FAQ

How do I install these?  

The same way most other mods are installed.   Unpack the .zip files and copy the folders to your Community Folder.   MSFS will require a reboot after they're copied so it can find them.

Do these have Dependencies?  

Yup.  I find myself using a couple of asset packs all the time.    While not necessary (and therefore not truly a dependency), it does make the scenery look better if you're seeing it the way I designed it.   They don't take up lots of room, and are only loaded when the scenery asks for it.

Mikea.at's asset pack  https://flightsim.to/file/1923/mikea-at-assetpack

Wookie042's backcountry assets:   https://flightsim.to/file/43061/bush-backcountry-library

and then of course, AtomicTerrorPig's Race Tracker.    You can run the course without it, but why?  Running a timed course without a stopwatch seems a bit strange to me...  plus you miss out on the magical start button  https://flightsim.to/file/36369/race-tracker

How do I find them in the game?

Go to the world map and search for the location HMBx (where x is any number from 1 to 27)  You'll find an airport close to the track where you can spawn in.

Do we need to follow normal pylon racing rules?

Nope.   Just follow these 3 simple guidelines.  

1. Pass a red pylon on the right.    (like slalom skiers do )

2. Pass a blue pylon on the left.    (same reason)

3. Stay lower than the top of the pylon as you pass.

That's it.    Generally speaking, as long as the top of the pylon is above you when you cross it, it's good.   But in some cases, that limitation is relaxed a bit. Especially in areas where flying too high won't give you any advantage anyway. Another reason for a relaxed height restriction is when the ground is so uneven that the Race Tracker software can make some mistakes if you're going really (really) fast. So you might find that the fast tracks are a bit more forgiving, whereas the slower "agility course" types are more strict.   Or maybe you find  a gate that keeps giving you a "Too High" penalty.   If that's the case:  "Learn, adapt, conquer".   

What if I clip a pylon with my wing? 

The race tracker software doesn't count your wingspan, so your wings don't have to clear the pylons. It just checks to make sure that the center-mass of your aircraft is within the valid area. So just like IRL, hitting a pylon doesn't crash you. The ground does, and that's your real obstacle.   You are kept low to the ground on purpose. It keeps you close to all the excitement and dangers that flying low brings.

As you cross each pylon, take notice how far above the ground you are. Because that's what is used to decide whether you were successful at the gate crossing. Too high and you'll get a height penalty. Too low and you risk crashing. Forcing you to fly close to the ground increases your sense of speed and the element of danger. With MeeshTrax, emphasis is placed on both of those. You're welcome.

 What's with the yellow line painted on the ground?

If you're not sure which pylon is next, follow the "yellow brick road". There's a yellow line painted on the ground in areas where you might get confused. For some of the tracks, once you have the course memorized, you can remove the yellow line by removing the mod folder ending in "Y".    For instance, the HMB6 race course has a separate folder named HMB6Y. This folder contains only the yellow line and allows you to remove that if you don't need it.  Other track builders use POIs to number their pylons...but that only works when you have very few of them.   MeeshTrax have between 40 and 150 pylons.  That turns into a POI mess, and a simple yellow line does a much better job of showing the race course, especially since you're going to catch it out of the corner of your eye while flying.

It's important to mention that the yellow line does NOT indicate the best racing line. It merely helps you find the next gate without cluttering the skies like POIs do.   In heavily populated areas (Like the tracks on Manhattan Island and other cities) the yellow line gets covered up by buildings, so glowing yellow arrows are added to point toward the next gate.

Do I need to stay close to the pylons on corners? 

In a word, yes.   Taking a corner too wide is considered the same as cutting the corner on the inside.   A single pylon is placed at the apex of a corner with an "assumed" outside radius that is approximately  the same width as the pylon is tall.   Imagine a square box beside the pylon and put your plane there.    The race tracker software is going to believe you want to stay as close to the apex of a corner as possible to finish the course in the shortest time possible.

As of this writing, there are 3 river run courses (HMB-25, 26, and 27) that remove this "Box" limitation and allow you to use the entire width of the river at the bottom of the canyon should you desire for any of the single-pylon markers. Double-pylon structures are still limited to forcing you to fly between the red and blue.   Naturally, the fastest line through the course will be the straightest line, so making really wide corners will likely not assist you in getting a great score. But the option exists for these 3 tracks. Maybe you're flying some jet that takes a long time to spool up and it also turns like the Titanic. Who knows? But if the valid hit box for a single pylon gate changes from the "square box" standard, the description will make mention of it.

Why don't you build really fast tracks for high-speed jets?

Because other people do that.    I'm doing something different.   For me, the "go fast, turn left" method of racing gets old quickly.   Maybe it's my attention span disorder, or the fact that I grew up in a racing family / environment... I don't know.   I wanted to build some challenging courses that have long-lasting replay value.    ..and blitzing through a few pylons in a small circle makes me take a nap.

When you see pictures of slow LSA style planes flying near pylons, it's not a mistake. The Glacier Series tracks are designed to allow all planes to compete. Not just "fast" ones, or the ones that most people think are suitable for an air race. And since Race Tracker allows you to compare your best time against others using the same plane, your times mean something.

These tracks are too hard!   You need to make them easier!   It's too difficult!    It's impossible to fly this!

Yes, the tracks take some time to master. They are designed to be a challenge. None of these are something that you'll run once and say "Been there, done that" like the Reno Air Race.   I was bored by the second lap at Reno...and in my opinion, that is why it failed. If you're flying low enough to get credit for a gate without attracting a "too high" penalty, you'll notice that right about the time you are wanting to roll your aircraft towards a corner, there's a rock dangerously close to where your wingtip is going to be in a few seconds. Don't report this as a problem. Rest assured, it's intentional. It may be a little cruel, but intentional. You might decide I'm a sick individual for creating tracks this treacherous, but at least you won't be yawning... 

However,  instead of wishing for the race track to be easier, may I share a quote from a friend of mine:  "Just get better."  I can assure you that each track has been completed multiple times without any time penalties before it is ever considered for release to the public.  

 These are designed to be enjoyed in 3 very distinct stages. 

If you want to be fast,  you must learn the track. Transitions from one turn to the next will need to be prepared and executed with confidence, sometimes needing to commit to the turn well in advance of the corner, and sometimes without clear visibility of what's coming up next. Blind corners and "committing to a turn before you see it" are a staple of MeeshTrax course design.   Just like real world race courses for cars.   A good race course rewards the best drivers and punishes those that just want to phone it in. 

 Secondly, you'll find that just making it through the course without any time penalties is a challenge in itself. Enjoy that milestone. Because only those who've "done the work" get that far.

The third stage is the leader board.   You can race against your friends (or enemies) at the same time , or just post a new fast time and taunt your friend on the other side of the globe.

Can I compete against other players in real-time? 

Yes, but understand that starting an online race exactly at the same time for all players is really not possible over an internet connection.    There is some inherent latency across all internet connections.    So even though you can launch any number of planes at close to the same time, they are all still running their own timers so that the results are accurate and fair.    You could start behind someone and finish ahead of them, but still lose based on the actual elapsed time (plus any penalties you've accrued).   Trust the timer, not the internet latency.    That said, flying with a group at an HMB track is a lot more fun than flying alone, will very likely sprout some interesting challenges.    And when you are trying to get a group race started, consider using Active Pause, then push the start button.     You can more easily start together that way.

The buildings look awful this close. 

Yup.   That is so true.   Photogrammetry is cool from 1500 ft away.   But up close it's a post-apocalyptic nightmare.  Turn off photogrammetry when racing.   Especially on the helicopter tracks that get up up-close-and-personal with buildings downtown.    It will force all buildings to be "auto-generated" but at least their exterior walls will be straight.   And while you're at it, make sure you have Bing Data on.  This greatly increases the accuracy of the height-map data so you will be able to see the jagged rocks of a mountain top instead of a gently sloping hill.   

Bridges won't let me fly under them.

That's photogrammetry again.   Photogrammetry tends to draw bridges as fully solid objects that extend all the way to the water line.   Shutting that off will make the bridges get generated more simply (improving your FPS which is a  good thing), it will allow you to fly under bridges (part of the core fun of a river run) and let you see the world as the track designer saw it.  

Pylons don't appear until I get really close.

That is controlled by your slider in the Graphics Options section.   The one marked "Object LOD".    Since most of the scenery is terrain data, and the pylons are objects, you can control each separately     And since I played MSFS for many years with a crappy video card, I realized that I didn't need to see either one from very far away.   I usually set my Object LOD so that I see 2 pylons in front of me at a time.   Anything more than that just bogs down the computer.