as collected and (very little) formatted by addie walti
The start of a thread is marked with 0- (because sometimes the order is reversed)
GP2 world extent problem (track positioning)
JADs
Disappearing rear wheels
changing crowd textures
A little question (about jammin ...)
Camera settings
s/f line problem (position of ...)
cumlative altitude question
Cumulative altitude gap at Suzuka
Changing the path of Jam Files
Underlay bitmap
Creating a track!
What is a .Jad file?
Problem with line on center of road
a couple of questions, (object importing;
untextured kerbs colors)
I Really Need Help With CC line Editing
Track & Fence in meters formula's
0-Bryce (gerhardberger@geocities.com) from 152.163.201.213:
I need to know if there is a way you can move the track. I have a section of the
track that hangs out of the gp2 world.
addie from 194.191.82.13:
you go to the track-config section in the track tree.
there you have a track-sections-section. inthere you have a few parameter that let
you positioning the s/f line and with it the whole track. you also can rotate the
track.
beware: for the changes of the arguments you may want to use the property box at
the bottom of the window, because the dialogboxes (when doubleclicking an argument)
will not cause instant action in the track view window (TE 1.7.3.172), but changing
the values in the property box will ...
i hope it helps
addie
0-Phillip (phillip.paddels@supersoccer.virtualave.net) from 62.52.235.129:
Hi!
Many people use JADs instead of JAMs. How can I convert JAMs to JADs when I want
to contibute my track?
Thanks!
Phillip
addie from 194.191.82.13:
you may have seen the program convert.exe. you could get it form grandprix2.com.
thats all you need.
convert.exe converts all JAM-files to JAD-files and all JAD-files to JAMs at the
same time.
0-Leo Breevoort (skyvalley@hotmail.com) from 130.161.23.121:
I've encountered a very strange problem, when I was working on a new track. After
I finished the cc-line I made a 'trial run' and when I got very close to a cc-car
(say within 3 car lengths), its rear wheels disappeared. The phenomena also occurs
as I look at the race through road side camera's for the car in focus.
Can someone tell what's happening here? Any suggestions how to fix it?
Greetings,
Leo
µartijn from 130.161.124.18:
Perhaps you used some JAM texture- indexes that are used for the wheels. I believe
indexes 330-390 cannot be used for this reason, but better look it up in the Jam-Tutorial....
:-)
addie from 194.191.82.13:
have you checked whether this happens also with other tracks ?
maybe you included new (faulty) wheel grafix in your game lately by chance ...
Leo Breevoort from 130.161.23.121:
Martijn: I can't find it in any of the tutorials. My new Jam files use id's from
260-280. I'll try and change those.
Addie: Other tracks are fine and I've never changed the original wheels, so that
can't be the problem.
thanks,
Leo
µartijn from 130.161.124.18:
Hm, you're right, the Jam tutorial has dissapeared! Oh, wait, it was never written
:-)
I remember a threat from about september last year where Bob Culver wrote which IDs
are reserved. Find it below, it seems you used some forbidden ID's
BTW you can also view this in the TE, under "Help" is a "JamID's unusable"
option.
BTW2 the fact that other tracks work fine, suggest you messed it up yourself :-)
====================
Helmets.jam 545-572
Cars (lotus.jam, jordan.jam, etc.) 531-544
pc-wheel.jam 672,673,678,667
pc-extra1.jam 669, 670, 676, 679
pc-extra2.jam 681, 682, 677, 668, 403
mpush.jam 411-415, 404
pitprop1.jam 431, 671
pitprop2.jam 426, 427
pcjack.jam 674, 675, 680, 683, 684
cshad1.jam 225
damage.jam 405-409
fuel.jam 18-21
rcr1.jam 432-464
rcr2.jam 642-666
rcr2a.jam 465-476
rcr2b.jam (same as rcr2)
rcr3.jam 577-641
rcr4.jam 685-725
rcr5.jam 726-746
b1ftr.jam #302-321
b1rtr.jam #269-288
b2rtr.jam #256-268
b2ftr.jam #289-301
flagcheq.jam #386, 389, 394, 397
flags1.jam #395, 396, 398-401
chequ1.jam #387, 388, 390-393
0-µartijn from 130.161.124.18:
Has anybody got any experience in changing BOTH crowds-textures (empty and filled
stands) with custom-JAMs?
Martijn
John Verheijen (john@grandprix2.com) from 195.96.108.12:
I do, see the ultima pack :-)
Greetings
John
0-Oole from 212.213.109.75:
I would like to change some track graphics. What editor can be used? I want to do
also some else edit...
Everyone here knows, I know.. he
addie from 194.191.82.13:
all track-gfx is saved in so-called JAM-files. you find them in the gamejams subdirectory
in your gp2 installation. these jams have to be converted so you can rework them
in your favourite paint-tool. converting of jams (and more) could be done with a
tool called jameditor by mal ross. see http://www.casema.net/~verheyen/gp2/ and follow
“editors”.
once you have prepared your jams you may want to make them showing up in your track.
now you need to work with a trackeditor-program. see http://members.xoom.com/paulhoad/
or http://grandprix2.ga-sports.com/trackedit/ for the program of paul hoad or http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/5445/
for the program of iso-hannula. the first one is late beta and the latter is early
beta version.
in a trackfile you have a list of jam-files whose textures can be used within the
track. if your jam-file is not included there, you have to insert it. the overall
size is limited. then you have to “map the texture” onto the “desired area”. “desired
area” means the road itsself, two kerbs, two verges, two fences, two banks or four
scenery-ribbons, or, last but not least on an object. every mapping except objects
is done with so-called track-commands, actually track-cmd 0xbc ...
in the tutorials-section of paul hoads trackeditor homepage you find some tutorials
which covers parts of this subject. you may want to have a look at “the guide to
track editing” which gives a brief introduction to track editing, also covering texture
mapping. if you want to learn the details about track-cmd 0xbc you could have a look
at the “command-library” ...
changing textures of objects is described in the “objects-tutorial” of john verheijen
...
on my own website http://www.asit.ch/~addie you also find a collection of earlier
forum-postings. maybe you find there some more answers, although its pretty raw and
uncompiled information ...
i hope this help starting you up
addie
0- David Richards (davrich@iweb.net.au) from 202.12.71.6:
I have a track where the track cameras cause a freeze frame effect (there are no
view distance commands in track, and in-car cams work ok) Anyone willing to sort
out the problem?
Thanks in advance
addie from 194.191.82.13:
the cameras also have view-distance-arguments, back and forward. maybe this is the
source of the problem ?!
have you "forbidden" cams (the red ones in the cam list). if yes, do remove
them at first place ...
maybe it helps (please post it, if it does)
addie
0-Marek Michalak from 195.14.226.192:
Hello everybody,
I used the original f1ct13 (Estoril) to make my own track and now I face the following
problem with the s/f line:
If I drive a lap the time is being stoped before I cross the s/f line, somewhere
on the starting grid. Does somebody know what causes this problem and how I can solve
it ?
Thanks in advance,
Marek
Jaare Salo from 131.130.1.12:
Yo !
It's a known problem you've got.
S/F line, same as all other "paintings" on the track are the so called
"markings".
You have to offset them correctly to get a perfect S/F line ...
Hope it helps ..
0-Dan from 195.92.194.105:
I'm another newbie trying to make his first track but having a lot of problems'especially
with altitude.I've managed to get the cumlative gradient down to 0 but the cumlative
altitude is nowhere near 0.
So can somebody explain what all the altitude stuff means and how do I get the cumlative
altitude down to 0.I've read Addie's track height tuturial but I'm still confused.
One more thing is,my track has two parallel straights alongside each other,but when
I'm driving the track I can't see anything on the other side of the fence.Is it possible
to see the other cars coming down the other straight in the opposite direction?
Dan.
David Richards (davrich@iweb.net.au) from 202.12.71.11:
On the last point of view cars traveling in opposite direction - I would like to
know this as well - some of my tracks have an analagous situation.
Regards, David
Nic Prins (n.prins@student.qut.edu.au) from 131.181.127.39:
re the heights.
The best way to understand how the heights work in a track is to have a look in a
0xb8 scenery command. Double click on one of these (doesn't matter which one) and
at the bottom you will see a graph that shows the altitudes along the track. The
object is obviously to have the beginning and the end of the track meeting at the
same altitude, so that the cumulative altitude is about zero (+ or - 100 or so is
okay too). The actual cumulative gradient only has to be zero if the start/finish
straight on your track needs to be perfectly flat. A positive cumulative gradient
value will mean the track begins at the s/f line climbing upwards, and a negative
value will mean it slopes downwards. The altitude graph is a big help nowadays. If
you want, take a pen and paper and do a sketch where you have a straight line and
then add a positive gradient followed by a negative gradient of equal value. The
new line that follows on from there will be parellel to your first straight line
and therefore have a gradient of zero, but it will have a higher altitude. To get
it back to the same level as your first line, you need a negative gradient followed
by a positive gradient. This is exactly how it works in a track.
Nic Prins
P.S. Sorry about the length, it's a bad habit of mine
µartijn from 130.89.53.18:
============================
One more thing is,my track has two parallel straights alongside each other,but when
I'm driving the track I can't see anything on the other side of the fence.Is it possible
to see the other cars coming down the other straight in the opposite direction?
=============================
Yes, you can build this, using the 0xC5 and 0xC6 cmds. I use them all the time, they're
great!!
0-Robin de Paus from 212.48.59.5:
Hello everybody,
I was wondering if anyone could explain me the huge difference in cumulative altitude
at Suzuka over S/F?
My Track Editor gives a difference of 2782.55, but in GP2 both ends are connected.
Thanks,
Robin de Paus (Martin.Depaus@net.HCC.nl)
addie from 194.191.82.13:
IMO the “gap” is the result of a starting gradient. my idea is, the starting gradient
is somehow given by the “track start height (delta)”-value in the track config section.
if you look at suzuka you see its non zero there, its 65305 (which probably means
-230). in the calculations in the TE this starting gradient is not included. it starts
with 0. but if you start the calculation with this starting gradient instead of zero
you probably may get an about zero cumulative altitude again. but i’m not sure whether
the units of “our” cumulative gradient and the “track start height (delta)”-value
are the same ...
a little spreadsheet with the calculations and the suzuka data should give the answer
...
addie
m from 145.94.124.79:
Yes, Addie, Thats it,
if you make the first TS length 1, and the second l.20, then enter -230 as a heightvalue
(to simulate the downward slope on the start), you end up with a very good match
in altitude on s/f. So the same units here.
The only thing I still wonder about is the relation between the heights on the track
(cumulative height) and the heightvalues as entered in the ribbons and object boxes.
Anyone any clues?
Martijn
0-Donal Conlon (IRLDonal@aol.com) from 152.163.165.51:
Hi,
Does anyone know how to change the path that a circuit file uses for its jam files.
I.E. I want all the tracks I have to use the clouda.jam in the gamejams folder rather
than using their own clouda.jam file. Thanks
James Knopp (james@dknopp.freeserve.co.uk) from 195.92.194.42:
TrackEditor allows you to do that. Have a look for some tutorial and see what I mean.
Or just try it out for yourself. Very straight-forward.
James Knopp
0-The Bullet (bullet@listens-to.c-dance.be) from 62.12.6.25:
How can I underlay a bitmap in the trackeditor? I already have scaled the map with
help of Addie's "How to make an accurate track" tutorial.
addie from 194.191.82.13:
the rest should be there also ...
0-Oswaldo Guerra (oguerra@zaz.com.br) from 200.203.183.116:
Hi all! I'd like to kknow if somebody knows how can i finisk my work on my personal
track... i did the track shape and other things but the track stays with many errors
like the CC Line (i think), where can i find a Guide to do my personal track????
:)) Thankful
Andrew D from 216.100.144.150:
You can find many tutorials at the track editing homepage, very handy, they got me
through my darkest hours!!!!
AKD
0-Scott (mcott@planet.eon.net) from 161.184.201.53:
I am having problems with Fabian's Sepang track. The circuit works but none of the
jams are coming up....just grey areas. I noticed the Game Jams are ".Jad"
files. What is it and why is this track not working when I have never had any problems
before? Thanx for any help!
Malcolm Mitchell (malcolm.mitchell1@virgin.net) from 195.147.246.147:
You need to convert the jaD's to jaM's. Use Marc Aarts
convert program, which converts them simply for you.
Once you've converted them, and put them in the right
folder, there won't be a problem with the grey areas.
Cheers,
Malcolm Mitchell
P.S. They are decrypted jam files.
0-Dan C (downforce1@hotmail.com) from 24.113.31.225:
Hi,
I am having a small graphic problem with my track. For some reason, there is a 'line'
that the game draws in the center of the road on some parts of the track. (I don't
meant the cc-line) The line is not on the jam file, and it seems to move, kinda,
when you drive on it.
Has anyone had this problem. I'm not sure if its due to altitude or ribbons.
Dan
Andrew D (dgenx@ihug.com.au) from 203.109.197.21:
Hi,
I had the same problem with my 91 version of the Pheonix USA track, as you drive
down to the first corner, you get to the 200 metre board and then a line (tarmac
textured almost) just appears in front of you and then dissapeared after a little
bit, i never figured out what is was, so if anyone out there knows, please share
it with us
AKD
Iso-Hannula (isohannula@hotmail.com) from 130.233.41.27:
It would be easier if we can see the track.
URL?
fartijn from 145.94.124.79:
Which track is the base? Isn't it some unremoved trackmarking?
addie from 194.191.82.13:
you mean a “line” of the same color than the ground you are driving (sometimes with
yellow borderlines), that “moves” if you change roadside when burning down the s/f
straight towards turn 1 ?
this occurs e.g. if the cmd 0x9e is set to long in the pit lane. in one of the last
pit lane sectors you have a cmd 0x9e which lets you set up the viewable rest of the
pit lane. but this value HAS to be at least 2 LESS than the length of the actual
rest of the pit lane. if it is equal or longer, the system hangs or shows this strange
“moving line” or other nasty things i do not remember anymore ...
if the “line” shows up on other parts of the track, it possibly has to do with view-distances
or with far-sight cmds (0xc5, 0xc6). here the line can have different colors. those
i saw so far, where like tarmac, armco or grass ...
please notify the forum if you find out.
Andrew D from 209.78.50.30:
Addie,
I think that is the one that i mean, it only ever happened at that part of the track,
and it dissapeared just before the first corner.
AKD
Dan C. from 24.113.31.225:
I'm not sure, but your phoenix track is a banked track ? Mine is also, so that might
mean something, but it also appears in other parts too. Mine is based on Suzuka.
Funny thing, I mapped a light texture on a section of road, and the line stays the
same color as the default road, i.e. dark grey.
Anyways, Addie, I will get that track to you ASAP. I have to clean up some 'ends'.
Dan
Dan C. from 24.113.31.224:
Well, the problem with my line was solved by Addie, thanks a million.
The problem was a command Ox8a near the end of the track, that specifies some track
markings. Basically, it was a neglected command which did not do anything for the
track, and removing it solved the problem.
Dan C
addie from 194.191.82.13:
in the cmd 0x8a you have to give an argument a2 to set up the marking type. regular
values are 3 (yellow line), 8 (grey line) and some more.
our cmd was set to 0 (ghost line) and it caused unwanted dark grey "floating"
"lines" every here and there on the track.
i'm very glad to have been able to contribute a little bit to a great track !
0-jason hope (jason_hope@yahoo.com) from 207.96.190.218:
i have a question concerning when to start adding scenery. Should i insert all of
the objects before adding scenery, or should i wait until after to add all the objects?
just a question to see which is easier when doing this task. OH yeah! while i'm here,
when i turn the sky texture OFF when running my track, the sky turns black, even
when I have the clouda.jam loaded. any ideas? the cloud texture is part of another
jam, could this be the problem?
thanks,
Jason hope
Nic Prins (n.prins@student.qut.edu.au) from 203.37.234.216:
Using the Jam Editor, open up in the tree the details of the sky texture. Go into
untextured colours and change the solid value to 124 and the transparent value to
127.
This is a problem with a lot of tracks where untextured coulours have not been changed
and when you turn some textures off in the game it can all look a bit strange (easy
to fix, though).
addie from 194.191.82.13:
as for the objects: if you intend to import a big number of objects, you may want
to do this before working on the scenery. just to check out whether the track yet
works afterwards. you may want to do this on a copy of your track first ...
objects is like textures and everything: its not unlimited, and the limits are not
exactly known.
i hope its useful input
jason hope from 207.96.232.145:
thanks guys. I tried what you said Nic, and it worked!!! Thanks Addie for the suggestion,
I should be gettin to object editing next week.
Uhhhhmmm! Well, what I told you about the clouds, also applies to the kerbs with
id's 161 and 162...I'll try and see if I could fix that, if I don't, HELP!
Jason hope
Nic Prins from 203.37.234.216:
The numbers that you use in the untextured colour bits are just pallette indexes
I believe. 124 and 127 gives you light blue. Someone might have made a list somewhere
but when I was looking for the right numbers to use I just searched for jam IDs that
had the untextured colour I wanted and copied the two values.
jason hope from 132.205.55.17:
kerbs still gray!!!
jason
addie from 194.191.82.13:
untextured kerbs colors are set in the track-config-section in the track-section.
BUT BEWARE ! be sure to have a real backup of your track in a safe place before changing
here !!
you have to insert palette ids. and i suggest to stick with values as can be found
in the original tracks. if you have a special request you may get in touch with me
and we could see what is possible. not everything is !
OR (just a thought) maybe its just the jam missing ? because grey as untextured kerb
color is pretty unusual ...
0-John S from 195.92.194.105:
I've done my first track,nice layout,o.k scenery and some nice elavation,but I just
can't seem to get anywhere with the CC line.I know it doesn't show up right in TE,but
even with experimenting with stuff all I can do is make them go down the S/F straight
and then crash into the wall.So can somone give me some useful advice on how to go
about doing it.Thanks.
Posted by DC from 24.113.31.228:
I think this still has to be done the hard way.
1) Make a small change in the editor approximately where the 1st turn is.
2) Run the game and have the cc-line option on (one of the F keys).
3) Watch the cc-cars follow the line, if its good, or bad.
4) Exit the game and modify the cc-line turn or continue to the next section.
5) Repeat this until the whole track is done.
Posted by JoH (year1440@village.uunet.be) from 193.121.245.33:
Some other things:
- modify the on-board camera settings such that you have a view on the track from
a greater hight. This makes it much more easy to evaluate the line.
- let it test by an experienced keyboard driver; he'll "feel" where the
ccline is natural and where it isn't
good luck and remember that a close-to-perfect CC-line is an absolute MUST to enjoy
the track.
JOH
Posted by Iso-Hannula (isohannula@hotmail.com) from 130.233.41.35:
If you had problems at start try to change start values. There is some mystics.
So do not set the starting DFS to 0. Set it about 20 or something. And I suggest
to set distance from center to 0 at first. After you have get line to first curve,
try to move DFC. And so on.
0-Robin de Paus (Martin.Depaus@net.HCC.n) from 212.48.56.126:
Hi guys,
I have done some research about how to convert GP2-track width and fence width to
meters. I have come to the following formulas:
Deler is a variable:
for pitlane values, deler=32768/20
for track values, deler=32768/30
TrackWidth(Meters)=
(TrackWidthGP2/deler)*4.87;
FenceWidth(Meters)=( (FenceWidthGP2*(1024/30))*TrackWidthGP2/1000)/deler*4.87
I have tested these formulas and they are highly accurate.
Greetings,
Robin de Paus
0-mick (mgriggs@bigpond.com) from 139.134.23.10:
To all track editing gurus out there...is it possible to make the monaco circuit
with the off camber bump that is present on the downhill straight after the casino?(can't
remember the name offhand)
David Hosking (hosking@primus.com.au) from 203.134.2.92:
It should be quite simple, you'll need to simply make a number of track sections
there with short lengths, and add the correct banking and height adjustments to get
it right.
end of list