Replace track horizon

jgf · Jun 24, 2017

I have some tracks whose horizons are so low-res and blurry as to actually be a distraction; I would like to replace these but everything I've read merely references track creation. Assuming rfactor, like most sims, will read loose files before those in containers, what files do I need to address? what parameters to use for saving?

(FWIW, the current irritant is one of my favorite tracks - Machwerk. I love it in GPL, also have it in GTL, GTR2, and an unfinished, private, conversion for N2k3/GTP (no pits, no AI, numerous graphics glitches, but driveable.)

bigfoothunter · Jul 3, 2017

Try this, not guaranteed it'll work, but it does work in GSCE & AMS. Go in windows explorer, to your rf folder & into the Locations folder. Highlight some of the tracks by clicking on the main folder. When you find a track that has this file, SKY.MAS, copy it into the main Machwerk folder. Then open the scn folder with notepad & type this line in the upper left where the other MASFiles lines are: MASFile=sky.mas. Now when the track loads, it " SHOULD " use this sky instead of the original sky. It usually works. Let me know how you make out. Good Luck !!!

jgf · Jul 3, 2017

Thanks for the input. I tried with several sky.mas files from different tracks, deleting the .hat file each time, but always had the same sky/horizon in the game. Also tried with a custom sky I'd downloaded, same result - along with a 98k trace file full of
"htree.cpp 425: Gaussian elimination for HAT poly failed once
htree.cpp 462: Gaussian elimination for HAT poly failed twice
htree.cpp 356: Verts can't be calculated from edges
htree.cpp 346: Verts can't be calculated from edges"

So I snooped into the track's maps mas file and found apparently everything is contained in there with proprietary nomenclature (I've yet to find the actual sky file, but the sky looks fine, it's the horizon that's ugly). Found "horiz0.dds" through "horiz11.dds", along with "copia di horiz1.dds" through "copia di horiz9.dds", these all seem just copies of five or six 512x512 lo-res, low contrast images. Looked at the downloaded file and it is a 2048x512 image (no doubt the reason for the trace.txt notices), going to try using 512x512 segments of that file to replace the defaults and see what happens. (Don't know enough to tell the track to ignore this mess and use an external sky.mas.)