Proposition: Rally Loopstages

[Fechna]

Hi everybody!

I´m not making any tracks, but I have an idea and a suggestion, especially for all you "Rallye"- Track makers.

I´m right now making a car pack, that in a way has been made already: It´s the World Rally Championships of 1984- 1986, so basicly Group B Rally cars. There were some great Group B packs by J4ber and MS... (CHIBBI) but I wanted to create my own. Just wath the first little teaser below with the Renault 5 Tubo Maxi and the Audi Sport Quattro.

Now here is my "complain": There are some very nice made rally tracks out there. But, at least for me, there are some problems:

> I really don´t like Fullscreen Tracks.
> I mostly enjoy Rallying without Ai drivers, and regular "Rallycross" tracks doesn´t do anything for me (mostly)
> And I HATE Generally stages, that are too narrow to drive and it´s all over after max. 59 seconds...

So the question is: how do you do a generally stage, not closed circuit, that can be driven for as many laps as you wish...?

The answer: Make a stage like usual, means a start and one end and a stop at the other end. And then you add a loop at both ends. Check out the rough painting I made. I call it a:

LOOPSTAGE!

You choose the track, you choose your car, and add a AI driver with "non-crash- values". You can choose as many laps as you wish and race the clock as long as you want. At the end you can compare your average speed with your own highscore.
Would be a great thing of course for compos as well.

Only thing the trackmakers have too look out for: A entire lap can´t be longer than 59 Seconds, means one time loop to loop has to be 29 sec. max (of course in reality ca. 25 sec. or shorter).

Is there someone out there who would like to do that? Everyone who signs up for that gets a beta of my cars to check the laptimes.

Of course I´t would be great, if every Rally in the Season of the WRC would get an own loopstage (or even three- one for each day), but´s thats wishfull dreaming.

So, trackmakers: What do you think? It´s a good Idea, a bad Idea? Is there anything I missed?

[thegreatfalcon]

First: Pretty good idea. I can add that it would even more funny if the tracks were on the side of cliffs
Second: There's a thread for this kind of things... http://gene-rally.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13

[Fechna]

Oh, right, I wanted to post it there, but, well ... i´m no good at computers...

Just move it right there!

[TuomoH]

TGF, that thread is meant for authors showing their own projects, not somebody requesting others to do something.

[Quklis]

You could also then make full circle track.. And if some AI is slower/faster it will cause collisions in tight roads.

[1nsane]

Hehe, well.. It sounds like a good idea at first, but after thinking about it for a while... Doesn't it just turn out to be a demolition derby? Unless the "loop" means practically two roads right next to each other divided with a wall.
If it really is just one road with loops at both ends, in a long run it will be just carnage if one of the AIs crash. And this is pretty likely in the beginning. So either you can have only one AI driver besides yourself or then the loop will have to be pretty big. Now this will take away the length ofthe actual rally part, and will be more like a normal rallycross track, just with one part being connected together.
Also, 25 seconds in one direction would would cause the track to be pretty simple and fast, which would take away the difficulty of a rally stage.

So... In the end it would be best to just create a long, 50+ second rallycross track that is just more bumpy and difficult, having the rally characteristics.


Edit: ah eh. I read one sentence wrong. You like driving without AI... Well it would just take away that one part. I just still think it would turn the rally stage to be a bit too simple if it was a 25 seconds driven twice, and it would indeed be better to just create a long rallycross track instead, with a bit more difficult corners and stuff like that.

[LongBow]

...below with the Renault 5 Tubo Maxi and the Audi Sport Quattro.

Cant wait for that audi quattro

So the question is: how do you do a generally stage, not closed circuit, that can be driven for as many laps as you wish...?

The answer: Make a stage like usual, means a start and one end and a stop at the other end. And then you add a loop at both ends. Check out the rough painting I made. I call it a: LOOPSTAGE!

Well, a sort of this kind of tracks were already made and they are usually called SS (special stage) and are used mainly for dueling. They are not so long and they usually don't have that rally feeling when racing.

I like the idea about that loop things on each ends of the track but I think that evolving the SS can give even better results. Unfortunately there are only a few of SS tracks made. Its quite hard to design a good track of that type.

BUT nothing is impossible for the trackmasters

[Fechna]

Well I made a loop track just like I imagined. I´ll post it in a few days. It´s rough, and I´m not a trackmaker (so just JE and a little bit paint and NO experience) but maybe it will give you the "feeling" I was thinking of. Because I think that that SS Stages are great, but definatly nothing I had in mind, because they almost everytime have a "stadium"- feeling thats just the opposite of the "off- road" stage feeling I want to create, or lets say, want YOU trackmasters to create.
Maybe you wont like it... maybe you will... Will see...

[1nsane]

Yup, I definitely want to see the idea that you have in your mind, because as I said, it sounds quite interesting, but with a few flaws. Maybe the "real deal" would actually clear it up a little.

If it turns out to be a working idea, I might actually try and do one/some.

[Alonsomania]

This has been made before, but that must have been in the RSC TDB era. I believe SmackedUpTaco made it?