Favourite / best way to "cut a link in a track

Discussion in 'Track Modding' started by Simon Peace, Jan 19, 2012.

  1. Simon Peace

    Simon Peace Registered

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    Hi Guys,

    I have been modifying tracks for a while but with this new beta, I wanted to start a track from scratch. What is the best way of "cutting" in a link road? Basically i have lofted the main track but there is a link road that comes off one corner and into another making a shorter loop of the track.

    Im basically after the "most efficient accurate" way of making the link road with beautiful cut edges that fit the already lofted main track.

    (While i think about it what is the work flow for doing a track?) I am dealing with real tracks and trying to get the realism has high as possible, which means I have to go back and tweek the lofts of the track if the test chaps say it doesn't feel right) therefore want to minimise the re-work when this happens... any thoughts?

    Cheers
     
  2. ethone

    ethone Registered

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    "doesn't feel right" is a dangerous metric.

    As for the access roads/alternate configurations, I loft those parts just like the main road. Then cut the access road's polys where they overlap with the main configuration and delete the superfluous polys.
     
  3. blakboks

    blakboks Registered

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    I would probably loft the link roads, but leave a little bit of a gap where it connects into the main road. Then turn it into an Edit Poly object, attach the main track (or a copy of it). And then select the edges on the end of the link roads, and the edges on the main road where you want it to merge into, and do 'bridge'. You'll likely have to edit the UVs afterwards, and add in some more geometry to smooth out the bridge. There may be a slicker way of doing it, but that will get the job done.
     
  4. Simon Peace

    Simon Peace Registered

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    how do you get round the issue of the snaggy end bits where a vertex isnt near?

    View attachment 727
     
  5. Simon Peace

    Simon Peace Registered

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    and i agree about the "metric" ethone!
     
  6. blakboks

    blakboks Registered

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    I would recommend against overlapping the polygons...I've already noticed that if the edges aren't matched up perfectly, it results in quite a significant bump when driving. And if they're coplanar, there may be issues with the physics and rendering. Just add in more verts/edges/polygons where needed.
     
  7. Simon Peace

    Simon Peace Registered

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    is there a way to "just add more verts/edges/polygons where needed" at the intersection of two edges? as per my picture if i could "perfectly align" using the snap tools to that intersection, I would be a happy man
     
  8. ethone

    ethone Registered

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    Manually cut that one poly that overlaps in your screenshot. Did you use some tool to cut it or did you try cutting from one "merging point" to the other? If the latter, sometimes it doesn't cut across the whole length like in your screenshot but that doesn't keep you from fixing that remaining polygon or two. :)
    When the access road/alt configuration joins the main layout in a corner or any non-straight part, I just manually cut each poly anyway.
     
  9. Simon Peace

    Simon Peace Registered

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    yup and now i found crossinsert and made it work... i am a happy man.

    on the work flow part... do people generally work in 2d then add elevation once the plan view is correct??? what works best for you?
     
  10. ethone

    ethone Registered

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    I build the elevations into my main spline from the start. I loft a temporary basic track shape (wall left, grass, track surface, grass, wall right) to test the elevations out when the 2d aspect is nailed down - and when I'm reasonably happy with it, I proceed doing the same with the walls which I also loft from their own splines.

    I played with doing elevations afterwards, both through FFD boxes and a sort of projection method of projecting the "2d" track down onto a contour map but found that both were too inaccurate and gave me too little control when I last tried them. It's been a while though, maybe the tools have improved since then. If my contour map is just 2m off though it would mess up my elevations pretty much everywhere... tracks are comparatively "small-scale" elevation-wise with drops or increases right next to the track/wall.
     
  11. Alex Sawczuk

    Alex Sawczuk Administrator Staff Member

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    Vertex Snap, Cutting and Smoothing the elevations with my height interpolater max script. (It's on my website)
     
  12. Simon Peace

    Simon Peace Registered

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    whats the url for your site? (couldnt see it on profile)
     
  13. Alex Sawczuk

    Alex Sawczuk Administrator Staff Member

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    tltracks.com
     
  14. Simon Peace

    Simon Peace Registered

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    hey alex
    amazing work dude!
     

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