Dear NWDA friends,
I'm glad to announce that the procedural Road and Tarmac pack, as introduced in this thread (http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=11859.msg120565#msg120565), is now generally available.
I would like to thank everybody for their continued interest in this project, and for all the encouragement that let me to finishing this as a product on NWDA.
Here is the link to the product page: http://www.nwdanet.com/buy/7-preset-packs/79-road-and-tarmac-pack
Best regards,
Frank
Nice! I'll have to save up some money to buy this :)
Congrats, super usefull!
Quote from: darthvader1 on January 24, 2012, 11:32:30 PM
Nice! I'll have to save up some money to buy this :)
Hi darthvader1,
Thanks!
You have probably looked at the commercial use price. If you pick private use only, it's 6.99 Euro, which currently is about 9 USD.
Cheers,
Frank
Frank, the examples look great. But, how much do we need to worry about terrain being uneven when applying the roads? Not to worry - I'm still interested; just wondering how much work a bumpy terrain would be to cover, etc.
Hi Rob,
the road will be not bumpy at all, unless you change the setting to have the road inherit more of the roughness of the main terrain.
By default, the road will "cut" a valley into your main terrain along the road path, and run through it mostly flat.
I chose this as the default approach, as otherwise it would have been next to impossible to make it work on any terrain. Now it's easy to use and it's really cool how many possibilities for new, interesting scenes come up once you have a procedural road at your disposal :)
Cheers,
Frank
Thank you, Frank, for the explanation and making this as you did. I can't wait to get it. Sometime soon...
Quote from: FrankB on January 25, 2012, 08:52:38 AM
Hi Rob,
the road will be not bumpy at all, unless you change the setting to have the road inherit more of the roughness of the main terrain.
By default, the road will "cut" a valley into your main terrain along the road path, and run through it mostly flat.
I chose this as the default approach, as otherwise it would have been next to impossible to make it work on any terrain. Now it's easy to use and it's really cool how many possibilities for new, interesting scenes come up once you have a procedural road at your disposal :)
Cheers,
Frank
Hi again.
That first image in the examples you put up on your website is gorgeous! The road looks great and the terrain is beautiful. TEACH ME! lol ;) No really, this one would make a great tutorial. Perhaps using tutorials as a method to sell products might be a good way to go. Videocopilot.net does it that way. You buy a product and it comes with a few tutorials on how to use the product in a creative way.
Sorry for talking so much, but this new stuff is getting me excited ;D
I wish I could do all that, but I'm lacking the time to follow up on every possibility :)
Seriously, If I were to make a tutorial on how I created that scene from scratch, it would take probably days. A lot of hours went into making this.
Anyway, thanks for the kind words.
Frank
I bought this, and it's really cool. I am having a little difficulty with the tgc file. I don't know what to connect where.
I was able to use the soft sides (?) mask to map out the terrain fractal and color on the shaders. That was about as far as I could go.
The road position and road width are simple enough. I get lost after that.
Quote from: njeneb on January 27, 2012, 07:37:20 AM
I bought this, and it's really cool. I am having a little difficulty with the tgc file. I don't know what to connect where.
I was able to use the soft sides (?) mask to map out the terrain fractal and color on the shaders. That was about as far as I could go.
The road position and road width are simple enough. I get lost after that.
There should be an example project that essentially shows how to connect the tgc, have you tried that yet?
Yes, but that really got me lost. We have very different procedures on terrain and shader construction. I was unable to alter the terrain except through the adjust altitude for the heightfield.
Edit: Kick me. I disabled the height field. Added a power fractal where the 'replace me' node was. Works great. 8)
Quote from: njeneb on January 27, 2012, 07:42:23 AM
Yes, but that really got me lost. We have very different procedures on terrain and shader construction. I was unable to alter the terrain except through the adjust altitude for the heightfield.
Just go to the heigtfield shader and click position centre and then generate a terrain. Or alternatively reposition the road to run over your terrain, using the z value of the "position road" node.
This will give you a road that's kind of painted onto your terrain. If you need the road to run through your terrain smooth and flat, you need to consult the full project tgd. That's were it gets more complicated though. Check out the Terrain Group and see what's going on there.
Frank
Quote from: njeneb on January 27, 2012, 07:42:23 AM
Edit: Kick me. I disabled the height field. Added a power fractal where the 'replace me' node was. Works great. 8)
haha, happens to all of us.
Henry, what do you think about the yellow sticky notes in the full project?
They are good. I can see beginners having trouble using them. Maybe a project file with the major nodes that build the road collapsed would be less confusing.
A note of what the different masks are, and possible uses and where to connect them would be helpful.
A pdf file explaining the various connections would be a good idea. Perhaps someone wants a path, or a river. Knowing what to disconnect or re-connect and where to add new shaders would be helpful. I believe experienced users can figure this out.
Quote from: njeneb on January 27, 2012, 09:04:39 AM
...Maybe a project file with the major nodes that build the road collapsed would be less confusing.
As far as I know the package comes with a completely uncollapsed network, showing everything, and a collapsed version only showing the handful significant paramters.
I'm working on masking objects so they sit outside the roadway. I had to add a compute terrain between the Road Repair Bumps surface layer and the objects so they would sit on the terrain. The Road Repair Bumps is the last Surface layer in the shaders group.
Here goes the first try using the .tgc. Center line is not 'dashed'. Here in the states, the outer lines are white, The center lines (double and not dashed for 'no passing; and, are yellow). Otherwise, for passing, the center yellow is dashed for passing.
I wanted to go for the black pavement; when did so, the road turned yellow.
Hey, no complaints here; having fun with this. If you can steer me before I go into a several week journey maybe you can shorten that ...see image.
Quote from: choronr on January 28, 2012, 01:21:29 AM
Here goes the first try using the .tgc. Center line is not 'dashed'. Here in the states, the outer lines are white, The center lines (double and not dashed for 'no passing; and, are yellow). Otherwise, for passing, the center yellow is dashed for passing.
I wanted to go for the black pavement; when did so, the road turned yellow.
Hey, no complaints here; having fun with this. If you can steer me before I go into a several week journey maybe you can shorten that ...see image.
Hi Bob,
when you switch to the black tarmac, you need blend the yellow paint by the paint mask, otherwise - as you discovered - the whole road will be yellow.
Secondly, if you use the tgc, then for the road to run flat on the terrain, you need to either position the road onto a flat piece of terrain, or use the "embed road in terrain" method you can find in the full project. The latter may require some study, but I have made notes for explaining the key parts.
Cheers,
Frank
I have been having fun with this also. Mostly poking around disconnecting things and re-connecting. It's quite complicated, but Frank has made explanations in notes. This is a fantastic setup.
So who will make the first "Gran Turismo" sequence with this? ;)
Quote from: FrankB on January 28, 2012, 04:34:32 AM
Quote from: choronr on January 28, 2012, 01:21:29 AM
Here goes the first try using the .tgc. Center line is not 'dashed'. Here in the states, the outer lines are white, The center lines (double and not dashed for 'no passing; and, are yellow). Otherwise, for passing, the center yellow is dashed for passing.
I wanted to go for the black pavement; when did so, the road turned yellow.
Hey, no complaints here; having fun with this. If you can steer me before I go into a several week journey maybe you can shorten that ...see image.
Hi Bob,
when you switch to the black tarmac, you need blend the yellow paint by the paint mask, otherwise - as you discovered - the whole road will be yellow.
Secondly, if you use the tgc, then for the road to run flat on the terrain, you need to either position the road onto a flat piece of terrain, or use the "embed road in terrain" method you can find in the full project. The latter may require some study, but I have made notes for explaining the key parts.
Cheers,
Frank
Thanks Frank, I will be doing a lot of studying and experimenting here - this is exciting. Yes, I did use the .tgc on a fractal terrain. At first, after attaching the .tgc, I didn't see it until I started navigating around. Finding flat spots (or creating them) is certainly necessary. Once more comfortable with these files, I'm thinking of doing an 'On the Road Again' series - (might even grow a beard like 'Willie').
Quote from: DutchDimension on January 28, 2012, 12:05:20 PM
So who will make the first "Gran Turismo" sequence with this? ;)
lol, on pourrai si on faisait tous ensemble.
I'm entirely guessing on this, but my assumption is that the center line on the road can be a different color? I figured it's a separate procedural element, so it could be colored separately as well. All of us in the States need that. ::)
Quote from: digitalis99 on January 29, 2012, 12:12:03 AM
I'm entirely guessing on this, but my assumption is that the center line on the road can be a different color? I figured it's a separate procedural element, so it could be colored separately as well. All of us in the States need that. ::)
absolutely, yes. There are alternative yellow lines shipping with the product. Everything about the road is procedural indeed.
regards,
Frank
Quote from: digitalis99 on January 29, 2012, 12:12:03 AM
I'm entirely guessing on this, but my assumption is that the center line on the road can be a different color? I figured it's a separate procedural element, so it could be colored separately as well. All of us in the States need that. ::)
Reading Frank's notes, there is a way you can change the color of the center line.
This Quick render (2.3 hours) worked out pretty nice. Trying to decide if some tweaking is needed; and, debating whether or not to put a car on the road.
Bob
Nice one, Bob. I don't like those shiny horizontal things but it looks very good otherwise.
Quote from: dandelO on February 04, 2012, 02:02:52 PM
Nice one, Bob. I don't like those shiny horizontal things but it looks very good otherwise.
Thanks Martin. The reflectivity of the road patches could be toned down a bit I guess.
Hi Bob, this looks really good. Thanks for finding such a nice place for the road ;)
Regards,
Frank
Quote from: FrankB on February 04, 2012, 07:24:38 PM
Hi Bob, this looks really good. Thanks for finding such a nice place for the road ;)
Regards,
Frank
Thank you Frank. Getting near ready for the final render. Added a car on the road and need to work out some problems.
A car is not really needed, but a few potholes might be nice. And I'm not very keen on the lines either. And the tree on the left is nice for sense of depth, but the roots are a bit nasty. Perhaps some grass around it's roots to camouflage.
I for one do like the fact that there are these repair lines, Bob!
I must say though they are probably a bit too reflective. By the way if you want less lines, decrease the color offset in the power fractal of the Road Repair bumps group
Cheers,
Frank
A nasty surprise. I opened my file to continue working on the image only to get the attached error warning. I noted that now, I have an extra set of cameras, an extra set of suns, enviro light; and, atmospheres. Also have an extra set of quick and 'full renders' which are set at 1.3333 whereas mine were set at 2.
After two weeks of work, looks like I will be losing all of it.
Quote from: choronr on February 05, 2012, 05:26:53 PM
A nasty surprise. I opened my file to continue working on the image only to get the attached error warning. I noted that now, I have an extra set of cameras, an extra set of suns, enviro light; and, atmospheres. Also have an extra set of quick and 'full renders' which are set at 1.3333 whereas mine were set at 2.
After two weeks of work, looks like I will be losing all of it.
don't you do incremental saves and go back to previous version?
Quote from: FrankB on February 05, 2012, 05:28:34 PM
Quote from: choronr on February 05, 2012, 05:26:53 PM
A nasty surprise. I opened my file to continue working on the image only to get the attached error warning. I noted that now, I have an extra set of cameras, an extra set of suns, enviro light; and, atmospheres. Also have an extra set of quick and 'full renders' which are set at 1.3333 whereas mine were set at 2.
After two weeks of work, looks like I will be losing all of it.
don't you do incremental saves and go back to previous version?
Yes always; and, tried to go back to previous version and nothing happens. Also noted, all my vegetation models are gone!
Bob, open the .tgd in a text editor and navigate to line 6369 of the text, you can find a line counter online if you don't already have one. Look for any strange symbols, like asterisks, hash symbols, ampersands in that line and delete them. It's probably coming from a single keystroke of one of those non alphabetic symbols giving this error. Once you delete the symbol, close and save the file and it should work again.
Quote from: dandelO on February 05, 2012, 05:40:21 PM
Bob, open the .tgd in a text editor and navigate to line 6369 of the text, you can find a line counter online if you don't already have one. Look for any strange symbols, like asterisks, hash symbols, ampersands in that line and delete them. It's probably coming from a single keystroke of one of those non alphabetic symbols giving this error. Once you delete the symbol, close and save the file and it should work again.
Thanks Martin. Never did this before. Would MS Word work? Will be leaving my home soon to meet some out of town visitors; will be back later this evening and try it.
I'd say to pass the .tgd to me and I'd hopefully fix it but as it contains the road pack which I don't have, I'd go to this link and it tells you how to display and then remove the displayed line count of a text document in Word. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/add-or-remove-line-numbers-HP001229279.aspx
Quote from: dandelO on February 05, 2012, 06:26:02 PM
I'd say to pass the .tgd to me and I'd hopefully fix it but as it contains the road pack which I don't have, I'd go to this link and it tells you how to display and then remove the displayed line count of a text document in Word. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/add-or-remove-line-numbers-HP001229279.aspx
Thank you Martin,
In this case, I would neither add nor remove a line as MS explains; but, modify it if it contains unwanted characters (as you recommended). Then, upon modifications, reopen the entire file to see if that fixed it ...I think.
Yes, as soon as the file is modified, I'd just hit close and select yes in the save dialogue, that way, it would save the original.tgd that you opened, instead of as a new text doc. The line count display is only to direct you to the offending line, don't leave it displayed when closing and saving the file. I think there are instructions to remove the line count display after the instructions on how to display them, on the above page.
I suspect MS word will not handle the formatting correctly. Use notepad or a notepad alternative like notepad++ or PSPad. But before to make a copy of the TGD *before* editing it! Do not work on the original. It's very possible that your data is retrievable, but you want to be careful in your efforts to do so as you may lose whatever you have left still in the process.
- Oshyan
Thanks Martin and Oshyan, I'll do what I can with this. Also, I've been doing some adjusting with the file that came up with the error. As said earlier. after the error message, I wound up with almost two of everything (except the objects which I did find later). I've been disabling and deleting where I can. Exceptions are the extra renderers which I can't delete. I had to readjust the image size; readjust the sun settings amongst a few other things. We'll see how this goes before I do the line adjustment ...good luck to me I guess.
I saw almost the same thing happening when I made a file that contained an asterisk as text in a note node. The project loaded with a similar error and lots of nodes missing/doubled/empty and other things. Once I edited the offending characters out in a text editor it worked perfectly just as it was before.
And yes, definitely work on a copy!
Quote from: dandelO on February 06, 2012, 01:05:55 AM
I saw almost the same thing happening when I made a file that contained an asterisk as text in a note node. The project loaded with a similar error and lots of nodes missing/doubled/empty and other things. Once I edited the offending characters out in a text editor it worked perfectly just as it was before.
And yes, definitely work on a copy!
I have corrected the automobile issue. Toned down the reflection of the road repairs. All populations are working. I noted, the file has no name. About ready to go to bed. Will leave my system on overnight. Tomorrow, I'll run a quick render. If this comes out OK, I'll do a final render. Then, I'll clean up the file and do a 'save as' with a new name ...pheeew, this has been a learning experience in many ways. Thanks to you, Frank and Inkydigit for all your input.
Looks like by this quick render, everything worked out well thanks to all of you. Now, on to the Final render and corrections to the file. We'll call it 'Larch Mountain Trail' like the one in Oregon.
... looks really great, except that the car is way too big. Don't forget to make it smaller before starting the final render!
Cheers,
Frank
Thanks Frank, I'll reduce it by 10 to 12% and see.
looking good Bob... looking forward to the final..!
:)
Quote from: inkydigit on February 06, 2012, 02:39:22 PM
looking good Bob... looking forward to the final..!
:)
Thanks Jason, will be rendering soon.
And you should alter the refraction index of the car's body paint. Did you set the reflective shader to RT? Then set the index to 1.6 or so.
Quote from: Dune on February 07, 2012, 02:03:29 AM
And you should alter the refraction index of the car's body paint. Did you set the reflective shader to RT? Then set the index to 1.6 or so.
Thank you Ulco, I will make a test trying your suggestion. I did not set the reflective shader to RT. I once set a Reflective shader to RT in a previous project and it took ages to render. I guess it depends where it is really needed such as in this case.
I don't think it'll be very burdensome is this case, as it's a fairly smooth car. You get into trouble with all sorts of small angles, like in complicated waves. But it would make your car really polished. And if you want some dirt over that shine, just add another PF after the reflective shader with one color (or through a surface shader set to 0.5 coverage). You can even blend that dirt by a distribution shader (max height) to get only the underside dirty... etc, etc.
Quote from: Dune on February 08, 2012, 03:26:46 AM
I don't think it'll be very burdensome is this case, as it's a fairly smooth car. You get into trouble with all sorts of small angles, like in complicated waves. But it would make your car really polished. And if you want some dirt over that shine, just add another PF after the reflective shader with one color (or through a surface shader set to 0.5 coverage). You can even blend that dirt by a distribution shader (max height) to get only the underside dirty... etc, etc.
Good suggestions Ulco for those who will be using Frank's road files. This particular suggestion of getting the underside dirty is great - would like to see someone couple Frank's file with Andy's 'Epic Failure' (mud puddles/tracks) and a vehicle driving through.
Can the procedural road be adapted easily to a dirt road? If so, can wagon wheel ruts be added e.g. instead of lines?
I don't know how Frank's file works, but it shouldn't be any problem.
This can be used for paths and streams. Use the clip file. You'll need to create your own shaders to replace the pavement and traffic lines.
I have been playing around with this. I use a surface layer in the shaders tab. To test the node groups, plug one into this surface layers color and displacement inputs, see what happens. Then try another node group. You may have to move the camera closer to the 'road' to notice the differences.
Quote from: PeanutMocha on February 15, 2012, 08:53:27 PM
Can the procedural road be adapted easily to a dirt road? If so, can wagon wheel ruts be added e.g. instead of lines?
Define "easy" ;)
It's possible for an experienced user, but it doesn't come out of the box like this.
Regards,
Frank
Cool, I'll give it a try.