Tracks in VGP are made of two kind of files, located in the corresponding drawer of the "Piste/" directory: a) .3do files, named "Obj01.3do", "Obj02.3do", etc.; these files control the "visual" aspect of the track: they are very large (about 200-300 mts of diameter) .3do objects that the VGP 3d engine uses to "render" the track. You can easily create your own using Aegis Modeler3d or, better, using the "TrackDesigner" track editor b) the .ctp file, named "Ctrl1.ctp" for historical reasons, which controls the physical environment of the track such as where and how are kerbs, walls, grass/gravel, etc.; this file must, of course, match exactly the "visual" info of the .3do files so that if you see a wall and you go straight into it you'll eventually crash into it. This file can be generated starting from a .geo file using the "ConvCtp" utility TRACK EDITOR It's clear, now, that if you want to design your own track you must supply the .3do files and the .ctp one, and that the two must be perfectly matched. "TrackDesigner" is a simple utility that lets you design your own track with a point-and-click interface and that generates automagically the required .geo files; after, you can either modify them again from within Modeler3d or simply use Conv3do and ConvCtp to build the final files. When you start TrackDesigner you'll see two main windows; the upper one is where you design the track, the lower one contains some gadgets for the most useful functions: CARICA PISTA: load in a track previously saved by TrackDesigner SALVA PISTA: save a track GEN.PISTA: generate the track; TrackDesigner generates a set of .geo files in RAM: containing the visual info of the track ("TrackXX.geo"), and the "Track.ctp" file that, despite its name, is again a .geo file but contains the physical environment info of the track; these files can be loaded into Modeler3d for further modifications or passed to Conv3do and ConvCtp to build the "ObjXX.3do" and "Ctrl1.ctp" final files. Pay attention to the fact that the track must be "centered" when generating files, ie the first block must start at position 0,0 NUOVO TRATTO: start a new track "block"; tracks are made of blocks, pieces of track with constant curvature radius. The new block is appended immediately after the currently selected block (which is painted in red); you select a block simply by clicking on it in the upper window CANCELLA TRATTO delete the currently selected track block CREA OGGETTO: add an "object" to the currently selected block. Objects are standard .geo files that you can design in Modeler3d and that can be placed around the track (such as trees, buildings, bridges, etc.); when TrackDesigner generates the track it merges these files into the generated "TrackXX.geo" ones CANC.OGGETTO: delete an object from the currently selected block; click on it to delete it, or click right mouse button to abort CAMBIA PISTA: change the currently selected block's shape; click right mouse button when you're satisfied with the changes CAMBIA TRAIET.: change the best line; this is used by the driving help and by the opponents in VGP to have a rough idea on how to enter/exit a turn (though they have their own AI, they still need some hints...); this line MUST be continuous, no angular points are allowed otherwise strange results may happen; again, use the mouse to change it, and click right mouse button when you are done CAMBIA ANGOLO: change the starting point angle of the best line; be CAREFUL with this option, the best line CANNOT have angles - it must be a continuous line... CAMBIA OGG.: change an object position; click near an object (in the selected block) to move it, and click right mouse button when done The keyboard can also be used to pop up windows to enter additional info: "i" - the "current block info" window: COORD X,Y,Z these control the x,y,z coordinates of the current block's END point. Usually x,y are already there because you enter them by point-and-click actions, but you may want to change the track's height too LUNG the block length (in mts) ALFA the block's end point direction angle, in respect of the x axis NUM the number of polygons this block is made of. The VGP 3d engine can display only polygons, so turns must be approximated by polygons stripes. Here you can enter how many polygons do you want for the stripe. The more you increase the number, the "smoother" will be the visual aspect of the turn but, of course, the more will be the points/polygons that the VGP 3d engine must deal with. Straights can be made of just one polygon, of course, but for turns you must find a tradeoff that depends on your Amiga's speed "->Passo" calculate for you the "right" number of polygons in a stripe. You must fill in the "PASSO N" gadget on the right of the window specifying the length (in mts) of a polygon, and this gadget will calculate the number of polygons required. The default value is 60mts, but if you have got a fast Amiga you can try to decrease this value for "smoother" turns. On straights it's best if you manually insert a little number in NUM TRA X,Y control the x,y coords of the best line end point. These values are not absolute but are relative to the block end point coords, so that the best line will "follow" the track if you change it TRA NUM the best line is approximated by a number of points, much the same that turns are made of polygon stripes. Those points should be placed at ~every 4mts, but on straight they can be more distantiated. Here you can insert how many points do you want for the best line. Do NOT insert a number that gives best line points with a distance below 3.5/4 mts! "->Passo" calculate for you the right number of points, based on the inter-point distance inserted in "PASSO T"; on straights it's best if you don't use this gadget and insert a little number in TRA NUM yourself TRA LUN the best line length ALFA S/E the starting/ending points' angles, in respect of the track, of the best line; because the best line cannot have angular points, the ending angle of one block's best line must match the starting one of the next block R.CURV the curvature radius of the best line VELOC. the maximum speed the best line can be entered at TELEC. control the presence of a camera; if you enter a number different than 0, a camera is placed on the left or right side of the track, depending on the fact that you enter a negative or positive number. The number absolute value must be less than TRA NUM and controls at which best line point the camera is placed. So, as an example, if you have a turn whose best line is made of 30 points and you insert -15 in this gadget, the camera will be placed at half the turn on the left side of the track R.BOX this is a bit tricky, and controls the "deceleration" point for opponents. It works in a manner similar to the camera, you enter the (positive only) number of the best line point at which opponents must start to decelerate when they are low on fuel and have to enter the pit. This point must be placed in the "right" position so that opponents don't miss the pit-lane but, on the opposite, don't start decelerating too early wasting a lot of time during their pit-stops "ERBA" these two gadgets control what is placed to the left or right side of the track. If they read "erba", you'll get grass, if they read "sabbia", you'll get gravel PIS DS/SX the width of the track (in mts), to the right (positive) and to the left (negative). The upper gadgets control the starting point, the lower the ending point (it's not required that track borders overlap between different track blocks) COR DS/SX if enabled, control kerbs. Kerbs extend from PIS to COR, and should usually be 2mts wide MUR DS/SX control the distance of walls from the center of the track. Should be AT LEAST as wide as the track... PITLANE if enabled, control the distance of the pitlane border from the wall. Can be either positive or negative, depending on the fact that the pitlane is placed on the right or left side of the track, and its absolute value should be greater than MUR "o" - the "object" window (click on the object you want to move/resize): POSIZ X/Y change object's position. Coordinates are relative to the current block, so if you change the track the objects will "follow" it FATT.ESPANSIONE if the current block is a turn when you move the object left/right it will expand/shrink, because of the fact that its coordinates are relative to the current block (and thus transformed). This gadget lets you insert a "correcting expanding factor" so that the object maintains its dimensions. "p" - the "global preferences" window SCALA IMMAGINE unused any more TRAIETT.START select the starting position of the best line, which usually isn't on the center of the track INCL.SPOILER the "wing" settings of the "fake" car. The "fake" car is used to show you the speed of a turn, given its curvature radius, but of course this speed depends on the wing settings of the car. OGGETTI->1.0 put the expansion factor to 1.0 for every object in the track CENTRA PISTA place the first block's starting point at 0,0 - REQUIRED before generating the track SCALA PISTA X/Y scales the x/y coordinates of the track. Only the ending points coords are scaled, not the track's width, objects, etc. ABBASSA PISTA lower the Z coordinates of the specified amount SCALA PISTA Z scales the Z coordinates of the track blocks' ending points Keyboard controls other important things with the following keys: "8","4","6" and "2" translate (move) track up-left-right-down. Track MUST be restored to its original position before generating it "s" or "d" add a left or right kerb to the current block "f" or "g" add a left or right pitlane to the current block. The last block in the track, ie the one that "closes" the track, should always be at least 220mts long and should always have a pitlane, because it's here that cars are placed when the game starts "a" remove kerbs and/or pitlanes from the current block "+" and "-" magnify track "q" exit TrackDesigner The "Piste/" drawer contains the VGP tracks in the TrackDesigner format, so that you can load them and try to modify them. TrackDesigner is not a very friendly application, it was designed to be used only by me so you'll need a bit of time and practice to understand how the whole stuff works. Don't try to do "strange" things, some things are possible in TrackDesigner but give weird results (or even crashes) when VGP tries to load such "strange" tracks. The other drawers contain object used in the tracks. They are normal, standard .geo files that can be loaded/modified by Modeler3d. Feel free to re-use them in your tracks, and/or design your own.