Well hey, if you want to do that, it may be a better option. The current method I'm employing is kinda messy (at the edges of the terrain cuts, especially). I'll give you the tunnel shape that I want you to use, and maybe you can do your boolean subtraction with the tunnels, combined with some optimization magic lol.

And yes, the Tunnel Maker does exactly what you said. It sees where you have tunnels flagged on your NoLimits track, and then creates a 3D object in any shape you want to replace those tunnels, and places them in the correct spots in a giant model. I used that .3ds export in the SketchUp model to carve out the tunnel openings for minimum clearances.

All roller coasters have clearance requirements (so that people with long arms, legs, etc cannot hit anything surrounding the coaster track and car). In the NoLimits community, most people define that as the space the tunnel provides. The term the community likes to call it is "tunnel testing", and if anything pops inside the tunnel frame (track, scenery, supports, another tunnel), then that is declared as a "collision" and something must be done to restore the proper clearances, such as moving scenery away from the track area.

Anyway, the tunnel shape that I created is that exact clearance zone. When I import that into SU and start trimming, it is the closest the rock/scenery can get to the track. That way the ride is very exciting, but safe. Now, I have the 3ds tunnel export... I can give that to you if you want to do some magic on your end. I would be grateful. Do note that it IS to scale in NoLimits, so you will have to match your track with it.

-------------------

That is the problem though. Your models are not to scale, and the only way to make them to scale is to match your track/rails with the raw track export I provided. And you can't load the raw track into SU... only I was able to. If I give you the tunnel file, it will be much too large for your model (your model was very tiny). And you won't know what size to make your model. So... I'm not really sure how to let you do the tunnel thing.

Is there anything you think I can do on my end?

Wait, are you saying I should have done all of the tunnel-digging in Bryce instead of SketchUp? I suppose I could have done that... I'm not really aware of the benefits though. Do you think I should do all of my modelling in Bryce? Buildings and all?

And yes, I used your blob/smooth rails to resize the other Terrain 13 export. It worked well as it imported to SketchUp this time lol. I lined up your smooth rails with the Construction Kit model (a direct, NoLimits .3ds track export), which scaled up your terrain as well. Then I matched your earlier Terrain 13 export with the blob, and deleted the blob.

Your smooth rails/blob was completely out of scale, as with anything from Bryce upon SketchUp import. But now I have everything covered in terms of scale and detail. I suppose I will continue to cut through the terrain as I am right now... hopefully I won't run into any major issues!

AJ
That is exactly what I am talking about :lol:

When I saw the No Limits tunnel maker I laughed, I had spent quite a while working out how to get your track mesh from the initial Bryce Icarus file to a neat ,easy to work with state that would work with Sketchup as it was dense and had really too much info for what was required. you asked for a blob and got lovely smooth rails.
What would have been a lot easier would have been to..
Flag your track file as ALL tunnel.
Run it through the tunnel maker with say a simple circle shape or even set it up how you want the tunnels ultimately to be.
Export that as a .3ds file as it will now be a good low poly template for you to model the terrain.
You will be able to use this also to cut your tunnels. Even in Bryce with a few clicks!
PS. I did not realise you were using the pro version of SU. it imports .obj files.

I am using SketchUp to make the tunnels. The process I use involves setting up minimum clearances and then building tunnels from there too look like rock. I use another third party program called the NoLimits Tunnel Maker. I create a shape for the tunnel, and then I export it onto my track. This creates a custom 3ds file that contains a bunch of tunnels. I then import this into SketchUp and trim off the excess tunnels. The parts that hit the Bryce terrain are rulers in which I use to cut the Bryce terrain with acceptable clearances.

Eventually all the tunnels will be deleted since I want to have rocky insides too, not smooth concrete tunnels. So I suppose I'm going to try to create rocky terrain inside the tunnel areas.

BEFORE: http://i.imgur.com/l9gFX.png

AFTER: http://i.imgur.com/ZZjnP.png

Then I will use little rocks to cover up the sharp edges, and that's pretty much it.

music2u4u said:

Hey Betsy...they pulled your plug!...lol. Gotta have all renders no wider than 800 pixels. We gotta do it ourselves until they get that part working.
Here is what I have been working on all day today. 1948 Ford Panel Truck, made in sketchup from the 48 Ford Pickup truck. It has a frame, suspension, motor, and tires that I put on myself. I made the mags and tires too. Used Dazfire's real paint shader and a chrome shader. Boy, this was a tough one to make! I then converted it to .3ds, .obj, and .pp2 for Poser.
:-)

very nice one music2u4u
you did a very nice job on it

Hey Betsy...they pulled your plug!...lol. Gotta have all renders no wider than 800 pixels. We gotta do it ourselves until they get that part working.
Here is what I have been working on all day today. 1948 Ford Panel Truck, made in sketchup from the 48 Ford Pickup truck. It has a frame, suspension, motor, and tires that I put on myself. I made the mags and tires too. Used Dazfire's real paint shader and a chrome shader. Boy, this was a tough one to make! I then converted it to .3ds, .obj, and .pp2 for Poser.
:-)

Hi AJ.

You are not getting off that lightly :)

Can you export any files from Bryce chiefly .obj ?
SU. will import Collada files.
Are you using a Mac. if you are on a Pc.there is this.

FluidImporter free object importer for Sketchup

Of course I will help, do I wait for a new file or do it from the original "Icarus" Bryce file you supplied?

You will find a wealth of knowledge and plugins here.

sketchucation

^It's weird... I did exactly what you said and I still get "0 bytes" files that are broken. File > Export Object (after selecting the correct terrain, not the grid or coaster), 3ds mesh export save type, adjusting to 150,000 polys, leave resolution at 256x256 (didn't bother messing with it), and pressed the checkmark. After that, I get "Terrain 13.3ds" and it is 0 bytes in size. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't open in any program after that... those programs always say "invalid file".

So ultimately, I think I'm going to let you guys handle it. Sorry for the inconvenience, but TapiocaTundra, I would really appreciate it if you would export this final set of terrain for me properly just like you did before. Oh, and this time, make two exports: one with the terrain only, and another with the terrain PLUS the coaster track if you would. I will use the coaster track to scale up the terrain in SketchUp and match an existing coaster track model in SketchUp. In essence, the coaster track will be my ruler. After that is matched, I will use the "terrain only" file, match that with the "track and terrain" file, and delete the "track and terrain" file to leave me with the terrain itself only.

Thanks again, you have been a big help in keeping this project of mine alive and moving forward. I was about to give up on modelling terrain for this coaster, and since this coaster so heavily relies on the terrain features, I would have just trashed the coaster itself as well. Thanks to you, however, I do see that it is possible to add terrain to this coaster and I don't think I'll be trashing it after all!

TapiocaTundra said:

Hi AJ, yes it might be possible, you have 3 identical terrains in your scene, if you click on the terrain icon at the bottom of your screen you will see. Although this should make no difference, bigh may have confused things a little by stating he grouped and saved them as one file, Bryce will not save the grouped terrains rather it will give you the option to export them and edit them individually ie. one after the other.
Here is the 3ds file that you asked for, just one of the terrains in the scene, it has 150152 facets, it will load into SU. but I fear you will be pushing SU as the mesh in my opinion is far too dense.let me know how it goes.

Terrain 13

Well, the good news is that your export worked just fine in importing to SketchUp and to the NoLimits Simulator. Scaling is off, but that can be adjusted in SU or NoLimits itself (it actually has object resizing). I guess the main problem now is why I can't do the same.

I'm not sure I understand the "3 terrains" that I have, and maybe how to group them or export the right one. Did you just click the terrain I had and press "File > Export Object"? Or was it something else? And did you select the mesh export as well?

I suppose if I do those exact things and it still doesn't work, it must be the machine I'm on. It's not powerful to say the least, but I haven't really had it drop tasks or screw them up like that. For instance, opening a huge SketchUp file takes forever but if I wait (even when Windows thinks SU isn't responding), it eventually opens. However I've never had an object import progress bar move at a constant pace, then suddenly stop at 50% and crash SketchUp.

Anyway, if I still can't get things working, I suppose I will send you the final Bryce file when I finish. Hopefully it's not a hassle for you to export it, because it would help me tremendously. Thanks again - at least I know it is possible to get Bryce terrain into the NoLimits Simulator!

betsy662 said:

Okay, yes, what you say is correct except a couple of issues, the idea of the point going all the way back on the center of the top is all wrong, it is only pointed to just above the windshield, yes, the hood is too rounded at the top, however, the side profiles of the car are pretty right on for a 49-51 Ford, the problem with the front clip, (and the rear clip to some degree, however, corrections to rear clip will be much simpler), the front grill is an absolute mess, O don't know whether to scrap it and start over or try to correct the one thats there, yes, the front bumper should be much further out from the car, and there should be a front pan there between the bumper and the front fenders and grill, the grill itself should be much heavier than what it on this model, there should also be a pan between the rear bumper and the body, and rear bumper should be out more, also, both bumpers should be heavier than what this model actually has.

As for the side spears, they aren't as big a problem, as side spears are usually pretty easy to make, now the problem I ran into when I pulled the obj into Blender was that the car itself is all one edit zone, so will have to work at separating all the various parts to make it into the car I want it to be, more accurate and not so cartoonish, but one big plus of this model, it works well in DS4, like a lot of other Poser stuff does, the sketchup models of 49 Ford's are horrible, however, I may be able to use some of the parts from those to make changes to this car!

Didn't mean to be so critical, and yes, you have your hands full if you are going to split seams here and fix this booger! It would be well worth it though. I love the 49-50 Fords. My uncle had a black one he drove everyday. Had a flat head V8 in it. I loved the smell inside it.

Hey, if you need anything, just ask. I got tons of parts...lol.

:-)

music2u4u said:

There is much wrong with the 49 Ford. First, the FORD letters have been left off the front of the hood. Also the hood should come to a definate seam down the center, which also goes down the middle of the roof. The hood ornament is all wrong and missing the main part, not sure what that one is. Also, for some reason he has left the side trim off the front fenders, left the two horizontal sections off the front bumper, the gas fill cap is in the wrong place, should be under the tail light section, not above it, and the front grill section is curving down on the top when it should be curving up. The tires should have been white walls and the rims are all wrong looking. Also, the front tire holes in the front fenders, should be flat on the top part, not rounded like his are, and the front grill part is not flat but comes to a point where the hood seam should be in the center. If you look closely at the bumpers, they are tilted inward at the top. Both of them. So the bottom of them should be out farther than the top part, not rounded like his are. The door lock keyholes are missing as well as the inside door locks. The headlights are way too big and stick out way too far, should be flatter, the width of the entire car is too wide and not tall enough, and the front section is too long (look at the front fender behind the front tire), the sides should be flatter, not so rounded, The steering wheel is way too big, the sides of the windshield should be straight up and down, not going inward at the top, more rectangular than trapizoid like his. The hub caps should have a small point in the center, not so rounded too. Also, not sure what color green that is on his, but it should be more olive color, way too bright. Windows could be a bit darker too. And...whaz up wid dat chrome!!!!

Looks more like an old Volvo than a Ford!

So for a model going for $10.00, you would think he would have taken the time to make sure these things were corrected. Look at the photo below and see all this for yourself. Compare them. Anyway, thanks for the link, THAT was cool!

:-)

Okay, yes, what you say is correct except a couple of issues, the idea of the point going all the way back on the center of the top is all wrong, it is only pointed to just above the windshield, yes, the hood is too rounded at the top, however, the side profiles of the car are pretty right on for a 49-51 Ford, the problem with the front clip, (and the rear clip to some degree, however, corrections to rear clip will be much simpler), the front grill is an absolute mess, O don't know whether to scrap it and start over or try to correct the one thats there, yes, the front bumper should be much further out from the car, and there should be a front pan there between the bumper and the front fenders and grill, the grill itself should be much heavier than what it on this model, there should also be a pan between the rear bumper and the body, and rear bumper should be out more, also, both bumpers should be heavier than what this model actually has.

As for the side spears, they aren't as big a problem, as side spears are usually pretty easy to make, now the problem I ran into when I pulled the obj into Blender was that the car itself is all one edit zone, so will have to work at separating all the various parts to make it into the car I want it to be, more accurate and not so cartoonish, but one big plus of this model, it works well in DS4, like a lot of other Poser stuff does, the sketchup models of 49 Ford's are horrible, however, I may be able to use some of the parts from those to make changes to this car!

AJClarke0912 said:

Hey, thanks in advance if you want to try and export it and stuff. Here is the link to the Bryce file. Just export the terrain... ignore the coaster structure that's put in there. I'm only using that to build the terrain around it properly.

http://www.mediafire.com/?gjt7lzqtii9if2p

Also, it would help to have the terrain at a decent level of detail. Perhaps 150,000 polys on the terrain export, since the coaster will be moving about this terrain closely and it will need some decent detail (but not HUGE detail... there are others that will download this in the coaster package and they need to be able to run it on their computers okay).

A .3ds export would be preferable, but if you think another SketchUp friendly format would work better then be my guest! So long as it imports I will be happy.

Thanks again!

I loaded it in Bryce - deleted the ride - group the terrains - saved them as group1.3ds - worked fine - don't know why you can't .

Hey, thanks in advance if you want to try and export it and stuff. Here is the link to the Bryce file. Just export the terrain... ignore the coaster structure that's put in there. I'm only using that to build the terrain around it properly.

http://www.mediafire.com/?gjt7lzqtii9if2p

Also, it would help to have the terrain at a decent level of detail. Perhaps 150,000 polys on the terrain export, since the coaster will be moving about this terrain closely and it will need some decent detail (but not HUGE detail... there are others that will download this in the coaster package and they need to be able to run it on their computers okay).

A .3ds export would be preferable, but if you think another SketchUp friendly format would work better then be my guest! So long as it imports I will be happy.

Thanks again!

AJClarke0912 said:

Hello, I've been trying to export my Bryce terrain to some format that SketchUp can use, as I will do most of my buildings in SketchUp. Because SketchUp can import .3ds files, I have been trying to export the terrain to that format. Whenever I select either 3ds option (mesh or test), my exported file is 0kb in size and broken. I'm not exactly sure what I am doing wrong, and the file format has to be .3ds to be able to be used later in the roller coaster simulation program I am using (NoLimits).

Here are some things I have done to the terrain... perhaps this might help:

- I have created and edited the terrain/height map
- I have applied a texture to the terrain (New Mexico Cliffs, I think)
- I have selected the terrain before exporting (to export it alone)
- I'm not running the program as an administrator

Hopefully there is something I can do to fix this, because otherwise I will have to throw away the Bryce terrain and try to model it all in SketchUp. Thanks in advance.

And, if you're curious on what I'm currently working on, here is "Icarus" w/Bryce Terrain.

ok - this is on a pc - made a terrain ( not a plane ) - works fine for me

Hello, I've been trying to export my Bryce terrain to some format that SketchUp can use, as I will do most of my buildings in SketchUp. Because SketchUp can import .3ds files, I have been trying to export the terrain to that format. Whenever I select either 3ds option (mesh or test), my exported file is 0kb in size and broken. I'm not exactly sure what I am doing wrong, and the file format has to be .3ds to be able to be used later in the roller coaster simulation program I am using (NoLimits).

Here are some things I have done to the terrain... perhaps this might help:

- I have created and edited the terrain/height map
- I have applied a texture to the terrain (New Mexico Cliffs, I think)
- I have selected the terrain before exporting (to export it alone)
- I'm not running the program as an administrator

Hopefully there is something I can do to fix this, because otherwise I will have to throw away the Bryce terrain and try to model it all in SketchUp. Thanks in advance.

And, if you're curious on what I'm currently working on, here is "Icarus" w/Bryce Terrain.

Sketchup certainly has its place in the great scheme of things, but it is pretty much limited to geometric shapes. Hex does the full range -organic, spline, sub-D. Sketchup works well with Kerkythea as renderer. My main renderer is Carrara, which is not very fond of Sketchup models.

eyeliner said:

Maybe because there were free alternatives that were/are very capable? Wings3D (one of my favorites), Blender (me no like), Sketchup and others.
And Hexagon is not that intuitive, in my opinion.

I also agree on that. but I also imagined hexagon to be as simple as the rest once you get started with it. but I do have to admit... sketchup does look very promising

For those who are prepared to take the time and trouble to learn it, it is very rewarding - for the impatient, gotta-have-it-now-instant-art crowd, it can be a nightmare.

well now that hexagon is free I wonder will start to get more into it like me

Maybe because there were free alternatives that were/are very capable? Wings3D (one of my favorites), Blender (me no like), Sketchup and others.
And Hexagon is not that intuitive, in my opinion.

So recently I started using hexagon to get the full feel of 3d modeling. While looking online for some startup tutorials, I came across a disccusion from 2-3years ago asking if google sketchup was better then hexagon.
Alot of users prefred other applications over hexagon and all though the converstion was pretty clear and cut. I cant help but wonder are the differnces with hexagon and sketch-up and other programs that great? or is it a matter of prefrence and the artist within?

So I brought the topic here to discuss what others might think. and to get a better understandment of the the programs in question

* What are the benifits of modeling in hexagon vs other applications
* Does hexagon have rendering cappibilties
* Are there any future / possible updates to hexagon or would it be better to move to carrara?
* And does hexagon really limit the user to a subD type of modeling

im still pretty new to hexagon so forgive me if these seem like novice questions or if a topic like this has been answerd before

download https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts2/mcj60ishtv

I thought it could fit well with the 1960's set currently on special in the daz store

renders shown below done in Blender Cycles, exported from Daz Studio using my free script mcjTeleblender

https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts/mcjteleblender-for-ds1-2-3-4

the Saturn 5 rocket was obtained from 3DWarehouse and converted to obj using Google-sketchup and Autodesk fbx converter (legal/free)

You can also obtain a similar one from the NASA itself : http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/3d_resources/models.html

there's even space suits