Stunt Car Racer Editor (image heavy)

Community Forums/Showcase/Stunt Car Racer Editor (image heavy)

Vorderman(Posted 2005) [#1]
After the feedback from the last update people seemed to want a track editor, so I've started making one - it's pretty simple, allowing the user to place, rotate and delete segments, as well as raise and lower them, then export to a single large mesh for use in the game.

A couple of pictures of the first test track in construction (showing the new loop piece) -



And some images showing the game running the constructed track -

jumping through the loop...


approaching the loop...


exiting the loop...


after the loop...


whoops...


landing from a jump


oh dear...



I want to add a few more specialist pieces, so anyone got any ideas for track sections they'd like to see?


Stuart Morgan(Posted 2005) [#2]
Looks great. Nice work :)

Ideas for track piece: corkscrew, twist, vertical slopes.

*edit* Banked curves also.


Vorderman(Posted 2005) [#3]
Thanks. I already have banked and flat curves, but I might add some steeper banking pieces also.

What's a twist?


Barnabius(Posted 2005) [#4]
Awesome work! Can you add something like fire tunnel, please?

Barney


Neuro(Posted 2005) [#5]
Cool!


Mark Tiffany(Posted 2005) [#6]
Nice! A few suggestions for track ideas, mainly based on making multiplay more interesting:

- Narrow pieces of track (as in one car at a time only)
- "Railroad" bits of track (i.e. two very thin strips that you need to align along, not sure how this would work in practice, but might be fun trying)
- Splits and rejoins in tracks (Y pieces) for alternate routes / shortcuts
- Cross-roads


IPete2(Posted 2005) [#7]
wow fabulous


Mark Tiffany(Posted 2005) [#8]
Another one to add, although it's difficult to describe: essentially a bit of road where both sides drop off, tending to make your car drift off the edge, unless you happen to be bang on that sweet spot in the middle.


Vorderman(Posted 2005) [#9]
I know what you mean, like an inverted V shape?

I'll try the narrow pieces and also some split/rejoins.


aab(Posted 2005) [#10]
Looks awsome.
:
You could make high-speed banked curves where the road itself is raised at an angle;
Maybe a wide-plane road where they road funnels into a larger one and then funnels back: for lining up or a speed stretch;
You could have a split road with a trench in the middle...erm..Like the old Rainbow Road on the snes:http://ndex.simgames.net/specials/snes/smk/course_map_rainbow_road.jpg
;
Maybe some v-shaped bumps...what i mean is a ramp that rises up, and is truncated so that the car falls off the top, but on the other side the road curves back into flat ground, so a jump can be made on a flat road, withought a gap inbetween the target road, eg:

 \__        /|
_@__@______/ \__________

Only not soo steep


Grisu(Posted 2005) [#11]
GREAT STUFF! *hug*

Reminds me somewhat on the "Racing Destruction Set" Editor (on C64).

Could you please add different kind of grounds too?
Like ICE, DIRT, STREET (normal)

RDS also had track pieces that narrowed in middle or side.
So where in normal case 3 cars could drive side by side, only one or two could with the special track pieces.


Vorderman(Posted 2005) [#12]
Yeah, the corners are already (optionally) banked, which you can see in this slightly older screenshot -



Could you please add different kind of grounds too?
Like ICE, DIRT, STREET (normal)


Hmm, could be interesting - I don't want to dilute the Stunt Car Racer feel but I might try out some dirt corners to allow a bit more powersliding and loads of dirt sprays.


Big&(Posted 2005) [#13]
That looks top!!


nawi(Posted 2005) [#14]
That looks so fun!!


EOF(Posted 2005) [#15]
I can see my weekends going up the spout playing with this!

Some suggestions:

* Support beams so that the off-ground track areas don't look like they are floating in mid air.

* Bridges (with an arched cut-out so a track can run underneath)

* Speed bumps


Red Ocktober(Posted 2005) [#16]
ok... after that last shot, i'm really jealous!!!

GREAT LOOKING VISUALS V!!!

verrrry convincing textures and lighting...

if i may ask, what modeler did you use for this project?

--Mike


slenkar(Posted 2005) [#17]
Good car model 'Carol'
overall very impressive


ImaginaryHuman(Posted 2005) [#18]
Cool.

Some ideas:

A barrel roll, ie it's kind of like a tunnel where you have to drive up the wall, across the ceiling and down the other wall ... but without all the extra tunnel - just the path that the car would take, so basically a short spiral.

If you wanted to get complicated you could implement a `car lift`, you have to drive onto a platform and then it elevates the car to a higher or lower level.

You could also implement two barrel rolls in parallel, ie the road splits into two roads and then the two paths twist around each other, so maybe taking one road means you twist clockwise and the other is anticlockwise, so you gotta get used to the direction really quick.

Bumps - ie road that wavers up and down a fairly low height so you have to go a certain speed to get it right.

Trampoline's - you roll over the trampoline area and it springs the car up in the air, hopefully landing on some platform.

Turbo track - you roll over certain track and it accelerates the car way faster for that stretch of track (same as picking up a `jet pack` token or something).

Double/Triple loop-de-loops.

Track that resembles more of the features of a rollercoaster, more twists/turns, upside-downs, spins, etc

Water/fire/poo pits that you jump over.

Elevated track that has walls at the sides, so you have to drive pretty accurately to get around the curves.

Chakains (not the right spelling) ... winding track that if you get the line right you can almost drive straight through it instead of turning.

Stuff to pick up along the way - extra fuel, speed, etc

Some thing you pick up that inflates the tires to double size so that you drive faster.

Wacky Racers features like extra gadgets that come out, helicopter blades, jets, inflatables, etc (ok, getting a bit silly now)


Braincell(Posted 2005) [#19]
Easy enough making a track editor, how will you edit the scenery around it? Assuming this is an editor users should use. Or will the game consist of only track and water?


Vorderman(Posted 2005) [#20]
Loads of ideas there, thanks people.

Support beams

Yes, something I need to add as the floating track looks a bit odd.

Bridges (with an arched cut-out so a track can run underneath)

Well, currently the track pieces are quite thin, so you can form them into bridges already, just run another piece of track underneath - there's no limit to how many pieces can sit in the same place at different heights.

how will you edit the scenery around it

I'm not really sure what scenery to add - I thought perhaps little islands and trees. The user can simply place them in the editor like any track piece, so no problems there.

If anyone has any ideas of a scenery theme I'd like to hear it (some sort of overall theme, such as sandy-islands-in-the-sea).

Double/Triple loop-de-loops.

Currently the loop is pretty hard to get around, as you need to use the turbo to achieve the speed to stick to it, but using the turbo makes the steering less effective. I need to achieve a reasonable balance and tone-down the steering reduction at higher speed.


puki(Posted 2005) [#21]
This looks good "Carol".

However, I think the road texture suffers at low level views - ie it is very pixellated.

I posted this a while back:


Forget the lines - it is the road surface that counts - it actually looks better the lower you go with the camera.


Damien Sturdy(Posted 2005) [#22]
This totally kicks ass!!!! :D

Get us a demo :D :D :D :D D:: DD :D :D D::::D:DDDDD11!!!


Vorderman(Posted 2005) [#23]
puki: do you have the source texture for that road surface so I could test it out on my tracks?

it actually looks better the lower you go with the camera

Are you doing any detail mapping etc.. or is it just a large texture? I believe my road textures are currently only 256x256 (although the road is split horizontally so the total across the road width is 512) so they could be doubled quite nicely.


Ross C(Posted 2005) [#24]
Simply awesome man!


Uncle(Posted 2005) [#25]
Looking simply brilliant. Can't wait to play this one.


VIP3R(Posted 2005) [#26]
*dribbles*

:)


Raitsun(Posted 2005) [#27]
reminds me of "Trackmania"...
an AAA Game done with Darkbasic...


ErikT(Posted 2005) [#28]
Stunt Car Racer remake?! Jesus Krust this is gonna be good!!


Vorderman(Posted 2005) [#29]
"Trackmania"... an AAA Game done with Darkbasic...


Seriously? :)


Damien Sturdy(Posted 2005) [#30]
Trackmania was never AAA- it was sold from day one as £9.99 where i live.


It certainly has what i call "the Indie feel" to it- a fresh game with a new idea- i dont see many of those coming from the big companies anymore :P

Sunrise, however, is another matter. Ive got it upstairs. Not installed it yet :)

Have to say thought

Trackmania is WAY too stable to be made in DB. lol. at least, the last version I used.... (no DB wars intended..)


Grey Alien(Posted 2005) [#31]
I so look forward to playing this! The original was brilliant, I hope you can capture (and improve on) it. Please finish this!


Erroneouss(Posted 2005) [#32]
Gimme game 'n' editor.... Me wants...

I think this is the first time I've drooled over a game
in a longggggg time...

Looks fantastic!


N(Posted 2005) [#33]
Here's a higher resolution road texture.


Jeremy Alessi(Posted 2005) [#34]
Hmmm Trackmania was pretty 'AA' if not 'AAA' here. Was on the store shelves right next to WoW, Doom 3, etc...


AdrianT(Posted 2005) [#35]
I loved the amiga version of the stunt car racer, one of my favourite games of all time. (not that I played it in at least a decade).

I was always a big fan of Jeff Crammonds games :) Next to Elite I think this is my second favourite game of nostalgia. Not sure I'd like it now though, when your finished I guess I'll see :)


Vorderman(Posted 2005) [#36]
Thanks Noel - I'll try using that to make some higher res road textures.


Vorderman(Posted 2005) [#37]
OK, modifed the road texture to a higher res one using Noel's texture as a base - looks much nicer -





EOF(Posted 2005) [#38]
The new PSP game GripShift might give you a few ideas.