The Official NoLimits/NL2 Help Thread

[rollerboy]

My computer has been reset and wiped off nolimits, what can i do?

Jordan.

[coasterlover420]

buy it again...?

 

sorry bro

[odie]

I was wondering how you guys keep your random angles straight? Like the angles that aren't on a line etc. I have my own way but it seems to be pretty hard and it takes a while. So I'm sure one of you guys has a easier way.

 

Thanks!

[kraken613]

^

I would also like to know!

[hyyyper]

I was wondering how you guys keep your random angles straight? Like the angles that aren't on a line etc. I have my own way but it seems to be pretty hard and it takes a while. So I'm sure one of you guys has a easier way.

 

Thanks!

 

1. You make another grid with supports lines so that the random angle is alined with the new grid

 

2. You make every element in a new trackfile and start with the radius and speed where you ended the previous element with.

[Vekoma Fan Boy]

I was wondering how you guys keep your random angles straight? Like the angles that aren't on a line etc. I have my own way but it seems to be pretty hard and it takes a while. So I'm sure one of you guys has a easier way.

 

Thanks!

 

1. You make another grid with supports lines so that the random angle is alined with the new grid

2. You make every element in a new trackfile and start with the radius and speed where you ended the previous element with.

 

I personally don't like that method. I use supports that are lined up with the control handels. Like:

 

1. Select the node you want to build a "random angle" off of, and place a free node on the ballooned end of the control points, connect these two points with a support beam.

 

2. Place a 3rd free node at a sensible place on the map (eg. about where the straight line should go, you may want to put this free node a bit farther from the last node than you plan your track to go.)

 

3.Connect the 3rd free node and the one placed on the back control handle (eg, the one that goes in the opposite direction of the segment you placed) with a support beam. Move the 3rd free node until the two support beams overlap perfectly.

 

If anyone found that confusing, I'll be glad to post pics.

[kraken613]

Post pics! LOL

[Vekoma Fan Boy]

Ok then, all the descriptions are in the pics.

[kraken613]

Ok I get it!

 

Any tips for an inverted coaster Zero-g roll?

[coasterlover420]

Personally, I think using extra lines and supports is too much work and somewhat inaccurate sometimes. In my opinion, the easiest way to keep angles straight is to make the element you want in a different track file, like was mentioned before, and just make it horizontally or vertically (in the top view) and then save the piece as an element and put it in your original track file. This way, the track piece is the exact same dimensions as when you had it horizontally (or vertically...) but it is diagonal.

 

Inverted coaster zero-g roll:

AHG is your friend. haha

 

If you don't know how to use it, then I suggest just taking your time and using visual aids such as rcdb, then going through the element several times and smoothing it out as much as you can. Then save it as an element and put it into your coaster diagonally using the above method (if that's what you meant...)

 

Hope this helps!

[kraken613]

How do you use AHG? I cant really figure it out......

Does if just do G's? Does it smooth at all?

[hyyyper]

AHG only puts in heartline, so you get (when done right) allmost no lateral G's. It does not smooth your track.

[kraken613]

where is something I can use to figure it out! LOL

[Vekoma Fan Boy]

where is something I can use to figure it out! LOL

 

The readme...

[coasterlover420]

AHG only puts in heartline, so you get (when done right) allmost no lateral G's. It does not smooth your track.

 

You are sadly mistaken my friend.

[hyyyper]

^I am not. If you're track is full of jerks and pumping, the AHG won't remove them. You might get a good heartline, but the track will be far from smooth

[Xpress]

AHG works only to heartline and bank the track for you. It will not remove any pumps, or force spikes that you have in the track. It will, however, remove most banking jerks that the original track had.

 

You need to use color specifications in order for it to produce a smooth track. For a track that goes from no color, to black color, you need to color the segment before the black segment green. For a track that goes from black to no color, then the following black segment needs to be red. Color any segments you want the banking to remain the same black.

 

It's a bit hard at first, but you'll get it eventually. It took me around 3 tracks before I got hot to AHG, then several several later before I used the pure red and green colors.

[coasterlover420]

hehe if only you people knew the amazing abilities of the AHG

 

^and you flipped the color codes. Red should be utilized before a black section and green should lead out of a black section.

[Vekoma Fan Boy]

hehe if only you people knew the amazing abilities of the AHG

 

^and you flipped the color codes. Red should be utilized before a black section and green should lead out of a black section.

 

 

Then teach us O great master.

[coasterlover420]

Well, I'll explain it, but I might need to put up a video tutorial or something, I'm not too great with words...bear with me.

 

 

To start, I would suggest the latest version of the AHG, version 1.6, which can be downloaded here.

 

 

1. Take a piece from your original track that you would like to smooth out and save it as an element file. Open this new element into a new track and save the track somewhere with a simple name, such as "track 1."

 

2. It doesn't really matter if you color the whole track black, but you can if you want, it just might take a bit more time. Open the AHG and set the heartline value equal to 0. The filter and the precision don't really matter in this scenario, but the velocity in and out should be set rather high. It doesn't matter how high because we're just smoothing the track, not worrying about the banking. I usually keep them around 100...

 

3. Open your track with the AHG and set the number of segments so that each segment is about 3-4m long. So if your track is 543m, you want about 175 segments. This part is just an approximation. You could still start with 300+ segments if you wanted, it'll just take much longer.

 

4. Heartline the track and save it in the same location as the first track, but we're going to call this track "track 2." Open track 2 in the Editor and "ctrl+G" the whole thing, beginning to end. Then save the track

 

5. Open "track 2" in the AHG and set the number of segments down one digit (so if it was 175, it should now be at 174). Now heartline the track and save it as "track 1."

 

6. Open "track 1" in the editor and "ctrl+G" the whole thing, front to back. Save the track.

 

7. Open "track 1" in the AHG and drop the segments down a digit, heartline it and save it as "track 2"

 

8. Open "track 2" in the editor and "ctrl+G" the whole thing. Save the track.

 

9. Repeat steps 5 thru 8 as necessary.

 

10. By now you should see where I'm going with this. Just keep lowering the value of the segments and "ctrl+g" the tracks until the segments get to be a decent length, such as 20m or so. Then when you get to this point, say we have 28 segments, we'll keep doing the process, but instead of going down, we'll alternate between 2 numbers, let's say 28 and 27. Keep constantly AHGing and smoothing your segment with 28 and 27 segments until the track is as smooth as you want it to be.

 

11. By now, your track will probably be banked rather awkwardly. Just simply save the element into an element file and open it with the Purgatorium and select "remove banking" and run it through. Then you can insert your element into your original track and it is now much smoother than it was before.

 

 

 

Also keep in mind:

1. This procedure has nothing to do with banking a track and you should make sure that the heartline value is set to 0 so that the track doesn't get messed up by the banking properties of the AHG.

 

2. This procedure takes time. You can't expect to just magically smooth a track in 5 seconds. Be patient and be ready to repeat steps a lot.

 

3. For steps 5-8, you don't have to lower the segments by just one each time. You can do it in increments of 5 or so until you reach your two low numbers. Then you can start alternating between those 2.

 

4. The ctrl+G command sometimes screws with your track, so beware if it does funky things to the angles of the control points in the track. If it messes it up, skip the ctrl+g for that time and continue with the procedure.

 

 

Hope this helps! If you have any questions, feel free to leave the sarcasm out and just ask!

[angryemobeaver]

How do you film POV's of your NL coasters, and how can i find out how tall and long my coaster is?

[coasterlover420]

POV's, depending on what version you're using, can be made using FRAPS. In version 1.7, there is a program attached to NoLimits that you can use...I don't remember what it's called because my computer is broken but it has something to do with AVI blah blah...anyone who knows, please correct me! haha

 

You can find how tall your coaster is by clicking on the highest control point and pressing "N." If your highest point isn't a control point, you can either guess, or put a control point at the top.

 

You can find the length of your coaster by going to Coaster+Statistics and clicking X+ until it's stretched out as far as it can go. Then go to the end and it'll give you an approximation. Or, the long way, you can click each segment separately and add up the lengths.

[Vekoma Fan Boy]

^Its called NoLimitsAdvancedSimSetup.exe

 

And as for finding the length, you could just go into coaster->statistics, and look at the value next to Track-Length:

[angryemobeaver]

Thanks for the help, i found out the length and height. I have version 1.6, so how can i make POV's?

[Vekoma Fan Boy]

Download 1.71, its a free update. www.nolimitscoaster.com