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Location: Home  Blogs  random chatting and a pall mall [part #2] 
More Posts by md
Title
random chatting and a fistful of clay [part #4]
random chatting and a warm beer [part #3]
random chatting and a pall mall [part #2]
random chatting and a cheap whiskey [part #1]
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random chatting and a pall mall [part #2]
random chatting and a pall mall [part #2] 23 Mar, 2012
 md (5 comments, 1424 views)  
let's start this one with a question.
why do most people here seem to think that smooth is good?
i mean, really. why are no-bouncing jumps considered better than weird/lucky/scrappy ones?
i'm not saying smooth=bad, but i can't understand why unsmooth=bad seems to be a divine law here.
"oheee! jumps are bumpy! this track sucks!" screw you.

as far as i remember, smooth tracks always have been rewarded with a considerable amount of shiny cups, while bumpy ones ended up second place in the lol/platform category. obviously that lowered the 'sex appeal' of the track because people think lol tracks are made by noobs for noobs, and platforms are just too hard and annoying.
but is that fair?

i mean, i personally don't get any more pleasure in driving a perfectly calculated track where it seems to be just one damn race-line to get it 'till the end. i mean. fuck it. i'm not a robot. i want to try more paths and learn 'em. i want my car to crash all over the place and cross the finish line looking like an infernal metal scrap.
basically, i don't want the track to control me, but i want myself to control the track.

so, what the point of this?
i don't know, actually.
i guess i just would like to know what you think about this.

cheers!
Comments
5 comment(s).
 51Wizard writes ... 27, Mar, 2012  
imo a very unsmooth track can be extremely challenging and heaps of fun too!
maybe this one appeals to you..
http://tm.mania-exchange.com/tracks/view/17183/off-road-drive-stage-1
It's anything but smooth, and brings a new type of racing challenge for this car.
(btw.. i'm not promoting this map, it's just one i stumbled upon recently) ;)
 eyebo writes ... 23, Mar, 2012  
I agree 100% with what you're saying md. Thank you for this blog entry. I've been thinking about this a while, but I've never really articulated it. You've started a very nice discussion here.

I think smoothness was more important in TMUF though because the car(s) were more prone to bug if the landing was really unsmooth or hard. In Canyon, for the most part, the car is much more forgiving. I did enjoy some unsmooth tracks in TMUF though. I mean, most RPGs I drove in Stadium could be considered unsmooth. But it was your job to exercise air control and use other tricks to get a clean run. That made for a lot of fun.

In Canyon, the replay value is higher for me in unrefined tracks where I have to exercise a lot of control over the car to get to the finish with a record. The perfect line isn't obvious. Where to drift and where to noslide isn't obvious. And some parts are downright unsmooth. But boy is it fun!!!

But I also think we shouldn't write off smooth tracks. They're impressive, and can be quite fun if the author built them really well. The problem is, they tend to be over-engineered. Sometimes all the fun seems to have been engineered out of them. It's really something that can only be gauged on a track-by-track basis and it sort of all boils down to personal taste.

Just make sure you're liking a track because you truly thought it was fun, and not just because it seems to be the latest fad.
 Tuta writes ... 23, Mar, 2012  
I want my pillow to be made of stone too!

Nono, I don't agree. Sometimes unsmoothnes (in lack of a better word) could create something unique and smooth though (if that makes sense to anyone but me, probably doesnt). Ofcourse the normal drop to flat road can be used very elegantly yet still be quite unsmooth



Maybe this is what you meant, I dont even know anymore... Kinda want more rock n roll tracks too! Go md!!
 holzzitrone writes ... 23, Mar, 2012  
just to write my thoughts down...i used to play just island...for years. that means i was a "smoothnessfreak" as well. not because it is a rule or something like that. just because i simply liked the tracks to be ultrasmooth. everything else sucked in island IMO.

well, that changed a lot in canyon. it isn't so important anymore. there are a lot of nice tracks that are NOT smooth. i guess it's because you can't lose so much time when a landing is bumpy. the canyon car is simply more forgiving in that way.

i still like smooth tracks...that will never change. and at the end of the day...people decide what they like. thats how it should be.

anyways...great blog md (y)
 dreadmullet writes ... 23, Mar, 2012  
Everything you say I completely agree with. You ripped the words right out my mind.

This track, while not a bad track, is exactly what you describe.
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