Helmsly Posted March 18, 2022 Posted March 18, 2022 7 hours ago, Ronnie said: Really fun new tracks. I couldn't remember most (all?) of them from previous games so they might as well have been new courses to me. yeah, even the tracks I should know well like Choco Mountain look unconscionable to me. It almost feels like a new track to me. Side note, I am still not seeing these new tracks show up in online mode unless it's a private friends game?
Glen-i Posted March 18, 2022 Posted March 18, 2022 (edited) 25 minutes ago, Helmsly said: yeah, even the tracks I should know well like Choco Mountain look unconscionable to me. It almost feels like a new track to me. Side note, I am still not seeing these new tracks show up in online mode unless it's a private friends game? Huh... Maybe it's possible that the "you can play if one person has the pass" doesn't apply to random rooms? So if one person doesn't have it, the tracks won't show up? Just a guess. Edited March 18, 2022 by Glen-i
Dcubed Posted March 18, 2022 Posted March 18, 2022 (edited) 31 minutes ago, Glen-i said: Huh... Maybe it's possible that the "you can play if one person has the pass" doesn't apply to random rooms? So if one person doesn't have it, the tracks won't show up? Just a guess. That functionality isn't live yet. You can't play the new tracks with randoms who don't own the DLC until March 22nd. Edited March 18, 2022 by Dcubed 1
Glen-i Posted March 18, 2022 Posted March 18, 2022 OK, now I've played the new tracks, I'm gonna rank them. Spoiler #8 3DS Toad Circuit - It's a perfectly fine track... For the first one you race on, problem is, this is the 50th track on 8 DX now! So it's blandness really stands out. #7 Tour Tokyo Blur - Neat idea with the different routes on each lap, very Wave Race 64, but the track isn't all that complex. It's a cool idea, but a certain other track does it better. #6 DS Shroom Ridge - I quite like this one, this game needs more traffic tracks in it, and this is an underrated one. There's some great shortcuts that I spotted. Music's great too, I love that whistle bookend! #5 GBA Sky Garden - This is another GBA track that feels nothing like the original, much like Cheese Land and Ribbon Road. A lot of shortcuts seem to have been cut in the process, and it's very vertical. Not too sure about this one, will have to see what shenanigans those raised clouds on the side can do. #4 N64 Choco Mountain - Now this is an improvement! It's recognisable, has a cool new cave section (with mushroom corner cut opportunities) that exits with a gliding section. I prefer it to the N64 version. #3 Wii Coconut Mall - This one might make second place if I wasn't so sick to death of Coconut Mall. Everyone always chooses it on every game it shows up in. I can't deny that it's not a solid track though, even if they've made the cars in the parking section not move from side to side anymore. #2 Tour Paris Promenade - This is the track that does the Wave Race gimmick better. Instead of railroading you into different routes, your choices expand on the second lap, and then the third lap suddenly reverses the direction you drive! Very cool. #1 Ninja Hideaway - I had no idea what I was doing, and I loved it. There's a lot going on here, it's basically two tracks in one depending on whether you go up or down! Tour's repertoire may have peaked too soon here. 1
Dcubed Posted March 18, 2022 Posted March 18, 2022 (edited) So... after playing in tonight's N-E League, I've now played each of the 8 new tracks. And here are my following first impressions of them... General overall impressions I'm really impressed with their representation in MK8DX. They don't feel as budget as they looked in MKT, and they generally fit in with the look and feel of the base MK8DX courses really nicely. The music is absolutely tops! Great stuff! And overall, there are some interesting ideas here... I LOVE the whole Waverace 64 thing of having the tracks change paths on each lap! I've always wanted to see Mario Kart do more of this kind of thing (I mean, we have seen some things like this before; such as Grumble Volcano and Lakeside Parkway, but this is much more extensive!). Having the different Track Variants from Tour be implemented in this manner is very clever; and I really hope that the next proper mainline Mario Kart on Switch 2 really runs with this idea. I want to see stuff like Sonic Allstars Racing Transformed, where the tracks explode and blow apart on each lap! Some of the tracks have had some pretty extensive overhauls from their original counterparts, while others? Not so much... It's a bit inconsistent in that regard. But I'll go more into detail in talking about each individual track... Oh! Speaking of which... Very strong start to this new DLC pack. This is a really interesting course which makes great use of the Waverace 64 changing track lap concept! Now I know that the original MKT had different Variant Track versions of Paris Promenade; which they seem to have combined together into one track by having the pathway switch on each lap. This was a great idea and it pans out really well! I love how sprawling the track feels, with all sorts of different possible paths that all feel tangibly different; not just slight variants on the same thing that don't really matter. While I'm sure that there will probably be one "ideal" path to follow in the end, once I've had time to practice it and really figure it out, right now I love the sense of discovery that comes with this track. It feels really open, with a nice mix of open areas and tight corridors. This is top shelf stuff! Coming off of Paris Promenade? This one is pretty disappointing. The original 3DS version of Toad Circuit was pretty much the blandest and most forgettable "starter track" in the series, and this one does literally nothing new to change that. They've not added any new mechanics or any real changes at all. This is just the 3DS track with a shiny new coat of paint; and that's really disappointing, especially in the context of the main game's base content, where all the previous retro tracks got really wild overhauls. This one stands out as not only bland, but pretty low effort overall, without the wild shakeups that past retro MK8 tracks got. Woah! What the hell happened here!? This is some real whiplash coming off of Toad Circuit, because while that course's remake is super conservative? This one is anything but! Right off the bat, there's an interesting section where you can get knocked right off the track! We're off to a great start already! But then we get to the cave... and it's completely different from the original! Now there's a whole underground cave section with some minor shortcut potential using shrooms; then we have a big chunk of track missing and a large jump! This is nothing like the original at all! Until we finally get to the last section where things get a bit more familiar with the classic spiral and falling rocks. This is a really interesting re-imagining of the classic N64 track that feels very different from the original. I did always wonder what they'd do with this one, because the original N64 version is only fun because of that game's unique gameplay mechanics and jank (with the ability to send players flying upwards on and off the track); it would've been super bland and boring if played straight in MK8, so I'm really glad that they gave it a significant overhaul here Now we're back in more familiar territory. This one follows the original track much more closely than Choco Mountain, but there's a lot of nice incidental detail that has been added; like the SMB underground murial in the spiral section, or the different shops now available (I wanna go to Kamek's Book Store dammit!). There's some minor tweaks and changes, but it doesn't really stray all that far from the original; outside of the gliding section towards the end... though I do have to wonder, why did they make the cars stationary at the end? That section is nowhere near as hectic as the original now! Necro Edit: Well, well, well... it seems that Nintendo agreed with me. Because they actually went back and fixed this in Wave 2! Makes you wonder how much this first wave was rushed out of the door, because the original release (which is still used in Time Trials, due to having to maintain compatiblity with existing time trial records) feels outright unfinished now by comparison. Ahh Tokyo, my favourite part of the Mushroom Kingdom! This follows the same concept as with Paris Promenade; take all the different Variant Track versions of the track from Mario Kart Tour and combine them into one course that changes paths on each lap. I still like how it's handled here, but I think that the source material just isn't as strong as with Paris Promande. Tokyo Blur is... fine, there isn't anything wrong with it per-say, it's just a bit bland overall. There aren't any real crazy alternative paths or massive shortcut opportunities I've seen, at least not at first glance. Perhaps with time, as I learn the ins and outs of this track it'll reveal more depth to me? But my initial impression is one of a somewhat bland track that isn't nearly as good as Paris Promenade. This was always a really underrated track in Mario Kart DS and I'm really glad to see it back here. Mario Kart 8 DX, for all that's great about it, doesn't have a lot of "Traffic-based Tracks", so this fills that hole really nicely. While they haven't made massive sweeping changes with this one, they've made some smart tweaks and changes to widen it up for 12 players and the traffic density is just right here; nice and chaotic without being completely overwhelming. There's plenty of opportunities to cut corners with smart shroom use and I also really like the way that they've taken an old shortcut & turned it into a gliding section; great stuff! The new music arrangement is also top-tier! They did this track justice. Sky Garden continues the grand Mario Kart 8 tradition of taking GBA tracks and turning them into something completely and utterly new! This track shows barely any resemblance to the original GBA track at all! Ironically, they've taken one of the flattest tracks in the entirety of Super Circuit and have made it very much vertical! I think the most interesting thing about this one is the fact that the clouds actually have accurate collision in place... this feels... very abusable! I guarantee you that somebody is going to find an Ultra Shortcut on this track and very soon! (Edit: Looks like it's already starting... ). I really like what they've done with this one, and I think there's a lot of potential for some advanced tactics and play here. Definitely one I need to practice, learn and watch out for! This track is bonkers! I didn't even know what to make of it when I played it tonight with you guys! It's like three different tracks slammed into one! Now, this track doesn't do the whole multiple paths per lap thing that Paris and Tokyo did (probably because it didn't get the different Variant Track versions in MKT that Paris and Tokyo did), but instead it shifts and moves all throughout to give you multiple paths to choose from at almost every turn! It's almost like a Mario Kart dungeon! It's wild, crazy and I absolutely LOVE it! I really need to take some time to learn it and figure out what's going on, but there's just so much packed into this course that I'm absolutely blown away by the design! I'm not sure if there's really one ideal path through this track, but some paths seem to lead to coins while others lead to items; so I'm guessing that some paths are faster than others... but then again, the whole thing seems to be running on a global timer, so I'm not even sure how to plan out a particular route. This one is gonna take some real time to truly learn and master the ways of the Ninja Hideaway! Right! With that all said? Here's my track rankings based on my first, initial impressions... Quote UPDATE!! Coconut Mall was moved up to 6th place following the Wave 2 update that fixed the broken cars; meaning that Tokyo Blur got shunted down to 7th. 8th: Toad Circuit 7th: Tokyo Blur 6th: Coconut Mall 5th: Shroom Ridge 4th: Sky Garden 3rd: Choco Mountain 2nd: Paris Promonade 1st: Ninja Hideaway Edited August 8, 2022 by Dcubed 3 1
Ronnie Posted March 19, 2022 Posted March 19, 2022 People seem to be really loving Ninja Hideaway, personally I’m not a fan. Just too complex and chaotic for me. But then I’m someone who loves the simpler tracks like Mario Circuit GBA (especially what MK8 did with it )
BowserBasher Posted March 19, 2022 Posted March 19, 2022 24 minutes ago, Ronnie said: People seem to be really loving Ninja Hideaway, personally I’m not a fan. Just too complex and chaotic for me. But then I’m someone who loves the simpler tracks like Mario Circuit GBA (especially what MK8 did with it ) This is what I like though there seems to be a mix for everyone. I do like the mixture of both, and with you on the MC GBA. There wasn't much they could do but just that little section as a sloped anti-gravity worked. 1
BowserBasher Posted March 19, 2022 Posted March 19, 2022 Right, with the easy two out the way time for some initial views from me. I'm loving the new tracks. There seems to be something for everyone in them. from a mild drive to a bonkers multi route track. If this is the way the rest of the tracks come at us going forward this is going to be one of the best DLC's from Nintendo. Favourite Track I know everyone is saying Ninja Hideaway, but I'm going to give it to Paris Promenade. I love NH and the multiple route, but the topper that gave it to PP was the fact that if you are leading when you enter lap three, you are most certainly going to be coming head on to other racers still on the end of lap 2, and this just leads to some bonkers mayhem to come. Least Favourite As with the others in here it does go to Toad Circuit. It's not a bad track, it's just I guess they couldn't improve on it or add any new elements to the track to bring it up to date. A fine addition and easy first track of the new DLC, just not on the level of some of these others. Special Mentions OK, Choco Mountain. Nintendo, this is how you add to an already existing track and make it new again. A fine underground section, a jump that doesn't seem out of place, and still a great hilly track. Only think I wish it did was when the rocks fall on lap three the floor finally gives way and you have to navigate holes where they kept hitting, or they leave giant holes that will let you trick jump. Music also deserve a mention here. Some great sounds and music to an already great soundtrack. I'm sure 200cc will be giving us some unexpected shortcuts on some tracks that probably were not intended. Will be interesting to see what people find. 1
Glen-i Posted March 19, 2022 Posted March 19, 2022 8 minutes ago, BowserBasher said: Right, with the easy two out the way time for some initial views from me. Probably too late to mention that completing it on 150cc automatically gets you the gold and stars on 50 and 100, huh? 1 1 1
BowserBasher Posted March 19, 2022 Posted March 19, 2022 6 minutes ago, Glen-i said: Probably too late to mention that completing it on 150cc automatically gets you the gold and stars on 50 and 100, huh? But where's the fun in that? Yeah I'm sure I read that somewhere before, I think I've just always preferred to actually be able to say I actually completed them the real way.
darksnowman Posted March 20, 2022 Posted March 20, 2022 Did the two min update this morning and went to select a new cup... but it wouldn't let me. Had to look it up online and you have to manually go on the eShop to validate that you have the Expansion Pack. Bit weird that the game can't automatically do that for you as it wasn't necessary with Animal Crossing. As expected, it's nice to have some additional tracks. They're all fun. What is unexpected is that the graphics are a lot more jarring to me than I thought they'd be from the trailer. On 18/03/2022 at 6:31 PM, Helmsly said: yeah, even the tracks I should know well like Choco Mountain look unconscionable to me. It almost feels like a new track to me. Dude, I'd just played MK64 the other week and was so freaked out as soon as I went into that first corner. I wasn't prepared for the revamp. 23 hours ago, Ronnie said: People seem to be really loving Ninja Hideaway, personally I’m not a fan. Just too complex and chaotic for me. But then I’m someone who loves the simpler tracks like Mario Circuit GBA (especially what MK8 did with it ) It reminded me of Goemon and I thought it was pretty cool with the implementation of different levels. But I've only played 50cc so far so perhaps it is utter chaos on higher speeds. 1
Ronnie Posted March 20, 2022 Posted March 20, 2022 1 minute ago, darksnowman said: What is unexpected is that the graphics are a lot more jarring to me than I thought they'd be from the trailer. Yeah I thought they looked ok when I first played them but going back to some of the previous DLC tracks it's really jarring how subpar they are compared to those. Like I said when these courses were first revealed, I'd have much preferred half the number, say 24 tracks, but with better visuals
Glen-i Posted March 20, 2022 Posted March 20, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, Ronnie said: Like I said when these courses were first revealed, I'd have much preferred half the number, say 24 tracks, but with better visuals In this theoretical universe, I suppose the price would still be the same? Because in that scenario, I'd prefer 48. Yes, visually speaking, it's not up to the standard the non-Tour tracks set, but they still look fine, not that I have time to even notice during gameplay because of the chaos I have to be aware of. In this kind of game, I want the tracks to be fun. And pretty much all of them manage to be somewhat fun. Tokyo Blur would be totally boring if it wasn't for the shifting routes, and 3DS Toad Circuit is fine for a first track, but feels weird being where it is. Now what if we got 24 instead, and Toad Circuit and Tokyo Blur were part of the initial 4? I think that would leave a more sour taste in my mouth. Sure, they may look pretty, but half of the tracks in this first wave would be kinda bland, and I don't think that's a better trade-off. At least this way, we have 6 fun tracks and 2 duds that don't look quite as nice if it didn't have a skeleton crew working on it. Music's on point though. Mario Kart Band can do no wrong, and that's far more important then visual details I'll barely notice. I'll notice DS Shroom Ridge's remix all the time! Edited March 20, 2022 by Glen-i 2
Ronnie Posted March 20, 2022 Posted March 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Glen-i said: In this theoretical universe, I suppose the price would still be the same? Because in that scenario, I'd prefer 48. Yes, visually speaking, it's not up to the standard the non-Tour tracks set, but they still look fine, not that I have time to even notice during gameplay because of the chaos I have to be aware of. In this kind of game, I want the tracks to be fun. And pretty much all of them manage to be somewhat fun. Tokyo Blur would be totally boring if it wasn't for the shifting routes, and 3DS Toad Circuit is fine for a first track, but feels weird being where it is. Now what if we got 24 instead, and Toad Circuit and Tokyo Blur were part of the initial 4? I think that would leave a more sour taste in my mouth. Sure, they may look pretty, but half of the tracks in this first wave would be kinda bland, and I don't think that's a better trade-off. At least this way, we have 6 fun tracks and 2 duds that don't look quite as nice if it didn't have a skeleton crew working on it. Music's on point though. Mario Kart Band can do no wrong, and that's far more important then visual details I'll barely notice. I'll notice DS Shroom Ridge's remix all the time! Fair enough, and you're right when I played the new tracks the visuals didn't really bother me. It was just then going back to the previous DLC tracks, which look stunning, makes me kind of wish for the same sort of polish. But different strokes etc At least the music is up to the same quality like you say!
BowserBasher Posted March 20, 2022 Posted March 20, 2022 As with the base GP's I found that 150cc is actually the hardest in terms of the CPU actually keeping up with you. 200cc they just can't seem to handle the speed like they should be able to. Also as with the base tracks, you can easily take surtouts that require mushrooms and hop over corners with ease in 200cc. I think the Tour tracks seem wider and do help in 200cc but I still had to take some breaking actions. I\m sure the tracks will get harder as we get more and I can't wait. 1
darksnowman Posted March 20, 2022 Posted March 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Ronnie said: Fair enough, and you're right when I played the new tracks the visuals didn't really bother me. Doesn't mean these things can't be commented on. It was a bit of a gonk for me when I saw the roadside shrub on the Paris track while waiting for the race to begin. I had to recalibrate my expectations as the new tracks definitely have the look of mobile games being played on the big screen. Just an observation though as I was down for more tracks when they were revealed in the Direct, and I'm still down for them now they're here. Speaking of the Paris track, I did a time trial on it earlier to have a nosey around and it has a really nice amount of sights and landmarks around it. Didn't know you get booted from a time trial once the timer reaches ten mins but that's besides the point. 2
Dufniall Posted March 21, 2022 Posted March 21, 2022 14 hours ago, BowserBasher said: I think the Tour tracks seem wider and do help in 200cc but I still had to take some breaking actions. That's something I noticed when I started playing Tour. Tracks are definitely wider, probably to cope with the way of control/more items/extra jumps etc they put in these tracks. Anyway, played the new tracks a couple of times and so far they are enjoyable. Sky Garden was one of my favourite tracks, and the remake is good but it doesn't feel like the old 2D track any more. Paris Promenade is fun with the twist in lap 3, and Ninja Hideaway is great as there are so many layers in it. The rest is decent to good. Slightly disappointed that they didn't sneak in a new car or character. And I'm already having that feeling of "alright, I've seen the new tracks". And the wait for the next batch can be a long one. Maybe 2 years is too much of a stretch to spread them out.
Julius Posted July 28, 2022 Posted July 28, 2022 (edited) The second wave of the Booster Course Pass is set to launch next Thursday on 4th August: (YouTube link for your not-compressed-by-Twitter viewing pleasure) Edited July 28, 2022 by Julius 2
Glen-i Posted July 28, 2022 Posted July 28, 2022 (edited) Now that's interesting. Sky High Sundae is completely new! Edited July 28, 2022 by Glen-i
Dcubed Posted July 28, 2022 Posted July 28, 2022 The question now is… Does Sky High Sundae count as a Mario Kart Tour track? Or a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass track? Hmm…
Helmsly Posted July 28, 2022 Posted July 28, 2022 They really were playing the long game with this tweet 7 1
darksnowman Posted July 28, 2022 Posted July 28, 2022 @Helmsly The mind boggles to think what other things you are sitting on for when the day comes. Incredible. 1
Dcubed Posted July 28, 2022 Posted July 28, 2022 (edited) Oh snap! I just realised that GBA Snow Land wasn't actually in Mario Kart Tour!!! That means that it's an all new remake just for MK8DXBCP! (Though I suppose it could be a case where it's due to appear later, like Sky High Sundae). So we can't just predict everything coming from Tour! Edited July 28, 2022 by Dcubed 2
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