Official FVD (Force Vector Design) Thread
Lcucu3 posted on November 20th, 2018
Is there a way to zero out the track? I’ve been having issues with making the track level out after a helix, even after setting the roll back to zero.
Specifically adding onto this part, there's two methods you can try.
For a quick method of zeroing out, there's actually a built-in "ToZero" transition style in FVD. There is very little control over its shape, so it is best used in smaller portions of track (like the final transition into a brake run). It's not always perfect, so I tend to avoid using it in the middle of the ride itself, but it can still prove useful when you really need it. Especially if you are trying to line up track directly on an axis or plane at 0/0.
However, adjusting transition properties manually is best for a proper method. When you've reached a spot where your transition is as close to 0/0 as you can get, use the warping tools to fine-tune! Adjusting both the center and tension of the transition in tiny increments can have a decent effect on your final roll. Play with those, and maybe duration/force in very tiny increments to get exactly what you need. While it does take some time, tweaking all of these in 0.001 intervals can often get you that desired 0/0.
Honestly, playing with these features in general is very useful and often overlooked by those learning the program. They prove invaluable in getting the shapes you need.
Lcucu3 posted on November 20th, 2018
Is there a way to smooth out transitions? The ones I’ve been messing around with have just come out rough for whatever reason.
Which transitions are you using? The default cubic should fare pretty well, unless you are making them very short with drastic roll changes. If you are lowering tension or using more linear functions, this will cause the ends of the transition to be very abrupt and Arrow-like, so it's generally best to avoid these unless you know what you're doing with them.
On the other hand, you can try using a transition, then leaving the roll rate constant (flat line), then using a transition to stop the roll. This will allow you to create a simple, less snappy transition. Roll rate takes some getting used to as a newcomer, so keeping things simple will help you get a grip on FVD.
And of course, the built-in smoother helps. Don't go nuts with it - small or tiny amounts are all you need. Going too far with it will actually create lumpy and jarring rides.
Thank you for the reply!
What do you mean by warping tools? Sorry I’m new to this haha
The timewarping tools are located at the bottom left when you edit any function. Mess with those and you'll see what each one does. :)
It looks like Quartic is actually the default, which is a bump transition. You can use these in a few cases, and they're easy to make banked turns with, but I would recommend against using them too much. Create the equivalent transition using two Cubic functions instead. This lets you edit the entry and exit independently. It also allows you to add more pieces in the middle, like a constant roll rate (as shown in my ugly example). In the green segment, the roll is continuing to rotate to the right at 50 degrees per second.
The very last piece (that goes up and then back down) is simply the ToZero function. If it acts really strange, try to add time duration to it, or find a more appropriate place to use it.
I should also mention that if you're adding new track sections without everything lining up, this will cause jerks depending on what got cut off. (Track Sections are the ones on the left sidebar, not necessarily the "append" in the graph section.) If you have any graphs that are hanging off past the end of a Section, then when you add a new section it will get cut off, which can cause a jerk. Make sure everything is lined up before adding new sections. (Workaround: Make large portions of your coaster in giant sections lol.)
Thanks for the help! The timewarp definitely helped.
Question: How would I smooth out this transition? There is a weird bump at the top of the overbank.
Shorten the constant sections on both sides of that transition and then lengthen the transition itself. Adjusting the center of the transition will (I think but just doing this in my head) will change the elevation at the end of the turn. If you want to have a roughly zero degree bank at the start and end, make the area under the positive and negative portions of the banking plot equal (I.e. if you make one part shorter, also make it taller to maintain area under the curve)
Yes, just look at the pic you posted. That green section you highlighted is happening in 0.4 seconds. It's changing from rolling 60 degrees per second to 60 in the opposite direction, in under half a second. That's pretty rough. If you follow JetPulse's advice, it will make the transition last longer and therefore smoother.
If you're using the built-in smoother as well, it's probably acting a bit erratic because you have such a violent change that it has to account for.
I have a beginner question. And by that I mean, I have never used FVD++. I am interested in using the software and am wondering were the best place to download it is. Thanks in advance!
Check the resource thread
I'm very new to FVD, although I did use Newton a while back. I'm currently stuck trying to make a large overbanked turn, more or less similar to Millennium Force. Any tips?
Familiarize yourself with cubic functions for banking. I did a quick mockup and your curve will roughly look something like this as for the graphs (if you are using a force section).
Make sure your banking starts at the bottom of the turn and is a at a constant value (don't use quartic graphs for the banking).
Hi Bear, i've also been told not to use quartic graph for the track banking, but why ?
Here is my first attempt at FVD
How to export the track to nolimits 2 beacause the exporter seems completly broken. I made a B&M inverted with old gen with the litle transport segment before the lift. When I export it to nolimits this segment and the the station turns in the lift hill curve.
It exports fine as long as you export sections starting from the first section in fvd, I tihnk.
Still getting the hang of the program, but I'm happy enough with what I have so far, so I thought I'd share my progress on what will hopefully be my first truly 100% complete coaster:
Looks fantastic for your first coaster!
Thanks! I have a tendency to abandon projects left and right in FVD, so me getting this far on a project is a miracle in and of itself lmao
Does anybody here know how to make a modern Intamin tophat, like in Taiga or Nefeskesen? I've been trying to make one for a while, now, and I'm having a bit of trouble.
Da_gman805 posted on January 19th, 2019
Does anybody here know how to make a modern Intamin tophat, like in Taiga or Nefeskesen? I've been trying to make one for a while, now, and I'm having a bit of trouble.
robdcx's YT channel has a video for tophats that should help get you started: https://youtu.be/HhhX0fHQ4jE
Judging by what I'm looking at in this pic of Nefeskesen, the pull into the tophat starts its roll around where the 4th car is positioned.
Best of luck!
^Thanks for the link to my video, piteous!
I wanted to share a video I just uploaded for working with the basics of FVD: https://youtu.be/basiMa4GW8s. I've been concentrating on making various elements (like the top hat mentioned above) cuz I figured people had already seen all the YT videos covering the basics, but I found that people were still interested in seeing a new one. I tried to make mine well-organized and easy to refer back to later on. Hopefully, people will find it helpful.
Da_gman805 posted on January 19th, 2019
Does anybody here know how to make a modern Intamin tophat, like in Taiga or Nefeskesen? I've been trying to make one for a while, now, and I'm having a bit of trouble.
Shaping of these can be very tricky due to the way that Intamin designs their rides. To my knowledge they still use some form of geometric shaping or influence on most of their rides. Play around with the lateral gs and roll to make the resulting geometric graphs smooth while maintaining the shape you want and you should be in a pretty decent spot.
Hey guys,
I'm really stoked to see that FVD++ is still standing strong, even after around five years of stopped development. Keep it going!
Regards,
Lenny
Lenny!
I probably wouldn't be studying engineering right now if it wasn't for your software, FVD++ changed my life massively.
I can't thank you enough for this extremely powerful program and I'm definitely seeing myself using it more than another 5 years!
Hi Lcucu3,