The one and only NoLimits 2 Topic

[Turbo]

Originally posted by Freddie

... those of us (maybe just me?) who still like building tracks traditionally by hand. ...

Me too. I really want to play around with the handbuilding in NL2

[Coasterkidmwm]

Originally posted by Freddie

but how about those of us (maybe just me?) who still like building tracks traditionally by hand. Is the old method of building still there?

Dude everyone knows that the ONLY way to make things fun is multivariable vector calculus. When I think of fun that's what I think of I mean seriously who doesn't?

Originally posted by Coasterkidmwm

Dude everyone knows that the ONLY way to make things fun is multivariable vector calculus. When I think of fun that's what I think of I mean seriously who doesn't?

Wait so you're saying that rolling a turn and adding some G's is too hard for you. I agree - sliders can be so difficult sometimes. I often find myself wondering whether I should pull the slider to the left or to the right!

Despite all of this insane math I have to do to figure out whether to slide the sliders left or right, I find it even harder to pull and pinch bezier tweezers for hours and hours in 3D space to shape a drop remotely correctly.

Or we could all pull a dcs221 and use elementary with formulas. And when we don't make anything from it but pretend to be cool, we can pull an RWN and just say "dude use fvds" but not actually use fvds at all so that you sound sophisticated and hipster for using an old tool that's hard.

I still enjoy moving beziers around by hand. I know I'm in the minority.

If the hand building system is as good as it sounds, I think it will also be able to use axis locks when moving nodes around, as well as be able to adjust control handle lengths without moving them. Not that I'll be hand building when there's FVD's and geometry-based segments which are vastly superior and actually give you good track.

Whereas before, I never bothered with those advanced tools; hardly worked with Elementary, never used the element Purg, and wouldn't dare touch the AHG. Then these sort of things evolved and came to be very easy to use while I was gone. Newton 2 was a snap to learn the basics of and when you consider how much work has to go into proper handbuilding, is way faster to get a track out of.

Originally posted by AJClarke0912

Wait so you're saying that rolling a turn and adding some G's is too hard for you. I agree - sliders can be so difficult sometimes. I often find myself wondering whether I should pull the slider to the left or to the right!

Despite all of this insane math I have to do to figure out whether to slide the sliders left or right, I find it even harder to pull and pinch bezier tweezers for hours and hours in 3D space to shape a drop remotely correctly.

Or we could all pull a dcs221 and use elementary with formulas. And when we don't make anything from it but pretend to be cool, we can pull an RWN and just say "dude use fvds" but not actually use fvds at all so that you sound sophisticated and hipster for using an old tool that's hard.

In FVD++, we don't get no fancy sliders. We have to actually adjust a numerical value on this weird graph thingy! Someone needs to revolt against all these newfangled fancy, Ph.D-in-mathematics-requiring tools from the devil!

Originally posted by AJClarke0912

Originally posted by Coasterkidmwm

Dude everyone knows that the ONLY way to make things fun is multivariable vector calculus. When I think of fun that's what I think of I mean seriously who doesn't?

Wait so you're saying that rolling a turn and adding some G's is too hard for you. I agree - sliders can be so difficult sometimes. I often find myself wondering whether I should pull the slider to the left or to the right!

Despite all of this insane math I have to do to figure out whether to slide the sliders left or right, I find it even harder to pull and pinch bezier tweezers for hours and hours in 3D space to shape a drop remotely correctly.

Or we could all pull a dcs221 and use elementary with formulas. And when we don't make anything from it but pretend to be cool, we can pull an RWN and just say "dude use fvds" but not actually use fvds at all so that you sound sophisticated and hipster for using an old tool that's hard.

Speed Monster has some FVD elements in it.

Right, not sure if this has been asked/answered as i haven't been on here for a while. I've looked for the answer, but couldn't find anything. Has it been announced whether nolimits 2 will support other types of 3d objects other than the typical 3ds file format? Will it support obj. files that are more compatible between programs such as blender and Maya?

that just may be the best question asked within the last 2 or 3 pages

Not sure whether or not it would work, but given how many people use SketchUp for No Limits, .skp importing could be a beautiful thing lol.

.ocobject, yo.

The development website confirmed support for .low objects but nothing else. However, NL2 will be able to handle/edit/setup materials in the engine itself, if I remember correctly. Not sure on support for other formats. I'm hoping for .ase support or maybe even .fbx.

It baffles me that you can learn to use FVD++ and whatever other tool you used, but the AHG scared you?

That don't make sense Willis!

[Coasterkidmwm]

When you give garbage to the AHG it gets mad and it gives you this



Link in case I fail at teh htmlz:
http://imgur.com/tBeDN

There have been a lot of questions about hand building in NL2. Even though we've included a new built-in FVD editor, we still feel hand building is central to NoLimits. To improve it, the bezier spline in NL1 has been replaced with a more generalized b-spline. This automatically produces a smoother curve. For additional smoothness we've added many new features, such as the already announced Radius Combs, a depumping tool and some useful vertex options. The interface has also changed. Gone are the control handles, and the points are no longer tied to the spline itself. All sections and nodes have been completely disassociated from the spline resulting in a track creation process that is extremely flexible, forgivable, and powerful. We can't wait to show you the editor with all its functionality.

Regarding 3D object import. Currently only 3DS and LWO are supported. The file format and tools associated with it have to have support the material naming convention that NL2 uses. Also adding import functionality isn't trivial. But these are the sort of features we'll continue to discuss and add as time, demand and possibility allow.

-Kevin

[Coasterkidmwm]

Sounds great!

I know it's been asked before, but I'm not sure if it's been answered. Will we see backwards compatibility with elements and track files? I know some people will still be using NL1 after the NL2 release, and some people may only have NL2.

NL file support (probably via import) has been confirmed several times. Not sure about elements.

I'm still a fan of the newfangled approaches, but I'll definitely give the new tools a try, especially if old-style tracks (i.e. Arrow) are faster (albeit less accurate even with the radius comb) to mimic via handbuilding than geometric vector design.

Good to hear more on 3D object format support. It's unfortunate that 3D object file formats are in a bit of a mess compared to, say, images where we've settled on the PNG format which supports important features. (Unlike the .3ds format.)

Originally posted by coasteragent99

NL file support (probably via import) has been confirmed several times. Not sure about elements.

I'm still a fan of the newfangled approaches, but I'll definitely give the new tools a try, especially if old-style tracks (i.e. Arrow) are faster (albeit less accurate even with the radius comb) to mimic via handbuilding than geometric vector design.

Good to hear more on 3D object format support. It's unfortunate that 3D object file formats are in a bit of a mess compared to, say, images where we've settled on the PNG format which supports important features. (Unlike the .3ds format.)

Can't you just add an element and save that as a track and then import it to get that element in the track file?

Yes, except the more steps you have to make just to be able to test your track, the more time it takes overall. Same reason game artists prefer to be able to export directly to their main program from the 3D modeler. If NL2 can read .nlelem files, it would allow tools that don't get maintained/updated properly to be used directly into NL2 without having to pop out the NL1 editor to save it.

Of course, if NL2's building tools are as good as they seem, all 3rd party tools available now should be obsolete anyways, but I'd want to be sure of that first if we're not able to use .nlelem files directly. =p Although the community will almost certainly continue to advance track building with external tools for NL2, they will probably support NL2's native file format(s) for tracks by then.

Things are getting a bit more complicated now. NL2 will need a 3rd file format for parks. (And the other two for tracks and elements.) I think it should play out fine without issues though.

Edit: Missed this post earlier:

Originally posted by Canadmos

It baffles me that you can learn to use FVD++ and whatever other tool you used, but the AHG scared you?

That don't make sense Willis!

FVD++ is easy after Newton, which was easy because of all the sliders and video tutorials and high school pre-calc/physics. Both are very visual tools with nearly immediate feedback. Although I wasn't very into using trackbuilding tools earlier anyways when they were all .exe's that simply processed a track file. (It was more out of laziness than being unable to figure it out, I suppose? Perhaps it was having to spend time color coding the track that turned me off.)

will double spines be added to x-car's?



i want to believe

I hope there will also be an option for Intamin double spine track.

What is a FVD editor?

Originally posted by TRS

What is a FVD editor?

If I'm not mistaken, F.orce V.ector D.esign editor. It's a special way the program calculates the math behind the physics.

It's designing tracks with forces (rolling, normal, lateral) opposed to things like radius and handbuilding.