>I second the motion of not having track editors in racing sims such as ICR and
>F1GP. It would be nice to have them but as said before, these games are
>simulators not arcade games. It will be hard to implement with changes in
>elevation and bumps in the road, the degree of corners, and the outside graphics
>such as pits and trees and the list goes on.
not like the extremely limited approach in Stunts. But a fairly
sophisticated editor would add hugely to the game - everyone is moaning
these days about how terrible the new generation of tight, stop start
GP circuits are. This would be our opportunity to demonstrate what
could be done in the space provided; and some nutcase would be *bound*
to try and recreate the original Nurburgring (if you do, let me know :).
The way I'd like to see it done would be to divide the track
properties into four: terrain height, 2-D track layout, scenary
objects and background graphics. For the terrain height editor, I'd
envisage a rotatable mesh representation of the surface (like the
green visualisation in the ancient PGA tour golf, or as seen in the
Autosport race reports). You'd alter the height simply by clicking on
part of the surface: left click to raise, right to lower. Oh, and
you'd probably want a zoom feature, as seen on the map visualisation
in Descent. The 2-D track layout defined later would simply be fitted
to this terrain. So easy to create the first ever Grand Canyon
Grand Prix.
The 2-D track layout editor would allow you to define straight
sections by placing markers at either end; curves could easily be
automatically fitted between four markers (two each at either end of
the track). Protective barriers could be defined in the same way as
the track. You may also want to define the extent of kerbs, or they
could be placed automatically - perhaps with a suspension-jarrability
factor thrown in. Ramp-like kerbs followed by extremely tight,
grandstand-enclosed sections of track could add a James Bond feel.
Track scenery would simply be a case of placing standard objects.
Hey, even Stunts has this facility, although it is far too limited.
Perhaps adding some sort of local wildlife factor (such as deer at
Hockenheim, and birds in Brazil) would enhance realism.
And of course the scenery editor would just consist of importing
graphics in some standard format, like GIF. Import all your
favourite Doom skylines into F1GP II.
Each of the sub-editors would involve pretty standard programming, but
together they should definitely be sold as a separate package.
Alternatively, MicroProse could simply do an ID: release the (neatly
organised) file formats, sit back and watch the fun.
Of course, MicroProse could take the track layout to an unimagined new
level, making all of the above obselete or pitifully insufficient, but
then again...
I think that such an editor could only enhance the popularity of the
game: much better than Papyrus's mean and *** trick of only
releasing a handful of tracks with the original, full-price game, and
then *** the rest in little add-on packs.
Peter