Puzzles tracks

[Beetle]

Originally Posted by bio

That's exactly why many of us stopped using Sketchup - way too much pain for the gain you get from other software, like Blender or BTB, with much less fidgeting

Sketchup is a great tool, but it becomes evident rather soon that it wasn't desigend for this kind of use. SBF's designs show that if you're really good at Sketchup, you can do good things - but BTB or Blender will work better with the same amount of effort put into it. And there are things that simply can't be decently done in Sketchup - like track or terrain elevation - while they are easy with BTB or Blender.

... and that is all my opinion only, of course

bio

Nice track, Puzzle. I like the idea. Also, thanks for the heads up on BTB and Blender, bio, because I found out that I am disliking Sketchup immensely. I can't get BTB to download on my computer, though. I tried the trial version, but it doesn't work. Could you give me a run-through?

Don't mean to spam on your thread, Puzzle.

[ScotsBrutesFan]

If you'd like to start a how to/ tutorial thread for BtB and blender, then please do and I'll sticky it, in the same way as the sketch up tutorial.

This post will be removed from this thread as off topic

[bio]

Originally Posted by ScotsBrutesFan

If you'd like to start a how to/ tutorial thread for BtB and blender, then please do and I'll sticky it, in the same way as the sketch up tutorial.

This post will be removed from this thread as off topic

Ahhh... Just to think I had a well edited tutorial on both readily available (I made them for another site, but never got around to posting them) on the PC that died on me a couple of weeks back...

bio

[Puzzle]

Originally Posted by bio

Ahhh... Just to think I had a well edited tutorial on both readily available (I made them for another site, but never got around to posting them) on the PC that died on me a couple of weeks back...

bio

please if you can get those back and posted that would be awesome. I have downloaded blender and from my minimal playing around with it I'd guess it would be an awesome tool for alot more than just messing about with fantasy race circuits if only I had the slightest idea what I was doing

[ECW Dan Selby]

Originally Posted by bio

Ahhh... Just to think I had a well edited tutorial on both readily available (I made them for another site, but never got around to posting them) on the PC that died on me a couple of weeks back...

bio

What's up with your PC man? Is it fixable?/I'd like to play Kyiv (sp?) again...

Selby

[Puzzle]

this was going to be a tsukuba inspired club circuit but somewhere along the way it became very manfieldish 3600m long

[bio]

Originally Posted by Puzzle

please if you can get those back and posted that would be awesome. I have downloaded blender and from my minimal playing around with it I'd guess it would be an awesome tool for alot more than just messing about with fantasy race circuits if only I had the slightest idea what I was doing

The problem is tha my PC that I'm storing all my stuf on seems dead. I'm still hoping though...

bio

[bio]

Originally Posted by ECW Dan Selby

What's up with your PC man? Is it fixable?/I'd like to play Kyiv (sp?) again...

Selby

We'll see...

bio

[bio]

Originally Posted by Puzzle

this was going to be a tsukuba inspired club circuit but somewhere along the way it became very manfieldish 3600m long

Sometimes simpler is better - like here. ery simple, but looks very exciting.

bio

[Puzzle]

I have checked out a couple of blender tutorials online and one of them mentioned setting a track layout created in another program as a background image and building the layout in blender using the background image as a template. I tried to do this but the only image files that came up in the browse files window were sketchup files and they didn't seem to load. can you do this? what sort of files can be set as backgrounds in blender? i actually find sketchup really easy for doing track outlines it's just that there are silly little things that keep it from doing anything other than really basic layout, no elevation change designs.

[Puzzle]

Originally Posted by bio

Sometimes simpler is better - like here. ery simple, but looks very exciting.

bio

thanks for the complement! the reason i tried for something tsukuba-esque is that driving that track in a simulator it seems very flowing and it's also seems quite a fast circuit for it's size. this however wound up a bit longer than planned inspite of giving myself what seemed a pretty compact block of space to work with and some of the turns are a bit sharp and hairpiny for my taste.

[ScotsBrutesFan]

Originally Posted by Puzzle

I have checked out a couple of blender tutorials online and one of them mentioned setting a track layout created in another program as a background image and building the layout in blender using the background image as a template. I tried to do this but the only image files that came up in the browse files window were sketchup files and they didn't seem to load. can you do this? what sort of files can be set as backgrounds in blender? i actually find sketchup really easy for doing track outlines it's just that there are silly little things that keep it from doing anything other than really basic layout, no elevation change designs.

From memory of previous discussions, it's the full cost version of sketchup that allows exporting designs in different formats, one of which blender likes.

[Puzzle]

Originally Posted by ScotsBrutesFan

From memory of previous discussions, it's the full cost version of sketchup that allows exporting designs in different formats, one of which blender likes.

hmm may have to take the top shots i have and change them into some sort of file that works with blender? does blender like .PNG files

[bio]

Originally Posted by ScotsBrutesFan

From memory of previous discussions, it's the full cost version of sketchup that allows exporting designs in different formats, one of which blender likes.

I don't think it would be very beneficial - fidgeting with the altitudes with fully developed tracks can be a PITA with blender. The useful way is to create the trackline, do the elevations on it and only then creating the track and terrain around it.

bio

[Puzzle]

the issue I'm having bio is that the tutorial I've found specifically refers to using a track outline drawn in another program and using it as a guide for the render and although sketchup isn't graet at elevation and whatnot it's a nifty little tool for doing track layouts but when I've tried to load image files as background images what magically appears is...
...absolutely nothing.

anyway to give you all an incentive to give me some good suggestions of where I'm cocking up here's the outline for one track I'm really keen to do in blender

Fastest Most Technicalest (anticlockwise)
this stems from reading the fast technical circuits post in purists track design notes thread. to keep the corners quick I set myself a minimum corner radius of ~150m and very few of the turns even come close to that also compound radius was often used with the corners. to give the cars which will undoubtably be going ridiculously fast plenty of room the track width is 50m all around. In terms of elevation change the corner/wonky straight thing runs up into gently rolling hills that the right hand part of the circuit traverses before coming back down onto the start finish straight and the flatter left half of the course