Hand Building Problems....

I usually hand build all my elements [:O] but occasionally I run into some problems. For example, I can't seem to get the node smoother to work properly with my tracks. It makes the bumps worse. I know a lot of people are into the new tools like Elementary and Purgatorium to assist them with their creations, but is there anyone out there who does it the old-fashioned way that can help me with some smoothing issues??? Specifically, curves and curved hills and their associated elements like half loops, tilt loops, and tilted helixes...

Thanks!!!

Well...al my tracks are 100% hand built, and the track smoother works for me in some cases, but makes it worse a lot of the time. If you smooth it as much as possible before you use the smoother it helps a lot, or if the node you're trying to smooth is really low to ground, the handles will run into the ground and won't smooth it properly. Thats all i know, im still trying to figure it out myself[lol]if i find something useful i'll post it here.

Track smoother... Usually if it makes it worse, there are two few segments, use the smoother only when neccesary, a lot of nodes can be easily smoothed.

Yes, I know they can, but HOW is what I'm getting at... for example, I usually make a complete turn in 3 segments. Level to bank, curve, bank to level. End of story. Either you get that curve right or you don't.... I can't seem to get the elements that appear in my brain to come out in my coasters. They're always too bumpy. Joining two curves is a huge problem for me too - especially if they're tilted. There's always this little moment of hesitation as you cross the vertex where they meet.

You need to make smaller segments. The smoother has a formula and if it is too big of a segment, itll still shrink the handles as if it were a smaller one.

[jayman]

i've always found the smoother useful.. phantom was the only ride i ahged so far. i found that it's best to build a little, check it out, smooth it, check it out again and keep building if i like the results.. also the tip about raising the track is a good one, sometimes the smoother will adjust control points past the 0' level and bottoms of hills get munched.
theres also a really good tool i got off of coaster candy.. it was basically a group of objects that you can use as templates for making curves, bittoms of hills and tops of hills.. i found this veeerrry useful for shaping turns... never really used it for much else.
i was actually very pleased with the ahg too, BUT it can be a headache if you try to apply it at the wrong points in the track..

How about taking that 3 segment turn, chopping it into 6 segments. Then run the smoother.

I already addressed this problem in the AHG Problem thread right beneath this one. The smoother (ANG AHG) hate large segments. Infact, if its larger than 40ft and turns more than 30-40 degrees, chop it in 2. Thats when the smoother and AHG work best.