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How were the tracks evaluated

The way that I tested these tracks is to ride the 1st two laps like I was really riding a bike. I pretty much just roll all the jumps. On the 2nd lap I might double a few to get a feel for how some of the triples double. I then start picking up speed. I look for alternate timings and try them before getting into the groove of the track. Once I've got like 6 to 10 laps on them I try to run them WFO and see if I can ride them without letting off the throttle (using sliding and skipping to control the speed). I then start racing my ghost rider. I try to save some good racing ones where a slight mistake or two was made. I use them to judge alternate lines. When I've got about 30 minutes on the track I rate it in 8 categories.

  1. On the Nose - How much braking do I do. 0 is none and 100 is going on my nose with the joystick pulled all the way back.
  2. Work It - How much do I need to work the joystick. 0 is all the jumps fall in to place and 100 is it's time to buy a new joystick.
  3. Swing a Leg Over - How much would I like to ride this track with a real motorcycle. 0 is never and 100 is Hell Yes.
  4. Raceability - How good is this track for racing. Are there plenty of possibilities for small mistakes, is there room, etc. 0 - horrible 100 - bring it on
  5. Alternate Lines - How many ways can I ride this track at a fast pace and how addaptable is it when I'm off pace (ie I just crashed). 0 - one groove one rhythm. 100 is every lap is a different track.
  6. Cleanability - Is that a word? How forgiving are the jumps? Are there safe places for the killer jumps? 0 - Crash fest. 100 is Oh shit. Wow I didn't crash.
  7. Obstacle Sections - I love tracks that are puzzles. That have obstacle sections/rhythm sections that just make you look for solutions to get through them smoothly and quickly. 0 is flatlands 100 is a 1000 piece puzzle.
  8. Fit N Finish - This is the place for eye candy. 0 is crude and rude and 100 is perfection.

After scoring them all I put about 10 laps on all of them again. I go back and look at the scores and see if I want to adjust any. Once I have all of the tracks scored I compare the scores and see how they rank. If tracks are tied or close I then ride them comparing them to each other. So if 3 tracks had the same score I would go back and ride all three and then look over the scores and see if I should score any differently.

I would just like to thank everyone that entered the contest. I have had fun evaluating the tracks. All blame for the scores is entirely on my shoulders.

I will have the tracks available for download for a little while and then I will stop, because I don't want to run my bandwidth up too much.

Thanks,
Bruce (AMA_DirtTwister)

Final Results

Position Track Picture
Click to download
Track Name (Score) - Creator
Comments
1 As Good as it Gets (710) - VRT_RIDEBLUE65

This is the first contest entry I got. I knew that it would be my benchmark track. It had all of the elements that I was looking for. It rated very high in all of the categories and it was really the swooping esses with the smooth kick up jumps before the turns and that landing into the make you or break you whoops that tipped the scales over the 2nd place track.



2 THQ World Sx GP Rd. 3: Anaheim, Ca (700) - WhiteBoy

Excellent replica track. This track had all of the elements also. Very well done. After the scoring was finished I had to go back and compare the 1st and 2nd place tracks about 3 times before I decided that the scoring would stand. Great to look at, fun to race, plenty of opportunities for mistakes, options for recovery when you make them, and plenty of lines to try. This tracks works well for a replica track, it's usually very tough to make a replica and have the MCM 2 bike ride it properly.



3 Cancer (668) - skinned

This track grew on me the more I rode it. It's a different style than your average SX track. It has some WFO aspects to it and plenty of obstacles to make you adjust. This track is great for racing. As you are racing for the finish you better be more skilled with the brakes than your opponent. There is an excellent straight with braking bumps on the end followed by a 90 degree left hand turn. This part of the track will seperate the men from the boys. From flat out racing, to slam on the brakes skiding to a stop turns, this track has it.



4 SPODES_03_Round_1 (645) - VET_SPODEBOY

This track shows a different approach then the 2nd place track. The jumps and whoops are bigger and tougher. It becomes a tougher track because of it. What kept this from rating as high as the top 3 deals with options and cleanability. If you aren't going to make the triple it is very difficult to just ease up or tap the brakes and then double-single it. You are pretty much commited to tripling or crashing. It's those subtle touches that made the difference in this contest. There are a lot of nice touches on this track. I love the detail in the stadium.



5 SX Backyard SX (610) - DBR_Dodgy

There is a lot more to this track then the first few laps show. The more laps I put on it the more fun I had. I loved figuring out the right speed to roll the first two rollers after turn 1, so that I could double into turn 2. The whoops are interesting in that they start out as nice bumpy whoops that work the suspension but progress into speed robbing whoops the farther you go. The last section before the finish I at first thought was a one line one rhythm section but soon found myself stumbling into alternate rhythms that were almost as fast. Nice job. Another track great for racing. A few more obstacles/alternate lines and some heavy braking and this would have been a contender for the podium.



6 Alloy Sx (605) - Bomb2

Fun SX track great for racing. A nice long whoops section to challenge your ability to make a consistent lap. It just needed some heavier braking and some more ways to attack the obstacles to make this a top 3 contender.



7 YZStyle (600) - YXRob

I really like this track. The thing that really kept this track from being a contender for the podium is the lack of rendered shadows. A couple of the corners have inside berms and the first time I rode the track I couldn't even see them. Once I knew they were there then I could avoid them. I couldn't really use them, because I can't see them that well. A little more braking would have been nice also, but there are plenty of lines and obstacles to deal with. Great for racing once you get used to the lack of defining shadows.



8 2003 Arenacross Round 1- Des Moines,Iowa (590) - MMS_BoNalls

Nice tight fun track. Excellent for racing. Plenty of opportunities for small mistakes. Partly because it is an arena cross track (and a replica), but there really is only one rhythm through this track. If the rhythm section had more options/obstacles than this would have been a top 3 contender.



9 BadLandz (545) - EOD_Flatliner

This is a really nice track. I had a real problem with this track though. It had bumps in the turn that you couldn't see. MCM 2 has a thing it does when the terrain is rough. The bike doesn't lean over as much as it could. It has a snatchy feel to it. If you ride slow around the track you can see that there are small ruts carved around the turn. When racing at speed you can't see them. If they had been rendered so you could see them better or there were fewer of them then this track would have scored higher. I'd love a version of this track with the corners done differently. It also would be nice if the MCM 2 bike could deal with them differently also. There are plenty of lines and options on this track but it's raceability and cleanability is hurt by the skittery turns.



10 2003 SXGP rd 01 Geneva, Switzerland (520) - MX_Demons_AJ

A nice tight SX with some fun whoops that can spoil your day. Not quite WFO but close. One rhythm for all practical purposes. A fun track, but it's lack of usable options lowered it's score. It is still great for racing because there are plenty of opportunities to slightly mess up your lap.



11 HIGH FLOW DAY (505) - USA_Bean

This track doesn't have the refinement of the other tracks in this contest, but it has many good qualities as a track to race on. It has several lines to take and some tough obstacles. There is a high price to some of them. It keeps you on your toes. I think you should make many more tracks refining your technique. I found myself making many laps and trying to decide how was going to attack an obstacle and what was I going to do to avoid a crash if I couldn't do my plan. A nice puzzle to solve. To get on the podium the dispmap needs to be more refined and some of the eye candy needs to be added.



12 Sx Blues (490) - kx155

This track is really a WFO big air style track. It's in the form of the MCM 1 Nationals where you go at top speed and throw yourself as far as you can with max preload. This track does have enough obstacles that you can't quite do that, so you do have to use the brakes. Most tracks that I call WFO start out as being able to ride them WFO and then as you get better on the track you start having to adjust with the brake. This track is that way. Because of that it does score poorly in this contest. If you don't make the big jumps there really aren't many options. If there are options they cost you dearly compared to the big air way around the track.

There is also some kind of problem with the spline at the finish line. I really didn't evaluate the spline in this contest (unless it gets in the way) but on this track it is possible to go across the finish line on the track and get called back. You go back and start off again and you get called back again. You can do this several times before you finally hear the noise that you crossed the finish line. I'm not sure what is going on there.

With all that aside this is still quite a fun track and great for racing (as long as you stay on two wheels).



13 THQ: World SX Round 2 - Arnhem, Holland, High Definition (440) - Brake_Check63

This track has some potential but it is really unfinished. There was no track pic and no rendered shadows. There is some junk in the turn that you can't see and makes turn 3 quite impossible most of the time. I love turn one. There aren't a lot of options and there is a penalty for taking them. Taking an option usually puts you on a steep face.



14 Got Flow? (430) - crashnburn11

There is something wrong with this track. There are gaps in the terrain so you can see through and the bike acts wierd in a few turns (I think this is an artifact of the terrain problems). With those problems aside the track still scores low in this contest because of the lack of obstacles and the relative ease of the entire track. It is still fun to race.