How to extrude a road segment?

Mossie · 24th April 2009, 04:33 PM

You can, it is about know how far you can push the TCE.

Select the whole road and map it to the texture, then in the TCE map it so the road surface is on top of the model.

Now you should see a curved road on the texture and not lined up at all.

Depending how much curve you have will depend on how far you'll have to push the mapping around.

Move the mapped area off the side of the texture, you need to do this to allow you working room and not to allow the model to get in the way.

Select each segment, remap it to the texture, or just select Max. The segment will now fit the texture, but may be off centre or angled.

Then switch the TCE from surface to vertex. You then select all the left hand edges and straighten them up along the left hand edge or the road texture. Do the same for the right hand side.

Continue to do this for each road segment.

Now you have a curved road mapped to a straight texture.

Hope this description helps.

Box5 · 24th April 2009, 06:18 PM

Thanks for the feedback.

What I ended up trying was made a rectangle road segment and textured it. Then used the replicator like you said, and set it on duplicate not extrude. I made the long straight away with that, and for the curves, I just duplicated a single road segment and rotated it X degrees, snapped the vertice of the road segment to the existing piece, and repeated for a turn. I could have used alot more road segments to make a really smooth road, but I need to keep poly count low for collision in game. After the road was done, I merged all objects and welded the vertice so there were no duplicates. Here's some pics of what it turned out like.

lisa · 2nd June 2009, 07:42 PM

Your road looks great. That and all your trucks look really sharp.

Another trick: You can also use "abuse of greeble" method to avoid re-texturing.

Use the cross section method Mossie suggested to build the base road. ("Road A") The mapping will be incorrect, as previously mentioned.

Next, make a single chunk of road that is correctly mapped as if you were going to use the replicator method. ("Road B")

Then use the Greeble tool and assign the single road section as a custom Greeble. Set the Greeble tool to 100% with 1 greeble per face, and greeble the original road (Road A) you made with the road section (Road B). This gives the same effect as if you had laid them all down via the replicator, but without having to position each piece.

Here's an older thread showing how to make a chain by abuse-of-greeble, but it's the same idea. http://www.inivis.com/forum/showthre...=greeble+chain

Box5 · 9th June 2009, 10:18 PM

Thanks lisa, that will make alot less work from now on.

24th April 2009, 04:33 PM	#1
Mossie Senior Member Professional user Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: UK Posts: 369	Re: How to extrude a road segment? You can, it is about know how far you can push the TCE. Select the whole road and map it to the texture, then in the TCE map it so the road surface is on top of the model. Now you should see a curved road on the texture and not lined up at all. Depending how much curve you have will depend on how far you'll have to push the mapping around. Move the mapped area off the side of the texture, you need to do this to allow you working room and not to allow the model to get in the way. Select each segment, remap it to the texture, or just select Max. The segment will now fit the texture, but may be off centre or angled. Then switch the TCE from surface to vertex. You then select all the left hand edges and straighten them up along the left hand edge or the road texture. Do the same for the right hand side. Continue to do this for each road segment. Now you have a curved road mapped to a straight texture. Hope this description helps. __________________ Regards, Gerry "Mossie" Mos -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WW1 Aircraft Library http://ww1-aircraft.info/ Mossie 3D CAD, "Prompt and Precise" http://mossie3dcad.com/

24th April 2009, 06:18 PM	#2
Box5 Member Advanced member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: NW Posts: 48	Re: How to extrude a road segment? Thanks for the feedback. What I ended up trying was made a rectangle road segment and textured it. Then used the replicator like you said, and set it on duplicate not extrude. I made the long straight away with that, and for the curves, I just duplicated a single road segment and rotated it X degrees, snapped the vertice of the road segment to the existing piece, and repeated for a turn. I could have used alot more road segments to make a really smooth road, but I need to keep poly count low for collision in game. After the road was done, I merged all objects and welded the vertice so there were no duplicates. Here's some pics of what it turned out like. Attached Thumbnails

2nd June 2009, 07:42 PM	#3
lisa Senior Member Professional user Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 917	Re: How to extrude a road segment? Your road looks great. That and all your trucks look really sharp. Another trick: You can also use "abuse of greeble" method to avoid re-texturing. Use the cross section method Mossie suggested to build the base road. ("Road A") The mapping will be incorrect, as previously mentioned. Next, make a single chunk of road that is correctly mapped as if you were going to use the replicator method. ("Road B") Then use the Greeble tool and assign the single road section as a custom Greeble. Set the Greeble tool to 100% with 1 greeble per face, and greeble the original road (Road A) you made with the road section (Road B). This gives the same effect as if you had laid them all down via the replicator, but without having to position each piece. Here's an older thread showing how to make a chain by abuse-of-greeble, but it's the same idea. http://www.inivis.com/forum/showthre...=greeble+chain

9th June 2009, 10:18 PM	#4
Box5 Member Advanced member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: NW Posts: 48	Re: How to extrude a road segment? Thanks lisa, that will make alot less work from now on.