I always start out with a top down of what the track is gonna be. Then go in with a profile of what the track is gonna be from edge to edge. Lay this out as one mesh for the whole track (it will not be exported as one mesh). Then go in and adjust pitch and camber/bank and elevations. The infield sections, walls, dirt, whatever meet up with the edge of the track and using a seamless tile-able texture, I use alpha'd images to blend the dirt from the edge of the track to the dirt that goes to the rest of the world.
Want a good track to cut your teeth on, google-map the Streets of Willow. My fav. But Blackhawk Farms is much easier and doesn't have the crazy elevation changes like Willow.
I reckon the ends dictates the means when creating a race tracks. As in, is for fun or for a real racing game? If it's just for fun, it doesn't really matter, just make it look good. If it's for a real game, does it have specific tools or can you simply import your work from a standard 3d package? If the latter, you need to spend some time for figure out what angles of the track and whatnot work within the mechanics of driving in game. Once you have a grasp for this, you'll have a better understanding of how wide, concave, etc. the track needs to be to keep the car on the road. That sounds simple enough, but if you've ever really made a driving game you know what I mean.
While I've used a variety of techniques, one of my favorites was drawing out a line of planned track. Create a small section of track that reflects forementioned settings, and path deform it along that line.
Here's a really quick example of what I mean.
Real game tracks are generally much larger as the passage of distance is so great. I remember working on an adventure game where the vehicle sections were massive in max, but they had to be to keep the run times long enough.
Of course, as I'm writing this, render comes in the with the science. That 3dmax link covers the method I used in great detail.
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Want a good track to cut your teeth on, google-map the Streets of Willow. My fav. But Blackhawk Farms is much easier and doesn't have the crazy elevation changes like Willow.
3dsmax http://www.inspiredrealms.com/racetracktutorial.html
resources: http://maps.google.com/
application: http://www.bobstrackbuilder.net/
[ame]
While I've used a variety of techniques, one of my favorites was drawing out a line of planned track. Create a small section of track that reflects forementioned settings, and path deform it along that line.
Here's a really quick example of what I mean.
Real game tracks are generally much larger as the passage of distance is so great. I remember working on an adventure game where the vehicle sections were massive in max, but they had to be to keep the run times long enough.
Of course, as I'm writing this, render comes in the with the science. That 3dmax link covers the method I used in great detail.
I'm learning, so, it's not for a real game. Just for the fun, and trying to get better and better.
http://www.neilrennison.co.uk/tutorials/tir_circuit_1.html