Track Design

In this section we will cover the main aspects of creating a good track.
There are several key things that will help make your track a winner but, keep in mind that everyone is different.
Not everybody will like your track.
So with that in mind lets get started on some key elements.




Layout:
Layout is one of the most important elements of track design. The reason I say that is because no matter how great the textures look or how great you have placed your instances and objects people will not race on it very often if it is hard to drive.
Racing is all about flow and rhythm. If your track has no flow or has elements that disrupt the rhythm of the driver then the driver will get frustrated and more than likely exit the track and designate it for a visit to the recycle bin.
Examples of elements that disrupt flow and rhythm are (in the case of editor based tracks) pipe entrances and narrow sections without transitions. Nothing frustrates a driver more than rounding a corner and smacking into the side of a pipe or narrow section because there are no transitions.
If you don't understand what I mean by transition look at the images to the right.
Now, there are instances where these types of elements are acceptable. If it is at the end of a long straight for example. That way the driver has time to see it and adjust for it. Another is if the route it is in is a shortcut or alternate route and it is deliberately that way to disrupt the flow. That way the driver taking the shortcut doesn't gain any ground unless he or she drives it perfectly.

There are other things that can also disrupt the flow. Things like steep inclines right after a turn or a steep incline into a turn (which causes you to fly off the track). A series of chicanes, dips, or humps are big flow killers as well. More is not always better. Use the chicanes, dips, and humps sparingly because they will even mess up the AI cars and make the race easier for the human player to win. Just because the pieces are there doesn't mean you have to use them. A lot of first timers make the mistake of trying to use every tile in the editor. This is not necessary and I for one strongly recommend against it. Only use the pieces that will add to your level, not take away from it. For example if your track is an outdoor type track don't go around placing chicanes. They just look out of place.

The best way to accomplish a good layout is to test the track with a car from each class. Not just a pro car or a rookie car. This way you will be able to better determine if a section is to tight and hard to maneuver through. Also try to use a car that is different than the ones you generally race with. That way when you race the track you get a feeling of not knowing it because you will have to set up for the turns differently. By doing all of the above things and keep the flow disruptors out you will cover a broader audience with your track and in doing so make it a little more successful.

However, keep in mind the above statement. There will be some people that just will not like your track for one reason or another




Images

Image A


Image B


Image C


Image D


Image E


Selection Screen


In this section we will cover the main aspects of creating a selection screen for your track.



A selection screen is the image that you see in game while selecting your track.




There are a couple of ways you can go about creating a selection screen. It usually consists of an in-game screenshot with some added text. To take an in-game screen shot you can use the "Print Screen" on your keyboard or you can use a program made specifically for taking screen shots.
The problem with the Print screen button is that not all video cards support using it. Mostly the older VooDoo2's.
If you have tried Print Screen and it doesn't work then you will need to download a program like Hypersnap-DX.
Another problem with Print Screen is that you can only do one capture at a time. You then have to exit the game and paste that image into your graphics program. With a program like Hypersnap you can set it up to take multiple screens by using a hot key. This will make it easier to choose which screen you would like to use for your selection screen.

Once you have chosen the screen you are going to use you will need to resize the image to a 256x256 square.
NOTE: You may want to crop the image to a larger sqaure from the rectangle you captured since most images captured have a 1.333 to 1 ratio instead of a 1 to 1.
Once resized to 256x256 you will want to save the file with the same name as your track folder as it is in the levels folder. So if your track folder is "Nova" then your image should be "Nova.bmp".
You will want to save it into your gfx folder which is within your main ReVolt folder. If you do this correctly you should see your selection screen the next time you select your track instead of that standard fare custom track screen that ReVolt uses. If you do not see the image then you should double check your tracks folder name versus your image name. Also make sure that you have saved it as a "bmp".

I highly recommend taking a little time on your selection screen as it is the first thing that the racer will see and we all know that first impressions are very important. If you show that you will take the time to make a nice selection screen then more than likely you will have taken the time to make the track as good as you could.