Tracks Road Atlanta 1.3

[aphidgod]

If you listen to everything the community says it wants you'd have to make something both black and white and entirely in color at the same time.

 

[Gevatter]

Sim Racers in general scream for accuracy yet they are OK with tracks that are anything but accurate? I just never understood that.

Ask for something in an online forum and if you wait long enough you'll get ten different answers from eight defferent people

Myself, I prefer accurate tracks, LIDAR or laser scanned ones, but if there is a well done conversion of a track that I really really want to drive in AC and have never driven a laser scanned version of, my heart and brain can compromise enough for me to enjoy the less accurate version for the time.

 

[aphidgod]

I feel the same way. Of course I prefer a scanned/LIDAR track to a ... let's say a "conventional" one, but a quality conversion of a conventional build is better than nothing. It may not be 1:1 to reality, but it's a new course with new corners and new challenges to tackle in the game and that's worth something IMO.

 

[Art-J]

LilSki, I would prefer more accurate rendition as well, but since You, Brun and the team behind VIR are the only guys in AC modding community interested in and skilled enough to scratch build classic road-racing circuits, I have to go for what's available. A somewhat pimped-up conversion (like the Road America You helped to improve) is better than nothing... well, at least if it's not totally and hopelessly off, like most historic circuits in Project Cars franchise for example!

 

[Mitja Bonca]

LilSki, I would prefer more accurate rendition as well, but since You, Brun and the team behind VIR are the only guys in AC modding community interested in and skilled enough to scratch build classic road-racing circuits, I have to go for what's available. A somewhat pimped-up conversion (like the Road America You helped to improve) is better than nothing... well, at least if it's not totally and hopelessly off, like most historic circuits in Project Cars franchise for example!

You sure?
--
In my opinion AC has become a flood of conversions, and 90% bad ones, and mostly from rF1 (with help of 3dsimed software), because ppl don`t even know how to get data from other games. This shouldn`t suppose to happen, but unfortunately it did. There should be some standards but as it seems we have none.

 

[CobraCat]

Sim Racers in general scream for accuracy yet they are OK with tracks that are anything but accurate? I just never understood that.

Good point. Perhaps its simply because the tracks are free. Other than Cadwel Park, all of the tracks I perfer to drive are either Kunos or scratch made.

I love driving Trento Bondone although the quality of that course in some respects isn't far from some of the crappy track conversions that plague AC, but hey, beggers can't be choosers. haha

 

[Fat-Alfie]

LilSki, I would prefer more accurate rendition as well, but since You, Brun and the team behind VIR are the only guys in AC modding community interested in and skilled enough to scratch build classic road-racing circuits, I have to go for what's available.

Cheers!

 

[Andreas Knöpke]

Just start building some modern tracks and ppl will remember you too, matey

 

[Art-J]

...or just more known vintage ones . Sorry Alfie, didn't mean to rub you the wrong way. I just drive only late '60s / early '70s cars (having a blast with Can-Am monsters in Bazza's ACL mod recently) and only on Euro and US tracks which were used in Endurance & Can-Am racing back in the day (or on their current layouts). None of you obscure (though beautifully built, e.g. Thomson) tracks meet this criteria, so it's easy to forget about your work .

 

[Fat-Alfie]

It's ok - one track does not make me memorable

 

[Andreas Knöpke]

P.S. Jim, I didnt wanna say nothing before but you also didn't block that opening in the wall on the left ont the short straight after the esses

 

[SportRotary]

I've done a lot of laps at Road Atlanta, so I threw together a quick comparison from one of my videos. The RX-7 I'm using in AC is modded to match my actual power curve and suspension setup. The video isn't fantastic quality but it gives a general idea of the flow of the track:

First of all, the track drives very well in general. It was pretty easy to get in the groove just by recalling my real-life experience of the track. Pretty much all of the visuals are spot on. I'm already having more fun with this than with the iRacing version of RA.

Assuming it's useful for future updates, I'll give some turn-by-turn feedback:

Turn 1: The sim track has a slight hump on entry that shouldn't be there. Not too noticeable though. The corner also feels a little too flat in general, it should climb more - I think LilSki confirmed that the front straight is too high relative to turn 1.
Turn 2-3: Really good. This is a tricky section in real life - trail braking while cresting a hill - and it feels right in the sim.
Esses: The right-hand corner in the middle of the esses seems to jut out too far. AKA it seems like I have to keep driving too far to get to the apex. I think this part should be straightened out a bit, but the lidar data or a satellite image should be able to confirm.
Turn 5: Spot on. I think the exit curbing could be taller / more bumpy. Notice how much more my real car bounces when I run over the curbs there.
Turn 6: In real life, turn 6 feels like a bowl corner throughout. In the sim, it's more like hump-bowl-hump. This would need to be smoothed out a bit.
Turn 7: Spot on.
Back straight: Spot on.
Turn 9: The grass juts out too much on the inside edge of the track. In real life the grass on the inside edge follows a smooth radius around the corner.
Turn 10a/10b: This section is especially good. The visuals entering here make me feel like I'm actually at the track.
Turn 11: As others have mentioned, this is the biggest error. It's easy to see in my video comparison how long the sim track keeps climbing while I'm going down the hill in real life. If this gets fixed; this track will be very high quality, despite the other minor issues I'm listing.
Turn 12: Seems ok, maybe a bit too flat. But it's hard to tell since turn 11 is so far off.

Like I said, it's a very good track mod in general. With a few tweaks it could be great.

 

[Andreas Knöpke]

Guys.... It's a conversion. It's not supposed to be 100% accurate.

 

[ears]

Jim's project is producing the highest quality conversions I've seen in this game and as many of the tracks they produce are tracks I personally like, I'm very grateful for their work.

Having never driven Road Atlanta or, in fact, any other race track in my life (I walked around Monaco once but the FFB was rubbish) the odd variation here and there is going to go completely unnoticed here.

 

[Jebus]

Guys.... It's a conversion. It's not supposed to be 100% accurate.

We are so lucky that we have people like you keeping improvement efforts at bay. I mean better quality tracks, who needs that ****!?

 

[jim lloyd]

sorry guys didn't look here in a while, i didn't realise there was such a heated discussion going on, i too would prefer all laser scanned 100% accurate, but that said it takes a age for one person to create a good quality scratch built track, like i said its a conversion, i have never actually driven the iracing version so i have no frame of reference. plus in this case, the conversion was already done, i just wanted to bring it up to a reasonable standard until something better comes along

I'm totally cool with all the feedback, though i have to admit a little incredulous about the slightly annoyed tone going on in this conversation, which im finding very hard to understand, i only do this for my fun honestly

that said @LilSki if you want to send over that blender file with the lidar data, i will do my best to fix up the main problems, if you even think its worth it!!

 

[Andreas Knöpke]

It's great as it is, we just need the version with more pits

 

[mclarenf1papa]

It's great as it is, we just need the version with more pits

No. Priority on pitspots, but if the layout could be fixed that'd make it much more enjoyable.

 

[chrisracer]

So, have any of you actually raced on the real Atlanta track? If you haven't then how exactly do you know what's acurrate and what's not?
Or how about Mosport? Boring? Not in real life. Turn two has the biggest pucker factor of any corner except maybe the Kink at Road America. Neither turn gives me that feeling in any sim I have played. (by the way, I have raced at all three tracks in the car above )
I am amazed at the reaction of a lot of sim racers out there. Instead of being thankful for all of the hard work modders do to bring them free tracks and cars I hear a lot of moaning and groaning about "well it's not accurate enough." Well, if it's not good enough for you, then don't use it. Also don't trash the makers.

 

[mclarenf1papa]

So, have any of you actually raced on the real Atlanta track? If you haven't then how exactly do you know what's acurrate and what's not?
Or how about Mosport? Boring? Not in real life. Turn two has the biggest pucker factor of any corner except maybe the Kink at Road America. Neither turn gives me that feeling in any sim I have played. (by the way, I have raced at all three tracks in the car above )
I am amazed at the reaction of a lot of sim racers out there. Instead of being thankful for all of the hard work modders do to bring them free tracks and cars I hear a lot of moaning and groaning about "well it's not accurate enough." Well, if it's not good enough for you, then don't use it. Also don't trash the makers.

Because there's LIDAR data to compare it to and in some places it's rather obviously incorrect (and if you had read through the posts you'll note that the post seven above yours is written by someone who has driven quite extensively at RA).

Also, I'll note that a good portion of the people "groaning" are modders themselves; I assure you that we understand the work involved rather well.