horse racing

[SplashNotion]

Hi all,

I'm thinking about building a track with jumps and various other obstacles for people to race their horses against each other. With a warp and the /htp command it should be easy to meet up and race.

I have some good ideas for obstacles such as jumping over piston walls, dodging minecarts, water hazards, log bridges, etc. Not parkour really just a flat out race. It would have proper starting stalls and maybe a handicap system for faster horses, spectator platform, winners podium, betting? Could be fun.

Your thoughts? Would it actually see some action?

 

[CAMM_]

Great idea dude!
Something very different, and its competition based so its bound to attract people. I'm happy to help you setup the area if you need large land cleared or anything that involves larger scale.
Also happy to donate some prizes if it becomes popular Keep us posted!

 

[angussidney]

Yeah, I reckon that would be a great idea. It would give the horse breeders like Khaidu some business and give more of a reason to have a horse. Also, the obstacles are great because that way it is also related to skill not just whoever has the best and most expensive horse.

 

[SplashNotion]

related to skill not just whoever has the best and most expensive horse.

That's the tricky part. A horse that jumps 5 blocks would be OP, but maybe it can be a disadvantage on some obstacles. Fast horses might need a handicap based on stats. Time will tell i guess.

happy to donate some prizes if it becomes popular

Nice one!

Anyhow I'll be collecting the resources for a while first, please add your comments and suggestions..

 

[angussidney]

That's the tricky part. A horse that jumps 5 blocks would be OP, but maybe it can be a disadvantage on some obstacles. Fast horses might need a handicap based on stats. Time will tell i guess.

Maybe make some rules like

• Horses that can jump over X blocks are not permitted in speed events
  
• Horses that can go faster than X are not permitted in jump events
• Horses must be under X speed and can only jump under X blocks to participate in all-rounder events

OR we could go with your handicap idea, but it would be a bit complicated to set up, maybe Bhliv could make a custom plugin?

 

[angussidney]

Some plugins that look good:

-----
Horse racing plus

http://dev.bukkit.org/bukkit-plugins/horse-racing-plus/

Seems to have good features, customisable finish lines and tracks, join race signs, customisable rewards + more

Has no handicap system though.

-----
Race Games

http://dev.bukkit.org/bukkit-plugins/racer/

Checkpoints, respawns etc

Also supports pig and foot races. It spawns the horse so it may remove any need for handicaps.

-----

Both of those look good. Hope that helps

 

[SplashNotion]

The handicap would be a time delay on the stall opening, maybe toggled on or off for each stall, or some stalls are set delayed permanently. I made some functional stalls offline, complicated for sure but doable. They even have a countdown chime

I reckon it's better if everyone can use whatever horse they like. Someone who keeps winning all the time I think would choose to use the handicap to keep the competition interesting.

If it turns out to be a popular event maybe admin might consider the plugins you suggested, looks like they add some pretty cool features.

 

[SplashNotion]

Tonight I tried out the /htp command, I couldn't get it to work.

I found a horse out in the wild, tamed it and saddled it. I hit it with an enderpearl and it showed "Horse selected for teleporting". Then I went /home and tried /htp, it showed "Teleporting....." but nothing happened. I tried the process a bunch of times, I tried in an area near home with no ps fields, still nothing. Out in the wild I can teleport the horse around, but it won't work after I warp home.

Can anyone confirm the /htp command works after warping? If that's broken then this whole idea is dead in the water

 

[CAMM_]

Tonight I tried out the /htp command, I couldn't get it to work.

I found a horse out in the wild, tamed it and saddled it. I hit it with an enderpearl and it showed "Horse selected for teleporting". Then I went /home and tried /htp, it showed "Teleporting....." but nothing happened. I tried the process a bunch of times, I tried in an area near home with no ps fields, still nothing. Out in the wild I can teleport the horse around, but it won't work after I warp home.

Can anyone confirm the /htp command works after warping? If that's broken then this whole idea is dead in the water

Usually this is because the chunk where the horse is isn't loaded (as no one is there)
So its best to get someone to teleport to you and stand next to your horse whilst you teleport to wherever and then you should be able to use /htp without an issue

 

[SplashNotion]

Okay that makes sense. Thanks Camm.

 

[Khaidu]

I am all for racing, there is disadvantages to 5 block jumpers, they jump so high that the time to get to the ground is longer which means if jumps are close they will either hit the next jump or miss properly clearing it (ground to ground contact penalty) but I don't really breed 5 block jumpers

 

[Dobsonium]

Tonight I tried out the /htp command, I couldn't get it to work.

I found a horse out in the wild, tamed it and saddled it. I hit it with an enderpearl and it showed "Horse selected for teleporting". Then I went /home and tried /htp, it showed "Teleporting....." but nothing happened. I tried the process a bunch of times, I tried in an area near home with no ps fields, still nothing. Out in the wild I can teleport the horse around, but it won't work after I warp home.

Regarding the /htp,
I have noticed that, the farther away your horse is, the longer it takes to do the teleport.
Also, the chunk where the horse is should stay loaded long enough for you to /home and then /htp.

 

[SplashNotion]

there is disadvantages to 5 block jumpers, they jump so high that the time to get to the ground is longer which means if jumps are close they will either hit the next jump or miss properly clearing it

Yes, speed and jump height can either be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on the obstacle. But I want a good mix of both. If a track is deliberately stacked against better horses, that would just be frustrating for people with better horses. That's why I think the handicap system is important, and should be optional because it's all about having the most fun possible.

 

[angussidney]

Yes, speed and jump height can either be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on the obstacle. But I want a good mix of both. If a track is deliberately stacked against better horses, that would just be frustrating for people with better horses. That's why I think the handicap system is important, and should be optional because it's all about having the most fun possible.

I guess you're right - we're trying too hard to stop horses from being overpowered and forgetting the main purpose of this suggestion - FUN! So I guess a handicap system would be great if it was optional. Let the competitors choose and then we can't be blamed if it becomes unfair without.

Also, it would be better if the stalls were toggleable rather than fixed so this handicap system can be optional. Also, suggestion, maybe get Camm or another muskie to duplicate the track a couple of times so that multiple races can be held at once or so people can practice.

 

[SplashNotion]

Construction has begun, there's 6 stalls and two toggle switches. One switch can give stalls 3 and 4 a short delay, the other switch can give stalls 5 and 6 a longer delay. So competitors can sort it out for themselves what to do.

Redstoning making my brain hurt

 

[angussidney]

So competitors can sort it out for themselves what to do.
Redstoning making my brain hurt

Yep, that sounds great. If you need some help, let me know (I wont be on today though) and ill lend a hand. Oh and hopefully that headache clears

 

[SplashNotion]

It's a good kind of hurt

For anyone wanting to help, think of a good obstacle to build (BYO materials). When I'm finished the stalls and the basic track layout, I'll post back here and then you can go for gold.

Prereqisites: Track will be about 15 blocks wide, horses and riders are not to get hurt (much), any redstone stuff must reset itself automatically.

 

[SplashNotion]

Nearly done, thanks angussidney for contributing. Some space is ready for other people's ideas, see me in-game and I'll set up a ps field for you.

/warp horserace

 

[angussidney]

Looks great. Had a look, the finish line and the replacement of Lilly pads with wood is great. Also, good rules.

A couple of things:

• During the bridge jump and the jump after that, you may fall. If you fall, you are dismounted from your horse and it slows the race down quite a bit. I suggest putting glass underneath 1 or two blocks of water, so that you won't be dismounted.
• With the rules, also list who made the course and any contributors. Its nice to have recognition.
  
• More viewing platforms? The one at the finish is great, but there should be more. Maybe a glass pathway in the sky??? That way they can see everything.
• The first water stream in the tunnel, it is nearly impossible to pass. Maybe make it go on and off like the others?
• The tunnel is not well lit. Monsters do spawn. I suggest glowstone. I can donate.
• When you go through the cave, you take some damage. Clear out some headroom.
• Hard to access different parts of track without going along the course. Maybe make some tunnels underneath?
• Maybe make a little practise course that is just a circle with 4 obstacles: soul sand, water, jump, pit. Just to become better with jumps.
• Winners podium???
• Crafting resurces etc - crafting table, furnace, ender chest, mcmmo repair/salvage and anvils
• Communal leash for seeing horse stats??? Communal saddles?? (will donate saddles)
• Finally, ask a muskie if they can keep the warp chunk loaded so that others aren't required to teleport horses.

Of course, I am happy to help with all of these. Just let me know! Also I can provide financial resources whenever u want them.

And finally, I have another idea for an obstacle. I'll build it though. Leave some space after the third jump at the start.

Hope all this helps! Good luck!

./warp horserace everybody!!!!!


PS New signature now has this thread in it

 

[SplashNotion]

A couple of things

All good points, well made. But just to clarify:

MOBS- Granted there are a few bad spots spawning monsters, mainly the underground areas and around tripwires. I'll be adjusting web fields to sort them out because the low light is intentional. However, I'll also be adjusting fields to encourage spawning in some areas! That's gonna be part of the challenge especially for night racing.

TAKING DAMAGE- I could have gone three different ways with this. On one hand I could have totally eliminated any possibility of taking damage. I chose on the other hand to simply limit the damage potential to some degree. This allows for more varied obstacles. For example the bit where you jump up the waterfalls (I need to give my obstacles names:p) you take hits if you jump too high or too early. That's a real problem for horses that jump 5 blocks, must be very careful with the jump bar. If a creeper explodes in your face do you stop and feed your horse and regenerate, or do you keep going and get the win at all costs? On the third hand o_O my next project might be a ballz-out death race, mad max style thru the desert with lava pits, piston crushers, archers on the balustrades, death an almost certainty!

DISMOUNTING- I wanted a spot where an obstacle could dismount you, and I wanted it near the end. That encourages some race tactics: "Hey I'm winning, nearly at the finish line, ima take it easy over this tricky bit, don't wanna blow it... AH CRUD someone just blasted straight past me...!" But I should make it a bit easier to get back on and racing again, I'll look into it.

WARP- Probably not a good idea to keep this sucker loaded all the time. The redstone, minecarts, fluid flows, etc impact on the server. Even while they do reset themselves, sometimes a mob touches a tripwire and there'll be a minecart rolling around 24/7. Angussidney can I please get you to remove the warp you created, I would like to make my own that I can remove when I'm making alterations or working on a secret extension.

PROMOTION- Please be careful to not hassle everyone in-game to come and race. If people just want to dojo that's their business. I'm sure the best way to go about it is to make a regular weekly event, whatever night of the week, and promote it that way. Maybe with some staff help there could be a grand opening, some prizes and such, then see how it goes after that. The key is to get a bunch of people together at one time, that's gonna make it fun.

CONTRIBUTIONS- Of course, I'll mention you as a contributor at the warp, my apologies. As well as anyone else who throws down a build will get a mention too. I'm glad you're coming up with more obstacle ideas, but please be patient. There's limited space available and I'd like to give it a few weeks so others have an opportunity to come forward. If nobody does then you can have multiple builds on the track. Or you can alter/replace the build you made, I think the ps field still has you allowed?

SUCCESS???- This might be a complete waste of time except it's just me racing against you and nobody else is interested. SFW, I had a good time making it and learned HEAPS about redstone, maybe we end up making a track that takes 3 hours to get around but only 3 people in the world know about it. HORSERACING FTW!