User:JorisMKW

JorisMKW

Avatar:
YouTube:	JorisMKW
Discord:	jorismkw

Hello there! My name is Joris and I am a 24 year old texture hack and custom track creator from the Netherlands. I have been active in the Mario Kart Wii modding community since 2013. I'm trying to create tracks in which it is easy to understand where you have to go, so people don't get screwed the first time they play them. I appreciate feedback, so I can improve my tracks.

If you are a custom track creator and want to edit one of my tracks, I hereby request you to ask for permission first. I don't want people to make extremely minor updates to my tracks like changing a texture or two, or removing unnecessary files. If you want to port one of my tracks to a different game, I also want you to ask for permission first.

My Custom Tracks

New tracks

Name	Version
Lava Lake	v2.3
Desert Fort	v3.0a
Daisy's Palace (remake)	v1.4
MP9 Snow Go	v1.0
Medieval Castlegrounds	v1.1b
Lost Ruins	v1.1
Wicked Woods (remake)	v1.0

Old tracks

Name	Version
Autumn Forest	v1.2
Birthday Party	v2.0
Goomba Cave	v1.0
Desert Raceway	v2.0
Sunset Rocks	v2.1
The Nether	v1.2
Grassland Lake	v1.0
F-Zero Big Blue (No cactus KCL version)	v1.0

Currently working on

Name	Status
Lost Ruins update	Just started.

Upcoming projects

Name	Description
Puzzle track	A Zelda dungeon based puzzle track.
Tropical Trials	My new favorite custom track, of which an early version got second in the CTGP design contest.
Desert Fort update	Balance some routes, improve ending shortcut as well as many other fixes and improvements.
Ballin Towers	Battle track with some original strats.

Texture Hacks

Released

Name	Version
Koopa Ruins	v1.0
Hyrule Castle	v1.1
Autumn Falls	v1.0
Blue Castle	v1.0
Volcanic Stadium	v1.0
Wario's Ice Mine	v2.0
Green Circuit	v2.0
Grassland Circuit	v1.1
Christmas Garden	v1.2
Handy's Garden	v1.0
Snowy Hills	v1.0
Snow Beach	v2.0
Night Beach	v1.0
Night Toad's Factory	v1.0
Night Wario's Gold Mine	v1.0
Night Moo Moo Meadows	v1.0
Grassland Resort	v1.0
Lunar Path	v1.0
Sunset Valley	v1.0
Midnight Gorge	v1.0
Choco Summit	v1.0
Night Desert	v1.0
Starlight Castle	v1.0

Thoughts about Custom Track Design

I think that the perfect custom track is a track that is at least drivable (and not punishing) for beginners but has advanced strats and shortcuts (which do not save much) that make it so that people that know the track well and are better at the game in general will still have an advantage. Custom tracks shouldn’t be created for a specific group of players in the community (like competitive players or Daisy mains for example); they should cater to everyone.

Completing a lap on a custom track should take ~40 seconds and just like Nintendo tracks there should be 3 laps in total. Although tracks that only take 2 laps (or even 1 lap) to complete can be great to race on when designed well; most 2-lap tracks were made 2 laps afterwards, because races would take too long with 3 laps (and I think that is bad track design).

I think that the perfect custom track is original in a way that its theming is executed in an original way, that there are sections on the track which are never before seen on any other custom track, and that the texture combinations used are original. There have been enough generic custom tracks for every theme that can be thought of.

Tracks should be fun to race on. I think that this can be accomplished by making the playability of the track in a way that it feels satisfying to drive on, that player interactions are supported, and that the track has great visuals with attention to detail.

• With feels satisfying to drive on I mean that the way you have to drive the track makes you want to play it again. This can for example be accomplished by adding variation of sections, making certain things trickable, adding shroomless shortcuts that feel satisfactory when taking them, having a variation of different types of drifts applied after each other, and more. In my opinion it is more satisfying to drive on Toad’s Factory than on N64 Sherbet Land, because Toad’s Factory has a great variation of sections, a shroomless shortcut and a low trick at the end that feel very satisfactory when you pull them off, while on Sherbet Land there is like nothing but straights where you have to wheelie.
• With player interaction support I mean that the track encourages players to interact with each other on as many of the areas of the track as possible. Examples of interactions are drafting, sniping, wheelie bumping and box stealing other players. These kinds of interactions can be encouraged by a track by adding straights, having walls next to the road or having sections further on in the lap which you can throw items at, having not too many boost panels and flip trick ramps, and by making the road width not too large. The Nintendo track N64 Bowser's Castle fulfills all these criteria, and indeed is incredibly dynamic in terms of player interactions.
• With has great visuals and attention to detail I mean that the theming is clear and not a mixture of random elements, and the visuals are of high quality. I think that custom tracks that look good are generally nicer to play on than tracks that look bad, although this isn’t always the case. It would be a waste if a track would play amazingly but would look like trash. Having attention to detail helps with adding charm to the track, by making it feel like an actual interesting location in a video game instead of just a road with some walls.

Additionally I like to add the following things to my tracks to improve the general player experience:

• Arrows on every turn which are visible well before reaching each turn. For slopes I like to add arrows to the ground, similarly to how Nintendo does it. Additional indicators like smart boost panel or item box placement, or edges next to offroad, walls or out of bounds areas, also help.
• Make it possible to complete the track backwards. This will improve the experience of baggers in 5v5 clan war matches, whose role it is to drive backwards and obtain the shock by 1v1ing the opposing team's bagger. There are many custom tracks which are impossible to complete backwards, and the result of that is that the bagging battle is very boring, as both baggers are simply sitting at the furthest backwards set. Having intended backwards shortcuts and bagging strats to lose the bullet bill fast are also appreciated, but definitely not essential to improve the bagging experience.
• Reduce areas where you can get target shocked off the track. This can be accomplished by extending the road such that there is no gap anymore at the place where you are airborne. I also like to add boost panels under areas of the track where there is a large height difference, so if you get target shocked there you speed up immediately due to the boost panel. Note that the higher in the air you get target shocked, the less momentum you will have to continue driving and thus the more impactful the shock is.

By the same author: JorisMKW

Custom Tracks:
Lava Lake – Desert Fort – Daisy's Palace (remake) – MP9 Snow Go – Autumn Forest – Desert Raceway – Birthday Party – Goomba Cave – Grassland Lake – The Nether – Sunset Rocks
F-Zero Big Blue (remake) – Medieval Castlegrounds – Lost Ruins – Wicked Woods (remake)

Texture Hacks:
Koopa Ruins – Hyrule Castle – Autumn Falls – Volcanic Stadium – Grassland Resort – Lunar Path – Night Moo Moo Meadows – Sunset Valley – Wario's Ice Mine – Night Wario's Gold Mine – Blue Castle
Handy's Garden – Christmas Garden – Green Circuit – Grassland Circuit – Night Toad's Factory – Starlight Castle – Midnight Gorge – Snowy Hills – Choco Summit – Night Desert
Night Beach – Snow Beach

YouTube: JorisMKW

Discord: jorismkw