|
Stage making Tips
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 09-06-2019 08:56
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
Stage making Tips:
When starting to make stages myself i found that there was some good guides to get going, but very few tips to help me after that. So i thought that now where I have found the solution to many of the issues and options i would like to share some.
This is not ”the getting starte guide", you can find some good ones here”:
https://pcmdaily.com/tipstricks.php?c...php?cat=15 or just youtube Stage Editor Pro Cycling manager. This will be short tip focusing on a precise topic.
I will try to post a new tip on a regular basis, at least for a period.
Other stage makers are welcome to comment, (others may well know more than me or use other solutions) or post their own tips.
Anyone is welcome to ask questions, maybe i can help maybe others can.
Overview of posts:
(1) Making ITT
(2) Adding spectators
(3) Using Spawn fence Entrance
(4) Snap/unsnap objects to landscape
(5) Spawn Spline Spawnable
(6) Water
(7) Road Points
Edited by Tamijo on 22-06-2019 12:47
|
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 09-06-2019 08:58
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
(1.0) Making ITT
When i first started i had some difficulties find out how to make the ITT, TTT.
The solution is very simple if you know it, but if you don’t it is frustrating.
It is all about changing start, finish and intermediate sprints.
The start is logic, as you just have to select Start Time trail from the sprint menu:
Then you can as usual place a flat finish and add one or two intermediate sprints (Time checks in ITT), but what fooled me was that you have to change those in the “sprints popup” like this, here you also chose between the ITT and TTT:
That’s all you need to do
Edited by Tamijo on 11-06-2019 14:48
|
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 09-06-2019 09:10
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
(2.0) Playing with spectator (borders)
Scenario: Your stage is ready, but you have found a section where you want more spectators:
So what you can do is making a "fake" spawn wallhouses to force more spectators, if you follow the roads closely no houses will appear. Otherwise delete them one by one.
EDIT:
aussie have pointed to the fact that you dont have to follow the roads closely to avoid townhouses spawning as you can unclick them in the "spawn wallhouses" setup, for now just to mention as I will cover the "spawn wallhouses" deeply later when we get to the city/town/village biuld.
We got some ugly sidewalk and side banners, but we can get rid of them by un-x few easy boxes in the “spawn wallhouses side panel” , and then regenerate borders:
Most times you would accept this result, but if we got time could do a bit more, as we have got some spectators inside a car and standing on the road.
The thing is if you click directly on a border element, you get a side banner where you can hide these elements (sadly only one by one), they will turn RED and disappear next time you re-generate borders:
I put the car back in place and also removed some of the crash barriers (gives a nice variation to the stage), and I guess we can move on to the next stage
Edited by Tamijo on 11-06-2019 15:12
|
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 09-06-2019 10:27
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
(3.0) Using Spawn fence Entrance.
Wall is great, looks good in so many situations, can hardly use to many, but the icing on the cake is to remember to insert Entrance from time to time.
Here we got a situation with Fence preset 14 def, LightFence preset 06 and Fortification preset 07 def (yes I know  it is just an example.)
Now to make this more interesting I will add some Entrances in all of them, notice that I use the slider to place it exactly where I want it (getting the spectator in the middle)
Hit the wall point where you want it, mouse-click to get the right direction, and then hit “Insert Object” under Entrance for selected curve, in the fence side panel.
I think it looks a lot better.
Edited by Tamijo on 11-06-2019 14:49
|
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 09-06-2019 16:47
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
(4.0) To snap (or not to snap) objects to landscape
Most people with just some experience will know that you can unsnap an object to the landscape, but for those few that does not, I will cover it anyway because it is so basic to anything else that may come later.
How to?
This is where you do it, and the Red/Green triangle is up and down, the blue is to the sides, pressing SHIFT you get the rotation.
Where to use that?
There is many ways to use this, some I will get back to later.
Some building are big like factories farms ect. In some cases you can move them into the ground to make new lower buildings or you can stack to make new “designs”
This is 7 buildings all snapped to ground, and below what we can do to make new designs with this tool.
A last important tool relating to this is raising road points, to make highway crossing etc. and with this tool put car and trucks on it.
First put down the road point to represent the highway crossing your route. then widen to size 4 (to make it appear huge) and give it a 4-lane texture
Now unselect snap to landscape (if it’s on) and lift up the two roadpoints of the highway crossing the route. Adjusting until you get the preferred height and then add bridge.
The part with the bridge may be tricky, but if you use a national it is wide enough and should pose not too many problems, even if it does not appear to fit, it will when created. You can also adjust the bridge (at the purple mark) with the BLUE triangle to fit better.
Now just decorate the Bridge/Highway with cars and it ready – makes a nice addition to the impressions of the stage.
Beware! it is easy when starting to use this tool, to forget if it on or not, so always check your stages before you post them, it's sick to have flying cars on a stage you ask people to download.
Edited by Tamijo on 11-06-2019 14:49
|
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 10-06-2019 13:05
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
(5.0) Spawn Spline Spawnable – The Basics
Spawn Spline is a very effective tool to make lines (or curves) with different elements, the most basic might be the streetlights so we use them for the Basic Spline Tip.
What you do is click the Spawn Spline Spawnable in the left side banner, and then make a line of two or more points on the map (just like making fences)
You now got a line on the map with nothing (on a fresh stage load, if the tool has been used before it will use latest spline)
We could of course have places this on the “right spot” from the beginning but in my example I will also show how easy it is to move it later.
Anyway in the left side banner we can now chose:
1. The category to spawn (Urban)
2. The item to spawn (Brd_StrtLT_XXXXXX_04)
3. The space between elements (12)
4. The rotation (180) this is based on 360° system
5. To create the spline just hit Add
To update any changes hit ENTER
Now whenever you got an existing spline on the map, you can hit one of the red dots from that spline and use it anywhere on the map, you never have to create the same spline twice, so now we can just make our splines in the city, only adjust the rotation if needed, that depends on where you start-finish it.
In this case we delete the original by "hit dot" ctrl-t, note this also works for Forest, Field etc.
To see how it will look we hit “Tools” from the top row – and select “Hide Debug Layer”
I have also used the “Lightning” features “Enablefog” and “EnableSwadow” in the “Sky” sub-menu, and “generated the borders” to get the best impression of how the stage will look in game.
Edited by Tamijo on 11-06-2019 14:50
|
| |
|
|
| aussie |
Posted on 10-06-2019 15:57
|
Stagiare
Posts: 200
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
Great initiative! Would have definitely helped me in the beginning. Hope that if you do more I can learn something more. |
| |
|
|
| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-12-2024 09:07
|
Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
|
|
| IP: None |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 10-06-2019 16:28
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
(5.1) Spawn Spline Spawnable – Cow, Sheeps and Cars
With some splines we can use the “AddAll” feature, which will often be the case with Cow, Sheeps and Cars.
Scenario: We got two areas where we want to plot in Cows & Sheeps, and we want to add some cars parked alongside the town houses of the city. We could plot them one by one but that would be a time consuming process, so we will make splines.
To illustrate it, I have already made the splines but without any objects.
With the cars – all we have to do is use the “AddAll” function
With the animals we also use the “AddAll”, now with the function “Enable 180°” to show that we want to spawn with random rotation. I also added some extra space, “10” for the Cows and “5” for the sheeps.
This is what it looks like, without the “Debug Layers”
May think too many sheep face the wrong direction - no problem you can still rotate one or two manually.
Edited by Tamijo on 11-06-2019 14:53
|
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 11-06-2019 14:52
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
aussie wrote:
Great initiative! Would have definitely helped me in the beginning. Hope that if you do more I can learn something more.
Thanks
I will do more, at least until I have covered all the basics functions.
|
| |
|
|
| Leon40 |
Posted on 11-06-2019 17:36
|
Neo-Pro
Posts: 276
Joined: 01-07-2008
PCM$: 200.00
|
Very good these tips for beginners.
"Spawn Splawn Spawn" is very good for cars, street lights or houses, precisely to follow precise lines (along the roads in particular) and for varied types of objects, such as houses to make a city realistic.
On the other hand, I don't use "Spawn Spline Spawnable" for cows and sheep. I prefer to use the random rotation tool to check.
It's quick and easy to use without the SSS, which slows the load a little when there is a lot.
[url=https://legruppetto.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=2912] My topic on
 [/url] |
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 11-06-2019 17:42
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
(5.2) Spawn Spline Spawnable – Beachkit & Campsite
There could potentially be more Splines where you can use AddAll, I will cover two that I use on a regular basic.
Scenario: We a close to a Beach Resort with some hotels, we want to add some sunbath impressions and a campsite.
Close to the water we setup a spline to create our beachKit.
We use the AddAll function – but in this case we get a lot of Beach Huts we don’t want.
But instead of adding the 6 types we want, we can just remove the one we don’t want.
Note that I have also Enabled 180°, made a “2” space and added some space noise, all parameters that you can play with in the situation and see what you prefer.
The same goes for the campsite on the other side of the road, We use the “tents” spline this time we have to remove Iso_Arbour_XXXXXX_00 and Iso_TentXX_XXXXXX_03 because that is a party tent.
Again I have played a little with Space, Space Noise and Rotation Noise, looking for what I like in the situation. (missed in screenshot sorry)
At the same time we can AddAll the entire Campervans Category, I normally do that in a separate spline – like this.
To make an impression of what I was looking for, I added a fence, some Palms, a hostel, some playground items and a beach hut and this is what it can look like:
|
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 11-06-2019 18:20
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
Leon40 wrote:
Very good these tips for beginners.
Thanks.
"Spawn Splawn Spawn" is very good for cars, street lights or houses, precisely to follow precise lines (along the roads in particular) and for varied types of objects, such as houses to make a city realistic.
On the other hand, I don't use "Spawn Spline Spawnable" for cows and sheep. I prefer to use the random rotation tool to check.
It's quick and easy to use without the SSS, which slows the load a little when there is a lot.
Agree that you don’t have to use it to much, but on a tutorial basis, I just want to show the options you got and anyone can combine that as they like.
I use them in some situations simply to save time, but I know that in the perfect world it is optimal to lay down most IB’s one by one.
|
| |
|
|
| Leon40 |
Posted on 11-06-2019 21:10
|
Neo-Pro
Posts: 276
Joined: 01-07-2008
PCM$: 200.00
|
For a realistic beach, it's necessary to set the sea level to 0.01.
Like this, the land slopes gently down into the sea. Like a beach and not a cliff.
And also check the border sea that creates waves and sand (I don't remember the name in the editor that I don't have in front of me, "Sea Side" I think) 
[url=https://legruppetto.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=2912] My topic on
[/url] |
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 11-06-2019 22:44
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
Thanks a lot for those tips, will look into it and post about it soon.
|
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 12-06-2019 17:33
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
6.0 Water
This tip based on a hint from Leon see above, one of the very best stage maker in the entire PCM community, check it out in this tread
When laying down water as lakes or sea, you can hit one of the blue “dots” and regulate how you want it to appear, you will get the options in the right side banner. The same goes more or less for rivers even though it is a little different.
Before:
What I decided to plot in, there is many options most important is as Leon mentioned the sea level and that border is selected.
After:
|
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 15-06-2019 13:38
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
(7.0) Road Points
The options regarding moving road points, to make a bridge or similar was covered under (4.0)
But there are other options that is useful regarding the road points. First of all it is important to separate the changes you make by checking/un-checking the spline box.
If you have the spline box checked (default), the changes you make will be used on the entire road section, if you un-check it only covers the current section (from the point to the next point in the direction of the arrow). In most cases if will be logical to have the box checked to make entire road sections with the same markings or texture, but not always.
This is an example of roads where I have made some changes to the default values.
Before
The palm trees made with spline box un-checked to only affect the road in front of the hotel, but the markings and road texture with spline box checked to affect the entire road section.
Note editing of the road mark color is not shown on the picture, it is at the bottom of the menu under the tree selection.
After
Can play around with the road textures to make the type of road fitting the scenario, just note that type 06 & 07 is cobbles and will have impact on the game play, type 08 & 09 gravel roads with no impact on gameplay.
I will get back to cobbles and road width later.
|
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 23-06-2019 16:57
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
(7.1) Road Points – Road width, Narrow road.
The road width can be adjusted using the slider from 1-4 at the right side panel when you click on any road point. Typically you can use width 4 to illustrate a full size highway often combined with road mark template 04, to get a 4-lane road.
The default road size is 2 (3m50) indicating a standard road size, but there is also a size 3, to illustrate the extra broad road, works well with the three lane road marking template 3 or 8, but that said it is of course possible and fine to combine any road size and marking.
The last road size is 1, often referred to as narrow road. This road type is indicated on the in game route maps with “red” to indicate that this is a “hazard” where bad positioning is dangerous. Mainly used on cobbled sections and very narrow mountain roads.
Route map from E3 Harelbeke
Narrow road in the mountains.
Important to know is that road size has an impact on game play, the wider the road the easier it will be for the riders to move forward (with water or just to regain positioning), and it will be less likely for the peloton to break over. I do not have any exact rules or precise documentation about this, but it is clear that especially the narrow road tends to break the riders into smaller groups and also that a wide straight finish will provide for a cleaner sprint making it easier for the favourite teams/riders.
Edited by Tamijo on 23-06-2019 17:07
|
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 23-06-2019 17:00
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
(7.2) Road Points – Cobbles
To make a cobbled section click on the road point, unselect spline and chose road name: Road_06_A or Road_07_A.
Also recommend using road marking default – look a bit weird with markings on cobble stone.
Cobbled sections are split into 5 difficult levels, from + (easy) to +++++ (insane), to adjust this in the top menu select: Camera – Spline Camera. And you get the right side menu shown at the screenshot, if not you have chosen something else and in that case click on the road icon in the left side menu and now it should show. You can also name the road in this menu.
In general I will suggest to use narrow roads only if the actual road is very narrow, and also not to overdue the use of the higher level cobbles. Realistically only very few races has Roubaix level cobble stones.
Edited by Tamijo on 23-06-2019 17:06
|
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 24-06-2019 23:32
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Always very useful, nice work  |
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 27-06-2019 07:04
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
Thanks
|
| |
|
