Routed slot track plan

The Future

Blender is such a versatile and flexible bit of kit that it's very tempting go overboard when looking at future possibilities.

Well, as Oscar Wilde said "I can resist anything but temptation!"

So, here we go...

Developments and Extensions

The following is simply a wishlist of possibilities, ranging from the likely developments at the top of the list to the highly improbable at the bottom.

  1. An extensive track library - Track Planner currently has a 10cm lane width library (comparable to Carrera & ScaleAuto), with up to eight lanes. Obviously it would be good to offer more options; 8cm lane width (similar to Scalextric), 9cm (similar to Policar and Ninco), even 11cm and possibly others. This will definitely happen.
  2. Elevation changes - If you wanted to make a figure of eight track then you would obviously create a bridge where the tracks cross, but elevations add a huge amount of character to any track. I don't foresee any problems in creating elevation changes, but I haven't properly tested them. Probably coming soon.
  3. A range of 3D models - Pit buildings, grandstands, start gantries, and much more, easily imported from the Asset Browser in Blender. A whole library of assets to pick and mix. This will also happen, but may take substantially longer to build up.
  4. Answer an obvious question - How do you transfer the track design to reality? Is producing a CNC compatible file possible? Otherwise, what other possibilities are there?
  5. Animated camera - An animated camera that follows the Track Path to create a video of a lap of the track. I'm sure it is possible, but it obviously isn't a core concept, and the render times may be prohibitive.
  6. Sectional Track Libraries - I'd love to be able to provide track libraries for Scalextric, Carrera, Policar, and ScaleAuto, but it would require a completely different way of operating, and so far making that practical has totally eluded me. So far, it's looking unlikely.

Dedication

I'd like to dedicate the work I've done here to the memory of Pierrick Guillard-Prevert, the creator of Ultimate Racer.

Ultimate Racer was by some distance the most flexible track planning software, and is still my favourite, twenty years after I first downloaded it.

If Pierrick was still with us, he would have been the first to hear about all of this, and I'm sure he would have been delighted to see at least part of his vision for a cross platform, 3D track planning software coming to life.

He will be missed.