CREATING
A NEW TRACK
(page 4)
SETTING LANE POSITION VALUES
If you recall
the .TRK file format, the next piece of information stored for every space is
the Lane Position value. This number represents the distance down the lane that
the space occupies, as well as the space's relationship to the one surrounding
it.
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As was stated before, the number of spaces on the lanes is not
a clear indicator of who is farthest down the lane. |
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The first thing you should notice is the straight. If we just count the number of spaces traveled down the lane, we have a problem since the Middle lane is actually offset by 1/2 a space, ahead of the Left and Right lanes. If three cars were side by side, each landing 6 spaces down the track, they would be tied if we just counted spaces, but in reality the car in the Middle lane should be 1/2 space ahead of the other two.
You'll also notice that by the end of turn 1, the Right lane is 19 spaces long, the Middle is 20, and the Left 22.
If the same three cars were each in one of these spaces, and Formula PC simply counted how many spaces down the lane the cars had traveled, we'd end up with an incorrect assessment of the order.
Although a car in the outside lane would be on space 22, it would not ahead of the other two cars.
This is where Lane Position comes in.
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You can see that by adjusting the Lane Position values for the
Left and Right lanes, we can keep the order of spaces correct
in relation to one another. |
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Let's begin editing the Lane Position values. |
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Notice that the value in the Lane Position textbox. In fact, if you select any space on the inside lane, its Lane Position value is currently 0. |
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Now select either of the two Finish Line spaces on the middle lane. Notice
that their values in the Lane Position textbox are -.5 and .5 respectively.
This
makes sense, considering that the first space on the Left and Right lanes
will start with a Lane Position value of 0.
The first Finish Line space is
on the Middle lane is 1/2 a space back from the first space in the Left and
Right lanes and the second Finish Line space is 1/2 a space ahead, so their
values should be -.5 and .5.
Rather than having to go down the lane, setting the position value for every single space, there is a helpful tool available.
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With the second space of the Middle lane selected (it's the one with the Finish Line on the left half of the space), go to the Tools menu and choose the Reorder Lane command. |
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Now if you click spaces on the Middle Lane, you'll notice that their
values increase as you move farther down the lane.
Select the Finish Line
space on the Right lane and use the Reorder Lane command again. Do the same
with the outside lane.
Now when you select spaces on any of the lanes, you
should see values (other than 0) in the Lane Position textbox.
But if you look closely, you'll notice a problem.
As we discussed, simply
incrementing the Lane Position value by 1 doesn't work. Once we get to a corner,
the values for the spaces need to be adjusted. Try selecting the spaces in the
first corner, particularly near the end of the curve. The spaces on the Left
lane have position values that are too high.
There is no automated way to rectify this situation, so the values in the corners must be set manually.
Using the middle lane as a guide (we won't change any of its values), step along the Right lane, adjusting the values of the Lane Position for each space in the curve. Make each space's value relative to the X.5 value of the Middle lane.
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Here are the values I used (in red, the green values of the Middle lane were set by the Reorder Lane command): |
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Once the Right lane is complete, do the same to the Left lane, modifying the Lane Position values relative to the Middle lane. Keep in mind the Inside lane as well. When the Left and Right lanes are at an equal distance on the track, their values should reflect this.
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Here are the values I used (in blue): |
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Now that the first corner is complete, we need to move to the beginning of the next straight and get the values back on track.
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Select the first space after the corner on the Right lane. If you used the values that I did when setting the space length,
this space should have a length of 1.3 and its Lane Position value
should be 21. To correct this, select the previous space again (the one with the Lane Position value of 21) and use the Reorder Lane command. This will increment all spaces following the one you have selected by 1. |
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Now when you click on the next space,its Lane Position value should be 22. |
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Select the last corner space on the Left lane, then use the Reorder Lane command. This will correct the Left lane and the second straight Lane Positions will be complete.
You will then need to go to the second corner, select the inside lane and modify each space's Lane Position value just like we did for the first corner.
The process as generally works as follows:
1 - Start at the beginning
of each lane (including the Middle), reorder it.
2 - Go to the first corner,
adjust the Lane Position values for all spaces on the Left and Right lanes.
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- Select the space following the corner on the Right lane, reorder it.
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- Select the space following the corner on the Left lane, reorder it.
5
- Move to the next corner
Repeat steps 2-5 until you've set the Lane Positions
for the entire track.
Then things get tricky once more.
The way Formula PC handles the order
of cars on the track is thus:
First are cars on the track that have passed
the entrance to the Pit lane.
Next are cars on the Pit lane and Garages.
Next
are cars on the track that have not yet passed the entrance to the Pit lane.
To
contend with this, we need to pay special attention to the Lane Position values
near the entrance to the Pit lane and on the Pit lane itself.
Once you've set the Lane Position values for the last straight (which connects to, and therefore is also, the first straight... in other words, the straight that has the finish line on it) you'll need to decide which space is going to be the last possible entrance to the Pit lane.
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Here is the position I've chosen as my last possible Pit entrance. The thick red line denotes the cutoff across all three lanes as to what is considered before and after the Pit entrance. |
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To set the Lane Position values for the Pit lane, select the last possible
Pit entrance space and take note of its Lane Position value.
The value for
the last possible Pit entrance I've chosen is 54.
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Select the first space of the Pit lane. Set the Lane Position value for this space to be 1 more than the value of the last possible Pit entrance. Our last possible Pit entrance had a value of 54, so the first Pit space receives a Lane Position value of 55. |
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Now, use the Reorder Lane command. The pit lane should be ordered, each space being 1 more than the previous. |
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We need to set the order of the Garages as well. The Formula De rules state that if a car is in the pit lane, and another is beside it, in the Pit Garage, then the car in the Pit lane goes first. This is to avoid cars getting blocked in their Garages.
For Formula PC to handle this order correctly, we need to set the Lane Position value of each space so that it is .5 less than its matching Pit Paint space. Although the two are side by side, they need to have differing Lane Position values.
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Select the first Pit Paint space (the one next to the black Garage). Note the Lane Position value of this space. The one in my example is 57. The Garage that is next to this Pit Paint space needs to be set at .5 less than 57. |
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Select the Garage and set it's Lane Position value to 56.5 |
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Now use the Reorder Lane command to set the rest of the Garages accordingly. Once the Garages are set the Pit lane Positions are complete. |
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The final step in setting the Lane Position values is to deal with the spaces that fall after the last possible Pit entrance. Since the cars that have passed the Pit entrance go first, their Position values must be set higher than those on the Pit lane.
Recall our listing of what order Formula PC considers the cars:
Past the
Pit entrance first, Pit lane and Garages second, not yet passed the Pit entrance
last. This is the exact order that the Lane Position values need to be in.
We've completed the spaces that fall before the Pit entrance, and we've completed the Pit lane and Garages, so all that's left are the spaces after the Pit entrance. These spaces need to have values that are higher than the last space of the Pit lane.
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Select the last space of the Pit lane and take note of its value. The space in my example has a value of 68. |
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Now, go to the Right lane and select the space following the last possible Pit entrance. |
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The Lane Position value for this space needs to be 1 more than
the last space of the Pit lane, so in this case it needs to be: Set the Lane Position value, then use the Reorder Lane command on the Right lane. |
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Next is the only time we will edit the Lane Position values of the Middle lane.
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Select the space on the Middle lane that is just beyond the diagonal line which denotes the last possible Pit entrance. (Shown on here as a thick, red line) Set the Lane Position of this space to .5 less than the one on
the Right lane. So in this case it would be: Once the Position value is set use the Reorder Lane command on the Middle lane. |
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And the absolutely final step in setting the Lane Position values is to select
the space on the Left lane, just to the right of the thick, red line.
Set
it's value to .5 less than the one on the Middle lane, so in this case it needs
to be:
(68.5 - .5), or 68.
Set the Lane Position value, then use the Reorder Lane command on the Left lane.
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Once all is said and done, the Lane Position values near the Pit entrance of our tutorial should be as follows: |
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We've now completed all Lane Position values for the tutorial track. Take a break, have a coke and a pizza!
That completes the creation of the track
layout.
Next Page of the Tutorial
Return
to the Contents page
CONTACT:
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact
me: onyx@malagraphixia.com
Formula PC ©2000-2001 ONYX (J Boen) This page
and all items pertaining to Formula PC
are in no way related to or endorsed by EuroGames, the makers of Formula Dé.
