TOOL Modeling a landscape for a track

[Brieuc78800]

Hi everyone!
I play AC since 1 year now and the desire to build my own mountain road took me a few months ago (I live in Alsace, East France, so there are lot of nice roads in the Vosges!). When I saw last week the post about making your first track for AC, I decided to start my own. I do 3D modelling since 2 or 3 years so using Blender isn't a problem in general.

I began to model the road without any problem. But I'm blocked after, when I need to model the mountain environement...
Here's my problem:
I found a good tutorial on Youtube to import Google Earth data to Blender throught Google Sketchup. It works great! But I wonder if the importated data are really exact. I mean, to model my road I helped me with a precise map (because I needed elevation data) so I think my road's shape is pretty good. When I import the Google Earth data into Blender, and after a lot of scaling tests, my road is never well placed among the hills...

Do you know a good way to model precise (or good-looking at least) landscapes for AC tracks?

Here is what I'm writing about:

Thanks in advance! I can't finish it if I have no landscape!

Brieuc.

 

[liquido]

I asked my self how you have created this road, surely that's the problem, Google Earth data are not very accurate but are correct.

I know a method to create a 3D model from a route Google Earth (KML) when we draw the route on images instead of using the tool to go from one site to another site google earth, we had that problem .. . that the road did not fit with the terrain.

At the end we discovered that google making photos with an inclination that distorts the aspect ratio and the best way to trace a path s using google tool to go from one place to another place ... with the layer of roads activated in google.

How do you create your path?


And did you know this software?

SAS planet

 

[Brieuc78800]

Thank you for your reply!

I followed this tutorial to build my track and especially this video. As he explained in the tutorial, I created my path with the Blender object "Path" and then, in order to get the different elevations, I found this web site. I placed about 40 cubes in Blender as marks on the road and then I moved the path object to the marks before I apply the Array and the Curve Modifiers.

I'll watch the video, thanks!

 

[liquido]

So you create your path manually based on satellite image or you get data directly from google maps and import the KML/KMZ file inside blender?

When you create a path in google maps/earth with the tool from one site to another.... you can see that path is not over the road on every place it seems that does not fit properly with the satellite image of the terrain, but the problem is the image.

If you make a KML file inside google earth and import it into blender, I sure you that road will fit properly with your terrain.

..........................................................
Here is info about the Zaxxon method, you will need several softwares to finish the process, and BTB (Bob's track builder) is needed... but it is the best way to do it before Race Track Builder will be relased.

http://www.rbrtracks.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=69&sid=d4fa34e3a2a118fbfc084a4e9e75f3c8


A video to show what you get from this way

 

[Brieuc78800]

Yes, I created my path manually with images.

 

[liquido]

That's your problem.

you need to create a route in google earth (make sure you have the road layer activated) and export the path to a file... KMZ format for example an import into blender.

http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.4/Py/Scripts/Import/KMZ

Let us know how it goes.

Cheers.