[Suggestion] Easy option to show the racing line

[occam]

 
  
An easy option to show the optimal racing line:

It might proof useful to have a build-in function in the retail version of TM2 to visualize the racing line (maybe by showing the racing line of the author's ghost (of course blocked for possible puzzle modes^^).

It might help to make the learning curve of totally new Trackmania customers easier
and hopefully there will be many new Trackmaniacs with TM2.


With enough insight, it already might have been possible to realize something similar like this suggestion with TMUF by recording an 'invisible ghost' and showing the glowing trails of an invisible ghost car.

For a possible feature to show the ideal racing line it would be even nicer to display the line directly on the track's textures itself, but that might not be that trivial and take up too much resources.
But the possibility to show the racing line (may it be with glowing transparent trails - as we already have them in TM United environments) might be a nice chance to help novice drivers to learn fast- or tricky tracks.
 


  

[seeba]

+1 for that idea.
sounds very useful, especially for some harder fullspeedtracks or tracks with many transitions.
But it should be possible to disable the funcion for both the builder and the driver...

[Nym]

Great idea, also better than any ghost driving with you who might be too slow or fast.
I think a glowing trail might be too confusing if it floats at the heigh of the backlights.

Something like this would be it:
http://www.skichallenge.ch/images/97.jpg

This can be spawned in the middle of the bottom of the collision box, to give a good result

[Mikey]

Your Kidding ??? Very impossible idea !
So you got the idea from formula one simulations ?? Trackmania is not a simulation.
The reality is while some drivers may feel they need help with there driving skill it would be impossible to implament.
An optimal line would have to be pre-calculated. But in trackmania tracks are not static they are individually created from blocks. So what might be the ideal race line on one block in one map, the same block in another map the ideal race line would be completely different depending on the sequence of blocks before and after.
The only way it could be done would be some complex atrifically calculated whiz bang algorithym that would infact be incorrect and mislead drivers to follow a non optimal line not to mention fail completely on tracks with any intersections, track re-use, multi level jumps. etc etc.
Lets put this idea to rest please.

[Timmeh7]

You're thinking way too complicated, occam already said how it could work

 
It might proof useful to have a build-in function in the retail version of TM2 to visualize the racing line (maybe by showing the racing line of the author's ghost) 

I support this idea, too, but there has to be the option for the author to disable it.

[Mikey]

Generally speaking I would say there are many Topics and posts in this section that have been done with a distinct lack of thinking. We are hopefully abouth a month away from beta testing, at which it would be safe to presume no new features will be added. This Suggestions section has been added by nadeo for players to voice their ideas and sugestions so that nadeo might discover ideas they had not conceived or to fine tune existing features.
Fair enough over 99% of us are not programmers and could be excused for suggestion things without understanding the technical merits that might make then bad ideas. But some adlib suggestions havent had the minimum of logic applied.
But too validate this thread. The real suggestions to nadeo are. In the media tracker ;
- have firstly the ability to be able to select the semi-transparent ghost skin as used in nadeo tracks.
- have they ability to apply trails to ghosts.
- make ghosts show when braking was applied
Those suggestions would make it easier for an author to utilise a method in which they could easily and effectively illustrate the best racing line.
Where as the suggestion "visualize the racing line" and "display the line directly on the track's textures itself" would be implausable.
Also note the idea of optionally showing the validation ghost is a bad idea as ghost are often carelessly driven by authors and embedding the validation ghost will increase the file size of every track.

[Trackmaniack]

How long have you been here, mikey? It's safe to assume not long, based on your low post count. It's also likely a safe assumption that you're a Nations player, based on the fact that you're saying a lot of this is "impossible", and, that you're attacking the members that have posted this quite well-thought-out suggestion. Secondly, where ANYWHERE did you see that we're anywhere CLOSE to having a beta-test ready? All the video says is "Q4 2010". Which could mean it starts Dec 31, 2010.

Now, back to the main point of your post. Uhh...you're wrong. This idea could be easily implemented, and I'll tell you how. Once I've done that, you need to go back and apologize for calling the patrons of this thread 'unthinking' for trying to implement this idea, okay? For RACE tracks, where the idea is to get from start to finish in the quickest time possible, you have to implement these 4 easy steps:
1) Build track
2) Test track
3) Validate track with mediatracker ghost (or have someone do it for you, if you're not that good of a driver.)
4) Turn the validated ghost's path into the racing line. We already have a "trails" option for 6 of the 7 current TM environments. It would be a simple matter to use that algorithm, drop it onto the track, and voila! You have a racing line. Simple. Now don't be so rude next time you post, 'kay? Because not everybody is going to be as nice as I am when you attack them.

[Knutselmaaster]

Don't let this turn into a discussion about who is right and who is wrong please.
Even if/when suggestions are hardly realizable (and i don't think this idea in particular is impossible to implement), the suggestions forums are exactly about the ideas, and the discussion about if it is doable, and what other people think about the ideas.
This can be a constructive discussion, there is no need to insult or flame.

On topic;
I think that with the actual mediatracker this idea is already realizable, i've seen more complicated things already.
But it would be nice to have it implemented in the game in an easy way, although i would not use it much in the tracks i make myself.
I find one of the most fun parts in driving tracks the never ending search for the ideal line.....

[Slig]

4) Turn the validated ghost's path into the racing line.

Except in cases where the mapper is a top driver and took time to make a good time, i really don't see such thing as an optimal race line at all.

That's right that the race line of the author time in solo mode could be a way to help newbies, but that's all, and there are already the ghosts in the solo tracks...

[Knutselmaaster]

Maybe an idea for Nadeo to put it into the very first offline tracks (i assume there will be A1 tracks...) to denoob.