What's up, gamers? How's everyone doing? I hope you're all doing great. Today I want to talk about the city in Skate, but from a different perspective. I've been roaming around the map quite a bit, and honestly, it's not that massive. Once you've gone through it several times, you realize it's not as vast as it might seem at first. However, I really hope this is something EA works on in the future because if they start expanding the map, this game is going to be incredible. Skate still has a lot of exploitable potential, but we have to see how EA handles it properly moving forward.
So when you dedicate yourself to touring the city and exploring the map, you realize that there's another great use for the video editor. I had mentioned this in a previous post, but as I've been playing more and more, I've been getting better use out of this video editor, and you can really do some extremely interesting things with it. You can even start making good skate video edits for the game and the community. Here's a sample of something I did that turned out pretty good.
Discovering San Vansterdam Through the Replay Editor
And just like I've been doing this, we can get to know the city from a very interesting perspective. Of course, it's a somewhat slower way to do it because obviously you have to pause and get into the whole free camera thing. However, it's a very entertaining way to grow fond of the game as you travel through all the locations. There are very good spots to skate and pull off tricks, and it's also another way to see things from a different perspective through the missions.
The replay editor in Skate has become one of my favorite features since the game dropped into early access back in September. EA and Full Circle have really nailed the implementation of this tool. When you hold down the D-pad and bring up the Skate Toolkit, you can access the Replay Editor by selecting the bottom-right icon. From there, the possibilities are endless. You can rewind up to five minutes of footage, fast forward, switch between different camera angles using the D-pad, and even take screenshots by pressing the right analog stick.
What makes this editor truly special is the freedom it gives you. You've got three camera types to work with: the Follow Camera that stays close to your feet and board, the Orbit Camera that locks onto your character and lets you rotate and zoom, and the Free Camera that gives you complete control to position your shots however you want. This last one is where the magic happens when you're exploring San Vansterdam cinematically.
Getting to Know San Vansterdam's Four Sectors
San Vansterdam is divided into four sectors, and although in this post I'm only showing part of one, I'd like to continue showing the city this way in the future. The city comprises Hedgemont, Gullcrest Village, Market Mile, and Brickswich. Each neighborhood has its own distinct character and skateable spots that make exploring worthwhile.
Hedgemont is where everyone starts their journey in San Vansterdam. This is the neighborhood that was originally called the "Blue Light District" because of a naturally occurring bluish aura that shone annually during the Glow Jellyfish's mating season. Pretty wild, right? Here you'll find iconic spots like Bonzo's (or Bonski Skatepark), The Tri-Towers, and Hartcore Plaza. The Welcome Center and main Extravert skate shop are also located here, making it your hub for getting started in the game.
Gullcrest Village is where history meets skating culture. Named for the flock of seagulls early settlers encountered, this neighborhood features monuments to legends long past, spots lovingly maintained by the SVLocs, and graffiti from local artists making their mark. The House of Rolling Reverence, a once holy gathering place that's been turned into a communal shredding space, stands as a testament to San Van's skating heritage. The Upper Cut, where the San Vansterdam Central Canal begins, offers cafes, restaurants, and tourist traps near the Anchor Point Monument.
Market Mile is located on the beautiful coast of San Van and has always been a source of commerce, trade, and hustle. This is where you'll find The Rolling Waves Skatepark, The O.R.B., ImpervaTowers, The Vault, and The Promenade. San Vansterdam's skater community has plenty of spots here to throw down, sightsee, and practice the fine art of street skateboarding. The towering buildings and coastal setting make this area perfect for those epic cinematic shots in the replay editor.
Brickswich is the second oldest neighborhood in Downtown San Vansterdam and is currently the most vertical area in the game. This neighborhood is home to the San Vansterdam Land Sharks and features the city's stadium. What makes Brickswich special are the tall buildings with empty pools and quarter pipes on the rooftops. If you're skating in the sunlight in one of the ground-level skateparks, keep an eye on the sky because the rooftops contain ramps you can use to fly across the towers. The danger factor adds to the thrill, but landing those gaps is incredibly satisfying and looks absolutely sick when captured with the right camera angles.
The Magic of Free Camera Exploration
Using the free camera to explore San Vansterdam is like being a documentary filmmaker in a skater's paradise. You can position the camera anywhere, capture angles that would be impossible during regular gameplay, and really appreciate the detail that Full Circle has put into this city. The damp corridors, the graffiti-covered walls, the way light filters through the urban landscape – all of it comes alive when you take the time to frame it properly.
During Season 2, EA improved the Replay Editor even more. Now you can set keyframes on the timeline, each bringing a unique type of shot with it. The camera options let you choose between Orbit, Free, and Tripod modes. You can adjust the target focal point between Head, Body, and Skateboard. Field of View, Tilt, Roll, and X-Offset controls give you the cinematographer tools you need to create truly professional-looking footage. It's not just about recording tricks anymore; it's about creating art.
The settings menu lets you customize everything too. You can change the length of cached replay from 15 seconds all the way up to 5 minutes. Scrub speed can be adjusted from slow to fast depending on how precise you want to be with your edits. You can choose between JPG or PNG for exported photos, and set playback speed anywhere from 0.5x to 2x. Resolution options range from 360p all the way up to 2160p, so you can export clips that look absolutely stunning.
Seasonal Changes and Temporary Structures
There are also things that are going to disappear, like the ice castle. This will only be available during the winter season, so it'll be interesting to see what other types of structures and locations are going to be created throughout 2026. The Winter Roll-stice event that's currently running features three new iced-over community parks and wintery Quick Drop Items. It's the season to shred with friends, take on nine new challenges and event tasks, and earn rewards like the Roll-stice Tee and Icy Blue Pants.
This seasonal approach keeps San Vansterdam feeling fresh and alive. Season 1 brought us Skate-o-Ween and the 7-Ply Maple Harvest, with spooky decor around spots like The Orb and The Skateway. Each season adds new skateable areas, challenges, tasks, brand partners, cosmetics, and tracks to the soundtrack. EA has committed to supporting Skate for years to come with additional gameplay features, balance changes, more content, and seasonal events.
The temporary nature of these seasonal structures makes documenting them with the replay editor even more important. That ice castle you're skating on today might be gone next season, replaced by something completely different. Creating cinematic footage of these limited-time areas becomes a way of preserving San Vansterdam's evolving history.
Building a Connection With the City
What I love most about exploring San Vansterdam through the replay editor is how it helps you build a genuine connection with the city. When you're just grinding through missions and challenges, you might miss the small details – the way shadows fall across a particular plaza at sunset, the intricate graffiti hidden in an alley, or the perfect natural line that flows through a neighborhood.
By slowing down and using the free camera to explore, you start to see San Vansterdam as more than just a skateboarding playground. It becomes a character in its own right, with personality, history, and secrets waiting to be discovered. You'll find yourself noticing things you've skated past dozens of times without really seeing them.
The verticality that Full Circle has built into the game really shines when you explore with the camera. Skate introduces off-board mechanics like climbing, scaling, and jumping, which means you're no longer limited to ground-level exploration. Don't forget to look up when you're in photo mode – some of the most legendary lines and stunning views are above you, on rooftops and elevated structures that previous Skate games couldn't access.
The Technical Side of Creating Content
For those interested in creating content for the community, knowing where your clips are saved is crucial. On PC, your clips and videos will be in this folder: C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Skate\data, with separate folders for Videos and Screenshots. Console players will find their exported clips in their system's media gallery. This makes it easy to grab your footage and share it on social platforms or upload it to the skate.REEL site.
The trimming process is straightforward but powerful. Press the Right Bumper to enter trimming mode, then scrub through your clip using L2 to rewind and R2 to fast forward. Move a few ticks before your desired moment and press Left on the D-Pad to set your clip's starting point, then Right on the D-Pad to set the end point. Press R1 again to enter full edit mode, where you can really start crafting your vision.
One thing to keep in mind: all saves get deleted once you end the session or quit the game, so make sure to export anything you want to keep before logging off. This might seem inconvenient, but it actually encourages you to be more intentional about what you're capturing and exporting, rather than hoarding hundreds of clips you'll never use.
The Community Aspect
The replay editor has helped build a thriving content creation community around Skate. When you share your clips on social media with #easkate or upload them to skate.REEL, you're contributing to a collective showcase of what's possible in San Vansterdam. I've seen some absolutely mind-blowing edits from the community – people finding lines I never would have thought of, creating cinematic sequences that look like they belong in a professional skate video, and documenting the city's evolution season by season.
This community-driven aspect is exactly what EA and Full Circle are hoping for with Skate's free-to-play, live-service model. Unlike previous entries in the franchise, Skate is designed to evolve with player feedback and creativity. The map might not be enormous right now, but the quality of what's there and the tools to document it are exceptional. And with EA's commitment to expanding the game, we should see San Vansterdam grow significantly over the coming years.
Looking Toward the Future
As we move into 2026, I'm excited to see how San Vansterdam evolves. Season 2 has already brought new tricks like Impossibles and Handplants, improvements to the replay editor, and the Own the Lot co-op mode. Season 3 is set to offer more character customization options like tattoos and leaderboards. The roadmap shows that Full Circle is thinking long-term about this game.
The fact that San Vansterdam is divided into clearly distinct neighborhoods with their own personalities gives EA plenty of room to expand in meaningful ways. Maybe we'll see new districts added, or existing neighborhoods could be expanded vertically or horizontally. The live-service model means they can test ideas, get community feedback, and implement changes in ways that wouldn't have been possible with the traditional release schedule of Skate 1, 2, and 3.
What I'm hoping to see is more density within the existing neighborhoods before they start adding entirely new districts. More hidden spots, more verticality, more interactive elements that change based on the time of day or season. The bones of a great city are already there; now it's about adding flesh to those bones.
So, hey gamers, exploring San Vansterdam through the replay editor's free camera has completely changed how I experience Skate. It's transformed the game from a straightforward skateboarding sim into something that feels more like an interactive photography and cinematography experience set in a living, breathing city. The fact that you can create genuinely artistic content using these tools speaks to the depth of what Full Circle has built.
Yes, the map might feel a bit small once you've traversed it multiple times, but the quality of what's there and the tools to capture it make up for the lack of sheer scale. And with EA's commitment to expanding the game through seasons and events, I'm confident that San Vansterdam will continue to grow and surprise us.
If you haven't spent time just cruising around with the replay editor, I highly recommend it. Put on some good music from the Grabster in-game radio, switch to free camera mode, and just explore. You'll discover spots you never noticed, angles you never considered, and you'll start to see San Vansterdam as more than just a collection of skate spots – you'll see it as a world worth documenting and preserving as it evolves.
The seasonal events ensure there's always something new to capture, whether it's the spooky Skate-o-Ween decorations, the wintery Roll-stice ice structures, or the autumn vibes of the 7-Ply Maple Harvest. Each season brings new visual elements that are worth documenting before they disappear and get replaced by whatever comes next.
So grab your board, fire up that replay editor, and start exploring San Vansterdam from a new perspective. Create some clips, share them with the community, and help document the ever-changing landscape of this awesome city. See you in San Van, gamers!