RACEWARS | Season 12 Episode 2 | 03/25 @ 8PM BST |

@waynerzas's vision:

Alright, alright, here's my race evaluation with a bit on each job. This is not to suggest that anyone has actually asked for my opinion. I'm just putting it out there. Don't hate me. Feel free to love me. You know how it goes.

First of all, apologies for leaving the event early. Just a brief bit on that: I've been getting the sense of late that, by wanting to support crew events (GCCC and Coxi), we are too-often (not always) little more than statistic fodder for the same few (with exceptions) try-hards. I don't think there is anything wrong with striving for excellence as a console racer, but still, I'm just going to put this question out there: How much domination does it take before one sees that they are indeed dominating, and as a result, are no longer in a competitive situation? Assuming competition is what is being sought here.

and now ...

The Races:

A1), Swampsnatchers just missed my top four. We ran it in the dark and I really wanted to see it in the day (I did do so later on) in the hopes of getting a better sense of the build - as it reminded me of a couple of my jobs in that area.

The prop work is quite good - things are fitted well, etc. still, I found myself seeking an anchor, a focus, that might answer my perennial question, 'why here?'. What I mean is, the Zancudo delta area has a lot of nice, natural elevation changes as well as a ton of trees that themselves define spaces within the landscape; hooking up your circuit with those elements can really strengthen the experience of driving a track here. You've done some really nice work in a relatively compact area. Interesting visual road support with the conjoined ramps, but I think I might change the color to something that blended a bit more into the landscape. This may be the most complex propping jobs of this go'round. Respect.

A2) In spite of its title, this elevated circuit set amongst the city structures made my top four. I found it openly readable, enjoyable to run, and visually interesting - not always the case with this type of race. Well done, sir AJ.

A3) As the narrative asserts - wisdom, courage, and skill. Oh my!
That's a full plate for any goddess.

I'd have been 'wise' to try this job a few times in advance as my 'courage' was not enough to overcome the several upset spots in the tarmac, nor was my skill. This race was just 3 points shy (in my arbitrary point scale) of making my top four.

A4) Calais Old School, tied with AJ's knob with a score of 83 on my top 4 list. This is a nice build but seems a lot like another job I've been running across lately only in the other direction. (NTTAWWT)

A5) I'm sorry to say that I struggled a bit with how to score this race. And by the looks of the voting, I just simply didn't get it. This happens. My bad. Congrats, Doc!

---------------list B--------------

B1) This is not the typical race I gravitate to, but I can't deny that it had some nice qualities. It tied for my top spot with Barfy86's Terminal GP. I enjoyed the bright and warm adjacent color scheme maintained (for the most part) throughout the race. A few tweeking directions might be to set the left side tree spacing dead even so they redraw rythymically. In that same context, swap the few trees on the right with a different prop so their redrawing doeasn't break the flow of the redraw of the trees on the left. The first large-tire curb ought to be lowered to the height of the second large tire curb. THe Black and white short-tube curbs seemed to be crying for a color combination. They could use lowering too. IMO, of course. Way to go.

B2) Terminal GP, was cool: I was able to get a nice view of that whole environment without repeating the same old routes around the same old containers. While not my personal favorite, the color scheme was maintained thoughtfully throughout the entire job with varied elements contributing to that color. And, like a few others, it was easily readable. Quality build!

B3) The check-pointing in at least 2 chicanes needs rethinking, in my opinion. Their closeness to each other renders the second one in each pair, with little to do, as the racer can't really react in time to the location of the second one when moving at speed. I really enjoyed the first part of this race, but when the track leaves the land it just kind of wanders for a bit in the sky before returning to the airport area. With the tall guard rails, it can be visually unexciting. I might rethink going down that road that takes you to the water, as I don't feel as though the sky section adds to the job.. Just my opinion of course. Nice work though.

B4) SHadows Ghetto Mania is kind of a cool idea and as a build, a lot of effort went into it. So I'm going to spend a little time here. For me, the trouble with this build is in blending the flowing areas to each other - I find those transitions to be quite harsh, maybe even rushed. And to be frank, they seem a bit out of step with the sections themselves.

While it's possible - with practice - to get up to speed enough to be able to negotiate those transitions with little effort, who is going to do that in this day and age of instant gratification? Is there really a payoff for doing so?

One of the reasons I build races is to experience the joy of someone else experiencing the joy I experienced negotiating a particular space in a particular way. I don't think this can be forced. I think we need to make our jobs inviting. The creator has to coax and persuade the driver to do it his way, to see it, his way, but on the drivers terms as well.

You have a unique vision. And you expend effort to make your jobs. Show drivers you want them on your track by making your jobs a little more inviting and understandable on the first or second go through. Just trying to be direct. No disrespect at all.

B5) Sandy Shores curves is fine, but it just seems a little limited in scope for a GCCC verified job. There are red alleys in the desert and these red alleys sometimes extend into the space above the desert. Nothing wrong with that in principle, but ultimately this is about the verification of races for GCCC . . . like, for all of humanity to revel in . . . in perpetuity. Anyway, based on my totally arbitrary point system, this race didn't quite break through for me. Good work though.