OK, first things first - I am a newbie designer with some questions (at the end) but here is a track I finished recently. I started by dividing the world up into 4 segments, not really marked out by anything other than different ground surfaces. To be honest, on the finished track you can't really notice the demarcations, but it was just a starting point for me.
It's called VacationNation1v2 and my PS3 name is anaximperator.
From the start line, a sharp but wide turn to the left.
Once you enter the beach area you can go left towards the beach itself or fork right into the woods over uneven ground.
The tide's coming in but don't worry - you won't drown.
If you took the shortcut you'll use the small island on the right and the wooden jetty to get off it. Otherwise, the track now splits into three.
Go right and you'll jump the ship but must avoid the Devastator. The middle track has a few hazards. The left track is safer but slightly longer.
The right track jumps you into the walled area of a long-gone temple. The other two tracks merge, enter the temple walls then offer you a sharp right-hander.
Go left, or take your chances through the grassy, flame-ridden tunnel shortcut.
Pass under the temple - look out for a sharp left before the exit.
Thankfully there are no hazards as you pass through the old troop aircraft.
With its bumpy ground and devilish right turn, the shortcut to the left isn't really a shortcut. Except I didn't tell you that. did I?
Plain sailing now; minimal hazard as you head towards the bridge.
Be careful as you come off the bridge - don't overcut it as you may bounce into the opposite wall. But cut it just a little if you want an item pod.
So there we go. This is an editable track so feel free to play with and improve it (you're unlikely to be worse than me). So, before I go, a few questions which I hope you can help with.
RAISED BREADCRUMB AREAS
I started and then abandoned a Seaside theme where I'd hoped to use several raised marina walkways as a breadcrumb track. The reason I gave up was that the breadcrumbs are sprayed at ground level and I really couldn't tell if their vertical position matched the higher walkways. Is it possible to raise breadcrumbs? Incidentally, on that subject, just after the old ship ramp on this track I placed one of the big building blocks as a landing platform. But on a test run, my cart landed on that and immediately tried to burrow downward to reach the breadcrumbs. I'm obviously doing something wrong - and I need help!
ILLEGAL SHORTCUT?
A few weeks ago I uploaded a track called FarBeast1copy hoping for help. It wasn't until after uploading that I ran a test race. There's an area of the track where you take a sharp S sequence heading downhill towards a ship. Beyond this, as the track heads upwards again, there's a megajump available to the right. The trajectory takes you over the later piece of track but, just as my cart was about to land, I got this message that it was an illegal shortcut and I was placed back on the main track near the jump. I can't understand why the shortcut is illegal.
AI TEST RACERS
This doesn't really matter too much (hey, it's their problem not mine) but when I do a test drive and the track features mega jumps, most of the AI carts seem to go wildly off-course in mid-air, usually crashing against a nearby mountain or something. Is this just a quirk of the game?
Many thanks in anticipation of your help.
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