Ring Racers Suggestions

[Jammin']

Didn't say those features were bad at all. Most of these features are wonderful and I'm ecstatic over their inclusion! I should have been more specific, you're right. It is specifically the addition of EXP and Amps that I find to be wholly unnecessary. I don't know what problem these mechanics are aiming to solve, but all I've gathered is they have made an already difficult game even more difficult, and for what reason? As far as I can tell these mechanics just make front running easier for the lead racers and make catching up a nightmare for everyone else.

Having an option for servers to disable those mechanics and toggle the item roulette to how it was before would be ideal, in my opinion. That way we could still have all the QoL changes and improvements, but not isolate anyone who preferred how the game played before.

Okay, I take back my statement - EXP and amps weren't things I really understood until I played the pre-release.
I do agree with you; having these features be toggle-able would go a long way.
If there's one thing I find ridiculous is that all these features really do is reward players that have already been rewarded and kick dying players when they're down. While I know the entire point of the game is about being more skill based than luck based, there comes a point where the balance is broken. It was great in 2.3 and I don't even understand where EXP and amps even came from. I think those mechanics could be toned down before the final release of 2.4 at the very least.

 

[Sauss-Ente]

If the game becomes too much of a burden with all its mechanics... will people still play it? The new release candidate 2.4 has many nice features, but overall, it's about racing. And that part gets more and more complicated here and I wonder, if this is the right direction. Some suggestions for 2.4:

The word "EXP" causes confusion. Isn't that the short term for "experience points"? Hah, imagine being declared the winner of a Grand Prix by having the most "experience points". Do you want Fernando Alonso to sign up for this game if he loses too much in F1?

The beauty of a skill-based game is, that it's impossible to count "experience points". And there is no cheap way or grindy way to get "experience". So let "EXP" belong to cheap game genres.

If skill is the focus, get self-hits back! If you want to make the game balanced, the damm dangerous items have to do damage on yourself as well. It's also quite an iconic moment to hit oneself with an item that was destined for an opponent. Almost cineastically comical.

Also, why is shooting teammates excluded? Make it truely skill-based, so that you as player have to control it more conciously, who you're shooting and when it makes sense for a good team result to hold back! Collisions as well, why is there a difference? Just don't ram your teammates (and ram all the others). More consistency, easier gameplay.

Now seeing the other racers items gives the absolute top-players a slight challenge to get the last 2% of advantage, which is fitting if the game is a skill based one. However the implementation to have this item appear directly next to the kart on track is cluttering the screen too much I think. Maybe how Supertuxkart does it could be a solution, like putting a small item icon next to the player icon in the ranking list.

Same issue with the "CPU" text line above the karts. Why does the game have to tell me in Single Player that all those other karts are CPUs? Damm, I thought my cat was controlling them.

Big part of Ring Racers is to watch tiny things sitting directly on the track surface. So it's quite important to have a clear view on what's on track.
This game has a retro-style interface, straight HUD that's readable at 320x240 and hopefully the resulting simplicity is embraced in this case.

Anyways, just some opinion. But it feels like some of Ring Racers good aspects are being eroded with 2.4.

 

[Tracker_TD]

2.4's really bloody good, so I don't have much in the way of suggestions. The only lua mod I really miss right now is the one that made the fault line send players tumbling backwards rather than the current fault system - that mod's a much funnier (and weirdly, less jank looking) interpretation than the official game.

At the risk of getting controversial, the only other thing I've noticed so far in 2.4 that I'd change is Sky Sanctuary's music.

Spoiler: The 'Controversial' Bit

The remix used for Sky Sanctuary is credited to a guy called Turret3471... who's got a past of being very outspoken against LGBTQ+ rights, or mindlessly repeating inflammatory rightwing conspiracies. Particularly with the former, and knowing how wonderfully diverse KKD is, I don't think it's worth platforming them. Stuff like this goes beyond difference of opinion and into doing real harm. There's a wealth of artists who I think would be a better choice for the game.

I highly, highly doubt anyone at KKD was aware of this, which is totally fair because it's been a bit buried - but I figured it's worth nipping in the bud now.

Other than that, greatly enjoying 2.4. I've got to eat crow when it comes to GP - a way to make it fun was found that wasn't just "turn off the cheating bots." The new take on GP is engaging but not frustrating, and feels far less luck-based - it works as a teaching tool, which I appreciate.

 

[PennyCrygorfan2006]

I just got an neat suggestion to make Green Hills' encore version be Mecha Green Hill from Sonic Chaos.

 

[mania123]

2.4's really bloody good, so I don't have much in the way of suggestions. The only lua mod I really miss right now is the one that made the fault line send players tumbling backwards rather than the current fault system - that mod's a much funnier (and weirdly, less jank looking) interpretation than the official game.

At the risk of getting controversial, the only other thing I've noticed so far in 2.4 that I'd change is Sky Sanctuary's music.

Spoiler: The 'Controversial' Bit

The remix used for Sky Sanctuary is credited to a guy called Turret3471... who's got a past of being very outspoken against LGBTQ+ rights, or mindlessly repeating inflammatory rightwing conspiracies. Particularly with the former, and knowing how wonderfully diverse KKD is, I don't think it's worth platforming them. Stuff like this goes beyond difference of opinion and into doing real harm. There's a wealth of artists who I think would be a better choice for the game.

I highly, highly doubt anyone at KKD was aware of this, which is totally fair because it's been a bit buried - but I figured it's worth nipping in the bud now.

Other than that, greatly enjoying 2.4. I've got to eat crow when it comes to GP - a way to make it fun was found that wasn't just "turn off the cheating bots." The new take on GP is engaging but not frustrating, and feels far less luck-based - it works as a teaching tool, which I appreciate.

Nobody cares about your fake "controversy." We just want to enjoy a fun kart racing game. People like you seriously need to stop bringing politics into everything.

 

[Tracker_TD]

Nobody cares about your fake "controversy." We just want to enjoy a fun kart racing game. People like you seriously need to stop bringing politics into everything.

I think you can try and make this argument for my second point, about the conspiracies and whatnot - the guy can believe whatever nonsense he wants in that regard - but not the first point. The lives of LGBTQ people are not political, and denying their existence isn’t political either, it’s just hate.

(To be fair, I fucked up the links, but you only need to scroll up from the link to the second point to see the first point)

I won’t discuss this further given I’m probably violating some rule by doing so, and it’s up to KKD on whether they do or don’t do anything with it - I just figured it was worth mentioning. I also just want to play a fun kart racing game, and I definitely have more fun knowing someone spreading hate speech isn’t platformed by it.

 

[PencilVoid]

Nobody cares about your fake "controversy." We just want to enjoy a fun kart racing game. People like you seriously need to stop bringing politics into everything.

There's no need to be so hostile. Tracker's concern is totally valid and calling it "fake controversy" is needlessly dismissive.

 

[DylanDude]

Nobody cares about your fake "controversy." We just want to enjoy a fun kart racing game. People like you seriously need to stop bringing politics into everything.

It's not politics, it's just not wanting to associate with bad people. Calling being a bigoted asshole "politics" is a red flag. If you agree at all with what Turret said about gay and trans people, then we do not want you here and you should probably leave.

 

[mania123]

It's not politics, it's just not wanting to associate with bad people. Calling being a bigoted asshole "politics" is a red flag. If you agree at all with what Turret said about gay and trans people, then we do not want you here and you should probably leave.

For the record, I actually DON'T agree with what Turret said. I'm just trying to say that people like Tracker who intentionally say and do stuff like this for the sake of playing politics (yes, it IS politics) and creating unwanted controversies over a fan-made kart racing game are ridiculous. The fact that Tracker went through the effort of looking up the guy who made the song and digging up old comments of his for the purpose of creating a controversy shows that it was deliberate. I really enjoy Ring Racers, and I also happen to like the replacement song for Sky Sanctuary. I may not like what Turret said, but that doesn't mean that his song shouldn't be in the game just because he has certain beliefs that I don't agree with. I am not trying to offend anybody or make people upset, so we should probably just drop this and move on.

 

[Tracker_TD]

For the record, I actually DON'T agree with what Turret said. I'm just trying to say that people like Tracker who intentionally say and do stuff like this for the sake of playing politics (yes, it IS politics) and creating unwanted controversies over a fan-made kart racing game are ridiculous. The fact that Tracker went through the effort of looking up the guy who made the song and digging up old comments of his for the purpose of creating a controversy shows that it was deliberate. I really enjoy Ring Racers, and I also happen to like the replacement song for Sky Sanctuary. I may not like what Turret said, but that doesn't mean that his song shouldn't be in the game just because he has certain beliefs that I don't agree with. I am not trying to offend anybody or make people upset, so we should probably just drop this and move on.

I was going to leave this be, but this idiotic suggestion I’m gunning for some ‘deliberate controversy’ ticked me off. If I wanted a quick stab at some ‘oooh controversy’ I can think of a laundry list of far more petty things to mention than ‘one of the ingame tracks is by a transphobic, homophobic dickhead’.

For what it’s worth, I didn’t ‘go and look up the guy’ - his name’s cropped up in Sonic fan project circles before, for this exact reason. This shit isn’t new. I don’t have time or reason to background check everyone who’s contributed to Ring Racers, but in this case it was just someone who I knew, from past experience, was bad news.

Notice that ‘controversy’ was in inverted commas in my original post. That’s because to me, this isn’t a ‘controversy’ - it’s pretty open and shut. Guy’s a bigoted arsehole. This isn’t about different views, this is about a guy who fundamentally thinks a group of people should not exist. I don’t think he should be given a platform that can potentially allow him to spread that rhetoric further. There’s not actually ‘controversy’ there - it’s open and shut. Maybe I needed a big neon sign saying ‘sarcasm’ around the word controversy, so I’ll take that into account next time.

It’s also not a ‘controversy’ because I don’t think Kart Krew did this knowingly or anything. As I mentioned, Turret’s done a sound job burying his bigoted views - and knowing the team at least somewhat, I’d guess they wouldn’t be thrilled about giving that oxygen had they realised. Hence why I brought it up, so they could be aware.

My post was deliberate in that yes, I think people should be aware the guy is a bigoted arsehole. It’s not ‘politics’ to point that out. Freedom of speech is great, but it’s not freedom from consequences - especially when the free speech in question is just hate speech. Maybe KKD will agree with you that they can separate the art from the artist, and keep it in. Maybe they won’t. It’s their game, so they can do whatever they want. I just figured it was worth mentioning, and there wasn’t really anywhere else to posit this question other than here.

 

[KaleidoscopeCore]

I was going to leave this be, but this idiotic suggestion I’m gunning for some ‘deliberate controversy’ ticked me off. If I wanted a quick stab at some ‘oooh controversy’ I can think of a laundry list of far more petty things to mention than ‘one of the ingame tracks is by a transphobic, homophobic dickhead’.

For what it’s worth, I didn’t ‘go and look up the guy’ - his name’s cropped up in Sonic fan project circles before, for this exact reason. This shit isn’t new. I don’t have time or reason to background check everyone who’s contributed to Ring Racers, but in this case it was just someone who I knew, from past experience, was bad news.

Notice that ‘controversy’ was in inverted commas in my original post. That’s because to me, this isn’t a ‘controversy’ - it’s pretty open and shut. Guy’s a bigoted arsehole. This isn’t about different views, this is about a guy who fundamentally thinks a group of people should not exist. I don’t think he should be given a platform that can potentially allow him to spread that rhetoric further. There’s not actually ‘controversy’ there - it’s open and shut. Maybe I needed a big neon sign saying ‘sarcasm’ around the word controversy, so I’ll take that into account next time.

It’s also not a ‘controversy’ because I don’t think Kart Krew did this knowingly or anything. As I mentioned, Turret’s done a sound job burying his bigoted views - and knowing the team at least somewhat, I’d guess they wouldn’t be thrilled about giving that oxygen had they realised. Hence why I brought it up, so they could be aware.

My post was deliberate in that yes, I think people should be aware the guy is a bigoted arsehole. It’s not ‘politics’ to point that out. Freedom of speech is great, but it’s not freedom from consequences - especially when the free speech in question is just hate speech. Maybe KKD will agree with you that they can separate the art from the artist, and keep it in. Maybe they won’t. It’s their game, so they can do whatever they want. I just figured it was worth mentioning, and there wasn’t really anywhere else to posit this question other than here.

get their ass. tear into them, legend.

 

[Vie]

I have a couple of things if you don't mind me saying them.

1. I'd love it if instead of Copyrighted Music just turning the song off, if it replaced the song with a "Copyright Free song"

This is "Technically Possible" in current status with a Music pack replacing the songs that are copyrighted, ( For example, I have a personal one that replaces 765's Stadium's Song with "Moonlight Serendipity" (KFAD), and Operators Overspace with "Heartful Cry" (P4AU Ver.)) but not only do they replace the song its just a inconvenient hassle at times especially when more songs are added to the list.

2. Balloon Park probably needs a rework.

This might be a me thing but I could not for the life of me get behind the SPB Cup, and Balloon park was a pretty major reason why. I don't think its a unpopular opinion but the stage's starting turn into drop just isn't fun and odds are you'll get stuck because someone bumped you are will go flying from the walls of the drop, making it feel unsatisfying.

Spoiler: Tracks

3. A Very loose Suggestion, but I've always found it weird that Stardust speedway isn't in this game.

Nitpicking right here (considering CD already has 3 tracks), but Stardust Speedway has always felt like it should be here but isn't. Its the stage known for its race boss fight so it would be nice to see it be in the game at one point. Where you would insert it... No idea, but it would be nice to see.

 

[Sauss-Ente]

So apparently a few players have problems with SSL certificates.
One could argue that connecting to a master server of a small game is a rather harmless thing and wouldn't need encryption. It's a public list anyways and there are no passwords being transmitted either.
So there is an option for curl (the thingy that downloads the server list) to ignore the encryption verification. "curl --insecure" it says on some website (https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/how-to-curl-ignore-ssl-certificate-warnings-command-option/)
Also, I found this option: "curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, 0);"
(https://curl.se/libcurl/c/CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER.html)
Quote from another site (https://stackoverflow.com/questions...peer-certificate-or-ssh-remote-key-was-not-ok): ...Setting CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER to 0 will make curl skip verification...
I don't know if those things would work, but maybe they're worth a try. That would offer an option to "Allow unencrypted connections" for those with SSL problems an easy fix.

Also, is it possible for the game to catch the mouse? I mean, to hide the mouse cursor when the window is in fullscreen mode. This is a thing on all operating systems: Windows, Linux and Mac.

 

[Whoexer9]

I feel like the EXP mechanic should be toggleable, because I didn't like them at all. Let me explain: Kart Racing games should always be random if they wanted to be. Honestly, this whole EXP thing favors frontrunners more and ruins the point of a Kart Racer...A Technical Kart Racer at that. And the "Item boxes not spawning until you cross the first checkpoint" thing should be removed, as I don't see the reason for it.

 

[Halkel Thundslash]

I feel like the EXP mechanic should be toggleable, because I didn't like them at all. Let me explain: Kart Racing games should always be random if they wanted to be. Honestly, this whole EXP thing favors frontrunners more and ruins the point of a Kart Racer...A Technical Kart Racer at that. And the "Item boxes not spawning until you cross the first checkpoint" thing should be removed, as I don't see the reason for it.

I never understood that. If its meant to be like 'the race doesn't start until the first lap' sort of thing, it's kinda weird. As for the toggleable idea, why not have 2 modes instead? Classic Laps and EXP Runners. Though being fair, the point of a race is to have a fair advantage, and so far I have noticed the EXP system makes the whole position results pointless outside 'don't come last or KABOOM!'. Came first in all 5 tracks? Doesn't matter, you came 4th in the overall rankings.

 

[Whoexer9]

I never understood that. If its meant to be like 'the race doesn't start until the first lap' sort of thing, it's kinda weird. As for the toggleable idea, why not have 2 modes instead? Classic Laps and EXP Runners. Though being fair, the point of a race is to have a fair advantage, and so far I have noticed the EXP system makes the whole position results pointless outside 'don't come last or KABOOM!'. Came first in all 5 tracks? Doesn't matter, you came 4th in the overall rankings.

First, when I said "Item Boxes doesn't spawn until the player crosses the first checkpoint", I meant that the items are turned off until the player gets their first EXP reward. This could be troublesome in maps like Angle Arrow Classic, where the Item boxes aren't spawning until the player goes into the 2nd lap.

Second, I agree with you. Having two modes that has different styles of gameplay could benefit a style of a playgroup. Good for those who, let's just say, gets stuck behind and finishes at the bottom half and gets below 50-EXP just because they can't use Shrink because of EXP reasons. In fact, most if not all Kart Racing games scores the players by their placement, so having a different scoring system would be irksome a little bit.

Whatever, 2.4 is still in the RC stages. So hopefully, maybe the finished version would be different.

 

[PencilVoid]

I feel like the EXP mechanic should be toggleable, because I didn't like them at all. Let me explain: Kart Racing games should always be random if they wanted to be. Honestly, this whole EXP thing favors frontrunners more and ruins the point of a Kart Racer...A Technical Kart Racer at that. And the "Item boxes not spawning until you cross the first checkpoint" thing should be removed, as I don't see the reason for it.

Try enabling frantic items if you want item odds closer to 2.3.

 

[Halkel Thundslash]

First, when I said "Item Boxes doesn't spawn until the player crosses the first checkpoint", I meant that the items are turned off until the player gets their first EXP reward. This could be troublesome in maps like Angle Arrow Classic, where the Item boxes aren't spawning until the player goes into the 2nd lap.

Second, I agree with you. Having two modes that has different styles of gameplay could benefit a style of a playgroup. Good for those who, let's just say, gets stuck behind and finishes at the bottom half and gets below 50-EXP just because they can't use Shrink because of EXP reasons. In fact, most if not all Kart Racing games scores the players by their placement, so having a different scoring system would be irksome a little bit.

Whatever, 2.4 is still in the RC stages. So hopefully, maybe the finished version would be different.

I know what you meant by the items not spawning as I have played 2.4RC1, it's very noticeable which is why I said it felt weird. The game in itself can be very difficult with the usual lap formula, sometimes being rough to actually get enough to get the Sealed Star after completing it. The balance is there that you can get use to it (Except the original Chemical Facility zone which which feels like rushing across a tight rope). The EXP system kinda forces you to be lucky with items if you want to get max points, especially with how aggressively the CPU wants you behind them.

While I remember, The new ballhog item's explosion. Maybe limit how many explosion sound effects go off in unison? They get rather loud when you throw all 7 of them.

 

[PencilVoid]

Though being fair, the point of a race is to have a fair advantage, and so far I have noticed the EXP system makes the whole position results pointless outside 'don't come last or KABOOM!'. Came first in all 5 tracks? Doesn't matter, you came 4th in the overall rankings.

Nearly forgot to address this but I felt like it was worth discussing. The idea behind EXP determining ranking is that you earn a high rank by not only finishing in a good position but placing well for the entire race. This is very intentionally not like other kart racers. Though, in 2.4 RC5 the final EXP handout is tripled, so your final placement does matter a bit more. I personally think this system is great as it makes strategies that rely on holding back for powerful items less viable and encourages true skill expression in the form of good driving and item play.

 

[Halkel Thundslash]

Nearly forgot to address this but I felt like it was worth discussing. The idea behind EXP determining ranking is that you earn a high rank by not only finishing in a good position but placing well for the entire race. This is very intentionally not like other kart racers. Though, in 2.4 RC5 the final EXP handout is tripled, so your final placement does matter a bit more. I personally think this system is great as it makes strategies that rely on holding back for powerful items less viable and encourages true skill expression in the form of good driving and item play.

So there's 4 more release candidates since the first? Nice. That should better balance the race out better from the first RC. Kinda like how coming in first in Sonic Racing Crossworlds gives double points on the final track. I'll pick it up and give it a whirl and then see what I could suggest improving. Going through the notes to see if that loud bang's been nerfed.

EDIT: Played the latest version, still a loud boom from throwing 7 Ballhog Bombs