Make it to 10,000

[Cealgair]

When I'm gone, honey
I'm not really gone
You still hear me callin'
Every dusk to every dawn

'Cause I'll reach out to haunt you
From the bottom of the swamp
When I'm gone

Oh, when I'm gone, hear me
I'm not really gone
Drank from the poison chalice
Served by Abaddon

So if you're the one to take me
It won't be the last you'll face me
When I'm gone

[Vega]

VC doesn't matter to me as long as you got Discord. I hate CT's a lot. I can deal with Retro Rewind since afaik its all based on Nintendo-made tracks. Most CTs are awful, just poor rushed design.

What era of CTs have you played/seen the most? I've seen a lot from every point in time of this game so I'm wondering what you know. Maybe that makes a difference.

I would say current era since im subscribed to CTGP Records. I've only seen a handful of good tracks.

Main issues of current CTs:
- Overall just rushed
- No good implementation of simple shortcuts
- Tracks usually way too long (why are so many CTs over 3 minutes?)
- Too many boost pads
- Too many boost ramps
- Ramps are way too extreme
- Too many halfpipes
- Insane hills or "weird" turns (that result in many CTs using spears or some triple MT strat on a turn)
So for example, I got CTGP YT and grab the most recent vid of a non-Nintendo-based CT

Volcano Skyway - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFiIdmensnE

Issues the track has
- 0:14 weird use of open spacing, yes tracks can have huge wide paths (rPB) but at the start line is just weird
- 0:18 weird path angles leads to these weird drift-MT mechanics, I see this all the time in CTs
- 0:20 do the pokeys even do anything, many CTs use objects as a blocking mechanism but they end up not blocking anything. Look at rBC and BCwii, you actually need to dodge the objects in those tracks
- 0:24 weird ass ramp, why do CTs all have these? Granted some NIN tracks have em, but its overused on CTs
- 0:30 WTF am i looking at?....
- 0:38 poor path design leads to too much "idle" (going straight doing nothing), to me this is only fine for paths that were designed to be straight (MC, rBC3), but if you see it in a curved path, then its a design error imo
- 0:43 sorta neat, but still too much craze
- 0:49 why why, what is up with these insane jumps/drops
- 0:55 we dont need a trick ramp again... why
- 1:00 why another little trick ramp?
- 1:09 meh path design again

[Fzerowii]

What Vega said

[Fifty]

Might as well give my thoughts out as well...

- Tracks usually way too long (why are so many CTs over 3 minutes?)

Disagree on this in two ways. Most tracks are 1m30s to 2 minutes long. There are a couple that are 2m45s max, but 3+ minutes is very rare. For the other aspect I disagree with, I honestly like long CTs a lot. I wish there were more. Oh well.

- Too many boost pads
- Too many boost ramps
- Ramps are way too extreme

You can probably blame both the casual and competitive scene for this in different ways. Casual players love the speed from boost panels and perform effortlessly, while competitive players enjoy taking advantage of the more technical aspects of it.
I'm okay with it... what I'm very surprised by is how you don't mention too many tricks. It's ridiculous. Every modern CT has an absolutely ridiculous amount of trick KCL to the point of absurdity. I implore you to check it out; here's Luncheon Tour - https://youtu.be/mzdvNyPo18M

If you thought Volcanic Skyway was bad (which it is, I agree) then you won't like Luncheon Tour at all. Or maybe you will? I'd be very surprised.

- Too many halfpipes

Undeniably. What a stupid feature to be using in every corner of a track. Competitive players are probably to blame here

- Insane hills or "weird" turns (that result in many CTs using spears or some triple MT strat on a turn)

The worst part to me is that Spear CTs are NEVER the traditional "straightaway" Spear track, like Luigi Circuit or Mario Circuit.

They always just barely reach the bar of becoming a Spear track. Usually this happens when there are slightly wide Flame Runner-suited turns but straightaways dominate the track overall. Check out Volcano Canyon, Fishdom Island, or Incendia Castle for perfect examples of this. It is in my opinion the worst type of track.

That concludes my thoughts.

[Vega]

Can you post me links/vids to your 5 favorite CTs?

[Fifty]

I don't really have any top 5 favorites I feel like, but I can list 5 good ones, maybe they count as my favorites

5. Midnight Museum (by SquireTurnbolt) - https://wiki.tockdom.com/wiki/Midnight_Museum
#1 best visuals out of any CT ever made, enough said. Gameplay's alright. Nothing to complain about.

4. Fort Francis (by Jaden) - https://wiki.tockdom.com/wiki/Fort_Francis
Interesting track with actually good tech. Too many tricks but I'll let that slide.

3. Blissful Block (by Strobenz) - https://wiki.tockdom.com/wiki/Blissful_Block
Not sure, I just think this is a good track. Visuals could be a lot more interesting but this track has a lot to offer, and I can't think of any spots of this track where it's particularly bad. One big flaw it has is blind turns, but it's no big deal imo.

2. Banished Keep (by Metabus) - https://wiki.tockdom.com/wiki/Banished_Keep
It's very similar to Shy Guy Lumber Co. but slightly less original in a lot of ways. But my god it plays well. I would put this over SGLC in terms of gameplay, but it loses in terms of visuals (technically? I like BK's visuals more but from a more objective standpoint, I gotta put SGLC in 1st. I'm trying to mix being subjective and objective here).

1. Shy Guy Lumber Co. (by Metabus) - https://wiki.tockdom.com/wiki/Shy_Guy_Lumber_Co.
Yep, another track by Metabus, he's that good. At least he is to me.
Lots of shortcuts, but they're all well-made whether or not you play competitively. What this track does great though is the visuals and design itself. It basically checks every box:

- Fantastic visuals
- Designed pretty well, no glitches or exploits, not a boring straightaway or 90 degree turns everywhere
- Doesn't copy textures from other tracks; purely original, custom assets
- Reasonable amount of tricks
- Tastefully placed boost ramps, no boost panels

[Cealgair]

Midnight Museum was one of my favorites too. Banished Keep was one I probably would've enjoyed more if I was a better player with an actual controller playing actual races online. The other ones came out after I left, but I know Shy Guy Lumber Co. from YouTube, it looks amazing indeed

[Fifty]

Yeah it does