True, I hadn't thought about it all being the same kind of turns. In time trial I can see that being an issue, but in races you can use golden shrooms to cut through the desert and there's more tension with the train on the narrow pathSure there are different routes, but they're all fundamentally the same thing. Zero terrain differential, basically just a very slow left-hand turn the entire course.
I mean Kalamari is just for me emblematic of MK64 as whole, which I consider to have the worst track design in all of Mario Kart. You would have expected, with the jump to 3D, that Mario Kart would have received lots of interesting ideas, but there's almost none of that. Most of the courses are just super-wide avenues, with minimal vertical changes or obstacles. SMK obviously had limitations with its Mode 7 design, but they worked around that. The courses are almost all tightly designed, with tons of interesting turns and obstacles. MK64 has almost none of that thoughtfulness, it's like they thought just being 3D was enough. It reaches its nadir in Rainbow Road N64, one of the worst tracks of all time, a completely railed-in RR(basically heresy now), with like one obstacle over its 2-minute lap length, so you just spend 6 minutes on this awful track. I consider RR64 on MK8 a minor miracle in that they actually managed to make the course interesting, by removing most railings, and adding lots of points of interest like speed boosts, obstacles, etc. and cutting down the laps to one, making it a quick sprint. I still wouldn't say it's a great course, just because it's too difficult to make up ground, but it's at least decent.True, I hadn't thought about it all being the same kind of turns. In time trial I can see that being an issue, but in races you can use golden shrooms to cut through the desert and there's more tension with the train on the narrow path
I really like the MK8 version. Its not the most spectacular track but it is also not very long so it doesn't matter that much. I really like the timing of the train when you are at 1st place.Kalamari Desert is still awful and boring, even with the new twist. Now you can drive on the boring stretch of train track instead of the boring flat desert, yay.
All of the other tracks are decent-to-good, was just hoping they could find a way to redeem a boring N64 track like they did with N64 Rainbow Road, but I guess lightning can't strike twice.
I never played mk64, so I don't know the fine details about the track design. However, often when a game makes a big change in its formula, it will be pretty basic with a lot of room for improvement.I mean Kalamari is just for me emblematic of MK64 as whole, which I consider to have the worst track design in all of Mario Kart. You would have expected, with the jump to 3D, that Mario Kart would have received lots of interesting ideas, but there's almost none of that. Most of the courses are just super-wide avenues, with minimal vertical changes or obstacles. SMK obviously had limitations with its Mode 7 design, but they worked around that. The courses are almost all tightly designed, with tons of interesting turns and obstacles. MK64 has almost none of that thoughtfulness, it's like they thought just being 3D was enough. It reaches its nadir in Rainbow Road N64, one of the worst tracks of all time, a completely railed-in RR(basically heresy now), with like one obstacle over its 2-minute lap length, so you just spend 6 minutes on this awful track. I consider RR64 on MK8 a minor miracle in that they actually managed to make the course interesting, by removing most railings, and adding lots of points of interest like speed boosts, obstacles, etc. and cutting down the laps to one, making it a quick sprint. I still wouldn't say it's a great course, just because it's too difficult to make up ground, but it's at least decent.
Probably the predictions I agree with the most.Prediction per system:
-SNES: Koopa Beach 2
-GBA: Broken Pier, Sunset Wilds, Bowser’s Castle 2
-GCN: Waluigi Stadium, Daisy Cruiser, Dino Dino Jungle, Mushroom City
-DS: Peach Gardens, Airship Fortress
-Wii: Koopa Cape, DK’s Snowboard Cross, Maple Treeway, Rainbow Road
-3DS: Alpine Pass, Rainbow Road
-Tour: EVERYTHING
With actually the SNES one and the last GCN and GBA tracks as the most speculative, there isn’t much guessing to be left…
No DK Mountain would be tragic.Prediction per system:
-SNES: Koopa Beach 2
-GBA: Broken Pier, Sunset Wilds, Bowser’s Castle 2
-GCN: Waluigi Stadium, Daisy Cruiser, Dino Dino Jungle, Mushroom City
-DS: Peach Gardens, Airship Fortress
-Wii: Koopa Cape, DK’s Snowboard Cross, Maple Treeway, Rainbow Road
-3DS: Alpine Pass, Rainbow Road
-Tour: EVERYTHING
With actually the SNES one and the last GCN and GBA tracks as the most speculative, there isn’t much guessing to be left…
Personally I very much doubt the next MK will run on OG Switch at all.
I think they'll go full Nintendo Kart. I mean they've basically already pushed in that direction with the Zelda/F-Zero/AC content, there's no real reason to hold back now. And if it gets rid of the dumb baby characters(and metal characters which aren't just reskins) I'm all for it.Next MK should go with a full open world battle royale structure.
Wario ShityardYou just know Nintendo isn't going to take the opportunity to make the bathroom course Wario themed, as it should be.
Rotterdam would also be more distinct to me than Amsterdam because of it's angular and modern architecture, but they're understandably going for maximum recognition.And I don’t know, Mumbai? Not really a city with a lot of highlights. Well, maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think Mumbai is the most interesting city to build a track around.
Do the Battle Mode courses not have their own different naming pattern from the normal race courses? I was under the impression they do, based on some Tour Battle Mode datamine info that a friend sent me awhile back. For example:I'm inclined to believe the current speculation in the Tour community that the bathroom course is actually a battle course and not a race course. Battle mode is still on the way for Tour after all, and it's possible we'll see some new non-city and non-retro battle courses show up just like for race courses.
There's no way for us to tell from the object name alone. As you can see above, in these listings (sound files) the battle courses have 'B' before their platform prefix; but in most places internally the race courses also have a letter that comes before the prefix, 'G' (I don't believe the meaning is known). Small snipit of icon names from the current version to get the point across:Do the Battle Mode courses not have their own different naming pattern from the normal race courses? I was under the impression they do, based on some Tour Battle Mode datamine info that a friend sent me awhile back. For example:
Battle_Bgc_CookieLand - GCN Cookie Land
Battle_Bds_TwilightHouse - DS Twilight House
Battle_Bmob_Paris1 - Tour Paris Promenade
Battle_Bmob_NewYork1 - Tour New York Minute
Battle_Bagb_BattleCourse1 - GBA Battle Course 1
But maybe I’m missing something here, ‘cause if that was the case then surely there wouldn’t be speculation about this “mob-br” course potentially being a battle course, no?
Ah, okay, thanks for the explanation!There's no way for us to tell from the object name alone. As you can see above, in these listings (sound files) the battle courses have 'B' before their platform prefix; but in most places internally the race courses also have a letter that comes before the prefix, 'G' (I don't believe the meaning is known). Small snipit of icon names from the current version to get the point across:
Object names for the most part exclude this G, and as such the same would likely the case for the battle course B.
I wouldn’t even be mad. They could do a Booster Pass 2 if they want. I’ll take it.Bold of everyone to assume the next Mario Kart won't just be Mario Kart 8 Ultimate or something like that
I don't think things like this are nearly as likely as some people suggest when Nintendo doesn't have to pull the ripcord on their faceplant of a console and can actually bring the successor to market in the intended timeframe, with the native software commensurately planned for.Bold of everyone to assume the next Mario Kart won't just be Mario Kart 8 Ultimate or something like that
The MK series desperately needs more modes. Time trials and just playing the cups at faster and higher difficulties ain't gonna cut it for single player. Is it weird to want a story mode of some sorts with boss races?Seen this discussed in various areas online, but I'm not sure I agree with the next Mario Kart needing more than 32 tracks at launch. Mario Kart 8 came in very hot development wise because of the Wii U floundering, and it's noticeable in the corners the developers had to cut on like infamously battle mode. (Not to mention series staples like the cup victory animations)
Despite that the 32 tracks were all of extremely high quality. I think the retro tracks too set a high bar in terms of design changes and visual overhauls that it's so apparent it's on another level compared to the retro tracks in the BCP.
For Mario Kart 10 I'd rather see them stick to the fundamentals I guess instead of just content quantity. Rather than needing a higher track count to measure against MK8D at launch, focus on new modes and features.
I'm seeing two outcomes myself right now:I am puzzling with my own prediction at the moment, and there’s one thing I really doubt about. The only possibility for a GBA Bowser’s Castle is if it comes in wave 4. However, in that same wave, Airship Fortress is a more given one. Do you think they can put them in the same wave? They are giving me the same vibe, so I was wondering.
The only other option for a BC is a SNES BC, which is never remade up until now. Maybe a GCN BC in the Spiny Cup but I don’t believe that either.
But then we will neither get a beach track nor a Bowser’s Castle in the pass, which I would find weird either way.SNES track will be Vanilla Lake, don't get your hopes up guys.
Don't forget though that Vanilla Lake was found on the banner and it's advertised on Coconut Mall. Also, we're getting two Waluigi courses in successive waves. It seems like they don't really care.But then we will neither get a beach track nor a Bowser’s Castle in the pass, which I would find weird either way.
Don't forget though that Vanilla Lake was found on the banner and it's advertised on Coconut Mall. Also, we're getting two Waluigi courses in successive waves. It seems like they don't really care.
The MK series desperately needs more modes. Time trials and just playing the cups at faster and higher difficulties ain't gonna cut it for single player. Is it weird to want a story mode of some sorts with boss races?