Botniaring BETA

Great to see.

Did you release this for rF1? I seem to remember running the PCC07 mod around here giggling like a little school girl.

Cant wait to get my grubby hands on it for rF2...good stuff.

 

I disagree. I think the two most promising rF2 mods currently in development (Dunsfold by Tuttle and Croft by feels3) have the right approach. Work, work, work, then release a mostly-final build. I know this probably sounds like the worst insult imaginable, but I haven't downloaded either of your two tracks because I don't think they're polished enough for me to bother with them. I'm sure some rF2 players prefer your approach to development, but I'd rather just wait for the near-final product.

The most reasonable compromise is to have a small group of players help with the beta testing phase. That's how most rF1 mods seemed to come together and I think it benefits the entire community because it allows the v1.0 release to be really strong.

 

Well, your loss but please don't go around telling people to cater only to your approach. It hurts those who don't think like you.
Have you ever modded yourself?

 

so you're basing your opinion on something you hav'nt even downloaded and looked at? Sorry but thats pretty pathetic! have you ever modded before? made anything for a game and released it?
anyway go download Mid-Ohio, race at Dusk then come back and tell me its not a great track looks & playability wise!

sorry to carry on O/T!

 

Nope, I've only participated as a private beta tester.

I realize that modding is difficult and that it requires both feedback and collaboration, but I think those can easily be found in dedicated forums. People like yourself could ask Tuttle, feels, and Scott Juliano for help on specific issues. Furthermore, you could also share beta builds with other modders to get advanced feedback on many of the technical issues you face.

Distributing unpolished content to the general public does give you a wider range of feedback, but it also sours many people on the project who may never come back even when the issues are resolved.

 

I think you're proving my point. Mid-Ohio was heavily polished when it was released and people were really pleased with it. Even if it doesn't get an update between now and the final release of rF2, I don't think anyone would complain.

 

I don't think we'd ever agree on what's polished and what's not and that certainly wasn't my point. I do not mind you not downloading some tracks, even ours, at all.

I do however mind you telling other modders not to release and keep those guys who do enjoy "unpolished" or "unfinished" mods from getting their hands on such mods. Why do you think you should dictate that to modders and users?

 

I'm just giving constructive criticism because I think it will benefit everybody in the end.

Modders can get all the help and feedback they need by partnering with other modders and dedicated beta testers. This allows them to make improvements to their content at their discretion. Once the content is sufficiently polished, they can then release a really strong "final build" to the masses, who in turn congratulate them for making such a great track/car/plugin/etc. The community is happy because they get awesome content, and the modder is happy because everybody is patting them on the back.

To ethone's recent comment in the Croft thread: if feels3 had released his track in the post above mine, we would then probably have to download a patch tomorrow with the adjusted alpha channels. But instead, the community and ISI were able to help him resolve the problem before issuing a patch was necessary. That's how I believe it should work.

 

Some quick feedback...

• The environment is seemingly overexposed in the mirrors
• The outer treeline could use some better models/lighting

 

The mirror overexposure is a car export bug imho. Mirrors needs a No Lighting T1 shader to work properly and the rTrainer mirrors seems to have a standard T1 applied.

Trees can looks far better (and without this light issue above different tree panels) using stamp vertex BB technology.

 

*edit cant be bothered *

 

Is there a download link for this track yet? I'd love to try it out!

 

The mirrors could be an issue. I've seen this in other mods and it makes the mirrors useless. Of course, from one pic, you can't tell as it may just be the sun shining into the mirrors.

The trees- IMHO, I don't care if they are 2d sprites like GPL. I won't notice them anyway. Look at the new Brianza if you want to see hideous trees! But that is one of the most beloved rF2 tracks already, so don't waste a lot of time redoing the trees. Of course, that's just me and MHO

 

As already said this is a car bug using a standard T1 shader instead of "No Lighting T1" for car mirrors. The issue is replicable in every track with HDR on...so it's not a track fault.

 

I know it is off topic, but interesting topic. That why i want to contribute a few words.
Ethone, do you know some mods (cars or tracks) which has been released public in early state and after some time turned into quality ones? I don't. I'm not talking there are no such products. But if there are a few in thousands of mods... it really doesn't count.
What I have to say is, that mod, once released public is never improved in way ta to get next level of quality. Usually there are small fixes, but whole product quality stays untouched. Also you can check the best modders products. They release mods when it really deserve 1.0 number. Or even if they put some lower version number due to their modest, products ale complete and finished from user point of view.

That's my 2 cents . And again sorry to JKa for continuing offtopic.
with regards

 

Thanks a lot for this 1st release, looks great on video !
I'll test it asap.

 

thanks jka!