(WIP)Mallory Park Track Surface Rebuild TEST...

[BOBR6 84]

I have to wait until saturday to try this out! Pc should be up and running by then.. Cant wait mallory is a great little circuit!
Looks like your theory hawk was correct! Great work!!!

[Hawk]

Hello,
Very good work:)
I m really interested by how do you smooth with maya, i will see if i can use your method in 3ds max.

Hi Janu... Thanks mate!

I don't smooth at all.
I have observed that when you smooth a section of track surface it will do the job up to a point, but it still leaves very tiny ridges in the surface(Probably won't notice unless you look in perspective view when modelling).

I use curves with the "make object live" feature of Maya to rebuild the track surface or just a section of track.
Anyway, thought I'd do a quick tutorial for you and others who may want to use the same techniques.

1: First you make the original track object live(best to isolate the track surface from the rest of the circuit using layers), then use an EP curve(Set to 3 cubic and uniform. Don't use it set to linear), to trace the outline of the original track, the live track object will snap the curve to the edge of the original track.

2: Then use the "Rebuild Curve" feature to rebuild that curve with uniformly spaced number of edit points(Enough edit points so as not to distort the curve upon rebuild).

3: Check every edit point to make sure that it is snapped cleanly onto the edge of the live original track surface.

4: Once your happy with your work. Then offset that curve by a minus track width factor, or a plus track width factor depending on if you are offsetting to outer track edge or inner track edge.

5: Now this is were you've got to be careful. Each edit point in the offset curve is laterally aligned to an edit point of the original curve. Now what you need to do now is snap each edit point of the offset curve onto the other edge of the live original track surface object, but you must make sure not to move any edit point off it's y axis line from the original curve or you'll get distorted quads in the end result.

6: Once your happy with your work, it's time to create the track surface using the "Loft" function set to uniform and quad output. Using curves with plenty of edit points ensures you will get a sliky smooth track surface that follows the line of the curves, even on tight bends, but the tighter the bend the more quads you build into the lofted quad surface(Test for best results).

7: Delete the old track surface. The track surface or section of track surface is now finished. If you wish to alter the track surface for camber or undulations at this time, then the curves are still connected to the newly created track surface, so you can adjust the curves for height, camber using the control points of the curves to do so.

8: Then you have to go around every vert of the surrounding terrain trackside edging, and again using the make live feature, make the new track surface is set to "live" and then snap every terrain surface trackside vert onto the edge of the new track surface to seal the trackside edges to the track.
You can use the same technique to seal any holes accurately, especially between objects you wish to keep separate but which must be aligned properly.

9: If your just creating a new section of track, say a new rebuild for a hairpin, then make sure you marry up  the join of the new section of track to the old one by using the "live object" feature to make the original track live and snapping the verts to alignment at the fresh joint. The join probably won't be noticeably out of line by your eye, but they will be very slightly out of line and you need to do this or you'll have a slight ripple in the track surface were they join. Either that or you can try merging, but usually there is a greater number of quads in the hairpin section than on the straight section of track your planning on merging to, so my advice in this circumstance is to keep any tight hi quad corner sections as a separate object from the rest of the track surface unless it's a gentler corner with the same quad topology as the straights, in that case it's better to keep the track as much in one object as possible. In the Mallory track surface rebuild there is only the hairpin section that is a separate object, all the other corners are part of the same track surface object.

10: Then it's just a case of creating your track texture/s, uv mapping to make sure your texture/s fit nicely onto the track surface without any blurring or distortions.

11: Now comes the real hard part..... Track integration with GP Bikes!! Just joking! Hehe... It's not so hard once you know how. 


I hope this quick guide helps.

If you need any further help or explanation  then just let me know, I'll help all I can. 

[janaucarre]

Thanks, i will try it in maya:)

[Hawk]

I have to wait until saturday to try this out! Pc should be up and running by then.. Cant wait mallory is a great little circuit!
Looks like your theory hawk was correct! Great work!!!

Thanks Bob!..... Your compliments are very much appreciated mate. 

[Hawk]

Thanks, i will try it in maya:)

I'm shocked! Have I converted a 3ds Max user to working with Maya? Hehe 

Your welcome janu.

[janaucarre]

if it can be easier to make or to smooth track for gpbikes, why not?

[C21]

@hawk

If the folder is named Mallory Park 1978, then you have the correct version.
Is your bike mod up to date?
PS: Saw you connect and then disconnect almost straight away?

Yes i use the correct version, the latest you´ve uploaded. Did not have the old Mallory installed.
Bike mod is up to date but as IAN posted it must be an issue with the bikes.
Still confused why i can´t connect with the 125cc.
Have to sort out an issue with the GP1000 class (can´t connect to the HL server so there must be something wrong with some of the bikes...)

Rode the track offline and it´s very rideable with the 125cc. Don´t have an issue with the hairpin. Had a core.exe when returning to main menu but no core.exe on the track.
Really good work!!

[BrnoGP]
I eat my keyboard several times while crashing on the uphill chicane destroying many many good laps with the 125cc. This particular area of the track is so far away from the real track (ridden on it 2002-2004) that i please you to smooth and / or rebuild this part of the track. The track is totally different in this section to the real one. For sure you have to be carefull on the right hander acceleration but i´ve never seen bikes loosing his front or rear (especially 125cc bikes!) at this one!
Brno is my favorite track in GPB and in real life and i´m really annoyed of this issue!!!

[Hawk]

Thank you C21.... Appreciated mate. 

Many are asking for the Brno track surface to be rebuilt, if only at that uphill chicane section. I'd have a look at Brno if I had access to the source files, but don't know who to get permission from or where to obtain the Brno source files. But if anyone can help on that issue, then I'll have a look and see what I can do. 

[C21]

Ask RBP , he smoothed BrnoGp and maybe have the files available.

[Hawk]

Ask RBP , he smoothed BrnoGp and maybe have the files available.

Thanks mate.... Have done so. Awaiting reply.

[HornetMaX]

There's a chance the uphill chicane problem is not a track surface problem (more of a GPB problem), but if you can improve it then go for it.

MaX.

[Hawk]

There's a chance the uphill chicane problem is not a track surface problem (more of a GPB problem), but if you can improve it then go for it.

MaX.

I've had a look at Brno(not the source file, but on GP Bikes while riding), and there is still places on the track that don't feel right, especially that exit corner of the chicane that starts uphill. definitely something not right there, but I agree with you that GP bikes needs tweaking to sort out part of the problem, the track I'm sure will be playing a part in the problem too. But I'll have a look at it when I can get hold of the source file and see what's happening there mesh-wise. 

[Ian]

Not sure if I have just clicked with this track but I am stringing laps together like I have never before with the 125.
For me the stability on the brakes is a lot better normally I get out of shape and down I go, but now the bike gets out of shape
but comes back in control, less surface irregularities to over work the suspension .
I tried the old version and several times on the brakes I hit a bump on the entry to the hairpin and the bike was down instantly.

[Hawk]

Not sure if I have just clicked with this track but I am stringing laps together like I have never before with the 125.
For me the stability on the brakes is a lot better normally I get out of shape and down I go, but now the bike gets out of shape
but comes back in control, less surface irregularities to over work the suspension .
I tried the old version and several times on the brakes I hit a bump on the entry to the hairpin and the bike was down instantly.

Hi Ian.

Thanks for the feedback... Much appreciated mate. 

[HornetMaX]

I did a few more laps. The hairpin is definitely no longer an issue, great work !

Only issue I feel is after the hairpin, the left turn : there's a slope and a subsequent compression when the slope ends, if you're leaning the bike seems to spin left (like losing the rear). But I thing this is the well known issue of GPB on banked/sloped turns.

MaX.