I have decided to write a postmortem for my Final Report onto itch.io.

Game Name: XT Racing

Basic Description: The XT (Extreme Tour) Racing Time Trial is a 3 lap run around a circuit, with a Final Time provided at the end.  The goal of the player is to complete all three laps as fast as possible.

C# Script List

• BeginMaxiTT: A Load Script that starts the Time Trial Event
• CameraFollow: A camera script that follows the car in a dynamic chase, similar to Ridge Racer Unbounded
• Checkpoint: A script that turns off the checkpoint the player passed by and turns on the next Checkpoint.  As there are 3 in total, 2 of the Checkpoints have this script.
• LapComplete: For the Starting Gate Trigger, this is the 3rd Checkpoint that resets the Lap Timer, increases the Lap Counter, ends the race after 3 laps, and records a final time to be posted.  After 10 seconds, the player is sent back to the Hub Area.  This also uses a False Start Check which adds 30 seconds onto the clock if the player is too hasty and jumps that start.
• PlayerController: Allows the player to drive the vehicle (in this case a Supra clone)
• RaceStart: A Countdown Script that lets the player know when to cross the Starting Line.
• Speedometer: A script that keeps track of how fast the player is moving.  In every test I did, the max speed always ended up at 143 km/h.

Unity Elements

• While neither secondary engines nor plugins were used, a free Unity Asset (courtesy of Alexander Dubai) was used for the Supra Vehicle (link in the Appendix).  Everything else was original Materials and Textures by yours truly.

Reflection

What Went Right

• The Time and False Start scripts worked as intended and added an extra layer of interest into the game's goal.
• The Speedometer made a compensation to the realistic movements of a Drift Vehicle like the Supra Clone, making it easier to judge turns.
• Music and Gate Sounds worked as intended.  I absolutely love audio in games if used properly, otherwise you have a very bad LittleBigPlanet 2 Music Sequencer song.
• After several attempts to get it to work, I finally found a physics system that works best for the vehicle (more on that later).
• That bloody chicane at the end of the lap.  It took me a while to find the proper braking point and driving line, but eventually I was able to master it.

Minor Errors

• Final Time was a bit rushed, but still readable.
• I wanted to add a second track before the end of the semester, but realistically it wasn't possible.
• Using 2 different timers was a bit of a coding struggle, but was easily fixed with patience.

What went Wrong

• A Waypoint System was attempted, but due to some technical issues, I simplified it to a system of Checkpoints.
• Despite the fact I found a proper physic system for my car, I wasn't able to properly program an AI Vehicle.  Maybe another day when I work on this passion project again, I'll fix that up.
• Never add an emergency brake unless you know what you're doing.  The brake system broke many times, so I combined Braking and Reversing together.
• I tried to add a ramp, but the reset function wasn't working at the time, so I dropped it for the Game Design Final Exam.  Mark my words, someday I'll get it to work and it'll be added in a later update!
• I tried to convert a Plane into a Terrain, but apparently that's not how Textures work, so~  Welcome to Flatland, I guess.
• Best Lap was a struggle to get to work properly, but after struggling for too long on it, I dropped it in favor of the Final Time System.  A well-timed PrintScreen could set a Best Lap World Record with Photo Proof for now.

Playtesters

Playtest 1 -  Required Beta Playtest

During Beta Testing for when the Max Lap Count wasn't completed, I worked to remedy some issues that the player mentioned.  The first notable problem was there was no real noticeability of how fast you were going, so you would constantly hit the side walls and spin out.  The addition of a speedometer put a temporary remedy to the problem now that you know how fast you're going on each turn.  The second problem was apparently rapidly tapping W would cause the car to accelerate faster.  I tried this technique multiple times and didn't notice any sudden shifts in speed.  If I had a rapid-fire keyboard, I'm sure I can figure the trick out.

Playtest 2 - My Father

Post Beta Testing, my dad decided to test my racing game out a bit.  He struggled with the steering as he was going incredibly fast all the time, but later on we noticed an issue with some of the guard walls being a bit jagged, which upon contact made the car spin out rapidly at a high speed.  I went in after and fixed this problem for Version 0.2.  We tested again afterword, and saw a glimmer of progress with how the track was coming along.

Time Log

1. Basic Controls, First Physics System Implemented (11/17)
2. Basic Track Design completed (11/24)
3. Physics System switched out, Clock System and Lap Counter added (12/1)
4. Lap Counter fixed and Clock System modified, sound and False Start system added, Hub World added (12/8)
5. Total Time added and Final Time revealed upon finishing the race (12/13)
6. Postmortem of Beta Project talked about in finer detail (12/15)

Assets I Created

Visual Assets

• Maximilion City Speed Ring Map
• Hub Level plane Texture
• Starting Gate Textures, including the Light Design and Circuit Name alla Gran Turismo 3

Audio Assets

• Various Beeps composed on FL Studio 20 using a simple Square Wave and Reverb Filter
• "Gentlemen's Blues" Beat Blaster Cover.  It may sound like a completely different song, but it's a total remix I composed way back on my other computer, using FL Studio 12.  It's still a temporary fix until I make official music for this game... someday.

References

Assets Used

• Alexander Dubai's Supra Clone: Race game car, Drift car enjoy | 3D Land | Unity Asset Store

Music I Remixed and/or Covered

• Gentlemen's Blues - The ****ing Eagles (No seriously, that's their name) - Gran Turismo 5 Soundtrack: youtu.be/Xfk1jbG7mC8

Script Tutorials I Utilized and Followed

• Car Controller Script - GameDevChef - youtu.be/Z4HA8zJhGEk
• Various Time and Lap Scripts - Jimmy Vegas - A Playlist Version containing individual chapters is also available: youtu.be/ehDRTdRGd1w

Games I Used as Inspiration and their Devs/Prods

• Gran Turismo 3 and 6 - Polyphony Digital / Sony Computer/Interactive Entertainment
• Ridge Racer 7 - Namco / Bandai-Namco
• Ridge Racer Unbounded - Bugbear Interactive / Bandai-Namco