Renewing BTB license after a LONG absense

[Wee Scot]

I "invested" in BTB way back in 2007, and used it with great pleasure for about a year to create a set of circuits based on real roads on Caribbean islands, but didn't get past the stage of workable (and wonderfully challenging and promising) racing surfaces bounded by concrete walls before "life" intervened: my growing children robbed me of the many hours I'd been devoting to BTB, insisting (to my great pleasure) that I spend my free time with them, instead!

Now my third child is finally (sniff) on her own and I find I have free hours to once again devote to a hobby. I have just a few questions:

1) What game platforms are supported by the latest BTB software?
2) Is it now (still?) possible to create tracks in BTB directly for use in GTR2?
3) What operating systems are currently compatible with BTB? It used to be only for use with Windows XP, if I recall.
4) What do I need to do to get a new license and download the latest BTB software?
5) Is Brendon still directly involved in BTB development?

Thanks in advance to anyone who'll lend assistance!

John (Wee Scot) McDaniel

 

[ebrich]

Me thinks that you need to play around with BTB EVO a lot, to get to know it, before even thinking about all that.

 

[Wee Scot]

The basic process of laying out a track doesn't appear to have changed at all from the development versions I used 10 years ago, and I spent hundreds of hours doing that. I'm ready NOW to start building, but want to make sure I build on firm and sensible and hopefully time saving "foundations," which is why I'm so intent on getting the terrain data use information I'm asking for.

 

[ebrich]

The only "terrain data" for use in BTB EVO is as a background image which can only be used as a plan to draw out the track - ie a guide. It cannot be used on the mesh in any way or form unless you use another program which cannot be imported, easily, back into BTB.

A background image can be made by simply taking screenshots of google earth and stitching them together in GIMP (free) or photoshop.

 

[Wee Scot]

So all of the discussions I've read that talk about sources for terrain data are applicable only to BTB Pro?

 

[ebrich]

Yes

 

[Wee Scot]

Then I'll just have fun sculpting my own terrain! Thanks for your patience with me and my endless questions. Just one more:

I watched a video the other day in which Brendon demonstrated "hierarchy" trees. Are those also only available in Pro?

 

[Wee Scot]

...or is that a recent development for RTB?

 

[ebrich]

Most certainly for RTB, but I have not seen it.

 

[Wee Scot]

No, it was a "work in progress" video posted in March 2009!

Was this never implemented? Shame if it wasn't.