2. Strategty
Nov 2, 2008 4:19:30 GMT 2
Post by ksheppard on Nov 2, 2008 4:19:30 GMT 2
I'm using 3D Studio MAX r3.0. I will assume that you have a working knowledge of the program. This is about making tracks & not a Max tutorial. Keep in mind to constantly save history versions of your file as we may be going back during the trouble shooting steps.
My Plan:
1. I don't think I like making a loft to make my tracks, rather I'll make three subdivided planes for the road & run-off areas on either side and texture them. All of these planes will be subdivided the same way so I can make sure the verticies all line up perfectly - this is very important. Any verts that do not line up make those nasty holes in the tracks. I'll keep these three objects together as a group and copy them as needed. I'll then add a deformation latice modifier to bend and shape my straight pieces as needed to define a FLAT version of my track. I've read somewhere that the max. size of a face is 5m - but I can't find that article anywhere now so I hope I'm remembering correctly. Let's assume I am
the point was that anything larger will also create a hole. I'll subdivide my planes to be spaced at 250mm so that a) I should have enough subdivs to keep it smooth and b) I can apply the def.lat. will not take any face over the size constraint. The object polygon count max. is 2048 so to stay safe I'll work to a max. of 2000.
Don't forget to add in the curbing & sand areas making sure to keep all the verts lined up.
2. This flat version will be exported out and tested. To test I'll run a few laps good and slow: at the roads left hand edge but not touching the grass, the same at the right, on the edge of the grass on either side without touching the road, straddling the grass & road at each side. As well as all the curb seams. Also I'll drive the perimeter seams of all the sand traps. The idea is to isolate the critical areas and test them. Assuming no problems then the track should be race worthy. (there's a BIG multi-gen step here but we'll deal with that as we actually get there)
3. Back in the model we'll add some interest to our landscape. Going into sub-object level I add selection weighting to the verts and then either lift 1 of them or add more def. latices (I like these ) to add som hills and valleys. The trick is to make sure that you either don't select any seam verts or that you select all of the affected ones with the same weight value. Play with various methods to see the kind of contouring that makes you happy. I prefer to leave the seam verts free and clear. OK, so the landscape on the grass areas is nice but no we have contour to the driving surface - patience grasshopper.
4. We may collapse the stacks so that no more editing will be done to the track's flat shape. Depending on how the file is being handled by the program I hope to not have to collapse the stacks but this is one of those history saves I spoke of. Add a big deformation lattice over the entire area of the track - we'll use this to add elevations & contours and make the topography fun. This is where we add the roll of the land to the driving surface. Play with this as well. I find that the hills need to be exagerated to have any impact in the game. Some the smaller inclines seem to me to be non-existant when driving and I'm always surprised by the landscape if I watch a replay from the tv cams. Got a landscape you're happy with - test it! (multi-gen step again but should be less as the path of the track has not changed)
5. Back to the model...let's assume we've only used def.laticies (maybe not but just for kicks fot the moment). TOGGLE off (don't flatten the stack) the def.latices - all of them. Now we can add scenery like fences, barriers & trees, cars, buildings....you get the idea. This should be easy since it's all nice and flat. Now toggle all the lattisies back on and everything should pop back to a nice contoured and exciting shape. This has allowed us to not have had to shape our barriers, trees...to our organically shaped landscape! (another multi-gen step goes here)
6. Ask some friends to help you beta test. Nothing like hard racing to identify where the trouble areas are - run-off not big enough, unexpected holes...There may be holes but if nobody ever gets there you don't need to worry about it unless you really want to be thorough
My Plan:
1. I don't think I like making a loft to make my tracks, rather I'll make three subdivided planes for the road & run-off areas on either side and texture them. All of these planes will be subdivided the same way so I can make sure the verticies all line up perfectly - this is very important. Any verts that do not line up make those nasty holes in the tracks. I'll keep these three objects together as a group and copy them as needed. I'll then add a deformation latice modifier to bend and shape my straight pieces as needed to define a FLAT version of my track. I've read somewhere that the max. size of a face is 5m - but I can't find that article anywhere now so I hope I'm remembering correctly. Let's assume I am
the point was that anything larger will also create a hole. I'll subdivide my planes to be spaced at 250mm so that a) I should have enough subdivs to keep it smooth and b) I can apply the def.lat. will not take any face over the size constraint. The object polygon count max. is 2048 so to stay safe I'll work to a max. of 2000.Don't forget to add in the curbing & sand areas making sure to keep all the verts lined up.
2. This flat version will be exported out and tested. To test I'll run a few laps good and slow: at the roads left hand edge but not touching the grass, the same at the right, on the edge of the grass on either side without touching the road, straddling the grass & road at each side. As well as all the curb seams. Also I'll drive the perimeter seams of all the sand traps. The idea is to isolate the critical areas and test them. Assuming no problems then the track should be race worthy. (there's a BIG multi-gen step here but we'll deal with that as we actually get there)
3. Back in the model we'll add some interest to our landscape. Going into sub-object level I add selection weighting to the verts and then either lift 1 of them or add more def. latices (I like these
) to add som hills and valleys. The trick is to make sure that you either don't select any seam verts or that you select all of the affected ones with the same weight value. Play with various methods to see the kind of contouring that makes you happy. I prefer to leave the seam verts free and clear. OK, so the landscape on the grass areas is nice but no we have contour to the driving surface - patience grasshopper.4. We may collapse the stacks so that no more editing will be done to the track's flat shape. Depending on how the file is being handled by the program I hope to not have to collapse the stacks but this is one of those history saves I spoke of. Add a big deformation lattice over the entire area of the track - we'll use this to add elevations & contours and make the topography fun. This is where we add the roll of the land to the driving surface. Play with this as well. I find that the hills need to be exagerated to have any impact in the game. Some the smaller inclines seem to me to be non-existant when driving and I'm always surprised by the landscape if I watch a replay from the tv cams. Got a landscape you're happy with - test it! (multi-gen step again but should be less as the path of the track has not changed)
5. Back to the model...let's assume we've only used def.laticies (maybe not but just for kicks fot the moment). TOGGLE off (don't flatten the stack) the def.latices - all of them. Now we can add scenery like fences, barriers & trees, cars, buildings....you get the idea. This should be easy since it's all nice and flat. Now toggle all the lattisies back on and everything should pop back to a nice contoured and exciting shape. This has allowed us to not have had to shape our barriers, trees...to our organically shaped landscape! (another multi-gen step goes here)
6. Ask some friends to help you beta test. Nothing like hard racing to identify where the trouble areas are - run-off not big enough, unexpected holes...There may be holes but if nobody ever gets there you don't need to worry about it unless you really want to be thorough
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