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You cannot export procedural textures in a 3d model file format, instead materials using only a single image texture mapped onto the model with a uv map are required. However you can bake procedural textures to use them as an image file. So you might wanna look into uv mapping and texture baking, here's a quick tutorial for the latter. For your lighthouse (and for most buildings) though it's probably a better idea to use tilable image textures in the first place. There are a lot of sites providing high quality pbr textures for free like for example texture haven or cc0textures

New to Blender and I have followed some tutorials, so far so good, thanks to everyone on here who has uploaded tutorial videos, they are all really helpful.

I can't for the life of me work out how to get the objects to show textures within NoLimits. I've gone through the tips on here, and on the 3D modelling thread, and seemingly every other thread related to modelling, and nothing I have tried seems to work.

I followed a tutorial to create a procedurally generated brick texture which is working great for me in blender. Does anybody know the step by step process for getting this brick texture to show in NL? I've tried the UV unwrapping and baking materials approach but I'm obviously missing a critical step somewhere, because whatever I try the material shows up white in the editor. I have other basic materials on my model, for example I have painted the base in a solid grey colour material, and the grey colour does show in the editor.

Is using the procedurally generated textures going to cause me problems importing to NL? They seem to be a really powerful feature in blender and I like the idea of setting up some base materials that I can then tweak depending on my requirements for each ride. But if importing them to NL is problematic, I think I will look at a different approach. My other concern - will the texture files be huge if I have a lot of area covered by a particular material? They seem to be random throughout the whole surface, so I'm assuming they will create one large image, rather than just a smaller seamless image that could just be tiled. The object I am trying to create is a brick lighthouse (https://imgur.com/a/IHWMOJY), so there are a lot of brick repeats within the main body of the structure.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

Today's update:

Slight computer issue/dumbness set me back, but I finished all of curve 3, 4, and I'm about to start 5. Or more simply, I'm into Splashin Safari and almost to the big spiral turn. I also worked on the mated structure behind this section (double up/waterslide hills) as well as framed the first drop tunnel. Not as much as I was hoping to get done today but still solid progress.

The two big hard parts will be the helix (probably comparable to the first drop) and the spiral curve, which I have yet to attempt anything similar for supports in a very long time. Each bent turns at a different rate so that will probably take some figuring out. These two sections are also the last ones that need finalized banking.

Wondering if my frustrations with the packaged Ranger flat ride are 'normal' behaviour. When it's operating on auto it moves in the way a real life ride does, smooth movements, slowing to a stop before quickly reversing.

However, when in manual, the movements are quite 'steppy' and trying to replicate a swinging motion is awkward, with the ride slowing through a number of speeds, before stopping, pausing, before I am able to start movement in the opposite direction.

This is on the latest build on OSX.

Stay safe.

Well that was a fun contest! Unfortunately I won't be able to finish mine in time. I had a pretty neat B&M invert going, but put a massive vertical loop in one of the tightest spots where I had to pass back over, making it impossible to get both track and supports in realistically. Had I found the error a few days ago, I might've had time to start again, but I don't know that I'll be able to do so at this point.
Thanks for putting this on anyway!
Good luck to everybody.

Hello, I wanted to know if someone has the vekoma mine train 785m that can lend it to me, I would appreciate it.
Here I leave a reference link so you can see it: https://rcdb.com/r.htm?ot=2&mo=8406

Biggsl02 posted on June 5th, 2020

I love the sound of it, if I'm understanding correctly each time you ride the different track switches will send you in to a different part of the ride? That would work great with a Mario type theme, given how your typical Mario track has lots of shortcuts. I would think the concept would lend itself well to some sort of duelling element as well, so maybe starting with two stations, have them race a little as well. In my head I'm struggling to picture how it might work, but it would be cool if your switching arrangements mean that regardless of which station you start at, you may end up on the same bit of track in the middle of the ride.

I think if I was starting something like this, I would create a really basic track layout with just the switching arrangements first. Once you have proved the concept will work, then go about integrating a proper layout with all your elements.

Good luck with it!

Those are actually two seperate concepts

I do like the idea of the switch tracks on the BC Coaster, however they do somewhat kill the pacing which is the opposite of what I want for this high speed, high intensity coaster.
I've proven the switch concept to work on a smaller minetrain model, but now I'm doing it as a Intamin Blitz. For the Switch Blitz, I plan on naming it Prism and having each split turn the track a different color, kind of like how colors split when light is shone through a prism. the background will be entirely white, as well as the station and lift hill, but after that it'll be a multicolored mess of track. I have some, but not a whole lot, of work done on Prism, and it's proving that it'll be extremely difficult and take a very long time.

Thank you for expressing interest and feedback!

I love the sound of it, if I'm understanding correctly each time you ride the different track switches will send you in to a different part of the ride? That would work great with a Mario type theme, given how your typical Mario track has lots of shortcuts. I would think the concept would lend itself well to some sort of duelling element as well, so maybe starting with two stations, have them race a little as well. In my head I'm struggling to picture how it might work, but it would be cool if your switching arrangements mean that regardless of which station you start at, you may end up on the same bit of track in the middle of the ride.

I think if I was starting something like this, I would create a really basic track layout with just the switching arrangements first. Once you have proved the concept will work, then go about integrating a proper layout with all your elements.

Good luck with it!

raptoralex posted on June 5th, 2020

Why would you torture yourself with custom supports for the entire ride? Just do custom lateral supports.

To get proper bent spacing and ledger placements. I actually kind of enjoy it, and it's not my first go around with wood coaster supports so I know what I'm getting into. I've actually made a lot of progress for basically a day and a half of work.

boulderdashcci posted on June 5th, 2020

^ Thanks! It's one of my favorite first drops of any coaster.

Mine too. Wish I liked the rest of the ride just as much.

I highly doubt that anyone sees or reads this but oh well

Recently I've been playing alot of Mario Kart Wii and 8. Anyone who has played any game of the franchise knows that with every game comes a new edition of a certain course. This course has become a staple, an icon of the series, and I plan to make a coaster based on this. These tracks have tormented people who aren't familiar with the games with their difficulty. This track I'm talking about isn't Rainbow Road [maybe someday but not now] but instead Bowser's Castle. I've always found these to be some of the most visually impressive and difficult tracks, and just generally always satisfy.

Now with this concept, I plan to design a coaster and have a castle in the style of one of the tracks built around it. I'm not going to have it follow the course of any of the existing BC tracks, but instead have it be as though it's my own entry to the Bowser's Castle mini-franchise. I plan on having this coaster be an Intamin Accelerator, and I already have a design from a while back that I believe would fit quite nicely with this idea.

If I finish the project, I plan to make a video using the music from one Bowser's Castle or another. Right now I'm heavily leaning towards Mario Kart 8's BC soundtrack, as I feel it perfectly incapsulates all the best parts of these iconic courses.

I'll post updates if/when anything more happens with this. I don't currently have access to my computer, so it may be a week or so before I can really get to work on this. I'm somewhat excited for this project, and I hope to pay proper respect to all of the Bowser's Castle tracks. If anyone would like to know more, or potentially even help with this project, I'm more than open to any advice, critique, or help.

Why would you torture yourself with custom supports for the entire ride? Just do custom lateral supports.

^ Thanks! It's one of my favorite first drops of any coaster. I think it's as about as close as I can get. Here's a POV shot:

I always loved the shaping of Legend's drop and yours looks pretty darn close. Great progress!

So for the past two days I've been listening to Fugazi on repeat and banging out a good amount of support work. I've decided 3D supports aren't practical for now, I'll be revisiting that on a smaller ride in the works later. There are a few things that bother me about NL supports that I'll be trying to figure out how to work around but for the time being I've used my 3D support templates to start laying down bents. I have a good deal of the heart of the ride (lifthill and everything that stems off it) set in place. Some of the ride still doesn't have banking so I need to finish that before I can start supports in those areas.

A few new pictures:

Thanks for checking it out!

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To 330, the rounduppable
rounduppable

Roundup 330

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-Ride_Op

Submissions are now open!

https://forms.gle/pzuhMhfhi3erPc717

Just provide your username, coaster name, and a link to your nl2package. This could be a Google Drive link, Dropbox, NLC Exchange, anything as long as we are able to download your park. Packages must not be password protected.

We look forward to seeing all your entries! Good luck.

MACTAFF posted on May 15th, 2020

Just Jay posted on May 15th, 2020

The option to select multiple track sections and change them at once to another track style, instead of doing it one by one

isn't this already possible by holding shift when selecting different sections?

Holding control, yes. But it is not possible to change those into another section type at once. You need to do that section by section by section

Changa posted on June 2nd, 2020

Halfway done with supports. I'll need a miracle to finish this in time while moving house!

thats cool, keep up a great work