PCITechie {l Wrote}:1) When 2 items collide (e.g. when 2 bowling balls hit each other), there could be a splintering animation instead of them just disappearing to make the game feel more realistic.
Agreed, as well.
PCITechie {l Wrote}:2) When you go up a boost ramp (not sure what these are actually called, but I'm sure you get the picture), instead of launching the player to a certain location smoothly and doing mid air turns, which doesn't feel right at all, have the boost ramps instead ramp up the speed of the kart enough to make a large jump while still allowing the player to maintain some in-air control of the kart and land more naturally.
The current name for those are
Cannons. However, what you describe might already be another existing feature, a
Zipper, placed on a ramp.
The main reason to use the cannon is for jumps that would be too hard for players to get right. Like eltomito said, some tracks can't just replace them without serious redesign (I know the Cornfield Crossing jump feels strange, but imagine newer players making that jump manually!)
I think the main problem with the Cornfield Crossing cannon is how unnatural the path is! The incline of the ramp is
nowhere near high enough to launch someone into the barn, the cannon forces the route out to the left, then swinging back to the right in-flight, and landing perfectly on the edge.
By making the ramp a few metres earlier (so it actually points at the barn) and making the ramp larger would make it seem much more natural. I think the landing is so perfect, because it probably serves as an entry for the cannon in reverse mode. I'm not sure if a Zipper jump would work, because the landing it too unpredictable.
eltomito {l Wrote}:For example, Frozen Drive would require you to navigate a narrow and winding tunnel at high speed
It's even harder; I used a cannon at extreme speed to create a teleporter! See the image below.
This is what it looks like driving without the artificial darkness.
So yeah, cannons were absolutely necessary unless you want to spend another 10 seconds driving up the mountain.
aka. GumballForAPenny