bio's tracks

[bio]

Hi,

I'm brand new to the forum, registered yesterday night and I'm only hoping I understand my way around here.

I gather if I want to show you my fantasy tracks I should open a thread and place them there, there is no "collective" thread for all our creations - do I get it right? If not then please any moderators feel free to remove this thread.

Well, I'm new and I guess I should say something about myself... So: I'm Gabor, 37, from Budapest, Hungary. As you all know we host maybe the most boring F1 event ever with a track that's best overtaking opportunity is the warmup lap (FYI: Bernie Ecclestone is roumored to have insisted on this trackline, not really our fault...)
I have no skills whatsoever in track designing nor do I have any qualifications on any remote field - I just love how tracks look on paper That's why some of my tracks may (and probably DO) feature sections, turns that would never work in reality but they look god - at least to me

I guess this is enough for a rough intro.

I'll be right back with the first couple of my tracks.


bio

[ScotsBrutesFan]

Welcome bio, an intersting start with with your edits of Yannick's designs. I look forward to seeing some of your own designs.

You can either add new tracks to this one thread or if you have given your track a name, then you can open a new thread for each track. The choice is yours.

[bio]

OK, here's the first one, The Gatewell Racing Course:




There is no actual Gatewell, the name is made up, part of an earlier mock-map project that was created for other reasons.

About the track: I haven't made up an actual lenght but I figure it might be a mid-lenght one, about 3-3.5 kilometers long. It runs counter-clockwise (don't ask me why but I seem to be partial for counter-clockwise tracks, most of my creations are suck tracks...). It's built on laser flat terrain so there are no slopes to climb and descend.

The trackline itself might seem rather twisty at first but, in fact, it features only 5 turns that are actually curved - all the other twists and turns are made up of short straight sections.

Let's go a virtual lap!

Leaving the startline the finish straight leads to the first corner a mid-paced right chicane - the first actual overtaking opportunity and also features the pit lane exit. From the chicane we arrive at a section of short, casually angled straights in succession that lead to the "Upper-south" Straight. This section of small but not sharply angled straights allow a great entry speed (and therefore present the second overtaking point) to the "South Hairpin" and the first split time spot. Then comes the "Lower-south" Straight- that is not straight in fact but a very rapid-pace left curve that can be taken without braking and leads to a 90-degree left turn - here's overtaking point #3. Having taken the left turn we just entered the second real straight ("The Back Straight"), about as long as the finish straight itself. The Back Straight leads - after a very fast, brakeless-if-on-ideal-raceline chicane - to a mid-paced left backturn that is also the 4th overtaking opportunity. This left turn (getting us thru the 2nd split time spot) leads to the really twisty "Inner Circuit" that is a small section of really short straights with more difficult corners and concludes in the "North Hairpin". From the North Hairpin we arrive at the shortish North Straight that leads to another section of 5 short, widely angled straights. The end of this section is the last turn, a mid-slow paced left turn that is the entry to the finish straight and also #5 (and last) overtaking opprotunity. The pit lane entrance is also here. And we are on the finish straight right until the finish line.

There are alternative course line sectors (marked with lighter grey).

I also included the main spectators stands (grey boxes) and the (rather oversized, I guess...) main building (red) that is also the paddocks area. I talso contains a subterranian garage.

The trucks are parked south of the main building.

I hope I didn't forget anything.

PS: Oh, here's the track in big:

http://supremacy.hu/groundzero/pix/Gatewell_big.jpg

[bio]

Yo, SBF (if I might apply an abbreviation),

thanks for both the welcome and the hints.

bio

Originally Posted by ScotsBrutesFan

Welcome bio, an intersting start with with your edits of Yannick's designs. I look forward to seeing some of your own designs.

You can either add new tracks to this one thread or if you have given your track a name, then you can open a new thread for each track. The choice is yours.

[bio]

Must be me, but how do i stick up my country flag under my nick like you all do? Haven't found the way yet

bio

[duke_toaster]

Originally Posted by bio

Must be me, but how do i stick up my country flag under my nick like you all do? Haven't found the way yet

bio

http://tentenths.com/forum/profile.php?do=editprofile

[bio]

As for my second track. It's located in Hungary, my homeland, near the town oh Heviz, a continentwide renowned spa settlement in the Western part of Hungary.

The track is a rather long - about 8 kilometers - and totally flat one that runs clockwise. It features 15 corners, 8 of which are right corners, 5 left corners - including the #1, a hairpin - and 2 chicanes.

6 of the corners are narrow, low-speed ones, but there are also rather fast sweeping turns.

There are 4 notable straights, the longest of which is the finish straight with its length of 1,3 kilometers. The other three are similar in length, all of them about 1 kilometer long.

I see 2 good overtaking points, the first is at the end of the finish straight before the hairpin, the second is at corner #5.

The track is the modernized and shortened version of the Old Circuit that was no shorter than 13.5 kilometers - you can se the old and now unused sections - plus some alternative sections - colored grey in the aerial shot.

[bio]

Gee, thanks heaps!

bio

Originally Posted by duke_toaster

http://tentenths.com/forum/profile.php?do=editprofile

[ScotsBrutesFan]

2 very different styles of graphics there.

Gatewell :
First thing is that many of the corners are angular, at first I thought that it was just the graphics package you were using but you do have some nice rounded curves so it isn't that.
Second you have placed gravel traps on some corners but not others, the worst area being the upper infield section.
While the track designs are fantasy, you want to achieve some realism, so where two sections of track run parallel to one another, leave a bit of space between them. Picture a real circuit with grass at either side of the circuit before the barrier...sometimes even having an access road between the parallel sections of track.
Think of what a spectator would see from a grandstand before you position them, the Grandstand on the bottom parallel section and most of the one on the right really show nothing more than cars passing along the straights. Try positioning them for corners like you have on the outside of the upper half.

These are really very minor details that if you look through some of the other designs you'll see, and are easily rectified and incorporated into your future work. So please don't think I'm being too harsh on your first post. I do actually like the general design and layout.

Heviz:
I like that you've shown the circuit in a real world setting. Both the old and modern versions.
With a line drawing though, I'd say that either don't draw in the gravel traps, or try to scale them to the width of the line. Some of them currently look hugely out of proportion.
If you've read though some of the other threads, you'll know I have a thing for pitlane exits...for me this one is in the wrong place. I'd move the whole pitlane to the inside of Turn 1, with the front straight Grandstand on the other side.
And again like Gatewell, think of what a spectator would see...or where he or she would pay good money to sit at to watch the action.

Overall very good efforts.

[bio]

ScotesBrutesFan,

thanks for all you've said.

About the stands' positions. To be honest the areas marked by grey show the places that are, I think, good enough for stands - they are not neccsessarily stands, rather only possibilities.

The angular corners. They are angular on purpose. I meant there to be a non-angular raceline that would require some skills to find and maintain in that angular corner sequence - I thought this might work. But I didn't want to overuse them that's why I only put them in one section, the Inner Circuit. But I guess I'll make a version with non-angular corners there and post it also, OK?

The parallel lines running too close to each other. Yes, that's something to take special care - and I figured there would always be enough space for a tyre-barrier row - i mean concrete barriers and tyre barriers. But I might as well got that wrong.

The gravel-part should really be worked on that point is well taken and agreed on (first i used a thicker track type but then decided on this one - and forgot to scale the gravel pits accordinigly.)

I also agree on the pit lane exit's positioning of the Heviz circuit - I guess the current positioning would let out the cars exactly on the ideal raceline where the cars come at huge speed - that doesn't seem to be a good idea... You're right, placing the paddocks and the pit lane south of the finish straight might be a better solution.

And in general. Thank you for the comments and I mean it. I've been doing this for fun for a long time but without any kind of feedback it's only half the fun. So let it come, that's part of why I'm here.

bio

[bio]

I was thinking about it - I mean the positioning of the Grand Stand.

It, of course, must be along the finish straight. Now, the finish straight is usually either flanked by a grand stand on both sides or a stand on one side and the main building - that usually includes the paddocks - on the other side. In the case of either the spectators on the grand stand can't really see anything apart from the finish straight - plus maybe the entry and exit corners. The majority of the track goes either behind the main building or behind the grand stand - neither area of which is visible from the grand stand.So, how can I achieve that the visitors there get more for their money than the cars racing past the finish line?

[ScotsBrutesFan]

The people on the start finish straight pay to see the exactly that ... the start and the finish. Others might pay to see action/overtaking at for example Turn 1, or the chicane etc.

I've done a quick edit showing where I would put the Grandstands, I've also quickly moved the pitlane. The grandstands might be nearer to scale.

[bio]

I guess the problem is that I was trying to put the stands too close to the track. You put them much farther - and that's why probably they would work better.

Thanks for the edit.

bio

[bio]

OK, time for the 3rd one.

It's located just outside Bled, Slovenia. Bled is said to be the sporting capital of Slovenia, all kinds of sports done here, mainly winter sports - due to it's location. Last year Bled hosted the Division B ice-hockey world cup, but it was also host to a chess olympics. Why not put the imaginery GP-track of Slovenia here?

The track itself is composed of two parts, the mre conservative "right half" and the more modern "left half" and is of the bi-circuit type with an inner and an outer circuit. It's roughly 5.5 kilometers long and goes counter-clockwise.

The startline is on the finish straight that is one f the two notable straights with its length of circa 900 meters. It leads to the long and big-radius Google-curve that leads into the first of the two hairpins, the Lauda Hairpin. The next section is the Vodafone Curve, another long and big-radius left curve.
Then comes the Martini Corner sequence. It's a combination of a slow and tight right corner followed by a bit faster right turn that ends in another tight left turn after which we pass the first split time spot.
A faster section comes, starting with the midspeed Champions' Chicane then Two short straight sections wit a left chicane in between. This section leads to the GoodYear Corner, a medium pace 90-degree left corner.

And we are on the 950 meter long back straight, longest straight of the course. It ends in a long and fast left chicane.

From the chicane we get to The Slovenia Curve, very similar to the Google Curve, only it turns left and is smaller in radius - still rather fast. Here we pass the second split-time spot. The Solvenia Curve takes us to a short straight ad then the Senna Hairpin, the slowest section of the track. Out of it there are only two corners to take, a midspeed left then after a short straight a tighter right corner (that also features the pit lane entry) and we are on the start/finish straight.

There are also some alternative track line sections, mainly for motorcycle races.

My biggest concern with this track is that it doesn't seem too rich in good overtaking points. Plus, I don't think the drivers would enjoy this course too much.

There are two parts that I'm considering to redesign to provide better overtaking possibilities:

- the section between the Martini Corners and the GoodYear corner - the vertical "left side" of the track that is - could be made faster with smoothening the two chicanes it has. Thus the drivers would arrive in the GoodYear corner at considerably greater speed. This, plus maybe making the GoodYear Corner a bit smaller radius would make this corner a much better overtaking chance.

- the tightening of the chicane at the end of the back straight (the "bottom" straight of the track) should be an improvement.

Plus, although I made changes, some of the gravel pits seem still way too big

[ScotsBrutesFan]

It's a really nice shape.

With a couple of changes...perhaps even using your option sections. I'd revervse the direction of the track to clockwise.

Perhaps even linking the first curve and the final corner into a short oval of sorts.

[bio]

I think it would also work clockwise. I went for the opposite direction because I kinda liked to imagine the climax of the start going eventually down to the hairpin after the long and easy curve. Though, who knows, letting all the rage and fume of a start into a hairpin might not be a very humain idea - but at least those spectators on stand B would surely get what they were paying for DD

I also like your idea of making the inner circle a mini oval. I had something like that in mind and I connected the two "horns" but not with a short straight, I also included another hairpin - but that may easily go (I don't really like ovals and probably that's why I didn't think of the obvious).

Thanks for the feedback!

bio

[Yannick]

Hello bio,

Heviz is very nice. For me it's the best of the three. And it could be run in the opposite direction, too. It should be a really enjoyable ride!

Bled looks very unique in its blot shape indeed. If my racing series were to visit Slovenia though, I'd choose the layout without the twisty appendix section on the right-hand side of the diagram, because I feel it ruins the flow of the track, and an additional overtaking opportunity could be gained by taking it out.

The first look I've taken at Gatewell immediately reminded me of the old Molson Indy Vancouver street track, which is a good thing. It's conceptually interesting to have a circuit of kinks instead of a circuit of corners, where drivers need to find a round line through those kinks, but just like with your edit of my Track#5 (toy gun track), I think Gatewell unfortunately got its runoff problems in the infield section. Unfortunately, I don't have an idea on how to solve them just yet, except bypassing the infield section.

Thanks for posting these, and your graphics look really good.

[bio]

Yannick,

thx for the comments!

I'm working on the final version of Heviz - the track line itself stayed basically the same, only very minor changes - but I finished the service road system, plus redesigned the pitlane/paddock area, some of the gravel traps and the stands' positioning following the advice of SBF. Plus I added two alternative sections to form two smaller circuits.

As for Gatewell, you are right, of course - I left out the runoff areas completely. This is one of my earliest designs and at that time I was not really aware of the importance of them - however stupid it sounds After I've finished Heviz my next task is to redesign Gatewell - and I see it's gonna be a major redesign... Pity for I love the layout the way it is but it seems way to bad now...

Bled... That twisty appendix section (if we are talking about the Senna Hairpin) was the last modification I made to the track line and I included it because i felt the last sector of the track needs more turns (I left the original line as an alternative part). I wasn't happy about that because I agree with you that it takes away a good overtaking point though.
That's what I was - am, really - considering to replace by tightening the chicane at the end of the South Straight, just before the Slovenia Curve.

I think it's obvious that my design instincts lean to the traditional, retro-style tracks that are usually dominated by mid- to long straights connected by turns - even the "modern" style middle part of the Heviz track was added much later, in the original design it consisted of two straights and a couple of short corners One of my latest designs - I'm about to submit it in the very near future - is my first real "modern" style circuit (and will probably be located near Prague, The Czech Republic) with more and longer curves, less emphasis on straights.

bio

[nickyf1]

Looking foward to that, and as a matter of fact I have relitives that live just over an hour away from Prague.

[bio]

OK, so here is the reconsidered Heviz Track.

Not much in terms of big changes, some minor adjustments. The two considerable being the replacing the pit lane and the paddocks to the left side of the finish straight and positioning the stands in what I hope can be called " more reasonable" (SBF, thanks a lot for pointing these problems out).

[bio]

And now the circuit of Prague as I promised.

The track is situated just outside and north-west of Prague (or Praha in Czech) near the village of Tursko. There is a small wooded area and that's where I imagined the track. As much of the woods as possible has been left and only where it was essential have any trees been removed - thus giving the whole track the atmosphere of what's been removed of the old Hoickenheim ring.

The track is 4.977 km (3.111 miles) long. It features two notable straights the longest being the 596 m (0.373 miles) start/finish straight. There are also two long sections that are not one uninterrupted straight but can be considered that.

Most of the track consists of flowing curves and corners. Surley this one would not be listed among the fastest tracks. I designed the trackline and the sequence of sectors deliberately so that faster and curvier sections follow each other.

The track can easily be divided in 3 big sections - an "upper section", a "mid-section" and a "lower section".
The pistol-shaped upper section consists of the last curvy sector of thetrack plus the finis straight and the long curve following. The lower section consists of a practically straight sector followed by a hairpin and a curvy part. The mid-section features a long straight followed by a combination of slow to fast curves and corners and another straight section.

Here are some images:



bio

[Iceman13]

It has some interesting corners, but I think that it is a bit too twisty.

[ScotsBrutesFan]

There is some nice bits, but there is also some bits that just don't seem to "flow" very well.
With the S/F straight being only 600m long, I think that the indicated paddock and garages would need to come further along the straight which moves the final sequence of corners further into the middle.
I'll give an edit some thought

[bio]

OK, thanks.

bio

[bio]

Iceman,
thanks for the comment.

You're right, it IS twisty a bit, but that exactly was my goal - to make a track line that flows still tests the driving skills.

I definitely wanted to place the track in that patch of wood - why, I don't know I just fund it and said this is gonna be the place - and its dimensions really determined what type of track it can be. It was pretty obvious that it's not gonna be one full of straights - see, I had to leave the woods to include even a rather short S/F straight. Sure, once I was out of the woods anyways I could've made it longer, but I decided I wouldn't - I didn't want the track to be a curvy appendix attached to a loooong straight.

This is, by the way, the second version of my Prague track project, the first one, totally different, is, in fact, much less twisty, much more emphasis on stratights and practically straight sections. I can show you that one also, maybe you'll find to like it more

bio