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Have decided to go back to loft.   

It's not that long(hour-wise) since I froze it and other than some time welding the land to it nothing since then will be lost.
Have more elevation info these days, better onboards and street view.
...plus GP Bikes will push more polys than the original plan and it'd be the best time to add them.

So if there's anyone who's done a bit of MAX lofting and fancies taking a look at it along with me, it needs a fair bit of tweaking and the pits(and a couple of side roads)added.

Hi Wh1t.
Looking good.   

Just thought I'd mention that I've an SP model here with the single seat unit.  If you wanted some reference pictures taken it'd be no bother.

Great work there Grooveski. We were discussing track detail inanother thread as H pointed out and I think it would help you track builders if we the general dumb non modding lot helped by working on the 2D graphics to take off some of the workload. So if you had like a folder with tga, png, jpg files for trackside detail we could download and then work on, you could use what you wanted from the uploaded worked on files?

Okey dokey - there you go. 
http://www.motogp500online.com/Stuff/Grooveski/Tracks_wip/OM_TSO_01.rar


Few tips:

- Don't take any guff.
As an example look at the two memorials.  One is the model with a photo off the net thrown at it and a botch-job UV, the other I just knocked up - an example of the next step(modelers first-draft texture map).  Neither are acceptable.
If you're sent the likes of those I'd expect a reply saying:
"First UV too simple, other one better res but could you sort the parts a bit(...and what's with all the dead space?  That's loaded pixels we could be using for detail.)  Also could you add steps please."

- Don't work on a dodgy UV.
If it's bad wait for it to be fixed rather than skinning it.  If you put time into the image then ask me to change the model I'll have to recreate the old UV rather than make a new one that'll be easier for everyone to work with.  Paint little coloured dots and arrows onto the skin to show which bits you want grouped, flipped, enlarged, etc and send it back.
i.e. "Stretch the obelisk in memorial.bmp to full height, group the step walls and new steps, delete the unseen poys and re-UV"

- Watch out for details that I've missed. 
I may have been tired, sidetracked or drunk that night and think that part's done.  Don't assume I've noticed some glaring fault because I may not have.

- Don't be shy.
If you want a model UV revamped/added/modifed just say.
Have a peek in the Dundrod folder at the number of road surface images there are.  Image detailing makes a huge difference.

- Keep your eye open for a nice high-poly Beech tree model lf you happen to be playing any rally games.

- Google maps Street View.
Something else that wasn't there when I lofted.
No excuse for getting anything wrong these days on a road track.  What a resource!

-  Don't for one second think that skinning is "...only 2D".
It's what you see.  It's what the model is there to show.  It's something I'm not very good at and you wouldn't believe how much I appreciate the offer of assistance.
I read the "detail" thread where Piboso listed the capabilities so you'll notice I've dropped in two copies of the buildings.  One has a texture map and the other has bump and spec channels as well.  At the moment they're just wearing copies of the colour map(which isn't how it works) but even at that you can see how the spec map is enhancing the glow through the windows and shadows in the tower).
If you want other environmental layers added just say so.

- Work in highres. 
If a modeler thinks a skin should be 512x512 a skinner will be working at 2048x2048.  You can argue it out at the conversion stage but the skinner will always be right really.
Bear in mind I have no idea what GP Bikes can do.  You'll have to ask around about what kind of resolutions you should be using.

Have fun. 
Josh

There are some daisy beds at Charade, they're a copy of the grass geometry raised an inch and transparent apart from the flower heads, same as a lot of games do their shadows.
Real simple but it works.  Even concentrating on the roller coaster chicane your periperal notices them and knows they're at a different height to the ground.

If anyone's getting in touch with Jim about models:
Be straight with him.  Tell him who you are, what experience you have, what work you plan to do to tune the model to your game, what the game is capable of, etc...
His models are beautiful, it was a privilage to work on Dundrod and if it wasn't for GP500's play area poly limit I'd have doubled the edge detail at least.  As it was I was down to doing poly reduction on the grass verges so I could smooth bits of track.
Jim had no issues with me making the changes, lowering the grass edging he fully expected and when I mentioned I'd subpatched Deers Leap a couple of times he told me GPL had an on-the-fly surface smoothing affair in the engine so they could get away with with bumpy looking tracks.
He'd rather see folk do the work than see a bare conversion that doesn't look or run well in the target game.
Close to finish I sent him a video link to a couple of laps and he had me tweak the lighting settings, fishing around for the 'Ireland in August' vibe.  Show a bit of respect and keep him in the loop and he's a pleasure to deal with.   

Just out of interest, how big is the GP500 community??)

Not very.  Spanish scene is still strong and the bikesets just keep getting better but The Store's been dead for years. 
We've still been kicking the ass out of it pretty much nightly and at least meeting for races once a week at MotoGP500Online.  All the track work I've been doing has been for the online races(and it was worth every minute  ). 
Dwindling numbers have dived now though.  Last series we were down to half a dozen regulars.  We'll hopefully get another MotoGP series out of it but this year might well be it.
....hence me lurking around last night, so used to online racing that I know I'll need to feed the habit somewhere.
Pain in the ass - only stopped crashing a year or so ago and now have to change to a game where I can barely make it out the pits on a 125. 

I know - the full game's much better than the demo.
Payday tomorrow. 

Hi guys,

I've got an Oliver's Mount project on the go that you're welcome to when it's done. 
It's rough still(only at the first spin stage) but apart from the elevations through the first hairpin and Sheene's Rise(first pic) it's looking alright.  Plan layout is good(I had landline data and a lad checked some road widths for me with a tapemeasure) but the elevations were just done with a contour image overlay and watching on-boards.  I expected them to need a bit more work and they do.
Am done with the loft.  Wanted to switch over to LW and it's close enough to tweak in point mode.
Will be getting some subpatching over the jumps.  For GP Bikes would probably be as well doing the whole play area.  I've been working to lower poly limits.

Have started making up tso's as well but the track is so low priority - always have half a dozen other models that need work and barely ever get to open this one.  If someone fancied lending a hand I'd be open to teaming up to see it finished. 









The contour model is a recent find, wish I'd had it ages ago.  Still - will be handy for fine-tuning the landscape, the google earth model is a bit basic.



P.S.  Also have numerous other folders kicking about if anyone's looking for track models to play with.  GP500 has the same issues with being sensitive to low-poly sections where there are elevation changes so I've been doing the same kind of work on conversions as you guys - smoothing the play areas, welding up gaps and making the edges and kerbs more bike-friendly.
A few heavily revamped tracks as well(Philip Island, Kockhill and Oulton Park).