========================================================== = QUICKSTART, read this if you're the TLDR kind of guy ;) ========================================================== Track name: Ruddles County. Track creators: - Lo Scassatore; lead modeler. - FBV-86; concept creator, helper modeler, texture and sound tech. Helper(s): - Kratos; 3d prefab provider. - Burner94; beta tester. Track lenght: 5796 metres. Thanks to Huki for connecting the pos nodes of the old circuit correctly. Track type: Experimental, free roaming\sandbox, now with standard circuit mode. You can fool around alone for hours in this map, but it really shines for online games... IMPORTANT: this map is better enjoyed with the game Instances set to active, deactivating them may break the gameplay of this map in several places. =================================================================== = DETAILED README = Just in case you're curious about this mess... =================================================================== This is an updated version of the old Ruddles County, the very first Re-Volt free-roaming\sandbox map. This project was conceived in early 2014, to be a tribute to the Midtown Madness map "Offroad Madness". In 2014 I had little to none knowledge about 3d modeling, so I commissioned this project to Lo Scassatore ( ballsy cars and tracks creator ) and it went on and on, eventually becoming more polished and articulated throughout the time. The main goal was to create to create a vibrant scenario for cops and bandits chases, and also a bit of long-haul trucking in the mix. Of course, you can drive anything on this map and have fun, exception for super fast cars or big scale cars since they're way out of context here... The variety of the map allows for endless gaming possibilities, you can make up your own time attacks, go offroading in the swamps, rock crawling on the mountains, drifting through the SS32, or simply, put up a lobby and go explore with your friends, there are many secrets and hideouts spread all over the county waiting to be uncovered by you! ====================================================================== = DEV NOTES & BRAGGING, don't take the bragging part too seriously ;) ====================================================================== - Heaviest RV track ever made: its .ncp file weighs around 5.5 megabytes. It takes several seconds to load in RV, and several minutes to export from Blender...emphasis on SEVERAL! - For that matter, the polygons on the .w and .ncp files are not completely triangularized, otherwise they would weigh alot more. This may result in collision and visual glitching in some minor areas, nothing game-breaking though. - All texture files are ramped-up to 1024x1024 res, and still, it was impossible to get decent textures for everything. Sadly many contents have been cut due to this costraint, and even more sadly, some people still do not get this concept. - The whole map is 5 times the toytanic in lenght, and 4 times the toytanic in width, for an extimated 11 square miles of driveable terrain. And roughly 334 camera nodes have been placed to get a view of every location, yea, it's a little big ;) - Pretty much the longest racing path ever in RV ( 5796 metres ) the older layout fixed by Huki was 5723 metres long. Also, the old layout used up all of the AI nodes Re-Volt is able to process. Literally, the MIG did not allow to place more of them. Even though I still think this map is not by any means accomodating for a race course, I must admit it's pretty cool to have single race support for the Ruddles County. - Uses almost every instance of surface material ( gravel, grass, glass, sand etc ) - RV won't allow to place more solid instances. ( .fin file weighs 47 kb, Museum1's .fin file weighs 9 kb for size ) It is possible to "visually" place a solid instance, but the game won't process its collision file. I can't be bothered to check out how many solid instances I've placed on this thing. Also I don't think the sheer number of solid instances is to matter, rather than their polycount ( .ncp volume ) also, I'm not sure if non-solid instances actually affect the maximum number of solid instances allowed per racetrack. - I once tried to scale this thing up to real size...regretted it immediately... ============================================ = SO, WHAT'S NEW FROM THE PREVIOUS RELEASE? ============================================ Quite a lot actually... - Custom reversed layout. - Reworked, and new textures. - New hideouts for the bandits. - New light effects in the tunnels and few other areas. - New roads, leading to new locations, mostly panoramic points, which offer their unique sights. - The brand new Bon'er woods area, accessible via tunnel from the SS32 and via secondary route on the righthand path of the Mount Sfrangiolive. This new access route is not suitable for heavy vheicles. This area encircles the Mount Sfrangiolive, and it was created to prevent the cars from falling off the map. Eventually it has been setted-up as a wood hauling scenario, but it can be also used to drift rally cars :) Also, adds up to potential hideout points for the bandits\robbers, and allowed to define the racing course of the "Ruddles County Grand Prix". If speed is not your gig, there are plenty of mud holes in there... - The Ardesia Cave has been reworked to be wider, also, it has 2 levels now instead of 3. It gets double access to the bottom level though, making it more interesting for chasing scenarios. Some dirt mounts and a hopper have been added for the pleasure of them offroaders. Most of the semi trucks could have issues in trying to get out. - The Chill Glade has been reworked to look more like an actual swamp, complete with mushy waters. The water actually dampens your car capability to steer and put down traction, especially lighter cars. - Reworked map and roads boundaries, to prevent players to fall-off the map, or simply cut across. - Fixed several camera glitches due to bad instances placement and square faces. - The Gaper Mine has a proper tunnel network now, instead of being just a hideout. Now you can use its tunnels to get back on the road if you accidentally fall down into the rocky chasm. - Franco Alonge's Carrozzeria is now an accessible building. - Added an extension to Broil Park, featuring a waterfall ( sadly not animated ) The new area is accessible via tunnel on the SS32. It also features a set of platforms which can be used as an alternate way to get back on the SS32. - The ruins now have a couple of accessible rubble towers, and improved rubble ramps. So now there are a few more hiding spots and easier access between the yards. - Revomed 'glossyness' from many custom objects such as boulders, roadblocks, and the pigs. - Revised powerups and gold bar placement. - BGM.mp3 file has been enriched with new soundtracks. Now worth for a 25 minutes rollercoaster of laidback and upbeat country music! - Added some new road signs to help you navigating through this mess! - Changed fog tint saturation for a more realistic effect. - Added a small ramp in the pigs corral, so you can jump out of it more easily. - Air Balloons are bigger now, wow! This has to be the best new feature yet! ====================================== = COPS VS ROBBERS GAMEPLAY EXPLAINED ====================================== Since this map was primarly built around this concept, its worth spending some time learning the basics and the rules of this un-supported game mode. Being "un-supported" means you have to rely on fair play and coordinations between the players since Re-Volt has no means of keeping the game under control. So a voicechat software such as teamspeak or skype is highly advised to rapidly and efficently swap communications between the players. Which is the core mechanic of this game mode. Powerups must be activated as they also are a core mechanic of this game mode. A group of players gets set to play as cops, they can choose any of the cop vehicles from the ANM car roster, a varied car roster can make easier of a job on catching the robbers. Then, one or two players ( depending on how many cops are present on the map ) can pick a car suited with a performance index within the one of the cop cars, meaning they should not pick a car too much superior or inferior to the others. Of course, the two factions should be in separated voicechat rooms. As the countdown ends, the robbers must scatter, trying to lose the tail, as some of the cops try to keep up with them, these cops have the task of feeding informations about the robbers' locations to the other groups of cops whom should gather powerups from the closest source ( the best being the fuel depot in Ruddles Town ) untill they get an electro pulse, which must be used to stop a robber's car. If there are multiple robbers, the ones caught must not interfere with the game, and held prisoner by the police station in Ruddles Town. The turndown of this mode is Re-Volt has no means of cycling through the cop and robber players, so, if the robber players gets fed up, a re-host of the game is in order. =================================== = POTENTIAL AREAS & GAMEPLAY TIPS =================================== Battle Tag, THE WHOLE MAP: gold bars are scattered all over the landscape. Gold bars work exactly as the default stars. You might even find fun trying to collect them all in offline mode ( practice mode ) Toshinden arena, IL RENE'S RUINS: this one is kinda more difficult since the grassy surface of the little island is very slippery. Also, mind those geysers since they got enough power to send a car flying. Another Toshinden arena, PANORAMA PLAZA: use the ramp to get on the roof the plaza, this arena is the smallest of the lot, very difficult. Car Soccer, PURCELL'S FARM: the area with the two big barns near the monster jam oval, they can be used as goals, all you need to do, is to get yourself one of the giant boulders and you're good to go! Monster Jam, PURCELL'S FARM: an aggressively banked dirty little oval with a jump on the first straight fun to mess around with dirtbikes, buggyes, city buses and monster trucks themselves to name a few... Gravelmania Hill, PURCELL'S FARM: the gravel mount is actually irregular so it poses a real challenge to the players as they need to steer-paddle in order to keep the truck straight. Of course, you have to get on top of it without any runup. Mud Bogging, PURCELL'S FARM: the two pits are also functional as they have an irregular bottom, well timed corrections and wise positioning of your car is crucial to beat your opponent to the other end of the pit. SuinCide Jump, PURCELL'S FARM: there's no actual skill involved in this challenge, it is fun though, you can also adjust your angle of approach to pull some stunts! Permanent circuit, CHILL GLADE: nothing better than an old fashioned race in the dirt, but since the map's AI nodes and such are used for a different circuit, you'll have to rely on a gamekeeper to mantain track of the race results. You can also just fool around in the bog but be careful, light vehicles are very likely to float thus getting permanently and utterly stuck. Cannonball Rally, SUNBURNT CANYON: great for point A to point B races. This is a narrow and nasty patch of dirt make sure to slow down where needed! Same as for the permanent circuit, a gamekeeper is needed. Another Cannonball Rally, BON'ER WOODS: great for point A to point B races. A wide but very slippery path, not too difficult, unless you're driving a RWD car. ============================================================================= == WHERE TO START, WHAT TO SEE == YEA, THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A TOUR GUIDE ============================================================================= As you start the game, you'll be dropped a few yards away from the little town of Ruddles, a vast flat aerea nearby hosts the Purcell's Farm, the most renowed Redneck's heaven which features a monster truck jam, a gravely hill, two mud pits and a wispy muddy racetrack arranged around the farmer's field, just make sure to not damage the crop, or the good 'ol Purcell will do some to your ass! Once you're done with your Rednecky antics, you can either head south, through route 32 which leads to the majestic Mount Sfrangiolive and the shooting Chill Glades, or take the dirt road to the west and tackle the unforgiving Sunburnt Canyon, once theater of bloody feuds between gold prospectors and bandits...now it's used by truckers to haul wood to the north when the route 31 is flooded, and one time a year it must bear the violence of the Cannonball Rally of Ruddles. There's also a small ghost town along the way to see, maybe the gold is still there. Up to the north, the Highlands is nothing more than a barren land of rocks, with an amazing paved winding road which will enrapture you as you rocket past the sneezy town of Saint Indunda, the local handyman makes loads of cash thanks to the ever present steep cliffs around the curves of the route 32...just make sure to not end to the bottom of the huge Lake Facicazzo ( don't ask ) before you can get back to the County of Ruddles, because there's still some stuff left to see. You can't miss the panoramic spot at Ardesia Peak, right above Saint Indunda. From there you can get a glipse of the big Lake Facicazzo, the closeby Ardesia cave and the far away Funnel Woods, take your time to savor the sights! On the way back to the south you'll see a lovely geotermic area with giant geysers, they are actually functional, so, if you drive 'em over you'll be thrown up in the air! Hang time varies in reason of the weight of your car. Also, you can't miss Il Rene's Ruins, a kidney shaped island which used to host a big medieval court, now the ruins are just used by locals for battle tag events and general havoc-fests. Powerboats also race around the island. Back in south, you can't miss the Chill Glade and the Mount Sfrangiolive if you didn't take a visit before leaving the county! But make sure to rest at the Sellerona Motels if you feel winded. Closeby you'll also find the access to the Bon'er Woods, a dark fertile forest which sustains 60% of the local economy, and almost encircles the whole Mount Sfrangiolive in its entirety. This forest also provides access to the righthand path of the Mountain. The Chill Glade can be accessed by taking a right turn when you see a gravel path when driving down from the north on the route 32, eventually you'll have to take a left turn into the tunnel and once out on the other side you'll be graced with the chill singing of the wind. If you're not the quiet type, you can try to set a new speeding record through the Glade... When done with it, you can head back out of the tunnel and take a left turn, once to the junction, take another left turn, this will lead you to another junction with a dirt road on the right, the most elevated scenario in the history of Re-Volt awaits you, with its 24.946 game units over the point zero of the map ( yea nerd stuff, shut up ) it also offers 2 different paths from bottom to halfway up, and once to the top you'll be rewarded with a majestic view of the county, now I dare you to find the fastest way down :D have fun! And once you took your time fooling around alone in this map, there's such potential to it as a battle tag arena, also, you can just gather your friends and cruise or drift around it, and if you think you saw everything of it, you just might discover a little secret area or some stupid easter egg, who knows? Anyway, I sincerely hope you find this new experimental kind of racetrack for Re-Volt at least entertaining, you can send me any feedback on our forums of Aliasrevoltmaster.com Have fun fellow Re-Volters - FBV-86