SOLVED How can i add bumps and better cambers to my track on 3ds max.

[luchian]

@LockeNessMotorsports I don't know what your ambitions are for this track, but you seem to be just starting into this realm . Therefore (no disrespect to helpful guys around intended), maybe it's too soon to think about lidar and aerial imagery and what not.

I would merely suggest to start simple, in the old traditional way (maybe based on a Google Maps image). Here are a few tutorials to help you out:

Blender:

3dsMax:

 

[LockeNessMotorsports]

@LockeNessMotorsports I don't know what your ambitions are for this track, but you seem to be just starting into this realm . Therefore (no disrespect to helpful guys around intended), maybe it's too soon to think about lidar and aerial imagery and what not.

I would merely suggest to start simple, in the old traditional way (maybe based on a Google Maps image). Here are a few tutorials to help you out:

Blender:

3dsMax:

I've made the basic the track with a spline and the sweep modifier I prefer it to lofting and done a low poly mesh that smooths nicely. Only problem I'm having is adding more cambers, height elevations and terrain without adding tons of edges and ruining the smoothing on the low poly

 

[Pixelchaser]

last video in that stack is gold ! that's exactly how to go about it if you use max. and that is the answer you need to how you are going to maintain control over your cambers and widths.

 

[Mr Whippy]

Is last video using splines and surface modifier?

 

[LockeNessMotorsports]

last video in that stack is gold ! that's exactly how to go about it if you use max. and that is the answer you need to how you are going to maintain control over your cambers and widths.

I tried that method but it got really complicated when joining areas etc and incredibly chaotic, I didn't get on with it however going into the corners with it may work.

 

[Mr Whippy]

Yep the spline method and then surfacing is a real ball ache.

If you're gonna use it then you need to be methodical with your build. For a circuit like yours it's a great way to do the layout with imo.
You can then use enough surface iterations to get a rough but accurate mesh that sub-divides well and remains the correct shape. Maybe a 1m grid that is sub-divided down for the final visual mesh and physics mesh later.



Draw the outside line with a spline as efficiently as possible.

Offset that spline for the inside line, so the knots are somewhat 'equal' on opposing sides of the track so the link lines across the track are as close to perpendicular to the direction of travel as you can get.


You can also offset the side to side splines vertically by 2cm, and use the 'surface' modifier tolerance to still catch the knots and create a valid surface.
That then makes it easier to select the different knots and adjust their handles.

 

[Pixelchaser]

Ness, building today I think I realise a problem you face with how you were building your pats acres. i wanted to say. use a surface modifier on what your layout was with the low poly edges(add edit poly midifer on top of it in the stack to view). when you add the surface modifier it allows to you add steps. these steps work both forward and backward. but what you want to do is make this surface with about 1 m spacing to the next panel forward along the path. this we will create new spline from edge.

when you have this you need collapse it all. and create 2 new spline edges from that object. then delete it the surface leaving the 2 splines with many many vertices control points. this part will be your new outlines, merge them together, create the cross sections between the existing vertices on the spline. and then re add surface modifier and there you will have your surface to drive on and subdivide later for physics . effectively we are using the surface modifier to backward engineer the spline into more detail. more control points. then surface it again with same surface modifier.

this is how ive built limerock road today. and it definitely works. just get those first splines as accurate as possible.

 

[LockeNessMotorsports]

Ness, building today I think I realise a problem you face with how you were building your pats acres. i wanted to say. use a surface modifier on what your layout was with the low poly edges(add edit poly midifer on top of it in the stack to view). when you add the surface modifier it allows to you add steps. these steps work both forward and backward. but what you want to do is make this surface with about 1 m spacing to the next panel forward along the path. this we will create new spline from edge.

when you have this you need collapse it all. and create 2 new spline edges from that object. then delete it the surface leaving the 2 splines with many many vertices control points. this part will be your new outlines, merge them together, create the cross sections between the existing vertices on the spline. and then re add surface modifier and there you will have your surface to drive on and subdivide later for physics . effectively we are using the surface modifier to backward engineer the spline into more detail. more control points. then surface it again with same surface modifier.

this is how ive built limerock road today. and it definitely works. just get those first splines as accurate as possible.

Only just got back on needed to do a fresh os install aha so only just got started again, lucky i backed it up. Anyway is this referring to the last video with the splines and the surface modifer, that Luchian posted?

 

[Pixelchaser]

well it was related to your last images about how you seemed to be going about it and laying a road as an outline with several cross sections.. but actually that method isn't working out for me at all. I reverted to a single centre line splining.

 

[LockeNessMotorsports]

well it was related to your last images about how you seemed to be going about it and laying a road as an outline with several cross sections.. but actually that method isn't working out for me at all. I reverted to a single centre line splining.

Yeah aha , same problem It could work just in the corners and little areas it needs elevation but not the entire track, atm I go along a spline using the sweep modifier but it's hard to get every camber and elevation point in low poly. And if you add too much detail it gets very chaotic and smooths terribly leaving it with a blocky look.

 

[LockeNessMotorsports]

well it was related to your last images about how you seemed to be going about it and laying a road as an outline with several cross sections.. but actually that method isn't working out for me at all. I reverted to a single centre line splining.

So I may have found a really good way although won't be sure untill testing. A friend told me this who's a fellow track and car modder ok break your track up into sections etc, select all the polys apply a mesh smooth and then a turbo smooth on top of the mesh smooth 1 iteration of each creates a lovely sub division.

Then go down to your editable poly and choose show end result from there you can tweak each of the verts off the low poly which in turn moves all of the areas around down and the cambers and elevations seem to be allot better .

 

[Pixelchaser]

\o/ yeah that looks like the right way forward. controlling that over the original vertex is fantastic. one might argue that using more than 1 polygon left to right on road is a waste, but I don't think so. that level of optimisation isn't needed.

I bet you could use the snap tool to good effect there,

can you show me the track from above without those modifiers on please, so I can see the arrangement of the original object you created before applying those modifiers ? I like this method much !

 

[LockeNessMotorsports]

\o/ yeah that looks like the right way forward. controlling that over the original vertex is fantastic. one might argue that using more than 1 polygon left to right on road is a waste, but I don't think so. that level of optimisation isn't needed.

I bet you could use the snap tool to good effect there,

can you show me the track from above without those modifiers on please, so I can see the arrangement of the original object you created before applying those modifiers ? I like this method much !

Yeah it's really easy to control by using this method, the mesh is the same as it was previously ignore the holes in the mesh that's from the smoothing when you delete the smoothing it goes like that but it's just a basic low poly mesh.

 

[Pixelchaser]

cool. I notice you added some extra sections in places, do they react well with the modifers too ?

 

[LockeNessMotorsports]

cool. I notice you added some extra sections in places, do they react well with the modifers too ?

Yes perfectly fine

 

[luchian]

Yeah it's really easy to control by using this method, the mesh is the same as it was previously ignore the holes in the mesh that's from the smoothing when you delete the smoothing it goes like that but it's just a basic low poly mesh.

View attachment 1492

Just an observation, so don't take it the wrong way
The base mesh looks sort... hand made. How do you obtain that ? Are you working with splines ? Or maybe your splines have the handle set on "angle" instead of "smooth" ? (don't know the exact terms in max).

Have a look at @LilSKi 's posts:
http://assettocorsamods.net/threads/how-can-i-add-bumps-and-better-cambers-to-my-track-on-3ds-max.865/#post-3928
http://assettocorsamods.net/threads/how-can-i-add-bumps-and-better-cambers-to-my-track-on-3ds-max.865/page-2#post-3951

This is how your mesh should look (or at least close to that).
Notice I am not talking about subdivision density, but the initial base mesh.

 

[LockeNessMotorsports]

Just an observation, so don't take it the wrong way
The base mesh looks sort... hand made. How do you obtain that ? Are you working with splines ? Or maybe your splines have the handle set on "angle" instead of "smooth" ? (don't know the exact terms in max).

Have a look at @LilSKi 's posts:
http://assettocorsamods.net/threads/how-can-i-add-bumps-and-better-cambers-to-my-track-on-3ds-max.865/#post-3928
http://assettocorsamods.net/threads/how-can-i-add-bumps-and-better-cambers-to-my-track-on-3ds-max.865/page-2#post-3951

This is how your mesh should look (or at least close to that).
Notice I am not talking about subdivision density, but the initial base mesh.

Spline is set to smooth it's just way different in max and no problem I always strive to be better.

 

[Pixelchaser]

luchian is right, select all vertices, right click and select change them to Bezier. you will see handles appear one will affect the other and this way you will make the super nice curves where you see the straight lines between points.

when you say spline, are you sure its a spline and not just some connected lines you have drawn ?

 

[LockeNessMotorsports]

They are all bezier and it's the sweep modifier along it

 

[LockeNessMotorsports]

Anyhow I'm now running into issues testing it can't for the life of me figure out why has stuff changed after the latest update because I'm pretty sure I'm doing everything right just can't figure it out aha. So the first issue

A friend did some terrain for me on RTB and i can't import it into ks editor as it says there's a vertex limit of 65k now I've split the terrain up into separate meshes with the highest count being 37k and it still won't load in it says it has 120k vertices but it doesn't that's the thing I'm really confused it's adding some smoothing or something somehow without me knowing because i didn't do it.

I named them correctly 1GRASS01,02 etc

The second issue: car keeps falling through the track and if i lift the dummies up higher the car spawns from the air and falls down and I can't figure that out either I'll try and again tomorrow nothing has gone well today aha.

I named them right,

1ROAD01,02,03 etc
AC_PIT_0
AC_START_0
AC_TIME_0_L
AC_TIME_0_R

Any ideas?