MTM2.com

thanks phin. i have a method that i hope will work. i plan on cloning the track then changing all the smf's in the sit file to bin. ill just make sure to put models in models folder and art in art folder.

also in the latest traxx version readme, it said that this version supports 256x256 art files on models.

> supports 256x256 art files on models.

Yep it does. But not 128's or 512's like evo does.

i cant figure this out! ive been trying to convert Laguna Del Sol. all i got was loading the txx file. i cant get the terrain file to load, or the sit file with all the model placements and whatnot. i tried loading the sit file after the txx file. when opening the sit file, it said it couldnt load or read the txx file or whatever.

i tried the cloning in evo1, and replacing all the bins with smfs, but after i edited the sit file, i couldnt load the track into tracked3 because the newly replaced bin files couldnt be loaded. no reason given.

well maybe if you tell me how to load a terrain file without getting the "cannot load txx file" error, then maybe i can just place the models manually.

1. Extract the files from SHTBAJA.pod using podview.
   
   Make sure you 'recreate directory structure'
   
   
   
   
   
2. Download this...
   
   http://mtm2.com/~tracks/beta/LagunaDelSol_Models.zip
   
   ... and extract the files to the models folder. There are two files that go in the art folder.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Download this
   http://winterkill0.tripod.com/tred2txx.zip
   
   from this page
   http://winterkill0.tripod.com/evo2traxx.htm
   
   Extract Laguna del Sol.txx from the zip and copy it to the traxx folder.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Start traxx. Open Laguna del Sol.txx. All the textures will be in place.
   
   
   
   
   
5. If you want to attempt to convert the terrain file, there's a couple notes here
   
   http://forum.mtm2.com/viewtopic.php?t=2651
   
   
   
   
   
6. If you want to put the models in manually, no problem. These pages will help.
   
   http://mtm2.com/~traxx/traxxld.html
   http://cownap.com/~mtmg/traxx/insertob.html
   
   
   
   
   
7. Sit files allow zero mistakes. If you want to learn more about sit files, then there's a few ntoes here.
   
   http://forum.mtm2.com/viewtopic.php?t=1832
   
   

Hope that helps.

yea i already downloaded all that stuff. i cant imagine that the SHTBAJA.RAW file i was trying to use was a bad file for mtm2, since it was 256x256 grayscale. do you really have to flip it vertically for mtm2? even if it isnt flipped, i dont imagine it will cause it to error a txx file.

man traxx is hard. i would probably be more used to tracked2, if its not too much different than tracked3. where can i find tracked2?

Tracked2 would be somewhere on this page:
http://mtm2.com/~mtmg/downloads/inventory.html

Good luck with that though, because not many have used it to know it as well as traxx. I find traxx extremely simple and the 4x4 editors very confusing. I think this first experience with it is what causes it to seem hard. Have you tried Traxx School just to get used to it?

I have a question about evo models though. How many units do you use for merging close verticies?

> SHTBAJA.RAW

It isn't bad, it doesn't cause an error, it isn't 256x256 grayscale. However, if you copy it using TXRAW, it will be converted to 256x256 grayscale. But! it will not be a perfect remake of the original. Just a rough conversion. You can try to tweak it in a paint program or just use it as a guide. For one track (F109), I didn't use it at all. I just made the terrain from scratch.

As for flipping, if you use TXRAW and paste it into a paint program then paste it into traxx, then yes, I found it needed flipping. I haven't looked at the vertical symmetry of laguna so I have no idea if you can get away without flipping.

I have no idea how you're trying to get it into your track. You don't provide any detail.

> Tracked2

http://cownap.com/~mtmg/tracked2/

Each build of the editor has become increasingly more stable. Tracked2 leaves a lot to be desired.

----------

Q. How many units do you use for merging close verticies?

A. Depends on the model. Most evo models can use the default 2 units. Sometimes I resize the model smaller, keeping proportions, and expand the merge distance, then resize it back up. Also, if you go too wide, you can end up collapsing faces that you don't want collapsed. Trial and error is the only way on some models.

to try to get the altitude file in there, i went to open, then doubleclicked the SHTBAJA.RAW. if its anything like tracked3 or 4, i would have to name the altitude something else besides SHTBAJA. i can open it with photoshop, change it to 256x256, and just blur it a little.

with tracked all you have to do is press CTRL+A while on terrain editor then select a terrain file, which would have been placed in the data folder.

but perhaps i could just have someone else convert this track. im already caught up in evo2 trackmaking and tracked4 has become so easy for me to use. im even discovering new stuff i can do with it every now and then.

-----

i dont know if these tracks have already been converted, but besides Laguna Del Sol, theres some others: Farm Road 109, Silverton Pass, Baja Beach (original track, not skull islands), Desert Run (searched it and found something else with the same name), Final Destination, any of the evo2 5 mission tracks made into races, Obstacle Park made into a race, Pikes Peak (although i know it was converted to evo1) Quarry Lake (converted to evo1 also), original Truck Stop 101 (with all original models intact).

Farm Road 109=BarnYard 109 done by Phineus
Silverton Pass= I'm actually working on this one at the moment
Baja Beach- Not sure, Skulls Island might be the closest your going to get to it.
Quarry Lake- Looks like Phin is doing it based on those pictures he posted in this thread.


As for some of the others I'm not sure. Some evo models will not work as well in mtm2. To try and get exact replica's of the tracks is overboard.

evo conversions

MTM2 is not evo. They are not compatible, they are not interchangable, they don't work the same way. Do yourself a favor and do traxx school. You're just creating headaches if you don't.

http://drive.to/Traxx/traxxsch.html

There is no "track conversion" button in any program. Not in traxx and not in tracked. There's more to it than that. To do a successful conversion you need to know both games fairly extensively. There is no tutorial because that would involve teaching the ins and outs of both games and nothing can cover that scope. You know evo. That's a good start. Now you just need to learn mtm2. But you won't do that by trying to make comparisons. There aren't enough to sustain the effort.


PS. Kdawg, I am not doing quarry. I was just playing around with ideas and needed something to work on. I have the models converted if anybody wants them, but the track has many issues that will make it tough to use in mtm2. At this time, the best solution will be to paint the terrain with rocks instead of using models. That means texture work... that I don't have time for at the moment.

OK, I just went back to convert more models needed that I didn't do back when I started the project. I can import every model except the following:
sr3log.smf and sr3stump.smf.
I have tried so many different things, tried different variations of your tga trick, didn't work.

Its odd because I do recall doing the stump before but cannot find it and now it doesn't load. I get the error saying can't find texture like Tyler.

---
Onto the whole Del Sol thing, everything is given to you here. If your not up to it, I'll put it together when I get the time. I never liked that track, but i'm willing to do it since basically all I'd have to do is put the pieces in place.

<a href="http://mtm2.com/~tracks/beta/SilvertonStumps.zip">SilvertonStumps.zip</a>

Thank you very much. You are the man. I know it involved smurf because I toyed with it and noticed the new part added, but I did something wrong somewhere. Just fix, open it, and then save? Before importing to zmod? or is there more to it?

This is the preferences I've been using lately.

<center>

</center>

It's been a while so the subtleties are not that fresh. But basically, v4 is the standard cross evo format that'll open in zmod if you say it's evo1. It's 4a that causes all the problems. The normalize thing is to get rid of transparency and specular lighting issues. When converting it ensures a smoother ride and then you use binedit to touch up the model for mtm2 use.

Open the model in format mode, then save right away. It's also an idea to glance at the animation status so you know if it needs breaking apart.

I have never had a problem working this way. I can leave models and art in the proper folders and no tga's required. If I was making it today, I would probably lose the "new" file appendage but it prevents over-writing so there's no harm either.

hmm converting mtm2 tracks to evo2 is easy for me. had no idea it would be so hard to reverse it!

btw im still gonna have a v2 of Zep2 Stuart2 in evo2 since ZooN said he would send me matching textures, though he hasnt seemed to have gotten around to it yet.

hehe you know what track i forgot to mention... Tri Baja 250.

____________

why are you here?

Hiya Tyler. I doubt I'm making much sense here, but here it is for what it's worth.


Evo1 terrain is 256x256 16-bit greyscale, mtm2 terrain is 256x256 8-bit greyscale, when TxRaw finds a 16-bit one in the data folder it converts it to 8-bit as it displays it. As far as 16-bit greyscale raws go Photoshop is the one program best suited to opening them, as most other programs don't support them.

As for converting Evo1 tracks, all of the bases have been covered elsewhere, the texture layouts are done, as linked above, and models/boxes can all be converted perfectly using the box converter. Once converted, and the models changed to bin, I would put it right back in the evo1 sit file, in the folder where I'm using TrackEd3. Because.... I use TrackEd3 exclusively for setting models in mtm2 tracks now, by comparison, setting models in Traxx is like hammering nails with a screwdriver - the perfect tool for a job just can't be beat. However, this means you have to split development, working models in TrackEd3 and Everything else in Traxx, if you clone TrackEd3 models in Traxx their precision alignment will get totally messed up. Negativity aside, you can of course take the box (models) data converted from the original evo track, place it within the sit from your traxx made pod, then clone it with traxx to have a mostly converted track, you'll just have to tweak each model in Traxx yourself afterward. Anyway, in the end, in working in TrackEd3, the boxes portion of sit file can be converted once again and placed directly in the mtm2 pod and sit files created by Traxx. It's tricky, and takes more effort, but if building stuff with models is your thing then the highly precise hardware rendered environment of TrackEd3 can't be beat. Just bear in mind the current population of the world is projected to be 6,362,720,422 people, and since I'm apparently the only one on earth who takes this route in making MTM tracks, that makes me a one in six billion kinda nut.


http://mtm2.com/~trackville/tracked3/boxconvert.zip
http://forum.mtm2.com/viewtopic.php?t=1986
http://forum.mtm2.com/viewtopic.php?t=1989

hmm i did edit the evo1 sit file. not sure if i mentioned this. i have at least 2 copies of the track in each the evo1 folder and the traxx folder. after changing all the models in the sit file to bins, and trying the open the track up in tracked3, i get an error saying it cant load a model: the first model on the list (i think its AASGN.BIN or something like that). this gives me the idea that it could possibly be more than one model thats giving me the problem. phin converted the models for me. when i was trying to convert them, zmod would freeze. so if they didnt work in zmod, it might be whats causing the problem in tracked3.

if placing models in traxx is really that hard, i would like to do this in tracked3. i need someone to help me figure out why it wont load the bin models once they been converted.

malibu said that i could place the models in tracked3 before moving it to traxx, so this gives me the impression that i could convert it to traxx. since i had the idea the models were already in place, i tried opening it in traxx, but i always get that txx error, even if i have the txx file loaded already.

BUT i believe the txx has to be included somewhere in the sit file or pod file. im a little confused on this part. if someone could clear that up for me.... thanks