Tracks LA Canyons 1.2

[Phoenix77]

Carrying on from my previous post...

Due to the lack of actions (by this I mean reviews, comments... as well as donations) by the majority of downloaders....
The extended Angeles Crest sections... Big Tajunga Canyon Road, The road up to Mount Wilson and other roads... are going to be kept as the exclusive bonus thanks... That PCH - Bixby Creek was going to be.

I'll decide later on what qualification is needed to get the extra roads...
It's safe to say that anyone that has already donated will be driving Angeles Crest way before anyone else. If more people review or rate (or do anything) That will improve their chances.

The cool drivers I've driven with on my tracks online will also be among the 1st.
I may include the extra roads at a later date in with the main download. We shall see. But the people who have done something (already) will be at the front of the queue.

I will be concentrating on the FFB meshes for the main 42km loop... and the 500 - 600m extensions of the roads past the junctions for the next release. This will help speed up getting the new roads out there.
(42km of FFB meshes instead of 100km+)

The next update will also probably just be the new road (with far better textures) and new terrain... So people can re-adjust to the much more accurately placed, narrower roads, complete with the 6 main junctions.Then hopefully a short time after that I will get the road signs in... Bear in mind that placing 200km's (Both directions) of road signs and barriers is a more demanding prospect than for a normal sized track. I'm guess-timating a weeks work to get them all in... (including testing their positioning) depending on what time I get available.

This is the current terrain mesh resolution...

This is the next version (which is very almost sorted now) The bottom section of Angeles crest... and Big Tujunga have required quite a bit of sorting.

Depending how well I've "de-spiked" the displacement mesh around the road bed.... The roads could be in a week or two. I'm aiming to get the new roads, road signs and barriers done by a year since I first released the Canyons.

 

[nabila]

Thanks for the offer... That's a very expensive coffee though
And there is no IF I finish... It will be done, these roads are too awesome not to... Just not sure what year that will be.




If you knew how few people are generous enough to have donated to say thanks for the many, many, many hours of work my track projects take... you'd probably be shocked. Especially as almost 90,000 people have downloaded my tracks... Take the number of reviews Pacific has had.... Half it... and that's about the number of generous people that are out there.
If I did this for the money... I've certainly made the wrong choice!

Driving online with the cool people that appreciate my work, despite the lack of things like 3D grass etc... Makes the work more worthwhile than anything else... You all know who you are

yes i hope you can finish it, cause every month you announce that you add more roads, it seems endless, i can't wait the final version !

It can be the best map for Assetto, and you deserve well 100$

 

[Phoenix77]

yes i hope you can finish it, cause every month you announce that you add more roads, it seems endless, i can't wait the final version !

It can be the best map for Assetto, and you derserve well 100$

Like with the terrain / road rework I did for Pacific Coast.... This long slow terrain smoothing is much needed... and while I'm doing the area... It's rude not to recreate more of Angeles Crest

I was originally just going to extend the roads / corners that are in real life junctions just enough to make the corners junctions in game... Then when I looked at the roads I was going to extend slightly.... They were too epic to leave undone.

Thanks, I'm glad you think it can be the best map for AC... and the hours of work involved is probably worth 100$ tbh... But I personally think that it's unfair for one person to donate that much... If you have fun with it... Which I'm reasonably sure you will... A normal priced coffee or two will be fine, and appreciated

P.S... I won't be announcing any more roads for the area... If I have to use any more polys for any more roads... there'll be none left to use for objects.

 

[nabila]

Like with the terrain / road rework I did for Pacific Coast.... This long slow terrain smoothing is much needed... and while I'm doing the area... It's rude not to recreate more of Angeles Crest

I was originally just going to extend the roads / corners that are in real life junctions just enough to make the corners junctions in game... Then when I looked at the roads I was going to extend slightly.... They were too epic to leave undone.

Thanks, I'm glad you think it can be the best map for AC... and the hours of work involved is probably worth 100$ tbh... But I personally think that it's unfair for one person to donate that much... If you have fun with it... Which I'm reasonably sure you will... A normal priced coffee or two will be fine, and appreciated

P.S... I won't be announcing any more roads for the area... If I have to use any more polys for any more roads... there'll be none left to use for objects.

i hope you can add more object than in Pacific Coast, to make it more alive
i get bored of nordschleife, even TT isle of men is boring, i have all my hope in your hands

 

[nabila]

Carrying on from my previous post...

Due to the lack of actions (by this I mean reviews, comments... as well as donations) by the majority of downloaders....
The extended Angeles Crest sections... Big Tajunga Canyon Road, The road up to Mount Wilson and other roads... are going to be kept as the exclusive bonus thanks... That PCH - Bixby Creek was going to be.

I'll decide later on what qualification is needed to get the extra roads...
It's safe to say that anyone that has already donated will be driving Angeles Crest way before anyone else. If more people review or rate (or do anything) That will improve their chances.

The cool drivers I've driven with on my tracks online will also be among the 1st.
I may include the extra roads at a later date in with the main download. We shall see. But the people who have done something (already) will be at the front of the queue.

I will be concentrating on the FFB meshes for the main 42km loop... and the 500 - 600m extensions of the roads past the junctions for the next release. This will help speed up getting the new roads out there.
(42km of FFB meshes instead of 100km+)

The next update will also probably just be the new road (with far better textures) and new terrain... So people can re-adjust to the much more accurately placed, narrower roads, complete with the 6 main junctions.Then hopefully a short time after that I will get the road signs in... Bear in mind that placing 200km's (Both directions) of road signs and barriers is a more demanding prospect than for a normal sized track. I'm guess-timating a weeks work to get them all in... (including testing their positioning) depending on what time I get available.

This is the current terrain mesh resolution...

This is the next version (which is very almost sorted now) The bottom section of Angeles crest... and Big Tujunga have required quite a bit of sorting.
View attachment 241647
Depending how well I've "de-spiked" the displacement mesh around the road bed.... The roads could be in a week or two. I'm aiming to get the new roads, road signs and barriers done by a year since I first released the Canyons.

it would be amazing if you add hillclimbs stage

 

[Phoenix77]

It's all going to be about the bushes, little clumps of grass... With some areas of Ponderosa Pines...
The L.A area is pretty arid... but yeah as with Pacific Coast... it needs more objects...
L.A Canyons v0.3 doesn't have a single object, so more objects won't be tricky to do

There will probably be some limitations as to how far I can go with objects... 30km x 30km of Very mountainous terrain requires a lot more polys than a normal sized, flatish terrain.
But I'm reasonably sure I will be able to get away with loads of LOD'd objects... So they disappear after 1km or so.
It's also a good thing that RaceDepartment has upped the upload limit, I'm going to need it.

 

[Phoenix77]

it would be amazing if you add hillclimbs stage

The extra roads will be including Mountainclimb stages... Hills are for the flatter tracks
Mount Disappointment Road, climbs over 1,000ft in 2km's of distance with a seriously twisty road.
Mount Wilson Red Box Road climbs about the same altitude over approx 8km's of pretty twisty road... There's also another road that heads up the main mountain range... which is 6,200ft up.... the bottom (Pasadena) end of Angeles Crest is 1,800ft... The current start location is 4,400ft in elevation...
The bottom end of Big Tujunga Canyon Road is also around 1,800ft... rising to 3,300ft to join the current track... Hills, or rather mountains... aren't something this area is lacking.

 

[nabila]

i understand, one year after, we all wait for new changement.
with Assetto competizione, the crew 2, TT isle of man, and GTR 3, it will be hard to stay with Assetto corsa

 

[Phoenix77]

I'm not sure I'd agree... Plenty of people are still playing much older sim racing titles.... Even RBR, GPL.
But fair point, sun down in the canyons would be epic... maybe someone will volunteer to convert the canyons to UE4. At least there will be plenty of meshes to start with

 

[Warlord_Gonagy]

Honestly, I can't wait to drive these roads =-)

Having driven most of them IRL, it's really exciting to try them in AC!

 

[Phoenix77]

The roads are going back in now.... and from my quick test section... It seems that my terrain smoothing phase, especially around the road bed... Is much much better than at this point before, when I conformed the roads in for 0.3

18km's of Angeles Crest is going in quite nicely, another 22km's to go... Then a few more km's of roads the terrain groundwork was one of the most involved phases of the project

Expect images of junctions to follow soon... ish

 

[digital1nk]

Good thing man, this by far (L.A. canyons) is the most interesting layout from all the "cruising" ones you can find, plus it feels very similar to the windy mountain roads you find in my country.

 

[Phoenix77]

Got the main loop roads in... It's going to take a bit more stitching together and a little smoothing... But they're going in reasonably to plan...

Here's the new start location, with the new road textures.... and the new smoother terrain...

And this is Angeles Crest... Near the junction with Angeles Forest Highway

 

[digital1nk]

So jealous you can drive this beauty with the Viper, must be an amazing combo, meanwhile ill use the older version

 

[Phoenix77]

So jealous you can drive this beauty with the Viper, must be an amazing combo, meanwhile ill use the older version

There has to be a bonus for the amount of work involved in making a huge track... and this is that bonus

It's good fun trying out the new junction... just rough texturing atm.

And the narrower roads make the speeds seem much faster.

 

[garyjpaterson]

Brilliant, can't wait for proper junctions on this track, will truly transform it and bring it to life.

 

[AccAkut]

Sounds weird but I can't wait until the general colour and contrast of the track matches its real life counterpart. When it starts resembling that Google maps shot there.

Greens

 

[Ben O'Bro]

Sounds weird but I can't wait until the general colour and contrast of the track matches its real life counterpart. When it starts resembling that Google maps shot there.

Greens

all depend on seasons really, now John recreated the hottest summer in history recorded in 2017

 

[Phoenix77]

Brilliant, can't wait for proper junctions on this track, will truly transform it and bring it to life.

I think it makes sense putting them in, but it has upped my workload to well over twice what it was before.
Because it would be rude not to put in the joining roads, as they're pretty fooking epic in themselves.
And for 0.3 I didn't spend as long as I should have... as I was impatient to see if the layout was worth it.

Sounds weird but I can't wait until the general colour and contrast of the track matches its real life counterpart. When it starts resembling that Google maps shot there.
Greens

The terrain mask isn't finished, that will change everything! Due to it being SO large an area... the satellite images I'm using for the mask, are stitched together from different time periods, different seasons... saturations... times of day etc... So it's a bit unrealistic to expect it to be super accurate... But basically if you watch the 488GTB One Take... That's what I'm aiming for... A sandy (very almost white) base near the road edge... With greens appearing further away to supplement the distant trees / bushes when they go in... as obviously I won't be putting in the billions of bushes that are present IRL... there are going to be limitations as always.

all depend on seasons really, now John recreated the hottest summer in history recorded in 2017

lol I'm going for arid close to the road... then a greener base further away... I've made 10 pine tree textures from detailed 3D models I've made up, I also have around 10 trees from those in PCH... only had the chance to model 1 highly detailed bush atm... will need another 3 or 4... then 4 or 5 grass objects... So depending how well they scatter... will depend how much green I'll need to add to the mask... It will be all about balancing later on. That is after I've sorted all the splines out No point scattering until I've got all the tarmac areas in... There are a shed load of them!

And unfortunately the smoothing and stitching is a slightly bigger job than it seemed at first... Still... It is what it is.

 

[Phoenix77]

I slightly underestimated the length of roads.... It's going to end up at around 115km's...
But already the L.A end of Angeles Crest has an awesome left / right flow to it... I can see why Bikers love it!

This is the same section as the pic near the top of this page (With the Angeles National Forest sign)

And whoever named Mount Disappointment....
Obviously didn't have @Ben O'Bro 's awesome Caterham

As you can see... Mount Disappointment Rd, and Mount Wilson Red Box Rd are right near the start

Most of the road has conformed reasonably well... But there is still quite a lot of sorting to do...