Voodoo Island - "No" cuts

[rocketalces]

http://mtm2.com/~tracks/T2003/voodooislandnocuts.zip

What is different from the original track?
- I just added a couple of checkpoints to prevent the most blatant shortcuts.
Elevation data, objects other than CPs and texture settings are unchanged.
- Minimal texture adjustments were made in some checkpoint areas
(I couldn't dig those bamboo poles into rock so I turned rock to grass, hehe)

Why do I do this?
We are playing MTM2 at each of our small LAN-parties. Because everybody knows stock tracks,
there is always a point where someone asks for running one of them.
Then the problem arises that some guys know some of the shortcuts and you
- have to explain the shorts to the others, or
- there will be a lot of whining, or
- it is decided that shorts are prohibited and and then you are facing other problems
(e.g. where is the borderline between unfair "shortcuts" and allowed "serious corner cutting"?)

I found a "no cut" version of the Height released by TRI(?), which works fine.
Unfortunately, this seems to be the only track with a no-cut release.

Voodoo Island is my favorite stock track, but the poor CP placement really destroys the racing layout IMAO.
So here is a version that will oblige you to follow more closely the track design.
I deliberately positioned the CPs to allow serious corner cutting, maybe some minor cuts are still possible. The goal certainly wasn't to follow the line of the stupid AI-trucks.

What are your lap times?
(My current PB is 2:06)

Enjoy

[SLO_COPE]

Hey rocket, I haven't had the chance to run it yet, but I will. I found your motives for making a modified version somewhat interesting, however. Voodoo Island happens to be my favorite stocker too, but I find the cuts...compelling lol. What I love about the shortcuts on Voodoo is if you don't execute them just so, you'll end up losing time in an effort to recover from the miscue. Conversely, if you nail that baby, you'll be amply rewarded with a significant time advantage over those choosing to take the traditional path.

In my opinion there's nothing wrong with finding the most direct route from point A to point B; that's apart of pro racing. On the other hand, I don't particularly care for shortcuts that are purposely inserted as general rule. They're usually so simplistic & routine that it amounts to nothing more than an challenge-free, alternate pathway for racers to take. In cases where we feel a shortcut (or shortcuts) diminishes the enjoyment of the track as a whole...we simply come to a consensus to omit it. There's no whining, no complaining.

It's a subjective call, however. What I find boring and mundane others may find fun and exciting. In the end, if the group comes to a consensus, there should be no whining, no complaining. If you fall into the habit of modifying tracks for such reasons...well, you'll be re-doing a lot of tracks lol.

[rocketalces]

>If you fall into the habit of modifying tracks for such reasons...well, you'll be re-doing a lot of tracks lol.

Don't worry, I won't. I won't even do this for all stock tracks.

Nothing against shorts in general if they are more or less intuitive, after all MTM2 is an off-road game. For this reason, if I do a release of Farm road, I will certainly not remove the cut between CP4 and CP5 (along the farm through the field with the cows).

In Voodoo Island, the original CP settings implied that rather significant and technically interesting parts of the track would not be raced. And personnally I'm not a big fan of cuts meaning to race track segments in reverse direction. As you mentionned, this is largely a matter of personal taste. The fact that MTM2 is appreciated for different (even contradicting) preferences by different people is just the mark of a great game.

[SLO_COPE]

Wow - hard to believe it was nearly 17 years ago when this exchange between rocket (one of the most innovative track makers I had the pleasure of knowing) and I took place. I was actually brushing up on the stockers and was curious about lap times on Voodoo. Seems that I recall coming across lap times for all the stock tracks (pretty sure I've yet to beat any of them!), so I checked on the track page - not there. Still, it was nice seeing this post by rocket! Look up his tracks if you get a chance - great stuff!

Not sure you'll ever see this, rocket, but I hope things are going well for ya. Thanks for the great memories, partner! ;)

P.S. My best lap w/o cuts is somewhere in the 2:04 to 2:06 range if I recall. I do know a guy by the name of McGuppy who loves Voodoo, and like you, preferred running it w/o the cuts. I'll have to turn him on to your version the next time he shows up. With cuts my best is 1:43. Seems that the all-time fastest was like . . . 1:41 or something, which is crazy fast lol.

Found it - http://www.mtm2.com/MTM2/Tracks/settings.php. Incredibly fast times. In my mind 1:43 is pretty darn good, but I can't imagine shaving off 4 seconds or more to beat that time by Bug. The list of names under the pro settings were definitely out of my league.

[Kmaster]

This surely does bring up memories. I had the honor to race against rocketalces back in the day (and Cope too, lol). Fun times

[SLO_COPE]

Hey, hey Kmaster - good to see ya, bud. Hope all is well with ya. Given what's going on in the world I figured there would be more old timers sticking their heads in here, but hey, it's early still - looks like this COVID thing has a little staying power, so maybe we'll see a few more names drop by. : )

[PhFoxy]

Not doing the shortcuts felt weird yet nostalgic

[SLO_COPE]

LOL PhFoxy. Man, the cuts on Voodoo are cool to me because they're incredibly tough. I've always maintained that cuts should reward you (sometimes generously) if you're capable of pulling them off, but also make you pay if you can't. The cuts on Voodoo (most of them) do just that. The combination of the slippery terrain and cuts - killer! But hey, that's just me. ;)

[PhFoxy]

LOL PhFoxy. Man, the cuts on Voodoo are cool to me because they're incredibly tough. I've always maintained that cuts should reward you (sometimes generously) if you're capable of pulling them off, but also make you pay if you can't. The cuts on Voodoo (most of them) do just that. The combination of the slippery terrain and cuts - killer! But hey, that's just me. ;)

I see why some people like them, But when I do them it just doesn't feel like a normal race

[PhFoxy]

So gave the shortcuts another chance, They were pretty fun this time on time trials, Still not good in online racing, lol