Car Racing Game

This tutorial shows you how to set up a car race that uses checkpoints and a scoring system to determine the winner. It also features some designer tips that can improve the overall gameplay.

Devices Used

These devices were used for this island tutorial:

• 4 x Player Spawners

• 4 x Pickup Truck Spawners

• 15 x Race Checkpoints

• 1 x Score Manager

• ~ x Barriers

• 1 x Timed Objective

• 4 x Triggers

• 1 x Race Manager

• 1 x End Game Device

Overview of Tutorial Steps

Here's a quick overview of the steps you'll need to recreate this island, in ideal sequence:

1. Create a new island using a starter island.

2. Add Player Spawners.

3. Add vehicles.

4. Add and set up the Race Checkpoints.

5. Add and set up the scoring system using the Score Manager.

6. Add barriers at the starting line.

7. Add and set up the Timed Objective devices and triggers to monitor player progress and movement.

8. Add the Race Manager device.

9. Add more barriers to set up boundaries.

10. Adjust the My Island Settings to configure the pre-game lobby.

Create Your Island

Choose Arid Island as your starter island.

Add Player Spawners

1. Access your island, then add a Player Spawner device. Where you place this spawn pad isn't important because at game start, the player will be teleported from the pre-game lobby (covered later in this tutorial) to this spawner, then immediately teleported again to the driver's seat of their vehicle.

2. Once you place your first spawner, you can customize its options as shown below.

   

   Option	Value	Explanation
   Team	Pick a number	You will need to assign a team number for each spawner. Each team has only one player, so each spawner needs a unique number. Any player that spawns on this spawner automatically belongs to the team that you set for this spawner. Since this is a four-player game, you will need four spawners, with each one having its own team number between 1 and 4.
   Use as Island Start	No	You will be using a different spawner for your pre-game lobby.
   Visible during games	No	You don't need the spawner visible during gameplay.
   When Player Spawned Transmit On	Channel 1	Assign a channel to this spawn pad. When the player spawns, the channel you select will be triggered. This channel is used later to assign the player as a driver to a vehicle. It's very important to match your team and channel numbers, so Team 1 will transmit on Channel 1, Team 2 on Channel 2, and so on.

3. Click OK to save your options.

   Always click OK after changing device options settings or they will not save.

4. Copy the spawner, then place three copies for a total of four player spawners.

5. Customize each new spawner with a different team and channel number.

You should now have four spawners. Each pad should have a unique team number, and When Player Spawned Transmit On should be set to a unique channel number.

Add Vehicles

1. Press the M key, then click Content to open the Creative inventory. Click the Devices category and locate the Pickup Truck Spawner device.

2. Place the Pickup Truck Spawner in the location you want for the race starting position.

3. Open the Customize panel for the vehicle spawner you just placed.

4. Modify the following options.

   

   Option	Value	Explanation
   Activating Team	Team 1	Each vehicle will need to match a team that corresponds with the teams you set up on the player spawners.
   Visible During Game	Off	This refers to the base the vehicle spawns on, not the vehicle. To hide the base during gameplay, set to Off.
   Boost Regen	6.0	As the creator of the island, it's up to you to determine how much boost your vehicle has, but for this tutorial, set it to Slow.
   Color and Style	Random	You can set this to random, or to any of the different options available.

5. Copy the vehicle three times, incrementing the team number and Assigns Driver When Receiving From channel number for each. Also increment the When Player Exits Vehicle Transmit On channel for each vehicle.

Force a Player into the Driver's Seat

Now that the spawners for players and vehicles are set up, it's time to make sure your channel settings are correct. The easiest way to do this is to have the spawn pad transmit a channel number when a player spawns on it at the same time a vehicle has Assigns Driver When Receiving From, and on the same channel that was entered on the spawn pad.

You can see the spawn pad and corresponding vehicle spawner, along with their options. Each vehicle and spawn pad should have a matching channel assigned to When Player Spawned Transmit On and Assigns Driver When Receiving From.

Check each player and vehicle spawn pad to ensure there's a vehicle for each team and their channel numbers match.

If you ever need to check which channels have been set up and for which devices, press the Tab key, then select My Island from the top navigation bar.

The Channel Usage screen will show which channels are transmitting or receiving, along with the associated devices. You can also use this screen to debug channel behavior.

Exit the Vehicle

Next, you'll need a Trigger device. You'll set this trigger to reassign the player as the driver of their vehicle 5 seconds after they exit the vehicle. You can change the amount of time the player can exit the vehicle, or even force them to never leave the vehicle.

1. This tutorial game is designed for the player to be able to leave the vehicle for 5 seconds, so the triggers will have the following settings.

   

   Option	Value	Explanation
   Delay	5 Seconds	After 5 seconds, player will be returned to their vehicle.
   Visible in Game	No	The trigger will not be visible in-game.
   Trigger When Receiving From	Channel 13	This matches the channel set for the Team 1 vehicle. You will need to increment it (14, 15, 16) for each additional trigger.
   When Triggered Transmit On	Channel 1	You will need to increment this setting for each additional trigger to match the team and vehicle numbers.

   The vehicle spawner for Team 1 will transmit on Channel 13 as soon as a player exits the vehicle. This trigger will activate when it receives a signal on Channel 13, will count for 5 seconds, then will transmit on Channel 1. If you look at your Team 1 vehicle spawner, when it receives a signal on Channel 1, the player is automatically assigned as the driver.

2. Copy and place the trigger three more times. For each copy, modify the When Triggered Transmit on and Trigger When Receiving From to match the team number for each team.

Set Up Checkpoints

From the Devices tab, add a Race Checkpoint device and place it where you want the race to start.

When you place this checkpoint, it is automatically labeled as checkpoint Number 1. When you add more checkpoints, you will need to increment the checkpoint numbers by 1 for each additional checkpoint.

It's important to customize When Checkpoint Completed Transmit On. This will send a signal on the channel you select (for this tutorial, Channel 8) whenever a vehicle passes through the checkpoint. The checkpoint will then automatically turn off for that vehicle, and the next checkpoint in the sequence will turn on, as determined by the Checkpoint Number. All checkpoints must be on the same channel.

Use these values for the first checkpoint:

Add a Scoring System

After you set up each checkpoint to send a signal when a vehicle passes through, set up a Score Manager device to count the points. Place the device and set the following options:

When the Score Manager receives a signal on Channel 8, it will add a Score Value for the player passing through the checkpoint.

Since there are 15 checkpoints on the island and each checkpoint awards 1 point, a score of 15 will win the race.

Add a Win Condition

Now you can set the win condition with a score of 15 winning the round.

1. Press the M key to open the Island Settings, then click Game.

1. Set the following options to the following values:

   Option	Value	Explanation
   All Teams Must Finish	No	This is the default value, but make sure it's set to No. Since the win condition is based on score, it can be met without all players completing the race.
   Win Condition	Most Round Wins	Since the race is based on score, and since only the winning team needs to finish a round to collect the winning score, the game ends as soon as a player finishes the round. Since the win condition is based on points, there is only one round.
   Score to End	15	This causes the round to end as soon as a player gets a score of 15 — in this case, when the player passes through 15 checkpoints.

   

2. Next, select the Settings tab.

3. Scroll down to Environment Damage, and set to Off. This keeps players from using their pickaxes or vehicle to destroy anything during gameplay.

Cover Vehicles with Barriers

Placing Barrier devices over the vehicles prevents players from starting the race before the devices are deactivated.

1. Go to the Creative inventory and in the Devices category, find and equip the Barrier device.

2. Place the Barrier device so it completely encloses the first truck.

   

3. Use the following values to customize the first barrier before copying and placing over each of the remaining trucks:

   Option	Value	Explanation
   Enabled During Phase	All	This prevents the vehicle from driving out before the race starts.
   Zone Shape	Box (Hollow)	If the box were not hollow, it would force the vehicle out of the box instead of acting as a cage to hold the vehicle in place until start of race.
   Disable When Receiving From	Channel 7	When this channel is triggered, it will turn off the Barrier devices.

   

Set Up the Timed Objective

To start the race, you will set up a Timed Objective device. This will give a countdown to the start, then display a HUD message announcing the start of the race.

1. Find and place the Timed Objective device.

2. Customize as follows:

   

   Option	Value	Explanation
   Start When Round Starts	Yes	The timer will begin the countdown as soon as the round starts.
   Time	10 Seconds	You can set this to any number, and after that number is reached, the timer will send a signal to disable the barriers.
   Timer Label Text	Race Start	This is the text that displays on the HUD while the timer is counting down. Use Any text you want, up to 80 characters.
   Visible During Game	No	The Timed Objective device will not be visible during gameplay.
   When Completed Transmit On	Channel 7	When the timer reaches 0, it transmits on Channel 7. This is the same channel that you set to receive a signal for the barriers over the vehicles. This signal turns off the Barrier devices.

   

   How the text and timer should look on the screen.

In-game, once the Barrier devices are disabled, the player can take off down the track and the race is on!

Add the Race Manager Device

You'll use the Race Manager to set how many laps it takes to finish a race, and set the channel for the Timed Objective device. By default, this device will also add waypoints and show arrows that point to the next checkpoint unless disabled.

Define Boundries with Barriers

You can add barriers to prevent players from driving off the island. It's a good idea to place barriers in any spot where a player might do this, as shown in the example below, and you can also place them in strategic spots to keep the vehicles from leaving the racetrack.

1. Once you place your first Barrier device, set the following options:

   

   Option	Value	Explanation
   Barrier Style	Invisible	This protects the players without making it obvious.
   Enabled During Phase	All	This makes sure the barriers are always there, even in the pre-game lobby.
   Zone Shape	Box	Either shape will work for setting up boundaries.
   Barrier Width	Pick a number	You will want to adjust the size of the barriers to fit your terrain. It's good to start with 5 as a width, and resize from there.
   Barrier Depth	.05	A thinner barrier will fit more easily, and the depth (thickness) does not affect the effectiveness of the barrier.
   Barrier Height	1	Again, start with a height that will be manageable when placing. You can always increase the height if it isn't high enough.

2. Copy and place barriers along the edge of the island, and along the racetrack. Adjust the barrier dimensions to fit your terrain as needed.

Add a Pre-Game Lobby

Adding a pre-game lobby gives players a place to wait until the race starts.

This is where the players will enter your island, so you will need four spawn pads to accommodate up to four players.

1. Pick an area on the island that is not going to be used for gameplay, or make a separate room where you can set up your pre-game lobby.

2. Place a player spawner, then customize with the following options:

   

   Option	Value	Explanation
   Enabled During Phase	All	This should be the default value. If it isn't, then set to All to ensure that the spawn pads are enabled for pre-game.
   Priority Group	Secondary	Keeps players from being blocked from spawning if there are still open pads.
   Use As Island Start	Yes	Also a default value, this allows players to spawn onto the island before the game starts.

3. Copy and place three more spawners. No additional customization is needed.

You can add some fun things for players to do while waiting in the lobby, such as providing Driftboards or Baller vehiclesthat are available only during pre-game. You can set this by customizing the Enabled During Phase option to PreGame Only for that vehicle spawner device.

What the pre-game lobby for this island looks like.

Depending on how you set up your island, you might also want to add barriers around the lobby area to prevent vehicles from getting into the pre-game lobby. In the Barrier device options, set Enabled During Phase to Gameplay Only.

Modify More My Island Settings

The final step for setting up your pre-game lobby is to return to Island Settings > Game and do some final changes.

Designer Tips

Here are some tips that can improve how your island plays.

Modifying Vehicles

There are lots of customization options available for the vehicles, and here are some that can influence gameplay.

Adding Traps (Boosters)

Another good way to spice up your island is to use trap devices such as the Speed Boost or Bouncer. Putting these traps in key locations can make your races even more challenging.

Check out this video to see some samples of how a vehicle could be affected by a trap device.

Invisible Barriers

There may be cases where you want to block off certain parts of the island with invisible barriers like out-of-bounds areas, or to make small walls impregnable. The barrier device is perfect for these scenarios.

Video Tutorial