Race Track Builder

Race Track Builder

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RTB  [developer] Jan 15, 2018 @ 2:31am
Beta 1.5.1.0
I am relieved. The Object Gizmo has been updated (in Beta) so you can use the keys to toggle dedicated Rotate, Scale or Translate modes (press R, S or T). These allow even easier control of object manipulation. See here for a quick tutorial video on the changes ... https://youtu.be/FmeSPywHPPM

Also added were the speed changes mentioned previously, as well as a refinement of the Terrain Raise/Lower tool. Each stroke will "max" out at a particular height (based on radius and strength). I was able to re-write this to be a little more responsive too.

A few other bug fixes are included.

For those wishing to try the latest changes, in Steam, right-click on RTB and select Properties. Go to the Betas tab and enter "ScienceTrumpsIgnorance". This will unlock the latest Beta 1.5.1.0.

Enjoy!
Last edited by RTB; Jan 30, 2018 @ 11:21pm
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Showing 1-15 of 26 comments
les_neilson Jan 15, 2018 @ 1:46pm 
Excellent! Thanks again!
RTB  [developer] Jan 17, 2018 @ 3:36am 
Added a small video to show off the Object Gizmo improvements ...

https://youtu.be/FmeSPywHPPM
RTB  [developer] Jan 20, 2018 @ 3:05pm 
Added another small update again to fix a crash that occurred occasionally.

Please use this thread for Beta testing feedback.
RTB  [developer] Jan 20, 2018 @ 9:11pm 
A little more about 1.5.1.0 and a sneak peek at what's after that ...

https://youtu.be/9oLxQ6Gxfao

I do need feedback on this. The future stuff can't be released until I know this version is ready.
RTB  [developer] Jan 29, 2018 @ 11:20pm 
Developer update: Beyond 151

Version 1.5.1.0 is still sitting in Beta waiting your feedback.

I’ve done all the coding that I expect to on this, so it’s only your user feedback I am waiting on before release. So far only one person has provided any feedback – thanks ebrich The Great!

v1.5.1.0 is MUCH faster in performing calculations so I was hoping more people would be keen to test this and provide greater confidence that it works on their project. If you already are using the Beta and it’s producing good results, that’d be great to hear too. ;) It’s easy to switch back and forth between the Beta and latest release by opting in/out on the Beta tab of RTB properties and there’s been no change in file format so projects will load in either version.

In the meantime progress is going well with version 1.5.2.0 which will include some direct editing of the Terrain Points. Initially this will be limited to vertical editing only, but a future release will allow freedom of movement in all directions. Most of the coding for vertical Point movement is complete; it’s pretty cool to grab the points and lift them up/down and I’ve added another little feature that helps visualise the terrain better when doing this. There’s a few options, similar to track cross-section shapes, for how points are affected by the movement.

Much of the existing terrain editing code (and more) relies on the mesh being uniform with the division of triangles occurring by dividing an existing triangle into 4 child triangles of equal size, and splitting neighbouring triangles in half. This has the great benefit of providing a very fast method of getting a higher detailed mesh in the areas it is required, but the obvious limitation is the lack of fine control desired when closer to the road. Manual editing of the Terrain Points in all directions will alleviate this limit, however it will also present some potential issues with overlapping terrain, downward facing triangles and how these would interact with objects that rest upon them.

In future releases I am considering several possible Terrain editing improvements.

The first phase will allow horizontal movement of the Points, but restrict the movement of “inner” Points (Points that are NOT on the outside edge of the terrain) so that they cannot be moved outside of the polygon that surrounds them. This has the benefit of allowing finer control whilst retaining the ability to easily auto-subdivide polygons when using the raise/lower/paint tools. The algorithm to police this this may turn out to be rather slow if 100’s of points are selected, but this is what I’ll aim for initially.

The second phase would allow the Points to be moved anywhere, just like a regular boring unproductive run-of-the-mill 3d editor (j/k). Triangles & lines could be divided and points dragged to form new shapes, or points merged to remove existing triangles. To do this means the current simple method for subdividing triangles would have to be replaced with a more manual method (eg. holding Control whilst clicking on an existing triangle edge). This would be a one-way trip; once the terrain is edited in this form, then it could not be reverted back.

Please feel free to offer your thoughts. I am happy to steal your ideas. In the meantime, please give the 1.5.1.0 Beta a crack!
RTB  [developer] Jan 30, 2018 @ 3:06am 
Looks like you don't have the "Subdivide Triangles" ticked on the toolbar.
Angerfist Jan 30, 2018 @ 3:12am 
Originally posted by RTB:
Looks like you don't have the "Subdivide Triangles" ticked on the toolbar.
ok im blind sorry for waste your time :)
RTB  [developer] Jan 30, 2018 @ 3:38am 
No probs. Probably should always set it on by default. ;)
Bad Badger Jan 30, 2018 @ 5:56am 
This is a great update and things do seem to run much faster with less crashes for me. I am still using a model linked to google maps but plan to turn off that link shortly to make some terrain improvements so will test out the updated terrain modification tools. Thanks
schz Jan 30, 2018 @ 8:34am 
Everything ok with the new features so far. But i sometimes get this holes in the terrain after moving a track node: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jpHQkxLWHdXf1gl7aYJ1BSIzp4gMVwYi

and this: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1g2NKyHKSDI224Qwt9HAw4db6DOeXassm
Last edited by schz; Jan 30, 2018 @ 8:39am
RTB  [developer] Jan 30, 2018 @ 11:47am 
Thanks schz. Were you getting holes these holes with the old version? I get an occasional hole too now and again, but it's like trying to play whack-a-mole (whack-a-hole) in this case. If I change the math to try and fix one hole, another pops up somewhere else in some other track. I'm hoping that terrain point xz movement will fix the first example.

The second example however I have not seen. If you save then reload this do the holes go away (this suggests that this area is not being tagged for recalc)? If they consistently appear, would you be able to zip ad and send me the project?
schz Jan 30, 2018 @ 1:17pm 
I can't remember to get that big holes, only smaller ones in areas where tracks are cutting. The holes from the second example dissapear after saving and restarting. But I was able to recreate the holes with both versions (current + beta). If you move the track node at the giant cow sign, then the holes will appear at the giant "!" sign.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-Gihus240Ix6ibgC1gmHi2bd4bvWomQB
RTB  [developer] Jan 30, 2018 @ 9:58pm 
Thanks. Will take a look tonight when I get home.
RTB  [developer] Jan 31, 2018 @ 12:47am 
Thanks again schz. I've made an update which should fix the second problem.
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Date Posted: Jan 15, 2018 @ 2:31am
Posts: 26