This project started out as making a simulation of just one track and kept on expanding, so the idea became to do a large section of the park.
The track which started the project was Balder. At first, the track was recreated using FVD++ (a force vector design program). This way, an accurate representation can be made.
Next up, was creating the trains. These were created in Solidworks and kept as simple as possible, while still maintaining enough detail. This was done to minimize the polygon count.
The trains were textured in Blender, since this supports better UV mapping.
The track was imported in to NoLimits from FVD++ and all the woodwork was then done in NoLimits and a script was created to get the custom trains working.
The next ride to recreate was Kanonen. This was a quite short but complex track.
The image below was created to check the loop shaping / geometry. The recreated track was used as a green overlay.
Below is another comparison between the track in FVD++ and the real track.
I also started some work on the trains from Helix.
The part I’m still working on is the log flume. This time, not only the logs were created in Solidworks, but also the entire track.
The biggest challenge with this, is to get the animations as realistic as possible, both the movement of the logs and the splash effects.
