PRO version screenshot

If you're just started playing the PRO version, you would most probably find yourself in the same predicament as that on the screenie. Enjoy it, while you still can. For frustration will soon kick in.

Trials is a little Java2 game based on the Trials driving exhibitions. The great thing about this game is the great real-life physics feel and control. You can see more about this game, and try the online demo at www.redlynx.com or www.miniclip.com. If you have an extra $10, you can buy the full basic trackset, which features two more tracks and a choice between three bikes, each having their own specs like weight and engine power. If you look at the sample screenshots in redlynx.com, they seem to be coming up with a PRO version, which i'm eagerly waiting (I blame error from the GT Forums for this addiction of mine with the damn game).

**UPDATE**
Here's a link to TrialsPRO, both the online demo version and how to purchase the full version (click me!).

But anyway, if you've played the basic trackset, and have mastered the controls and the all the tracks, it can get quite boring after a while. And the Pro version isn't out yet. Three tracksets is not enough. If you want, you can make your own track and make it as easy or as hard as you want, provided you have the full basic version. I've discovered that the tracks are just a set of pictures. for one trackset, there's a JPEG background picture and two GIF track guides. The track guides determine where the bike touches the floor. Where are these pictures? Browse in your Trials folder and look for the file named Trial.jar. This is actually a compressed file containing a folder structure and the necessary files needed for the game, much like pak0.pak if you're familiar with games like Quake. I use WinRAR so that file had a zip file icon so i tried unzipping it and found all the files. So anyway, unzip Trial.jar and browse in the folder pics/basic/. There you will see the following files:

track10_visible_01.JPG
track11_01.GIF
track12_01.GIF
track20_visible_01.JPG
track21_01.GIF
track22_01.GIF
track30_visible_01.JPG
track31_01.GIF
track32_01.GIF

Just view the pictures and you'll get the basic idea to a track. The JPEG file is the background, and the GIF's are the track guides. One thing to consider, look very closely on the bottom parts of the GIF files. You'll notice some white vertical lines (thanks to snow_veil for pointing this out). These mark the spawn positions when you crash. The first line determines the first spawn point, and the last is the finish mark. The length of the lines doesn't seem to matter. But just try to make it as high as those on the original tracks. Here are some things to consider when making your own track:

- Make your track beginner friendly by positioning the spawn markers on a decent location, good enough to start a section of a track after a crash.

- The ground (green area in the GIF files) have to be connected to the bottom part of the picture. I have tried putting a floating ground to see if it would work. I was trying to make a mock loop-the-loop jump. When you play that track, the left most part of that ground will extend downward creating a wall. I've also tried connecting that floating ground to the top part of the picture, but still no luck.

- It's always tempting to make very complicated tracks, but not all bikes can handle obstacles such as very steep climbs, high drops and long jumps, as compared to the green bike. But then again, I only use the green bike :).

- You can make the picture bigger in terms of dimensions. Original tracks are 1300x900 pixels big. I've created tracks longer than that, around 2000x900 and 3000x900. I haven't tried raising the height though. Consider also that you are only given 2 minutes to complete the track. So a very long and complicated track would just be a waste if even with your best playing skills you still can't reach the end.

- Try not to make a track cross the path of the other track on the same set. It will still work but the bike and rider will still go over the first track, since the JPEG file is just a background. This is more of an aesthetic thing to consider. Notice that on the original tracks, the second track in a set is always higher than the first. This is to simulate the distance of the first track to the second track within a set.

- You can only use the same filename as the original tracks. So that means you can only edit and not add. I've tried adding a track40_visible_01, track41_01 and track42_01 to create a 4th set, but it didn't work (after the third set, it finished the game). I've also tried adding a third track in a set (track13_01). That too didn't work.

With those in mind, you can go ahead and create some tracks and extend the replayability of your 10 dollar investment, until the PRO version comes out. S

What's next? Well you have to test if the track works or not. First you have to zip the files back into a Trial.jar file. All you have to do is to zip all the files, including the subfolders, keeping the structure of course, and naming it Trial.jar. Two ways I've tried so far to do this. Using Winzip, select all the files and right click, then click on Add to zip file. On Compression, choose Normal, then name the archive Trial.jar. Using WinRAR, select all files, right click and click on Add to archive. On archive format, choose ZIP, and name the file Trial.jar. When the file is created, move that new Trial.jar file to where the original one is located, and just overwrite the old one (just remember to back up just in case). Run Trials and see if it will run through.

X24's Custom Tracks

Here are some sample tracks that I did for you to try. They're kinda hard so be careful :). The files are packed in sets (JPEG and the 2 GIF files). Just click the pictures to download.

Competition tracks

My Trials game "competition tracks" are now available. Was dat you ask? I've been playing around with Trials, trying to get better scores, if not perfect scores, or just fooling around with the bikes. I've thought, since it also require skills to run the tracks perfectly, why not see how far our skills can go. So I came with a few tracks that would show us how well we can ride Trials. Wanna know how far you can do a jump? Check your distances with the Long jump track. A nice clean runway to get you started, and a nice big ramp to launch you out, see how far you "flew" using the graduated track (unit of measurement used is the average length of a bike, which is measured from front and rear tire, end to end). Wanna see how high you can jump your bike? Try the High Jump track. How about some trick riding. See how long and how far you can hold a wheelie, or see if you can even do a front wheelie. Are Flips your thing? Do the most flips without crash-landing.

Of course, anyone can go, "I did a 5 on the high jump". While it's not completely impossible, that doesn't mean it's believable. So if you want something to prove that you did, you can use a video recording software like SnagIt! to record your Trials run. I've used SnagIt! to record that sample jump video on the Ride guide page. To download the "competition tracks", just click the screenshots below.

Here's snow_veil's wheelie run (click me to watch, or right click and save as). You need DivX though.

I have other track ideas in mind, such as a timed dirt bike run, or a timed hill climb run. But that requires counting time. It's possible with the first start of the track when the timer starts from zero. but after you crash, the clock's still ticking. It would be nice to have it reset to zero when you crashed. But that requires some reprogramming and won't be feasible on the stock Trials game program. That'll be on the To-do list for future additions. In the meantime, good luck with the tracks and have fun. I hope you all like it.

Friends' Custom Tracks

Custom Tracks from friends.

- snow_veil's Smooth trackset. It's harder than it looks. Believe me. Here's where you can practice moving horizontally from a jump (Tip #2). Just click the screenshot to download.

- Here's a track submitted by Rik Pols. It might appear messed up at first since you start in that deep pit. But I can manage to come out from there and start up the ramp and on the rest of the track. Nice idea actually, unless Rik forgot to put a white line on the beginning of the track :). Just click the screenshot to download.

Rik's second track submission. hope you like it :).

- Here's a custom track created by Oliver. I should say, this is one of the hardest tracks I've ever played. I can't even finish the first track. I consider this a PRO track, since I find it hard to play it with the green bike. You really need power to climb those hills, unless you really have good hands with weak bikes like the basic blue bike. Enjoy. Just click the screenshot to download.

Also, Oliver gave me this .class file that will freeze the game time. This can help you practice the tracks so you won't be bothered with the time limit. Well, you can use this as a cheat to get higher scores, but who are you kidding anyways, right? Anyway, this would be very useful for my trick tracks since scores don't matter. Thanks Oliver!

InfoPadTime.class - click to download.

Also also, he gave me a wonderful tip (if you know java, you probably know it). When editing tracks, you don't need to re-zip the Trials.jar (or Trialspro.jar) file back. With the .jar file unzipped into subfolders, copy the Trials.bat file inside the main Trials folder (where Background.class and BackPaintable.class files are, to name a few). Edit the batch file and change the command from "java -jar Trial.jar -window" to "java Trial -window" (take the -window out if you like fullscreen). The same applies to TrialsPRO. Run the batch file from there or make a shortcut to it, and it will run the game. So awesome. And it somehow fixed my Trials basic sound problem. Thanks to Oliver again.

- Here's one by tonino. Tracks 1 and 2 are the same. Very challenging indeed. Again, just click the screenshot to download.