Petaluma Speedway (4 Track Variants)

[KillerAJD]

Alright, well this took way longer than I wanted it to...

I present to you, Petaluma Speedway!

Race around Petaluma Speedway, the fastest 3/8 mile dirt oval in Northern California! Features 4 track variants, including 3/8 Mile Dirt Oval, Demo Dirby, Double Banked Blitz, and Pit Road Panic!

This is my home track, and I love going here as often as I can. As it's only my second track I've done for Wreckfest, and my first time really experimenting with stuff outside the default textures and objects, there's bound to be issues I didn't catch (and I know there's plenty of little spots that don't look that great that I never went back and touched up).

Demolition Derby

Not just your standard demolition derby! The infield has been cleared; the cars lined up; are you ready to demo derby till your death? Watch out for the burning wreckage on the front and back stretch, or don't....the choice is yours!

Current Issues:
The trackside replay camera has some really weird focus issues. Not sure how to fix it. Actually, all of the trackside cameras for Petaluma are a bit loopy, and there's lots of fast camera cuts and some occasional clipping issues. I technically only figured out how to use them and get them implemented the day I'm writing this, so, sorry? Also, the AI can sometimes get stuck in spots. I think this is due to the large white tires and the ramps/burning vehicles being in the "safe" area. They seem to dodge them most of the times, but occasionally you'll see one full speed into an imovable object. I'd try and fix it, but I laugh everytime it happens...

3/8 Mile Dirt Oval

The fastest 3/8 Mile Dirt Oval in Northern California! While you find the perfect line, be careful to not hit the inner berm, or even worse, slide into the rough stuff up top! If you aren't driving like you should, you might find yourself flying through the wood walls in the turns!

Current Issues:
None as far as I can tell?

Double Banked Blitz

What happens when you take a super fast dirt oval, throw in some jumps, some whoops, and, why not, some extra banked turns? Absolute chaos of course! Will you send somebody flying by hitting them just right off a jump, or maybe bomb through the inner banking to blast past your foes who took the high side? Just don't forget to keep your foot in it for maximum carnage!

Current Issues:
The AI only goes on the outside bank in 3 and 4. The reason for this is I couldn't get an alternate route working so that they could choose either the inside or the outside (I simply ran out of tallent; I can explain it in further detail if somebody has an idea on what to do to get it to work). This means they only take the one line, which occasionally causes a log jam, but that's not necessarily a bad thing...I think? Human players should have no issue choosing whatever lane they want. Like with the derby, the AI can sometimes get stuck in spots. Generally not that big of a deal. Also, I noticed an AI car get stuck in one of the ramps. Haven't had that happen to myself, and I've fixed (I think?) an issue with respawning on the banked turn causing you to get stuck, but let me know if it happens to you.

Pit Road Panic!

Now, we couldn't have just gone and done a boring old figure 8 race now could we? No, we spiced it up a few hundred notches or so! Starting on the front stretch, this course takes you up and over, in and out, and into places you wouldn't expect a race to go! Pay attention to the arrow signs, they should (mostly) lead the way. And watch out for the oncoming flying cars!

Current Issues:
The AI will occasionally freak out and slam into a wall near one of the choke points. I've tried adjusting the different safe and driving lines, and it's much less frequent now, but it still happens sometimes. Which, actually, that's not really an issue, more of a feature, haha. As with the derby and Double Banked Blitz, the AI can sometimes get stuck. Also, you die very quickly on this track. Like, 3 laps tops quick, haha.

Thanks goes to The Very End and Purple44 on for various bits and pieces and inspiration used in this track (including the fire, breakable walls, mountains, trailers, dump truck, and some dirt and sand textures).

You can find this mod on the Steam Workshop, located here.

 

[Purple44]

Nice work there Killer.

About the AI, AI are blind when it comes to objects. AI don't see them, there no fix.

About doing alternate routes, give these a read:

Wreckfest track tutorial 06 - alternative paths

You need a tcat file in your track mod folder for alt route not crash Wreckfest:

Alternative Route and AI, I got Crashes !

Success, was able to get alt route working in my new 3 Jump Ramps Fig 8 track and the laps count. Here couple of pics to show how they look:

( right click> View Image and then click pic to get full size pic )

The ai route visualizer tool show alt route checkpoints, but not alt route AI sectors. So I had make copy of my track scne file and delete the main ai sector so there was only 1 ai sector section in Bagedit.

Then I was able make the alt route ai route sectors with the help of visualizer tool and the in-game track tool. When I got the alt route sectors done, then I was able to add this 2nd ai sector section back into my main track file. Added some alt rout checkpoints and track loaded.

Big thanks to End for doing the Wreckfest track tutorial 06 - alternative paths thread or I would never figured out how to do Alt routes.

End or Janne, I have a question about alt route raceline. How you go about adjusting raceline for the alt route? In game, the in-game tool only lets me tweak the main raceline. Is there a key that will let me jump to the alt route raceline?

Here some video of new track. I found the Roadcutter getting the longest jumps. But Roadcutter like to get stuck in track map more often than the other cars I tried. Could this be because of the extra visual parts? Like the tires?

Hey!

The alt route toggle button is U I think

 

[KillerAJD]

Nice work there Killer.

About the AI, AI are blind when it comes to objects. AI don't see them, there no fix.

About doing alternate routes, give these a read:

Wreckfest track tutorial 06 - alternative paths

You need a tcat file in your track mod folder for alt route not crash Wreckfest:

Alternative Route and AI, I got Crashes !

Success, was able to get alt route working in my new 3 Jump Ramps Fig 8 track and the laps count. Here couple of pics to show how they look:

img

( right click> View Image and then click pic to get full size pic )
img

The ai route visualizer tool show alt route checkpoints, but not alt route AI sectors. So I had make copy of my track scne file and delete the main ai sector so there was only 1 ai sector section in Bagedit.

img

Then I was able make the alt route ai route sectors with the help of visualizer tool and the in-game track tool. When I got the alt route sectors done, then I was able to add this 2nd ai sector section back into my main track file. Added some alt rout checkpoints and track loaded.

Big thanks to End for doing the Wreckfest track tutorial 06 - alternative paths thread or I would never figured out how to do Alt routes.

img

End or Janne, I have a question about alt route raceline. How you go about adjusting raceline for the alt route? In game, the in-game tool only lets me tweak the main raceline. Is there a key that will let me jump to the alt route raceline?

Here some video of new track. I found the Roadcutter getting the longest jumps. But Roadcutter like to get stuck in track map more often than the other cars I tried. Could this be because of the extra visual parts? Like the tires?

Hey!

The alt route toggle button is U I think

Interesting, thanks for the info Purple44! I think I had got it mostly working, but my issue was that with the checkpoints turned on in the dev view, the single checkpoint for the alternate route was facing the wrong way. It would crash anytime somebody crossed a checkpoint (although I did get it to not crash, but I don't remember what I changed, and never checked the checkpoint direction at that time). Additionally, the little bit that I read into it (and that was mostly just through the How to make a track guide in the tools folder), it looks like you can't go back and forth between the main route and alternate route at any point. This posed a problem for me, because my theoretical alternate route was right next to the main route, and if you were to go off the main route, you'd fall into the alternate route without a way to get back to the main route (if you try the track or watch the video on the workshop page, that'll show what I mean). I'll definitely read the stuff you posted though, there might be an answer in there for me.

 

[Purple44]

Also the tcat file set the chances of AI using alt route:

With a 0.8, 80% the AI should use main route. With 0.2, about 20% of AI will use alt route.

Also if AI using alt route on the inside of banked turn and then slide off to the outside of turn, AI maybe trying get back inside the safe green lines of alt route?

Don't think there much you can do about AI getting outside there chosen route.

**********************************

About checkpoint being backwards, you did not flip the end checkpoints? Right using left coordinates and left using right coordinates? And your math correct on the midpoint, need be exact half way?

 

[The Very End]

Great work Actually I don't think the checkpoints facing has an impact, it depends on the direction of the sector. Try in max to give the alternative route the custom property otherway = true and see if that helps.

Also, if you want a alt route to pass the start sector, e.g not connect before after the loop ends, you can add the custom property crossstart = true to it. Then at the location where the finish line is you add a proxy checkpoint, named following if it is only one alt route: checkpoint01_alt1_proxy1 . Alt1 links it to the alt route, meaning you can change it to any route number you like, proxy1 is the same deal. Sometimes it does bug, in those cases you have to open the scene file, find he checkpoint and change the value from -1 to 1 on alt route for index.... something. Can't remember the name sorry, but you'll understand when you see it

 

[KillerAJD]

Also the tcat file set the chances of AI using alt route:

With a 0.8, 80% the AI should use main route. With 0.2, about 20% of AI will use alt route.

Also if AI using alt route on the inside of banked turn and then slide off to the outside of turn, AI maybe trying get back inside the safe green lines of alt route?

Don't think there much you can do about AI getting outside there chosen route.

**********************************

About checkpoint being backwards, you did not flip the end checkpoints? Right using left coordinates and left using right coordinates? And your math correct on the midpoint, need be exact half way?

Yeah, the bolded is what was happening when I just had the single main route. My idea was to make an alternate route so they would sometimes go the inside banking, sometimes go the outside banking. Problem is (and as your question points to), if the AI car slid (or was pushed, haha) off the inside banking onto the outside banking, then the way I had the race line route, they would try to get back onto the inside banking. This was impossible though because it was just a vertical wall, so they'd just get stuck there spinning their wheels endlessly until they got hit or reset. Not sure on the checkpoint coordinates. I very well could have had it all messed up.

Great work Actually I don't think the checkpoints facing has an impact, it depends on the direction of the sector. Try in max to give the alternative route the custom property otherway = true and see if that helps.

Also, if you want a alt route to pass the start sector, e.g not connect before after the loop ends, you can add the custom property crossstart = true to it. Then at the location where the finish line is you add a proxy checkpoint, named following if it is only one alt route: checkpoint01_alt1_proxy1 . Alt1 links it to the alt route, meaning you can change it to any route number you like, proxy1 is the same deal. Sometimes it does bug, in those cases you have to open the scene file, find he checkpoint and change the value from -1 to 1 on alt route for index.... something. Can't remember the name sorry, but you'll understand when you see it

I tried the otherway property, but it didn't seem to make a difference. Like I mentioned in my previous post, due to some kind of issue, it would crash anytime a vehicle would pass a checkpoint. I didn't even have a checkpoint on the alternate route at one point either, so I really had no idea what I was doing, haha. It didn't crash at one point though, but I have no idea what I changed, and then I changed something else and it began crashing again. Now that I have the track completed, I can spend some time fooling with the route system and see if I can figure it out better. Will definitely keep your and Purple's words in mind.

 

[Purple44]

What if you did this, have alt route on the inside, have green raceline and the red safe lines outside the dirt embankment of turn a bit, so AI can still stay close to green raceline. Then maybe AI would not try as hard to get back to where the race line is?

Should be able overlap alt route and main route aisectors. I do it with my suicide and fig8 tracks.

Can get confusing with all the lines crossing each other.

 

[The Very End]

Yeah it is a pain to get AI working...
Btw, double checked that a checkpoint do not overlap a other sector? I once had a cp I had to xform reset, as it in reality was bigger than I first thought and thus overlapped.
Oh and as you say, you must have cp on all routes or the game crash. Might be a checkpoint that somehow is not tied to the route - try xform reset them again.

 

[KillerAJD]

What if you did this, have alt route on the inside, have green raceline and the red safe lines outside the dirt embankment of turn a bit, so AI can still stay close to green raceline. Then maybe AI would not try as hard to get back to where the race line is?

Should be able overlap alt route and main route aisectors. I do it with my suicide and fig8 tracks.

Can get confusing with all the lines crossing each other.

Interesting, that might work. I'll have to play with it, however...

Yeah it is a pain to get AI working...
Btw, double checked that a checkpoint do not overlap a other sector? I once had a cp I had to xform reset, as it in reality was bigger than I first thought and thus overlapped.
Oh and as you say, you must have cp on all routes or the game crash. Might be a checkpoint that somehow is not tied to the route - try xform reset them again.

This might be tricky. From what I understand, the checkpoint for the alternate route CANNOT touch any other route, correct? If so, it's a bit of an odd pickle to be in because my "alternate route" touches my main route the entire time. I guess what I could do is do what Purple said above, however, on one very small section, I make three very small sector lines for both the alternate and main routes. Then, make a small hole where the alternate route checkpoint can cross just the alternate route for one veeerrry small section. I think that would work, maybe? I'm probably not explaining it well, how about this image? Something like this? But make the hole/angles even smaller.

 

[The Very End]

Your work around should work, and I use it a lot; Just have one sector which is not overlapping, all the others can be on top of each other's.

 

[Purple44]

We use have to have checkpoints gate ends outside of aisector walls. But now I seeing Bugbear use a checkpoint gate that shorter that fits inside an aisector.

So in this pic, could shorten checkpoint gate so it inside the light blue aisector wall?

Also be careful where you place your checkpoints. Looking where you got that checkpoint, would think it be easy for a player to mess checkpoint if player go wide before crossing checkpoint. Might be better if checkpoint is closer to where a player enter the turn using alt route?

 

[KillerAJD]

Your work around should work, and I use it a lot; Just have one sector which is not overlapping, all the others can be on top of each other's.

Gotcha, I'll have to give it a try then.

We use have to have checkpoints gate ends outside of aisector walls. But now I seeing Bugbear use a checkpoint gate that shorter that fits inside an aisector.

So in this pic, could shorten checkpoint gate so it inside the light blue aisector wall?

Also be careful where you place your checkpoints. Looking where you got that checkpoint, would think it be easy for a player to mess checkpoint if player go wide before crossing checkpoint. Might be better if checkpoint is closer to where a player enter the turn using alt route?

Interesting, I'll need to play around with it. And will do on the checkpoint position. That makes a ton of sense. I'm thinking I may put just one solid object right at the start point of the splitting paths, so the AI/Players HAVE to make a choice. That will hopefully give me enough space to put checkpoints for both routes, and if I overlap the following route sectors, should give me what I'm looking for.

Also, is it OK to manually add edges to the routes to increase the amount of verts I have to play with? Or do I need to create a new route from scratch with the amount of sectors/edges that I need? Also, can I just clone the existing routes, delete the polys I don't need and then go from there?

 

[KillerAJD]

Alright, got the alternate route inserted, and it doesn't crash! However, the alternate checkpoint still points the wrong way in the dev view, and if I try to take the alternate route, it tells me to reset and doesn't count the lap. The main route still works fine. One thing I do notice is that if I show just the alternate route sectors in dev view, the starting and ending alternate sectors are crossed up, but in 3ds max, they are fine. If that's the problem, not sure how to fix that. And I haven't done a thorough reading of the material you two posted, so maybe my answers are in there.

Here are some photos (linked because they are quite large):

edit:fixed image size formatting ~sam223

 

[KillerAJD]

Wait, I think I may have got it. It looks to be an issue with the 4th checkpoint for the main route. I removed that and now I don't get a wrong way error when using the alternate route, and it increases the lap counter. Now lets test with AI...

Alright, tested with AI. They still just drive the outside line. Back to messing with things! No crashes, and I can drive the alternate route at least, so I think I'm in the right direction.

In a bit of an unrelated question, do either of you know how to change the position/direction of the camera right after the track loads? I finally figured out how to manually add track side cameras, but I don't know how to do the camera before the event menu shows up (I think it's called the pre-race camera?). Wait, I think I figured this one out myself. Not sure why the resultcamera and resultcamera_target didn't work for me previously, but it looks like it is now.

 

[KillerAJD]

Sweet baby jesus....decided to try an alternate route that had NO reason not to work, and I've been having one hell of a time getting it to work. I think what ended up fixing it was that the start and end points for the alternate route in the scene file were wrong. Fixed those, and the AI seem to take the alternate path. Now, to make my ACTUAL alternate route and see if I can get that to work...

**EDIT**
Woohoo!

So, as I said in one of my million posts above, I had noticed that the start and end points of the alternate route was crossed up. So sector 1 of the alternate route immediately switched sides when it got to sector 2, and then it was fine all the way until the second to last sector, when it then switched back for the last sector. When I made an alternate route that I knew should work, I started it AFTER the start finish, but I think more importantly, it was AFTER the first and last sector of the main route. It also reconnected BEFORE the first and last sector of the main route. Once I changed the start and end sectors for this alternate route, it worked fined.

Now, when trying to get my REAL alternate route working, I realized that the start and end sectors of the main route were INSIDE my alternate route sectors. When I checked the scne file, I noticed that the start and end sectors on my real alternate route were reversed (it was trying to start at say, sector 3, and end at sector 15, when it should have been the reverse). However, if I switched the start and end sectors, it freaked out, and caused the second and second to last sectors to reverse. Now, I guess maybe I could have manually changed them in the scne file, but I didn't want to have to do that every time I built the track. So, I closed the first and last sectors on the main route, and then opened it back up in turn three, which means it's not within the alternate route sectors at all. And, well, it worked! Now I just need to tweak the safe and race sectors, so if they fall off the alt route onto the main route, they won't try to climb the impossible bank back onto the alt route (which is why I tried to figure this whole thing out in the first place, haha).

 

[Purple44]

Sweet baby jesus....decided to try an alternate route that had NO reason not to work, and I've been having one hell of a time getting it to work. I think what ended up fixing it was that the start and end points for the alternate route in the scene file were wrong. Fixed those, and the AI seem to take the alternate path. Now, to make my ACTUAL alternate route and see if I can get that to work...

Ya when come to alt route, the right and left coordinates for start and end, they got be exact match to an aisector on the main route.

 

[KillerAJD]

Alright, it's not near perfect, but it works well enough for now. I've updated Double Banked Blitz so the AI takes both lanes. Thanks Purple44 and The Very End for the help!