Tutorial for BitTwiddler's Track Editor v0.12

07CobaltGirl · 14 February 2015 21:58

[size=150]Introduction[/size]
So, ElSaico’s editor has a tutorial to teach you how to use it. BitTwiddler has a new one which does not carry the requirement of being online to use it. Unfortunately, it does not have the ability to create tracks (yet!), although it is on his to-do list for future versions. Some things to note about the new editor. It is a bit more user-friendly because A) it is offline and B) it has a nice graphical layout. Aside from these two things, they are essentially the same, functionality-wise. Some users have experienced difficulty in using this editor, however. For these reasons, there seems to be a need for a tutorial on how to use this editor also. Without further ado, here we go!

As previously stated, this editor does not currently have the capability to create a track from scratch. It is an editor, not a creator. So you will be needing something to start from, right? Do not worry. I have created a blank template for you to start with. If you have not already done so, go ahead and download BitTwiddler’s Track Editor v0.12 as well.

TrackTemplates.zip (648 Bytes)

[size=150]Opening A Track In The Editor[/size]
After downloading the above ZIP file, extract it to a location and rename the folder so you can find it. You will then open the newly created folder with BitTwiddler’s Track Editor v0.12 to create a track. Creating a custom track image is not included in this tutorial, however the editor will open the folder you created as it has both of the required files already inside. Once you have done this, you should see something like this (with my blank image or one you have created for your track):

While we have this simple image, let’s go over what we’re looking at. The areas on the editor will be explained, by outlined color, below. Many of the fields and buttons also have tooltips enabled to help you if you get stuck.
[ul]Track Image Here is where your map will appear. It is also where you will find the track-line you are creating with the segments. This is the line the car will follow in Automation. At the bottom of this area you can see a thin pink line, which is our starting track-line from the template.
Track Slope Data In this area you will see the slope of your track-line as an elevation map. As you move through the track segments, the highlighted area will change color to show you where you are in the elevation map.
Track Data The information in this box will tell you about your track’s statistics. These include Name, Scale, Starting Point on the map (in pixels in an x|y axis format), and Splits 1 & 2. These fields are all user editable. They can be anything you’d like. In addition to these fields, there are 2 statistics derived from your current segment map. These are elevation and changes in elevation as well as the number of segments included in the data for your track.
Segment Data Here you can find individual data about any segment. When you select a segment you will see the type (Left/Right/Straight) and depending on the type you will see length (straight) or angle and radius (left/right). Below this you will see Slope, Sportiness, and Camber. In addition to these fields, there are 5 buttons in this section. At the top is Up/Down, which allows you to move the segment around in the order. At the bottom are the Add/Split/Delete buttons, which allow you to add a new segment, split the current segment in half, or delete the current segment.[/ul]

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/Zrfthy.png

[size=150]Working With An Image And Lining Up The First Segment[/size]
I’ve made a track image found on the internet for my tutorial. The track is North Course C from NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, Louisiana. I’ve chosen this image because it is relatively simple for my purposes and it has a cheat built in with the straight lengths and curve radii already on the image. Most of the time you’ll have to find your own data to make the tracks. As you can see, the thin pink line for our first segment is lined up in the x-axis and nearly lined up in the y-axis. According to the track image, the first segment is 3498 feet. After converting feet to meters, we know this should be 1066.19 meters. It is a perfect straight, so we line it up and set our scale based on this length. We will use a scale of .71 for this track.

Once we have the scale and length of our first segment, go ahead and line it up where it needs to be so the car will follow the track-line of the image.

[size=150]Our First Curve![/size]
Curves are the trickiest part of any track. Angles are often guesses, and many times you will not have radius data for them either. At the end of our 1066.2m straight is a short right-hander which looks to be about 55-60 degrees. Our image tells us this radius is going to be 152 feet, so we convert this to 46.33 meters. We set our radius to 46.4m and then eyeball the angle so it will follow the track.

[size=150]Exiting The Curve[/size]
After setting the next straight, we noticed our curve wasn’t exiting at the right angle causing the following straight to leave the track. We can go back to the previous curve to adjust it (eyeballed again) so it gets back on track in the straight. It ends up looking just right at 60 degrees and we adjusted the radius back to 46.3m. I will go ahead and do the rest of the track and come back at the end to line up on the start/finish line.

[size=150]Finishing Up - Back To The Beginning[/size]
I’ve finished all of the segments and am ready to line up the start/finish line with the 28th segment. This nearly always requires some slight adjustments. You can see the beginning of my last segment doesn’t start where the track indicates it should. The idea is to get the car to end up where it started. This way we know we are traveling the full distance of the track, and it also makes it super easy to make the coveted “flying lap” everybody seems to want/need. If they do not line up properly, they will not look nice in the game when the car goes off the track by great distances.

Save your track in the File menu at the top so no work will be lost. It looks pretty good, but the real test will be to see how the game likes it. Go ahead and test it now. Make notes of any discrepancies you cannot live with, and feel free to go ahead and make adjustments.

[size=150]Revisiting The Scale[/size]
If you’ve paid attention, you probably noticed the track length is not correct. 12,206 feet is 3.720km, but our track is 3.731km. In the Track Data section, next to Scale, you’ll see a checkbox labeled “Rescale”. If you check this and make a change in the Scale field, you’ll keep your track line while altering the segment lengths. This saves you from going back and making individual adjustments to each segment when you change the scale of the track LUA file. You can see I have adjusted mine from .71 to .712, which has left my trackline intact while changing the length of the trackline to the desired 3.720km. Perfecto!

imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/901/5qv2dJ.png

[size=150]Wrapping Up[/size]
And there you have it. That is how you build a track in the Track Editor v0.12 from BitTwiddler. There is more to do with the program, but the basics have been covered. Feel free to ask questions and after you’ve mastered the basics, experiment with the other features.

I have included my work in this tutorial. I did not test mine yet, but I’m sure it still will require some fine-tuning. Feel free to see what I did with the other segments. There are no slopes or camber on my tracks, nor is sportiness adjusted from the default value of 1. Still, some people learn by dissecting what others do (I’m one of them) and learning to replicate it. Thanks for reading and happy track-buidling!

NOLA Motorsports.zip (321 KB)

07CobaltGirl · 16 February 2015 17:50

[size=150]Simulated View Mode[/size]
Up until now, we have only looked at the “Precise” viewing mode under the Layout menu. Let’s now take a look at the “Simulated” viewing mode. I will be picking up where I left off with the previous post, so the track has still not been tested (by me) in the game.

In this view, the track line has shifted “up” from the actual track. When we run the same LUA file in the game, we notice the car actually shifts its line “down” from the where the track lies. Regardless of what the Track Editor shows, our line is wrong and we will have to fix it. Since we only care about the in-game track line, we are going to adjust some curve angles so the line will correct. Track Editor is a little sketchy at this time (which is why it is labeled as Experimental in the menu), so we will be submitting this track to BitTwiddler as one of the error corrections to this mode after we have corrected it. We will need both the initial line we have created, as well as the corrected line we are going to make this afternoon. Ideally, this section will become much less important after we have enough data for BitTwiddler (~50 tracks), but inevitably, since he is not using the actual game calculations, it will not likely become completely obsolete. Additionally, it is always good to know how to alter the track line at will, because it is a good still for understanding how the track actually works.

[size=150]Making Corrections After Testing In-Game[/size]

After testing, it looks like the Simulated trackline is actually mirroring the errors found in the game. Let’s start using this assumption, and make our first correction at Segment 5. This is the first observable mistake in the track line, and might correct everything behind it (if we’re really lucky). There are known issues with curves, because the angles are not always known. These are generally the source of the car not following the track. This can be a tedious process, so be ready for some brain-work and be patient with it.

Using our mirror assumption above, we can calculate the error as 1.1*, as the track flows nearly perfect when this angle is adjusted to 45.9*. So we can add the 1.1* to our 47* angle making it 48.1*.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/661/O2gmP5.png

After we save this change in Track Editor, we need to go test it in Automation to see how it worked. This is where the patience will come in handy.

This is what the track line looks like now in Simulated View. It will look only slightly less off-track if you were to switch back to precise mode. If you tested this track in-game, you probably noticed the game is almost completely fixed. If you keep single lap, it is close enough (but our track length has changed). If you want a flying lap, you’re going to need to make another correction on the final curve back onto the straight. If we extend this final straight to 1256m, we notice the line is still going “up” from the actual track. This will make your flying lap look horrid, so it will have to be addressed.

If you’re meticulous, you’ll notice some curves are further off than others, which means there are actually other curves which “could” be addressed to make it better. I will fix those also, but not in this tutorial. The process is similar to our previous correction. The final curve will be fixed right now. We’re going to alter it back to the previous version of this track to do so. Go ahead and put Segment 5 back to 45.9* and look at the curve we wish to fix found in Segment 26.

Our final straight appears to be going “down”. Continuing with the previous “mirror theory”, we will attempt to make this go parallel to the actual track and measure the correction angle. We will then adjust it in the opposite direction, adding the correction angle to our original angle of 8.6*.

1.9* is our correction angle. After adjusting this angle and resetting our previous correction, we will save this and test in Automation once more.

After testing this version, it looks like we might have been a little overzealous on our adjustments in Segment 26. The car appears to be going “down” from the track line now. Let’s dial it back to a 1.1* adjustment like the first fix we used and see what happens. Again, this requires patience.

Below is the correction using 1.1* as a correction angle. It looks almost perfect in game, even using a 1.2km final straight.

imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/RfO2Na.png

This track is ready for a “flying lap”, if you desire. It would be recommended to fix the other curves which were not perfect before doing so, as it is easier to adjust single lap tracks than it is to adjust flying lap tracks, for obvious reasons. The track’s length also requires adjustments, and the car is not on the exact line it started from. Ideally, the best way to adjust the track is as the car encounters the errors. I skipped ahead for this tutorial for simplicity, but it might also correct the final track line on the straight. Feel free to ask questions about this process, or make comments on how it could be done better! places duck tape over strop’s mouth

As a quick reference, here is the Precise Viewing Mode after our corrections.

NOLA Motorsports v2.zip (321 KB)

strop · 17 February 2015 11:24

I’ve just been doing a monster test of this track editor. The interface is excellent, and makes some very essential functions very simple.

A few points of feedback:

[ul]]The camber signs are the wrong way. I got very confused when what I thought was good camber for the corner significantly slowed down my entry into the corner, until I realised that the simulator’s negative camber means camber to the right, and positive means camber to the left. The little sign on the interface gets this the wrong way around, and as a result I became confused as to why my cars appeared to be falling off the track!/:m]
]Could we have an undo button please? It didn’t help that the track I’m doing has over 300 segments, but if one makes a mistake and doesn’t know what it is, there’s a lot of trial and error in trying to get it back/:m]
]Is it possible to zoom in on the image workspace? Again due to working on a very complicated track with a lot of really tightly bunched hairpins./:m]
]Either that, or (even in addition), can the colour of the simulation line be different from the segment markings and numbers? All of this is really to avoid messes like what you can see here:/:m][/ul]

(With any luck this track will be released very shortly!)

Aside from that, if it weren’t for the relative ease of use of this interface, I wouldn’t have even thought to attempt this track, so you’ve done the community a huge service! Thanks BitTwiddler!

vmo · 17 February 2015 12:19

How can I parse the Google Earth height data to the Track Editor?

strop · 17 February 2015 12:24

I can’t think of a way that one could ever import that data into the editor, as the editor uses only a path that doesn’t even reflect anything specific in the context of the map. It’d be really difficult to extrapolate the right elevations and therefore calculate the right elevations as a result.

I had to manually input all of my data, and then reinput it again once I had the scale of the track worked out. If anything, actually, it would be awesome if there was a way for the editor to preserve elevation data when changing the scale, but I’m not sure if this is even possible either.

07CobaltGirl · 18 February 2015 03:56

It shouldn’t mess it up, if you use the “Rescale” checkbox (although I didn’t really check that information when I was using it), as it only alters lengths across all segments. Then again, if you make segments longer by x%, I suppose it would make your hill taller by x% * slope, wouldn’t it?

I already requested an adjustable image workspace. He’s going to work on it (I think), as I don’t like sidescrolling to see the rest. Sometimes though, it would be nice if you could sidescroll with much more detail (as indicated by strop’s image).

These suggestions/questions should really go in the original Track Edit v0.12 thread, however, as this is just my tutorial on the basics of how to use the program.

strop · 18 February 2015 14:22

[quote=“07CobaltGirl”]

It shouldn’t mess it up, if you use the “Rescale” checkbox (although I didn’t really check that information when I was using it), as it only alters lengths across all segments. Then again, if you make segments longer by x%, I suppose it would make your hill taller by x% * slope, wouldn’t it?[/quote]

Yeah exactly. That makes it hard when adjusting the heights because only after doing that does one realise the full length of the course, and then everything has to be scaled again!

Oh yeah good point. I’ll do that now.