MTM2.com

[SLO_COPE]

Fast Lap: 00:51.56 (Black Gold) by SLO_Scrooch
Garage Settings: 1300/1400 medium tires/soft suspension

NOTEUncle Jed and Clem are two of Phin's 109 alter egos, so even though Phin is the author, he probably doesn't know it lol.


Since I’m all caught up on track reviews, which I think is a first for me, I’ll drop back to 2003 and revisit a track that somehow got by me last year…one I happen to like quite a bit, actually. The story behind “Black Gold” (an MTM 2 conversion of EVO-2 4X4’s “Black Gold”) is pretty interesting, and if you ask me (which no one did, but so what lol), I think Phin should’ve told it in a readme. I suppose you’d have to know Phin to understand his objections to readme’s in some cases. Then again, I know him and I still don’t understand. At any rate that’s why I’m here; to tell the stories he’s too afraid to tell lol.

“Black Gold”, like “Muskoka Road” served more as a means to an end rather than track making for the purpose of entertaining the MTM 2 community. I’m not suggesting he’s indifferent to the former, it’s just that “Black Gold” is a product of Phin’s prep work (in part) prior to making “Alphaville”…believe it or not. Also, and I’m sure he’ll correct me if I’m wrong, but I think “Black Gold” was also used to put the beta version of BinEdit 2 through its paces as well. That’s more gee-wiz info more than anything else. The story I’m mostly interested in telling has to do with the tracks themselves. Yes, that’s plural, and yes, it was intentional. You see, there are two versions of this track: “Black Gold” & “Black Gold Pro”. BGP was the original, however, the “Pro” portion of its title wasn’t added on until Phin yielded to Rep Fan’s constant whining and complaining about the track being too hard. Yep, that’s right – the rumors about him being a big baby are absotively true lol. Much to my disappointment Phin knuckled under to his constant nagging about the original version. I would have told the big sissy to stop whinin’ and either learn how to drive or go back to playing hopscotch. You know, sugarcoat it to avoid hurting his feelings, and yet still get the point across lol.

The differences between the two tracks come down to one word: width. On BGP the width between the checkpoint markers is narrow, as are the bridges, which combine to make for a deceptively tough run. Come to think of it, the track in general is narrow, thus opportunities for outright passing are almost nonexistent. I’d say the only chance for making a semi-clean pass on BGP is just after checkpoint four where you have to finesse the turn into checkpoint five. The key is to make the pass quickly, decisively. The reason why is on BGP checkpoint four is closer to checkpoint five (BGP CP-5 & BG CP-5), and of course, the markers are closer together, hence you have less time to make the pass AND line up your truck to get safely through the markers at checkpoint five. Typically people drift wide on that turn, so there should be an opportunity or two for a pass. You just have to ensure you don’t fall victim to that treacherous corner yourself. Finally, don’t forget about the bridges. Like I said, they’re pretty narrow—about the width of two monster trucks side-by-side, so be sure to center your truck on the road on the approach to a bridge. Suffice to say if two racers attempt to get across those bridges at the same time, someone’s going into the drink lol. Actually that’s not entirely true because it’s possible, but oh so unlikely.

The other difference between the two versions is the left turn into checkpoint six. On BGP the road is anything but smooth, so approaching the turn without forethought will surely yield undesirable results. The way to take that corner with respectable speed is to start your turn early and use the accelerator to help pull you through. It’s pretty difficult to explain, and probably tougher to visualize if you’re unaccustomed to using the accelerator to assist in cornering, but work at it—It’ll come. In fact, the same skill will come in handy as you pass through the start/finish line and start the left turn across the railroad tracks. It’s a nasty little corner just waiting to do some poor, unsuspecting racer in lol.

I’m partial to BGP because it’s challenging, and you’re never really assured a win, even if you have a sizeable lead on your opponent due to the all the potential hazards associated with the track. BG, on the other hand, is quite a bit easier to navigate through, but I’ve seen several pro racers crash and burn on it time and again lol. As I said, it’ a conversion (Phin’s 2nd – Barnyard 109 was his first), so the track is visually quite impressive, stunning even. Regardless of which you prefer, the Copey Rating says they’re both high-flying 10s! Ultimately the real beauty of “Black Gold” is that it comes in two flavors, so there’s something for macho guys like yours truly…and mamby-pamby whimps like Rep Fan lol. I stole that “mamby-pamby” line from Yosemite Sam…just in case it sounded familiar lol.

Hehe yeah, this one’s late in coming, Phin, but I was determined to get to it. Again, I was pretty disappointed when you sold out to that spineless toad, Rep Fan, but in the end I think it all turn out pretty good. Just don’t do it again, ok? LOL great job, bud–an excellent pair of tracks…even though you never intended to make em.

[Rep Fan]

Hey Lumpy!

What the heck did I do? I don't remember
_________________
Rep Fan's Garage

[Jethro]

You tell 'im, varmit

[Rep Fan]

Oh I know what it is, you still complaining about that smoothed out corner?

I think it only made it better myself. I don't know about you, but my trucks aren't equiped with a "double gravity" button like yours, cuz I can't make turns when my front tires are in the air.

It's an excellent track, no matter what that cry baby up there says
_________________
Rep Fan's Garage

[SLO_COPE]

LOL ur still a sissy

[Ellie]

Oh stop fighting, ya big galoot

[rocketalces]

[SLO_COPE]

You're very welcome, Rocket, and no, Fitz isn't some figment of Phin's warped imagination lol. He's actually on team Titanium now...or I guess I should say back on team Ti.

[rocketalces]

Good you could clarified this. I started to get confused, lol

Where is the "People" section in this forum?

[rocketalces]

Tagging a product as “Pro” is a common marketing practice when the goal is to sell something much more expensive than the basic version. The underlying message is that all appropriate labels for the other, untagged version, are more or less insulting like “budget”, “amateur“, “light” or “wimpy” to name a few.

So what will the average consumer do, when he gets the opportunity to get the “Pro” version for the price of the non-pro version? Especially after an opinion leader published an article pointing out that “sissy” was the most appropriate label for the non-pro version?

Speaking for myself, I happily grabbed one of the few remaining shiny “Black Gold Pro” boxes from the shelves, installed it and started driving.

First surprise: this baby is really challenging, even according to my standards. I was tempted to try the easier version. “I don't have patience for things that are made deliberately, unnecessarily hard. If I wanted that, I'd take up cryptic crosswords as a hobby instead of MTM, or read Wallace Stevens - who nobody in their right mind reads voluntarily. Realism is a worthy goal, but there's a line that should be ever present in our minds that marks the place where we realize this is a computer game; it is not a real truck or real place on this earth where we go on weekends to drive our monster trucks.”
Note that the quote does not reflect my opinion in any way. It was a complain Phin wrote about my LaPaMa track at about the time he released Black Gold. Undeniably he’s got a good sense of humor, lol.

I looked up the benchmark time and started serious practicing. Seldom I have seen an MTM-track where it is so difficult to consistently drive fast laps. The slightest mistake often causes a tremendous loss of time. I took me around 100 laps to get below 55sec and I was short of asking this Scrooch guy (record holder at the time) for driving lessons. Being more than 3 seconds faster than me he sure had to be a heck of a driver. Until I realized he was driving the “Nintendo” version. Eventually I installed it and it took me twelve laps break the 52 sec mark (hehe, no need to call Scrooch) and to appreciate the differences in the track.

The wider bridges and checkpoints are definitely a good thing for multiplayer racing. If someone crashes into a CP or falls from a bridge there is now room to avoid him. The wider CPs are not necessarily easier: CP5 now allows higher speeds and is as difficult as before. Regarding the smoothed out CP6 area, I agree with Cope that the “Pro” design was more fun. But the overall greatly improved raceability of the still challenging “baby” version let you quickly forget about that faux pas.

Now let’s talk a moment about trains. They are shorter than in the “Pro” version and don’t jam the start anymore. Unfortunately, they are still a nuisance. At CP 7 you may lose 10 seconds ... only to be blocked again by the same train after CP1, losing even more time. And the schedule allows no workaround: in a good run the 2:25 train will block you at CP7 in lap three (or the latest at CP1 in lap 4), leveling out the lead of the race. Yes, you can jump over the low-rider wagons but this helps only in the “Pro” version where the oil tank near the start was no-collide. (When blocked at CP 7, you can drive back a bit, jump over the train and rush through the tank towards start-finish. )

If it were for the trains, Black Gold is outstanding in both versions. It looks very good, collision properties of objects are very precise (including the circular oil tanks, kudos for that) and the driving challenge is excellent. I’m partial to the “kindergarten light” version because my thing is LAN racing in large packs (6+). So here comes the deal, Phin: if you were kind enough to remove or immobilize the trains in the non-pro version, maybe calling the result something like “tourney” version, you would get in return

1) a solid gold antler award
PLUS
2) my next track will contain an Aynsley Dunbar Lane

So what do think about that?

[Phineus]

Phin wrote about my LaPaMa track at about the time he released Black Gold. Undeniably he's got a good sense of humor, lol.

But as tracks go, the question is one of control. Slipper textures, I think that was the topic, take three things out of your hands - steering, acceleration and braking. Black gold may be tough, but it's always fully within your grasp. I liken it to Scrapyard Run, which I think is a tough track. It takes a very aggressive driving style to master it. Mariposa is another that leaves no margin for error. But if it makes anybody feel better, the next one is very forgiving - just put the pedal down and drive.

So [could you] remove or immobilize the trains in the non-pro version, maybe calling the result something like "tourney" version

I redid the barn track for RnR, so I don't have any problem with this. No bribery necessary.

http://mtm2.com/~tracks/details.cgi?t=4318

If there's no problems, I'll turn it on for the page. If you do a nice in-game screenshot, I'll update the info.

[rocketalces]

Great


Golden Antler Award


Thanks ... and glad you considered my offer as bribery, lol