GRUPARD - The best GR Trackmaking Brightslap!

Sometimes you're too focused to one thing that you ditch one that you used to love. Maybe sometimes you make something out of your interest but either you have a Creator's Block or you procrastinate things that you lost your drive to make such thing. This happens to me, ALL THE TIME, especially when it comes to trackmaking in GeneRally. Trackmaking in Turbo Sliders is easy and quite straightforward, but GeneRally's is... Well, you have limited resource and you need to use those resources to make fabulous and creative things using them like most Track of the Month winners. It's actually easy, but it needs higher level of attention to detail, especially when you're aiming for that ToM quality.

Creator's Block (or in this context, Trackmaker's Block) is a sucky thing to happen, especially to me. You know you try to make a track until you're unsure how to put those concrete walls and give them a gap so the "Marshals" can "do their job when one is off course and is to retire from the race", or how to combine those office buildings to make one-of-a-kind office building without obstructing the view of the track, or even how to put trees correctly (e.g., try to make a forest that's not too dense, use combinations between two or three different trees). All these things are what makes a track ToM-worthy. Me on the other hand, is a usual victim of this. I've made lots of work-in-progress tracks but don't know how to put those things: trees, buildings, walls, even Lmap arts (if any) or Hmap works.

World Size is also a problem; most of my WIPs have a WS of 255, which might be too big for me, so to say. Knowing that I can't do big "things" I try to shift myself to do a smaller "thing" to make sure that I'm still worthy for GR trackmaking and that I can manage to make my own track. I do make tracks but they're Joint Effort Amateur tracks. I've done three tracks for them, they are a Rallycross track ACO Park, a tropical race with lots of layouts Tropico Isle, and most recently a rally course with elevations Deepwood Trail. For your information, JEA is where six persons take part in making a track. As one decided which them they are going to make, they will take turns once one is finished, and as it's finished, Bouncebackabilty, the driving force of Joint Effort concept, will do the finishing touches and everyone will get to propose a name. Sounds simple, eh?

So the answer is found: I am going to make a track with a WS of 125, which is a small but important step as I can't finish my WS 255 WIPs, and this time, a new track is born: The scorching arid road course with undulating hairpins called Grupard. The track, to be brutally honest, isn't all special: It's composed of hairpins and elevations with four pit crews and no walls that separate the main track with the pit, but it is somehow a "GeneRally-ish" track. It's a simple, no-fuss, racing track where everyone can drive, and default cars are the track's recommendation for this track. The objects used are also pretty simple; palm trees, bushes, an occassional cactus, and sunk tires. Furthermore, Hmap works are done, both on-track and as an environment.

A bunch of Generals taking the first hairpin that climbs to the second one.

I can't even find a good description due to the run-of-the-mill nature of the track, but at least convincing them that it is set in the arid is all I can do, don't know if it's enough to satisfy everyone. However, I can assure you that the track carries a simple GR style; not much tracks are GR-ish at the time of this posting. GRIF is flooded by Top Gear (a SNES game, not the show) tracks made by B@stos, real-life race tracks, and several tracks that are more than WS 125. By making this track, I can at least give an effort to make GR-ish tracks have their stand.

"This track is good. I find good, that, when I'm right, it is compatible with v1.05. And it's so simple. (y)" -RobertRacer99

"Its a good idea to make a small track. Good to see (for me) if someone makes a simple and "GRish" track like this. The tracks with big WS -in my opinion- are beatiful and needs many hours to make, but not enjoyable like small tracks. So.. Simple and efficient job, well done. :)" -david999

Though the track is far from perfect: the AI line in the second turn sucks hard Haruna volunteered via Skype in the AI line fixing. About the AI Lines, what I am afraid of them is that they would "cut" the track and run the sunk tires. You know AIs that cross sunk tires are one of those sucky things in trackmaking, right? Maybe I've developed a phobia of having AIs too close to the sunk tires when driving... Thankfully, with Haruna's help on AI lines, racing with AIs will be much more exciting, but that means it's also a brightslap too, since... Well, trackmakers use their own AI lines, right?

Make this simple arid track Grupard your keepsake to drive on. Download the course now! :)

LENDING A HAND TO LANZ

In Turbo Sliders, there's a competition run by Lanz called Puschtras Touring Masters, which is the TS rendition of Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (or we can alternatively say German Touring Masters). It is now in its second season after a successive first season.

At the time Lanz wrote that he would love to make a new Show Event track but he couldn't because he had no idea where to place the control points. Knowing that I could figure out the CP placements and learned the track's layout, and the fact that trackmaking in TS is my niche, I lend myself a hand to Lanz saying that he can leave the new Show Event track's responsibility to me. I spent days trying to make the cleanest layout possible, and the only long delay I had while making this track is just my Typhus bed rest. After I'm able to back in action, the track is slowly showing its progress and eventually it looks like this:

Adopting the style of the previous Show Event track which is based off of the iconic Race of Champions track at Wembley Stadium (due to layout perhaps :p), I think I could pull it off with style. The placements of the sponsorships are loosely based on the video reference of the Show Event course, which is revealed to be based on the real-life Show Event which was actually held at Munich in 2012. The following screens may convince you:

I had no problems other than the minor problem of both pits, which should fit nine cars for them to watch. As this course is no Super Special stage, racing with AI is very impossible, and racing is only possible via online races where two drivers race while others can only watch. However, once again, I could pull off such thing after learning the previous Show Event track used in PTM's inaugural season. The track is now finished and is ready to be driven by some of TS's greatest drivers in the upcoming Show Event race of PTM. However, I can't release this track yet as I should let the PTM drive the track first, and the course will be released after they've done it. So, if you want to drive this track, be patient, especially knowing the fact that this track is a... *cough* Purpose-built track *cough*

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES

To conclude this post, I would like to let you know that I've participated in Fandom March Madness, an annual LiveJournal event where we vote for our favorite TV series characters in a series of head-to-head elimination battles whose concept is based on NCAA March Madness Basketball championship. As I can't let this blog be off-topic with a Fandom-related post that you might not like, you can check my review of this year's FMM here. The championship this year is filled with new faces conquering the bracket, and returning faces that tried to take their revenge for their last year's failure and some that tried to battle for repeat victories!

In the end, let me break the barrier a bit with a new DVD collection of mine...

Blame Fandom March Madness for all these :p

And one more, which is an obligatory drawing of someone special... I know I should've put this and all my other drawings to my deviantART but well...

ONORE... DECADE~!!! SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN~!!! /narutakimodeon

~[R]

INSIDE THE MALL: Puri Indah Mall - The First Mall to Have Maximum Tune 4!

It's time for the third edition of the INSIDE THE MALL Series! Previously I've visited Mal Parung and Cilandak Town Square, and now it's time to write another location with an interesting story! And as the title said, it's time to gear yourself up for Puri Indah Mall! I know I should've posted this a long time ago since my first visit there but nevertheless, it's better to be late than not at all.

Outskirts of Puri Indah Mall (Image courtesy of www.direktorijakarta.com)

This is the farthest mall I've ever been, due to the fact that it is located in West Jakarta. Hell, even going there takes approximately 40 minutes from my college (which is UIN Syarif Hidayatullah State University), that is if you're not stuck in the traffic as you make your way there... And apparently, taking the Bintaro route would be the fastest route you could take, whether if you're living in the Ciputat area or not.

Located in Puri Agung Street, Puri Indah, Kembangan, it was initially a mall with a modern "Puri" concept, but such concept nowadays no longer reflects the current state of the mall. Its construction and opening years are still a mystery to be solved, but Puri is quite a hangout place. You can find myriads of fashion stores and eateries, and there's a cool Big Ben clock on the mall's roof...

Feel like British? No worries, the sky doesn't lie; Puri Indah Mall's Big Ben clock visible from the ground floor.

With the presence of a certain arcade game being a drive to visit the mall, I decided to check the condition of the game albeit it was yet activated. On my way there, I had to tackle so many turns, ride along the narrow roads, pass through the sleeping policemen, and endure it for almost an hour. In the end, as I saw the shape of Puri Indah, my mind went boggle and couldn't wait to reach the parking lot for motorcycles. If you make your trip to this mall using a car, you might face no problems as you could just take the toll roads, with motorcycles however... well.

WHAT'S IN STORE?

The underground floor is comprised of 80% parking lot and 20% stores. In fact, these stores are all electronic / gadget stores where you can buy stuffs related to gadgets / computers, such as USB and wireless mice, keyboards, laptops, laptop fans, speakers, and much more. Going up, the ground floor comprises of mostly, if not all, fashion stores (we're talking clothes store here), a coffee lounge whose brand you should know if you've gone there once or more, and several eateries outside the mall, where the eateries on the ground floor, exactly outside the mall, are given a "cafe" feel thanks to the bushes across. The first floor is pretty much the same except there are less clothes stores but in return there are a good sum of accessories store, a bookstore, and such.

To your right is the entrance to the underground floor

Finally on the top (third) floor, you can find a food court with lots of brand-name eateries, local or international, to tickle your tastebuds, and the food court is adjacent with the mall's Fun World game center. It can be considered as one of the biggest Fun World centers due to its rollercoaster and fun fair-like playgrounds. But our focus isn't that; While its Fun World center is all glitz and glamour in terms of arcade centers, having a rollercoaster and all that fun fair element you can stumble onto, all its glitters aren't gold. Its XXI cinema, however, puts one thing that crazed Indonesian arcade enthusiasts...

THE FIRST PLACE WHERE MAXIMUM TUNE 4 CABS LANDED

ALL HAIL MAXIMUM TUNE 4 BITCHESSS!!! (Image courtesy of Matthew N)

If you have read one of my previous blog posts before, Puri Indah Mall's XXI is the first location to have a set of Maximum Tune 4 cabs complete with Wangan Terminal (wait, isn't it a standard that each set of 4 cabs comes with Wangan Terminal?) and have it activated the next couple of days. Lots of MaxTune enthusiasts who are able to reach this mall would die to play games for their progression to quench their MT thirsts.

Prior to this posting, there are now eight cabs in the Puri XXI, and this is to anticipate the long queue. As for 3DX+ cabs, there were 12 cabs in XXI and four in Fun World, but that isn't enough to beat Pondok Indah Mall's record of 18 cabs (4 in Fun World, 4 in Timezone, 6 in XXI PIM1, and 4 in XXI PIM2). Unsurprisingly, both Pondok Indah and Puri Indah have same initials, so we know which one should change its callname: PurIndah. Well, the first five letters sounded like a cat's name, but it's for the sake of unique names. As MT4 cabinet sets are added until there are three sets of them (meaning that they now have 12 cabs there), there's a good reason why PurIndah's XXI played an elimination game with some of its 3DX+ cabs and a less-played arcade game too to pave a way for these MT4 cabs.

(Image courtesy of Matthew N)

SOME RANDOM PICS

 

The Map of all the three floors

I thought there would be another fashion store opening here judging by the banner used. It turned out that the mall put one of Emma Watson's pictures as a banner just for fun. The second time when I went there, the Emma Watson banner was gone and replaced by a new one.

My first visit had the mall having Mini exhibition

A French brand-name supermarket can be found across the mall, unlike most malls. Though a local brand supermarket can still be found inside.

A small Starbucks outlet can be found there on the ground floor. If you want to take some sips of coffee, they welcome you.

More eateries...

TURNING IT INTO A RACE TRACK?

Usually when I posted an "Inside The Mall" article and it involves a mall potential enough to be it, I port it to a certain game called GeneRally to signify that I visited the mall and am willing to commemorate it in a form of a race track. Here, PurIndah's circuit form is characterized as a fast, semi-technical course with 45-degree and 90-degree corners around the ground floor, and two outside sections. If you split the course section from the coffee stall (don't split the S/F section though), you will notice that this part looks like Sentul International Circuit run counter-clockwise, only with a chicane. Three long straights inside the mall (with the last one being the true high speed section due to high speed corners) are perfect places to maximize your slipstreaming technique and / or even overtaking your rivals here.

This track's construction was started in a very long time, exactly after my first visit, but, screenshot-wise, ditched due to myriads of WIPs in my mind. At the moment, it looks anything but pretty, but when I have time, I would love to remake this course and refine its object placings, like where should the tall buildings be placed WITHOUT having them to block the cars. At the same time I also thought about making more configurations where the course would also have upper (where you drive straight and go right past the coffee stall instead of crossing the third long straight, which could cross as a counter-clockwise Sentul) and lower (still counter-clockwise, but this time the S / F placing would be different than the upper and GP configs), but having such thought, I realized that I should care about how narrow the course would look if those configurations are made, and how horrible the pitstop access would be (the pitstop access is already horrible and needs a proper makeover), so I might stick to the original configuration for that matter.

USEFUL LINKS
Puri Indah Mall's Wikipedia article (in Indonesian)
PurIn's Official Site

~[R]

INSIDE THE MALL: Cilandak Town Square - RIP Timezone Citos

Welcome to Cilandak Town Square! aka Citos!

After a long while, I thought maybe I should continue my "Inside the Mall" series after I posted one a year ago. Well technically it's months away from being a year but who cares? Ramadan is coming, and I remember I posted that in Ramadan too. Furthermore, I can't just focus to the malls nearby my home, and in fact, I no longer am active in that mall anymore since the newest update is that while the Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3DX+ there costs three coins and one coin is worth IDR 1500, I don't have a choice but to leave that place unless I want to take crowns there (I remember that I want to be the fastest in my area, starting from Parung).

Time is very fast; now that I'm in college, there are nearby malls with MT3DX+cabs near my college like Cinere Mall, Bintaro Plaza, Pondok Indah Mall, and Cilandak Town Square. This opens a new world for me to explore and that I wanted to live my life like it's 2007 onwards. And this time, to make sure that "Inside the Mall" series is meant to be random posts with interesting sentences to read and not too much focusing about MT3DX+ cabs nearby my home, my next destination is Cilandak Town Square!

So what is Citos? It was opened in 2002 and is meant to be a mall with a Town Square concept. Hmm...

But there are restaurants everywhere! Are you sure it's a "mall" or something?

The first time I went there is in 2004 with my father, my elementary years, where I had encounters with some childhood series characters. After some sightseeing there, I hopped in into its Timezone where it had Maximum Tune / 2 (CMIIW) at the moment. And that is where it is my first time that I drive in manual with 6-speed transmission. That was the time I was unaware of Maximum Tune until the day, in 2007, where I was staying at one of my relatives' house in Tangerang area and went to Supermall Karawaci to play some MT and finally get a card in which the card I made is a bayside blue Nissan Skyline GTR V-Spec II aka the BNR34 I continually use until NOW.

The exterior of Timezone in Citos... Too far much?

Due to Maximum Tune series, the mall's Timezone was heralded as one of Indonesia's most crowded arcade game centers, not to mention it opens until 2AM (according to some players who played there), and since then it was the main appeal for MT fans alike, and guys there won't reluctant to give their seats to other guys before they have finished their "business" with the machine. In fact, other than MT cabs and any other cabs as well as some animal data carddas games, there were Sega Rally 3 cabinets before they were replaced by another racing game cabs whose name I can't tell you due to its too high mainstream level.... I think this place was the only one with Sega Rally 3 in it.

The left magazine once made the right one a recommendation, and so it happens... I was going to post this on my Livejournal but well, I post it here nonetheless... It was bought months ago, November 2012 for exact. Granted, there were two copies available and a copy cost 229K if my memory served me right. And just what's that thing on the middle?

It was also the time that I bought the thing on the right of your screen. Speaking about magazines, there are two places where you can find imported magazines/books/novels there: the one near the Foodmart, and the other located on the upper floor. I bought this because as a fan of fandom I have to take many opportunity before it's gone forever. Furthermore, there aren't very many copies sold here in my country...

Also, Citos is known for having lots of restaurants; it's all up to your tastebuds. There are various restaurants to keep you starving, ranging from fast foods, traditional, to modern cuisines. The price ranges can be quite high, but less than 200K if I'm not mistaken. Furthermore, you could also have a hangout place for you and your friends/family, and you could even taste a wood-fired pizza there.

A diner and a chain bread restaurant (it's not just a bread restaurant though!) seen here. Not pictured above them is a Burger-related fast food chain.

The flooring is also quite meaningful; it's got this "Sun to the moon" flooring which orange paint sadly got worn out now. It's all now black and white, and the detailed painting of the crescent moon has turned into a mere grey silhouette. Just compare Citos in the past and the present (this can also be seen on my previous pics...)

The map of Citos itself. You could see that this map shows the exact flooring colors before their colors worn out nowadays.

Sadly as I posted this blog, the Timezone at Citos has been closed for good. All the arcades there are crying and uncertain where the arcade master would take them to. In place of this place, there might be a boutique sooner or later after all arcades there are gone. And it turns out TZ is not the only victim there; Cilandak 21 is also closed and is now replaced by a gym, still under construction as this post is made.

Here's how the arcades' tears sum up:

"Dear Customers, we sadly inform you that the TZ CITOS is permanently closed, we would like to thank you for all your loyalty for the last eleven years. Your remaining credits in your TZ card here will be transferred to the nearest TZ center at Pondok Indah Mall (2nd floor) and will be active as of 4th July 2013. We are looking forward for your presence either in our nearest center or any other TZ centers across Indonesia and hope to continue our special friendship with you loyal customers. It wasn't an easy decision to close this TZ center, but this decision was made after we consider all the choices carefully."

TZ Citos's Cabinets' cry. Its virtual roller coaster ride was packed down days before this was happened. FYI this center also have "Mega Stacker" in which there are big prizes if you win the game...

The MT cabinets are not exempt from crying...

Thus, the only choice now for me is to commemorate Citos into a racing game, in which I've got a challenge like this by myself: "How do you fit a nearby mall into a game with track editors and such?" The answer is here:

It is far from complete, I tell you...

 This is the grand project in GeneRally to make a playable GR track based on Citos. It was initially a project for fun only, but looking at the condition happened there, I think this would go down as a tribute for Citos Timezone, no more, no less. It is still a WIP, but I will tell you if it's complete. For now, I've completed two small tracks in GeneRally, but until the next post, I will tell you what they are and how the project is going. That would also mark my site's update too.

- RIP TZ Citos - 2002-2013. Wish all your arcades are delivered to the right place...
~[R]

Thursday Throwback - Classic TS Tracks and Current GR WIPs

Oppa Classic Style!

The population of default cars tracks in Turbo Sliders is extinct, with the barrage of Photoshopped tracks. However, they are still used in some online servers that serves fairplay racing and rough racing. There aren't any new default cars tracks like yesterday...

Here, I will showcase all my default car racing tracks you can download. These tracks are made in my 1.0.8 days.

Arashi

One of my first tracks in my 1.0.8

Arashi is a track set near the lake of a Japanese village. The name's taken from "Arashi", Japanese for "Storm". True to its name, it features a series of tight turns on your way, ranging from hairpins to simply tight turns, and there's a bridge crossover too. The last corner, depending on what kind of car you're driving, could make or break your race, so be focus!

GET IT HERE!

Drift Scene

Drift Scene: Adapting Initial D on TS...

Drift Scene is an innovative track on its right; A single-lap track made in 1.0.8 and also has a NightModded version. True to its name, its motif is a mountain pass track. The first half of the course is comprised of tight turns and hairpins, and the second half is a series of fast sections followed by hairpins. This not only gives balance factor per se but also adding the Initial D feeling on it.

GET IT HERE!

Flowerbanks

Flowerbanks; home of thousand flowers

Flowerbanks is described here as home for thousands of flowers of different seasons thanks to its climate-fitting places. In that area, a race track is made featuring tight left and right handers, as well as hairpins and a bridge crossing. In my own opinion, this track is way better than Arashi in terms of tile placings, most notably at the start/finish where the road there isn't too narrow like Arashi.

GET IT HERE!

Speedster Run

A course that fits Speeder better

Speedster Run was named Deadly Slide with an old tag of "RAY". The new name has a meaning; the track fits Speeder better, which really suits Speeder players better, but are you awesome enough to pass through two tight corners here? WITHOUT. CRASHING. The race then continues to the big jump that will land you on the bridge as you face the last turn that could make or break your run. I will recommend Speeder for greater challenge, none else.

GET IT HERE!

Turned

To the parking lot and back!

Turned's essence is "Racing your way through the bridge, to the parking lot, jumping the river, and back. The parking lot section is quite hard btw, and the track after you jump the river is somewhat too far that some default cars, if you're fast enough actually, wouldn't reach the track. But don't worry, you can still drive the river, even if it slows you down.

GET IT HERE!

WaterCross

Race the river, then jump the river!

Water Cross is probably an aversion to Turned, in which you drive the river and then jump the river. But don't worry, the water here doesn't slow you down. That is, because the river here isn't deep. There are rumors that this river links with Flowerbanks, Turned, and Arashi, but we don't know. If that's true, then the four course is set in the same Japan Arashi has...

GET IT HERE!

Current GeneRally Stuffs

Rallying in Snow!

Hey look, it's Frappe Snowland! ...what?

Yup, as you would guess, I'm making my own version of Frappe Snowland. However, with an environment of Rally Sweden, even though we don't remember if there's at least one rally stage that has tarmac.

Anyway, the only problem I have is the bridge; in the game, the bridge is made of wood, but here, I changed the bridge. I had to change it because the moment I made the wooden bridge the Height Map isn't what I expect. Nevertheless, it's going to be one of the best, and that would be a deserved appreciation after my long hiatus in trackmaking. And what about those hay bales? Should I change them into fences? Other than that, everything's great.

See you in the next update!
~[R]