can nor should be Black Forest, but in my opinion sub-35s is too little. It's fun to have a gimmick track or two (baby park anyone ?), but the gimmick is fun if it's an exception rather than a rule. Math Class is the gimmick track of STK, but it could use improvements.

tempAnon093 {l Wrote}:Black Forest is excellent. It is very long but has lots of variation both in the track and graphically, and has many alternate routes so it is certainly never a chore to drive the extra length.

Agreed. That's why I still gave it full mark for length.
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby QwertyChouskie » 13 Feb 2019, 02:13

Version of Zen Garden scaled 1.2x: https://jacobspctuneup.tk/STK/zengarden_scaled.zip

Thoughts?

(Note that this is not ready to commit in the current state, some of the trees in the background scaled weird.
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby Andet » 13 Feb 2019, 02:50

Nice! I think this is a good improvement to the track. Maybe it could be scaled even larger lol. If the texture for the grass is changed I think this will become a solid track.

I have a video of it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txT_9QLy8es
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby Alayan » 13 Feb 2019, 03:31

The upscaled version is definitively more enjoyable to race on. The track could nonetheless benefit from a deeper revamp, but as it's unlikely to happen for a long time, this would be a good improvement in the meantime.
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby QwertyChouskie » 13 Feb 2019, 03:55

Hmm, interesting that the shortcut can now be used! Alayan, can you test how balanced it is?
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby Alayan » 13 Feb 2019, 03:58

Yeah, this makes the shortcut more usable in actual races. It is faster, but you need to time it well, because if you mess up you'll fall in the water (or just completely stop and have to reaccelerate from 0) in which case you'll likely lose time. It also makes the player miss on a potential item box.

In easy difficulty, it is probably quite easy to use it as the speed is low, however.
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby Wuzzy » 13 Feb 2019, 17:12

What I don't get is the hate against short tracks. Just drive more laps!
If STK would follow your advice on track length, every track would be the same length and uniform, and STK would be much more boring.

I also disagree that every track needs alternative paths. A track can be fine without them.
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby Alayan » 13 Feb 2019, 18:43

Wuzzy {l Wrote}:What I don't get is the hate against short tracks. Just drive more laps!

"Hate" - can you refrain from throwing around such a strong word for such a petty matter, please ? It steers us away from a polite and argumented discussion. :)

The "just drive more laps" idea has a few shortcomings :
- It's more repetitive.
- 3 laps is usually a good balance between being able to reuse first lap knowledge (for those who don't know tracks by heart), to have bubblegum left on the ground matter, to not have good players taking a lap from bad players.

Another (minor) point: in online races, many people tend to select the same number of laps no matter if the track is shorter or longer.

Wuzzy {l Wrote}:If STK would follow your advice on track length, every track would be the same length and uniform, and STK would be much more boring.

I can appreciate your concern, but I don't think it's well grounded.

First, from 40 seconds to 1 minute for most still leaves a +50% difference, and that's without a few exceptions at both end of the spectrum like black forest.

Second, perceived uniformity can barely come from track length, even if one tried to calibrate it players would do better and worse in various tracks. It is much more likely to come from too similar track themes or gameplay elements (that's why having some unique challenging element in most tracks would be good).

Third, arguably the vast majority of Mario Kart tracks have a similar length (for MK8 Deluxe, the 150cc records are mostly in the 1m45-2m00s range, with several other between 1m40s and 1m45s or a bit over 2m00s), yet track length uniformity is not considered a serious concern for those games.

Wuzzy {l Wrote}:I also disagree that every track needs alternative paths. A track can be fine without them.

I agree !

I like Cornfield Crossing a lot despite it having no secret or alternative path.

Nonetheless, such a path is often the best way to maximize challenge for experimented players, while keeping newbie-friendliness and increasing the exploration/variety.
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby tux_peng » 13 Feb 2019, 21:37

I'll just add that most of the battle tracks are too big and they all could use more items IMO
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby GeekPenguinBR » 13 Feb 2019, 22:31

Wuzzy {l Wrote}:What I don't get is the hate against short tracks.

The World is a funny place, really, because I see the exact contrary: a big intolerance toward laps that last more than 1:30 min.

A problem for me
By the way, this is one of the main reasons I don't have 4 or more tracks completed and my first one was an attempt to shorten the duration of each lap, but in a place with many objects in a restricted geometric area and some disliked the result. If there was not a consensual limit of time of no more than 1:40 m and not less than 0:40 min, I could have finnished "Viking Ring Fortress", "Trackatoa" (Thaiti), "Hollyday on Port", "Mining" and "1750", but I have to export and test, export and test again to avoid a track with almost 2 minutes.

Explaining better: I like tracks with a rich scenery. To be honest, IMO, until 2015, many tracks (most) were very poor in therms of objects; two houses, five trees, ten stones and that was enough for everyone. Not for me. The developers seemed to make a game to be played on the raspberry or some device like that. Then, they had to choose between to keep the graphics that way or to try a graphical improvement. They have chosen the second option and this gave me the opportunity to start making my own tracks, but the main difficulty was to present a track with a clear, logic and solid theme, plenty of well made objects in a rich scenery with a path passing by it for less than 1:30 minutes.

I prefer long tracks. Mario Kart has a lot thus, Sonic All Stars, F1 Race Stars and other games have them too. However, I like short tracks too and, IMO, STK should keep the balance, making short, medium and long tracks available in the official core game and addons.

Wuzzy {l Wrote}: Just drive more laps!

Yes and that's the point! The player itself is the only one who has to define how much time he/she wants to play, driving more laps when the track is short and less laps when the track is long.

Wuzzy {l Wrote}: If STK would follow your advice on track length, every track would be the same length and uniform, and STK would be much more boring.

More standardized, but not necessarily boring. However, I prefer a good balance with short, medium and long length tracks.

Wuzzy {l Wrote}:I also disagree that every track needs alternative paths. A track can be fine without them.

I agree that every track doesn't need to have alternative path, but I think they will be fine with them. I'm also in favor of totally secret paths; even in tracks that have alternative path. The player can discover the secret way months after (if this is still possible nowadays with everyone trying to reveal a new spoiler) starting driving on it.


Evaluating the Tracks
My preferred tracks still are "Northern Resort", "Cocoa Temple", "Paradiso Island" and "Green Valley", which is simple, but looks like a real landscape where I would like to drive. "XR 591" is a beautiful track, but, for some reason, I find difficult to win against the AI. The same in "Zen Garden", "Old Mine" and "Old Lighthouse". This one, "Old Lighthouse", has been always difficult for me and I think that this track missed the sense of this kind of environment. That is not the kind of scenery I have in mind when I think about lighthouses. "Minigolf" is beautiful, but hard to drive. I never liked the shape of the paths.

Most songs are good or acceptable. However, despite the song is good and fits the place (Central America), I think that "Cocoa Temple" should have a more tense theme song like "Hacienda", since the jungle environment claims for a song track that evokes adventure, challenge in an exotic place. "Hacienda" is old and empty. I would replace it with my brother's track "Ghostville" (Wild West theme) if the game was mine.


I don't like the theme of "Ravenbridge Mansion". "Blackhill" has difficult stretch with those curves of 180 degrees. Anyway, Blackhill and Lighthouse have primary errors of difference between horizon and Skybox.
Textura diferente - Skybox 02 - Copia.jpg

Textura diferente - Skybox 01b - Copia (2).jpg



"Enterprise" is beautiful, but I think it's a bit hard for a newbie, since the way maybe not clear to find. "Candela City" has beautiful colors and lights, but the long circular segment turns it a bit boring and the repetitive buildings could be replaced by three or four different models with different establishments on the floor. Since it is a Paris-like city, I miss a restaurant, a café, a perfume shop, boutiques and boulangeries. Nothing hard to add.

"Cornfield Cross" has beautiful colors and some potential, since it is a farm, which could be better explored IMO, but the shape of the path is not my preferred. "Snow Peak" is nice to drive on, but the scenery could be improved or the track could be replaced by an Alpine Swiss scenery with chalet, ski resort and cable cars, but some developers from Switzerland didn't like when I suggested this. "Fort Magma", "Nessie Pond" and "Shifting Sands" are graphically outdated and could perfectly be replaced.

Shifting Sands / Egypt Track
By the way: since 2014 my brother has already the idea for an epic Middle Eastern track keeping the Pyramids, but crossing the dunes of the desert, passing by an oil field and a refinery and finishing by entering a country which has very old and very modern places in its capital. The track, which will be named "1001 Nights", is like a trip from the North Africa and Saara to Emirates. We have the complete plan. We are working on it and believe me: we did the complete research and the track will look stunning after finished. It was not inspired by the new Alladin movie and it traillers, but it has it all, including Ali Baba's cave and the old market with carpets and lamp shop.
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby QwertyChouskie » 13 Feb 2019, 23:23

Candela City does have a restaurant, along with a few other types of shops. Also, excited that someone is working on a replacement for Shifting Sands! I'd love to see some pics and maybe a driveline-test version ;)
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby tempAnon093 » 13 Feb 2019, 23:30

Alayan {l Wrote}:For minigolf, I feel there is a lot of potential in pushing further the idea. Looking at real minigolfs, I'm sure one could come up with other interesting path patterns for a race and for a bigger minigolf track.

Yes! A windmill hazard? Could be annoying... How about the holes in the wall to go from one grass plane to another? Those are fun and can be used as alt-routes. Events triggered by pushing a ball into the hole?

GeekPenguinBR {l Wrote}:However, I like short tracks too and, IMO, STK should keep the balance, making short, medium and long tracks available in the official core game and addons.

GeekPenguinBR {l Wrote}:If there was not a consensual limit of time of no more than 1:40 m and not less than 0:40 min, I could have finnished "Viking Ring Fortress", "Trackatoa" (Thaiti), "Hollyday on Port", "Mining" and "1750"

I also like the idea of having lots of variety in main, with short, medium, long tracks. I don't see an issue with very long or very short tracks (as long as the big tracks aren't just long stretches of straight road).
If it weren't for the extra effort involved, I would suggest just making these tracks downloadable add-ons. That's where creativity can really shine as there is no obligation to please every single user.

GeekPenguinBR {l Wrote}:I agree that every track doesn't need to have alternative path, but I think they will be fine with them. I'm also in favor of totally secret paths; even in tracks that have alternative path. The player can discover the secret way months after (if this is still possible nowadays with everyone trying to reveal a new spoiler) starting driving on it.

My only issue would be an overpowered shortcut. I'm sure this has been discussed before.
If the shortcut is always the best choice by a few seconds, what is the point of having the main track? Maybe something not too unlike 'Death Routes' in some Crash Bandicoot games, where the route is significantly shorter but extremely dangerous. Not just boring banana spam, but dynamic hazards like the old mine carts that go side to side. Get hit once, then it's no longer a shortcut. Make it though cleanly, then you can shave off a few seconds.
However what I would like to see most, if that type of shortcut becomes a thing, is an aspect of randomization. Anyone can memorize a safe path. Only the lucky and skilled can go though a track where the hazards are in a different pattern each time.
Could that be done with scripting? Another idea is having invisible (delayed) triggers placed on the main track that will release hazards onto the shortcut track, so normal players on the main track may not even realize that they are determining the difficulty of the shortcut when they take the inside of the curve instead of the outside.

I saw an event in the scripting wiki page about item/object collision. Maybe have a closed shortcut that you need to open by using a bowling ball or cupcake?

GeekPenguinBR {l Wrote}:"XR 591" is a beautiful track, but, for some reason, I find difficult to win against the AI. The same in "Zen Garden", "Old Mine" and "Old Lighthouse".

They are tough tracks that the AI is good at, and I like that. It challenges players who never bothered learning the brakes (like me!)

GeekPenguinBR {l Wrote}:Shifting Sands / Egypt Track
By the way: since 2014 my brother has already the idea for an epic Middle Eastern track keeping the Pyramids, but crossing the dunes of the desert, passing by an oil field and a refinery and finishing by entering a country which has very old and very modern places in its capital. The track, which will be named "1001 Nights", is like a trip from the North Africa and Saara to Emirates. We have the complete plan. We are working on it and believe me: we did the complete research and the track will look stunning after finished. It was not inspired by the new Alladin movie and it traillers, but it has it all, including Ali Baba's cave and the old market with carpets and lamp shop.

Sounds great! Preview images are welcome (unless you don't want to spoil the surprise!)
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby tempAnon093 » 13 Feb 2019, 23:32

QwertyChouskie {l Wrote}:[...] and maybe a driveline-test version ;)

@GeekPenguinBR This would be great. You have said before that some people objected to your tracks based of length or style before. It would be useful to have other users test the track as early as possible in case big changes are desired.
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby GeekPenguinBR » 13 Feb 2019, 23:48

tempAnon093 {l Wrote}:
GeekPenguinBR {l Wrote}:I agree that every track doesn't need to have alternative path, but I think they will be fine with them. I'm also in favor of totally secret paths; even in tracks that have alternative path. The player can discover the secret way months after (if this is still possible nowadays with everyone trying to reveal a new spoiler) starting driving on it.

My only issue would be an overpowered shortcut. I'm sure this has been discussed before.
If the shortcut is always the best choice by a few seconds, what is the point of having the main track?


Only if the alternative path is more attractive, but it has an upper level of difficulty. I don't see an alternative path as an exception to rule, but just an alternative way like in "Subsea", where the players could chose off of the two long tunnels.

tempAnon093 {l Wrote}: ... Not just boring banana spam, but dynamic hazards like the old mine carts that go side to side. (...) Could that be done with scripting? Another idea is having invisible (delayed) triggers placed on the main track that will release hazards onto the shortcut track, so normal players on the main track may not even realize that they are determining the difficulty of the shortcut when they take the inside of the curve instead of the outside.

Dynamic hazards sound an interesting idea, but I don't know if this could easy to implement.

QwertyChouskie {l Wrote}:Candela City does have a restaurant, along with a few other types of shops. Also, excited that someone is working on a replacement for Shifting Sands! I'd love to see some pics and maybe a driveline-test version ;)


tempAnon093 {l Wrote}:Sounds great! Preview images are welcome (unless you don't want to spoil the surprise!)


tempAnon093 {l Wrote}:
QwertyChouskie {l Wrote}:[...] and maybe a driveline-test version ;)

@GeekPenguinBR This would be great. You have said before that some people objected to your tracks based of length or style before. It would be useful to have other users test the track as early as possible in case big changes are desired.


Thanks for your feedback!
Unfortunately, I still don't have renderings to show you at the moment, since just recently we finished the concept and only a few objects are made and no texture yet, but, if this track seems interesting for you, I may work on it in the next days. At least, the map and some objects will be shown.
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby Alayan » 13 Feb 2019, 23:57

@GeekPenguinBR Thanks for sharing your opinion and feedback in this thread.

For the desert track, I highly suggest you to share an alpha version before you have made a lot of objects and texturing (just enough for it to not be a lot of white.

Because that's at this stage of track-making that driveline elements can still be changed without excessive work in order to improve gameplay. Once the objects are done, it's much more difficult ! Your stadium track suffered from this issue : it was made public at a point where no element could be changed or improved.

I'd be happy to get a good replacement for Shifting Sands, but it's important to make sure there are no overlooked flaws in the plan ! Or simply improve even more some elements.

Also, anon is right : while for main release inclusion excessively long tracks are not desired (Black Forest shows that a very high quality track can be long, but equaling that quality is hard and pushing length even further is bound to be problematic), they still can be released as addons for people enjoyment. The projects you scrapped could be fine addons.
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby GeekPenguinBR » 14 Feb 2019, 00:04

Alayan {l Wrote}:@GeekPenguinBR Thanks for sharing your opinion and feedback in this thread. (...) I'd be happy to get a good replacement for Shifting Sands, but it's important to make sure there are no overlooked flaws in the plan ! Or simply improve even more some elements.


Yes, for sure. As said above, I still have only a few objects and a not definitive shape for the path. We will be happy to share our project as well to receive suggestions for the path itself and other elements.
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby tempAnon093 » 15 Feb 2019, 00:09

QwertyChouskie {l Wrote}:Version of Zen Garden scaled 1.2x: https://jacobspctuneup.tk/STK/zengarden_scaled.zip

Thoughts?

Andet {l Wrote}:I have a video of it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txT_9QLy8es


I think this scale-up is a good thing. It makes the track much smoother and beginner friendly. Of course that comes at the cost of making it a less difficult and technical track. Like I've said before, variety is good.
Another thing to note is that it probably makes the shortcut along the inside of the large cave easier to hit, so it might be worth modifying that to keep it moderately challenging.
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby Andet » 15 Feb 2019, 00:23

Another thing to note is that it probably makes the shortcut along the inside of the large cave easier to hit, so it might be worth modifying that to keep it moderately challenging.


The shortcut doesn't save that much because of how much you have to slow down. The original shortcut barely saved any time and was too risky to be worth taking in most cases. So I think it's better like this. ;)

I'm just talking about for SuperTux difficulty, though. As Alayan said, it might not be enough of a challenge on the easier difficulties. I might do some testing.
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby Alayan » 15 Feb 2019, 01:01

Andet {l Wrote}:The shortcut doesn't save that much because of how much you have to slow down. The original shortcut barely saved any time and was too risky to be worth taking in most cases. So I think it's better like this. ;)

I'm just talking about for SuperTux difficulty, though. As Alayan said, it might not be enough of a challenge on the easier difficulties. I might do some testing.


In easy time-trial, the shortcut saves about 3-4 seconds per lap (using full skidding and nitro in both the attempt with and without shortcut). But I don't think this is a big concern, easy is for newbies who have trouble controlling their kart and are unlikely to nicely skid into the shortcut as I did in this test. And maybe some of them might need to save time here to win. :D
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby Andet » 17 Feb 2019, 20:47

There is another music however which seems to have been composed for Ravenbridge Mansion and is not used?


I replaced the old music with the new one in the media repo to try it out, and it was very good! Is there any reason this shouldn't be used?

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsJ4QoXilI4 :)

EDIT: It will be used!
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Re: A general evaluation of STK tracks

Postby 0zone0ne » 24 Feb 2019, 01:56

the ravenbridge mansion music's loop point isn't currently being utilised, the normal music's loop start should be set to 3.429 and the fast version should be set to 3.200

it's also honestly pretty insulting that the music wasn't used in the first place, considering that we were specially requested to make it, it was finalised way back in July 2017, and a .music file was even provided with the accurate loop points included
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