Designing 3d racing scifi circuits on paper.

[pichuscute]

I'm not sure if this is a best place for a topic like this, but I gave it a good guess.

In any case, I'm doing some game design as a hobby of mine that would benefit a lot from on-paper racing circuit designing (3d modeling isn't really a good option). So, I'm wondering if there are any members here who might have some insight on how a scifi styled racing circuit design might look on paper? And if anyone else has started circuit design on paper or started with other methods?

Any discussion would be super helpful! Thanks!

[Xpand]

I don't know how other people do it, but this is basically how I do it:

I usually start with a simple line drawing like this:
Attachment 10759

Or something more complex with scenery placement:
Attachment 10758

But most of the times I already have a mock-up of the circuit layout done in 3D, so what I do is more detailed views of the scenery for each section of a track, which I might or might not follow afterwards (not all of these are for the same track):
Attachment 10753
Attachment 10754
Attachment 10755
Attachment 10756
Attachment 10757

If you don't have a 3D mockup already, you can use these to determine the elevation of the track.

The important thing though is testing the layout before working on the scenery. Many times I've fallen into the mistake of just rushing through a track without properly testing its layout, and it's a pain when you realize you have to remake it because even just one section is virtually impossible to fly through at high speeds.

[pichuscute]

That sounds like a great help! And really useful advice, too. I hadn't really thought about it yet, but it totally makes sense to be testing the track layout before bothering too much with scenery, because otherwise a lot of the design might have to be scrapped. I really appreciate the help! Once I get some more of what I'm doing finalized (and really get the hang of 3d modeling), I'll have to share some of what I'm doing here with the board.

Unfortunately, though, the attachments don't seem to be working correctly ;-; So, I can't see the examples that you gave me.

[Xpand]

Ah this always happens for some reason. There, fixed it.

[pichuscute]

Ah this always happens for some reason. There, fixed it.

No worries! Thank you so much! This will be a great jumping off point for me. I might post my results at some point and sort of work through the process in this thread. Seems like it could be a good resource to have for the designers on the forums, anyway.

[Amaroq Dricaldari]

Those examples look awesome, Xpand, I must say!

@pichuscute I don't have a lot of experience with actually drawing anything, but trying to draw the track overview from multiple angles and/or doing a cross section might help with tracks that have lots of complex elevation and/or multiple levels (like tunnels or overlapping sections). Also, because art is not always to scale, you could always break it up into sections and write down the scale of different measurements, like 1 cm = 5 meters, or you could write down what angle a corner is supposed to be, or something.

[mannjon]

Step one is to use some form of scaling to be as accurate as possible at a top down view as possible. Come up with how the track will look from above, and don't include any buildings initially.

Next, fill in the orthographic views. For the uninitiated in the field of design, these are simply top, bottom, and sides. Since you have the top view done, draw guidelines from points in your top view to work out the sides. Use you top down view to translate the points to the sides, and you will end up with a top view and 4 side views (think of it like how this would look on cube sides...

top.png - Top

front.png - Front

sides.png - All Sides

From this point, you need to use guidelines to start filling in details based on how points correspond to other points. Isometric views always use 30 and 60 degrees for each side, but this is not true perspective. For now, just worry about the Isometric views.

Once you do that, decide on a perspective (2 point or 1 point), and redraw based on true perspective. Here is an example of a standard two point perspective grid. Note the two points where the perspective lines start from. Usually, these points extend beyond the page, but I've shown them for simplicity's sake.

perspective.png - 2 point perspective example.

Using all these drafting techniques listed above will hopefully help you on your way. Good luck!

[Amaroq Dricaldari]

"Invalid Attachment Specified."

[mannjon]

Jeez again? Why does this happen? These are small png files web optimized.

[Xpand]

The attachment system is kinda broken. If you readd the attachments from the uploaded attachments list it'll work.

[mannjon]

Thanks! That did it. They show now.