Some help with BTB.

G

G-Kraft

  • G-Kraft

Just downloaded the trial version of BTB, and also have watched some tutorial videos, but its like to much information at once.

I wonder how to create a xpack, is there a simple way to do it? or do i need many different programs?.

If creating a xpack will be a problem..i hope there are xpack that includes different types of houses and hopefully with different colours.

And how do the background thing work? can i upload own background photos to BTB? what size and format most the photos be then?.

Do i se the height(in metres) on the things i make higher?(like upphill slopes).

Hope i get any answers*
 
Creating XPacks is easy, but making the content may be hard. It depends on how advanced you want the buildings to be. The further away from the track, the simpler the buildings can be.

Once you have some good photos of buildings, you'll need to make 3d objects which those photos can be applied to. I suggest Anim8or, which is free. It can export as .3ds, which the XPacker program can convert to a BTB format.

You'll also need a decent graphics program to turn the photos into texutres (dimensions are powers of 2, format is .dds - Anim8or can't use .dds but you can swap textures via the XPacker). GIMP, PSP, Photoshop etc are good programs. The first is free.

As for the other questions, there is help file in the btb folder which explains most things. If you start with just making simple tracks, and don't try to rush things, you'll gradually get the hang of the program.
 
  • G-Kraft

Thanks for the answers :)

Yeah, i have read tutorials all day(even watched clips at youtube) and still dont know how to start! feels to impossible at the moment..

When i start to make a open track, after a while i check some other things and then continue building...the problems is that when i return it dont start from where i last ended, instead it takes a new track(new start/ending points)....even on a straight, it looks like the track are build on above each other..like when you make crossroads...

So how do i continue the track i first started to build? so i dont need to select another "create open track" just to finish it.

I have lots of problems, and all the tutorials just make me sick :/
 
  • G-Kraft

I have more questions..

How do i get smooth corners? i cant build good looking curves at all, only straights so far:p
Is there any difference if i build a open track like a closed track? wonder if laps then do count.

Many questions, but i really need some help because the tutorials are just to much information at the moment..

So on my current state i only can build straights until i most pause, then im forced to start another track..
 
It sounds like you need to use the 'Insert Nodes...' button, but once you stop the initial creation of an open track, you can only add nodes between the first and last nodes. You can use the 'Move Nodes...' button to move the final node, which gives you more space to add more.

If you're creating a circuit, it's best to start with the 'create closed loop' button instead. It will be very difficult to have the ends of an open track meet seamlessly.

For smooth corners, it's best not to have too many nodes close to each other. After setting their positions, you can drag the ends if the purple bars (control points) to change the shape of the corner.

When it comes to setting gradients, you can use the bottom two view ports to drag the points around. If you hold down Y while you do it, you can limit the movement solely to up and down.
 
  • G-Kraft

Ok thanks for the answer:)

What is the easiest or best method to do crossroads/crossings?.
If i like to have a figure 8 or something in my track, should i create a closed or open track for that?.
 
For crossroads I suggest you do a search for junctions or intersections. They're very hard to do properly. My current track was going to consist of country-style roads which had been cordoned off in the right places in order to make a circuit. But with all the slopes, and the crowns in the road, getting the joins right became too difficult, so I decided to change back to my original idea of just making a normal race track following the same path.

So when it comes to intersections, avoid them if you can.

A figure of 8 should be a closed loop, after all it's just a normal track with a bridge/tunnel.
 
  • G-Kraft

Thanks for the advice:) i will try to avoid the crossroads thing:p

And the figure 8 thing should just "cross" each other, no bridge or tunnel...will it work while creating a closed track?.

And to make it even more advanced...if i like to have more of a real circuit, but somewhere in the middle of the track the roads shall cross(crash effect)...is there a simple way of doing it? or will it just be filled of problems..

And another question...i saved my work recently, and now up loaded it again but the track is now to far to the left(on the overview window)..so i cant se the track properly...how do i move it back to the centre?

How do i get the crossline effect on the 3d view like the guy shows in the video? i cant figure it out..i still have some major navigation problems even when i watched the videos.
 
As long as both parts of the track form straight lines they cross, and they cross at right angles, it should just be case of having one part a tiny amount underneath the other. It's probably best to use surfaces for that because you can be very accurate. You'd create a new surface where the track starts going under, and another where it comes out on the other side. Then create another surface between those to. Select 'set the shape' on all three. For the middle one, drag all the points down by a tiny amount. So one part of the track would effectively have a very shallow dip.

When it comes to navigation, the keys are explained in the Navigation section of the help file.
 
various views obtained by pressing ordinary number keys 1 to 4. Keep persevering and watch the videos till you get sick of them! Thats what I had to do (slow learner, nil previous experience with this type of program).

It helps if you download the utube vids ( I used something called 'download helper') then run and pause/rewind while actually editing.

hope this helps

Gordon.
 
  • G-Kraft

I will try to look at the options and see what they can do.

Saw another thread where people export data from Google Earth to BTB...does it work? and how to do that?.

I did read the help section, but it does not give all answers, still the navigation bit fails...
I often use the screen where i see both 2d and 3d map, but the problem is that i dont know how to navigate myself....if i "drive" through my track and then stop, well then im lost because i dont know exactly where i am on the 2d map(overview)....is there a possibility to navigate through the 2d view while the 3d view goes to exact same place?
Same problem appears when i select "edit start/finish position"...i just dont know where the start/checkpoints are on the 3d view...and i even have problems with finding them on the 2d map!
So i cant add object as "start lights" if i dont know where i am on the track.

I hope you understand my problem, cause its like a total mess right now, i get lost to often..
 
  • G-Kraft

Did read some threads and find out that im not the only one having problems with the navigation part....they need to make a tutorial for noobs:p really hard for beginners
 
  • thren

What is the easiest or best method to do crossroads/crossings?.
If i like to have a figure 8 or something in my track, should i create a closed or open track for that?.
I just released my track that is a figure 8 .....
http://forum.racedepartment.com/downloads/btb-rfactor-tracks/39/threns-8-track-final-1350/

That is made using an "open ended track" where the ends of the track .... join back on the track at the x-road. You just need to line up the track ends, which takes a bit of trial and error to get smooth.

Also, if you make a track like this, make sure you check the timing gates as I found they were in the wrong order when I first started making this track.

Other than this you could make a closed track, but I think getting the track alighnment at the X would be harder than the way I didd it.
 
  • G-Kraft

Thanks, then i know:)

But i wonder how to export GPS data from Google earth to BTB...and where can i download a working version of VE trackstart?.

How much to these kind of tools help in track making?.
 
Thanks, then i know:)

But i wonder how to export GPS data from Google earth to BTB...

When you open Google Earth, you go to Add > Path Then you get a cross hairs...

With that you can click and create your track with help from the map.
navigating works only with the arrows on your keyboard.

Every node you made you can alter by clicking on the node and place them at the right place. Deleting a node you do with the right mouse knob.

When you are almost there place the last node in the vicinity of the first one. Click at "Ok". Go to file> save as *.kml file. This you can import in BTB.
 

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