Tony Hawk Fans Are Modding Its Maps And More Into Skater XL
Skater XL is getting a big boost from modders who are bringing in retro maps from past skateboarding titles like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.
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After launching from early access with less content than some might have hoped, players are porting levels from classic Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games into Skater XL to make up the difference. One of a few different games attempting to strike while the iron is hot on skateboarding revivals, Skater XL entered Steam’s relaunch program in late 2018. As the name implies, the game attempts to follow on from EA’s Skate series, which has retained a surprising amount of popularity over the years even without publisher support. The game has a complex control scheme that tries to simulate skating more than arcade-style experiences like Tony Hawk and its PS1 contemporaries.
At launch, players were disappointed to find a lack of some vital features. There was no main single-player campaign to grind through, a few skating mechanics just didn’t exist, and there’s no option to skate with friends. Our own preview from April foresaw this problem, with Christopher J. Teuton concluding that just skating around an open-world aimlessly didn’t make for a complete experience. The developers at Easy Day Studios told us in an interview that the mod community would be a big part of the final release, and it seems that the team was correct.
Modders have been busy at work porting over boards, clothing and maps from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and other popular extreme sports franchises. As far as maps go, the game’s official depository on Mod.io has a sampling of what’s out there. There’s the New Jersey map from the PlayStation 2’s Tony Hawk’s Underground as created by Aaronb543. Gabrielfluorite hits a little closer to the game’s inspirations with Sanatorium from Skate 3. Finally, Aaronb543’s contributions also include “Level Zero,” which was a test stage for an earlier release of Skater XL.
While the community continues to help the developers flesh out the game’s locale selection, Skater XL isn’t the only skateboard game making a splash in 2020. Activision is preparing to relaunch the franchise that started it all with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2, a remake of the first two PS1 games with new skaters and a soundtrack that splits the difference between old and new. EA announced at its EA Play conference that it was also taking another crack at skateboarding with a new game in the Skate series, although that’s still very early on. Finally, games like Session and Skatebird are also on the horizon attempting to satisfy the nostalgia for big ramps and bigger tricks.
It’s amazing that games like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater ever went away in the first place. The skateboarding genre holds such a unique place in the gaming sphere, existing as a cross between a traditional sports release and an arcade action title. It appeals to a wide variety of players, and the original releases even contributed to the activity’s rise in popularity amongst a good number of game players. Beyond pure nostalgia, skateboard games still have a lot of room to innovate, and it’s time to grow beyond what’s come before and add the genre back into the toolbox.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/skater-xl-tony-hawk-fan-mod/