What is it with the hot air balloons?

So many tracks have them and for some reason they really get on my nerves. Helicopters too to a lesser extent. I've found a few pictures that show that balloons are flown at some races but I'd think it's uncommon. If there's anything more than a light breeze they can't fly and I can't imagine a load of them turning up to a club race. The only ones I've seen at a real race were at Silverstone Classic - not surprisingly (given the ever-present wind blowing across that former airfield) this was after the racing finished and they were tethered.

Is there a way to turn them off, short of editing the track?

 

Remove the instance from the scn file and repack the track for private use.

You need to know the name of the instance of course.

 

Stop watching them and watch the track.
You were expecting that comment I bet.
Almost forgot this one, you're going to slow if you get distracted by them.

I wonder if they come under "Track Detail" in the graphics settings?
I'm no modder so I can't tell you how to turn them off.
Maybe try opening any of the track's mas files if possible to see if there is a "balloon file".

Edit: there you go, a man of knowledge to the rescue.

 

If you have time to watch the sky’s,you’re not going fast enough

 

Thanks chaps, now I have a dilemma. If I edit the track for my private use then I'll be even more distracted by them when I race online

 

The one at Barbagallo (one of the versions) is jet powered, goes across the track faster than a grunting V8 at full whack

 

Scared the bloody crap out of me once, I thought the aliens were invading, but then I remembered where we were racing and assumed they were lost.

 

There was one track (I think it was back in the rF1 days) where one of them came across the track so low it put me in shadow! I remember that once I'd recovered from the shock of everything going dark I was very impressed that the game modelled it

 

Also on that regard, in vr birds and planes look so wrong. Like 2d objects changing size, rather then location.

 

Can't be as bad as going over the top of Mt Panorama and a helicopter coming out of nowhere about 6ft above you!

 

Haha yeah that freaked the crap outta me first time in VR

 

This remember me a similar experience in AMS, before Reiza fixed it there was a seagull at Spielberg flying low,very low, when timing was perfect you can see him fly against your car, passing by the windshield and hit your face...
I will miss you jonathan livingston...(I used to meet him once a day so I gave him a proper seagull name)

 

cows at old spa by isi. I meet a lot

 

By Reiza fixing it you meant something like this?
Viewer discretion advised

 

Happened at Spa in F1 in the 60s. Alan Stacey killed after a bird hit him in the face.

 

Ask them to moooove

 

A couple years ago in AC for an April fools joke they had a nuclear bomb going off and a UFO hovering over a hill.
Now that was a little distracting!!

 

Personally I like these little animations. Including the hot air balloons at Nordschliefe, The little Cessna doing circuits at the airport near Sebring, the Helicopters. It all creates a little living atmosphere. Favourite are the camp fires at the Nords on a 24 hours race day during the night. You arrive at the Carousel and can almost smell the sausages. One mans meat is anothers poison they say.

 

Sausages? Now that’s my sort of animation (and the Spa cows). I’ve never driven Nords at night, I’ll have to try that, thanks But driving Donington last night with three bloody helicopters, one with the rotor clearly stationary...

 

And the searchlights at Breidsheid! I had to turn off the track and investigate, there's a filling station down there as well, complete with prices