Tracks Hot Air Balloons

[123rem]

I've been to over 30 motor races across the world and have never seen a hot air balloon at any event. Why are they featured in most modded tracks?

Also, not everyone spectator wears light blue jeans and a bright red t-shirt.The only acceptable predominant colours for spectators is dark brown/black.

 

[garyjpaterson]

Assetto Corsa forums 2015, is that you?

*added link for those who didn't get the reference

 

[123rem]

Assetto Corsa forums 2015, is that you?

WTF

Oh, it's garypraterson.......nevermind

 

[Fat-Alfie]

I've been to over 30 motor races across the world and have never seen a hot air balloon at any event. Why are they featured in most modded tracks?

Really? This was Spa last year

 

[garyjpaterson]

Yeehaw

Oh wait, I do apologise. Thats much too much fun. No smiling here, no sirree. Sim racing is serious stuff, no doubt about it.

 

[Shigeno427]

I've been to over 30 motor races across the world and have never seen a hot air balloon at any event. Why are they featured in most modded tracks?

Also, not everyone spectator wears light blue jeans and a bright red t-shirt.The only acceptable predominant colours for spectators is dark brown/black.

Simply as you opted to insult Gary who I've always found very helpful, I'm inclined to adopt a slightly less friendly tact than usual and say:

30 races, that's quite the sample size, that must be a statistically significant proportion of all the motor races ever, right?

EDIT:

Perhaps as many race tracks were based at airfields, making them quite an ideal place to launch a hot air balloon from.

They would also provide a good view of the race, and they are a fantastic place to put sponsorship as everyone can see it, all the time.

Perhaps it's just less common now than it used to be but is a nice way of adding some more world detail without repetition or poor animations being immersion breaking?

 

[Mascot]

Hot air balloons are awesome at all racetracks, virtual or real. As are:

• Helicopters
• Light aircraft
• Airships
• Microlights
• The Red Arrows
• Flocks of birds
• Blimps
• 1950's UFOs

 

[garyjpaterson]

The devs don't want us to know about it, but this is the arcade slider, hidden deep within the settings.

Turn this down to 0%, and the simulation value rises. This ensures absolutely no happy thoughts enter your mind when driving in AC. You'll have a permanent frown in no time!

 

[AccAkut]

The devs don't want us to know about it, but this is the arcade slider, hidden deep within the settings.

Turn this down to 0%, and the simulation value rises. This ensures absolutely no happy thoughts enter your mind when driving in AC. You'll have a permanent frown in no time!

don't overdo it tho, or Steam will automatically install L.A Noire

 

[Karl S.]

123rem.ini

TROLLING_VALUE=0

Yawn...

 

[123rem]

9 worthless replies and I'm trolling.

 

[ltcars]

9 worthless replies and I'm trolling.

If I may interpret "their" trolling, you have built a reputation for firstly underestimating the effort it takes to build a mod and secondly giving bad reviews for good mods. So you may be regarded as a troll so you get trolled back

 

[Fat-Alfie]

Just trying to have a little fun...

 

[Shigeno427]

9 worthless replies and I'm trolling.

Unless my counting is off (it might be) one of those 9 replies was your own?

I also made the effort to actually reply with some thoughts as to why hot air balloons may be near race tracks, I'm not sure what other sort of reply would add worth?

 

[Mascot]

My reply was a little flippant (hey - it's Friday) but to be deadly serious for a second: I love seeing hot air balloons in the skies above my virtual racetracks.

Except the jet black harbinger of doom ones that @jim lloyd does, of course - those just fill me with an uneasy sense of foreboding.

 

[Stereo]

when this comes over the horizon and the track loudspeakers start in on the imperial march, you'll know a race is about to happen.

 

[guidofoc]

I've been to over 30 motor races across the world and have never seen a hot air balloon at any event. Why are they featured in most modded tracks?

Also, not everyone spectator wears light blue jeans and a bright red t-shirt.The only acceptable predominant colours for spectators is dark brown/black.

I think the serious answer is that AC does not support animated track objects, it does support things like hot air balloons though so people tend to use them because they add a bit of life to the tracks. Some more "advanced" modders have replaced the balloon with other things such as airplanes, blimps or birds (if I am not mistaken Feldbergring has birds, Watkins Glen and Donington have airplanes, Riverside has a GoodYear blimp). Personally I do like having some additional "life" in a track, so to me they are welcome.

In case you do not like them, though, which is absolutely legit, in the original AC forum post which debated this years ago there are instructions on how to remove them. Here:
"The balloons are simple add-on kn5 files. Look for the kn5 files that are 1,257KB in size and rename them so they will not load. It should not cause any major errors and definitely won't cause a signature mismatch online. "

For spectators I have no idea, you may be right. Certainly they are not a strong point of AC. One thing I would advise is to avoid using a hostile tone with modders, after all they are working for us mostly for free or for a beer. And if you have a suggestion just show your examples of what is wrong and what it should look like, that will bring the point home instead of creating useless debates.

 

[jim lloyd]

Haha wow. This is My take on this is. The effort it took to write the post in the first place. Could of been spent doing a little research and fixing the things you don't like for yourself. Voila, your happy. No body takes the hump. And you never know you may catch the modding bug and start creating things to your own liking.....

Problem is you may start to feel a little bit of pride in the things you create. Post them here. And then your world crumbles. ..as you realize what a hateful crule place the world is...

 

[garyjpaterson]

And you never know you may catch the modding bug and start creating things to your own liking.....

Would very much enjoy seeing this.

 

[Stephen O'Sullivan]

The hot air balloon is missing a steering wheel and a maximum altitude of 1 metre. Mind you, it would need a wide track...