Tracks Any dedicated people interested in collaborating on a track together?

[Emery]

Also, where did you find the data for the turn track widths?

Okay, the mailman made a liar out of me and delivered the book today. Read it while waiting for snow tires to be swapped on. Mostly pictures (yes!), sizeable history overview. One picture is the original blueprint, but it is printed a little too small to read the numbers. One section devoted to the fans and the crazy happenings in the Zoo, with a reputation much like the Bog was at Watkins Glen in the '60s.

I wonder what the other book is that had the snafu and will be delivered next week? I ordered it a week before the Brainerd book, but have totally forgotten what it is.

 

[Emery]

The lidar data is circa 2004, so basically it is useful for duplicating circuits back to the beginning of Brainerd, when it was called Donnybrooke. In reading the book, it becomes obvious that much grading of the grounds was done when the track was purchased in 2005-6 and upgraded with the second circuit, thus a new lidar scan is required to accurately capture the surface changes.

 

[Hyrulianlink15]

could you not just use heigtmaps from google to get the right surface?

 

[LilSki]

could you not just use heigtmaps from google to get the right surface?

No the base maps are not near high resolution enough. Only time google is usable is if they are "3D scanned" with photogrammetry which this track has not had.

Hell google isn't even that useful in 2D due to distortion.

 

[Hyrulianlink15]

I Tried using these programs before for Real locations and it seems to work pretty well

 

[LilSki]

I Tried using these programs before for Real locations and it seems to work pretty well

Terrain and track mesh are two very different things. Terrain can be off by feet, a track can't.

 

[Johnr777]

Brainerd is one of those rare locations that actually has quite a bit of data!

Google did a photogrammetry pass on it a while ago.. (in google maps, hit the 3D button and hold down shift and rotate view).

This stuff can be imported into blender, might be of use? Aerial lidar doesnt show trees and objects that well while this does. Best of both worlds

 

[LilSki]

Brainerd is one of those rare locations that actually has quite a bit of data!

Google did a photogrammetry pass on it a while ago.. (in google maps, hit the 3D button and hold down shift and rotate view).

This stuff can be imported into blender, might be of use? Aerial lidar doesnt show trees and objects that well while this does. Best of both worlds View attachment 336237

Hah I looked in GE at first and it didn't show the scan data. But sure enough it's on google maps...

@Prototype_ can probably help with the process as that is how he built Kyalami 2016.

 

[Amir Vodokotlic]

The tricky part of that google maps capture from my experience you have to really zoom in to get good geometry from it, if there is no lidar to use as main source. So turn by turn capture.

Than you have to stitch it one by one together in blender. You end up with massive file. Bring blender to its knees takes 8 gigs+ ram.

Also the captures don't come in with any scale.

I do agree above if there is lidar data this google capture is such good refence to get tree placement and building height once you scale the capture correctly.

The watford track I am slowly working on. Just using google as reference.

 

[Johnr777]

The tricky part of that google maps capture from my experience you have to really zoom in to get good geometry from it, if there is no lidar to use as main source. So turn by turn capture.

Than you have to stitch it one by one together in blender. You end up with massive file. Bring blender to its knees takes 8 gigs+ ram.

Also the captures don't come in with any scale.

I do agree above if there is lidar data this google capture is such good refence to get tree placement and building height once you scale the capture correctly.

The watford track I am slowly working on. Just using google as reference.

It does look pretty good in blender though!

 

[Amir Vodokotlic]

It does look pretty good in blender though!

True.
Hopefully google doesn't patch this out. As is already requires really old chrome version to work.

Someone already told the developer of google plugin that it breaks google policy.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1198183557254004736

 

[Emery]

Hopefully google doesn't patch this out. As is already requires really old chrome version to work.

Someone already told the developer of google plugin that it breaks google policy.

Guess I better get to capturing some of the desired stuff...

 

[BluePotato00]

I've made better inner/outer edge bezier curves using the blue/green screenshot from CloudCompare:

How does this look?

 

[Johnr777]

Looks clean! But true test will be when you shrink it down to that data. Hopefully not a lot of adjustments!

 

[BluePotato00]

I now have a subdivided mesh between the splines

Zoomed in on the esses:

 

[Emery]

Have you taken a test-drive yet? I'm making progress with the tower suites, struggling with the darn stairs.

 

[Emery]

I could be wrong, but I suspect road texture is not going to flow over this kind of area properly.

 

[Fat-Alfie]

How on earth are you going to uv-map that track surface?

 

[LilSki]

If he is following my tutorials then that is likely just stage one. The next would be to use the center line to make a curve that a quad road would be shrinkwrapped too.

 

[Fat-Alfie]

Blender is weird