AIW Editing - some Videos

[redapg]

Hello. I have seen your videos and they have helped me a lot to learn how to modify AIWs. However, I wanted to create a pit lane of a circuit, and although I have done the steps as you indicate in the video, it is recorded perfectly, although with an AI problem. When I want the AI to drive the car, when it goes out to the pit lane, it makes short and sharp turns of the wheel, left and right, while staying on the created line, without hitting any walls or anything. I have seen in the video that you modify something in 3DSim, but... is it necessary to avoid those strange changes of direction? Once you enter the fastest line, no problem. It only happens in the box. Thank you and greetings.

Hello Ruben, i've never seen the AI behaving like that.
It could be a Problem with the Corridors.
In the Video, i did use 3DSimEd only to position the Car on the Track, when there are no Garages from an old AIW already and Coordinate 0,0,0 is not on a drivable Part of the Track and to check where the X Objects are, so no, that is not necessary for what you want to do.
For which Track do you want to create a Pitlane?
And what exactly did you do, did you, for Example, create a new Waypoint Path for the Pitlane?
If you want, you can send me the AIW File with that it happens and a Link to the Track for that it is, that i can check it.

 

[svictor]

when it goes out to the pit lane, it makes short and sharp turns of the wheel, left and right,

This can be fixed by smooth branch path line connection between pitlane & main road path, as this is almost always required after you added a new pitlane path that connected to main path.

Just follow those steps (carefully):

1. you have to drive your car near the end of pit lane path, then switch to 3rd person view, adjust viewing distance further away from car & rotate if needed (and probably best to pause game before editing AIW).

2. click "path sub menu", then on the 3rd line (Visible/Actionable path), click droplist and select "FASTEST". now you can see a white line following along main road & pitlane waypoints (and you will notice that).

3. go back to previous page, click "show/hide menu", then check "hide main waypoints" & "hide special waypoints". After that, only pit lane waypoints & white path are visible (this step is to make manual way points selection easier).

3. now use left mouse button to drag & select first few waypoints that is near the end of pit lane path. As below:
After selection (make sure every selected points are next to each other).

now, rf2 provides two method for normalize(smooth) path, as "non-linear Interpalation enable" & "linear Interpalation enable" shown below. You will have to test to see which works best for your selected path. Once decided, click "normalize curve" to smooth the white line path. (it is best that you make backup file first)

4. if everything goes well, you can turn back on main path and see that pit lane exit path now joins with main road path better & smoother. And now you will have to repeat this process for pit lane entry waypoints as well, and other path type (left, right, block path) may also need those adjustments.

5. now, if you did not get good results from step 3 "normalize curve", then you have another option, which is to adjust each way points manually.

To do it, select only one way point at a time (once you are familiar, you can select more points for group moving), then hold "left ctrl" key and press left or right arrow keys, this will shift white path line, such as below (exaggerated):

You can also hold "right ctrl" + left or right arrow keys, which moves white line faster. Or, hold "left ctrl + left alt + left/right arrow keys" to do "fine" adjustments.

With enough time and patience, you can achieve very good results from manual adjusting. This also applies to main road path line.

Note:
it is best to enable "show Speed text" in "path sub menu" for manually adjusting way points for main path line, those speed text indicates relative speed that AI will aim for when heading into a corner. If speed value is inconsistent or too low/high, AI will have issue going through some corners or lead to crashes. Those speed text will change when manually move path line. You can also manually adjust speed text by holding "left ctrl + up/down arrow keys", or "left ctrl + left alt + up/down arrow keys" for fine adjustments. (one of the most important feature)

 

[redapg]

This can be fixed by smooth branch path line connection between pitlane & main road path, as this is almost always required after you added a new pitlane path that connected to main path.

Just follow those steps (carefully):.....

I did describe the Smoothing in my Videos.
But even with an "unsmoothed" Path, i have never seen the AI behaving like @Ruben Cerlem has described.
So i asked what exactly he did.

EDIT I understand his Post in that Way, that the AI steers left-right-left-right... along of the whole Pit Path.
If it happens only, when the AI joins the main Path, coming from the Pit Path, it indeed is the Smoothing. But as said, i did describe that in my Video already.

 

[DJCruicky]

The AI would act like that if he has not done the 'Find Corridors' on the points of his new pit path.

 

[Ruben Cerlem]

This can be fixed by smooth branch path line connection between pitlane & main road path, as this is almost always required after you added a new pitlane path that connected to main path.

Just follow those steps (carefully):

1. you have to drive your car near the end of pit lane path, then switch to 3rd person view, adjust viewing distance further away from car & rotate if needed (and probably best to pause game before editing AIW).

2. click "path sub menu", then on the 3rd line (Visible/Actionable path), click droplist and select "FASTEST". now you can see a white line following along main road & pitlane waypoints (and you will notice that).
View attachment 45978

3. go back to previous page, click "show/hide menu", then check "hide main waypoints" & "hide special waypoints". After that, only pit lane waypoints & white path are visible (this step is to make manual way points selection easier).
View attachment 45979

3. now use left mouse button to drag & select first few waypoints that is near the end of pit lane path. As below:
After selection (make sure every selected points are next to each other).

now, rf2 provides two method for normalize(smooth) path, as "non-linear Interpalation enable" & "linear Interpalation enable" shown below. You will have to test to see which works best for your selected path. Once decided, click "normalize curve" to smooth the white line path. (it is best that you make backup file first)
View attachment 45982

4. if everything goes well, you can turn back on main path and see that pit lane exit path now joins with main road path better & smoother. And now you will have to repeat this process for pit lane entry waypoints as well, and other path type (left, right, block path) may also need those adjustments.
View attachment 45981

5. now, if you did not get good results from step 3 "normalize curve", then you have another option, which is to adjust each way points manually.

To do it, select only one way point at a time (once you are familiar, you can select more points for group moving), then hold "left ctrl" key and press left or right arrow keys, this will shift white path line, such as below (exaggerated):
View attachment 45983
You can also hold "right ctrl" + left or right arrow keys, which moves white line faster. Or, hold "left ctrl + left alt + left/right arrow keys" to do "fine" adjustments.

With enough time and patience, you can achieve very good results from manual adjusting. This also applies to main road path line.

Note:
it is best to enable "show Speed text" in "path sub menu" for manually adjusting way points for main path line, those speed text indicates relative speed that AI will aim for when heading into a corner. If speed value is inconsistent or too low/high, AI will have issue going through some corners or lead to crashes. Those speed text will change when manually move path line. You can also manually adjust speed text by holding "left ctrl + up/down arrow keys", or "left ctrl + left alt + up/down arrow keys" for fine adjustments. (one of the most important feature)
View attachment 45985

Thank you very much for the help. I couldn't answer before even though I read it. I'm going to get on it throughout the afternoon. Cheers

 

[Ruben Cerlem]

I did describe the Smoothing in my Videos.
But even with an "unsmoothed" Path, i have never seen the AI behaving like @Ruben Cerlem has described.
So i asked what exactly he did.

EDIT I understand his Post in that Way, that the AI steers left-right-left-right... along of the whole Pit Path.
If it happens only, when the AI joins the main Path, coming from the Pit Path, it indeed is the Smoothing. But as said, i did describe that in my Video already.

I did a manual smoothing, but in the video I didn't see that I made those sharp turns of the wheel throughout the pit lane, without understanding why. I saw the video of waypoints and corridors 2 times, and I didn't find the solution, because it didn't happen, and I didn't know if the solution is the same, but the tutorial @svictor posted helped me, although the base on the video I already had it clear. It was that specific problem. Except for this problem, the rest of the lines were recorded fine.

 

[Frederick Alonso]

I have made some Videos about how to create a complete new AIW File and Things for that you should/have to take care when you do it.
But be warned, you need some Patience to watch the Videos and i have to excuse myself for the Language and driving Lines.
Because i can not embed Videos from mega.nz here, you have to watch them there:
Video 1: Waypoints and Corridors
Video 2: Grid Pit Garage... Positions
Video 3: LEFT RIGHT FASTEST... Pathes (some Things for that you have to take Care)
Video 4: Driving the Pathes (some Annotations)
Video 5: Recording a FASTEST Path from a Replay

Alternative Links for Google Drive:
Video 1: Waypoints and Corridors
Video 2: Grid Pit Garage... Positions
Video 3: LEFT RIGHT FASTEST... Pathes (some Things for that you have to take Care)
Video 4: Driving the Pathes (some Annotations)
Video 5: Recording a FASTEST Path from a Replay

Feedback is welcome

Hint: As written in a Post below, Youtube wants to have a Phone Number from me, to "validate" me as the User of my Account, when i want to upload Videos that are longer than 15 Minutes.
But i never give any real personal Data to the Internet.
And mega.nz has a Limitation in the Data Transfer Rate, so i have added some Google Drive Links too.
I will try to find a Way to upload bigger Videos to Youtube, without to give them my Phone Number.
Or does someone knows a Way already?

This is an older Video: slowly driving the Pathes

Thanks for the time and effort to put this up for the community

 

[redapg]

I did a manual smoothing, but in the video I didn't see that I made those sharp turns of the wheel throughout the pit lane, without understanding why. I saw the video of waypoints and corridors 2 times, and I didn't find the solution, because it didn't happen, and I didn't know if the solution is the same, but the tutorial @svictor posted helped me, although the base on the video I already had it clear. It was that specific problem. Except for this problem, the rest of the lines were recorded fine.

Just to get it clear: do you have the left-right-left-right... Steering of the AI along of the whole Pitlane (that is what i understood) or only at the Moment when the AI moves from the End of the Pit Path to the main Path?

 

[Ruben Cerlem]

Just to get it clear: do you have the left-right-left-right... Steering of the AI along of the whole Pitlane (that is what i understood) or only at the Moment when the AI moves from the End of the Pit Path to the main Path?

No. I only recorded what is the route from the entrance to the pit lane, all the way along the lane, until the exit that I stretched to the first corner. In fact, the one I recorded was at the Barcelona circuit, a version apart from the 2021 steamworkshop version, but one that I use to learn.

 

[redapg]

No. I only recorded what is the route from the entrance to the pit lane, all the way along the lane, until the exit that I stretched to the first corner. In fact, the one I recorded was at the Barcelona circuit, a version apart from the 2021 steamworkshop version, but one that I use to learn.

It's getting more confusing now.
What does "recorded" mean here?
Can it be, that you try to record a Path from a Barcelona Replay, to a Barcelona AIW where you changed something that affects the Count of Waypoints?
If yes, that won't work.
If not, what exactly are you trying to do?

 

[Ruben Cerlem]

It's getting more confusing now.
What does "recorded" mean here?
Can it be, that you try to record a Path from a Barcelona Replay, to a Barcelona AIW where you changed something that affects the Count of Waypoints?
If yes, that won't work.
If not, what exactly are you trying to do?

What I'm trying to do is create a new line through the pit, from the input to the output, and have it join the fastest lines in both cases. I have achieved that, but the problem is that the AI is seen to turn the steering wheel to the right and left during that journey. And that's what I wanted to ask for a solution.

By the way, when I created the new line, it was not from a replay, but directly.

 

[redapg]

What I'm trying to do is create a new line through the pit, from the input to the output, and have it join the fastest lines in both cases. I have achieved that, but the problem is that the AI is seen to turn the steering wheel to the right and left during that journey. And that's what I wanted to ask for a solution.

By the way, when I created the new line, it was not from a replay, but directly.

What did you do to create the new Line?
Did you delete the old Pitline Waypoints and make a new Waypoint Path for the Pitlane?
Depending on what you did to create that new Line, there can be several Things that causes that strange Behaviour.
Can you please upload the not working AIW File here?

 

[Ruben Cerlem]

What did you do to create the new Line?
Did you delete the old Pitline Waypoints and make a new Waypoint Path for the Pitlane?
Depending on what you did to create that new Line, there can be several Things that causes that strange Behaviour.
Can you please upload the not working AIW File here?

Ok. I've already hit a bug then. And it is that I simply hid the waypoints of the old pitlane, and I did not delete them as you have commented. I'm going to do the delete step and record the line again. Let's say that even if a new one is recorded, if the old one is not deleted, no matter how small the variation, it causes the search for both and that strange steering wheel turn. I try, and if it continues to give problems, I go to AIW, and the link of the circuit in which I have the problem.

 

[Garitt Gibsn]

Hello all,
first of all thanks to Chris for the videos. They are great.
So now to one part, maybe someone can explain something to me:
I record a path and can then select several options.
But what is the "GENERIC PATH" all about?

 

[redapg]

Hello all,
first of all thanks to Chris for the videos. They are great.
So now to one part, maybe someone can explain something to me:
I record a path and can then select several options.
But what is the "GENERIC PATH" all about?

View attachment 45997

You can take another Way to handle such Things.
In this Case for Example, ask yourself if you miss an Option to create a Path that you badly need, when you create an AIW File.
If not, simply don't care for it.
Like a lot of other Things too, also this one lacks of a Explanation/Documentation.
You can now spend xxx Hours to maybe find out for what it is and how the AI uses it or can be forced to use it.... or (better) you go out, enjoy the Summer and get some Ice Cream.

 

[Garitt Gibsn]

You can take another Way to handle such Things.
In this Case for Example, ask yourself if you miss an Option to create a Path that you badly need, when you create an AIW File.
If not, simply don't care for it.
Like a lot of other Things too, also this one lacks of a Explanation/Documentation.
You can now spend xxx Hours to maybe find out for what it is and how the AI uses it or can be forced to use it.... or (better) you go out, enjoy the Summer and get some Ice Cream.

Hello Chris, you are right in your statement.
I'm just a curious person.

PS written from my smartphone in the ice cream parlour.
(Good tip)