TrackTale - This tool does not exist

[dreadnaut]

While Bliss has made working with tracks much easier, I still find mouse-driven editors slow when I'm designing a track a want to experiment rapidly.

I thought it'd be nice to have a simple language and a program that can convert it to a track on the fly, taking car of the boring bits such as adding the opening and closing bits of an highway or a banked road. The right next tile can often be inferred from context: a tunnel after a banked corner needs a ramp down first.

The syntax would look something like this:

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start [ asphalt | dirt | ice ] < north | west | south | east >

[ n ] [ asphalt | dirt | ice ] [ straight | wide ( right | left ) ]

[ n ] banked [ corner ] < left | right >

[ n ] chicane < left | right >

[ n ] loop | cork [up] | slalom | tunnel | highway

And a snippet of track would look like this:

Code Select Expand

start west
3 straight
corner right
banked corner left
straight
jump
wide jump
cork up
tunnel

banked corner left would generate a banked ramp to the left, and a banked corner. Then comes straight, which means the program adds a banked ramp down, and a straight piece of asphalt. jump creates a ramp up and one down, wide jump does the same with an empty tile in the middle. cork up add a spiral ramp, and the following tunnel brings us back at ground level with a ramp down, and adds a tunnel. Etc, etc.

Make a change in the middle (e.g. add a stright) and the program would regenerate the track moving the necessary tiles.

I imagine a two pane editor, with the text area on the left, and the generated track on the right. When you are happy you can save the track, move to Bliss or another editor, and fill in the rest of the details.

Leaving it here for posterity, 'cause I'll never find the time to write it 🤷

[Cas]

This is actually a very neat idea. It does take some work, but I'll be thinking about how to make the process simple and maybe I can come up with something