Smoothing Properties command (Edit-Modes menu)

This command displays the Smoothing Properties dialog box, which can be used to control the smoothing parameters used by the Move XY and Move Z tools. This command is only available in block mode or in extended-point mode.

Smoothing Properties dialog box - Extended point mode

In extended point mode, moving a point affects the whole surrounding area in the following manner: all points which lie close enough to the selected point are moved together with it; the shape of the track is then adjusted over the "smoothing zone" in order to fit with the applied movement. The dialog box allows setting the respective sizes of these two zones by changing the "Width of zone to move" and "Width of smoothing zone" parameters. These parameters are expressed in arbitrary distance units; the length of a track block is about 50 units. The first distance is by default 0, i.e. smoothing begins immediately away from the selected point, which is the most useful setting in usual circumstances.

Smoothing Properties dialog box - Block mode

In block mode, T3ED can use two different smoothing methods: normal smoothing or "extra-smoothing". In normal smoothing mode, a certain portion of the track (by default slightly more than a block) is moved as is, without any deformation; the shape of the track over the smoothing zone is then adjusted in order to fit with the applied movement. Existing turns in the track are preserved by this adjustment: normal smoothing is therefore appropriate for adding new turns without removing the existing ones.

In extra-smoothing mode, the shape of the track is smoothened using polynomial interpolation, without retaining the original turns. All existing turns within the smoothing zone are removed, and replaced by a single bend which connects the new position of the moved block with the rest of the track. Extra-smoothing is therefore appropriate for deeper reshaping operations, such as replacing a sequence of sharp turns by a single wider turn, or even straightening a track portion.

In both cases, the size of the smoothing zone can be modified by using the "Width of smoothing zone" control: the width of the smoothing zone on each side of the selected block is expressed in units of track nodes (one track block corresponds to 8 track nodes). In normal smoothing mode, the size of the central zone which is moved without deformation can be modified using the "Width of zone to move" control (this parameter is not used in extra-smoothing mode where the smoothing always occurs over the whole smoothing zone). Also, note that smoothing only occurs along the selected movement directions: i.e., the Move XY tool does not act on the track altitudes, while the Move Z tool does not affect the XY coordinates.

Remarks

1. When moving track blocks, be very careful not to create a sharp turn in which the track polygons would overlap with each other; this would cause display problems in NFS. Once the track structure is disorganized, it is impossible to reobtain a normal structure without moving every single point back in place; the only reasonable option is therefore to immediately use the Undo command in order to cancel the changes. In order to avoid this situation, it is advisable to increase the width of the smoothing zone, especially when moving a track block over a long distance. Enabling extra-smoothing is also helpful in many cases. Note that the default smoothing parameters at T3ED startup are only appropriate for moving track blocks over relatively short distances.
2. When extra-smoothing is enabled, selecting a very large value for the "Width of smoothing zone" parameter makes it possible to very easily straighten the track (e.g. in order to make an oval). When the maximum value of 500 is chosen, moving a single track block immediately smoothens a huge track portion, so that moving two or three suitably chosen track blocks is normally sufficient to obtain a track without any sharp turn (oval, speed ring, etc...). Simply remember that, as the Move XY tool does not affect the altitudes, it is also necessary to repeat the process with the Move Z tool in order to obtain a flat track.

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