                          
                            


                       The Making of Rooski Ridge Road



       Once upon a time (about three months ago) I decided to take on 
    the challenge of building a custom add-on track for "Monster Truck 
    Madness".  I developed a set of design goals to achieve, and vowed 
    not to consider my track complete until my goals were reached.  
    Here is my list of goals (in order of priority) along with the 
    results:


    1)  COMPUTER TRUCKS THAT CAN ACTUALLY COMPETE.

       MTM is not just a multi player game, you know.  A lot of my
    MTM time is spent offline, and it's nice to have someone to race
    against.  Even if it's a computer, so for this reason, I have spent
    countless hours of frustration adjusting the course (sometimes a 
    whole night or two just to get one turn right), but the results were
    well worth the effort.  My computer trucks can finish a race and are
    tough to beat (especially in pro mode).  The two vans still suck, as
    usual.


    2)  NO SHORTCUTS!!!

        With the exception of one built in shortcut, you will not find
    any other way to shortcut Rooski Ridge.  My reasons?  Simple!  There
    is nothing that pisses me off more then waiting, for what seems like
    an eternity, to start a multi player race over the net (IGZ) only to
    have some BOZO cut the course so badly, that he finishes well before
    the real racers and claims to have won the race!  Well, BOZO didn't 
    win the race!  BOZO RUINED IT!


    3)  REALISTIC LOOK AND FEEL

        I work in the electronic communications industry as a Steeplejack
    (I work on radio transmission towers).  I have driven on many dirt 
    fire roads around southern California to gain access to certain 
    remote radio sites.  I wanted my track to capture the feeling of
    driving on these roads ("Andies" was my inspiration).  Rooski Ridge
    has the feel of a real fire road (although a bit exaggerated for fun)
    and the mountains and hills look like mountains and hills, not shoe
    boxes and dunce caps.


    4)  GOOD PERFORMANCE ON AVERAGE COMPUTERS

        I did not place a lot of models in my track, Just a couple of 
    special ones I liked, some custom ones, a few to prevent shortcuts
    and the usual ones (checkpoints and curve signs).  I had originally
    planted trees on Rooski Ridge, but they caused my frame rate to drop
    to an unacceptable level.  I experimented with multiple scenery 
    levels for the trees, but was unhappy with the results.  My track 
    still looks good without trees, anyways, so I uprooted them all.  I
    think Rooski Ridge is tough to render because of the elevations and
    textures used for the hills.  I also inserted a taller backdrop into
    the track to eliminate a gap in the horizon and the dreaded "Hall of
    Mirrors" effect (backdrop courtesy of Oliver Pieper).  I am currently
    using a Cyrix 686 166+ (133 clock) 32 meg EDO & Monster 3DFX video.
    To me, frame rates below 20 fps make it hard to drive well.


    5)  CIRCUIT OR RALLY?

        I had originally intended Rooski Ridge to be a circuit track, but
    by the time I had finished it, it was a little long for a circuit
    (3 1/2 to 4 minutes per lap in pro mode).  Even though you can reduce
    the number of laps before you start a race (to shorten the overall
    race), some MTM dweebs still bitch about circuit tracks that have lap
    times of over 2 minutes.  Rooski Ridge is also a bit short for a
    rally course.  So, what should I make it?  I know!  How about both?!
    OK!  So, within the single "rooski.pod" file, you get both Rooski
    Ridge Road (circuit track) and Rooski Ridge Rally (rally track).  You
    can race it either way you want.  That ought to keep most of the MTM
    dweebs happy!


    6)  MAKE IT THE BEST AMATEUR ADD-ON TRACK EVER

        Well, I guess this one is a far stretch, but I kept this goal in
    my mind throughout the project to force me into not compromising my
    other goals.  In any case, I feel that my track will be enjoyed by
    the majority of MTM fans who try it.  From Rookie to Pro, off line or
    multi player, Rooski Ridge will add extra enjoyment to your MTM
    experience.


        OK, that's it!  Now, what are you waiting for?  Give Rooski Ridge
    a try and let me know how you like it!

                                  Rooski
                             allen@pacbell.net


    P.S.  For web site design and hosting, check out my friends site at:
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