Our ReVolt Pub

I was reading prmalloy's page on prmbend, and the idea of using instances as track pieces. I've got two questions on this: 1) How on earth do you get the track pieces aligned with the rest of the track when you do? And 2) If its based on a lego track, how do you remove the existing track pieces to make room for the new pieces?

You need to download the editing keys to makeitgood.
All the help you need is there.
You can get them from Manmountains web site
in the tools part of the site.
You need to print them out so you can look at
them when you are in the editor.
Good luck its not that hard.

I like to use the off road kit world to make tracks.
Load the kit delete the prm that are in there.
And start to add your prms.
You will need to use rvglue to remove parts
from a lego track.
Get rvglue and start to play with it.
You will need it for other things to.
Cya

wowowowowoww thats what i do too

If the track is based off of a Lego, you cannot take off the Lego pieces which are part of the unmodifiable .w file. Also, the pieces cannot be perfectly aligned from what I know. You will have to align them to the best of your ability. Try to deal with 1 view at a time (X, Y, or Z) after you have your instance in the general vicinity of the desired area, then move to the next one. It's easier to concentrate on one thing rather than two.

Apm you can delete lego tracks parts or the whole lego track.
Its a taz split with rvglue.
Ha Ha

Don't build an extreme track in a Lego folder, use
an almost empty nhood1 folder. If you want an
empty nhood1 folder you can download it here:

http://www.box.net/shared/static/lr2gdn35ev.zip

Edit in Time Trial mode.
Backup your original nhood1 folder and put this
folder in your levels folder. All you need to do is
add the prms and .bmps you plan on using into the folder.
Don't build on the little square the car is
sitting on, but add the 1st prm near it.
You will have to Glue the prms into the .w
file to make the track solid, and you will have to
know how to set the start line on the track in the .inf file.
You will need to know most of the MAKEITGOOD edit
modes and how to use rvGlue ( 2 commands are included
in the folder) to make a track.

Ah, well, I don't like RV Glue myself. I try to make the necessary Lego circuit into a decoration such as mountains or a wall or something. But thanks for letting us know about that method.
Also, I never use the nhood1 trick. I just edit it in its own folder. I'm pretty sure it doesn't make much of a difference, as I do not find it exasperating to edit the way I do.
Regards,
APM

Okay, you need RVGlue to remove lego instances. That's informative enough. All I really wanted to know was what's the best way to maneuver an instance into position so that it best aligns with the piece of track you want to attached to? I don't want big gaps between track pieces that cars will bump into or anything like that. How do you make it relatively seamless?

Anyway, it occurs to me that in the track editor, you can build a track that's basically a circle with a starting grid on it (about 6 track pieces required). Then you can build whatever you want with the rest of the track, and the finicky exporter won't care what you do. Then you can move can adjust your .inf file and move your starting grid to wherever you want, and as long as you don't mind creating your own Track Zones, POS nodes and AI, its all good.

First you must know all the keyboard commands for Instance mode.
Remember this: 'Move in Camera mode and rotate in World mode'.
With a prm selected toggle Camera mode and World mode with left
Alt key. Toggle Axis with Tab key. Move the prm to about where
you want it in Axis X Y - Camera mode. To align it with another
prm alternate between Axis X and Y in World mode (and Camera mode).
Use a bright fogcolor so you can see tiny cracks between prms. Fly around
a joint at every angle to check for cracks and for slight adjustments.
If you want to rotate a prm at 90 degree angles always use World mode
(Use Numpad numbers 1, 2, and 3). Numpad numbers 4-9 are also
used (World mode mostly). Numpad 0 resets prm to original
position. Never try to rotate in Camera mode.
To Clone a prm hold down left Shift key and and drag a clone
with the mouse. Clone floor pieces in X Axis in World mode.
Clone wall pieces in Camera or World modes X Axis.
Axis X moves a prm sideways at an even level. Axis Y moves a
prm up and down Axis Z has no use that I know of.
All this takes practice. Try making a seamless box using
6 equal sized square prms. This info is mostly about
aligning square flat prms, which are what I use to build for most
of my tracks

Basically what I said except with the whole MAKEITGOOD key chart included.

EDIT: Also, hil, the Z axis is towards and away from you. The X is left and right, the Y is up and down, and the Z is towards and away from you.

Aeon,

Starting with a small lego oval is the way extreme tracks were 1 st made

If you search some of the early efforts, you will find it - I believe that, in the 1st Hull Breach track, it is to the left of the start line. (But my memory's not too good!)

Geoff

I personally find it rather sad that people find the Lego part of their extreme tracks an aberration. I would take advantage of it rather than shun it. Like I said before, turn it into a decoration!