Plan for Brett Fattori
by Brett Fattori · 08/02/2004 (7:52 am) · 14 comments
I've been trying to stay quiet about Racer development. It's not that I don't want to talk about it.. It's more that I'd talk about it all the time and get nothing done. So, it's been how long? I think a little over a month since my last update, so it's time for some eyecandy.
My main focus, as of late, has been the Track Editor. We want it to be simple to use, yet powerful enough for the advanced user. Thus, there are two modes which the editor will operate in. One will be aimed at Joe "off the street" Average, while the other will be aimed at Joe "mod-master" Hardcore. I've been focusing on the advanced editor, and will curtail certain options and features to make the simple editor.
In this shot, you see the current state of the Advanced Editor:
It has a fully functioning toolbar which will put many of the operations at your fingertips. There's a plan to add a simple sign creator, something to make rows of buildings or trees, and a tool to place decals on the track.
This shot shows the updated Terrain Editor:
The feature being shown is my first run at "Set Height to Track." This feature will allow you to "paint" the terrain to the underside of the track. It's not perfect right now, but what you see is about 5 minutes of work without any tweaking to see if it could be done. I'll be adding things like: slope away, carve into, and blend to it eventually.
Finally, I wanted to leave you with a quick movie showing off the latest... It's really starting to feel like a real game.
MPEG Movie - 10 Mb
- Brett
My main focus, as of late, has been the Track Editor. We want it to be simple to use, yet powerful enough for the advanced user. Thus, there are two modes which the editor will operate in. One will be aimed at Joe "off the street" Average, while the other will be aimed at Joe "mod-master" Hardcore. I've been focusing on the advanced editor, and will curtail certain options and features to make the simple editor.
In this shot, you see the current state of the Advanced Editor:
It has a fully functioning toolbar which will put many of the operations at your fingertips. There's a plan to add a simple sign creator, something to make rows of buildings or trees, and a tool to place decals on the track.
This shot shows the updated Terrain Editor:
The feature being shown is my first run at "Set Height to Track." This feature will allow you to "paint" the terrain to the underside of the track. It's not perfect right now, but what you see is about 5 minutes of work without any tweaking to see if it could be done. I'll be adding things like: slope away, carve into, and blend to it eventually.
Finally, I wanted to leave you with a quick movie showing off the latest... It's really starting to feel like a real game.
MPEG Movie - 10 Mb
- Brett
About the author
Recent Blogs
• A small hello• Recent Stuph
• So long and so out of touch...
• Plan for Brett Fattori
• Plan for Brett Fattori
#3
08/02/2004 (9:31 am)
What would be really cool is if you could lay our your track and let it automatically adjust the terrain to support it.
#4
08/02/2004 (10:10 am)
Wonderful stuff Brett
#5
08/02/2004 (10:47 am)
Having the editor meet expectations for both first time 'off the street' players and advance modders sounds like a tall order, but shows you're trying to keep it fun for everyone... can't wait to see this at IGC.
#6
08/02/2004 (10:52 am)
This would be great to see at IGC 2004!! Looks great! 
#7
-Russ Smith (Winner of Bretts Developer from "20004" Award)
08/02/2004 (10:53 am)
Killer Brett, your toolset looks cooler and cooler every time I see it. What im most impressed with is how easy it looks to drop down really complex road sets. -Russ Smith (Winner of Bretts Developer from "20004" Award)
#8
@Westy: You've been reading my mind! We're looking to have auto adjust even when you move the track... :-)
@Jay: Yep.. it is a pretty tall order. But, that's what's nice about having Joe Maruschak working on this. He's got a great eye for what is "too much" for Joe Average. We're really looking to surprise everyone.
IGC Here we come!
- Brett
08/02/2004 (10:55 am)
@Nicolas: Yeah, we'll be showing a demo at IGC. We're hoping to have a playable experience to get some good feedback.@Westy: You've been reading my mind! We're looking to have auto adjust even when you move the track... :-)
@Jay: Yep.. it is a pretty tall order. But, that's what's nice about having Joe Maruschak working on this. He's got a great eye for what is "too much" for Joe Average. We're really looking to surprise everyone.
IGC Here we come!
- Brett
#10
08/02/2004 (1:13 pm)
Excellent, this is some outstanding work you guys have done. I'll be keeping my eye on this. 
#11
08/02/2004 (6:33 pm)
Great Work.
#12
08/03/2004 (2:26 am)
Jaw dropping work! Every time I see work like this, it confirms my suspicion that the indie revolution is at hand :)
#13
08/04/2004 (3:01 am)
Bret, this looks fantastic! I do have one suggestion... make the spedometer go higher than 65. :) It looked like you were really tearing it up; seeing "65" in the bottom just bursts my "woah im goin so fast!" balloon.
#14
Just realized that site doesn't show the track editor. However, the GameSpy site does: www.gamespot.com/pc/driving/trackmania/screenindex.html
08/04/2004 (4:38 am)
Lookin good Brett. There is a recent PC game called TrackMania which may give you guys some "ideas" for creating a game around this tech. Check it out: www.enlight.com/trackmania/.Just realized that site doesn't show the track editor. However, the GameSpy site does: www.gamespot.com/pc/driving/trackmania/screenindex.html
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