Renewing BTB license after a LONG absense

[Wee Scot]

I "invested" in BTB way back in 2007, and used it with great pleasure for about a year to create a set of circuits based on real roads on Caribbean islands, but didn't get past the stage of workable (and wonderfully challenging and promising) racing surfaces bounded by concrete walls before "life" intervened: my growing children robbed me of the many hours I'd been devoting to BTB, insisting (to my great pleasure) that I spend my free time with them, instead!

Now my third child is finally (sniff) on her own and I find I have free hours to once again devote to a hobby. I have just a few questions:

1) What game platforms are supported by the latest BTB software?
2) Is it now (still?) possible to create tracks in BTB directly for use in GTR2?
3) What operating systems are currently compatible with BTB? It used to be only for use with Windows XP, if I recall.
4) What do I need to do to get a new license and download the latest BTB software?
5) Is Brendon still directly involved in BTB development?

Thanks in advance to anyone who'll lend assistance!

John (Wee Scot) McDaniel

 

[ebrich]

Welcome back.

RTB is still WIP but you can make tracks and export as a FBX file to go into almost any game. But you really need to use3dsimed with Blender or 3Ds max to do the best job.

BTB will have come some way from it's 2007 days. EVO to GTL, GTR2 etc and PRO to rF1. Works well for those games.

I have no problem with win10 and BTB.

New license - To renew your old licence you need your original password, although I'm not sure about a change in email.

BTB is not being developed anymore. Any spare time, Brendon has, goes towards RTB.

 

[ebrich]

And you may need this to renew your license

- http://www.bobstrackbuilder.net/purchase/purchase_btbpro.aspx

 

[Wee Scot]

And you may need this to renew your license

- http://www.bobstrackbuilder.net/purchase/purchase_btbpro.aspx

Thanks for the updates, and for guiding me back to bobstrackbuilder.net. I successfully logged in as Wee_Scot, updated my email address, and noticed that I still have two licenses left for BTB Pro (See screen capture below). What I really want to do next is download BTB Evo to create a few simple tracks for personal use in GTR2. It looks like I have to pay separately for BTB Evo, or is there a way for me to download that by virtue of being a BTB Pro user?

I'm using Windows 10 Home on this laptop, but still use Windows XP Pro on my old gaming computer.

 

[ebrich]

Yes you need a new license for EVO or make a track in PRO and convert it!! How's the grey matter working! You would need 3dsimed to help with the conversion though. So you will have to dig into your pocket, a little, whichever way you go.

 

[Wee Scot]

So it would cost me AUD $59.95 (currently USD $45) to purchase BTB Evo? Or a similar amount to purchase "3dsimed with Blender or 3ds max" and then spend more time learning how to use that? What about jumping straight up to RTB and leaving BTB behind? Could I create tracks with RTB that could be put straight into GTR2 without the need to use another "conversion" or "packaging" tool? What does RTB cost? If I can build and apply tracks directly to GTR2 just using RTB, I would prefer to go that route and develop those skills before deciding whether or not to invest additional money and time in 3dsimed or 3ds max in order "to do the best job" and create tracks other simracers may want to use.

 

[ebrich]

The quickest and by far easiest way, for GTR2, is to buy EVO.

RTB is only, sort of direct, to Assetto Corsa, and even more "sort of direct" to rFactor2.

 

[Wee Scot]

Thanks very much for your good advice and counsel!

One last question (at least the last I can think of for now...): Do you know if GTR2 can be used to run point-to-point time trials, or is there something in the game coding that prevents anything but circuit lapping? In addition to recreating and "completing" the set of Caribbean island circuits I started as rFactor WIPs 10 years ago, I'm also itching to use BTB Evo to model a favorite piece of twisty road I've probably driven 100 times. Joplin Road is a nine-mile stretch that starts just four miles from my front door and snakes through the Quantico Marine Corps base. It contains some great undulations and blind crests and would make a wonderful, if short, rally course stage! I once got my bike up to 95 mph on one of the few "straigt-ish" sections before I had to brake for the next corner, and have long wondered what kind of speeds serious racing machines could achieve on Joplin Road. Will I be able to model this for GTR2 using BTB Evo, or does the GTR2 timing system only work for closed circuits?

 

[ebrich]

I don't have GTR2 but I imagine (I do a lot of that and sometimes it actually works!) it can be done. I'm just about to help someone else do the same for rF1.

http://www.racedepartment.com/threa...llclimb-non-closed-track.131814/#post-2446920

Will keep you updated.

 

[Wee Scot]

Thanks again ever so much for giving me your time!

 

[ebrich]

When you've got the time I'd like to hear if you can get this working in BTB EVO for GTR2. Point to point timing all done in BTB and notebook.
https://www.mediafire.com/?7a57twp0ds2g1zq

 

[Wee Scot]

Sorry I've been silent so long, but a few days after your last post, the PSU and/or GPU in my faithful old simracing computer failed. I've been preoccupied since with getting a friend of my son to help me put together a much better system with components he's giving me and others I was given a few years ago by a friend. The sticking point is that I need to buy a new 600-watt PSU to support the demands of the new components, and it'll be another week before I have the spare cash to do that. As soon as I'm back up and running, I'll buy BTB EVO and try the tool at the mediafire link you provided!

 

[Wee Scot]

Actually, I've just had an exchange with Erwin on nogripracing (didn't realize until just minutes ago that he's a prominent member here, as well!), and I think I've decided to stick with BTB Pro and either enlist the help of someone who already knows his (her?) way around 3dsimed or 3dsmax, or eventually make that investment in time and money myself! Erwin's recent frustrating experience with Evo is what persuaded me. I've really been looking forward to learning how to use BTB's terrain building functions to full advantage and glory, and Evo is apparently somewhat "limited" in that regard.

 

[ebrich]

Good idea. Terrain texturing is more advanced in PRO.

3Dsimed is like a go-between, with BTB on one side and Blender or 3dsmax on the other. Really a must for checking, changing, converting.

 

[Wee Scot]

Since there are no stupid questions...

First, I'm assuming I need to decide which of my computers to install BTB 1.0.0.1 on; that I can't (and wouldn't want to) install it on more than one.

Second, I'm assuming I want to install it on my simracing computer, and not my laptop, because I'm going to want to go from BTB into rFactor and back repeatedly to test changes, create and adjust AIW, etc.

So I need advice on what monitor to use for track building. Ten years ago, I used a 19" flat screen LCD for both simracing and BTB. But a few years ago, I started simracing on a 42" plasma monitor at 1680 x 1050. Am I going to like using that plasma for BTB, or am I going to want to re-connect and use the 19" LCD at a higher resolution for track building?

 

[ebrich]

I would go for the higher res each time. I tried a big screen lower res which sent my eyeballs into orbit.
2 smaller screens at a higher res (If your graphics card can) is even better.
Keep all folders in close proximity ie BTB/Image folder/PSD&DDS&JPG folders. BTB/3Dmodel folder.
Find space to keep backups - save BTB WIP project every 15 mins and keep some at the end of the day. Everybody looses a project at some time, especially at 2 in the morning when fingers turn to thumbs.
When loading an image, model or project glance at where it's at. There's always a time you save quickly to desktop instead of it's folder. 2 days down the line you wonder why your track is missing 2 days work.
BTB can make grown men cry!!

 

[Wee Scot]

I'm still a few days away from putting my "new" gaming computer together, but wanted to be ready with a plan for what to install, and in what order.

First, my old hard drive (2006, Maxtor, 500 GB) holds all of my game files and ran on Windows XP Professional. I've read several threads recently about Windows 10 and its updates causing problems with GTR2 (and also rFactor?). I know that old hard drive isn't as big or fast as more recent ones, but couldn't I save myself a lot of trouble and possible heartache if I just keep using it and the XP operating system with the new motherboard and i7 CPU, instead of installing W10 (or W7, as one guy suggested) on either the old hard drive, or on a new hard drive? Also, if I use a new hard drive and OS, can I simply transfer my game files from the old one and create desktop shortcuts to the *.exe files, or will I have to reinstall my games?

There are also a couple of questions about BTB that I'm just itching to have answered:

1) What source should I use for GPS data on Joplin Road and the surrounding area of Marine Corps Base Quantico here in Virginia? And once I have the topography loaded into BTB, will I simply be able to lay down a track surface that will conform to the GPS elevations, and then fine tune it based on my digital videos, or will it be more difficult than that?

2) Can trees be made to overhang the road surface, even give a full canopy or archway effect? I know there is foliage (non-collide) that sticks out over some tracks--Machwerk comes to mind--but would what I'm talking be a framerate killer, even if technically possible?

 

[ebrich]

rF1 runs fine on win10. Just tried GTLegends and it didn't want so I've used the Game key to get it from Steam, free. That should run. We'll see.

Recently moved to win 10 because win 7 was having problems with the newer GPU. Everything works better in win 10 and if you use an SSD it is so quick to boot up.

Old hard drives - I had one go when I installed 10. Luckily it was backed up so I didn't loose too much but if yours dates from 2006 I would get the data onto another sooner rather than later.

You'll probably have to reinstall games if you get a new drive for a new OS as the drive names change and games use a folder in Docs for stuff. In other words they will not know whether they are on their a.. or their elbow.

I've always used Google earth via Sketchup for track and terrain but I heard that the new Sketchup Make will not have Geo location after May 22nd. Never used GPS source for topography data in BTB,

Overhanging trees not a problem. Best to try a nonrendered mesh for the shadow castor, floating above the road.

You've got some interesting testing to do.

One other option - Look into the more modern games before deciding. Rf2, Assetto Corsa, AMS. They are the way to go for decent graphics in a sim game.

 

[Wee Scot]

Next (not so) stupid question:

EDIT: I just managed to extract my old hard drive (holding all my cherished games and game files!) from the old Dell case, and discovered it's actually:

Maxtor MaxLine III
Model 7L250S0
250GB SATA150 HDD
Sept, 2005

So it's NOT an IDE HDD!

Could I connect BOTH my old hard drive (with Windows XP) AND a new one (SSD, with Windows 10) to the Dell XPS 8100 motherboard with Intel i7 CPU, and then choose which one to use at a given time? Then I could play my favorite old games, already patched and modified to my preferences many times on the old hard drive, without worrying about problems caused by Windows 10! I could also then do fresh installs on the new hard drive of all my games and work through any OS issues, and copy game data files over from the old hard drive, while being able to rely on consistent game play from the old hard drive/OS.

Is it even possible to choose which OS/HDD to boot up with at startup??? If not, how do people use more than one hard drive in the same case?

 

[ebrich]

https://www.google.fr/search?q=inst....69i57j0l5.14242j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8