Trouble with Switch Tracks and Straightness

So I'm trying to make a ride with a dual station and a launch. I was hoping to split and merge via fork (instead of table) and have the fork in a Straight/Left configuration, so one side of the station would make a slight bend to get to the launch track and the other side would simply head into the launch straight on. In other words, instead of the launch track being in between the two station platforms, it would be directly ahead of one and off to the side of the other.

HOWEVER, for whatever reason I can't seem to get everything totally straight. I set the transfer track "special properties" to the correct position and everything, but connecting the other pieces of track ends with one vertex being like .3 feet or even less off. It may not sound like much but it's really noticeable in the sim and everything.

I can't see what I could possibly be doing wrong, unless some track types are naturally difficult to work with the transfer tracks...

I also realize this might be confusing without screens but I'm in a rush at the moment... if you need screenshots to be able to answer this just let me know and I will be happy to post them.

Are you locking key vertices?

Double click the vertex to open the Vertex Panel for that vertex and manually enter the values.
Manually set a strict endpoint vertex at both ends of the "straight side" and check the "Locked" box for each.
Next manually set a strict endpoint vertex at both ends of the "bent side" and check the "Locked" box for each.

Strict will ensure the track passes through the vertex so it stays straight the entire length, Locked ensures the vertex doesn't move around on you.

i.e. Straight - (0, 0, 0)(20, 0, 0) Bent - (0, 0, 10)(20, 0, 10) will create two straight sections 20 units long and 10 units apart. Now connect them to your switch.

you cant strict the first one from the switch. the first vertices before and after the switch should make itself straight and you cant change it, or modify it in any way.

plantoris wrote:

you cant strict the first one from the switch. the first vertices before and after the switch should make itself straight and you cant change it, or modify it in any way.

Don't use the first vertex after the switch. You can set the position of those absolutely, and you can lock them. You can't strict them, but the straight section won't have a problem there. For the bent section you will need more vertices to make the turns smooth, anyway, so by the time you need a strict vertex it shouldn't be an issue.

Using my example from the previous post, for the bent section you would set the Z position of both of the funky vertices to 10 and the Y to 0, and X would force itself to be the correct position (?, 0, 10)(?, 0, 10). Then put the station platform vertices as described. From overhead, at a bare minimum, it would look like this:

Code: Select all

    (?, 0, 10) *  (0, 0, 10) *                     (20, 0, 10) *     (?, 0, 10) *
/                                                                                  \
--   (?, 0, 0) *   (0, 0, 0) *                      (20, 0, 0) *      (?, 0, 0) * --


If you really can't get my method to work with those funky vertices, you can bury them against the switch and it's like they don't exist. The turn will be harder to make smooth if you do it, but it can be done.

I forgot to mention that part of the fundamental problems here is that when I try to manually insert vertex properties, it always snaps back to the point that's slightly off. Trying to bury the offending vertex in the switch still yields bumps and crookedness.

You aren't going to get that first vertex to align exactly. Add another vertex between the first vertex and the stricted vertex. Get the pair of first vertices close to the same spot. Bottom line, you aren't going to get a perfect mirror, but you can get that first vertex less than .1 off in 2 of the vertices, and in the transition it won't be that noticeable.

Here is a sample track that I just built that does it. http://ook-ook.net/circle.nl2park

I suppose that's part of the question then; WHY can't I get that first vertex to align exactly? Is this how it's supposed to behave, or is it a glitch? If the right station is at X=0, and the switch track is set to X=0 (in this case), why on earth is that first vertex snapping to .22 or whatever when I try to set it to 0?

I will look at your method if minimizing the crooks.

edit: I'm not sure if your example really answers my question, only insofar as the track immediately curves after the merge so I wonder if it's covering up some of that crookedness. How straight can you get it to be if the track were to continue on straight after the merge, that's what I need to know... I have a feeling you'll tell me it's the same, but then maybe something happening on my end only?

zacattack1104 wrote:

I suppose that's part of the question then; WHY can't I get that first vertex to align exactly? Is this how it's supposed to behave, or is it a glitch? If the right station is at X=0, and the switch track is set to X=0 (in this case), why on earth is that first vertex snapping to .22 or whatever when I try to set it to 0?

That one I don't know. I'd like to give a good programmer answer, but I don't know. I'm sure it has something to do with having to maintain a straight line out from the track, but it auto calculates values so it doesn't make sense to me that you can't set an absolute value manually one axis and have it calculate the other axis correctly to put it there. It's possible it has something to do with limits of the number format and rounding errors.

zacattack1104 wrote:

edit: I'm not sure if your example really answers my question, only insofar as the track immediately curves after the merge so I wonder if it's covering up some of that crookedness. How straight can you get it to be if the track were to continue on straight after the merge, that's what I need to know... I have a feeling you'll tell me it's the same, but then maybe something happening on my end only?

There shouldn't be any change at all. The switch effectively stops the spline at that point so any residual twisting/curving/what have you that you experience sometimes when moving connected vertices shouldn't happen. I will, however, edit the file and re-upload it.

Okay, I edited the file: http://ook-ook.net/circle.nl2park

The only vertices I changed were to extend the straights before and after the switches. Between the switches I added stations (and made the rest of the track a transfer) so that you could ride around it and see, but I didn't touch any of the vertices between the switches in the station area. Is that what you wanted to see? Or did you want the station sections to be farther apart so the track has to have a straight section before pulling into the left station?