Are there any speaker objects out there?

[R Soul]

Race tracks need speakers so the crowds can hear what's happening. Does anyone know if there are any such models in existence? I can have a look myself at some point, but I thought I'd ask first.

edit: Just looked at some rFactor tracks. Silverstone has a good object but a bit dark. I haven't checked the texture to see if it can be brightened. Monza has one with better textures and I can simplify the model (I don't need 4 speakers on 1 pole). Lienz has some good ones too, and I can edit the texture to make it less green.

So I can use them, but my question still stands in case someone's already made, for example, an SObject where the speakers have cables between them at the tops.

 

[Kennett Ylitalo]

I can build some.. Do you need line array, stacked or full range rised horns (like in the picture, audio wise the worst but inexpensive)? My experience in stagebuilding and PA assembly could become handy here... Most tracks use full range horns apart from the main grandstands, where line arrays or stacked configuration is the favorited. Line arrays particularly can be so well hidden that they won't appear important. Come to think of it, i have never seen any "real" solutions to audio from simtracks. Some videoscreens can be seen in tracks, no PA, which i can promise, are there, moreso than video...

 

[Kennett Ylitalo]

Just give me a polycount per object, i can make one of each.

 

[R Soul]

The picture I posted was simply the only thing Google could find that wasn't meant for bands.

This is the sort of thing I have in mind:

Those speakers (from ISI's Silverstone) are about 7m high. In some cases I intend to have a group, and in other cases I'll just have one (e.g. where there is a crowd but no grandstand).

I imported one of them into my own track to see what it would look like. Here are the results:


In terms of size I think that's okay. The texture is the main thing that needs improvement - the current one is too dark. 3dSimed says the Silverstone example has 141 polys, but yours can have a little more if necessary. The original speakers only have 8 sides, but I think 12 would look a bit better.

 

[R Soul]

I've just done a bit of research, and found some useful reference pictures:
This is the sort of colour I'd like so that the speakers can be seen. I don't expect people to notice them while racing but little details are nice when people take screenshots or are waiting on the starting grid:
http://www.driving-days.co.uk/oulton-park/oulton-park-avenue-small.jpg

In this one the speakers are attached to the fence:
http://www.demotix.com/sites/defaul...martin-owners-club-race-meeting-uk_371302.jpg

Here's another shot of free-standing speakers:
http://www.teamgpracing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/brands-paddock.jpg

As well as a good texture, the other thing I was unsure about was the wiring. It may seem trivial, but I didn't know whether or not it was common for a power cable to be draped between groups. The above pictures show that it is usually well hidden, and may or may not run along the fence. I don't think that level of detail is needed, so the main thing is a decent texture. I'm quite happy to build the model.

 

[Kennett Ylitalo]

Wires between selfstanding permanent structures would be very stupid, not to mention structurally they weaken the structure so much that they would need two point guywiring.. With temporary installations, horns are not common as they are not found usually in any where else but sport events (and other speech-only applications..) What they do have in PA warehouses is smaller cabinet (~80x50x40cm) fullrange speakers that are either set atop scaffolding or on specific lifters, height is less than 5m.

 

[Kennett Ylitalo]

Here's the line array: http://Cream.Galleria.fi/Shares/LINKED/BTB/Line_Array_with_Lift.zip

Polycount 203, 3 materials, 4 textures.

The angle of cabinets is for the grandstands, not that nobody will notice that detail anyway.. I actually did some preliminary calculations and with opening of 30 degrees or less the audible range would be 300hz-8000Hz, 50 meters fullrange, over 75m narrowband (speech), max height with that top cabinet angle is enough.. About.. That info is necessary if you want to position them somewhat correctly. People don't pay attention to these things but they are very good at noticing when something's odd.. The positioning usually looks logical even to complete novice, sound is very logical thing.. You can think of them as spotlights, sound being the light in this case..Where the light hits, there will be sound. Anyway, this would be my solution if i were to design a temporary PA system to a race event, wllthough the individual units would have different configurations to minimize the lifts.

Here's the Sketchup model: http://Cream.Galleria.fi/Shares/LINKED/BTB/LineArray.skp

EDIT: Oh, i forgot the wires from polycount, about 21 more.. so 224 total. I had to scale down a lot, this is more the one i would use: http://www.appliednn.com/images/l_LA12-25.jpg or this http://pro-music-news.com/html/14/90923vmb.jpg as they can handle much more load (the first picture is from overly confident manufacturer.. no idiot would put 8 fullsize arrays hanging on that..)

 

[R Soul]

Anyway, this would be my solution if i were to design a temporary PA system to a race event

I really appreciate the effort, because I know what it's like to make objects for people, but I think your object is too good. The pictures I posted were from national race tracks. Here are some from international tracks:
Silverstone: http://www.f1wolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Silverstone-crowd-atmosphere.JPG
Monza: http://www.pirelli.com/tyre/ww/en/news/files/2011/05/Monza_crowd.jpg
Albert Park: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fySUlTKhlZs/S8VHE2dtBWI/AAAAAAAAB-U/SIL1ET-a9HU/s1600/IMG_0771.JPG
Hockenheim (large image): http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/12.jpg

In all of those pictures, as with the previous ones, the speakers are small, simple things. I should have mentioned that my track is a permanent venue, so it would make sense for the speakers to be similar to the ones in the pictures.

 

[Kennett Ylitalo]

Yeah, i know but since there are no speaker objects around i started with the most high tech solution first..It was also the most interesting to me personally.. I hate those horns, they are so rubbish producing any kind of audio.. Better suited as a siren..I'll do the rest soon.

 

[R Soul]

I had a go at making my own:


That has 362 faces, which seems a bit excessive. I'll think about making a lower poly model for viewing at a distance.

 

[Kennett Ylitalo]

Nice, couldn't do much better. If you're using sketchup draw the polygons by hand, SU does awful job sometimes when it tries to optimize the polycount.. It's too bad that there is no real wireframe that would show how the object is formed.