Avignon Progress

I understand that I have been neglecting my circuit design for what has become months. This is hopefully beginning to change with these :

While the circuit has a long way to go, it is clear to see that progress has started up once more. I have not populated the circuit with some trees, the two pontoons the key medieval city wall. I have already play tested with the trees and found that cars hit invisible walls, so I want to be sure to fix this before continuing on the pit buildings and all other objects. Finally I will change / add roads to make it feel a little more real.


I will have updates by Friday this week (at this stage), so check back then for more information on Avignon's progress. Currently I rate the circuit as 0.10 complete - quite a way to go!

News!

Recently I learned that I will not have my contract at my current employment renewed for Nov2011-onward. They are downsizing the position and sadly I lost out on this one.


It seemed to be a pure 'first in gets it' scenario. I started one week after the fellow who will become the sole junior editor. At first this was a real pain and frustration. Though this is very different now. Being dropped from my work has enabled me to work on things I have wanted to for some time. The first is to resume working as a graphical artist for a magazine (already in the pipeline). Secondly to start looking seriously into motorsport and motoring photography as a side income (if possible). I will probably start a new blog dedicated to this, but it is still early days.


Finally, it means that I will now be resuming my circuit designs for Rfactor. I have neglected my passion in the last few months to focus harder on my actual work (perhaps I shouldn't have bothered haha!). Now I will resume my circuit designing. I have already started updating my Airport Terminal GP circuit after I found a few videos on youtube showing people not driving on the actual circuit but getting the best line from everything. I have brought in many of the walls, and plan to remake most of the ad boards around the circuit to bring down the file size.


Other than this all progress has stalled on my other projects. Though as of very early November they will resume. Look out for news and updates on Avignon which I will work on again very soon. But for the next week or two I won't be able to do much.


I have been compiling all of the circuits I have downloaded and installed to my rfactor directory into a Microsoft Access document. I have well over 1000 circuits and plan to release this document in the coming weeks. It includes data such as what I believe is the level of difficulty, speed of the circuit relative to the 'best' mod series for it. Also a grid size so then we don't flood the circuit with more cars than can actually be supported without them flying into the air or starting buried in the 'ground' -  you know what I mean!


Look out for this also early November. More news to follow this weekend!

News!

I know that I said I would be posting up some screenshots of my latest creation Avignon about a week ago. There has however been a lot going on in my world which has taken up my time. Not to mention my strange interest in playing other games lately, which has eaten good chunks of my free time. I will however continue the work this weekend and hope to have something to show off around that time.

I have also been working with some people at Virtual Classics forum on various 1970s Monza layouts. The  sharing of work is excellent even if the language barrier sometimes makes it a little complicated (most speak Spanish). I may be able to show off the 1974 layout soon, I am just waiting on some textures to be made and placed.

I have been inspired to update my NYC GP once more and will be working on a new layout again soon which will make it three different versions of the Lower Manhattan 'project'. That's about it for now, check back here this weekend for more news and updates!

Avignon

I found a great little gem of a website the other day. It had a number of circuits detailed up there including all of the Formula one world championship rounds and track maps of the non championship races also which was pretty cool. But the best part was that many of the circuits (F1 and not) had reference pictures with them.

I trawled through them looking at interesting circuits from all over the globe, until I found one that I thought I might be able to whip up over the weekend. It is simply called Avignon. I assume because the town/city is also called Avignon. There is a big castle wall which runs along the eastern part of the track (clearly from medieval days) and is lined (effectively) with trees and concrete blocks. Again, it is a proposal from 2005 for a round the the DTM, but it never went ahead for some reason. I figured I would give it a good go.

Firstly I mapped out the layout and set it to the length of the track (as was proposed) 1.731km. I drove around in an F1-1974 car, but found it a little tight and pokey. Since I always mesh reality with fiction. I have already tweaked the layout to 2.240km which makes for a better circuit. I think I will base this around either the 1990s F1 cars or 1970s F1 cars. I have made an Xpack recently for other 1970s F1 projects I am working on, but I am still umming and aarring over what this one will be. What I can tell you is that it won't be for 2000s F1s or other series (unless others use it that way of course). I know the 'purists' out there will have a go saying how it is not a 'real' this and that. But to be honest - I don't care. If it feels like where it is, then that is good enough. Chernobyl NPP anyone?

Anyway, I have already make the cambers, heightmaps and some basic bumps. I will release some screenshots some time this weekend and hope to have it out within 14 days. I need a simple yet long castle wall. Can't seem to find one that is right. But I do have some of the Ponte's that the cars will pass under and next to, as well as some 'french' inspired buildings. Check back here in the coming 48hrs for some early screenshots!

Rodrrico - The Circuits Thread

Here you will find all the download websites for all my current public released circuits.

Imola 1963 1.0

Zeltweg 0.95

Zaluzani 1.0 & Zaluzani 1.10 & nogrip

Phoenix 1989 Proposal 1.0

Chernobyl NPP 1.1 - & nogripracing

Rufforth Classic 1.0

Lower Manhattan GP 1.0 & Racedepartment & Nogrip

Nivelles GP 1.0 - & nogripracing

Airport Terminal GP 1.0 - & nogripracing

Imola 1960s 1.0 - & Nogripracing & Bockbierbude

Ales GP 1.0

Lower Manhattan Indy (nogrip) & Rfactorcentral

Phoenix 1989 Proposal 2.0 (nogrip) & Rfactorcentral


Brands Hatch 1950



Ales GP Course 1.10


Comments are always welcome and constructive critisim. I read them regularly and take them all seriously. Check back for new tracks often!

Brands Hatch 1950 & Ales

Brands Hatch 1950 Released

I have finished my initial version of Brands Hatch 1950 and released it on NoGripRacing here. It won't be available until Sunday (or about 20hrs from now)I have decided to not bother uploading to Rfactorcentral for a number of reasons. For one, I no longer wish to fund a website that pigheadedly uses user content for commercial use. When it was built for the community, for not companies.

I would like some feedback for later releases, so please comment on the Nogripracing download page or in this blog. I check both fairly regularly so I should be able to address any issues with relative speed.

Ales GP Course 1.10

I recently read about my Ales GP circuit having some issues with the pitlane and not being able to cross the finish line. I have hopefully resolved this issue as well as a few other minor changes to the textures start/finish locations and some shadowing. All relatively small updates, but they make it somewhat more complete.

If you want to download the new version, it should be available here at Nogripracing within 24hours. As with Brand Hatch 1950. If you have the old version (1.0) please remove it all (as I have stated in the readme) rather than overwrite the files. That should be about it for now.

Enjoy!

Ales GP update and more

ALES GP 1.0 to 1.1

I was just trawling Rfactorcentral and noticed that someone had posted on my circuit Ales GP 1.0 some time ago (back in May). The told me that the pit lane has a serious error to do with timing of laps, which I am going to address and release an update, or a new version of Ales this weekend. I may also change some textures / models to reflect a nice change. I'll see as I go.

Brands Hatch 1950 1.0

Yes I will be releasing my attempt at Brands Hatch's 1950 layout this weekend also. Check back here soon for where you can download it.

Imola 1960s 1.0 to 1.15

I am planning on updating my Imola 1960s circuit very soon with some modifications and fixes. There has been an issue with the straight coming out of Acque Minerale. I suspect it is the shadow from the trees, which means they need replacing. I will also add some minor changes to the bumps and textures (as well as a few very small tweaks). Look out for this in the coming weeks.

Hey I Found A Problem!

If you have encountered a problem / glitch / error with any of my circuits. Be sure to PM me on the site that you use or through this blog. Two people have found two different errors one two different tracks in recent times, and had I not browsed around, I may have not found them in the first place. So please, let me know if you find anything that doesn't seem right!

Brands Hatch 1950s

I bought a book recently all about Brands Hatch. While I have read that the now dubbed 'indy course' was the original layout, I did not know that it ran backwards to its present day layout. I felt this was worthy of an Rfactor design.

I am still working on the New Jersey Grand Prix, however I have been building models that are taking some time, and don't want to work more on the track without buildings around it. The actual circuit is probably about 40% done, but it lacks

'life' which buildings, and models around it will provide and boost its progress up to about 55%. For now I am working on a small project of Brands Hatch 1950s. I am basing this track on the original 1950 layout. While it is a couple of weeks away from any sort of release, I can share some shots of the circuit for you all. Take a look!

And the overall map!

New Jersey GP

I mentioned recently about my intention to develop a New Jersey GP given the recent news of F1's 'silly season' to have two world championship Grand Prix events in the USA. While this will never happen in reality (for a number of reasons), I liked the idea of building a circuit there and have set out to bring NJGP to Rfactor.

My current progress is initial. I have the layout, I have the elevation changes, camber, surfaces etc all relatively close to the actual proposed location along the banks of the Hudson river, however this is much harder than I would have liked thus far. I built a number of models in Sketchup, exported them as collenda files and converted the textures into the 2x2 system that Bob's Track Builder uses, however for some reason the models are not working in Rfactor. Once I export the circuit, it crashes during the loading (freezes, then I press 'enter' and it crashes). It is trying to load a road material, however the materials I am using are proven working materials. I have no idea why this is happening. It is very frustrating, as I feel it would be an enjoyable circuit if it had strong details around it.

For now, I have placed other models from older Xpacks I have made in as a 'guideline' for where the new buildings should go. I hope to overcome this issue, and will post some screenshots of my progress in the coming week.

Yes or No?

I, like many of you out there who follow Formula One very closely, have now seen a 'track map' of the proposed NJC Grand Prix (New Jersey) here at F1 Fanatic.

I first saw this and thought how cool it would be to play this in Rfactor before seeing it in real life in the years to come - should it go ahead of course. I am wondering if I should make this for Rfactor. I have already made two circuits based in New York City, and in particular, down around the Lower Manhattan districts. So in a way, I could use some of my models in the background. I would need to remove many faces to drop the detail level of objects that are going to be quite far away, but you get the idea.

Currently I have been working on a proposed Hockenheim layout for the early 1980s. However I have experienced many problems with placing objects and keeping the detail level high. Basically, when I export through a .3ds format from Google Sketchup, the textures / materials convert into .jpeg. This means that the negative space elements (wire frames, fences, crowds etc) all are filled with 'black' which not only adds to the level of details that must be rendered, but they look increadibly ugly.

The only option I have is to export them as collenda files. However, these then are not within the 2X2 format, and all need resizing. That is fine if the object has 5,10, 20 or 30 textures. It just takes a bit of time to the open every single texture / material in Photoshop and resize them. The problem is that the Hockenheim grandstands (you know the massive one's around the pits, final and first corners) has a whopping 120 texture faces. This become annoying to just sit there and convert one after the other. If any come out even slightly wrong, then Xpacker can't open the collenda file and crashes.

Anyway... what I am getting at, is that maybe I need to shelve this circuit for a time when I am not working (in real life) so flat out, and therefore would have sufficient time to work on my circuits.

However! I feel that a circuit from scratch is easier to make, as one does not have people breathing down their neck's telling them what is inaccurate and what doesn't feel right and what is - well to put it simply - wrong.

Let me know if you folks think I should have a genuine attempt at making the NJC GP circuit as proposed recently.

Cheers.

Hockenheinring 1980s Proposal - Update

I have been working on the Hockenhiemring 1980s proposal circuit on and off in short bursts for the past few weekends. I am finally able to show off some WIP shots.

While this is very early and low resolution images, this should show you all roughly what it will look like in terms of the major changes to the 1970s layout. I intend to include the older layout roads to add to the sense of immersion for the circuit. I can hopefully get permission from the 1979 and 1988 layout Rfactor modders to use the grandstands and pit buildings I have included in my beta thus far. If not, then obviously I will make my own, but this will no doubt add a great amount of work and time to the circuit build.

For now, please enjoy the early screenshots and I will have more information about the track's progress in the coming days!

Phoenix 1989 Proposal 2.0

Phoenix 89 2.0 is finally available for download across the web!

Phoenix 1989 Proposal 2.0 is an entirely remodeled remake of Phoenix 1989 Proposal 1.0. I was originally going to simply update the 1.0 circuit to 1.2 or so, however after close examination of my now defunct layout, I opted to rebuild it from scratch.

Whilst the layout of the circuit itself is essentially the same, the changes to the objects, the inclusion of kerbs and the 'dip' towards the end of the lap (located at the approach to the second last corner), make this an all new version that is worthy of a 2.0 status (in my opinion). I spent a large amount of the build time remodeling all the buildings. I dropped all the texture resolutions to around a 3:1 compression, so therefore the track load time is significantly faster as well as runs a whole lot smoother for those who have older PCs.

The inclusion of 'the dip' towards the end of the lap on the second longest straight was for two reasons. The first is that I felt the circuit needed some undulation to make it feel a little more vibrant. There is a Phoenix 1989 actual track out there for Rfactor which I looked at closely to make my own feel more like it. But without crossing into the "this is not what Phoenix looks like" crowd. I wanted 2.0 to be just like all my other tracks that are based on real world locations. The be exactly that - Based on real places, but with a 'gaming' feel to them.

What is the payoff for making a circuit 100% accurate in this day in age? Will it get me a job for a game company? - unlikely. Will it make me famous? - Haha, I highly doubt that. So what will it get me? Simple. A great big ego. That I can do without. So to those 'purests' out there, I am sorry that this will not be the Phoenix 1989 you hope for. I was only 1 year old, and therefore, could not have seen the race or walked the layout for the 1989 proposal. I hope this circuit brings much fun to the rest of you, and I will always keep making more for those who like them.

As always, I do accept criticism if it is deemed to be constructive. I have not yet made my 'perfect' track, so until that happens. I'll keep making more :)

Enjoy folks!

News 31.05.11

Lower Manhattan Continues

I have only just release my latest version of the Lower Manhattan circuit and already I have started a rough model of an endurance layout for the circuit. It will range from between 4.5km - 6.5km in length. I have not yet modeled the new areas that it will have so check back here in a few short weeks to see what the state of progress is on the 'Porsche' layout.

Phoenix 89 Proposal 2.0

I released Phoenix 1989 1.0 Proposal exclusively to rfactor central some time ago, but I feel it is ready for an overhaul. The previous (current) version was not only inaccurate but a rather large compacted folder. About 100Mb unzipped. Too big I guess for some users. The main issue was the fact that the textures are very large to show of more detail. As it turns out, the detail is not what people want. They want speed, of both the load times and circuit framerates. This is very hard to tackle when I don't know what it is like to run one of my circuits off a hopelessly slow computer. Mine is not a brand-spanking new one, but it runs smooth as a whistle with 40+cars and high settings for all. So I do struggle to be sympathetic with those who's computers have been around since the early 2000s. Either way, I am already well in the thick of it and will have a new version out when it is ready.

Imola 1970s

Obviously this will be modeled off my 1960s version, but with new grandstands, pit buildings, walls, trees etc. This is a little while off, but I am aiming for a mid June release.

Hockenheim 1980s Proposal

Do you dislike the current 'cropped' version of Hockenheim that restored the forest to its former 'natural' state? I do! And if you are like me, you probably wonder why the circuit was changed the way it was. Well, I found that they wanted to change it in the early 1980s also and I have a track layout map too. Well it's time to see if this would have ever worked and build it myself. I have never traveled there and therefore I cannot be 100% accurate. But considering the circuit's '1980s proposal' was never built. I should be ok at coming up with something the rfactor users won't dis me for not being a "real" Hockenheim. This is a while off, but check back here in a few weeks as I will upload photos of the progress.

And that was the news!

Lower Manhattan INDY 1.0 - Released

That's right, I have finally finished the first release of the new lower Manhattan GP layout (dubbed INDY).

It has been a long time coming, though now it should be up on Rfactorcentral and I know it is up and already clocking the downloads

at NoGrip Racing. I have been working on this on and off for the past 3 months. I barely have had a chance to touch it for some time due to work commitments. Though I recently got a new and better working hours job, which has ultimately helped me to complete this circuit and have a normal life once more.

Check the Circuits Thread here to find the exact page links to this circuit. I have also updated a few links as now I have put more circuits to NoGripRacing. NoGrip is vastly becoming my favourite upload site as I can see exactly how many downloads it has reached, as well as the great Thanks and comments I get from the community. It is this feedback that keeps me uploading my creations for you all.

As always, there will be more circuits to come in the not so far off future. So check back here regularly for updates from me about news of my progress on new tracks. I hope you all enjoy the new release. I know that the AIW is not the best. I have been working with Rockett_Man (rfactorcentral name) to develop a new AIW. He made the old one, but I tweaked the layout once more and therefore his AIW did not work, so I made one for the initial release.

Okay that's all for now, enjoy!

Fixed!!!

I don't know how I did it, or what really went wrong in the first place, but now BTB works once more correctly!

I have changed the 'priority' order for my 3 screens (which is somewhat annoying at the same time as being the Saviour) and now I am working on my Lower Manhattan Indy circuit. Look out for this as it is essentially complete and will be available for download from Rfactor Central and No Grip Racing this time up-coming week!

Cheers,

Rodrrico.