Track List :: Competitive Computer Trucks

E J D · Post by **E J D** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 3:24 am

It's not a track that can be downloaded (probably), but SideWinder Canyon has been host to some pretty tough one on one races for me. All I did was go into monster.ini, and look for a line that says "difficulty". Bump that up to 25 and you'll be racing with the best... they're much more like real drivers. Powerslides, flips, spins (although not all the time)!

NIR_Cr@$hC@rt · Post by **NIR_Cr@$hC@rt** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 4:07 am

E J D wrote:It's not a track that can be downloaded (probably), but SideWinder Canyon has been host to some pretty tough one on one races for me. All I did was go into monster.ini, and look for a line that says "difficulty". Bump that up to 25 and you'll be racing with the best... they're much more like real drivers. Powerslides, flips, spins (although not all the time)!

I thought you were onto something there, I thought a solution as simple as that had gone unnoticed for years.

Unfortunately, that setting appears to have no effect whatsoever. I did a quick test, watching the AI trucks racing at Farm Road 29. I looked at their laptimes on the first lap, watching the truck starting from 3rd position each time. I tried it with settings of 1, 10, 20, 50 and 100, and they did 1:18 laps every time. That's no competition for my horrifically slow 1:09.

E J D · Post by **E J D** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 2:55 am

I assume you have it in Professional mode in-game? I did that difficulty thing and trust me, it made a real difference.

NIR_Cr@$hC@rt · Post by **NIR_Cr@$hC@rt** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 3:26 am

E J D wrote:I assume you have it in Professional mode in-game? I did that difficulty thing and trust me, it made a real difference.

Yep, Professional, and it made no difference to lap times. I'll try it on Sidewinder Canyon.

Disposable · Post by **Disposable** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 7:55 pm

Getting back on topic, I am beginning to think that 80 tracks is going to be a bit optimistic? Already tested over 250 tracks (Circuit/Rally), and good AI tracks are a bit thin on the ground. Don't know how many more the Slo community is going to come up with?
I won't make compromises just to get 80 tracks, so realistically 60 would seem to be achievable.

And that still leaves 7 more to find, we will get there!

Teknor · Post by **Teknor** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 1:01 am

I don't know what Tracks you've looked at and rejected... but I've been going through the Tracks I've collected and the following are Tracks that the AI seems to work on, at least most of the time (keep in mind, this is with my limited driving skills). I've left out tracks you've already listed.

Fun In The Snow
GuitarBill Ville
LA Supercross '98 (only a fair track, but the AI works)
Motherload 1.5
MudPies '98
RCA Jam (maybe)
Rocky Mountain Way
Sandy Morgan's Gulch
SPs Outback Trny
204WHIPPET
BigWhiskey
Construction Zone
Crazy 2005.5 (a reworked Crazy 98 original MTM2 track)
Zoon Moon (like this one, just plain fun and looks way cool)

Disposable · Post by **Disposable** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 5:05 am

Interesting! I have not tested those tracks yet (will do it now!).
Remember the basic rules:

1. On Professional setting, at least 3 or 4 of the computer trucks should finish the race.
2. They should not run through cliff faces rocks etc.
3. They should be relatively hard to beat. (allow them to start first, then play catch up!)
4. In the test, you must complete at least 2 laps of a circuit (set the race to 2 laps) or a full rally.
5. On a circuit test, if they all get hung up on a cliff face near the beginning of the race, there is no point in going further, because even if the chopper puts them back on the track, they will either run back into the cliff face, or the next lap they will run into the same cliff face again,

The reason you allow them to have a few seconds start is so that you can see what they are doing in the race. If you allow yourself to start first, the chances are (if you are a good driver) that you will not see the computer trucks again.

SLO_COPE · Post by **SLO_COPE** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:38 am

My free time has been extremely limited of late, so I haven't had the chance to run any tracks in the past few days. It looks like you guys have this undertaking under control, however, which is great. ;)

Disposable · Post by **Disposable** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:02 am

We'll get there! 8 more to reach 60, and I have tested Teknor's selection.......So things are looking good!

PS: I put Swiss Alps 2 back in.....Tested it, and the AI is not so bad. All the trucks finished the race, and they give you a fair runout!
This on a 2.2 gig machine with an ATI Radeon 9600 pro graphics card.

Disposable · Post by **Disposable** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 11:41 am

Teknor: 7 of your tracks are very good. (See page 1 of this thread for the list)
The reason I didn't include your other suggestions is because:

SPs Outback: Some of the trucks slow down to a crawl on certain sections, and spoil the illusion of speed. I passed 3 trucks going round in circles.
ZoonMoon: Very confusing track. And even though the first time I tried it, I drove like a snail, I still managed to finish 4th.
Motherlode1.5: Even though I took the lead early on, three trucks finished the race before me without passing me! I know there are shortcuts on many tracks, but they finished before I was half way round!
On one track, (can't remember which one?) I passed 5 trucks that had crashed into various objects, and yet when I finished the race I was 6th.
The others also had flaws, though I can't remember what they are now!

PS: In case you are wondering, I am not trying to win the race, I want to see how well the computer trucks do.

SLO_COPE · Post by **SLO_COPE** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 11:54 am

On the tracks that you're unsure about what path the trucks are taking, use "K" to see how the truck is running the track. Online we call this "riding with" in order to view how someone takes a shortcut or runs a certain section of a track.

Disposable · Post by **Disposable** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 12:05 pm

Good Tip!

But when you still have almost half the race to run, and you don't get passed or miss a check point. And yet the trucks that were behind you finish the race before you go through another check point, then I would say that "taking a shortcut" is some what of an under statement!

Slayer · Post by **Slayer** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 3:19 pm

Disposable wrote:Teknor: 6 of your tracks are very good. (See page 2 of this thread for the list)
The reason I didn't include your other suggestions is because:

Fun in the Snow: If you fall of the cliff on one of the bends, you end up in a gully with no room to maneuver and no way to climb out.

Lol, we call that a challenge :p, at least the AI trucks don't do that, or are you talking about that super slow on afte rthe S like curve then has a checkpoint at the very top and you basically come down the hill at a snaisl pace and you gotta be in the correct line to keep going or u get stuck and have to heli?

heh w/e I got mention :p

Up, Down and Around usually works pretty good, but it has tricky sections and if an AI truck gets disturbed he usually gets stuck.

but what about the zoon coasters?

Disposable · Post by **Disposable** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 5:06 pm

No! This is turning right up a hill, then half way up on the right is a drop into a gully.

Tried several ZooN tracks, they are all brilliant, but sadly the AI is poor on all of them.

Teknor · Post by **Teknor** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 11:01 pm

Disposable wrote:ZoonMoon: Very confusing track. And even though the first time I tried it, I drove like a snail, I still managed to finish 4th.

Yes, that can happen, but keep in mind there are some "obstacles" in the middle of the track (big un-movable rocks) and these can send just about any AI nuts trying to deal with. IMHO, ZoonMoon was confusing the first time around, but on the second time around I was going 'Yeah! Watch Out! There ya go! ...' and was having a ball. Even tho the AI may not be perfect, I'm going to keep that one. I, and all 3 of my boys seem to like that oun

Disposable wrote:On one track, (can't remember which one?) I passed 5 trucks that had crashed into various objects, and yet when I finished the race I was 6th.

That was probably RCA Jam, and you're right, it's AI is not good (then why did I include it?

). You can, however, beat it if you're quick and you ignore the map or what you seen on the screen and only pay attention to the CheckPoint Finder/Directional. You'll cross checkpoints at places you had no idea one was at.

Kind of wondering why BigWhiskey was rejected. Granted, it's not real hard to beat BigWhiskey, that's because it's got these big wide roads and the AI Trucks all drive right down the middle (they don't cut corners at all), but every one of those AI Trucks will finish the race (with a decent time) usually without getting spread far apart. They don't run through cliff faces or rocks, They don't get hung up on anything, and if you let them get a head start, you have to work to get ahead.

As for Construction Zone, it has a lot of road hazards/objects that can get not just the AI Trucks hung up, but also you. Give them a leading start and in two laps you may have to work hard to win. I don't always win on this one. I only see them occasionally getting hung up so bad they don't correct, and the game ALWAYS shows them as having finished the race. IMO this one has at least decent AI.

Disposable wrote:Teknor: 6 of your tracks are very good. (See page 2 of this thread for the list)

I think you meant the list on page one of this thread (it was page two until the thread split). [;)]

Disposable · Post by **Disposable** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 5:33 am

Big Whiskey was not rejected!

(far from it, this is a great track!)

As for rejected tracks, we all see different things in each track we run. What is great for you may not be great for someone else!
I don't profess to be the best judge on track lore. I just call it as I see it......And I can get things very wrong!
What I try to do is find tracks that are challenging, without being ridiculously hard (from a beginners perspective).
When I first started playing MTM2, tracks that threw up to many obstacles, or that needed reflexes like Neo in the Matrix to complete successfully, would put me off the game for a while.
So in the interests of all the new to MTM racers out there, I had to be brutal.

Slayer · Post by **Slayer** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 10:09 am

Disposable wrote:No! This is turning right up a hill, then half way up on the right is a drop into a gully.

Tried several ZooN tracks, they are all brilliant, but sadly the AI is poor on all of them.

i'm not sure what ssection than, can you screenie it? maybe i can fix it (digs up txx files)

Post by **Phineus** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 10:55 am

Disposable wrote: I just call it as I see it......And I can get things very wrong! What I try to do is find tracks that are challenging, without being ridiculously hard (from a beginners perspective). When I first started playing MTM2, tracks that threw up to many obstacles, or that needed reflexes like Neo in the Matrix to complete successfully, would put me off the game for a while.

Those are valid points. And I'm sure many beginners have had the same experiences.

Regarding opinions, one of the best things about a forum is that you can say anything you like, even if it differs from the norm, and anybody can change their views later as new things come to light.

Disposable · Post by **Disposable** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 5:19 pm

Your so right Phineus, it's not about being proved wrong, it's often about seeing it from someone else's point of view!
If Teknor or Slayer or anyone else thinks that a track should be included, then by all means include them.....Your judgment is easily as good as mine (probably better).
I am stopping at 60 tracks, so any border line tracks can be included to take the total up to 80!

Then someone has to do the hard work of compiling the list for the track site, and writing a short description as to what the list contains! Oh! And finding out who made them in the first place?

Slayer: Fun in the Snow is a great track, and using the chopper gets you out of the gully, you just loose time! So the secret is not to fall into the gully in the first place!.....So on reflection (because I was *beep* about falling into the gully) I think it should be included, so I've added it to the list!

Slayer · Post by **Slayer** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 6:01 pm

yay..

what list? lol

(goes back and reads topic)

................

oh, ok cool thx.

lemee think, i used to know many tracks with good AI....