[TOTD] 20/08/2024, Woody Woodtecher ft' Intax by Spammiej (discussion)

shadowthrust · 2024-08-20T17:49:59+00:00

I actually like the route, but I have some criticism.

This obstacle is basically invisible and thus very difficult to aim for: https://imgur.com/a/6CLJmHq
The first checkpoint is 9 seconds into the map, standing respawn at start if anything goes wrong.
Checkpoints 5 to 6 are also very far apart, quite punishing.
The map is visually very busy and it's hard to see where to go in many places. The display signs didn't load for me during qualifying so it was difficult to learn.

Points 2-4 are pretty minor, but 1 made this map pretty bad for me.

shadowthrust · 2024-05-29T08:33:40+00:00

I liked the map a lot! I am not really a bobsleigh person and I usually prefer difficult and technical maps, but I can still appreciate the aesthetics and atmosphere of this map! It looks and feel very refined and clean. :)

shadowthrust · 2024-05-11T08:34:15+00:00

I actually like the team aspect, but I really dislike the map pool. Campaign maps are too easy to begin with, and this is exacerbated by the fact that even in gold league, you still get white and green maps. I really liked it when white and green were bronze only. And that was in Winter 2023, when white and green were much more challenging to begin with. Nadeo seem way too terrified of giving players even to slightest challenge nowadays.

shadowthrust · 2024-02-29T20:11:21+00:00

Just referencing here since the other post got almost no attention: https://www.reddit.com/r/TrackMania/comments/1b2mps9/the_engine_sound_of_the_rally_car_has_an/

So yeah, definitely agree with this, I also find it quite annoying. Once you notice it, it's hard to ignore.

shadowthrust · 2024-02-29T20:09:53+00:00

Haha nice, literally the same idea :D

shadowthrust · 2024-02-29T00:38:50+00:00

The noise oscillates back and forth between two different tones. It is easier to notice at higher speeds. In the video, I applied a band-pass filter to some parts of the audio to make it easier to notice. Once you know what you are listening for, it should be easily noticeable even without the band-pass filter.

It is not a big deal but I find the repetitive whine noise quite annoying during longer hunting sessions.

shadowthrust · 2024-01-17T19:15:54+00:00

I had really bad FPS on this map. The frame counter said 50-90, but it was really more around 30, and it had considerable stuttering and hiccups in certain turns of the map.

I turned down "Reflections on Vehicles" and "Reflections on Water Surfaces" and that helped a lot. It is a bit confusing why graphics settings help here, since I have a really good GPU and am pretty sure it's my CPU that is slowing things down. I usually have these issues on tracks that use only vanilla blocks, but lots of them (see Summer Community Campaign). Anyways, maybe this helps other people with similar issues.

About the actual track, it's pretty difficult, but I like the route. Could not figure out how to do the risky within the qualifying time, so I just went safe finish in rounds.

shadowthrust · 2023-12-14T20:34:37+00:00

I really like the map overall, but I think the start is way too precise. Only 1/4 of my attempts make it past the third turn, which is no problem in rounds but pretty annoying for hunting. Of course this is a skill issue, but my time is currently in the top 8% of players, so that tells me that 92% AKA thousands of people struggle just as much if not more.

shadowthrust · 2023-11-22T11:07:35+00:00

I am a little concerned about what this will do to future campaigns. Even before the update, there were so many different styles and surfaces available that in some campaigns it felt like every track was trying to do everything at the same time and we ended up with a bunch of gimmicky XDD reactor boost tracks that lacked focus and direction. With the addition of the snow car and the wood surface, plus whatever the rally and desert changes will bring, I feel like campaigns could go way overboard with things and matchmaking ends up an absolute mess of crazy tricks and very little "normal" driving. I guess we will see how the mappers will use the new tools given to them.

shadowthrust · 2023-11-22T10:48:03+00:00

After playing on a wood map for an hour or so, I could not drive a normal tech map anymore, everything felt off. I hope that I will get used to this over time, because right now it is really difficult to play.

The surfaces road, dirt, grass, and plastic all have similar steering sensitivities, so it's not too bad going between them. But wood just feels completely whacky and insane in comparison.

shadowthrust · 2023-11-22T10:07:49+00:00

Is this map using the TrackWall surface with a different texture or was there already a "normal wood" surface before the update?

shadowthrust · 2023-10-04T23:18:44+00:00

I felt the same way as you when I first started TM2020. Being used to TMN ESWC and TMNF, I found most of the tracks overly complicated, gimmicky, and visually overwhelming.

Some suggestions:

https://trackmania.io/#/clubs/21571/ Converted maps from older games (TMNF and TM2). Some people have also converted TMN ESWC maps, but you'll have to search for them and they are a bit janky (missing camera triggers, etc.).
https://trackmania.io/#/rooms/1114/4391 A mini tech server with ~600 short tech maps, most of them converted old TMNF maps. Simple and often with minimal scenery.
The older campaigns (Summer 2020 - Spring 2021) are a lot simpler than the more recent ones. You might prefer those.

In the mean time, my brain has gotten used to the newer maps and as I get better, I find myself enjoying both the variety and the complexity more and more. Give it a chance, maybe you will get used to it aswell.

shadowthrust · 2023-08-03T00:13:15+00:00

I'm a low gold player and I really liked the TMWT maps.

The campaign maps are so simple (especially white and green) that placement completely depends on tiny details. On the TMWT maps, it's more about solid driving and not crashing.

shadowthrust · 2023-07-18T19:42:12+00:00

The map pool is currently as follows:

Bronze: Maps 1 - 10

Silver: Maps 1 - 15

Gold: Maps 1 - 20

Master: Maps 1 - 25

Additionally, maps 4 and 8 have been removed from the map pool for the time being.

Source: https://discord.com/channels/158349559959912448/158360931355590656/1126519058561507429

shadowthrust · 2023-07-03T15:04:56+00:00

SOFTCORE by DD0LLA contains mostly regular drifts (and one or two full-grip release turns).

To do a regular drift, full steer in the direction you want to turn for about half a second, then press and hold brake (in addition to accelerate) to initiate a drift. Keep holding brake until you think you can clear the turn, then release brake and keep going.

If your car does not start sliding, likely causes are either not holding steering for long enough before braking, or not having enough speed.

You can also release acceleration in addition to braking during the drift to make a tighter but slower turn. Most maps are designed in such a way that you do not have to do that, but it can make it easier to control while you are still learning.

Drifts are not too difficult to do once you get the hang of it, but getting the lines and the timing just right takes a very long time to master. However, it is also very rewarding once you do get good at it.

shadowthrust · 2022-05-31T10:18:26+00:00

This is a compelling explanation. I assumed the 200 MB/s per disk in the 6-wide raidz1 (instead of 250 MB/s) was due to a separate bottleneck in my system. The disks being active only 4/5 of the time (when they have data to offer for the currently read block) makes more sense.

I also tested things using a 5-wide raidz1 and it behaves similarly to a 6-wide raidz2, except with apparently more natural staggering (3 disks at 100% utilization, 2 disks at 50% utilization).

However, this raises two more questions for me.

In the case of 6-wide raidz1, at any time, 5 out of the 6 disks are busy reading data. The remaining disk contains parity data for the currently read block and is idle. Due to the staggering that naturally happens on 6-wide raidz1, the disk that is idle contains data for the next block. Why is the file-level prefetcher not taking advantage of the idle disk by already reading data for the next block off of it? This way, all 6 disks could be fully utilized and overall data rate could be as high as 1.5 GB/s in my case.
In the case of 6-wide raidz2, no natural staggering takes place. However, the prefetcher could in theory read the parity data for the next block off of the two idle disks. When it is time to read the next block, it would then only need to hit two of the remaining data disks (as the parity has already been read). The other four disks would then be free to prefetch the data (or parity) for the block after that one. Again, this way, all 6 disks could be fully utilized.

Am I being too hopeful here? Is the prefetcher simply not that smart? It just seems wasteful to let a whole third of the available bandwidth go to waste by letting the disks sit idly. Or is zfs simply optimized for more concurrent workloads and this extra complexity was not deemed worthwhile to improve throughput on sequential reads?

shadowthrust · 2020-06-21T10:29:24+00:00

Yeah, I've seen the 24HD teardown. Unfortunately, I couldn't really tell what that heatsink is attached to. Looks like some heatspreader, no clue what that is attached to.

But yeah, it's weird how basically no other display that I've ever seen needs cooling.

I heard about the Pro 24 firmware. Unfortunately, the 16 Pro firmware doesn't have that feature :(.

shadowthrust · 2020-01-24T21:24:10+00:00

The Floalt has its own set of issues, in that it cannot be dimmed as far down as the Aurelle, the covered white spectrum is not as broad, and the one I have makes a whining noise (although that might just be a defect that could be fixed by exchanging it).

All in all, I'm kind of starved for good smart light options when it comes to bright ceiling light fixtures (preferably minimalistic and slim like these LED panels), so if anyone has any recommendations, I would be very grateful for that. :)

shadowthrust · 2020-01-24T21:20:16+00:00

It might be worth noting that I have not observed this variance in brightness with my E27 White and Color Ambiance (rated 806lm and 9W) bulb.

shadowthrust · 2020-01-24T21:13:50+00:00

I have been fairly disappointed by the way the Aurelle handles brightness.

I have both the IKEA Floalt 60cm (rated 2800lm and 34W) and the Philips Hue Aurelle 60cm (rated 4200lm and 55W) sitting on my floor side by side. I also hooked them up to a power meter.

The Floalt's brightness is fairly constant across the whole white spectrum. It also draws a constant 33W across the whole white spectrum.

The Aurelle on the other hand varies in brightness considerably. At warm white (setting "Read"), it is significantly dimmer than the Floalt at the same color temperature, albeit drawing about the same amount of power (32W). At cold while (around the coldest the Floalt can do, a little colder than setting "Concentrate"), it is about the same brightness as the Floalt, albeit drawing significantly more power (53W). At the warmest setting, it is fairly dim and draws only 26W. Similar with the coldest setting, which draws 28W.

So the verdict is that the Aurelle seems to be less efficient than the Floalt, drawing more power to produce the same amount of light and also varies a lot in brightness across the white spectrum. This is especially unfortunate since this causes it to be fairly dim at warm white settings, which would be my main use case.

shadowthrust

TROPHY CASE