LEGO Racers Finally beat the game; what's next?

[James Gryphon]

Greets to all who're around to read this.

 

I first encountered LEGO Racers over at a friend's house about nine years ago. Played it, really liked it, and spent some time on it on several of my visits there. I beat Rocket Racer, and we all had fun watching me cruise around a few courses playing as him. A while after, they lended it out to me. Time went by, though, we all forgot about it, and it never ended up getting back to their house (oops).

 

Several years go by. I pick it up again and, feeling nostalgiac, decided to see whether I still 'have it'. I beat the game again, and gave the time trials a shot, since my pre-teen self wasn't able to pull it off the first time around. I got through most of the levels, but couldn't get past some level or another in the third circuit. I got frustrated and put it aside for a while, whereupon the hard drive promptly went bad and was consigned to the recesses of our electronics boxes. It's still out there somewhere, and can be accessed, but it isn't good for day to day use.

 

Finally, a few weeks or a month or so ago, I saw some video or another about it up on Youtube. I watch the guy go through the courses, and, feeling nostalgiac again (and wanting to avenge my previous time trial failures), decide to give it yet another go.

 

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally pulled it off -- beating the Pirate Skull Pass first, then the Temple Trail, and wrapping it up with an easy win on Knightmare-a-thon, thus concluding a nearly decade-long journey to beat the game.

 

Now that I've finally unlocked Voltage's car set, I've got a few questions.

 

1) Is it my imagination, or is her car a bit worse than Rocket Racer's? I've used RR's quite a bit (taking his for nearly all the time trials), so I'm pretty well-acquainted with how it works, and it seems that her car might handle a little more clumsily than his. If I had to guess, I'd say, off-the-cuff, that his turns quite a bit better, and that hers might be a fraction faster (not enough to change anything). I'm curious as to how other, more experienced players would rate any differences.

 

2) Are there any completed, "must-have" mods? I've seen pictures of the speedometer and the like, and that there's custom power brick layouts, but I don't know which ones are the best or the most interesting. Something that makes the stock game harder would be nice, but nothing too drastic (I liked the Acceleracers video, but the whole thing about the AI cars dramatically changing speeds kinda turned me off).

 

3) How's that theme overhaul project going? Did it die out or are there still some people working on it?

 

4) Likewise, is the reversed tracks mod going anywhere?

 

Thanks for your time. I'd never realized that this game had any modding community at all up until a short time ago, so y'all being around in any form was a pleasant surprise.

[lol username]

1 - Personally I find her car slightly easier to control, but it's not by a whole lot.

2 - Most of the mods we have right now are cosmetic (new characters for example).

3 - lol

4 - meh

Welcome to RRU.

[Jimbob]

Welcome to RRU, James! It's great that you have such an interested in LEGO Racers. I know jamesster's already answered your questions but anyway:

 

1) You'll want to talk to RobExplorien about that

2) I'm not sure, but I think the >AcceleRacers mod you mentioned is the only complete one (also by Rob).

3) Please... Don't bring that up again. I should have listened to McJobless on that one, I wasn't the right guy to keep such a project going. Yeah, as far as I'm concerned, it's dead But there are a couple of other overhauls in the works, I have a Rock Raiders one that I'd like to continue some time soon, and there's an HD overhaul too that is also on hiatus. So, in answer to your question... Not yet, but there are WIPs.

4) It's quite a task because of the files that have to be modded, I don't think it's had progress for a little while. As jamesster put... 'meh'.

 

But hey, there's nothing to stop someone getting the ball rolling again!

[Fluffy Cupcake]

As for 4): None in a while, but mostly because I think it is just too much work for anyone to bother with at the moment.

[James Gryphon]

Thanks for the responses; it's good to see activity.

 

As for 1), I did a few tests myself and it seems Voltage's car set might be just a teeny bit better, contrary to my first impressions. I ran a few trials on the Imperial Grand Prix as Voltage's main car, her alternate, and Rocket Racer. My record went back and forth between them, but it seems slightly easier to rebreak it in a Voltage-based car. This is hardly scientific, though, since I can make mistakes and my skill will vary from race to race; a comprehensive analysis would still be very nice.

 

I might give AcceleRacers a go after all. I'm curious to if it would be possible to use just the custom brick layouts it comes with, without the speed changes, and if that would be any better than stock. If I install it, I'll probably install it whole, though; I don't feel like tinkering around with and changing someone else's mod that much.

 

Too bad that things aren't going well on the mod front, but I guess that's how it goes. The reversed track thing in particular seems like it would be exciting, so I hope somebody can get that going sometime.

[Jimbob]

It would definitely be possible to modify just the power-up layouts, as they are set in the .PWB files which are used only for power-ups. For that reason you could download one of the complete packs in the power-up layouts subforum, rather than take apart AcceleRacers, but of course it's up to you.

 

1) Too bad that things aren't going well on the mod front, but I guess that's how it goes.

 

2) The reversed track thing in particular seems like it would be exciting, so I hope somebody can get that going sometime.

1) I think, much of the time, it's one of two things: Someone has a great idea and makes a mod, gets half way through it and then gets another great idea and goes to make that mod; or people just have other things crop up in life which take priority. If I had more time and less college work I would certainly be doing more to some of the mods I've started in RRU (and finish that LR2 mod, le717, if you're reading ).

 

2) Why not have a go at helping out yourself? It's just a suggestion, but if you're interested in modding it's not that difficult to learn how to reverse the tracks (I'm pretty sure there are some tutorials you could use).

[UTF]

Here's something to do after beating Lego Racers: Fill you entire garage with 100 cars, which is the limit. I was surprised it had a limit.

[Wirza]

i did that before i got past cap'n redbeard!

[le717]

If I had more time and less college work I would certainly be doing more to some of the mods I've started in RRU (and finish that LR2 mod, le717, if you're reading ).

 

Better start doing some 'splaining, Jimbob, I have no memory of even starting an LR2 mod, much less finishing one.

[James Gryphon]

2) Why not have a go at helping out yourself? It's just a suggestion, but if you're interested in modding it's not that difficult to learn how to reverse the tracks (I'm pretty sure there are some tutorials you could use).

Well, I looked at the reversed-track topic a while ago, and honestly it seems a little daunting. There were a lot more experienced developers than me taking a crack at that, and it hasn't panned out yet. The problem with adjusting AI paths seems pretty pervasive, anyway.

 

One thing I have thought about is trying to make my own powerup location pack. It strikes me that except for the turbo (and in particular, the warp) powerups, the game can still produce some reasonably tight races.

 

I had the idea that maybe, if there were relatively few power bricks -- say, two in a course -- that would limit the damage and make things closer. This has the side effect of eliminating four powerups from the game, but I figure it's worth the cost if everything else plays better.

 

One problem with this is that I don't have a very good idea where all of the AI racers go on the course. That's especially problematic since I'd ideally like to give each racer individual preferences for powerups, like in the regular game.

 

I think an experienced player would probably still blitz through it no trouble, but at least people wouldn't have to restrict themselves from using warp powerups anymore.

[Jimbob]

 

If I had more time and less college work I would certainly be doing more to some of the mods I've started in RRU (and finish that LR2 mod, le717, if you're reading ).

Better start doing some 'splaining, Jimbob, I have no memory of even starting an LR2 mod, much less finishing one.

Not your mod, my mod.

 

One thing I have thought about is trying to make my own powerup location pack. It strikes me that except for the turbo (and in particular, the warp) powerups, the game can still produce some reasonably tight races.

I had the idea that maybe, if there were relatively few power bricks -- say, two in a course -- that would limit the damage and make things closer. This has the side effect of eliminating four powerups from the game, but I figure it's worth the cost if everything else plays better.

 

One problem with this is that I don't have a very good idea where all of the AI racers go on the course. That's especially problematic since I'd ideally like to give each racer individual preferences for powerups, like in the regular game.

 

I think an experienced player would probably still blitz through it no trouble, but at least people wouldn't have to restrict themselves from using warp powerups anymore.

That sounds like a very good idea, and with Huggles' >PWB Editor it's not that difficult, plus you can use grappigegovert's >Coordinate Viewer to help out too.

 

As for the NPC paths, they're set in the .RRB files. I'm pretty sure has some images showing the paths as lines, but I wouldn't know where to find them, if someone knew that would be great as I'm sure they'd be very beneficial to you To give racers preferences, you could either place the bricks along these paths (which is probably easier) or modify the RRB files using RobExplorien's excellent >guide to make the racers choose certain power-ups, depending on much time you have I guess.

 

Don't concern yourself with 'experienced modders', everyone has to start somewhere and if you've put genuine hard work into your mod then it'll be considered no worse than an 'experienced modder's' mod by any decent person here I think you should go ahead and make this mod, I'd certainly want to play it.

[James Gryphon]

I'm pretty sure origamiguy has some images showing the paths as lines, but I wouldn't know where to find them, if someone knew that would be great as I'm sure they'd be very beneficial to you

Well, I've tried to look through every post he's made, to see if I could find that, but it didn't seem to show up anywhere. I even looked through Creator and RobExplorien's posts too (since they both did projects that depended on knowing the paths), but nothing seemed to turn up.

 

I suppose the way to proceed is to go through every race and tail each of the AIs several times to try to get a feel for their paths. I'm not especially looking forward to it, but you have to do what you have to do. It looks like creating new paths manually would take eons -- I certainly don't fancy having to make hundreds of nodes for each individual racer in the game -- so placing the bricks along the existing paths seems to be the only practical option.

[Jimbob]

You could always send a PM to origamiguy asking for the images, I'm sure he won't mind. Alternatively, if you have a video recorder, you could follow each NPC and record them so you can see exactly where they go?

[RobExplorien]

Q: "Finally beat the game, what's next?"

A: LEGO Racers 2

[James Gryphon]

You could always send a PM to origamiguy asking for the images, I'm sure he won't mind. Alternatively, if you have a video recorder, you could follow each NPC and record them so you can see exactly where they go?

The recorder idea is a really good one; I can't believe I didn't think of that -- it's a lot easier than trying to remember off the top of my head where everyone goes.

 

I guess I'll also drop a PM by origami, just in case.

 

I have some ideas as far as trying to give some personality to the NPCs; I think I'll make a new topic for that later, though. This one's getting a tad bit crowded.

 

A: LEGO Racers 2

I dunno; I watched some of the videos and while it looks okay, I don't know if I'd like it as much as this one. This is more a criticism of the story than the actual gameplay, but the player character would've been better as a silent protagonist, in my opinion -- the dialogue they give your character is really arrogant, enough to make you wish you'd lose. I saw the final race, too, and as far as the gameplay goes, Rocket Racer looks way too easy. I also don't know that I like the powerup system at all.

 

On the plus side, RR still had good writers in that game. The thing that always stands out about him: he might be boastful, but he's not a sore loser. That really separates him from the "top dogs" in other racing stories. I've always thought he was the coolest, though.

[Jimbob]

 

The recorder idea is a really good one; I can't believe I didn't think of that -- it's a lot easier than trying to remember off the top of my head where everyone goes.

 

I guess I'll also drop a PM by origami, just in case.

 

I have some ideas as far as trying to give some personality to the NPCs; I think I'll make a new topic for that later, though. This one's getting a tad bit crowded.

Great! (I'm not sure what more to add)

 

 

 A: LEGO Racers 2

I dunno; I watched some of the videos and while it looks okay, I don't know if I'd like it as much as this one. This is more a criticism of the story than the actual gameplay, but the player character would've been better as a silent protagonist, in my opinion -- the dialogue they give your character is really arrogant, enough to make you wish you'd lose. I saw the final race, too, and as far as the gameplay goes, Rocket Racer looks way too easy. I also don't know that I like the powerup system at all.

 

On the plus side, RR still had good writers in that game. The thing that always stands out about him: he might be boastful, but he's not a sore loser. That really separates him from the "top dogs" in other racing stories. I've always thought he was the coolest, though.

Yeah, I do listen to my player speaking and think 'Ugh, I wouldn't talk like that'.

 

Rocket Racer is incredibly easy, and a little boring, if you choose to upgrade your car throughout the story. I haven't tried it, but I've heard people avoiding upgrades to make it much more challenging/fun.

 

I agree, I guess he's meant to be an inspirational character, unlike many of the other racers. Although I'm not so keen on his LR2 outfit compared to his outfit in LR.

[le717]

I'm pretty sure origamiguy has some images showing the paths as lines, but I wouldn't know where to find them, if someone knew that would be great as I'm sure they'd be very beneficial to you

Well, I've tried to look through every post he's made, to see if I could find that, but it didn't seem to show up anywhere. I even looked through Creator and RobExplorien's posts too (since they both did projects that depended on knowing the paths), but nothing seemed to turn up

http://will.kirk.by/u/rru/images/renders/pwb_and_rrb/

There you go. :)

[James Gryphon]

http://will.kirk.by/...rs/pwb_and_rrb/ There you go.

Thanks very much, that looks like it should about do the trick.

 

I haven't taken the time to look at them in-depth yet, though I'd like to do so later. Two quick questions, though, in case you might be able to save some time:

 

1) How'd y'all generate these?

2) Is there a way to tell which path goes with which racer?

[Jimbob]

1) How'd y'all generate these?

2) Is there a way to tell which path goes with which racer?

1) I can't answer that so I won't

 

2) If you zoom into the starting line (e.g. on Dark Forest Dash, it's to the right of the two white power-ups) you can see the origins of the lines, where the racers all begin at the starting line. You could identify them from that, however tracing the paths around the track is nigh-impossible with so many lines blurred together (for me certainly).

I don't know, maybe you could very politely ask to render individual racers/laps, or how he does it (as you already have).

 

O.T.	Maybe I should stop talking about origamiguy and all this stuff he could do without actually talking to him directly.

[dead_name]

 

http://will.kirk.by/...rs/pwb_and_rrb/ There you go.

Thanks very much, that looks like it should about do the trick.

 

I haven't taken the time to look at them in-depth yet, though I'd like to do so later. Two quick questions, though, in case you might be able to save some time:

 

1) How'd y'all generate these?

2) Is there a way to tell which path goes with which racer?

 

 

1) I wrote a loader for the RRB and PWB files (among others). I then wrote a renderer and glued the two together (simplifying massively here).

2) In those images, no. I could redo the renderer to render each path separately, but even then I'm not sure if there's a concrete way of mapping paths to characters. From what I recall (it's been a while), the game randomizes the paths, at least for the non-boss racer.

[RobExplorien]

I dunno; I watched some of the videos and while it looks okay, I don't know if I'd like it as much as this one. This is more a criticism of the story than the actual gameplay, but the player character would've been better as a silent protagonist, in my opinion -- the dialogue they give your character is really arrogant, enough to make you wish you'd lose. I saw the final race, too, and as far as the gameplay goes, Rocket Racer looks way too easy. I also don't know that I like the powerup system at all. On the plus side, RR still had good writers in that game. The thing that always stands out about him: he might be boastful, but he's not a sore loser. That really separates him from the "top dogs" in other racing stories. I've always thought he was the coolest, though.

It was more of a joke really, but it just depends on how you see it.