Track Editor feedback

[GulBroz]

Well, after months of work the first release of Track Editor is out 

For now, it is rather limited in its functionalities, but it is close to replace Pavcules track editor for FO1.
As of V0.1e, it is a good replacement for Pacules track editor for FO1...

Post any comment/feedback here...

Please try to stick to track editor features only - not Blender related problems.

GulBroz.

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Working on:
2007-05-??: Basic import of cars, for camera tweaking
2007-05-??: Update to Blender 2.44 (due by end of week - bug fix release mainly)
2007-05-??: Import vertex colors
2007-05-??: Draw points on curve when in object mode

2007-??-??: Try to write a working trackai.bin file when exporting - on hold - see here if you want to help...

2008-04-??: Abillity to add new dynamic objects

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Todo:
* Check code for importing vertices/surfaces (I suspect there is something wrong in it and I put too many (useless) vertices in objects, which could explain I could not find a vertices count match in vertice color file).
* Decode the track_cdb2.gen file (That's the key for future progress)
* Python script to group objects according to their texture.
* Python script to split objects into small one (texture oriented too).
(Those two scripts are needed because of the way the dPvs engine used by the game works: for what I understood, it handles "small" objects - or at least it is much more efficient that way), so it will be necessary to have a tool that cut the whole world in small chunks for that. On the contrary, when importing a track into Blender it is easier to work with the "complete" object, and not small parts of it (eg. having the terrain, or the road a single object, and not dozens of small ones). The first script should not be very difficult to implement, the second one implies the use of the "Knife" tool.
If anyone is interested in trying Blender Python, help is welcome.

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Edit:
2007-01-02: Track Editor and Script Pack V0.1b + DocumentationV1.0c
2007-01-06: Add the "Working on" item above
2007-01-23: Add the "Todo" list
2007-01-30: Track Editor V0.1c (bug fix)
2007-02-18: Blender V2.43 officialy released (check new features and new site)
2007-02-20: Track Editor V0.1d + DocumentationV1.0d: AI data integrated into Blender (Splines, Start and Split points)
2007-02-21: Make "AI data" tutorial
2007-02-26: Track Editor V0.1e (Fix alt. route export + Add curve direction arrow in edit mode)
2007-03-17: Track Editor V0.2a - Switch to Blender V2.43 - (check new features and feature videos)
2007-03-18: Rebuilding fo2a.bfs without trackai.bin files
2007-04-05: Add support for multi-UV mapping
2008-04-09: Add support for Materials and Textures

[Pavcules]

Firstly, I would like to contragulate GulBroz for taking his time in making a 3D version of the Track Editor.  This is the 1st release of the software, and in time it will contain future improvements.  Please READ the documentation first, then you can understand how to set this up.

It was a year and 2 days since I released the FO1 Track Editor.  I would also like to thank EntropicLqd for keeping his original FO1 track decoding information on his website, that still came in very useful.

All related downloads for the Track Editor can be found here:

http://flatoutjoint.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=27&func=select&id=77

Please give your support for Gul, and in 2007 will be seeing a variety new tracks. 
And if the tracks are good, they will be included into the "V2" mod.

[drag_racer]

I think that this will be one of the best things to come to the flatout 2 modding community. This will add a TON more modding possibilities to the game if we could somehow code new game modes into the game (ie: 1vs1 Monster Truck Races, Motocross, Drag Racing, Nascar, etc.)

[ABA]

Will this track editor fix the issue of falling though the track or ground like when useing the free roam mod?

[GulBroz]

In future release, I hope so...

The main problem with "holes" in the world is the decoding of the .cdb2 file... Once this is done, it should be no problem filling the holes in the tracks, moving building, ramps, etc... and create new tracks from scratch.

[Zenomart]

Really great track editor
It would indeed be nice to create new tracks
Isn't the .cdb2 file very hard to crack?

[GulBroz]

Thanks 

and yes, the track_cdb2.gen is a hell to decode; I've found absolutely nothing understandable in it so far...

[Xoliul]

One thing I don't understand; how can you read the track terrain files in Blender, but you can not decode them ? What am I missing 

[GulBroz]

Because data is spread in a lot of files... Terrain "shape" and dynamic objects are in track_geom.w32 file - which I can decode - but for unknown reason the data that make the game know where the ground is solid, and where are buildings, walls, etc (in fact, all that is "obstacle" in the world) is in other file... the infamous track_cdb2.gen

There are 2 notions here: what you "see" (track_geom.w32) and what you "feel" (track_cdb2.gen). We must understand both to have a working track.

[Xoliul]

Gotcha; it's the collision data file you can't decode.

[Shadow]

I wonder if we could focus on now trying to import fo1 tracks into the track editor as it has it as well would already have  a  cbd file from fo1. And bring some predone tracks in fo2 .

[GulBroz]

I think Purple tried this before, and it was not working... AFAIR, they changed the cdb file format between FO1 and FO2 (that's why they called it track_cdb2.gen  )

But maybe that's an idea... I have to check if I have a FO1 unpacked somewhere and try to import track into Blender, then -if success - check if cdb file is easier to understand...

For now I'm working on importing the AI stuff (splines, check points, start positions, etc...). That will be easy to export, and then we'll have a replacement for Pavcules track editor.

[Xoliul]

Just a thought from me, mind you I know very little about this stuff; but if the cdb files are also 3D models, they should have some geometrical similarities with the normal track geometry, and this could be a start in decoding them ?
But I can also think of a lot of reasons why this wouldn't work

[Shadow]

I tried to import fo1 tracks the first time with no luck lol , I was thinking now however if able to import them in your track editor it may work. When I did try to import, I was unaware of the trackai.bin or aitrack .bin (whatever its called) that needed to be removed so fo1 startpoints started at proper height.  Which is why car kept fallin thru ground I think.

For my test I had copied and pasted the fo1 dynamics file into and overwrote fo2's dynamics file. Then I copied the entire texture folder of fo1 for that track and pasted all them textures into fo2 for where i was testing track. Then I dropped in the geometry file along with cbd file from fo1 with start and splitpoint files. But fell thru track constantly, not realising that that trackai.bin needed to be deleted in fo2.

[GulBroz]

Just a thought from me, mind you I know very little about this stuff; but if the cdb files are also 3D models

No, there is no 3D model in cdb2 file, it must some kind of tree structure (I'm guessing  that from tests I made: zeroing 3 or 4 bytes in the file made a big hole in the track, like if I had "cancelled" a branch in the tree, resulting in data not being processed by the game)