How to make a replica track in 2018

All about making tracks for MX Simulator
Post Reply
Chicken_Burrito
Posts: 44
Joined: Tue May 29, 2018 6:17 pm
Team: privateer
Location: Kentucky/Tennessee

How to make a replica track in 2018

Post by Chicken_Burrito »

Recently I have gotten the urge to make a local track in mx sim to ride and have fun with but all the tutorials I tried dont work in 2018 because websites and apps are no longer usable. I was wondering if there are any ways to do it in 2018 with out having to write every thing down and try to replicate it in ps or the in game editor. I have looked at a few now ( Storken's on yt, YZmxer's forum post, and aeffertz's forum post) and none of them work now. if you know of a way to do it (mainly get height maps) or if you have a way you think it could work let me know either here or on discord at Chicken_Nuggets#2347. Also the track I am wanting to replicate is Sunset Ridge in Walnut Illinois. Thanks for the help
Image
Wahlamt
Posts: 7933
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2010 3:15 pm
Team: MLG Compton
Location: Sweden
Contact:

Re: How to make a replica track in 2018

Post by Wahlamt »

I know someone posted something, Race maybe(?), but that required a specific version of photoshop I think (like essentials, elements, lightroom or such). But to be completely fair, with the sketchup method, you are better off free-handing it, because the "resolution" is so low in sketchup. Also you'll be able to fine tune if you make it yourself.
christianjonse
Posts: 420
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2017 8:36 pm
Team: Privateer

Re: How to make a replica track in 2018

Post by christianjonse »

That’s one of the tracks that’s in my track list haven’t got to it yet tho
Chicken_Burrito
Posts: 44
Joined: Tue May 29, 2018 6:17 pm
Team: privateer
Location: Kentucky/Tennessee

Re: How to make a replica track in 2018

Post by Chicken_Burrito »

Wahlamt wrote:I know someone posted something, Race maybe(?), but that required a specific version of photoshop I think (like essentials, elements, lightroom or such). But to be completely fair, with the sketchup method, you are better off free-handing it, because the "resolution" is so low in sketchup. Also you'll be able to fine tune if you make it yourself.
aight thanks, Ill give it a shot and if I cant get it to work then oh well
Image
ColtonD719
Posts: 631
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2016 4:15 am
Team: Privateer
Location: Oregon
Contact:

Re: How to make a replica track in 2018

Post by ColtonD719 »

I've been using The National Map and QGIS to get US height data. Depending on the area, the resolution is pretty impressive. For Washougal the DEM was accurate to 1 meter, which was great to work with.
ColtonD719 wrote:From this thread: http://forum.mxsimulator.com/viewtopic. ... 19#p815812
ColtonD719 wrote:Unfortunately, Jakob is correct that SketchUp has been "updated" so that you have to have the Pro version to get terrain data, and even worse, the data is way lower resolution than it used to be. Basically, SketchUp is worthless for this now, IMO. Which sucks because it used to be pretty easy/good quality.

The only way I know of to get good quality terrain data now, aside from going out there with a drone, is using DEMs. There is some helpful discussion on it here: http://forum.mxsimulator.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=8845

Beware, it can be confusing AF. Definitely read down the thread, especially Haggvist's posts.

First you have to find the DEM (height data) and ortho (satellite imagery) that covers the area where your track is located. I don't know about international sources, but for the US, the National Map is very useful: https://viewer.nationalmap.gov/basic/#startUp (Search for "Elevation Products (3DEP)" and "Imagery (NAIP)" in the area of your track.)

Download the highest resolution DEM and ortho available and open them in a program such as Microdem or QGIS (I use QGIS since it is available for Mac). In these programs, you should be able to align your height data and satellite image based on the coordinates embedded in the metadata of the files. Then, zoom in to the part of the map that you want to use in game, and export the height data as 16 or 32-bit grayscale, and export the satellite image as color. You can then open the images in Photoshop/GIMP and convert the grayscale to 16-bit (if it's not already), and proceed to work on them as normal.

Hope that helps! Unfortunately since the new SketchUp it's a way more complicated process, but definitely still possible.
christianjonse
Posts: 420
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2017 8:36 pm
Team: Privateer

Re: How to make a replica track in 2018

Post by christianjonse »

Chicken_Burrito wrote:Recently I have gotten the urge to make a local track in mx sim to ride and have fun with but all the tutorials I tried dont work in 2018 because websites and apps are no longer usable. I was wondering if there are any ways to do it in 2018 with out having to write every thing down and try to replicate it in ps or the in game editor. I have looked at a few now ( Storken's on yt, YZmxer's forum post, and aeffertz's forum post) and none of them work now. if you know of a way to do it (mainly get height maps) or if you have a way you think it could work let me know either here or on discord at Chicken_Nuggets#2347. Also the track I am wanting to replicate is Sunset Ridge in Walnut Illinois. Thanks for the help
I'm actually makin it rn and it looks amazing! heres some pics
Image
Image
Post Reply