I really want to like this (and likely back it on indigogo) but the controls seem a bit mangled - the turning has an effect on it, like resistance after you turn that makes it like riding one of those bikes that they reverse the direction when you steer... I'd love to play an MTB sim but this one I just can't even get going on...
best wishes,
Chris
Hi, thanks for your interest, Chris! The
bike is not a car, it is not statically stable and can’t be
controlled straightforward. If the left/right turn control will be
connected directly with the front wheel it will be impossible to ride
even 10 meters (video about mountain bike balancing system revels
this aspect). So some sophisticated methods are needed to connect
players desires with real actions that required to implement a turn.
The balancing system in the demo version is just a beginning of the
long journey to the perfect control.
Unfortunately, inidiegogo campaign was not visible and failed. It means that this project will remain my spare time project and nothing more. Wile I have interest and free time I will continue developing and especially improving control, but it will take a lot of time to reach the final.
P.S. the control in the arcade mode is quite simple, but it does not correspond real bike control.
Thanks for getting back to me Aleksandr, and a real shame about the crowdfunding - as you say on the pitch, there's really nothing in this space... I'll keep trying with the demo, as a mountain biker myself it's realism that I'm looking for but the push back on the controls did seem excessive, maybe it's my setup... I've recently been getting into a motorbike sim that gets the realism balance really nicely called gp-bikes - really good and the free demo gives you a good idea of how it performs if you want to give it a go... The developer of that also does a Motorcross one that incorporates the sort of bike balance that you're attempting. As I say, I'll give yours more time, let me know if you want any feedback on progress - I'm an animator who uses 3d a lot so was really interested in the track editing you were proposing...
Best wishes
Chris
ps I just tried the arcade mode and it's much better, I guess I'm not ready for your hardcore take on the full realism :)
one thing that I noticed that would be really useful is a chase cam, the near 3rd person one doesn't rotate with the bike and without real physical feelings to inform of your rider's orientation and bike / rider position it is pretty difficult to get the trails ridden well. Starting to get the feel of it however, cheers!
Yesterday I have tested both gp and mx. Really cool games with nice simulation level. But they do not use true balancing system. In fact arcade mode of the MTB Game use the same balancing strategy as mx. The lean is controlled by some external "magic" helper forces and handlebar angle is adjusted to the proper bike lean. It works good, but the difference with true balancing strategy is evident especially at low speeds, deep tilts, light weights and high gravity center. I strongly hope that it is possible to combine true balancing strategy and good playability without any external 'magic' forces. At least I want to try to do so. If I fail to do so, I will evolve the strategy used in arcade mode of the game and mx/gp simulators.
About cameras: in fact I always use chest or helmet camera to play (in all simulators, not only my), so I have no experience with external cameras. It means that feedback from someone who prefer 3rd person view cameras and have experience with them is very important. MTB Game has two 3rd person view cameras: one follows the rider rotation and pitch and one does not. Could you describe in detail how exactly 3rd person view camera should behave to be convenient for you (follow or not: yaw, tilt and pitch, follow hard or smooth, how hard the distance to the bike should be kept, how stable should be camera relative to the bike fluctuations and so on...)? Thank you in advance!
Best regards,
Kamaev A.N.
Yeah I think the lean is tied to the steering somehow but there's also ways of tying it to the VR headset which I've been enjoying - counterbalancing the steer with a whole body movement is really immersive, especially when you tie the bike lean / steer to the gyro on a controller...
I worked out the chase camera, for some reason I thought it was just a 3/4 view but tried the camera controls on it and it's pretty good as is - I've got as far as the berm section now. Still finding it tricky to maintain control even on the arcade version , there's a couple of great edge cases where you suddenly spin 180 or 360 on the spot :)
cheers fella, Chris
180/360 degrees spin – is something unpleasant and annoying, but unfortunately it is natural (as I understand, we are talking about spins on steep descent in corners, otherwise it is something new and probably a bug). I have explored these spins in detail and conclude that they are induced by magic helper forces that maintain proper bike lean. In real life these spins are simple skids that leads to immediate fall, but arcade mode prevent falls by supporting bike with magic forces. On flat surface, when weight distributed uniformly among wheels it leads to drifting, but on steep terrain in corners 180/360 spin happens. If true balancing approach will succeed the problem will be solved on its own (no magic forces – no magic spins), otherwise I will think how to get rid of them in arcade mode. For now I can recommend to lean back and down to pass such corners safely. Good luck!
