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Nightfall's Stuff

Well it seems like there isn't a fix for the above problem :(

But the good news is I've finished the other Narrowboats and am ready for release!

The download will be up shortly but I've got some pictures for while you wait:

Covered Narrowboat

TurasCovered01.jpg


TurasCovered02.jpg


Narrowboat with a Canopy

TurasCanopy01.jpg


Edit:

Download Now!
 
Like i said on shyguy's world, that i think that this is amazing and i do like the colors of it also, and thank you sharing this with us all. :)
 
Very nice - really love the canopy version.

I finally remembered what your rapids idea reminded me of - andreizsmart's Jungle River Expedition:

shot0313.jpg


It's a great idea but you've nailed the main problem of either having visible track or no tracked rides in the park visible. You also seem to have thought of an idea I had of creating animated textures to lay just above ingame water to give the illusion of moving water, which would make what we can do at least slightly more realistic. But we still have the problem of sudden drops and lack of banking. If the Invisible Track was as versatile as the other EP tracks, or had banking at the very least, that would make a huge difference.

Anyway - another very nice CTR. :)
 
Thanks Rupert

I've been thinking about other ways to get around the issue but I've decided to put the idea on hold for now. I have a suspicion that the folks who made the EP track are probably having the same issue as us while trying to make Fjord-Rafting so it's very likely we'll see a proper rapids CTR in the not too distant future.
What would be awesome is if Belgabor expanded his Invisible Doodads set with an invisible paint colour that turned any re-colourable objects invisible. No idea how possible that would be but would solve loads of problems.

I did have one possible idea though. There's an option called the "overtaking flag" which is used for Go Karts. Basically it makes the carts move from side to side so that they can overtake one another. Could this be a way to make the rapids boats have more random movement? I think so but haven’t yet tried it.


For now I've moved onto another project that I've been meaning to do for a while but it's quite ambitious. All I’ll say is that I can promise it'll be something RCT is currently missing. I might start updating pictures of its progress once I have something to show.
 
Tim, are we going to see anything new from you on your new project, because i am looking forward to see your new work mate, because all of your other stuff are amazing. :)
 
gavt1976 said:
Tim, are we going to see anything new from you on your new project, because i am looking forward to see your new work mate, because all of your other stuff are amazing. :)
Click to expand...
I was just about to post something only my session logged out :)


So I thought I’d do the updates a little differently this time. I am about halfway through my latest project as long as everything goes to plan. I don’t want to reveal too much yet but for the sake of having a name I shall call it Project Wave and it will be my first Custom Flat Ride (CFR).

So the idea I had for how this could be a little different. I thought it might be useful if I gave a little insight into the designing phase of a CTR/CFR. Nothing technical just the basic process.

Stage 1: Planning

Every project has to start with a plan. In this case I knew I wanted to have a go at making a CFR. So I had a look at what was already in the game, searched through this topic and others like it to see what people might want and then thought about what I'd actually enjoy creating. Idea in mind I started modelling.

Stage 2: Reference Points

Unlike creating a piece of custom scenery a CFR/CTR has to match certain parameters the game puts on it. For CTR's it is important to consider where the track is in relation to the wheels, the width of the station, where the people will sit and how they will be positioned. For a CFR it is slightly less complex as there is no track the cart has to follow.

To work out these reference points it first helps to consult a guide such as slipcor's Peep Positions which is a collection of pictures for every peep position taken at every angle.

This is a great way to start but the only way to truly know if you've got it right is to import a Skeleton Cart into the game to check that the peep is fitting how you want them to. This is normally a single textured cart. Here are some example from previous projects, can you guess what they became?

How1.jpg

This one actually had no model at all, just the people

Ultimate02.jpg



And below is an example from my latest project. It uses a particularly tough peep position to match up to and so was one of many I used for this project:

Wave01.jpg


But I'm afraid this is where I'll end this update today. The next picture will give too much away for this early stage and I’m afraid I’m such a terribly tease. I’m sure I’ve given you enough to think about ;)
 
No guesses at what it might be? shame.

Anyway I think I've left this long enough. Unfortunately this project has been taking much longer than expected due to the sheer scale of what I'm working on. To make up for it I've also got a second CFR in the works which should be finished much sooner.

But more on that in a minute, first I will continue with stage 2 of the design process by showing the later stages of matching the people to the ride. The first image follows on directly from the skeleton design shown previously but after it’s be fleshed out with most of the details. As such it looks very similar to the final version of the carts:

Wave02.jpg


I'm sure you can guess now what ride I'm working on :p

In case you didn't know it's a Zierer Jet Skis, inspired by the Legoland Version
The key point to notice about the above image is that the handlebars were out of alignment with the peeps hand motion. It’s hard to show without a video of the full motion but as the peep moved the hand didn't always follow the handlebar.

If you are really paying attention you'll notice that I called it a handlebar and not a steering wheel as a Zierer Jet Ski would actually use. This is because of one of the major limits that still exist in RCT. Currently it is not possible to create a new peep animation so a motion has to be borrowed from one of the pre-existing rides, in this case the wind surfer. However a wind surfer does not steer with a steering wheel. Instead I had to came up with my own design that would look appropriate for RCT. A group of the complete boats with the handlebars can seen below:

Wave03.jpg


Stage 3: Creating a CFR

After the carts are tested and everything works well the design needs to be altered from a CTR to a CFR. This process involved designing everything else around the carts. And here it is:

SketchUpWave.jpg


And it is this stage where the project is currently at. The next step is to move the model out of SketchUp and into Blender for animating, edge finding (making everything look lovely and smooth) and putting the reference points in that RCT needs to function. However as this model has 17 objects per cart, 16 carts and at least 4 moving components for each this is taking a very long time. There's very little to show at this stage (Stage 4: Importing) until I come to the animations. But by then the project will almost be ready for release, so this'll probably be the last update pre-finishing.



So now that I've revealed what I'm working on I'm sure you are curious about the second ride? I’ve come to the decision that now I know all the basics it’s time to stop making recreations and start inventing stuff for myself. I've had an idea over the last few days for a brand new ride design inspired by one of the classics. I hope to have this complete very soon but until then I'll leave this little picture:

Motorbike.jpg


Until next time. Feedback always welcomed ;)
 
Great work as usual Tim!

Just downloading the Narrow Boat CTR as I type....
 
This looks preposterously good, I'm really excited to try it. Certainly one of the most ingenious CTRs created, and really quite ambitious.

I just have two questions: Will we be lucky enough to get a generic (basically non-Lego) version in the future? Secondly, I presume this is to be placed in water right? Does this mean that most of the CTR will be below the level of the adjacent shore? And is it possible for the peeps to walk up and down the steps? Or will they go around the outside of its rectangle as often happens? I'm just curious, I'm sure it will work fine.
 
Sorry for the delayed response but you two picked the first of 3 days that I've had no internet to reply :p

Rupert said:
Will we be lucky enough to get a generic (basically non-Lego) version in the future?
Click to expand...
Maybe, the only issue is there is no standard version of Zierer's Jet Ski. All of the rides I've seen have a funky design to matche the theme. This is why I chose the Legoland’s version as bricks aside it's one of the most generic looking ones. But if it’s easy to make another design later I might give it a try.

Rupert said:
Secondly, I presume this is to be placed in water right? Does this mean that most of the CTR will be below the level of the adjacent shore?
Click to expand...
It is meant to be placed in water and so will require belgabor's invisible doodads (invisible paths) for the proper effect. By default the ride goes 1 meter (1 section lower) than where the path will be. So when placing it you put the path exactly on the water then turn it invisible.
This means the entrance will be at exactly the same height as the water line which might have been a slight oversight (it'll look a bit odd if you put it in a pre-existing lake) but I'm waiting to try it out before deciding to change it.

Rupert said:
And is it possible for the peeps to walk up and down the steps? Or will they go around the outside of its rectangle as often happens?
Click to expand...
I can't really say until I've tested it but getting the peeps to walk over the bridges is the plan. In theory if you place the entrance and exit near the steps they won't walk around the outside either. But having not done this part before I don't know how it will turn out.

Thanks everyone else for the other compliments ;D


Progress Report:
I'm working on importing a test ride at the moment which is going well. But life has got in the way (in the good sense) so I'll change the very soon previously posted to just soon.
;)
 
No news I am afraid. I have just started a new job which has been taking up all of my time but hopefully I'll be back on the case soon. The Job in question could potentially provide a lot of inspiration ;)
 
Ok to make up for the lack of news I have made a little something:

TheSwarmBack.jpg


I will be talking to Fredward about uploading it ASAP :D
 
Great work tim :)
Your work is really inspirational. You are very talented ;)
Please finish the zierer water spinners, I need them for my legoland! :D
 
I will do as soon as I can find time to learn the in's and out's of the ovlmaker. Until then I can't get any further with the flat ride projects.
 
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