RAT_Sean StepUp2 Fast Times (3/10/99)
Recently on the MXMadness MsgBoard there was a thread started by RAT_Sean. The subject matter of the thread was that in the MCM community the reward for going fast seems to be that you end up being called a "cheater". I wish people would just accept the fact that people are going to be faster than you and use that as an incentive to improve.
In that thread he mentioned his times on ConAir. I downloaded ConAir, tried it out, and I found his times impressive. I liked ConAir and I believe it is one of the better SuperCross like tracks. I particularly like the double stair-stepped pyramids.
I recently released my new plugin (StepUp2) and I thought it would be neat if I could get RAT_Sean to take one of the tracks for a spin. I figured I would then post his times as an incentive for others to improve. I thought that my StepUp2 Daytona would be one of the toughest tracks to get a good 250 time.
I sent him an e-mail early on Wednesday (3/10). On Wednesday afternoon he emailed me back 2 pictures of his times. He did a 10 lap 250 race and a 10 lap 500 race. His times are so impressive, I am almost ashamed to tell you mine.
StepUp2 Daytona
Even though I designed and built the tracks, RAT_Sean in a matter of minutes blistered my best times and has set times so fast I don't believe I will be able to match them. Well you can check out the pictures for yourself. In both of his races his laps average out to faster than my best times.
He has given me something to shoot for. Sometimes all that has to happen is to be shown that it's possible and then you can do it. I hope so.
3/10/99 - Update:
RAT_Sean gave me a little tip. I practiced it a little bit and got my lap times down to 1:30.24 on the 250 and 1:23.89 (with a crash) on the 500.3/13/99 - Update:
I've practiced some more and now have my lap times down to 129.90 on the 250 and 1:19.30 (with a crash) on the 500. I see possibilities with the 500. If I can put together a complete lap I can see poential for another 10 seconds. On the 250 I am becoming very consistent and don't see much room for improvement. I am now trying different lines.3/14/99 - Update:
Toofast4All, a member of the StepUp2 Testing Crew and the fastest of us all, turned in a 1:10.17 on a 500. I've notched my 500 time down to 1:18.29. I am trying to do 20 laps a day on it. I see this track as a good benchmark for my skills. I just wonder how long it will take me to get to that next level. I have about 2.5 months into MCM, most of the time spent playing with plugins and building tracks. I now plan to spend more time just riding. I would be interested in hearing what others get for times on this track.3/15/99 - Update:
RAT_Eric sent me his fast time on a 500. He managed to beat RAT_Sean's 1:05.85 with a 1:05.67. No change for me. I am just getting more consistent.3/18/99 - Update:
I've made progress on the 500. I am using the A powerband now (hang-on). When the 500 gets on the pipe with the A powerband, it is a handful. I managed to hang-on for 1 shaky lap without falling and got a 1:14.34. Right now I'm taking a different approach and trying to use as much throttle as I can. Rather than build my speed up, I am trying to race around at top speed and learn to control it. I will do this for a couple of days and then go back to trying to be smooth. I have even more respect now for the abilities of riders like RAT_Sean and RAT_Eric.4/11/99 - Update:
I've been busy, but I figured I've made some changes to my bike settings and I gave it another try. I improved my best 250 time to 1:27.00. It is frustrating. Maybe it's time to switch to a joystick.4/12/99 - Update:
KTM_Warmonger who is helping me test the track converter decided to take on the challenge and beat X_Sean's (formerly RAT_Sean) 250 time with a 1:16.48.7/2/99 - Update:
I changed my controller and I've stayed away from this track for awhile. I figured I would dust it off and see how I do now. I have come to believe that I give up some time because of the speed of my PC. I have a P200. I also definitely learned that an analog controller makes it a lot easier to consistently pre-load the jumps. I just did a quick 5 laps on a 250 and got a 1:24.45. I easily got that where my previous best was really working the bike. So I might actually be able to get below the 1:20 mark on a 250. I plan on upgrading my PC in the next couple of months and I am anxious to see what that does to my lap times.I just did a quick 10 laps on the 500 and I got a 1:10.54. Much better. Man that 500 is a rocket ship. It's been a while since I took it for a spin. I don't think that there is another track out there that makes a 250 feel so slow and a 500 feel so fast.
I guess I need to devote a little practice time now to see if I can get the 500 below 1:10 and the 250 below 1:20.
7/10/99 - Update:
NSR_Glubags (formerly XskewlgluX) recently downloaded StepUp 2 and took the 250 (A powerband) out for a spin on StepUp2 Daytona. He then set the fastest 250 lap time that I know about, a 1:15.43. Knocking a second from KTM_Warmonger's time.Top