Great video, agree on all of the tips! My stance on risky fins is a bit harsher still: I'd always rather have a single finish where you can push your final lines for a slight timesave, but if you have some insane idea that absolutely must be built, I'd only make it 0.2-0.3 seconds faster. Overall I'd say this: if a map isn't interesting enough without a wacky, difficult finish that's completely disconnected from the map - instead of focusing on the risky fin, why not try to figure out why the rest of the route isn't interesting enough? There's one possible exception, and that's when you have a completely balanced ending to your map, but it's not always possible from the final respawn. Sometimes placing another finish as a "respawn finish" can be a good idea in that case, but that really only applies as long as the main finish isn't overcooked haha
god this brought up memories... back when I was in school a friend and I loved playing trackmania. but I was pretty terrible at it. I did, however, love the editor and I started creating maps for him and grew more and more frustrated because he would always beat me on my own maps on his first try. :D
I think the DesertCar map that I've been working on is definitely a good example of everything here done right. Currently, all i want to do with it before i try for my final try at getting TODT with it is to increase consistency for double respawns and the start of the track. I also want to make a custom thumbnail for the track without the use of photoshop, so I'll need to figure out a way to do that in game.
A good tip I've heard for custom thumbnails is to use the in-game media tracker to add all the effects you want and take a screenshot of that, good luck!
@boopjack9522 Not necessarily, there are plenty of filters and stuff you can do without learning them. They're pretty complicated and it would be much easier at that point to look into free photoshop alternatives
@nolafus ah, cuz I've used the media tracker quite a bit on my map and might even add some audio cues for falling rocks and such so I have an idea for what I can most likely do for the thumbnail and I've been trying to figure out how to import my blender models into my map too. (Two models for deco, and one for guiding the player)
Lack of flow is basically every map designed to only be run at div 1 pace. Dirt and grass gears can make those maps a nightmare for people who are only slightly off that pace Also. Maps with only 1 forced line are terrible. That feeds into the gain and lose time point
Do you have any tips on how you would your elements gain / lose time for good players on beginner friendly TOTD attempt maps (that was my main feedback from my last TOTD attempt)
I try to think about how different the times will be between a clean vs optimized run. Tech, for instance, will have a huge gap between players who try to optimize every corner, and others who are just going for a decent time without crashing. It's very easy to hold brake for a moment too long, and each corner tests both having a good line and slowing down as little as possible. Grass, on the other hand, doesn't provide that many opportunities to get ahead. When you're too wide on a grass turn, you lose a few tenths, but that's about it. Given the slippery nature, it's hard to have elements back to back to back like tech can, so there's also less obstacles to overcome to get a good run. I also pay attention to the leaderboards to help be understand how many opportunities there are to get ahead. If you're one second behind the wr on a full grass map, odds are, you're probably just under spot 1,000. If you're one second behind on tech, you're most likely getting to the low hundreds on the board. If you're getting the feedback that your route doesn't have enough chances to show skill, I'd recommend selecting a style with larger gaps on the leaderboard and sprinkle in some elements of those in your map. Some good combinations are grass + transitional, wide dirt + ice, plastic + tech, etc. My previous video on map difficulty went more into this topic if you want more info.
