BrianCunningham

FYI

This is excellent training for all those new to autox'ing.

SuperL98

I had been dying to try the Autocross at Devens, and even started to prep the Vette last Spring … new shocks, bushings, sticky tires, etc.

Then I managed to crush the meniscus in my right knee, so end of those plans for a while

So I figured if I can’t try the real thing, I’d make an Rfactor Autocross course based on Fort Devens, and do it on the PC.

Never finished it complete with the real buildings, etc., but I got to drive my Vette at Devens .. afterall





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SBBmjtZl7I


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35qyuW_1DAc

BrianCunningham

I'm betting some local autox'ers would love to have the files for 'winter practice'

AverageVetteNut

that's really cool

I was wondering if people were out there 'virtual autocrossing' somehow.

SuperL98

I wondered why nobody was doing Autocross tracks for driving sims?
So I figured I take a shot at it & learn how.
I’ll just say that it’s a very frustrating and poorly documented process, file editing, 3D modeling, one program to lay out the track, another to convert it, etc. etc.
But in the end, it’s fun to drive on something you created.

I found out your vision & judging how close you are to the cones is very difficult, in a Sim car, compared to the real world.
You just can’t move around and see small traffic cones well at all.
Found that with the tall poles, signs, and a good set of skid marks, you can find your way around pretty good.

If I find the time to get back to it, I might clean things up a bit and post a few Autocross tracks up on one of the Sim sites.
If I do, maybe someone could suggest some better coarse layouts.

Didn’t mean to hijack your thread into one about Sim Racing

BrianCunningham

Don't worry about it, besides I shared it with the local drivers and they're getting kick out of it.


If Bert chimes in we can get some actual autox data

SuperL98

This was just a simple layout, to see if & how I could do it.

At some point I'd be interested in seeing a layout people actually use.
Tried looking at Youtube videos, but it's hard to judge distances, etc.

I had also started on the TireRack Test Track, but it's just an incredible amount of work to get everything in and working right
I've got a lot of respect for the guy's that have done some of the bigger tracks, with grandstands, pits, everything right down to the portable toilets.

Spinner_89

where can someone get a copy of that software????!!!!!!!

SuperL98

Well ... now that I've totally hijacked Brain's thread

A year or so ago, you would have had to use a big $$$ 3D modeling program like AutoDesk 3DS Max.
Just recently a sharp Australian guy(Brendon Pywell) released his own program (Bob’s Track Builder) that makes it fairly easy to build a basic track and export it to Rfactor, and Richard Burns Rally. It’s only about $60.
He updates it every few months, adding features, but as it stands now, you still have to use other programs to add & edit all the definition files that determine driving lines, pits, starting grids, artificial intelligence, etc.

http://www.bobstrackbuilder.net/

To edit the tracks, add your own objects, convert to GTR2 and other Sims, you need something like 3DsimED & TrkMaker, still cheap about $40.

http://www.sim-garage.co.uk/index.htm

And of course, a good HEX and Text editing program, to get into all the definition files.

Getting a simple track running (with BTB) is deceptively simple, it’s all the little details of making it usable that take a lot of persistence, and time to figure out.

P.S. The YouTube BTB help videos, give a good feel for how the software works.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=...55&view=videos

corvette-pilot

How cool !
Is there anything special that needs to be done to the car or equipment needed??