Track Review – No more bad days

Today we are changing the standard look of our reviews a bit:

• On the first introduction, there’s now a “custom content” line.
• If the track has a screenshot, this will now be included in the review.
• The headline “Track Consistency” will from now on be known as “Track Design” instead.
• A new headline called “Fun Factor” has been added, estimating how fun the track is to drive (ignoring things such as scenery, MT work, design, etc.).
• The scoring system has been changed from 1-5 to 1-10 in order to be able to give a more detailed rating of the tracks reviewed.

Additionally, the below review indicates that it is now officially allowed for any one author to have several tracks reviewed in the blog (as Swensen has been reviewed before). So, if you have already had a track reviewed here, there is now no rule saying you can’t request a new review for another track. However, of course you won’t be reviewed again and again – keep it down to what’s reasonable, and leave room for everyone else…

Hopefully you’ll find the new parts useful 😀

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Track: No more bad days (Download)

Author: Swensen

Type: Race

Environment: Stadium

Length: 1 min (author time: 0:56.01)

Mood: Night

Custom Content: Signs

First Impression

Looks quite usual; a few loops, some jumps, platform racing, etc. Everything expected by a track, but nothing new or original at the first sight. Let’s see how things work when put together…

Track Design

The already mentioned jumps, loops and platforms are put together in an admirable way. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever come across such a brilliantly connected track!

The jumps are smooth and the loops exciting, at least in the beginning. The curves on the track offer technical parts, while the platform parts (which do represent quite a large part of the track) allow great speed to be reached.

To mention a downside, there’s a platform part where you must “leave the road” in order to get to a lower platform section. This is quite difficult to explain in words, but check out the track and you’ll see. This part is very cleverly made and adds a bit of fun and originality, but to be honest, as it’s quite difficult the first few times you try it, it does bring down the design ratings a bit.  Rating: 8.5

Scenery 

The scenery in No more bad days is very nice to look at. In fact, I’ve crashed several times because I had to look closer at something in the background… The custom signs are suitable for the track, and the general scenery adds a lot to the driving feel. However, there could be more fresh scenery ideas adding even more to the already nice feeling. Rating: 9.0

MediaTracker

Short and simple: Incredible intro, simple but very effective outro, and in-game cam changes exactly at the right places. However, no really “wow” feeling (perhaps a tiny one at the intro, but not enough). Rating: 8.5

Originality

Most of the parts in No more bad days are re-used ideas. However, the extra large platform sections, which bring quite some nice speed, are not seen too often. Also, the before mentioned “jump over the edge to a lower platform” is quite original too. The MT work add some originality as well. Rating: 7.5

Fun Factor

No more bad days is incredible fun to drive! The generally good design and smoothness makes the track a joy to race, and the speedy platform sections are awesome. However, the loops and some of the asphalt sections are quite boring in the long run, as they are sooo old! They do add to the fun the first few tries, but eventually you will get tired of them. Rating: 8.5

Summary

Great design, nice smoothness, beautiful scenery, some original parts, good MT work, and incredible fun to drive. An excellent track, but which could use some detailed care at some areas.

Final Rating: 8.5 (very good)

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Notes:

– Ratings range from 1 (bad) to 10 (perfect). 5 is average.

– If you are interested in writing track reviews for the TMU Blog, you may apply by dropping an e-mail to Jozii@pp.inet.fi.

– If you want to have your own track reviewed, you can sign your track up for a fee of 250 coppers. Simply send an in-game message to “Jozii” with the coppers and the name of the track (which must have been uploaded at the United Exchange first).