Chapter 142 Abstract Road Planning

Chapter 142 Abstract Road Planning

The new game map is not big.

Although it is a one-to-one restoration based on the real Jiangning City, a game is still a game and it is impossible to achieve a perfect restoration.

In a normal 3A game, players can explore the buildings on both sides of the road and loot them like bandits entering a village.

But in the game "Speed", the buildings on both sides of the track are just textures...

It’s not just buildings.

In the game, the spectators who appear on both sides of the track, that is, the cheering passers-by, are actually background textures.

Based on this logic, although the entire game map looks huge, in fact the areas where players can move freely are only roads/tracks extending in all directions.

certainly!

This situation is limited to the urban area. Once you drive out of the urban area and go to the uninhabited wilderness and flat land without many buildings, you can deviate from the track and road and go wherever you want.

The whole industry does this.

Including some racing games built according to 3A standards, urban maps are not very interactive.

Even though the city is so big and there are so many high-rise buildings, they are all background textures. Players can only view them from a distance and cannot get up close and personal.

Exceptions are made for certain special locations.

For example, car modification shops, repair shops, insurance companies, 4S shops, etc.

These are "interactive" building locations, and these are the only buildings on the map that players can visit and interact with NPCs.

At other times, players can only drive their beloved vehicle, follow the planned navigation route, sit in the car and watch the scenery on the street.

"The map is made into an island!"

Chen Ba picked up the signature pen, drew a large circle on the whiteboard, and then explained: "This is the ring road. In addition to the ring road, there are dozens of urban main roads crisscrossing the island, as well as zero-to-zero roads." Scatter hundreds of secondary branches.”

Road networks are important.

In this type of racing game, there are two reference factors for track planning.

The first is the gameplay. These roads are basically the main tracks where players drive around, and many competitions will be held on these tracks.

In order to make the game exciting and exciting, road planning cannot be designed completely according to realistic logic.

A road that can be designed as a straight line may add several "curves" or even "continuous hairpin turns" considering the diversity and complexity of the track.

Chen Ba, who often plays such racing games, has long wanted to complain.

The road planning in the game really sacrifices the rationality of road planning and design for the sake of excitement and fun.

Turn on the M key and zoom in!

Depending on the terrain and location, it is not difficult to find some bends, which are completely "intentional".

If the ground is uneven and there are height differences, just make a few turns. But in this vast flat land, there is no obstacle in front of us, so we just added a curve out of thin air. What’s the point?

oh!

It turned out to be to avoid that tree and that stone pillar!

In any racing game, there will be such unclear road planning, especially unreasonable curves... There is no doubt that this is because the game producers want to make it more difficult for players!

In addition to serving the difficulty of the game, road planning also needs to follow the principle of diversity.

Halfway through the road construction, there was suddenly no funds, and the asphalt road turned into mud and potholes...

Driving in the mountain forest, a sprint platform suddenly appeared in front of us. All passing vehicles had to jump from this platform...

A good seaside road turned to the beach inexplicably, and the road car suddenly turned into an ATV...

These abstract road plans are actually designed to increase the diversity and complexity of the game track. Otherwise, the whole journey is a first-class highway, so how boring would it be to drive?

"That's about it for the road network."

Chen Ba drew a "cobweb" diagram of a main road on the whiteboard, and then said: "This is the city's main road!"

There can't be only main roads in the game.

Although the main roads are already rich and comprehensive, some "small intestine trails" with more complex and changeable road conditions are still needed, which are the so-called secondary branch roads.

Spider-web-shaped main roads, supplemented by densely packed pathways, together form the track and road network of the game "Speed".

This system is very large.

To build the entire highway network, it will not take less time than entering vehicle model information, and it may even take longer.

After all, collecting traffic information and simulating it using a game engine is not something that can be done just by talking.

Just a quick mention.

In order to develop the game "Speed", Chen Ba also gritted his teeth and purchased several cars for the studio.

An SUV, a C-class sedan.

These two cars were purchased outright, and five different models were rented specifically for game testing and simulation sampling.

Basically enough.

It's not that Chen Ba doesn't want to rent more cars, but they are the only employees in the studio who have driver's licenses. Even if they rent, no one will drive them. It's such a waste.

"Brother Dong doesn't have a driver's license, haha..."

Xiao Lu smiled. Every day he and Zhong Shengwei drove out in a car to have fun. When they came back, they would show off to Brother Dong and tell him where he went today.

Yang Dong was speechless.

He had enrolled in a driving school once before, but because he was busy with work and had no time to study, he never got his driver's license.

He didn't think there was any problem before, but now that Xiao Lu is ridiculing him all day long, he can't stand it any longer. He plans to take the time to get his driver's license during the Chinese New Year.

"There is no need to take the exam during the New Year, just take it now!"

Chen Ba encouraged: "You don't have to worry about work, we are here! Just go and take the driver's license test with peace of mind, and try to get it done within a month."

Brother Dong cannot be isolated!

Everyone had gone out to play, leaving him alone in the studio looking after the house. It was simply too heartless.

Chen Ba also felt sorry for Brother Dong.

In the past week, they drove seven cars and visited almost every corner of Jiangning. The total mileage of the seven cars added up to 28,000 kilometers.

During this period, Xiao Lu accidentally rear-ended a car because of his poor driving skills...

They are having so much fun that they are almost becoming VIP customers of the gas station. It really makes no sense not to let Brother Dong enjoy the fun.

And to be honest, everyone was very tired after driving for such a long time. It would also be a great thing if someone gets their driver's license and takes some of the pressure off of them.

"Regular road test simulations are basically over."

At the third general meeting of the studio, Chen Ba frowned and said, "But we haven't started the extreme weather and extreme road condition simulation tests yet."

Extreme weather requires timing.

This kind of extreme weather does not just come. It may take a year and a half to wait for the right weather.

As for extreme road conditions, it is not a matter of time, but a matter of whether you dare to drive...

Take the example of driving through snowy and frozen roads at speeds above 80km/h. Even if there are adequate protection measures, no one in Tianba Studio would dare to do so.

“Hire a professional driver!”

Zhong Shengwei suggested: "We definitely can't simulate extreme road conditions and scenarios. We must let a professional team take action."

As for simulated sampling of vehicle collisions and rollovers, it is really not possible and copying other people's test results will do.

Anyway, this information is public.

Including braking distance, crash test results, etc., specific information and results can be found on some official websites, which can be used as a reference.

"That's okay."

Chen Ba thought about it and felt that this proposal would indeed save time and effort.

Anyway, they have the most realistic physics engine, and all the effects can be simulated through the engine. The reason for conducting a road test is mainly to see how different road conditions interfere with the vehicle's handling.

"Are the vehicle model information complete?"

"Not quite!"

Yang Dong explained: "For some models, we cannot get specific parts information, so we can only rely on guesses and calculations."

Most of them are fine.

Mainly if you don’t understand something, you don’t have to bother with the car manufacturer. Just ask a senior car repairman, and you can basically understand it pretty well.

This is no joke...

When it comes to understanding of vehicles, especially commercially available vehicles, sales in 4S stores may not be as knowledgeable as car repairmen.

The salesperson knows the selling points and design flaws of the car at most, but the mechanic knows every detail of the car and even remembers the specific location of each screw.

"Is it really that big of a deal?"

"My impression of a car repairman is that he only needs to replace his head if he has a headache, or replace his feet if he has a sore foot. It can be repaired, but he has to replace a lot of new parts." Xiao Lu asked curiously.

"You are overgeneralizing."

Chen Ba explained: "There is indeed the phenomenon you mentioned, but most car repairmen still know a lot about vehicles."

If you don’t understand it, you can’t cultivate it.

During the development process of the game "Speed", we received guidance and answers from many masters in the car repair industry.

They helped Chen Ba a lot.

Mainly through their experience, combined with the powerful physics engine, the game vehicles tuned are indeed very interesting.

“The driving experience is okay.”

Speaking of this, Chen Ba couldn't help but sigh: "It's just...the most suitable control equipment for this type of racing game is the steering wheel and pedals!"

You can also play with keyboard and mouse.

Most players play this kind of game through a keyboard and mouse. Players with special conditions may use a controller.

However, these two control methods are actually a bit awkward, or uncomfortable.

The hardware device that is most suitable for this type of racing game is actually a "simulated driving" set consisting of a steering wheel and pedals.

"There's nothing I can do if I feel awkward."

"Everyone knows that it's fun to play this type of game with a steering wheel and pedals. But the problem is that these devices are rarely used, and they are likely to become dusty after buying them. They are far less practical than keyboard and mouse controllers."

Xiao Lu shook his head and said.

Tianba Studio is equipped with a full range of game peripheral accessories, including keyboards and mice, controllers, joysticks, simulated driving steering wheels, etc.

But players like them who own multiple sets of game accessories are definitely in the minority.

Most people play games with a keyboard, mouse, and controller. You may have thought about buying a joystick or steering wheel, but considering the actual application scenarios, you have probably given up the idea.

“So, our focus on optimizing the operating feel still has to be on the keyboard and mouse handles.”

Chen Ba sighed and said, "Only when the keyboard and mouse handles feel good can players be willing to experience our game."

Otherwise, it would be very awkward and uncomfortable to play with the keyboard and mouse. You would definitely play it once and never play it again.

The PC is the keyboard and mouse, and the host is the controller.

If you optimize the feel of these two operations, there will basically be no problems.

Let’s not talk about the handle issue for now.

Speaking of keyboard and mouse operations alone, the WASD keys are simply too familiar. They are also commonly used "automatic gear" forward, backward, left, and right steering keys.

In addition to WASD, the ↑↓←→ direction keys next to the numeric keypad are also keys used in many racing games.

The meaning of the mouse is more to control the perspective. Drag left and right, and the game perspective will move accordingly. Click the left or right button to switch between the inside perspective and the outside perspective, etc.

The operating logic of this racing game has been used for many years and has not changed much.

But there is a problem with the keyboard and mouse.

For example, when turning left, if you use a handle, the joystick can control the steering amplitude. If you use a steering wheel, it will be more vivid and convenient.

But there is only one key on the keyboard. How do you control the steering amplitude by pressing it?

The answer is all based on feel.

This thing will generally continue to turn if you press it and don't let go. As for when you can let go, it depends on when you think the steering range is enough.

This is also a long-standing problem when playing racing games using keyboard and mouse.

It's easy to move forward and backward, but it's difficult to directly control the steering amplitude except for the steering. The driving experience is not as good as the handle, let alone the steering wheel.

How to optimize it?

Chen Ba scratched his thigh and came up with an unlikely solution: use the mouse to determine the steering intensity!

When pressing the A button to turn left, and holding down the left mouse button at the same time, the car will make a sharp turn. If you only press the A key without pressing the left mouse button, it will be a very slight direction correction.

Thus.

When you need to drive intensely and quickly turn directions, you can use the mouse to achieve similar effects. There is no need to drive vigorously, and the direction can be corrected slowly when the steering amplitude is relatively small.

As for perspective switching, just change it to other buttons.

This is not a big deal.

"In fact, in addition to automatic transmission, we can also provide manual transmission."

Zhong Shengwei suggested: "The mouse wheel can also be used. Get a shift or Ctrl clutch key, and combine it with the mouse wheel to switch gears, so that keyboard and mouse players can also experience a sense of control."

certainly!

This is not a requirement.

If players feel that the manual transmission operation is too cumbersome, they can also switch to automatic transmission, and fool-proof WASD operation will suffice.

The manual transmission is provided mainly to satisfy some keyboard and mouse players who pursue extreme operations.

Although the operation is a bit more complicated.

But if you play well with the manual transmission, it is indeed more powerful to a certain extent, and it is easier to achieve good results in the game. Even with a gas car, the ejection start is comparable to that of a tram!

It doesn’t take much trouble anyway, just make an extra set of operation keys and logic.

Even if you can't touch the porcelain steering wheel, we will try our best to let keyboard and mouse players experience the joy of driving.