How do i setup the track folder-what comes after doing the actual 3d map? Help!

[EdoLeo]

Hi everyone 

I've seen this is the best place to ask to more experienced modders for help, new to the forum so correct me if i'm wrong 

so i wanted to create a track for myself so i could train on it for real life races, finding out it's quite complex i also wanted to take the occasion to start learning some basic 3d modeling with 0 basic acknowledgement, ending up using sketchup as software which i found very easy even for a beginner.

i've built up the first beta of the track map containing only road, 2d grass and kerbs, and wanted to check if all was working until this stage, however i don't know at all how to load it in the game

i've seen from others mod that there are tons of files in the folders other than the 3d track map, and as a beginner i don't really know what they're all useful for,

Now, could someone introduce me what to do after you build the track map? i see also that you need to name objects in a certain way, but i'm not really sure that naming it directly in sketchup in the "components" tool works🤔

Thanks in advance for any advice you're willing to give me!

Edoardo

[LXS77]

Hi Edoardo,

I'd say SketchUp isn't the best tool to create the track (I'd recommend investing your time and efforts into Blender), but it's not a huge problem. I'll try to compile instructions for you within the next day of two. Meanwhile, check your model in SketchUp and make sure that all faces are oriented to the front (use View > Face Style > Monochrome mode to check the faces) and all textures meet the requirements listed in the Track Creation Guide (https://docs.piboso.com/wiki/index.php?title=Track_Creation_Guide).

Basically, your aim is to get a .FBX file, so you can use PiBoSo's tools to create MAP and TRP files to bring the track into the game, but exporting directly to FBX format in SketchUp will not give you a desired result, so some format conversions will be required.

[EdoLeo]

Thanks a lot for the tips!

will definitely try to learn blender for future projects, but hopefully sketchup can give me some basic acknowledgement

also i've tried this morning to load the track into the game, i think i understood part of the process, but the dimensions were completely wrong (i mean the scale was so small) even though in sketchup with the measurement tool it said it was rightly sized, is that why i shouldn't directly export in .fbx from sketchup?

[LXS77]

The main reason - SketchUp doesn't allow you to name objects properly. The naming works in Blender, 3ds Max or 3DSimED. I'll be using the latter in the instructions :-)

[LXS77]

Hi again, I've attached the guide for your reference: You cannot see attachments on this board.
Hope you'll find it useful

[EdoLeo]

Thanks a lot! i've actually started the project again in blender as for advice as i was still at the early stages and surelt it's much better though it's super complicate
the second part of the guide surely it's still much helpful for when i'll have to export it!

[LXS77]

You're welcome, Edoardo! All the best with your project!

[EdoLeo]

hi and thanks again, i have some updates on the project not very good looking

i've done a rough version of the track which only include the road the kerbs and the grass (and the pits where i need to spawn)

basically the map and the collision file (loaded in both mapview and tracked) are not displaying at all what i actually see in blender, i'll leave you a link with images of what i see in mapview and tracked, blender project and .map and .trp files so that you can spot the mistake (only if you're up to ofc!)

in mapview the track seems to be on a completely different position on every axis, even though in blender every object is set to 0 meters and 0 rotation on the Z axis

in tracked the map doesn't load both Asphalt and grass texture, even though in the fbx2edf converter no error or warning message is displayed

every type of help is greatly appreciated, don't feel forced though

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aYkzx6OsZOmm3NPbMqO7QeGD7iiGfI_q?usp=sharing

[LXS77]

No problem! I'll have a closer look tomorrow, but something is wrong with your TRKASPH_01 and TRKGRAS. And when exporting to FBX, try to use the attached settings.

[EdoLeo]

The apply transform made the trick!

i still can't see trkasph_01 and trkgras in both mapview and tracked but i can see in the correct place the kerbs in mapview at least

Will have a look if i can find a solution to make them visible

[LXS77]

The apply transform made the trick!

Good!

Just out of curiousity, did you do the track from scratch in Blender or did you just import the SketchUp model there? The mesh of TRKASPH_01 looks strange - extra vertices which need to be removed, a large number of reversed faces. Maybe, it would be worth to get back to the curves and repeat curve-to-mesh transformations. TRKGRAS, I'm afraid, has to be totally redone as the current geometry is wrong.

Anyway, take your time, there are YouTube videos showing how to do roads and racing tracks in Blender. Check these videos out, practise with separate objects, don't try to do all at once and you'll be fine!

[EdoLeo]

ohh unlucky i did it from scratch by the way, just probably what got me is the way i created trkgras, as i thought the best idea to create the grass in a way that it would have been linked with the asphalt so no holes would have been created was to use the border from trkasph and create a separate object with it, but as the mesh was very complex i probably missed some vertices 

anyways thanks again for all the help! you reckon that a good way to create the asphalt would be by using array and curve modifier with a cube? i found that was the most common method on youtube but sometimes that doesn't really help as track width changes sometimes in my track

[LXS77]

I see, yeah, try to keep things relatively simple for KRP, complexity takes its toll on performance.

I'd say try to do the track layout from scratch again, just trkasph (don't worry about trkgrass for now) and make sure it works fine in the game. When you are totally happy with the track surface, proceed to adding grass and other objects.

Also make yourself comfortable in Blender with things like switching between Object Mode & Edit Mode, using different types of View (e.g. Wireframe, Textured), working with vertices (how to select, move, add, snap them together), working with faces (how to extrude, how to fill a selected loop).

There're different approaches to creating a road, but the width change is never a problem as you can adjust all vertices and create new ones if required. BTW, these tutorials might be helpful: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7gv1L5WCltpxbZ0UewsTiDhdlsmDfrYK

[EdoLeo]

yeah i noticed very much the difference on how comfortable i was from the start to now, surely there was something wrong in the first steps!

i've done a rough test after re-creating the track surface with nothing but the road and the pit surface and everything seemed to work fine, but when i loaded the track in the game it said pit full, i suck at this haha

had a look and did try to make the pits first in the pit surface and then directly on track but nothing changed

sorry if i'm this insistent in asking for help too, i'm a beginner by all means when it comes to 3d modelling and programming

[LXS77]

I assume, you've done a centerline, etc. in TrackED and saved amended TRP. 'Pit full' usually means that there's something in my_track.rdf file. Check in TrackED (View > Race Data, load your RDF file and press 'Pits' button). Create 2 pits.