Aciknovae

Aciknovae is an AGL Circuit located within an industrial district of Moscow.

## Description

Aciknovae is a long track, of low-to-moderate difficulty. Even though it features the infamous corner-jumps, the rest of the corners are generally not difficult to take, and are interspersed with long straights. Expect large elevation changes as well, culminating in a long spiral later on the track. The race takes place during a heavy rain.

## Walkthrough

The first turn on this track is also the first of the corner-jumps, the signature of Aciknovae. Although it may seem threatening from the standing start, it is actually quite forgiving, and will need only a brief turn to the left (preferably starting on the right side of the track) to jump down and continue. However, the turn must be decisive, lest you fly over the wall in front and end up outside the track. At the edge of the starting lane’s end is a speed pad located to the left, so try to cross it as you jump off below. There is also a pair of speed pads on the left side of the track below - just past the end of the flashing directional signs - which you should catch with a sharp enough turn.

Then, the track will quickly descent to the base of the hillside on the right. As you will fly around the cooling towers on the said hill, the track will make a left-to-right S-bend. However, this S-bend is a very smooth one, with a small straight placed in its middle. You will need only to perform small left and right turns as you clear this S-bend. Then, the track will start to rise. Shortly after the Wyvern screen to the left there will be the next corner-jump awaiting. Clear it the same way as the first one. Following the MNK screen is a small ascending right-left-right chicane. It is easier than it looks, and can be completed just by making a beeline tangent to two first apexes, which also gives you an easy path to fly through over both of speed pads of this chicane. Do not forget to pitch up here.

After a small ascent you will come to a long, 180-degrees corner encircling a flue gas chimney. All you need here to do is to consistently steer leftwards until you reach the speed pads at the end of this corner. The more well-handling ship you are using, then you will have to do the more steering via tapping instead of holding the steering button. Past the speed pads lies the third corner-jump that leads to the right, which is also easy to take with only a small turn, especially if taken from the outside (the left side of the straight you are jumping from). Subsequently, you will enter a small tunnel that contains the checkpoint. The whole tunnel is a smooth right-hander that is easy to pass through only with steering input. Stay on the right side of it, and you will catch an extra speed pad. This speed pad is quickly followed by other ones, in a set of 2x2, placed just before another jump, this time perfectly straight.

Past the landing straight you will enter another tunnel, which contains a sharp 90 degrees left-hander. It also can be taken with steering only, but on very high speeds it is advisable to briefly tap the left airbrake. The next straight will follow you to yet another corner-jump, which is also orthogonal. However, this time  you do not have to wait with turning until you reach the end of the straight, since the concrete field to the left can be taken instead (as soon as the fence ends), serving as a small shortcut (do not worry about the pipeline support, as you can fly through them). As you jump, aim to the left of the track section below to catch a speed pad. The straight past the jump leads to very small and steep tunnel that will take you to the spiral section surrounding another industrial chimney, coiling down rightwards. Like the 180-degrees corner before, the spiral requires soft, but constant turning to be navigated successfully. Start turning early (just past the first speed pad you will see) and you will fly over two isolated speed pads as you go descent.

The exit from the spiral is a small right-turn that immediately swivels into a sharp orthogonal left-hander. You will to stay close to the left apex while turning (or a tap on the airbrake) to clear this somewhat tricky corner. Afterwards lies a smooth right-hander that descends slightly. Stay by its right bend to fly over a speed pad located on the small straight after it. Then there will be another right-hander, now of 90 degrees. It can be made with steering only, but to take the previous speed pad and the next – this one laying on the right side of this corner exit – you will a need a tap on the right airbrake. Following is a 180-degrees left-hand corner. It can be also taken only with steering, but there is a speed pad on the left side of the small straight following this corner, which will probably require another tap on the airbrakes to reach it. The last corner is a small turn to the left, after which the starting lane lies. To enter the pit, turn slightly to the right on the penultimate straight. To exit the pit, stay by the inner bend of the pit, tap the right airbrake and aim for the first speed pad.

## Track Evolution

First pitched as a concept by a user named AGGamer, Aciknovae was originally designed by Damon Pierce with a notably more bright and utopian environment and significantly shorter length than the final product featured in the main game. In it's first iteration, Aciknovae contained early material that went unused in the game, such as its American setting (set within New York City), clean and vivid track textures, and an achievement related to a cut found in this iteration where the player had to clip through the buildings located to the left of the only chicane series present in the track.

The track had since then changed twice, with the second iteration being a remake of Pierce's design with only minor tweaks to the layout and featured a significantly more darker environment, and the third (now the current) iteration completely changing both the layout and design entirely; Adam Chivers, the lead developer, designed both iterations. Among these changes were the relocation of Aciknovae to Russia's capital, Moscow and the transition from a utopian prospering city to a gloomy industrial district.

In this iteration, it has went through three scenery changes: one which featured hills, large funnels and cooling towers, one which had a more claustrophobic design, and one which depicts a proper industrial district. The third revision eventually became the track's final design for its debut in the 1.0 release of the game.

## Gallery

Track-aciknovae.jpgThe first jumpThe descent around the cooling towersThe S-bendThe second jumpThe steep chicaneThe entrance to the chimney-cornerPanoramic view of the chimney-cornerThe third jumpThe checkpointThe fourth jumpThe fourth jump seen backwardsThe pipelines (shortcut route)The fifth jumpThe entrance onto the spiralThe spiral (1)The spiral (2)The corner after the spiralPanoramic view of the three corners after the spiralThe penultimate cornerThe splitThe starting lanePit lane exit