BTB Improvements?

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Brendon Pywell

Bob's Track Builder
Believe it or not, I get quite a few emails with suggestions on how BTB could be improved. Rather than me simply “sorting” them in my own Inbox, I’d like to openly ask the BTB community for their suggestions, allowing suggestions to be discussed and workshopped. I have a few ideas (pages of them) myself but it's always refreshing to get other people's ideas.

Aside from the next patch, I pretty much know what I am going to include in the next version. Beyond that I also have some great ideas as I address what I perceive to be BTB’s most common “annoyances”.

So please, feel free to offer your ideas on what you’d like to see in the upcoming releases. I’ll refrain from comment, but I will be taking notes.
 
I'd like to add support for the Binary FBX 2012 format for AC - or even a direct export to KN5 if possible, although I imagine FBX would be a lot easier to implement? Either would be fantastic regardless.

I've also always been interested in seeing a mode in BTB where you can say that you're done with editing the track and convert it to a terrain mode-like format (so you can adjust exact points, merge them etc.). I imagine this would also be difficult to implement so no pressure on this one but it would be a great tool to help with finishing off and optimising tracks (especially for making roads join better).
 
I would like to move couple (meaning: 'all' in the project) tracks at the same time vertically. It could work manually in 2D Side View or by inputting value in "Edit/Switch Active Track window. There could be in this case a button "Select All Tracks".
The reason is that if I import several kml's with elevation data corrected into BTB, the tracks can be located very high from origin (0,0,0). I simply would like to move the whole thing down (or up if necessary). Well, to move also in X and Y axis could be good too, but not so important.Thanks!

Edit: To be more specify - an ability to select multiple (or all) tracks in and operate on them at the same time, including changing properties like visibility, collidable, panel spacing etc. So far, I can mark just one track as "active" and to move it - need to go to track node edit window, select all nodes and so on.
 
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I just saw a moment that the version 1.0.0.0 bobs track builder comes out, but I can not seem to find the price of the software, a person could give me a price estimate?


Hello maxredbull! the price is $AUD 59.95. That is a one time cost for a single user, single machine license.

And I highly Recommend it! :D
 
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A direct import of 3D models would be nice, so we don't need to use XPacker.
There's already a material editor inside BTB and everything you can set up in XPacker, can be done in BTB too.
 
A direct import of 3D models would be nice, so we don't need to use XPacker.
There's already a material editor inside BTB and everything you can set up in XPacker, can be done in BTB too.

XPacker is already pretty straightforward. I don't see the needs for such a feature when you already have something specifically designed to do so and which is working flawlessly; If you don't have patience to learn how it works and wait 20sec more for repacking your model, you surely don't have patience for 3D modelling. I understand you want everything in one place, but BTB is the ultimate easy solution for inexperienced modelers and main goal is to keep things simple. Mixing track modelling with pack creator is a wrong design choice and would just overcomplicate the whole BTB interface. There's plenty of higher priority features BTB needs first to do things right.
 
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I don't quite get what you mean.
First, I know how to use the XPacker and second, I don't get how it'd be more complicated if you could just import 3D models. You wouldn't need a "pack creator" then.
 
I'm not sure if this has already been mentioned but if I update the cameras I'd like to only export the .cam file rather than the whole project. This would save a lot of time. It would be up to the user to select a 'cam only' option. The same should be possible with the drivelines, positions and timing gates, though I realise the timing gates are objects. Again, it would be the user's responsibility to know that no objects needed to be updated.

Another option I'd like is the ability to tell BTB not to overwrite the track images (in rFactor, trackThmb, track_loading and trackmini).

While editing I'd like the ability to tell BTB not to recalculate the positions of walls, objects or SOjbects. The W, O and S checkboxes do this, but they also hide them. I'd like the option for them to remain visible.
 
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Unless I'm wrong, but one thing I would love to see on BTB is that the terrain textures, sandbox ect ... can follow a spline?
to not have a grass toutjours following the same direction and could recreate the grooves of the sandbox as in the Mores circuit ISI
rFactor2_Mores_15.jpg

and no longer have this result
37ea14ebcb75.jpg
 
Cool thread!

I haven't read through all of the posts, so if these have already been covered then I apologise.

I'd like to see, if possible, the ability to select the vertices of the track surface and merge them with vertices of another track section, just like we can with terrain. Also, adding bumps and dips in a track surface with a brush like we do with terrain would be good, as would blending patches of other materials like gravel on corners of rally tracks or different colours of surface without splitting the surface itself; basically just all of the terrain tools for the track surface really, lol!

Another thing I'd like to see is the 'fly around' view actually FLY around the track, instead of being so low like it is. While I'm on that, it'd be cool if the fly around and drive around views followed the AIW lines instead of the original track, so we can 'drive' extra routes or layouts that we create.

A cool feature I'd really love to see, but don't know if it's possible, is one I can't quite explain... basically, you apply this setting to the terrain so you can see the terrain's height in the form of colours on the terrain itself. For example: red would be low and yellow would be high, then you could change the sensitivity so that small bumps which aren't usually visible in BTB pop out so they can be seen and smoothed. This would make terrain editing much easier!

Oh yes, and a smooth tool instead of just the flatten tool. If an area of terrain is really bumpy, just take a large smooth brush and even it out!

Take a look at the terrain features in Giant's Editor and see how they do things, it could be inspiring. :)
 
A screen capture option that will let us capture an image of the track and specify the resolution of the capture. At the moment, it's only possible to capture what's visible on the screen; with this kind of tool, track maps could be captured more easily at higher resolution. I'm currently trying to work out the best way to create a full-scale terrain image, but I need to capture the track map in high definition first, so I can take it into Photoshop and paint the textures on. :p

(A niggle I have is when navigating, holding the mouse button down to rotate but staying still for a moment brings that freaking menu up... please, please, please put that menu in the top bar instead and stop it popping up! I merged half my terrain anchors by accident yesterday, lol! :p
 
Unless I'm wrong, but one thing I would love to see on BTB is that the terrain textures, sandbox ect ... can follow a spline?
to not have a grass toutjours following the same direction and could recreate the grooves of the sandbox as in the Mores circuit ISI
rFactor2_Mores_15.jpg

and no longer have this result
37ea14ebcb75.jpg
For asphalt (runoff) areas you can create a texture without any "direction".
But i agree setting texture to follow a spline or trackpart would be a very welcome addition.
 
I would be great if you could convert a track part to a regular ground part.
than you could much more easily have already a direction for the texture and would be easier to make fitting track parts.
Also a possibility to make vertexpoints glue/snap to their closest neighbor.
That would make connecting part so much easier as we have now.
Were we basically have zoom in at all 3 axis to make them join almost invisible.

And as stated before.. complex objects should be able to have different LOD settings.
 
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I strongly recommend that BTB does not keep checking license expiry date while it is running. I should check once, on startup. I was working in BTB when the expiry message popped up, and when I clicked on OK the program closed. Fortunately I only lost a few objects. If I had lost a lot of work, well let's just say I'd seriously consider using my caps lock key.

edit: My new license has arrived. Quick renewals are always a good thing. No caps lock here.
 
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