ModNation Racers

[Matt]

Done it, thanks

[merf]

seems the way to get XP races is to choose a series of 5 rather than a one off, got a couple of 6 or so racer set-ups and getting some ranking points.

people seem to be avoiding the one off XP races as they drop you out into the mod-spot after

[Matt]

Anyone got any map recommendations? I've downloaded a few, but even the top rated ones are pretty poor at this stage. Early days yet, still hoping there are some gems out there. I've been tinkering with it, but finding the tools very limiting to make any variety. I'm struggling getting enough branches to make the maps interesting for me. Given the proper maps are made with the tools, I'm sure it's just me not using them right - I've not looked at any of the tutorials yet....

[MisterBubbles]

DK parkway jungle, Tiku map

[merf]

have a look at Great Pyramid Complex, sombody on NEOGaf made it and its quite cool and a decent stab at some complexity beyond a lot of whats getting made.

[Matt]

Cool will check them out.

Meantime if you guys could check out my first proper map It's called Mountain Ridge Race, pretty self explanatory. Had fun carving the mountains so the setting sun would look cool in a few places. This took about 4 to 5 hours this afternoon, on and off.

[merf]

tried your track Matt, in general like the layout out in the mountains, its interesting.

couple of gripes are the excess of those pole things going in and out at the start finish line, annoy the crud out of me ! didn't like the narrow adverse camber bend with the sheer drop to one side, plus theres another bend up near that where I get stuck on a sign every time.

in general though decent track, liked it

[JP]

I've got my trophies for 10 people downloading one of my Mods and the same for people downloading one of my Karts so I thought I'd for tracks.

I studied my market and decided that the easiest way was to "assist" somebody in getting a trophy without actually doing anything. Let me introduce you to Easy 100,000 Point Loop for all you drifters out there!


I thought it would be so easy to create but I've spent absolutely hours sorting it out. I promise you, the tools don't let you create tracks like that without really fighting against them.

[Matt]

tried your track Matt, in general like the layout out in the mountains, its interesting.

couple of gripes are the excess of those pole things going in and out at the start finish line, annoy the crud out of me ! didn't like the narrow adverse camber bend with the sheer drop to one side, plus theres another bend up near that where I get stuck on a sign every time.

in general though decent track, liked it

Thanks man. Those poles are strange - I tried them on a trigger at first so they'd only activate after the first lap, but that never worked. Then put them on a 10 second delay (the max) so they'd effectively not start until you've passed them at the start of the race. Yet there they go, right from the start. They worked the first time though, it's like the timer never reset from my in-editor racing.

Sorry you didn't like that narrow camber bend Wanted to put in something a little tricky. Though that's the thing with doing a map, you put in on and tweak the camber and angles according to how you drift. I have zipped round it from the first time with little problem, only sometimes going on. I got someone else on it, they just couldn't do it.

I may tweak it, but TBH I'll likely leave it alone and may do another one sometime

[Number45]

Good lord, the 'outscore' grudge matches really force you to learn the tracks. Did the Craggy Hills one last night against Iceman - it's not enough to pretty much drive a perfect race you also have to eke as many points out of the game as is possible. Took me six or seven attempts, with the last one being me nailing every bend on the way up and hitting the ramps (with spins) on the way down... and even then I only beat him by the skin of my teeth!

There are a couple of things I'd like to see changed in the game though. Firstly, you should be able to tweak the car setup from within a race in single player. Obviously not once the race has started (Or if you do, it should force a restart), but while at the starting line you should be able to do so so that you can tweak your setup on the fly to suit the challenges, rather than have to drop right out to the Modspot and then endure the loading into the game again.

The second is that unlocking the grudge matches should keep them unlocked permanently, even if you don't beat it. If you unlock the grudge match by beating the 'bonus' challenge and don't beat the match, then you decide to call it a day and try again tomorrow, the game forces you to complete the bonus challenge again before you can try the grudge match again. No problem on some of the easier challenges, but when the challenge is to win a race without any contact on the side walls it can be very frustrating!

Other than those little niggles I'm still enjoying the hell out of this, and I've barely touched the creation or the online sides of the game. I'm going to try and unlock everything before dabbling with those.

[Neon Ignition]

I've gone back to this after a week off and I've got a sneaking suspicion that I won't end up completing the sp mode. It's fun but has too many tricks of the genre that I dislike. I find myself leaning towards the online side more where the sharing and races can still soak up a ridiculous amount of time. I spent ages making version 2 of my second creations.... a robot Duracell Energiser Bunny and matching Energiser Kart

[Number45]

What tricks, if you don't mind me asking? There aren't any obvious 'I WIN' buttons that I can think of, like snaking allowed in some versions of MK.

[merf]

theres also no undefendable weapons.

its a bit movie poster quote but this is 3 games in one for me and I love them all,single player is a fully fledged game in its own right and wipes the floor with all other kart racers, online is very good too, has some cheaty server side stuff to hide lag from the player (as did Mario Kart wii) but get a good number of racers in an XP series and its great. Finally the creation tools are wonderful, just work so well and integrated beautifully with your designer card thing.

total triumph of a game for a 1st time studio, personally its a 10/10 landmark genre defining title

No45, re the grudge matches you sure you have to unlock them again, I got stuck on drillbit and recall just goingstraight back in and pressing triangle to attempt it again a day or so later ?

[Neon Ignition]

By tricks I mean rubber banding, getting weapon spammed when in a front place etc, all trademarks of the genre which I fully expect to see some peeps claim don't exist in this because of their current love-in with it. The shield is highly helpful when the timing gets mastered but by using the boost bar up so quickly it can often lose its effect. Blur manages this much more elegantly in a manner that is also down to the players ability. It's no deal breaker or anything but just something that can unneccessarily niggle

[Number45]

If you're running out of shield, you're using it too early. Each of the weapons has a different time of impact, which you can learn with practice. The game tells you what weapon is incoming, and you can even see the missiles on the status indicator on the left. The only time you will get hit without the chance to react is if someone lets fly from close to you, and the only weapon that's a little unfair is the level 3 sonic boom because it can hit multiple times (Yet it can also be avoided without having to use the shield at all).

I fully expect people that haven't spent enough time with it to learn the systems nuances to dismiss it out of hand. See what I did there?