Track Width

  • Thread starter HaylRayzor
  • 13 comments
  • 2,184 views
HaylRayzor

HaylRayzor

HASA Member
Premium
3,130
HaylRayzor
"Your track is too wide."

"Your track is too easy to drive."

These are 2 criticisms I have heard repeatedly about my tracks.

So let's discuss the pros and cons of track width.

It's true that a narrow track is more challenging to stay on course. A mistake is far more likely to put you off-track if there is less track. Duh.

And if you're only going to do time trials this is fine. A mistake means a blown lap, whether you stay on track or not. Half a second lost (staying on track) or 5 seconds lost (going off track) are no different when you're trying to shave off hundredths.

But in a race things are different. The truest and greatest example is Nurburgring. It's a fine track for time trials. The greatest ever in fact. Literally the world standard. But it's not a great race track. There is no room to pass for most of the 150+ turns. You wind up playing follow the leader for miles, even if you're faster.

A wide track with room to pass in the turns makes for great racing. You can go 2-wide in the turn with room for both cars.

So there it is folks. HaylRayzor's case for wider racetracks.

Of course width 5 is bordering on ridiculous so I use 2 most of the time.
 
People shouldn't complain about a track they didn't design...

5 width isn't necessarily ridiculous. Newer F1 world circuits like Sepang or Turkey are probably a 4 or 5. Older circuits like Laguna Seca, for example, strike me as a 2-3 or so. I think the main problem is that the walls are always 2 feet off the track. My circuits are usually 2-4 width, with the main straightaway being a 4-5.
 
I think having a wide track for online racing is pretty necessary. With bad lag at times, there is no way to pass with confidence (that you're not going to hit someone) when the track is only wide enough for 2 cars. People just aren't as aware of whats around them so a little buffer sure helps. I can't tell you how many times I've been hit off course because some jackass decided he wanted to early apex into the front of my car thinking it was their only chance to pass on a tight course.
 
Is it track width that's the problem or corner sharpness?

I find the more boring tracks I make are the ones which are numerous 3rd gear sweeping corners all the way round - no need for hard braking or turning.

Maybe add camber and corner sharpness to make them tougher and more interesting. Or, make the last section or two much narrower than the first half in order to add variety.
 
Mubble
Is it track width that's the problem or corner sharpness?
Click to expand...

This question presumes there is a problem. If you don't like sweepers, make your turns sharp. If I don't like narrow tracks I make mine wider.

Where is there a problem?
 
I use 2 with the eifel theme, at 5 its a bit too wide. But I think its an aspect that I test and adjust as I change the track. If its a fairly straight section wide can be good.

Tuscana I dont use much but I think is on the narrow side even at 5.

MT. Aso and the kart themes are too narrow at their widest, but hey they're still usable.


Another thing to consider is the size of the field, a huge track with 4 cars might seem barren compared to a full field of cars at the same track.
 
I find the really good tracks I make are around the 0 and under width, but as others have alluded to with online racing (particularly because the other entrants don't know the track) that the wider they are the better the racing will be, skinny tracks are a crash mayhem.
What PD needs to give us is the ability to move the barriers and implement run off zones and sand traps.
 
I tend to like eifel tracks with at least a width of 3 because nowadays almost all modern circuits in reality are way wider than this, things change in Toscana where narrow roads are a must. And lets face it, narrow eifel tracks are a claustrophobic's nightmare sometimes because of that monaco-esque armco walls xD They would be ok if there was a wider runoff area in that type of tracks.
 
The Toscana theme uses excessively large road widths, compared to typical italian country roads. The maximum realistic setting in my opinion is -4, and -5 while narrow for a race track, is just right for those typical two-lane roads. I'd really like to be able to choose narrower roads for that theme.

By the way, PD should also make Toscana-themed tracks connect with [closed] roads of different types and sizes, to enhance realism and give the illusion of racing on a temporary track. Or also make roads run through small towns, as often happens in local tarmac rallies.

WxuRQ.jpg


It shouldn't be hard to generate extra closed roads in addition to the actual track.
 
I like your idea of other roads, especially given that you seem to be on an endless loop of road.
What I would like too, is to be able to use the same set of parameters in other themes.

For instance in my race track evolution series, the track first starts of as a local highway/road used for racing, much like in the early 1900's.
Later as the track evolves it no longer looks or functions as a road and therefore now looks like a track with all the ripple strips ect...

So I create my first track in Mt Aso and then import the specs into Eifel.
Or have the ability to choose a 'surface type' so the regardless of the theme location I can set it to have anything from TRACK, ROAD, CART, GRAVEL obviously snow would have to stay on its own theme location.
 

Latest Posts

Back