Why Isn't The NEW Track Zahara de la Sierra Out Yet?Addressed

[carracerptp]

A new chance to contact Kaz:

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/298n04/i_am_kazunori_yamauchi_the_video_game_designer/

 

[fortbo]

Why haven't we heard anything about this track? Does @Jordan or @amar212 know anything. I just wonder what happened.

 

[Tenacious D]

Hmm... Jordan likes that.

Since Kaz himself has said that the Course Maker is in beta stage, I'm assuming it's not too much longer till it's released. I'm wondering if it's a case like @Griffith500 mentioned of being a part of some larger update.

 

[TokoTurismo]

Why haven't we heard anything about this track? Does @Jordan or @amar212 know anything. I just wonder what happened.

GASP!! You got a "like" from Jordan @fortbo, hint hint. O.O

Hmm... Jordan likes that.

Since Kaz himself has said that the Course Maker is in beta stage, I'm assuming it's not too much longer till it's released. I'm wondering if it's a case like @Griffith500 mentioned of being a part of some larger update.

I hope you're right T.D. The Course Maker is the only thing I'm waiting for!

 

[Robbks]

Maybe the Course maker will be released at the same time as this track..

because PD haven't finished it, they'll leave it up to us..

 

[TRLWNC7396]

The thought has gone through my head that PD isn't working on many new tracks because WE will be creating so many, why do THEY need to build any?

 

[Griffith500]

Hmm... Jordan likes that.

Since Kaz himself has said that the Course Maker is in beta stage, I'm assuming it's not too much longer till it's released. I'm wondering if it's a case like @Griffith500 mentioned of being a part of some larger update.

With the announcement that GT6 won't get a sound update, as such, I'm less sure. Maybe they've worked to separate the sound out of the build they were working on and thread the old (existing) method in with the new systems they developed for the course maker tracks / B-Spec (AI) etc. EDIT: I'm not saying these things are coming.

Still, the course maker will really open the game up for me, so that alone will be nice.

 

[TokoTurismo]

The thought has gone through my head that PD isn't working on many new tracks because WE will be creating so many, why do THEY need to build any?

My thoughts excatly, haha.

 

[Tenacious D]

I'm cautiously optimistic of what we'll be getting.

Now, what that "something" is, is completely up in the air. It would be nice if CM II is an HD version of the monster track layer in ModNation Racers. The terraforming part, probably not. But if we can add elements to the trackside like determining where spectator stands go for instance, that would be huge. If we can determine the course as its laid out, that would be huger. In fact, that would be incredible because we could make our own version of Midfield or Red Rock Valley or Hockenheimring. Even better, if we can have alternate routes, that would be a fantastic improvement. And then there's another thought: what if the classic tracks were templates in Course Maker II?

Something like that should make just about everyone happy. And clearly, PD are trying to give us a huge playground to play in. The big CM may have to wait for GT7 and the PS4 to render properly. But if they can squeeze in something just 10 x 10 miles or so, that seems roughly the size of the Nurburgring area. Zahara seems to be a special case, as Terronium-12 mentioned that Kaz was planning on releasing it back in February, but something caused that plan to fall apart. Maybe it wouldn't run well online. Maybe getting it to work on PS3 at all was a problem. That is a huge area with long draw distances.

PD are a bunch of wizards, so hopefully we'll get word on something magical this summer.

 

[ezfaun]

I'll give you one thing that could turn out to be either the best or worst part of the creator. Elevation changes.
Could be either a simple slider that changes the elevation or it won't be there at all. Or it could be used to map every section or corner individually. If I could adjust every corner, bank angle, surface type, scenery or location, my ps3 would finally get some use for once sans the controller. Viva la wheel

 

[Johnnypenso]

The thought has gone through my head that PD isn't working on many new tracks because WE will be creating so many, why do THEY need to build any?

With any luck we'll actually get a course editor or course designer and not just a course maker which spits out tracks with random curves over a fixed landscape. Course maker was not popular in GT5. I don't recall any organized series based on course maker tracks and there was only one person on my entire friends list of GT5 diehards that ran them online. Generally if you were in a room and the rare event happened that the host brought out a custom course, the room would start to lose racers fairly quickly.

I hope it's something we can really have control over individual corners, section lengths, banking on each corner etc. If it has the same controls as GT5 I probably won't even open it.

 

[ezfaun]

With any luck we'll actually get a course editor or course designer and not just a course maker which spits out tracks with random curves over a fixed landscape. Course maker was not popular in GT5. I don't recall any organized series based on course maker tracks and there was only one person on my entire friends list of GT5 diehards that ran them online. Generally if you were in a room and the rare event happened that the host brought out a custom course, the room would start to lose racers fairly quickly.

I hope it's something we can really have control over individual corners, section lengths, banking on each corner etc. If it has the same controls as GT5 I probably won't even open it.

We had Legend of The Streets. Which was simply amazing. I'd gladly pay for the game again to experience it just once more. That was personally, THE golden age of GT5 for me

 

[Griffith500]

With any luck we'll actually get a course editor or course designer and not just a course maker which spits out tracks with random curves over a fixed landscape. Course maker was not popular in GT5. I don't recall any organized series based on course maker tracks and there was only one person on my entire friends list of GT5 diehards that ran them online. Generally if you were in a room and the rare event happened that the host brought out a custom course, the room would start to lose racers fairly quickly.

I hope it's something we can really have control over individual corners, section lengths, banking on each corner etc. If it has the same controls as GT5 I probably won't even open it.

Even the generated tracks have their appeal, to a degree (they've supposedly changed the algorithm, so there's hope). Obviously it doesn't please the crowd that wants GT to be GTR, but then not much the game does will.

I quite enjoyed bumbling around the generated tracks, and racing them online was an interesting experience when nobody knows what's next. I think that's an aspect of driving, specifically the set of skills that are required to drive unknown routes quickly and safely, that should be better represented in games. Not everyone likes being a lapping robot, which is why ultra-long courses are so desirable for some.

I highly doubt we'll get the control you mention with the generator. However, we still have Ronda. Precisely how the course picker element will work remains to be seen, but in that case I suspect you'd have more control over the rough layout, even though it's likely just to be a case of effectively selecting corners / sections from an existing network.

 

[TRLWNC7396]

I had the chance to try a few generated tracks. Some were very nice, some weren't. I won't say it was my favorite way to get onto a course, but, with a group of loyal racers, it was always a fun race.

 

[fortbo]

So if @Jordan likes my post then he must know something.
Edit: I need this track!

 

[carracerptp]

So if @Jordan likes my post then he must know something.
Edit: I need this track!

He did it again!
@Jordan do you think we can get it this year?

 

[fortbo]

He did it again!
@Jordan do you think we can get it this year?

He's communicating to me silently through likes.

 

[Tenacious D]

The Course Maker is in beta, it's in Kaz's hands, so that means it's more or less functional. I'd think we should at least get some word on it by October. It would be nice to get it sooner, but I want it to be working well first. Like working well online.

 

[fortbo]

He did it again!
@Jordan do you think we can get it this year?

He liked your post. That must mean its a yes!(Sarcasm)

 

[CeeJay]

Jordan liked a post! It's happening!!!!

 

[PaMu1337]

I'm now seriously convinced that Jordan is completely up to date on the status of this track, but is not allowed to say anything. Liking these posts is just his way of saying it is coming without breaking the rules.

 

[fortbo]

@Jordan will we get the track this month? Like for yes don't like for no.

 

[TRLWNC7396]

Weeeellllll.......

 

[Tenacious D]

I'm thinking sometime this summer, which runs past the middle of September. It could drag out more than that, depending on how ambitious PD is with it, and how comprehensive and interconnected with the community features it is.

You know, sharing is one thing, but suppose an online racing league has a series of special courses made for it. You'll have to have those tracks to race with them, of course. Suppose joining the league automatically gets your PS3 - or 4 - to download the tracks from the league hosts. That would be pretty cool.

 

[sirjim73]

@Jordan will we get the track this month? Like for yes don't like for no.

Well, @Jordan has gone awol and not liked your post so seems like its a no for this month @fortbo .

Here's another test, if it's not coming this month, maybe its planned to come out in August or September.

*pauses to see whether @Jordan likes this post or not*

I'll be keeping a VERY close eye on my alerts for the next couple of days

But, seriously folks, the Course Maker will come whenever it comes.
I don't play online so would only use it in Arcade Mode, but I do agree that it needs a sharing ability, in order for it to work properly, in the same way as you can search for levels in LBP.

 

[Furinkazen]

I'm not a betting man, but for sake of a fiver i'll put money on next tuesday having an update with something Course Creator / Zahara related. Just... have a feeling...

 

[sirjim73]

I'm not a betting man, but for sake of a fiver i'll put money on next tuesday having an update with something Course Creator / Zahara related. Just... have a feeling...

Well, remember that there was a promise of a track a month way back when before release. Which went nowhere in the early part of 2014...

And I'm not in any way AT ALL saying that this is now going to happen, only PD knows, but if you take the Senna 80s reworked tracks as being May's "new tracks", Red Bull Ring as June's new track, if we did happen to get the Zahara track (or indeed any other track) in a July update that would be a track a month for 3 months running.

I don't think that we will get the Course Creator this month personally (again, this is just my opinion), but in my opinion it is possible that we might get Zahara as a track by itself. My tuppence worth anyway.

 

[TRLWNC7396]

I'll wager for the last week, but, I'll put half on next week....

 

[TonyLomas]

Well, remember that there was a promise of a track a month way back when before release. Which went nowhere in the early part of 2014...

And I'm not in any way AT ALL saying that this is now going to happen, only PD knows, but if you take the Senna 80s reworked tracks as being May's "new tracks", Red Bull Ring as June's new track, if we did happen to get the Zahara track (or indeed any other track) in a July update that would be a track a month for 3 months running.

I don't think that we will get the Course Creator this month personally (again, this is just my opinion), but in my opinion it is possible that we might get Zahara as a track by itself. My tuppence worth anyway.

I thought that the promise / quote was more along the lines of 'New tracks will come in the monthly updates'. We get monthly updates and that's how we've received the new tracks. As opposed to them coming in payable DLC like Spa did in GT5. I don't have the exact quote to hand and I'm saying this from memory so feel free to ignore me if I'm wrong. I do think that sometimes things get mixed up in the communications though.

 

[Akmuq]

I'm not a betting man, but for sake of a fiver i'll put money on next tuesday having an update with something Course Creator / Zahara related. Just... have a feeling...

Good thing you're not a betting man then. 👍