Learn how to make your races stand out and how to ensure they're liked by others

Feb 20, 2014 12:07 GMT  ·  By

Rockstar Games has just offered a big guide on using the GTA Online content creator to generate multiplayer races, so that imaginative players can have the most success.

Grand Theft Auto 5 received its online multiplayer mode in October and, after a few different updates, Rockstar offered players access to the Content Creator tool, through which they can generate different multiplayer missions.

These can range from deathmatches, to themed missions or races.

Now, seeing as how races are the most popular, Rockstar has posted a guide on its Newswire in order to help creative players make the best experiences for GTA Online.

From the placement of checkpoints, to special moments like stunt jumps, everything is discussed by Rockstar, so check out the list of design tips below.

- Always make sure the next Checkpoint is easily visible. You want your Races to be settled by skill, not confusion. - For tight turns, place your Checkpoint slightly before the apex of the corner. This will give the player ample notice to brake and allow them to focus on maintaining a good racing line. - 99% of the time, a well-placed Checkpoint is a better indication of an upcoming turn than a row of wrecked buses. - Use the description to let your players know how best to play your Race. If you're using lots of Props to create roadblocks, for example, and you find in testing that the Race plays better with traffic disabled, let people know that. - Make sure Weapon and Health pickups are placed far enough apart so that a single player can't grab them both at the same time. This will keep your GTA Race competitive by not giving the leader too great an advantage. - Weapon pickups, specifically Rockets, should be used sparingly enough so that they present a potential turning point in the GTA Race, rather than a constant malaise. Consider placing them where they might be most tactically effective, like at the beginning of a long straight section. - Remember that all created Races can be played as GTA Races but only if you take the time to place weapon pickups. Ensuring that your Races are well-balanced and enjoyable in both standard and GTA Race formats gives your players an incentive to come back for more. - Jumps should also be used sparingly. Too many jumps, or badly placed ones, can harm the flow and make your Race memorable for the wrong reasons. - Boost pickups should be placed on straight sections and key overtaking positions where they can be most effective. - Don't place Stunt Jump cameras before turns as the player may lose sight of their vehicle. - Vehicle selection should always be carefully considered according to the layout and terrain of your course. Compacts are best suited to intricate city routes while the Off-Road class of vehicles is most at home in the mud and blood of Blaine County. If you'd like to experiment with different combinations of vehicle class, such as Sports Cars and Off-Road, then you'll want to mix up the terrain and course so that neither has an inherent advantage. You can even select parts of the game world that provide split routes, such as tight, risky shortcuts for bikes on mountain trails. Balance is everything and the way to achieve that is through meticulous testing - try out your Race using various vehicles until you're consistently setting similar times across the board. - Air Races should test pilots with a mixture of vertical and lateral, side-to-side movement, in order to break the routine of straight flying for long periods of time. There are no handbrakes in the sky so extremely tight turns might make your Race too difficult or even unplayable. You may find it useful to switch to the in-game camera to get a feel for the turning capabilities of each aircraft when fine tuning Checkpoint placement. - If you really want to test your players' cockpit skills then think about how to combine Checkpoint placement and the game world itself to create challenging sections. For example, a series of Checkpoints weaving above and under bridges will test their altitude control, while placing one between neighboring skyscrapers will force them into knife flying position. - With everything here, experimentation is the key, so play around and have fun!

Rockstar pledges to release even more tools for creative players in GTA Online, so expect to hear more soon.