The Aura Remastered Kart Pack (Version A1.5.1) [Fully Discontinued]

[Latius]

In the event I do not log in for a month and cannot be contacted, I give blanket permission for Kart Krew and their appointed staff to coordinate and approve the porting and maintenance of my SRB2Kart releases on the SRB2MB, except where stated otherwise. I reserve the right to ask for those ports to be taken down or replaced if I return. You may not edit my work to create other content (such as Original Characters or Remix Stages) unless specified.

Due to this pack being fully discontinued, I do not give permission for this pack to be updated or ported to Kart 2.0. However, the following six maps I am willing to allow others to port/update and potentially use in their own packs (with credit) with my permission. If I can't be contacted, then permission is most likely not given.

Spoiler

• Ringwood Gran Prix (Any ports and updates must honour the official routes which the Ringwood Pedal Car GP uses)
• The World Revolving (Ports, and additions of rings, only)
• Aura Colony Zone (Route is allowed to be modified)
• Latius Stadium (Route is not to be modified, but track theming can be altered to be themed after a Sonic character)
• FZX Rainbow Road (Needs a lot of fixing. This is the only 'direct' port which I'm allowing to be updated - others, like my CNK maps, are considered scrapped)
• White Land (...Except for this one, but then again, while this is based on the two White Land maps, there have been changes to try and make it more its own. The route is allowed to be altered, but I would like the jump, the sloped hairpin in the second half and the half-clover S-bends to be kept in some way)

WARNING!
This pack is currently in an Alpha state. Maps may be added, removed, reorganized or tweaked between the current version you see and the final released pack.
Also, this pack is currently using MAPA1 through AJ, and the final version may use A1 through AZ as well as possibly L1 through LA.

Until further notice, this pack is discontinued as I'm going to be focusing more on the Lua side of things = Latius

11th December update: This pack is now officially FULLY DISCONTINUED. No further updates will be made on this pack.

Spoiler

Way back in the years 2011 and 2012, one mapper started making some maps for SRB2Riders' Kart mode, and then for Super SRB2 Kart Z. Some might have been decent, while others - like the infamous White Land 3 - were very bad. But then, he dropped off of the SRB2 scene for about five years...

When he came back, he worked on improving Emerald Hunt and tried some NiGHTS mapping, but he waited with bated breath for the time where he would be ready to come back to Kart mapping, intending to improve on his old maps and make new ones which didn't suck so bad...

The Aura Remastered Kart Pack is a pack of maps, some of which are brand new, and others are ones which have been remastered (or at least ported over from Super SRB2 Kart Z to SRB2Kart) from their original release 6+ years ago.

As of Version Alpha 1.5, the pack currently has 20 maps, of which 4 can be used both in Battle and Race modes:

Spoiler

• Sonic Team Jr. Park (Originally Baby Park)
• Ringwood Gran Prix
• Death Turnpike
• Rainbow Road (FZX version)
• White Land (based on White Land 3)
• Figure 8
• Nitro Island Test Track
• Mute City (A combination of Mute City 1 and 2)
• Fire Field
• Death Wind
• The World Revolving
• Aura Colony Zone
• Latius Stadium (A 'port' of Waluigi Stadium GC)
• Big Mute Blue City
• Milky Way
• Nitro Starway
• CNK Velo's Challenge
• CNK Out of Time
• White Land 3 (OG Map HELL version)
• Classic Big Blue (Bonus Map)

Full minimap support is provided, along with some extra songs for the new (or at least old) tracks.

Changelog:

Spoiler

Version Alpha 1.5.1:
Hotfix for sorting out checkpoints for Big Blue and Velo's Challenge, as well as slight alterations to Velo's Challenge and Out of Time.

Version Alpha 1.5:

• Added six maps to the pack
• Minimap edits
• More quality of life improvements

Version Alpha 1.4:

• Added Latius Stadium
• More signs and finish lines
• Minor quality of life improvements

Version Alpha 1.3:

• Added Aura Colony Zone to the pack
• Changed Baby Park to Sonic Team Jr. Park
• A few quality of life improvements
• Custom Finish Line signage!

Version Alpha 1.1:

• File Name corrections
• Addition of the MAP HELL version of White Land

Version Alpha 1.0:

• Original Alpha release! 11 Maps, with 2 5-map cups and 1 1-map cup.

 

[D00D64]

Well, your wad functions. Welcome to releases.

I'd give more critique, but I'd... need time. With the overpowered and easy to take shortcuts, the confusing direction on some maps, and poor visuals on display... Well, hopefully you can get some feedback from others on the forum firt.

 

[Latius]

That's why it's an alpha release. That way I can figure out what to keep, what to alter, and what to scrap.

Also, I see you found that map.

 

[Shredster7]

Hey there! I wanted to give you some first-impressions of the maps included in the pack. These are all from playing time trial mode only, though my thoughts on the tracks miiiiiiiiiight be useful for multiplayer balancing too (if I'm lucky).


Baby Park: Are there ways to let items pass through walls? Because that'd be absolutely hilarious and make Baby Park a million times more chaotic.



Ringwood Grand Prix: Right now the biggest issue with this map is that it's not always clear where to go. There's about a billion ways to address that issue, though, so I'll spare you the cascade of suggestions.


Death Turnpike: My only issue with Turnpike is that the outer wall uses the same texture as the floor much of the time. Change up the textures and you'll have a fantastic map for chaotic races.


FZX Rainbow Road: The first two turns of this map NEED slopes. In their current state, trying to drift around those corners is guaranteed to send you flying off the side of the track into space. I'd also suggest making the insides of the stone pillars less hairpin-heavy, but that's just me being friggin' awful at obscured turns.


White Land: Incredibly fun map, no complaints. The sloped U-Turns are hella fun to navigate. GOOD STUFF.


Figure 8: Finally, a level that Omega will be good at! :P A wide-open sweeping map like this will be absolutely perfect for 16-man races.


Nitro Island Test Track: I think this is currently the roughest map in the pack. The entire track is way too narrow, especially the tunnels with the collapsed ceiling blocking the middle of the road. I'd wager that simply upscaling the entire map by 50% could fix most issues, but that's just a random guess on my part.


Mute City: Aside from feeling a bit cramped at some intervals - which I assume is intentional - this map feels super solid.


Fire Field: This one suffers from the same tightness issues as Nitro Island, albeit to a lesser degree. I'm guessing that simply increasing the average width of the track will make it play much nicer.


Death Wind: The shortcut after the first U-Turn is so powerful that I cannot think of any reason for anyone to NOT use it. I rather like the concept of having to jump over a huge chunk of the track and being punished for failing by having to drive through the rest of it legitimately - perhaps Death Wind could be retooled to make use of a similar mechanic?


The World Revolving: I CAN DO ANYTHING!

This all sounds very critical, so I need to stress: I really like the direction these maps are going, and I'd love to see them improved and themed in the future.


Best of luck, friend!

 

[Latius]

First off, a reply to Shred's review. As well as some notes about Cup positionings.

Spoiler

Baby Park:

I don't think there's a way to do that as of yet. Although if it was possible, it would indeed make it way more chaotic, perfect for a Battle Track.

I just need to sort out the name of the Cup I want to put Battle Tracks like this into, but I believe this map will be the first one of it, and thus keeping its map slot.

UPDATE: To avoid confusion with the MKDD version made by Sharb, I am renaming this to Sonic Team Jr. Park, which means a change of theming for the track itself.


Ringwood Gran Prix:

Yeah, I know. Add in signs, and I should be golden.

This will be part of a Cup which doesn't fit the two themes I have so far, so it will be moved.


Death Turnpike:

Once I figure out what textures I want for that, then I'll do that.

This too would be a Battle Track, so it may either keep its slot or might be moved forwards to be the second map (or back to the fourth or final map).


FZX Rainbow Road:

I do plan on getting those corners sloped so that they're better. It's a planned Quality of Life improvement for them. As for the hairpin turns in the rocks, they were placed there to give the engine some breathing room regarding having to show all the map. Although the second one I do plan on eventually removing.

As I now have 5 F-Zero maps set up, they'd form the Zero Cup. However, the order of these maps is yet to be determined. But this map would possibly be 4th or 5th.


White Land:

Thanks! This was the one map I WANTED to fix most of all, so hearing it works makes me even happier!

Initially, I planned this to be the last map of the Zero Cup, but maybe it'll be earlier than that.


Figure 8:

Indeed.

Not much else to say barring it's a Battle Track, and thus would be put into the Cup full of them.


Nitro Island Test Track:

The 50% Upscaling does help with most of the issues, so I've done that for Alpha v1.2 - may need to tweak the Thing placements slightly though.

Just like Ringwood GP, this will be not in the two cups I've already somewhat sorted. I may even add in new routes and have a whole Cup on Nitro Island - if I do that, though, I'd first have to tweak the base map to be perfect, then plan out the five tracks.


Mute City:

Yeah, it's intended to be a bit more cramped than some other tracks.

Zero Cup. Possibly first. Enough said.


Fire Field:

I decided to give it the same treatment as Nitro Island, upscaling it by 50%, and that seems to make it flow better.

This will be in the Zero Cup, but possibly the latter half.


Death Wind:

Indeed. I'm thinking maybe have it where you can only clear the jump with a boost or something like that. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

This will be in the Zero Cup as well. Not sure where though - but if I manage to slot in the other four correctly, then this one would fill in the gap.


The World Revolving:

CHAOS, CHAOS, CHAOS!

While I intend for this to only be in the Alpha versions, if people like it enough I may add it either as a bonus track (reserving up to 10 slots for them separate from the main pack) or even as one of the Battle Cup maps.

Now, the Hell Track which wasn't reviewed, plus details about a (potential) new map which is in the Alpha 1.3 version:

Spoiler

White Land 3 (Map HELL version):

While not reviewed, I will note that now that I've ported the classic WL3 map to SRB2Kart along with remastering it, this version will remain as a Map HELL track due to the infamy of it. Kart Krew, if you are reading this, I would like for it to potentially end up in the base game, but in Map HELL where it should belong.


Aura Colony: (Currently MAPAC)

This map is a work in progress, but once theming is sorted, this will go into one of the normal Cups if people like it. I also may need a better name for it.

And now, a WAD update which brings it to Alpha Version 1.3

Why 1.3, and not 1.2? That way the -a'x' part of the filename represents the current subversion number.

 

[Latius]

The pack has been updated to Version 1.4! A new map has been added, as well as some additions to other maps.

(Also, apparently, 1.3 wasn't actually released properly, so the 1.3 updates also apply to 1.4)

 

[Latius]

The pack is getting an update to Version 1.5 - and plans to move to Version 2.0, AKA the Beta version, have been put into place.

We have new maps: Big Mute Blue City, a mash-up of Big Blue and Mute City; Milky Way, a Sonic Drift 2 port I made just for fun; Nitro Starway, a map I have ported from the old maps I had made; Classic Big Blue - based on the original version I had made; and two CNK tracks - Out of Time, and Velo's Challenge, both based on the GBA versions of the tracks.

We have more quality of life improvements, including an improved custom starting grid.

We have remade minimaps for most, if not all of the maps with the old minimap style I had.

We don't have any Encore remaps as of yet - if you think you can come up with an Encore Remap for one (or more) of the maps, feel free to PM them to me here, or DM them through Discord.

Also, I haven't updated some of the level select images - but that's planned for the Beta release.

 

[Latius]

HOTFIX released - Version 1.5.1 fixes checkpoint bugs in Big Blue and Velo's Challenge, as well as slight tweaks to the CNK tracks.

 

[TheGoldenGamer50]

its in Alpha stage....But its still awesome

 

[adamman12345]

The tracks in this collection aren't too good unfortunately. They are confusing to navigate, lack detail, and glitch out even when playing offline. It's a shame because I feel this has potential.

 

[Latius]

The tracks in this collection aren't too good unfortunately. They are confusing to navigate, lack detail, and glitch out even when playing offline. It's a shame because I feel this has potential.

I know I should had responded to this earlier, but I feel this was somewhat destructive criticism wise. Especially as you didn't say what maps were confusing and which weren't.

That, combined with the fact that I have had problems due to some real life stuff, led to me to discontinue this pack, but I do plan on reviving it in a new form once I sort out which maps I want to keep, and also get some assistance with the maps which need a bit of extra help decoration wise, as I'm not exactly the best at that.

 

[mania123]

I know I should had responded to this earlier, but I feel this was somewhat destructive criticism wise. Especially as you didn't say what maps were confusing and which weren't.

That, combined with the fact that I have had problems due to some real life stuff, led to me to discontinue this pack, but I do plan on reviving it in a new form once I sort out which maps I want to keep, and also get some assistance with the maps which need a bit of extra help decoration wise, as I'm not exactly the best at that.

I wish you luck my friend!

 

[Latius]

This is just to let people know my current plans for the current maps:

Sonic Team Jr. Park (Originally Baby Park) - This I intend to keep
Ringwood Gran Prix - I may keep this, but I may need some help making it more visually appealing.
Death Turnpike - Might just make this a Battle Arena
Rainbow Road (FZX version) - I need a lot of fixing with this, especially with the slopes which should be added
White Land (based on White Land 3) - I feel this is mostly done now, with just some added touches potentially needed
Figure 8 - May scrap this unless people want to keep it
Nitro Island Test Track - I think I might scrap the concept of Nitro Island, or at the very least get someone to make a much better layout for it, so this is a REMOVE
Mute City (A combination of Mute City 1 and 2) - May keep
Fire Field - May keep
Death Wind - REMOVE
The World Revolving - Might move to MAP HELL as a racetrack, but keep it as a battle track
Aura Colony Zone - Needs better scenery
Latius Stadium (A 'port' of Waluigi Stadium GC) - May need the walls altered, and also improve the outer scenery
Big Mute Blue City - May keep as is
Milky Way - REMOVE
Nitro Starway - May keep, although as it was originally planned to be part of a bonus pack for Nitro Island, may think about removing it
CNK Velo's Challenge - Just some improvements on the scenery may be needed
CNK Out of Time - Ditto here
White Land 3 (OG Map HELL version) - This is a legacy track which will remain as-is
Classic Big Blue (Bonus Map) - May keep

 

[Latius]

THIS PACK IS NOW FULLY DISCONTINUED.

As such, no further versions will be released.

I am allowing Ringwood Gran Prix, The World Revolving, FZX Rainbow Road, White Land, Aura Colony Zone and Latius Stadium to be used and updated by other mappers with my permission. All other maps are to be considered scrapped, and unlikely to have permission to edit, port or update granted.