Looking for a track building teacher

[No1JGfan]

I'm looking for someone who can explain or show me the ropes in making a track. I've wanted Chicago Pier for NR2003 for the longest time I think it would be a really fun track to make and provide excellent racing, as well as look really cool. I've requested it to several track makers but unfortunately no takers.

Now that I finally have the time I want to make this track, but I don't know the first thing about using sandbox, i've seen a lot of talented track makers on this site and was looking to see if anyone would be willing to help me.

As for the track itself I took several hours detailing a track map on paper and then on to gimp (but unfortunately it didn't turn out as well as I wanted) anyway this is what I have (see attachment).

My ideas for the track is to base it off of the actual location of Navy Pier in Chicago which also happens to be where Nascar does it's Chase for the Sprint Cup Media Day (which gives it the possibility of having a Chase theme).
- I changed the track layout a bit to provide for better racing. I made the track a little longer and extended the front straightaway which leads into a tight left hander giving it a feel like Montreal.
- Second I made the straight leading out of turn 1 wider and longer so if it would be better, a temporary chicane could be added like the Baltimore street course in Indycar.
- Lastly turn 6 and 7 instead of a metal grated turn I thought adding progressive banking slightly less than what's at Bristol will provide exciting racing in that area as well as coming to the finish line.

If you have any other ideas, if any of this interests you, or you can help out let me know.

Thank you, No1JGfan

 

[Mystical]

Glad to see an interest in track making. The community could always use more people helping out.

As far as building a track what part is confusing you? If this is literally your first track I might suggest start small. Save the road course for later. This is not to discourage you but it would be better to focus on making a smaller short track first so you understand the complete process of track building from start to finish. Once you've successfully completed and released a track you could move onto making a road course which requires quite a bit more time and effort. It's good to get a solid foundation of track building in your memroy first before you start tackling longer tracks. Longer tracks = more work which = more content you need to do.

To start download sandbox from here:
»» welcome to the pits «« (very top link, editing tools) (sandbox will be in this download in track tools.)

This would be the first tutorial I suggest you learn:
http://www.thepits.us/files/tutorials/SandboxTrackTutor.pdf


After you've completed that tutorial you've learned how to make a basic track. To finish it you'd then need to generate LP's so the AI can race and then tweak the track.ini for your track so the Ai can race correctly on it. I cannot stress enough how time consuming track building can be and you will need a lot of patience ... I mean it.

Here are tons of other resources for info on track building and tweaking the AI for your track:
The Pits • View topic - N2003 Track Tutorials
Resources

If you get stuck along the way feel free to ask. If you have tons of questions though make sure to double check the tutorials and links. Most of the common issues and answers can be found there. If you feel you've looked through everything and just can't figure it out feel free to ask. I'm sure the community here or over at the pits would help out. They have a section just for questiosn about track makign for rfactor and NR2003 The Pits • View forum - Sim Editing You might even find a few of my threads in there of questions I asked years ago back when i was first learning track building myself =)

Lastly if you want custom 3do's (those are the 3D objects you see on tracks) you'll need to know how to do 3D modeling in a 3d program which is a whole new level. Oh and did I mention you need skill with an image editing program like gimp (free) or photoshop to make the corresponding textures (mips) for the objects. DON'T worry about custom 3do's on your first track. I am only providing the following info so when you feel you are ready you know where to look. Programs like 3DS Max, Maya, Blender (free), or anything else that can export either OBJ or 3ds files will do. I HIGHLY recommended you buy 3D SimEd version 3: SimGarage | Home to 3DSimED. This program is great for 3do's with NR2003. If you are like me you don't have an older version of 3ds max so exporting PAS files is impossible so 3dsimed is the next best thing to compile 3do's. I use it for every custom model I make. It's very user friendly and can take say your 3ds files and compile it to a 3do to work with sandbox. Sure, you'll have to pay a pretty penny for it but the amount of hours I've spent in 3dsimed since 2006 has paid off greatly. If you are gunna have fun making a track you might as well invest a little $$$ into this time consuming hobby right?

Track building can be a lot of steps as you can see. All I can say is start small, take it one tutorial step at a time, and have patience. Just like with anything in NR2003 from mod making, painting custom bases on cars, to track building it can sometimes feel like a slow crawl to a never-ending finish line. The reward? You own completed content that has your name on it that you can share with the community. I think it's always great when a NR2003 community member goes from fan to content creator. It shows them just how much work it does require to share something with the community and gives them a satisfaction for all the work they've done on their own. I wish you the best in your track making endeavor, good luck.

 

[No1JGfan]

Thank you, I'll check these out and see what I can do, and thank you for being honest with me. I know that creating something that advanced right from the start would be a stretch. But I'll take your advice, try making a basic track and work my way up to making the more advanced ones, and see if this is even something I can do. XD

 

[Mystical]

Thank you, I'll check these out and see what I can do, and thank you for being honest with me. I know that creating something that advanced right from the start would be a stretch. But I'll take your advice, try making a basic track and work my way up to making the more advanced ones, and see if this is even something I can do. XD

No worries. Once you start making the simple track you'll be able to see how all the parts work together and it will give you a much clearer direction when you set out to make your road course.

Just take it one X, W, and F section at a time as you lay out the track and you'll be fine =) Oh yeah, save frequently as sandbox likes to crash or just cause random errors from time to time.

 

[No1JGfan]

No worries. Once you start making the simple track you'll be able to see how all the parts work together and it will give you a much clearer direction when you set out to make your road course.

Just take it one X, W, and F section at a time as you lay out the track and you'll be fine =)

- Will do...here's hoping for the best because if this goes well i've got a lot of other fun ideas up in my twisted little head

Oh yeah, save frequently as sandbox likes to crash or just cause random errors from time to time.

....fantastic c.c XD

 

[fortine_oo]

If you want to see what a basic track looks like try this: AAA Tester Project.

A near-perfect mile oval with few segments. It was created as a platform for testing the grip characteristics of the various surface types.
The track folder includes a number of different PTF and INI files.
There is a flat version (no x-sections), an intermediate version (flat, shorter radius turns & a couple of x-sections), versions with 10° corners and 5° straights (each with a single surface type), and a version with 25° corners and 15° straights and multiple surface types. Some have walls, some don't. In other words, there's a lot of variations, but all are a simple layout and devoid of objects.

I use it to test 3do's, to see if they render correctly in the game before placing them in a real track. I've also used it to test surface type grip values. It's good for testing a lot of things.