Roads: crossroads & connecting roads

[dmarkwick 261]

Nothing seems to have been written here about this topic so...

Trying to lay a road network, I have laid a couple of roads but have no idea how to connect them up with crossroads, T-junctions etc. Do I lay the crossroads etc first then connect them up with separate roads? Each & every time there's a T-junction or a crossroads does that indicate the end/beginning of a new road? I had thought that I could thread a main first road through the landscape then insert T-junctions where necessary but now I don't think that's the right way.

Any sources for crossroad & T-junction usage?

[Nicholas Bell 0]

You have the idea, just be sure you don't put down the intersection as a special part. Instead you generate a terminal part. Then you continue building new roads off the A, B, or C leg of the terminal part.

Of course getting a road net to connect back to itself at some point is a problem. In some cases you can terminate the road with a straight piece and it will be visually "under" the road it connects to which doesn't look too bad. In other instances the last road part laid is visible "on top" of the road it's connecting to, which looks bad. In this case the only option is to get the road as close as possible and terminate it, and use mesto terrain to fill in the gap between the roads. Before I understood why I wondered why all the roads in the official ArmA maps didn't connect all the way.

[dmarkwick 261]

Aha, OK that was the pertinent bit of info I needed, I was laying them as a "special" road section. That seems to make sense to have them as terminators, once you've been told

Thanks again for the help

[dmarkwick 261]

*sigh*

I swear, it's every step of every thing I ever do is like this.

So... now that I got T-junctions and crossroads as terminators, I find 2 problems:

1. How the heck to attach terminators to 3 roads simultaneously? I can attach a T-junction to a road, have that T-junction have all the correct road names at each point, but I can only attach it to one road. As soon as I try to attach a second road I either generate another T-junction or generate a road segment off into empty terrain.

*Edit*

OK never mind, just realised I got to build all roads off the junction itself I think. But each time I try to add a T-junction as a terminator it only allows exit C as an attachment point.

But I still got this problem:

2. How do I make the T-junction a right-hand junction?

[Nicholas Bell 0]

Quote[/b] ]2. How do I make the T-junction a right-hand junction?

When you generate the terminator part, select the special part, select the p3D you want (eg "kr_new_asf_asf_t), then you get:

"Attach to Road by A" or "Attach to Road by B" which determines which way the intersection faces.

Isn't this fun?

[dmarkwick 261]

Isn't this fun?

Oodles I actually find the road laying itself quite soothing, but this T-junction road-joining madness is souring it a little.

OK, so I need to also add the T-junction (which, oddly enough, is actually kr_new_asf_asf_t) into Special as well as Crossroads?

When I select this as a Special terminator, I only get a choice of A or B as the attachment point, and then after it's generated the new road section only has an A or B exit point, no C. So it looks like Special road sections only come in two-point flavours.

Say, where did YOU learn this stuff?

*edit*

Can I take it that the proper adherence to T-junctions and crossroad construction is VERY important to AI pathfinding? Otherwise I'd be happy just to have some tracks just start at a road edge without a T-junction.

[Nicholas Bell 0]

Quote[/b] ]so I need to also add the T-junction (which, oddly enough, is actually kr_new_asf_asf_t) into Special as well as Crossroads?

Actually no. Not sure why I did this myself! But it does work either way.

Quote[/b] ]When I select this as a Special terminator, I only get a choice of A or B as the attachment point, and then after it's generated the new road section only has an A or B exit point, no C. So it looks like Special road sections only come in two-point flavours.

Unless you use a true crossroads as opposed to a T intersection. A "T" intersection will have only 2 ends to work off of because the 3rd leg is attached to the road you are terminating.

Quote[/b] ]Can I take it that the proper adherence to T-junctions and crossroad construction is VERY important to AI pathfinding? Otherwise I'd be happy just to have some tracks just start at a road edge without a T-junction.

Honestly can't say I know the answer to this, but your assertion certainly sounds correct. A more cynical answer might be "what AI" or "what pathfinding"

[dmarkwick 261]

OK I'm not really getting anywhere with this.

I cannot get 3-point T-junctions to reliably appear at the end of roads, in a way that allows me to create networks of roads. I need a step-by-step. Including which lists to add in the T-junction models.

The best I've been able to manage is to lay down discrete separate junctions, add on one straight part of the relevant road name, then manually place it to align onto the end of that road. So to my way of thinking there's two roads of the same name, one consists of only a stub sticking out of a junction, and neither has a proper terminal.

Any help, tutorial/info link would be gratefully received

[Planck 1]

Aha......no

The way I work with this is...............

I start a road net with a T junction or crossroads piece, depending on my needs.

I end this road net usually with a road end piece.......*konec.p3d.

Then I would start a new road net with a further T piece or crossroads piece and position it to continue from where the last one ended..all depending on my needs for the road nets I was working on at the time.

I would eleborate a lot more, but my machine is sick atm and my extensive library of info and programs (Visitor etc) are not available on this machine.

Planck