Well, i made this topic to know who`s working on tracks, to know their updates, to ask questions and ask for feedback.
right now im working on two tracks, both are remakes from mx simulator:
-Laguna caren, a track raced on chile for the mx2 wc, altrought i changed some things to suit reflex better so i wouldnt call it a replica anymore haha.
-Lost lands: a track inspired on the old mcm2 tracks, altrought im not sure of it really fits the physics of the game...
well, i`ve worked a lot on laguna caren and i think that is ready for some testing, here`s a beta is someone wants it, it`s on the slot 01 so be carefull to not overwrite another track!
http://www.mediafire.com/?8fxyr2ca4n429ya
hope you enjoy it as much as i am, later! :D
Mace
I will post links to a couple of tracks that I have tested. I really haven't had much time to actually play around with making tracks. I will put up links to my Baatkips, G-Out, and Valley Ride that I have used for testing.
Mace - Can you add some basic texturing so that I can see where the track is? It is possible to draw white lines in the Crm_Lum file tracing the edge of your track so that you can see the edges of the track. Without knowing the track path it's impossible to try it out.
Example of a crm_lum with the track outlined in white:
(http://dirttwister.com/images/reflex/trackeditor/crm_lum_track_outline.jpg)
Bruce
I have uploaded some tracks if anyone wants to try them out.
Slot 5 - MCM 2 Hang On no changes just smoothed. It needs to be tweaked for Reflex:
http://dirttwister.com/reflex/betatracks/hangon_Beta_Track_Slot_5.dx9.zip
Slot 6 - MCM 2 G-Out 2 no changes just smoothed. It needs to have some detail put back in and be tweaked for Reflex:
http://dirttwister.com/reflex/betatracks/gout_Beta_Track_Slot_6.dx9.zip
Slot 7 - MCM 2 BaatKips no changes just smoothed. It needs to have some detail put back in, the jump peaks rounded, and tweaked for Reflex:
http://dirttwister.com/reflex/betatracks/baatkips_Beta_Track_Slot_7.dx9.zip
Slot 8 - MCM 2 Valley Ride. I have been using this track for testing since the first dispmap was put in a Reflex track. I have tweaked it for Reflex and I have more planned. The first thing you notice when you bring an MCM 1 or MCM 2 track into Reflex is that it needs more stuff on it. You have more resolution to fine tune the dispmap and you can add a lot more variation to the terrain.
http://dirttwister.com/reflex/betatracks/valleyride_Beta_Track_Slot_8.dx9.zip
The Beta Track DLC files are needed in order to try out these tracks in Reflex. Unzip them into the /Database folder of your reflex installation:
Beta track DLC files (http://www.strawberrysoftware.net/download.php?file=reflex/MXTables_DLC008.zip)
Bruce (DirtTwister)
ok, wait me, i`ll recompile the track as soon as i can ;)
Bruce, if you converted the dirttwister sx series to reflex you would be my hero! I have so many fond memories of running those tracks back in the day.
Hey guys,
Glad to see you guys almost have custom tracks working in reflex, that is pretty damn cool. Does the Terrain Deformation work on the beta tracks?
Yes it does, but there is another layer of ruts that we do not have working. There is a bump mapped layer of ruts that follows the track path. Until we can make a model we won't be able to add that last layer of bump mapping. It is also the same thing that applies dozer tracks.
That is pretty cool; Just read the post on the wiki about the softness maps, guess I need to buy this game now :)
i just added my first track at mvamaniacs.com
al167supercross001 beta
cheers allan
(http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/7080/endo.jpg)
Unleashed and Reflex releases coming soon.
Several tracks are being posted at MVA Maniacs... for Reflex!
- http://www.mvamaniacs.com/2011_freeride.php?type=All&page=1
They will overwrite other tracks in SLOT 1 thru 8.
- will we need some kind of track loader?
- will there only be 8 SLOTS for tracks in the future?
One guy has skycubes and what seems like a spline working.
When I went flying off track (because I didn't know the turns) it would reset me.
Then I tried to ride outside of the jumps to skip a jump section - it set me back.
I am going to go try a few more!
We have specifically limited the Beta slots to 8 and it is designed to be overwritten. At this time each person will have to manage what tracks they want in those 8 slots. A track manager will be needed when we release full tracks. The resets are caused by painting a reset area on the zone file.
http://www.mxmaniacs.com/track_view.php?trackid=1148&page=1
A small test track I made for realistic supercross scale tracks.
love the scale track. is it a particular track?
man i also like some of your track building techniques. how did you get the jumps so pointy at the top? what did you use to make the disp map, photoshop or leveler maybe? i use photoshop and the top and sides of my jumps seem a little more rounded. i also like how you built the berms! could you explain the way you do it?
top notch job with the track.
just a couple of things- but nothing bad.
i couldnt do was the dragon back. it would be better if the whoops where a little smaller (only on the take off side) so you could rattle them and land down the other dragon back.
also i think a perfect scale is good but maybe just a little too tight for a game like reflex. maybe 1 pixle to .5 meters would be a little better than 1 pixelto .3 meters(1 foot) it may not be better, but it would be interestig to see the difference!!!
anyway good to see another track builder for reflex.
keep em coming!!!!
cheers allan
Hey Al,
Thanks for the comments. It's not a particular track, but I took elements of ama tracks and mixed them together. There abit of atlanta & st louis 2009, Indy 2010, and Anaheim 2001 (yep goin old school... lol).
For building my displacement I used 3d max. Previously I had been using photoshop back in the mva unleashed days, and I was able to make pointy jumps then, but I made my jumps almost pixel by pixel, so it took along time to get a perfect jump. I would plan out the jump shape by plotting the heights for each step on a graph (sort of) and calculate my gradients.
But my method now is so much quicker. I make a plane of 80 by 80 segments in 3d max. Then I use soft selection on the vertices, and just go from there, adjusting the strength and "shape" of the selection.
Then, I map a gradient material (texture) so that it looks like a height map from above, then take a screen shot. I will then resize down to 81 x 81 pixels. The reason for 81 is because, for 80 segements in my plane, there are 81 vertices. Hope that makes sense.
National tracks are really easy to make in 3dmax also, by using a "path" and a box with a "path deform" tool added to it. You get absoloute control over the shape of your on-track displacement.
As for the dragonback.. I do agree that the whoops are a little steep, and I had been thinking of making them better. The line for doubling is, triple up over those first 3 whoops, and then seat bounce over the (even steeper) top whoop. And it will launch you! :) This was the line Reed & Stewart used in St.Louis 2009, so that was the line I wanted to be the way to do it, as it seemed that if riders 'rode' up it, they'd lose too much speed to do the double.
At first, I found this track pretty tough myself, with the triple on-off table top section, the dragonsback, and some other rythms, but now after alot of laps, there are rythms that I can do, which I thought would be impossible... If you rail the berms, u can gain alot of speed.
I may increase the scale a little, as I played online yesterday with just one other person, and the turns are so tight, that it caused lag, and appear as if the other ride had missed the turn, and railed thin air over outside of the berm :D But now I am sure this is a realistic scale, it will be hard for me to go back on that, as a big part of making and riding tracks for me, is the look and scale to the rider.
-Jamie
thanks for the tips with 3ds max. i havent used 3ds before but ive always wanted to learn it. so i geuss its time to get it!! ;D
your scale is right i measured it by making a block 7 pixels wide in the displacement map and then in game you ride up next to it and then look side on and you can see that both ends of the bike line up to the block. (the length of a crf450 is 7.1 feet)
ill give that dragon back another try too!
cheers allan
sorry for the intrusion on the conversation... but imo supercross tracks that would work perfect on REFLEX physics are the ones that use the loading track (sx sections) scales, i am talking about the triple, table and the two 180ยบ turns before the triple and the "finish line" double... your track would be so perfect if reflex bike had similar gravity/weight Like in REV physics, Jamie you should import your disp map for unleashed and try to ride it with REV (or simphysics T11) and tell us your opinion... there are a few things that don't feel right in your track: dragon back, the 3 in a row table section, I always miss the 3rd table, finish line double is so easy to overshoot and so hard to roll over some small jumps, the bike kick u instantly even when you are braking, even so I prefer to play your track over the stock ones and all the custom tracks already released!
:)
No need to apologise :)
MX_Rider,
I agree that those sections do flow, and feel nice to ride. Yeah I may try it out in unleashed if i get time, although, i dont really have much interest in playing that game anymore, and Id have to read up again on afew things :) lol, its been a while...
The triple on-off sections are tricky, and it all starts with your speed out of the corner (i cut to the inside, like a race-car line), and the angle you hit the jump. When you get it right, it feels awesome, and Im sure you could carry on hopping to 4th, 5th or 6th, if there were more table tops :D
The finish line is the tallest jump on the track, and only has a gap of approx 55 feet, so I imagine that in real life, this would be quite an easy jump to make. Also, mine is at the end of a long straight of whoops, so that could be a factor to why it's so easy.
Ive also found alot more speed out of myself the more i play reflex, and I can hit lines on the 125cc, that I used to only be able to do with standard drag/friction maps. So I may need to think about more a little more drag or a different mix that what im using in my map... But also, I think my berms are too easy to rail, so they are being worked on. I will also take a look at rolling the jumps. Could you explain more about what feels wrong to you about the dragonsback?
Once I build more tracks with replicated sections in them, I will be able to tell how good the real life scale is with reflex. I would rather try slow the bikes down in the turns first, as I think thats where the inconsistency with real life is.
Al167,
Thanks for trying the scaled, I measured it yesterday too before I read your post, but I measured 5 pixel space on the textures, and lined that up with the wheel base of the bike, which is 58 inches on a kx450.
-Jamie
thank you for the reply James, about the dragonsback, it's nothing wrong about it, you did it right, it's about the behaviour of the bike... it simple have a unreal feel... I'll make a video of it and show you...
here is the link of the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7GiJAkvQjA
you can see how unreal is Reflex physics?
:o
Thanks for the video. Yeah I see what you mean about the physics... Main problem I see, is that it's impossible to flip the rider forward over the handle bars. I think there is too much slip, that has been coded into the physics for the front wheel, Im just guessing here, but it looks that way. It sems like you can ride the whoops leaning forward, and the wheel never drops and 'digs in', therefore 'endo-ing' the bike, instead it will just always slip and cary you forward.
My slip map could contribute to this slightly, but I think its a fundamental problem with the physics.
Another fundamental problem with reflex I feel, is the way the front, and back end's of the bike feel like they are one solid unit. There is no "getting squirley" or "huck-a-buck" in this game. Thinking about it... unleashed had a better feeling in this area... :-\ I'd love to write my own mx game physics, but the task always seems too daunting, and I never know where to start.. A fundamental characteristic of physics is centre of gravity, and Ive no idea where that would be on a bike, let alone a rider moving around too...
We could complain all day about the many things that are wrong with these physics, but I feel like we're getting a little off topic for this thread, and it could go on for a long time :)
So to get back on to topic... I've added more slip, and less drag to my track, and it feels better for sure. I may release another layout soon if I come up with any interesting ideas, but I really wanna make some replicas first and test my obstacles in different layout situations.
Add me on steam @ jamieturner187 if you want to chat more about physics.
yea the physics... I would love to discuss them with you sometime, since we share similar opinions about it... this week I'll be at my laptop, it can't run reflex or any shader 3 game and I don't have steam installed, but I use skype, (my skype name is mx_rider46) add me in case you use it!
Can't wait to test more tracks from you and I'll try my best to give some of my thoughts :)
cheers
MX_Rider
2012 Seattle Pre-make
http://www.mxmaniacs.com/track_view.php?trackid=1167&page=1
A video clip to my nat track, Mountain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kFjxQpYvJQ&feature=youtu.be
I started working on this track almost a year ago but got tired after a couple of days. After realising that there's a new editor (Digital Earthworks) I decided to give it one more try... a few unrealistic jumps but other than that I think it's quite realistic.
looks sweet, but some of the berms need some work they are like ramps with no shape, also some ruts and bumps would be cool. it also looks a little easy. i like to have a section thats hard to do every lap....but very nice textures and i love how its dug down in spots too. i realise its probably not finished yet...... anyway good work mate!!!, are you gonna release it?
Yep, I'll TRY to do some fine tuning and release it then.
I guess I could say that the (only) challenge on this track comes from the fact that it's quite slippery. The brown dirt is more slippery and softer than the grey dirt/gravel. There are also some muddy spots that cause some problems... You basically have to be careful with the "reflex stick" or the bike will just slide out of control. Especially on some turns, it's better to do most of the work with the left stick and barely touch the reflex stick. Well, the safest way is to just let go of the gas for a while I guess...
Some of the turns look weird, yes, but they require you to use brakes and slow down. That's basically the biggest reason why I started to make my own tracks years ago for MCM2: to have tracks that require braking and controlling your speed, not just pressing the accelerate button 24/7... Anyway, I'm trying to fine tune some of those turns so that hey make more sense. And that big turn that looks like a skateboard ramp/quarter pipe? Pure fantasy, I don't really know why I made it. To have something different perhaps.
There are some ruts but making them was a bit of a pain. The track has three floors basically: 10,10,10; 100,100,100 and 200,200,200. So I had to have three layers for the ruts, each with a different opacity %. And even with the opacity at 1 %, the ruts where ridiculously deep in the third floor so I had to use a layer mask to hide them for the most part. Painting the ruts with a lighter color than black would have probably been a better idea... all in all, starting a big project like this was a bit silly. Considering that I hadn't used Photoshop in ages and it's the only tool I have. I've never used Leveller or 3D Max or whatever those clever things are that people are using :)
According to the weather forecast it's going to be rainy for a couple of days, so perhaps I'll find the final push and finish this little project...
You sound like my kind of track creator! ;)
Speed control is a huge part of racing games for me, and it sometimes gets forgotten about in user created tracks. Its where all the fun is for me. Racing on tracks that force you to ride a wide open line, just to clear the jumps, is not much fun for me. So It's nice to see someone else with that attitude, making tracks :)
I had a feeling that you'd played mcm2 before, the parts of the track that are dug down deep, look very mcm-like. :)
As for the ruts, yeah, its difficult to make them when you have high elevation. Try doing what you suggested, and have lighter shades of grey, but also, change the layer with the ruts to "darken" mode. That will help when the terrain is actually darker than the shade of grey for the ruts.
On the other hand, you could try tweaking the terrain deformation. Info is in the Wiki on this site. It's not everybody's cup of tea, but its one way to get some semi-decent looking ruts and bumps.
There is a turn at 0:10, that looks like it isn't finished, maybe that's one you guys are talking about? The square corners on each side, look a little un-natural.
Overall I really like the track, and you can tell that you've put time and thought into the layout. Hope to see it on mxmaniacs soon :)