Tracks How to separate the good from the bad tracks

[Noctam]

Hi everyone,
I've been trying a lot of AC tracks and there are definitely some top class ones like the ones from @Fat-Alfie , @LilSki , @Sergio Loro , @Rigel , @Lemax or @Brun (I'm definitely forgetting some authors right now, sorry about that) that feel and look at Kunos level.
I would love to know what objectively makes those tracks so good (apart the obvious amount of work and dedication put by those master modders) and how one could learn to check for proper work being done on other mods so that choosing a tracklist would not just be a work of trial and error but something a bit more "scientific".
Any track mods artist to share his knowledge here?
Thanks a lot.

Edit: as pointed by @Please Stop This , there is already some really insightful info on this topic here, by @NightEye87 .

 

[Please Stop This]

some days ago there was this nice post by @NightEye87 in a rather different thread "Mod / App Requests Thread", see also the link he posted there.

 

[Noctam]

I know, it was in answer to one of my post already and it's the reason why I created this post.
@NightEye87 made a very nice post indeed and that's why I thought it could be nice to have more knowledge like this one all together inside one post.
There are just so many track mods for AC and not all of them are good for one reason or another so I thought it would be great to have a "learn how to fish" thread about selecting proper tracks.
But I might be wrong and maybe @NightEye87 did cover everything?
I'm clueless about this topic but very eager to learn more, that's it.

 

[Please Stop This]

oh lol ok...ye nighteye pretty much summed it all up, even more so the post of Luchian on a...c...mods.net

In short: check DIP when alone on track, if above 2000 then you can expect bad performance, for reference: most kunos tracks are at 1000 DIP.

Edit: cockpit view / hoodview also make a difference, in cockpit there are more DIP's...

 

[Noctam]

Yeah sorry, I'm a bit obsessed about this topic recently.

I was thinking also of things like FFB feeling.
It seems to me that some tracks have awesome feeling (in comparison to Kunos tracks that seem to be the reference to me) and other are lacking a bit of infos, is there a way to understand and check that aspect?

For example I love Le Mans and I found different mods but they give different things (witht the same car) and it's hard for me to tell what I should expect because there is no official Le Mans track for AC to compare.

 

[Please Stop This]

There are no numbers to pull out for road-meshes other than the number of triangles, even less so for "feeling" of it, you simply have to try it out.

To get a feeling about it, watch some onboard videos, but take in account that cameras can have stabilization involved.

 

[Noctam]

The onboard camera is a great idea, I will try it out for Le Mans, there is a lot of footage available for this track obviously! Thank you!

 

[NightEye87]

(I'm definitely forgetting some authors right now, sorry about that)

I feel so offended right now j/k


But yes, "road feel" cannot be quantized. It can be edited if needed.
The best way to find out if a track is good is to do a hotlapping session, check performance, and check for arm pit sweat, the amount of grin on your face, and all that sort of subjective stuff.
Some lesser known tracks of lesser known modders can be some of the most fun to race.
And as for looks, well, 3D grass is easily added these days so even tracks that are 6 years old (Barbagallo for instance) can look up to par these days.

 

[Noctam]

I'm so sorry @NightEye87 , I actually love your version of Assen but didn't realize it was your work when we discussed track mods together! Now I'm connecting the dots...

Some lesser known tracks of lesser known modders can be some of the most fun to race.

I'd love to have your recommendations

 

[Noctam]

Hi guys,
I have recently found some tracks who are giving me nothing or barely anything useful when I check the "update map from surfaces" that @NightEye87 recommended me to use to check if the track is closed. Is there any other way to check it out?
Thanks!

 

[Please Stop This]

Thats 'only' an indicator for the track not having properly set valid/invalid surfaces in "data\surfaces.ini", maybe all grass is valid? or not properly set up in that file.

 

[Noctam]

That's what I thought but then the track limits are working and gravel feels like gravel so there should be some surfaces set up, no?

 

[NightEye87]

Yeah I think it only looks inside the main KN5 file. Happens a lot.
If that happens, click the "update map" button (not "from surfaces") and it will use the AI line. If you then tick "real width" it somehow finds the correct surfaces.

I'd love to have your recommendations

Whoops. I had bookmarked it and never got back to you.
I'm not sure if my opinion is worth anything though. Some tracks I hate are other people's favourites, and vice versa

 

[Noctam]

Yeah I think it only looks inside the main KN5 file. Happens a lot.
If that happens, click the "update map" button (not "from surfaces") and it will use the AI line. If you then tick "real width" it somehow finds the correct surfaces.

This works, thank you! I can only see the road surface but I at least know it's closed now.

I understand your point about the favorite tracks, don't hesitate to PM them to me though if you prefer, I'm always looking for some hidden gems.

Thank you guys!