Hi

Bassically how do you make a track for GPL 1998?

Jon

A good question. One that unfortunately could take years to fully explain.

You can get up and running with this tutorial relatively quickly though:
GPLEA Track Creating Tutorial

Some notes:
trk23dow is no longer used. The latest version is trk23doz, which requires a different format for the .tso file (the purpose of this file is outlined in the tutorial)

Some other useful programs (attempt the tutorial first before progressing to these!!)
GTK Alt
https://gplea.rscsites.org/tools/gtkalt/gtkalt.html
Allows graphical editing of the altitude traces in your track

GTK Maker
https://gplea.rscsites.org/tools/gtkmaker/gtkmaker.html
Makes a .gtk file that can be opened in GPLTrack from an image.

If you have trouble finding any of the programs you need, search on these forums, or ask, you should be able to find them!

Any questions, feel free to ask.

I have always been interested in learning to build a track. With the recent masterpiece addition of Brno 1949, Thanks to Sergio and the team, I have been inspired. I would love to be able to do that.

A couple of problems:

I have been through the tutorial, once using trk23dow, but couldn't bring my track up in GPL to drive on it, it doesn't even show up as you scroll through.

Then I started again using trk23doz in place of dow as I went through the tutorial, but it seems that it was not written for doz as there is no trk23doz.cfg. Are the two programs interchagable in the tutorial ?

I would really like to be able to give something back to the GPL community, and I think I will really enjoy this, any help would be appreciated.

Tidge, don't worry about the trk23doz.cfg , it can run with default values.
The difference between dow and doz are the diferent way of write the tso file and the presence of a new file with the extention hsv that has 16 triplets of values separated by a tab on a single row for every track section.
You can just build one full of "0 0 255"


example of dow tso file:

# Trackside 'Sets': 61
Set List
[ 0]:, 3, 5.0, -4.6, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, starter
[ 1]:, 3, 9.0, -24.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, tree4
[ 2]:, 3, 12.0, -26.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, tree8
[ 3]:, 3, 14.0, -24.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, tree6



example of doz tso file for the same track:

Trackside Objects
obj 3 5 -4.6 0 0 0 0 1 starter
obj 3 9 -24 0 0 0 0 1 tree4
obj 3 12 -26 0 0 0 0 1 tree8
obj 3 14 -24 0 0 0 0 1 tree6


HSV example for 4 sections:

0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255
0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255
0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255
0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255 0 0 255



About the fact that your track doesn't even shows up in gpl is because you have to insert the reference values in the season.ini file in gpl/seasons directory; open it and you'll see what i mean.

There's a track building guide on autosimsport called: Track Building with Lou Magyar in three parts , the first part ins in the number january 2006, scroll down the page and you'll find it, it will give you lots of hints, specially will tell you the real meanings of different track surfaces( a must have!) ; even if I think now you can build things in a more simple way.

Ask if you don't get something, I'll try to help you out

Thank you Ginetto, for the info, the link, and your fast response. I will try again. I want to get this part working before delving further into this massive endeavor. I'm sure I will have more questions and I see from your signature you are working on Targa Florio, WOW what a project. You are obviously one of the right people to ask for help, Thanks.

Have a look at what other lovely goodies he has done over HERE.

Thanks for that Dangermouse, Monza Junior is the only one of those I didn't already have. It's in my Download Manager now. My track folder has 282 tracks, all road courses. I would love to be able to give back to the community for all the thrills I've had on these tracks.

This is what I enjoy about this forum, there is always someone willing to help, I have never been left hanging, unlike some other forums. Point is, Ginetto is obviously a gifted track builder and involved in some really big projects, but still takes time to answer a question on the forum from a relative newbie. You guys are awesome. Thanks again.

After adding the necessary files from Silver to "mytrack" at the end of the first part of the tutorial, I pulled up my DOS command and typed the line using "doz" instead of "dow" and it went straight to trk23doz. After selecting mytrack.gtk , the information window shows mytrack, but when I select "compile" it reads:

Could not open .DAT
Could not open .N3D
Could not open .HSV
Could not open .TXT
Some files are missing, read-only, or in use by another application. TRK23DOZ may not function correctly, but it will have a go...

I have a DAT file that I got from Silver.dat and I made and .HSV file as shown above, but there is no .N3D file or .TXT file.

Also I have added mytrack to the 67season and gp ini files but mytrack still does not show up.

However, If I open GEM season manager, mytrack shows up in the left column but will not allow me to make it active in the right column.

Hi Tidge.

.N3D, .TXT and .DAT are not necessary to compile a track.

Check that your files are not being saved with a .txt extension, e.g. mytrack.hsv.txt rather than mytrack.hsv

In explorer go to tools>folder options then under the view tab uncheck "hide extensions for known file types" to see if this is the case.

Remember the HSV file must have 1 line per track section, and each line must contain 16 '0 0 255' entries.

Once you are sure everything is correctly named and formatted run trk23doz again (BTW, only version W is run from the command line)

It will output an .N3D or .3DO depending on whether the "Save as 3DO (Not N3D)" option is selected. They are the same file, but the N3D must be changed to 3DO for your track to work.


Quick summary:
To compile track
<trackname>.HSV
<trackname>.TSO (can be blank)
<trackname>.TEX
<trackname>.SET
<trackname>.FB
<trackname>.GRV (can be blank)
<trackname>.INI
<trackname>.GTK
<trackname>.TRK
And any 3do files referenced in the .TSO file.

To run track
Track.ini (same as <trackname>.ini)
<trackname>.TRK
<trackname>.3DO
All 3dos required (including horiz.3do!)
All mips and srbs required
page0.pbf (program cover)

Thanks for that Pirenzo. The "hide extensions" box was checked and I only had 6 sections in my .hsv instead of 7. This time it compiled okay and created 3do. Still no track to drive. GEM allowed me to install it in the season manager, but it's not there when you scroll through the tracks in testing mode.

DUH, no page0.pbf. Silver now shows up in the seasons but "Could not load track" when selected.

My track.ini is a PreGem file, is that a problem ?

Also I don't have any .srb files, which ones are required ?

You won't necessarily need any.

.mip and .srb are image files related to 3dos.

In your .TEX file you will have specified something like

0 0 0 10 10 error
1 0 0 10 10 asphalt
2 0 0 10 10 concrete
4 0 0 10 10 grass
2056 0 0 10 10 armco
2056 0 1 10 10 armco
etc

The string names (armco, error, concrete, etc) are the mips you need.

Horiz.3do is needed, along with its mips normally sky.mip, ground.mip and horiz01 through to 11
I am assuming for now that you have no objects referenced in your .tso file, in which case these should be all the mips and 3dos that you need.

I've attached a full set of horizon files

EDIT: You should have track.ini AND track.ini.PreGEM now. The PreGEM one is GEM+2's backup, which it must have made from the original!

Thanks for your responses Pirenzo, I am correcting as we go along. I am downloading the zip now, but I do not have a track.ini, where can I get one ?

borrow one from another track and edit it to suit yours for the time being, but there is a whole section in the GPLEA tutorial on how to write your own.

The important sections for the time being are:

Basic information that shows up on the event info screen and program set


Pit lane and starting grid locations

Without track.ini you have a can't load track error

Thanks so much for all your help Pirenzo and Ginetto

I used Track.ini from Silver and changed to

mytrack
mytrack
2
.416m

track now appears in track selection window and on the selection screen in GPL but still " Could not load track"

Look at my checklist above and make sure you have everything.
Do you have the right mips?? If as above you've got 1 0 0 10 10 asphalt in your TEX file, then you will need an asphalt.mip in your track directory, or in your dat (which must be named mytrack.dat)

I advise against using the mips from Silver because the original GPL tracks all have their textures mapped differently, with the left side of the mip lining up with the left side of the track, whereas trk23do will line them up as top side to left, bottom side to right of track. You could use mips from Silver.dat, but they would all appear rotated by 90 degrees.

In case you weren't quite sure about what mips do, think of them like wallpaper. Your track is made up of hundreds of flat panels (polygons) to which an image (texture) in the form of a .mip file is assigned.
In GPLTrk, you can create 'walls' of varying surfaces, and the .tex file you used to compile your track assigns a mip of your choice to those walls. Just because you used an asphalt surface (type 1) in GPL doesn't mean you have to use a mip that looks like asphalt, it could look like sand if you wanted it to! It will only feel like asphalt when you drive on it.


Doodat to look inside Dat files, and WinMip to convert .mips to .bmp and vice versa.

Everything seems to be in order to your checklist, I have all the MIPs that are in my tex file. Exchanged the MIPs for some from Bremgarten.

Still " Could not load track"

Thanks for the patience, persistance, and the MIP explaination, I am just getting my feet wet. I would also like to thank Ginetto for the link to Track Building with Lou, this is a must have to use with the tutorial.

I am guessing the problem is with the track.ini, since I had to create my own, I have probably missed something. I have attached it for you to look at.


Click to view attachment

Hmm, just checking I didn't miss anything off my list!!
I don't think I have, so it will just be a question of double checking everything.

It would be worth searching for a program called 'sciss' around here or on RSC.
Basically you drop your mytrack.3do onto the sciss.exe and it produces a file called mytrack.wob that can be read in notepad and it just gives you a tick list of all the files you need to run your track, and whether or not they are missing (STARTER and COLLISION will always be missing)

Your track.ini looks fine, though I would alter your pitlane 'stall_0' to something like 0.0 0.0 just to be sure that the car won't be placed off the drivable area (or else you car will just sort of explode and fly around until it lands back on the track somewhere minus all its wheels! )

It's got to be a missing mip, 3do or trk that is doing it.

I have downloaded sciss.exe previously but it is inoperative. The program doesn't even start, " Microsoft error" !!

The program doesn't 'start' per se.
You need to just drag and drop mytrack.3do onto the icon and it should produce a command window for a split second and then a new file appears in explorer shortly.

If you don't get sciss to work, just keep checking everything. trk, 3dos, ini, and whatever mips that are necessary at the very minimum.

I have : grand.3do, horiz.3do, and mytrack.3do that's it.

I think I have all the MIPs

and I do have a mytrack.trk

Oops - too late

Try deleting the grandstand from your TSO temporarily, recompiling the track and trying again.

Success !!! I got sciss.exe to work and found I was missing several MIPs. I searched for them and put them in the track folder and Voila, a boring oval, but the most beautiful oval I have ever driven !!

I can't thank you guys enough for helping me through this, I know it was time consuming but I really appreciate it. I have made a backup of mytrack and now it's time to start playing !! Can't wait !

Thanks again for all your help !!

For anyone who is following this thread, and having a similar problem with the tutorial, feel free to PM me and I will send you my "mytrack" folder (9.76 meg) so you will have a working track to learn track building from.

Thanks again to this whole community and special thanks to Pirenzo and Ginetto.

Well done Tidge! Glad to be of help.

Great Tidge

Hey guys, I'm back I have been through all 3 parts of the "Track Making with Lou" tutorial, which BTW was very good. I have selected a track and found a great interactive view from Google Earth from which to obtain the altitude info. I have a completed .GTK with all gaps zeroed and constructed a 60s style pitlane, (no concrete wall), like Kyalami. This is where Lou runs out of material, I have even emailed Lou and he seemed interested in helping, but I thought I would ask you guys as well, as I haven't heard from him in over a week. There are no more parts in the back issues and didn't really get an answer as to whether there are more parts or not. I think the next step should be to edit the altitudes. This is somewhat implied by the GPLEA Tutorial but that seems a bit outdated.

It talks of using the spreadsheet for altitude editing but there don't seem to be any links to GTK2xls or xls2GTK.

I have tried using GTKalt on the "mytrack" created earlier, and when I try to save as a .gta I get this error:

:Access violation at address 0040A168 in module 'gtkalt.exe', Read of address 00000010.

If I try to "Export" to GTK and then compile, the changes don't take effect.

Is GTKalt the altitude editor of choice ?

My choice is gracED
Read well the readme file
You will use it together with txt2gtk which copies paste the heights back and forward to the gtk.
You can zoom a lot in graced so you can refine very well all the heights and give a personality to your track

For what I reacall, to make gtkalt work, you need a pic in the working directory, or something like that...

A good use of both of them should be to assing cambers with gtkalt (it gives to all the traces the camber angle you want) and after start using gracED (wich is only graphical so is harder to give the right camber angle, but not impossible ).

There is a new tool HeightED, developed by electricman on the base of gracED, wich should give good performance but I didn't try it very well, so I can't tell if you'll work faster with this one

Thank you Ginetto, for the links and the insights.


The final link to gracED v0.96 from a post by norup is dead

It is not the 96 version but it its close
it is HERE

added V.096 to Bill's thread

I now have gracED working and have gone all the way around my track and created "altref.tex" using information from Google Earth. But before I edit the altitudes I would like to "compile" the track first and see if I can drive on it while it is still flat.

When I try to compile, I get the dreaded "Access violation" for trk23doz.exe. But it tells me the proper .gtk information and the runtime messages tell me the track extents and that :

ini file loaded
texture list loaded
.fb loaded
section lookup calculated
VisList generated.


What's missing ?

Nevermind, I found my own problem.

Good you solved it

About elevations, I found useful to keep the txt files created by graced at every change.

As an example, I set the name for the input as fiorano.txt and for the output as new_fiorano.txt.
When I go to change the elevations again, I renane fiorano.txt into a progressive fiorano.txt1 and then take out the new_ part to the new file. This way, if I change something that doesn't satisfy me , I can always go back to any point of the elevation setting.

Hope it make sense to anybody besides me

Great tip, Thanks for that Ginetto.