The Forgotten - Hidden Gems of GR

[Kikwik]

Hello everyone !

After reading about the topic from TuomoH about a Best of GR folder, it made me want to do the same so I searched like a ferret in GRIF and on the GR Database some gold nuggets, those hidden gems of tracks that are forgotten but are worth the search.

So what I want to do here is to share past creations that are worth to play even today, or are original enough to put them in lights. I invite you to do the same if you want to. As for myself I really love all the tracks from reknowned trackmasters and their wonderful creations, but I want to concentrate mostly on the trackmakers who appeared only once and delivered, or are less known but created interesting things. It's like my webzine GR History Treasure Hunters but with less work, more freedom and an opportunity for everyone to participate. if you didn't knew about this webzine, I invite you to have a look as I already discussed some hidden gems of tracks and cars, the link here : GR History - Treasure Hunters

Some car makers are also worth noting, but I didn't concentrate on this at the moment, but you're welcome if you have an interesting car to share.

And this topic is also an occasion to say thank you to those creators.

I will try to post regularly, but not too much as we are limited by 5 pictures by post and don't want to flood, that's not the goal.

Let's begin with a track creator ; Arrow#17.

I particularly like his tracks because they're so small and tight, with the quality being there even for today's standards. Some are still available on GRIF, but some are only available on the GR Database, like his Death Valley track pack :

Made on the 17th november 2008, this trackpack have one thing in common : mountains or cliffs surrounding those little tracks and it creates a special atmosphere that I don't find often in other tracks ; it's like some hidden, forgotten tracks in nature. Drives well, it's chaotic with AI, it's fun, it's tiny.

Another good one from him is Yellowglen :

Made on the 6th december 2008, it bears some resemblance with some Dragon's tracks, which is what I like to find. It takes a little time to load than usual because you have many objects and the square on the left is made with how many checkpoints objects I don't know but surely many.

There's also Koyoti made on the 24th september 2010 that have a nice little circuit with a good lmap work on cliff :

Picture taken from the topic of Arrow#17, a link to this neat track as it's available on GRIF : Koyoti by Arrow#17

Also I found in the Unknown folders of the GR Database 2 neat tracks that bears similitudes to what Arrow#17 would do, but I don't have any confirmation of those despite dates and other details that matches. But want to share them with you :

First one is Ainoa Hieno, made on the 24th december 2008 and can be compared with Yellowglen or what Dragon had the habit to do. It drives very well, neat little street circuit track with an interesting layout that isn't totally an oval but can be consider as is, while being a street circuit. Visuals are great ! If you want to go to the pits, it's a bit tricky, as a building is hiding the entrance, but if you want to go there it doesn't matter that much if you have some damage while going to those !

Shell Park seems not from Arrow#17 but who knows ? Made on the 8th november 2008, with 2 layouts (normal and short), it's a good mini track to add in your collection. Beware though, as there is something incredibly annoying on this track : sunk tires on kerbs. And they are on every kerbs, even the exterior ones ! That's bad design that leads to a terrible driving experience, but a single go in the Track Editor removing those (only added 3 sunk tires in strategical places in Shell Park s), and those tracks will be golden !
Also no pits, despite the indication of a pit lane, outside the track ? , but an AI line for pits which goes twice or more across the layout well...

Thank you Arrow#17 and maybe unknown trackmakers !

So that's it for today, but I have more to share with you in the next days, mainly cute little tracks like these.

See you !

[Kikwik]

Another glimpse into the past with micro tarmac tracks !

First one, or may I say first 2 tracks are from a well known carmaker, Mariusz ! What a surprise !

Belgy and Cypry were made on the 30th March 2016... wait, it's quite recent ? And it's not on GRIF ? Yes, when browsing other GR websites I stumbled into those in the GR polish forum, if I remember well.

They have a special old atmosphere and driving with 60s GP on there is the way to go ! Overall 2 well made tracks with high quality. If you like small rural tracks, make sure you have them in your folder !

Next are two micro tracks from what seems to be from Vace, as similitudes in lmap work and dates matches, but confirmation would be good too. So here's Niqos and Saaz :

What is stunning is the quality of those knowing their dates ; 28th and 29th October 2004. The stylised starting positions and pit lmap and the well placed objects bring those 2 micro tracks into modern standards levels, even if they're simple in layouts and textures, aka no dithering.

Next one is a cute one from GeorgM. GeorgM is most known for his work on ToM (Track of the Month). He made a good amount of tracks of any kind, but this one remains my favorite from him ; House :

Maybe you'll find that the driving is not quite good and that you will often bump into the walls limits of the track (remove damage on this one), but its originality and good execution of his idea, lead this track to be a keeper for a fun chaotic, original race with friends.

Next one is titled the World Smallest Track ! Let's see :

Cute ! Made on the 15th June 2008 from an unknown trackmaker, it's well made for what it is, and no it's not the World's Smallest Track of GR, but it's very near the smallest size and drives well. Reminds me of the track "Cartest" from Markus Möller.

To finish let me introduce you Gerkus from planetgenerally.de.

He made a pack of 61 micro tracks intended to be play in multiplayer couch. So it's a simple visual style but effective one, only tarmac surface and he mainly concentrated on objects placement, think about some TuomoH's abstract tracks. I thought that it would be worth to put it on lights there as 61 tracks to made is quite a dedication and they're fun to drive on, so if you can forget about the somehow medium visuals you 'll find a bunch of fun to unpack into your GR folder. Here's a little preview :

So that's it for today, but I have rally micro tracks to share with you for next time.

See you !

[Kikwik]

So I promised you micro rally tracks, here they are !

The first one would be quite boring without an original and exotic element, this meso-american pyramid in the corner, Kiacue the name of this track :

Made on the 2nd July 2005 by an unknown trackmaker, it's in a pack named "tracks" if you want to find it. I find it more funny/original visually than to drive it to be honest, as going on the bridges makes your car jump and it's quite difficult to navigate on this track. But there's not any original off-road track so if you have some place in your rally track folder add this one for a good change.

Next is from a known trackmaster, but do you remember it ? I'm talking of Sno'Din :

Made on the 4th December 2006, by Kory Miller, this micro track is more suited to Mini as the layout is quite tricky. I love the way he made use of hmap to create the impression of houses partially covered by snow and to race on them. Sometimes real world track maker do little wonders like those, totally unexpected from them, but super original and fun.

I found also this track, Nadenka :

Made on the 29th october 2006 by an unknown trackmaker, it have a rural feel to it with a good amount of details and polish. There's nothing outstanding on this track, nor bad, but it's a good micro rally track from pretty high quality regarding the date, and still good even today. I'm not too fond about the bird view too, but for once I can live with it, or change the pov in the Track Editor.

An oldie but goldie, NiceGarden :

Made on the 9th April 2004 by an unknown trackmaker, it reminds me of many tracks that goes through gardens. I don't know if it's a thing in some countries but there's even lawn mower races so it may not surprise me. For the date it's a well made track, with an interesting layout with the funnier is crawling through the rocks and trees in the bottom. Be careful at the corner at the top right, there's no hay bale so you may cut the corner too much and end up in the house.

Last one is from a member that some know very well on GRIF, Wouter or by now SammieVL with his track Sereque :

Made on the 19th December 2012. SammieVL made most of his tracks with very tight roads and lot of concrete posts, which makes the driving on them quite hardcore to say the least. His tracks attracted me though as I love tight roads and wanted to give it a try, but most of them were unforgiving, apart this one ; this one is special. Apart from one concrete post in the first corner, the remaining part of the layout is smooth and not unforgiving ; the landscape is well made (well some vegetation are quite weirdly placed and the stand in the middle of the forest may raise some brows but it's ok), lmap too (the cliff textures could be better though, but the mud is well rendered), but globally it's a satisfying track to watch and play on, original and well made from SammieVL. Easily my favorite from him.

A link to his track : Sereque by SammieVL

So that's it but I have 5 other micro rally tracks to share with you, and after I have more original/recent track worth the check so stay tuned.

See you !

[Kikwik]

Here we go, a new glimpse into the hidden gems of GR !

Today another pack of micro rally tracks are worth the share, considering their dates of creation. let's begin with an absolute shocking ripoff of TuomoH's 50 pack, 5 of 50 trackpack

5 of 50 (50circle - 50eight - 50house - 50oval - 50river)
Author unknown
24th-26th December 2005

So after 1 year later someone wanted to make the same micro trackpack as TuomoH and to be honest it's quite a success. Some tracks have some dangerous areas notably against the track's limits without any hay bale or soft wall to prevent damages but it's ok to have them along TuomoH's trackpack.

Do you want beans ?

Forest Edge and S.L.H. (Sarah Louise Hugues)
Probably same unknown author as I discovered them in a trackpack
14th of October 2004 and 14th of November 2004

Forest Edge and Sarah Louise Hughes (S.L.H.) have the same bean layout, although they plays differently. First one, Forest Edge have this realistic long dithering between the change of terrain. S.L.H. though have only a mud terrain type and could probably be an autocross track, which is quite rare in GR to be found, and of good quality.

Icy Backyard
Unknown author
24th December 2006

Reminds me of Mad Dan's Lapland tracks. Micro sized simple track with maybe some unnecessary sunk tires along hay bales but it's a well made little fun track with a good work on dithering.

Park
Unknown author
22th October 2003

An original one, with an interesting lmap work which catch our attention immediately. The lines seem to be made with a brush with this gradient and the paved road is well rendered without being too much blurred, may be too big comparing with the car though. Hmap is a little rough and the layout may be misleading the first time you'll race on it but globally it works. Remember that it was created in 2003 and it's quite an achievement for this era.

Wladschloss
Unknown author
3rd July 2005

What a crazy off-road track ! Reminds me of one of Masa's off-road tracks serie. There's stunt, there's a crazy fun layout, there's a decent lmap work particularly on those mud trails, it's not too big. You may find hmap a little rough or too much on this track but the trench is a very good idea. A rough gem of a track.

You may find those meh or average, but for the dates they were created they're really good. As today's standards the gameplay is the most important there. And it shows you the lack of high quality rally tracks overall apart well known trackmakers/trackmasters in the old days or more recently.

Next ones as stated in my previous post will be original.

See you !

[Kikwik]

Hi everyone !

Today's the day for original old tracks. Let's see what we have in this sack of goodies !

Roulett
From Blackjoe
27th January 2008

You certainly know about Roulette by Longbow and Osten's Roulette track already, but there was this track that already took this idea. It can be hard to see our car as the WS is big and you have those black and red textures which hurt a little the eyes when you navigate on the board, but it's well made nonetheless.

Grunberg
Unknown author
27th February 2005

GRception ?

One of the few rare tracks that are based on a picture of a GR track, the other known ones are one of Egamad's Wip and TravisX5's Warft but this one is based on a real life rural house, but works the same as here. I find it incredible as you have to create the entire track in GR, then take a picture in-game then throw your track away and work on its picture. It rises so many questions like, "Is it a form of art keeping only the picture of your work with total disdain for the subject of the picture you took, throwing it away ?" "Is it worth it to do such thing ?" "What feelings had this trackmaker knowing that nobody will drive on the real track but on its picture ?" "How he felt while doing so much work on his track, putting each object in place, knowing that he will trash it after ?"

I find this track really interesting because of the thoughts behind this, the "sacrifice" it includes and the process of doing such thing. It's still drivable and you'll notice Hmap work when driving on it, it's not really beautiful to look at but for me it's not the most important. It's a very interesting take to trackmaking and art.

Ride The Snake
Unknown author
3rd July 2005

Ride the Snake, literally ! It drives the way you think it drives by looking at it, quite big but interesting layout to say the least. You may say "So someone put a snake png into the track editor, added few stuff and said it's done ?". Pretty much this certainly, but it's well executed and found it original enough.

New York City
Unknown author
30th October 2004

Wow, looks like it's coming from a game but which one ? I can't tell. I was attracted by the big pixels and the way the city is organized. Only one thing is surprisingly awful : the layout. Nearly no indications to where to go and when, plus you have to make tight turnaround in the end of the streets, AI have some difficulties to make those turnarounds. If you want some chalenge you may try it, but it will difficult to remember the proper layout and to navigate inside New York City. True also for the real counterpart right ?

Luamaewsa
Unknown author
26th September 2004

What a name, have some difficulties to type it right ! So what do we have here, seems a normal, classic GR circuit. So ? Well if you zoom a little more on the track, you'll see... a human silhouette in white like in crime scenes ? And tires trails that are heading to walls, with blood splattered there ?! And it came from the pits ?!
Maybe this GR player after going to the pit realized that the first pitman in front of your car is pushed away by your car when you leave the pits and come back a few ms after in its original position and maybe he thought about, if this pit crew didn't returned to its original position ? And so this track, a little dark but well executed with simple graphics and mostly original.
EDIT : As I saw many Rammstein logos on Qurpiz tracks, and according to the dates, it may be from Qurpiz but nothing sure about this. Simply a thought.

I hope you're not tired of those posts, as I have some others to share with you worth of playing or seeing. Not original anymore but mostly most recent ones but overlooked. Or is it underlooked ? Underrated is better maybe ?

Well, see you !

[Kikwik]

Most of the tracks I will show you today are on GRIF, but are a little lost in the more than 50 pages of tracks so I will put them under lights again. But first, 2 old tracks which are from the same author and with a particular style :

Bofae Silver and Emi Silver
Unknown author
22th July 2005

First thing we see are those generous squared kerbs with in each little square a sunk tire, and those neat placed light poles all along the track. Could have been street circuits easily. He surely put a lot of effort in object placement as everything is super neat. The pits are at some places really tight so be careful as there's no pit limiter to help you navigate in there. AI will bump into walls sometimes but remains competitive. Distinct style, quite original, like it.

All next ones can be retrieved here on GRIF.

Rufid palace
Sikamies aka Janne Korvenpää
6th August 2012

Wow wow WOW ! Look at those buildings ! What a clever and beautiful use of objects placement, this track is gorgeous and have so many details that you'll want to pause your race and watch every nook and crannies. I remember when I first played GeneRally to play his tracks along those of Petri Kannisto and thought they were fun and well made back in the days. But this one is the most modern and the best track he has made hands down. Check this out here : Rufid Palace by Sikamies

Tapio
Rendy
30th April 2014

Rendy is quite well known on GRIF, particularly on the offtopic subforum. But he made some tracks and cars worth to check, particularly Tapio, a street circuit. This one catched my eyes as it have a reasonable WS, a decent amount of details and a challenging layout. One of his best track worth to drive on. AI sometimes cut too tight or go into the walls but maybe I'm not using the right car or the AI line he made.
Link here : Tapio by Rendy

Cliffhanger
DORIFTO
6th November 2014

A quite common layout for GR but beautifully made here, knowing that it's his 2nd track posted on GRIF. Pleasant POV, Hmap is generous and fun, AI lines are good. Only one thing is if you want to cut through the corner on top of the cliff it will not count you the lap, so it's really tempting to do so as the hmap tend to guide you to do this but you may add a sunk tire, a road cone or even hay bale here to prevent cutting... or change the checkpoint to be larger.
Link here : Cliffhanger by DORIFTO

Sun Park
MercyMurcie aka BackFlipBadger
16th November 2016

Cute little track, last one from the few tracks of this author. It drives like an oval, there's no hmap but it's not a problem, visuals are simple but works well there. AI isn't competitive at all but worth it for a chill race or alone against the clock, the real opponent.
Link here : Sun Park by MercyMurcie

Sooo many golden nuggets from GR's rich field !

See you !

[Kikwik]

Another round of hidden gems and this time again they are mainly available on GRIF but do you remember them ?

First one is not available on GRIF but his author is registered here.

Catruo Mundu
GRF aka The Noose
20th September 2008

A cute micro circuit with simple visuals. There's nothing particularly worth noting but overall it's a well made job from GRF - The Noose considering the date again. He got many tracks like this if you want to check them out. May be a little rough for modern standards but this track in particular is still a welcome addition to a micro track folder.

Igea Marina
MrJakowski
22th August 2009

A one shot from MrJakowski and it reach its target well. The black outlines of the layout, the meticulously made landscape, the overall good atmosphere makes this track a keeper despite the not too much exciting layout.

Ovi
Halama
12th March 2011

We know about Halama for his real world tracks, but he made few fictional tracks and this one stand out the most from them. Ovi can be a Mini Pikes Peak, a rally tarmac circuit or even coupled with the reverse version asked by Masa at that time, a good touge battle. Visuals remains simple but everything's effective thanks to his experience in rw tracks.
Link here : Ovi by Halama

DW Park
Cristiano Bohessef
23th October 2011

A really neat track from him and in my opinion, one of his best too. The landscape, the layout, the way it's built... I can't tell what exactly makes me attracted by this track but I like it. It's a pleasure to drive on it too. Also I don't know about you, but I'm more attracted by dark tarmac than light tarmac on roads.
Link here : DW Park by Cristiano Bohessef

8th street
MD aka Madd Dogg
14th June 2010

One of the two tracks that MD created, and it's a success for a street track. There are two versions, one with a chaotic crossroad and one with a bridge. You have to be extra careful as there's walls everywhere for you to crash into, but it's neat, it's fun especially with the crossroads and can have its place in a demolition derby track folder.
Link here : 8th street by Madd Dogg

As I'm not an native english speaker and difficulties to describe the true awesomness of those tracks please bear with me.

See you !

[Crowella]

There are some absolutely beautiful creations here, as well as fun. I just need to comment that the circuit by Sikamies has one of the best worked combination of LMap and objects Ive seen yet, that's truly very clever.

Lot of fun tracks that I've seen before and many I haven't. The creativity is truly wonderful

[Kikwik]

Thanks Crowella for the comment and glad that you discovered some !

Yes Rufid Palace is a true hidden gem and I didn't knew its existence until a few days when I was browsing the forum for interesting tracks. So I'm glad to put those tracks under lights again for others to play them and that this work is being recognised.


Today I wanted to talk about a trackmaker that his work shares some similitudes with Dragon ; David999.

David999 began trackmaking on GRIF on the 2nd September 2013 by creating classical circuits like many of us, but rapidly aim his efforts towards cute micro tracks. Few pics of his tracks from him :

Naztown
23th October 2014

Tropic
23th October 2014

Dusty
13th April 2014

Tibties
1th September 2014

Gahn
11th November 2018

So cute micro tracks, well made, with sometimes a simple style like Dusty or Tropic, sometimes a fair amount of details that helps with the immersion like Naztown. They don't have the same quality than Dragon's tracks for some, but they're really close to them and as enjoyable. If you like those type of tracks, make sure to add David999's tracks in your folder.

Here's the list of all tracks he made on GRIF, so you can (re)discover them :

List of all tracks from David999 on GRIF

Many packed a lot of work, quality, insane visuals or layouts, originality in their tracks but didn't made it into trackmaster or on ToM, though their creations are excellent. I already talked about few of them in my webzine GR History - Treasure Hunters like : Errorman, Cipro, Jayson Bocook, Meka-Kifu, SpeedShift,... and next time I will talk about one specifically highlighting his best ones.

See you !

[Kikwik]

Well, two trackmakers.

Yesterday I checked some subforums like Guess a track, was surprised to find that no one knew about Errorman, but most importantly it made me curious and i gone into ToM where I found in the detailed results some names I didn't knew before or see once but nothing more. So I discovered 2 new names, SpL and Speedy47.

SpL have made 1 big rally track and what interested me most, 3 cute micro tracks.

Dusty Road
25th December 2008

Konciny
28th December 2008

Microcity
9th January 2009

Dusty Road have rough Hmap, have to smooth it for a better driving. Try not falling into water in Microcity. Apart from that it works very well. A good little surprise a a modern one too. Gone directly into my micro tracks folder !

Wanted to talk also about Speedy47. I remembered his name from his recent work on a winter kart complex. But how little I knew that he made excellent tracks like those !

Calleros
23th July 2008

Nadrelle
14th August 2009

Thanks to ToM I've been able to discover those hidden gems of tracks. Calleros is a well built track, good flowing layout, with little original details like in the bottom left corner, a space for winners of the race near the start finish line, the tire tracks on the starting positions... not a fan of this tarmac spray all along the tracks but I can live with it.

And how about Nadrelle, such a beauty of a track ! i particularly love the ilttle details there ; the red black white dots line in the first corner, the starting positions and start/finish line, garlands on the top right corner, the tarmac dithering, the lmap work in the pits, and overall the pleasing atmosphere of the track and good layout. Really love this one.

Sure will search again in ToM for more wonderful creators like those 2.

See you !

[Kikwik]

Today some good ones right there thanks to ToM detailed results again, a true golden mine this site. Thanks to all who contributed to this website until its end.

So first 2 ones are micro tracks and impressive ones considering their dates, by Don Chezare also known as Lax_CeTeR :

Elutoy & Jixie
Don Chezare
19th June 2006
12th June 2006

Incredible details on the house and hmap work on Elutoy, even for Jixie with this store front and pavements. For Jixie it's a little tight, drive slowly ! and for Elutoy it will be difficult to avoid some damage against the track limits so maybe it's better to turn off damage on this one. Worth to add in any micro tracks collection.

Next one is from Timoko :

Acuvo
Timoko
16th March 2007

Neat ! Meant to be seen originally in 4:3 as we see this little smiley on the bottom right. Pleasant scenery with this waterfall, gentle hmap which helps you take corners, neat lines and good tarmac dithering, solid track from Timoko.

Northcroft
18th January 2006
Richie.rich

Cute little rural circuit made by Richie.rich which hides a treacherous hmap, ouch ! Very natural scenery, lovely little track.

GoAround 50' & 80'
Spike25
11th October 2007

2 oval tracks from Spike25. GoAround 50' is quite big I thought when I first tested it, why making it so large ? Then when I drove on the second, the 80' one, I understood. Quite a concept there to not create an evolution of a track but its degradation over time. Clever idea, and well executed there. I invite you to check his 4 other tracks Island particularly, small ones, simple, but nice to play on multi.

Pymycco
Fibres
8th March 2007

Good mud track, which isn't see often with this quality. Gentle hmap for some, but the mud dithering is on point and scenery is simple but nothing bad about it. To add in any rally tracks folder.

See you! ... [Playing in background "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day]

[Kikwik]

Today lot of well known old tracks for GR veterans but a nice glimpse into the past for newcomers, tracks that have a nice or original art but are are better to watch than to play them.

Rushmore
Pongo
8th February 2003

Roswell
Pongo
12th March 2003

Rendlesham
Kha Danny
13th march 2003

As you can see, it's the lmap work that steals the show there, with those UFO and Mount Rushmore. And it have been created in the beginning of 2003 ! Already weird, creative tracks at that time. So sure the layouts are quite simple, no dithering, they're old. But they're classic tracks to keep in an art or fun folder.

Takeaway
Bignami
8th July 2003

Wow, look at those colors and shapes ! Beautiful ! Also an oldie, a big oval but totally playable and pleasant driving-wise.

ICARUS
Ginseng
Date in 2010 in zip but more probably in 2003

Big incredible sun and art globally, with a solid hmap work ! Creative and original. Layout is... meh. It could be incorporated better by only drawing outlines, with the possibility to add small lines inside to convey an air flow and to guide players on the track, on a personal view. Good art track, can be fun too even with the meh layout.

Always a limit of 5 so I let it here for today. Shorter than I would thought but more are coming.

See you !

[Kikwik]

We finished by a track by Ginseng, we'll begin with 2 tracks by Ginseng.

Hypnotic I
Ginseng
21th June 2003

Hypnotic III
Ginseng
23th June 2003

Wow, psychedelic ! An oval and an eight track with a super original lmap. Both exists in multiple versions but those 2 are my favorites. They're micro tracks too. Beware not being dizzy after or hypnotized after few laps !

Terrazza
LucaPDot
14th July 2004

SadHill
LucaPDot
23th August 2004

The two only tracks from LucaPDot and both are interesting and worth mentionning in this topic. The first one is a terrace along the sea, with a high white contrast from it with those white and grey tiles. It's a real location so that's why he gave us the longitude and latitude and tells us by a readme attached to his track. It's full name is Terrazza Mascagni if you want to have a look and scrolling around on Google Maps you'll see the place faithfully reproduced there on GR. Hmap is reproduced as well when driving on stairs.

The second one is a cemetery of a weird kind, all tombs are directed to the center, which gives an eerie, unpleasant feeling, don't know why. According to LucaPDot, it's inspired from the final scene of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" movie, with this characteristic cemetery.

Both are well made and most importantly very original, but personally I will not drive them often, as the locations chosen are not my cup of tea.

Kathynyy
Johnyeboy
12th November 2003

Last one is quite old, but it's a gorgeous and well made track ! The authentification of this track wasn't so hard too, with this big hint in the bottom right corner. The layout is interesting too as you must do 2 different loops to make a lap. So that the start finish area is always full of cars, for viewers pleasure. There's also... cows in the center of the track ? What a ballsy move for ads ! "To be as successful as our champions children, drink milk from cows raised by the gaz of our champions' cars and after take a good patty from it to race upon victory !"

See you !

[Hormous]

Amazing! Thank you Kikwik to bring back to life those hidden gems, soon I need to try all those beauties!

BTW I think (and wish) that your GR stuffs restoring work needs to have more acknowledgement ( ); it is way better than the previous official forum's restoring work, which was way too restricted by the rigid forum rules (...we are talking about tracks/cars created for free by users which use nicknames... ), but still the GR Database is very respectful of the original authors and now you are even provide us of topic like this one (as well as the old GR Webzine ) which are really helpful to better navigate the immense vastness of the database.

To think that many of those tracks are quite old but still looks modern and very original makes me wonder that like in real life, sometimes in order to have something new you just have to look back at what was already done.

[puttz]

This thread is fantastic. I recognize a few of the tracks, but a lot I have not seen before. Keep up the good work! (And yes, I am still lurking around here )

[Kikwik]

Thanks a lot Hormous !

For the GR Database it's a pity that it didn't have been created earlier, as many would still play GR and would be willing to help, and many websites would still be online to get all the content on them before they disappear. Maybe it could have it's own website today for everyone to enjoy and share and make research easier instead of a quite messy Google Drive. I don't understand why too there are so much constraints and copyrights for GR creations. I mean, how GR creators would react today after showing them their previous work with hyper strict copyright readme ? They would certainly laugh, calling themselves silly to be so serious about it. When I see how much joy GR creators have when they see their work restored... It's a way to say : "You've been remembered, your work was worth it and still asked for, thank you for what you have made."

I understand too that GR is 20 years old, that the interest for it is near none (a little revived with GR2 coming fortunately) and only few keep playing it, which is quite an achievement.

What keeps me going is that I love GR, I appreciate anything made by others and inspire me, and I like the fact that content for GR is so big, I would drown in it and always discover, explore interesting things. And I like to share it with you too, and thanks to your post it gives me even more joy and will to keep going.

Also I can put an archivist title (idea from BrianH) in my signature.

To think that many of those tracks are quite old but still looks modern and very original makes me wonder that like in real life, sometimes in order to have something new you just have to look back at what was already done.

That's really deep, and true too.

Thanks puttz and happy to still see you there after all those years, and glad that you discovered interesting tracks !


Today we'll see a lot of neat tracks, from (quite) recent years. First 2 tracks are from Aksu :

Hilenz
Aksu
20th July 2007

Poet Road
Aksu
1st January 2008

Neat little tracks, with a rural atmosphere. Hilenz is one the first track I see that includes ditches with water like it's seen in rural areas. It adds a charming element to the landscape, and I like how the pits location is implemented in the track.

Poet Road have nothing special but is neat, and a micro rally track of this quality is always welcome.

What I like from those 2 are the details and believable landscape that actually adds to the gameplay. For example in Poet Road I like the haybales against wood fences in strategic places on the track. In addition to being good looking, it really helps when driving. Regarding the ditches, it adds a natural barrier to the drivers without adding artificial barriers.

Rhomring
Unknown trackmaker
8th July 2009

Rhomring is a neat micro oval track with an alternate circuit version as displayed above. To add in any micro oval collection !

BridgeWay
P0NA
3rd August 2008

Another micro track with a natural vibe that is accentuated by no outlines of the layout, not many walls along it and natural landscape. Start finish line is quite original, and the fake bridges are well implemented with good texture on it.

Dem Park
Thecactusman
1st July 2009

Made by Thecactusman, and like his name suggests, made lot of his tracks in desert with a river crossing it. Few cactuses though. But this one is one of his best. The river from top to bottom is gorgeous to look at, cliffs are well made and the layout is well included in this landscape. The perspective is top notch, though I found it funny that there's nearly no hmap involved in the layout but it works thanks to the clever lmap and hmap around. For example, the pit lane is on the same plane as the bridge above but maybe because of the thinner road it works. A gorgeous track to look at and to drive and thanks to wooden fences it's not unforgiving.

See you !

[Txizzle]

Some of these look fantastic! Are they still available for download somewhere?

[Kikwik]

I thought you already know about the GR Database Txizzle. That's the place to download those tracks, and the easiest as you can type the name of the tracks in the search bar.

You can also find them on ToM too and have also a search bar, and if they are recent you can find them here on GRIF but in this case I gave the links in the posts.

[Kikwik]

Hi folks !

Only unknown trackmakers this time. Mostly.

Giv338 & Giv679
Unknown trackmaker
15th October 2006

"Argh my eyes, so much red soft walls !" some of you may say. But I think it blends well with the yellow kerbs and the sand. They are well placed on the track too so it's not so much a problem. You have a long and short version with different POV. Good work on hmap with a surprising elevation where there is the gate object. Solid tracks.

Jaiy
Unknown trackmaker
18th July 2005

Nice red lines ! It's the first things that will catch your eyes, and keep them. Second you'll see the lovely pond in the center with the little stream going out at the bottom of the track. A modern layout lost in the wilderness, try it !

Ruyfact
Unknown trackmaker
3rd July 2004

It's a pretty old track, there's nothing incredible but it's super rare to see one with black outlines like it's made in comics. Also it's midly rare to see those kind of kerbs, squared ones with thin lines inside. Provides a good contrast with the black outlines. Landscape is well done and it's kinda impressive to have this attention to details for object placement, look at the hay bales (don't look at those little gaps between them though ). Worth mentionning those mini gates made by juxtaposing them ; simple but clever.

Odor
Unknown trackmaker
24th July 2009

Odor... Snif snif ? Well that's smell nothing. But it's a nice track with a hmap that reminds you sleigh which falls on a slope. Makes me think of Arrow#17 tracks but this one is a little bigger. After a quick view, you'll see good cliff textures as well as the same trees around the tracks expect around this house in the center and those yellow lines which I'm not a super fan, but it's an enjoyable track if you like to feel a slope.

Quaz
Kaiserkoenig
19th November 2017

Pretty recent one by Kaiserkoenig, a cute micro track ! Like some said for tracks in this style, that it feels GRish, aka near no dithering (on tarmac but on grass dithering is precise, neat), simple style, not many objects but well placed. It's the case here. The kerbs have a little grey lines that separate them, don't know if it's intended but it's original and while I was afraid of the pit lane, it's ok to enter it. I like the checkered start finish line, the wooden fences that delimitate the track in the outside and the little pond at the top near the house and the little river passing by in the bottom right corner. It's incredibly small details, but adding them one after one, it makes a good looking, organic track.

Link here : Quaz by Kaiserkoenig

I have few left to show you but I have to search in the GR Database for more next days if I can.

See you !

[Kikwik]

Today will be a different post. Many tracks were rediscovered and shared and it's wonderful (I already prepared some to post there), but carmakers are once again, put aside. I don't want to forget you as you have made hidden gems of cars for GR too, so this post is for you. Rejoice !

Yesterday I wanted to make a Best of GR Kart folder and downloaded every kart car I could find. Among other karts I took, I didn't knew why Chesterfield named his kart a K3rmiT kart (that don't ressemble a kart but more an old F1 car by the way) named and for a trackmaker from old GR era but it's actually the muppet Kermit driving a kart ! Makes me laugh. And then I drove it... And I laughed even more with the sound included with it !

So I tested each and every kart but was left kind unsatisfied by the driving physics globally, even the most modern ones (after few tries though I liked more of them). I retried again on different tracks and discovered a true hidden gem of kart cars !

It's called Real karts and they come in 3 car files, divided in real categories like Senior - Rotomax, Junior - Pro Kart, Cadet - Honda, etc. And the driving physics ! Top notch. Truly satisfying kart physics, with different power with the different categories available that you can really feel. Don't hesitate to try all kart categories, as they are really different from each other, and that's why I missed them the first time because I took one of the most powerful karts and oh boy they are fast, maybe too fast ; I know that some karts are stupidly fast but this fast ? I can't tell.

The names if you want to try them and you totally should are "Real karts.car" (made in 26th August 2004 and have for me the most realistic physics among the 3, as the 2 other ones are damn fast) - "Real karts INT.car" (made in 24th January 2005) and "Real karts 125.car" (27th February 2005), from sadly an unknown carmaker.
Edit : Thanks to Rich Nagel who created an "Every car ever made in GR" file, I found that this carpack was made byyy... Karting ! Talk about the obvious haha

I wish that Juan Car Editor could add the option to let a field to write the name of the carmaker like we can do with the Track Editor. But rejoice unknown carmaker as your creation still live today and sure is appreciated !

Here's a pic :

Real karts
Real karts INT
Real karts 125
Karting
26th August 2004
24th January 2005
27th February 2005

Depending of the category they'll be a little different size-wise. Good looking karts for their age, and they could totally fit in any track size because of their medium size and different power.

For the sounds I recommend Kart by Xmilek ; it's really well made despite its age and change totally your game !

One thing I learned about GR cars ; it doesn't matter when cars were released, because even if they were released in the early days they can be as great or even better than what we got now. I'm eager to test a lot more hidden gems of cars in a near future and to share my discoveries with you all.

See you !

[Kikwik]

There's a good mix of everything coming today !

First we have a serie of 63WS tracks by Martyn, quite recent ones, here's the pics :

Giomar - 17th May 2012
Serhow - 5th June 2012
Steboy - 7th June 2012
Collyn - 11th July 2012
Mernje - 11th June 2015
By Martyn

Nice micro tracks that drives well, intended for Mini. You have 3 rally tracks with Serhow, Mernje and Collyn (Collyn could be considered a road track too and most importantly an 8 crash track), one neat oval with Steboy and one artsy circuit with different layout width with Giomar. What I like in them is the size first, the diversity and the globally good quality of them. AI are alright as some on the threads complained about it but as for me there was no problem apart some AI hitting the hay bale on Collyn at the middle before crossing the river the second time. A nice addition for any Micro tracks folder !

Links here :
Giomar
Serhow
Steboy
Collyn
Mernje

Another one certainly known by GR veteran :

Palladio
By Chesterfield
1st July 2004

A beautiful place with stairs and a little pond. I would thought that it would be much smaller when launching this track in GR but it works well with the layout Chesterfield made. Original and good looking track, I invite you to check the other tracks of him as well like StonehGene or Nicaragua particularly.

Iwese Kyo
Unknown trackmaker
28th July 2005

This track is special ; even if there's near no dithering, that the layout is like a deformed oval, that the landscape is not filled with lot of details, those ugly big blocks of buildings, it still attracts me. I think that the atmosphere of the track is what makes me like it, especially this house on this hill in the center with those wheat fields, the natural landscape in the left side, contrasted with those concrete buildings linked to civilisation in the right side... It's like a battle between modernism and traditionalism, a strong contrast even in its simple, purest form. Maybe it's just me.

Imyy
Unknown trackmaker
15th December 2005

So yes that's just a track built on a rock in the sea. Yes, but how many tracks did that ? That's the only one I know and only for the novelty it's worth to add in any collection. The rock texture is quite good too, but few dirty red pixels on some places, it's just a bit sad that there is this mud layout on it, as it could be a darker rock texture instead to be less weird, but it's more drivable this way ? It have some treacherous hmap in some places but nothing overwhelming, globally an original and fine track.

Paradise Beach 2
Agent Kiwi
24th April 2008

A fellow GR kiwi, so happy to show you its work ! He made solid tracks considering the date of creation, but this one with Paradise Beach the first, are simple in style but delivers for the "holidays in tropical island"'s atmosphere. It also have the right size for GR tracks, and a climb and fall layout which is very fun to drive. I invite you to check more of his tracks, even if they're quite simple nowadays for the style, but clean and well made.

Next ones will be nearly 2003-2002 tracks, and wow it was awful to navigate in those hideous and low efforts tracks, trust me. You'll be surprised though, to see some hidden gems of tracks from those early years, where creativity meets efficiency and simple but clean style.

See you !

[Kikwik]

This post is very very special, as I will talk about some really underrated elements in tracks, and so hidden gems of GR too ; easter eggs. Sometimes you have easter eggs in the description of the track when you right click on it and click on the author's name, like Jayson Bocook funny comments you can check in the first issue of GR History Treasure Hunters. Sometimes it was in readme included in the zip file where you have easter eggs like a silly description of the track or something funny which have no link with the track. And sometimes they are rarely visible when you play on GR, but you have to check them in the Track Editor. Most of the times there's nothing. But sometimes, you have little funny, silly, interesting things to look at.

And only with the works of AleksiNir and Darjo I have so much to cover.

From what I saw, Darjo was the most into it, as AleksiNir often made a signature "Aleksi" on his tracks and little things like "Hi Pantera FTW" or "PI a B. Banks", but later he did the same kind of crazy easter eggs, and particularly when they worked together.

Here's a little pic of what you got if you check it by yourself in the Track Editor :

A sample of the easter eggs you can see on AleksiNir and Darjo's tracks

Maybe you'll not see very well but I'll make a resume.

We can see many types of easter eggs in their tracks, going to signatures to love letters ; Darjo was in love with so many girls apparently !, from Elena to Federica to Maria, with little hearts, so cute.

On many Darjo tracks, near the limits, we can see "Nothing to see here", "You won't find any1 here" or "You are not supposed to read this !".

Lot of fishes too, with one track where Aleksi is the yellow fish and Darjo the red one.

On Spockerino and Pumpkin Lake or Laek, they added some or lot of pumpkins all around the place to suits the names of the tracks.

There was a horse, a flower and a weird red shape thing appearing on some tracks, as well as a... sex shop.

The desire of AleksiNir to be a trackmaster at that time is apparent in few tracks, like one where he/they copied the trackmaster logo 4 times and added in between a YoloRally, Swagmaster logo and messages like "Alexi 4 trackmaster" several times on the same tracks. We know that he finally get his well deserved award.

Some silly signatures like "Deezee and AlewksyNeer, some rights reserved !".

And lot of funny, silly messages on Prodeezee where we can read stuff like this poem "I hear thunder but there's no rain. This kind of thunder breaks walls and WINDOW PAIN.". We could also read on other tracks "Dario 4 the jerk of the year 2013" and "Aleksi 4 Prom King 2013 !".

And after all this funny, silly moments, what cracked me up is this : "D&A M8's 4 Ever (LOL)". Aww, hope you guys are still connected in some ways.

Through your easter eggs I can see 2 good friends joking and having fun together around the same love for GR, supporting and teasing each other in good friendship. I miss those moments, when I was with friends together on the same PC, complaining about too many keys pressed on the same keyboard and unable to play correctly but having so much fun together. Just being together. Very nostalgic moments, so thank you for those easter eggs AleksiNir and Darjo. Hope the best for you two.

It gives me incentive to do more of them in my future creations. I find it just fun that maybe somewhere, maybe years later someone discover your easter egg(s) and smile at it, imagining what was in your head when you put this in your track, your track's description or readme, and the fact that he's been rewarded being more curious than the others.

Nothing connected but I remember that AleksiNir said in the Lönnby Idrottspark topic :

This is the second time that I've used the Volvo logo in a track of mine. If somebody were to know the other one, I would be extremely impressed.

I know it's been near 5 years now but couldn't resist to search for it :

Volvo logo in Spårk Cirkel

It's in Spårk Cirkel, a white with black letters Volvo logo in the center of the track, upside down. Was not an easter egg as it was visible on the track but still.

Thanks again, and see you !

[Kikwik]

Hi everyone !

Today we'll go in micro and even nanosize tracks of the early years of GR. You may have already took a look at the 4th issue of GR History Treasure Hunter where I spoke at the end about 5 nano/micro sized tracks worth to add in your Nano/Micro tracks collection. So the tracks I will show you are in the same size/spirit.

Fuji
Unknown trackmaker
30th July 2005

Myb
Unknown trackmaker
29th November 2005

MiniWay
Unknown trackmaker
18th July 2003

Ok ok I know what you will say ; that's awful !! Yes they're not sexy looking to say the least. But ! They are one of the few micro/nano tracks existing for GR at that time, along the work of TuomoH. The current was more about making big tracks with a width that'll put to shame even the biggest US highways and those who dare to think outside the box or even burn it with acid are those that are remembered, at least for me. But the next ones are of higher quality.

Big Rally
Unknown trackmaker
21th October 2003
&
Underbridge
Unknown trackmaker
Unknown date

They're a little better, with some stylised lines and arrows. Bright colors on Big Rally, cold ones on Under Bridge, talk about a contrast ! They have the same layout, but Under Bridge with a twist : you go under the bridge then on the bridge. Original and not so ugly or low effort as the previous ones.

For Under Bridge I couldn't find it in any zip packs I had in store, so I don't know where it came from and can't retrieve the exact date of it, but most probably it was from the same author and around the same dates.

Super Street
Unknown
11th August 2005

Small micro track featuring a street circuit. The layout is very narrow and dangerous, particularly in the corner at the right of the stand, and at the top of the track, from exiting the pit and the next corner between bushes, but still worth to add in a micro track easily. Often in micro tracks we remove damage so you can do the same.

Weren't them cute ?

I tried to sort Micro tracks yesterday (thanks to the excellent TrackTool from Juan which allow to sort tracks by World Size among other things), but it left me unsatisified, as I wanted to race with Formula on some and with Mini on others. Plus the contrast of style between the artsy ones and the realistic ones put me off. I don't know if I'll sort them by WS or race length but more by style ? ... Oops sorry. That's all for today !

See you !

[Kikwik]

Hi folks !

This time we'll see the "already made before you" tracks that shows that a lot of things were already made in the past and recreated later. Taking Aliman example I will give you riddles to guess which track is the modern reinterpretation of those, and answers will be given right after with spoilers so you may have time to guess if you want to. (Seems my spoilers are not working )

Bathroom
Unknown trackmaker
30th August 2002

A race in the bathroom ? Where's the rubber duck ? Maybe it's you ? A nice effort for the date and original for sure. I don't know what are exactly those green ramps in a bathroom (towels ?) but I like the water and bubbles spreaded everywhere, the tiles on the ground and the sink and bath, and those boats everywhere.

What a mess in the bathroom ! ... Wait, where else did I read this ?

[spoiler]What a mess in the bathroom ! by Naufr4g0.[/spoiler]

Kindome
Unknown trackmaker
Unknown date of creation

Wow a castle in GR ! And it helps to think about this with the crown in the center, even if it's not the most beautiful crown, it helps to give this impression unconsciously. There's everything you want in a castle in a somehow realistic way with the inside buildings against the walls, with the biggest being for the lord and his wife, a drawbridge with moats, the inside field with the crown could be a training ground, few houses on the left for peasants or woodcutters... What's this... truck in the top right corner ? Mmh, siege engineering as it's finest, Leonardo da Vinci was stationned there maybe ? Have to bring those cars or horses to make the race by some ways right ? The layout is a simple squared oval but the atmosphere is so great.

This kind of track was also made by a renowned trackmaker (and very surprisingly not a trackmaster) who made a so much sophisticated, complicated track to make that he never made another track since.

[spoiler]GR Kingdom by ACM - A-Master.[/spoiler]

Error
Unknown trackmaker
12th March 2003

Was there a bug in there ? Seems totally chaotic, with different kind of roads crossing this track from nowhere, and particularly those white roads, a big AAH !! on one of it and 2 lmap cars at the right and on the bottom of the track. It's also an oval, and the chaos stopped with objects being intelligently placed and not in perfect chaos, but stil remains a what is that ?! track and a novelty for those early years.

There's 3 other tracks like this one, with one that have inspired the other 2, in the year 2014.

[spoiler]deRUkt89.-Z+ by XYY, which inspired BRIX to make erroroom and reynaldo123 to make oottiodnaci, all 3 made around October 2014.[/spoiler]

Spotty
Unknown trackmaker
Unknown date of creation

That's really cheerful and colorful, very pleasant track to have a look at ! The downsides are those ugly kerbs, the lack of any meaning with objects, a ridiculously small pit area and an effortless work with hmap in one corner. More efforts into this, and it would be a classic, fun and one of the most brightful track for GR.

Those spots or circles makes me think of bubbles, or even an abstract track...

[spoiler]Bubble Park by Ozmont and Liquo Rico by TuomoH.[/spoiler]

Maunuila
Unknown trackmaker
5th August 2003

It seems so familiar... So simple, but enough to provide some good rally races. Hmap is bumpy enough but not too much. Good track.

It makes me think of so many tracks but one that I see each time I open GR...

[spoiler]Rahli by TuomoH, in the Default track folder of GR.[/spoiler]

Crazy ideas back then, perfected by other ones with modern standards. I'm sure most of us had no idea that those tracks existed and I'm always surprised and amused about it when I see a modern, innovative track to be already made years ago, and certainly even not knowing about it before creating it. No other racing game had so much creativity for their tracks as far as I know, with so much limits to bear which were constantly pushed away. The more I dig and the more I'm impressed by what was done through all those years. And I'm just at the tip of the iceberg...

See you !

[Rendy]

HOLD ON IS THAT MY TRACK?