Rant on Flow :I

So lately, I've seen so many comments on flow that it's bugging me. People saying things like "there was a flow kill at 1:27" or "the flow was ok, it kinda stopped a couple times" or "when you do [such and such], it kills the flow"

When I see a track that supposedly has "good flow" that means it continues at the same speed without any sudden stops but a very smooth ride through the whole thing. No, I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but what's up with everyone saying that any part of the track that doesn't continue at the same smooth speed is somehow a "flow kill" that makes the track worse?

I dunno about you guys, but I like tracks that surprise me, shock me, and/or make me say "what was THAT?" and watch it again. If a track has supposedly "good flow" meaning it goes at the same speed the whole time, it's much less likely to surprise anyone. Why then, do so many people feel like everyone should conform to having "good flow," or else their track is somehow worse?

I think there's something wrong with your definition of flow. The fact is, the meaning of flow has become twisted somehow. Flow used to mean (long time ago) that tricks didn't have gaps between them, and that each one led smoothly into each other. Take ZNF - he doesn't have any obvious "choppiness" in his tracks, each trick leads into the other. That doesn't mean that he has no airtime, or no slower interesting bits, he just places them strategically, so you never feel like you're bored or nothing interesting is happening. Over time though, flow came to mean that EVERY trick led smoothly and directly into the next trick without a change of speed. Okay, maybe this kind of track can be cool to watch, but it should not be some kind of "standard" that EVERYONE is trying to achieve.

But you're wrong. The real definition of flow is that the track's pace keeps you on your toes, and that you never know what's coming up next. This is not necessarily "jerky" or "awkward" - if done well, this inconsistency is what makes a track interesting, and ENJOYABLE TO WATCH. It's also one of the biggest things that makes a track GOOD the whole way through. So stop thinking of flow in terms of a constant speed - think of it as what makes the track surprise whoever is watching.

FURTHERMORE, there IS no "standard" for line rider in bare tracks. Whatever you make that people enjoy, THAT is the standard. It's not like you're all being judged by some big rubric, with certain amounts of points for the quality, quantity, and speed of your tricks. If you think that making lots of good tricks at a fast constant speed will ALWAYS make your track awesome, THINK AGAIN. I challenge you to think of something nobody has ever done before, do it well, and release it. If you did it well enough, it is better than ANY track you make trying to conform to some sort of standard. You could be ZNF himself, but if you release track after track with the exact same standards, it gets boring. So he branched out. Then why are so many people trying to conform to some non-existant standard? BRANCH OUT YOURSELF!!!

Whew, that felt good

couldn't of wrote this rant better. Everyone says that I have outstanding flow because I can keep Bosh at the same pace throughout the track, but I also tend to speed it up a bit or even slow down, and thats where everyone says "FLOW KILLRAR!" Which is not true at all. Flow isn't about keeping the same speed.

I agree with you completely.
You'll see a lot of "flow killers" by current standards in my return track.

Wizumz would be the one to talk about flow

But it would annoy me if i kept getting a

"flow kill at :12, :34, :50, 1:26" i have only commented about flow kills only a few times.... it was nice and smooth the entire track then got very very very slow and rough.

I bet I'm one of those people that commented on flow and made you start this rant.
I'm OK with it slowing down, just as long as it doesn't go from a fast speed to a slow speed suddenly, without the speed being brought back up soon.
I dunno, I guess I just really like smoothness or something. Haha.

I have to agree with pretty much everything, but it does depend what the track style is.
Like if it's a manual with some quirk, or jsut a manual track, then it really kinda needs flow.

PerryBoy wrote:I have to agree with pretty much everything, but it does depend what the track style is.
Like if it's a manual with some quirk, or jsut a manual track, then it really kinda needs flow.

All tracks need flow. But they DO NOT need to go at the same speed the whole time.

20% of comments on my tracks are flow kill comments
Thank you for ranting about this

Well I s'pose perfect flow is great when you're doing a really high-speed part, but now I've read this I'll probably stop doing 'flow kill' comments, I've been converted ^^

Flow kill = Style Change