Build the
Track.

The Unleashed Track Editor allows you to create a track that can be loaded and played with the MX vs. ATV game. You can create the terrain, color it as you like, add objects such as starting gates and rocks, and define paths for the computer-controlled riders to follow. You can then export the track and load it inside the MX vs. ATV game in the same way you would with the built-in maps. Additionally you can trade tracks with your friends, or download other people’s maps and play either locally or with others online.

The Unleashed Track Editor is a very powerful tool and allows you to quickly and easily create very rich and detailed tracks. However, there are some limitations. You cannot add new models to the game engine, such as new vehicles or new in-game objects. The game A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) cannot be modified, and thus for single-player tacks, you must take into account the play style of the computer-controlled opponents. New skybox textures cannot be created; you must use one of the existing in-game skyboxes. Finally the physics engine cannot be modified, so unfortunately you cannot create a map with lunar gravity.

Icon Bar

This bar is located along the top of the screen. The buttons on this bar generally control global options such as loading and saving, or changing the current sidebar.

Sidebar

The bar located along the left side of the screen is the Sidebar. The currently active sidebar determines what aspects of the track can be modified. Usually it allows the selection of tools that can be used in the main panel.

Main Panel

The main window of the display is the Main Panel. This is where the track is displayed. When a tool is selected, you would click within this panel to apply it.

The “Terraforming” sidebar allows you to manipulate the physical aspects of the terrain, such as adding hills or jumps. To activate the “Terraforming” sidebar, select the icon with the bulldozer in the icon bar. When this sidebar is active, you are able to modify terrain in the main panel by clicking with the left mouse button.

To manipulate the terrain you can use the icons from the Terraform rollout (below). When active, they will raise, lower, level, smooth, level to base height or add preset shapes to the terrain. This is explained in more detail in the Detailed Documentation section of this help file.

Changing the shape of the brush can be selected directly below the Terraform icons. Upon selecting a brush you can change its size, strength, rotation and smoothing using the slider bars below the brushes.

To assign color to the terrain (painting) you must first select Painting, the icon with the terrain picture on the icon bar. You can paint areas of the terrain with different textures (or solid colors) so for example you could add some grass to a valley or paint a mountain with a stone texture.

To begin, select a brush from the first section under the Painting, and then a texture or color from the second section below the brushes. You can now left click anywhere in the main panel to begin painting the texture on the terrain.

Custom textures can also be imported by opening the Blocks section at the bottom of the sidebar. This would allow you to add any texture you have created on your track for example a helicopter pad. For additional information see the Detailed Documentation section of this document.

The Generate rollout can be used to automatically color the terrain for you. For example, you can select a dirt texture for the track and a grass texture for the rest of the terrain.

Finally, the High Detail rollout enables you to add a secondary texture on top of your existing texture. The pattern selected will be tiled over the texture that you have created, adding more fine-grained detail to the ground. It is important to note that the detailed texture will only be visible in-game, so you will have to load the map inside the game itself to see the result of this change.

The Lights rollout allows you to control several aspects of the way lighting is rendered. The top two icons allow you to position the sun, the first box allows you to set the horizontal angle of the sun, and the second allows you to set the elevation (and vertical angle) of the sun. The color of the sun and the color of the ambient light can be changed with the swatches just below.

In the shadows section, you can enable shadows for the terrain and for the objects on the terrain. These shadows will not be visible in-game until you press the “Render in terrain textures” button. This button takes the shadows and adds them to the terrain texture so that they can be displayed in-game. If you want to undo the shadow render, you can restore the original terrain texture by using the “Restore Last Textures” button.

Assigning a “Skybox” in the Unleashed Editor is easily done. A “Skybox” is a large textured cube around the track that simulates having a sky. First to active the Light, Sky and Fog sidebar select the icon with the box on three sides of the ground on the icon bar. After changing the skybox, make sure to change camera mode with the camera icon above the images (right) so that you can view the selected skybox.

The section at the bottom controls the distance of the fog, as well as its color. Using the slider bar and the color swatch will change those settings.

The world can be populated with a large number of inanimate objects. These will add additional life to your track and include such items as traffic cones, crates and rocks. To add objects first select the “Objects” icon in the icon bar (Ball icon). This will change the sidebar to the object sidebar.

Then, using the object buttons under tools (below) you can select and displace, add, move, and rotate objects. For additional information on the tools Additional Options please refer to the Detailed Documentation section of this document.

The other four icons (below), in the actions section, allow you to select all objects, delete all selected objects, or align all selected objects with the ground.

The final step of the creation of a track is to save, export and test it. The first of these steps is to save the track using the Save button located on the top icon bar (upper left). This will save the track in the editors own format to allow it to be edited additionally in the future.

Next is to export the track to the format that the game will use to play the track. In order to do this the track is to be exported and you can do so by clicking on the Export Track button on the icon bar (Middle bar area).

The last step will allow you to quickly test your map inside the editor and that can be done by clicking on the Test Track button on the icon bar (located just to the right of the Export Track button).

Congratulations you have created your first track. For additional information please read through the Detailed Documentation section below.

This is the bar located along the top of the Unleashed Track Editor. This bar is broken into seven parts allow you to control the main elements of the editor. These are detailed below.

NewUse this button to create a blank track.

LoadUse this button to load any saved tracks that are in the Unleashed Track Editor format. Upon selecting this option you can select the folder, and then the track file that you wish to load.

SaveUse this button to save tracks in the Unleashed Track Editor editable format. The save format is *. mvaproject for tracks.

UndoSelecting this undoes the last action carried out. You can undo action up to 10 previous actions.

RedoIf an action has been undone, it can be redone with this button. This has the same limitations as the Undo feature.

GeneralSelecting this will activate the General sidebar. This sidebar allows the properties for the track to be set. For additional details see the General Information Sidebar section below.

TerraformingThis activates the Terraforming sidebar. This allows you to edit the height and depth of the terrain to create the track. Details of this sidebar are described in the Terraforming Sidebar section below.

Light, Sky and FogSelecting this activates the Light, Sky and Fog sidebar. Within this sidebar you can select the skybox and set up lighting and fog settings. Additional details are described in the Light, Sky and Fog Sidebar section below.

PaintingThis button will activate the Painting Sidebar. You can paint the terrain with various textures and brushes. For additional details see the Painting Sidebar section below.

ObjectsTo manipulate Objects select this button and it will activate the Objects Sidebar. You can add, remove and reposition objects within the tracks on the sidebar. Additional information is detailed in the Objects Sidebar section below.

ActivitiesSelecting this activates the Activities Sidebar. This will allow you to create and edit the waypoints the AI controlled riders will use on your track. Additional detailed information is described in the Activities Sidebar section below.

ExportThis button will export the level into a format which can be read in by the MXvsATV Unleashed game, the tracks should be saved in the \Data\UserTracks\ directory in the program folder. The file saved with this function cannot be reedited by the Unleashed Editor. If you want to save an in-progress track use the save command listed above. The save format is *.pak for tracks that have been exported and can be run in the game. To run a track that has been saved to the UserTracks directory, enter the MXvsATV game and select “Single Player” from the main menu, then “User Tracks” from the single player menu. Note: When a track is exported a unique ID is generated. This ID changes every time you save the level, even if it has the same name and track data. If you and your friends do not have the exact same version of the level (with the same unique ID), you will not be able to play the level together.

TestSelecting this button will launch the MXvsATV game and automatically load your current track in free ride mode. This allows you to get a feel for the terrain and lighting of your level, exactly as it will appear later in-game.

StadiumToggle on or off the displaying of the stadium. This button is deactivated in outdoor mode.

TrackToggle on or off the displaying of the track.

LightingToggle lighting on or off.

FogToggle the fog on or off.

Point GridTo toggle on or off the point grids select this option. When toggled on it will allow you to see the points at the corners of the grid squares, overlaid on the terrain.

Wireframe GridTo toggle on and off the wireframe grid, select this option. When toggled on it will display the actual borders of the polygons, overlaid on the terrain.

View AboveTo change the camera view to look down upon the track, select this. This will move the camera directly above the terrain, facing down.

View IsometricSelecting this will reset the camera to the default position.

View SkyboxTo view the skybox that you have set for your track better select this button. This will position the camera at a lower angle to view both the track and the skybox.

Toggle View 2DThis button toggles on and off a small helper window that gives you a two dimensional overview of either the terrain height map or the painted texture.

The Terraforming sidebar allows you to modify the terrain to create the track. The process of creating an Outdoor track (National) differs slightly from creating an Indoor track (Super Cross). Both types of tracks include the Inner Terrain (track) the main area that is driven by the vehicles. In addition an Outdoor track (National) also requires Perimeter Terrain to be created that surrounds the Inner Terrain track. This additional Perimeter Terrain is not necessary when creating an Indoor track (Super Cross) as it is surrounded by a pre-existing stadium that is selected as you start the track. To better illustrate how the Inner and Perimeter Terrain pieces work together see the below images:

The first rollout is used to change the current section of terrain being edited, to import or export terrain to file and finally to change the scale of the terrain elevation.

This Landscape is created in exactly the same way as the Central terrain, to modify either element use the terrain edit buttons (left). The yellow area in the icon represents the area of the track that you are editing. These buttons are not active if you are creating an Indoor track. Once created, both parts of the terrain can be viewed simultaneously by switching to any sidebar. This is with the exception of the Terra Forming and the Painting sidebar.

The next set of icons allow you to export or import terrain. These functions use the following file formats: *.bmp, *. png or *. tga file. These are typically grey scale image that represent the height data of the terrain. Using such and image darker color will create lower terrain areas while lighter color will be your higher elevation points. Upon using either of these functions any painting, objects or waypoints would be left in place; they only export or import terrain height data.

Elevation Scale

The last element of this rollout is the Elevation Scale slider. This affects the degree to which the terrain is affected by the height map. Use lower values if you want short smooth hills and higher values to create spiky peaks. The slider will affect all of the terrain. It is not permanent and can be changed at any time. Additionally it not only affects existing terrain but also future terrain being created, see below:

The second rollout under the Terraforming Sidebar controls how you will paint the terrain. Along the top the first four buttons allow you to Raise Terrain, Lower Terrain, Equalize Terrain, Smooth Terrain, Level to Base Height and Use Pre-Made shapes.

The larger middle section contains the available brushes which can be used. Additionally there are a small set of buttons (right) that allow you to change the size of the brush icons.

Finally along the bottom there are sliders which affect the way the brushes are applied (more details below).

Size X/Y

This slider controls the width and height of the brush. The X and Y values can be linked together with the lock icon directly to the left of them.

Strength

The magnitude of the terrain raised, lowered or smoothed is controlled by this slider.

Rotation

This slider is used to change the orientation of the brush.

Smooth

The level of smoothing applied is controlled by this slider (see pictures below).

Base Height

The Preset Shapes tool and the Level tool enable this slider, the way it affects each tool is explained below.

Raise/LowerWhen one of these buttons is active, using the brush selected will either increase or decrease the height of the terrain. To raise or lower the terrain, first select the relevant button and left click on the terrain. Keeping the brush in one area longer and holding down the left click will add to intensity of the deformation.

LevelThis button can be used to extend a region of terrain at a specific level (height). For example this could be used to extend the size of a plateau or to level terrain between two sides of a valley. To use this tool, left click and hold the left mouse button on the area you want to extend, as you paint with the button still held down, terrain under the mouse will be raised or lowered to match the region where you first selected the terrain.

Level to base height

When painting with this brush, the area under the cursor is set to an exact level (specified with the “Base Height” slider at the bottom).

SmoothThe smooth tool is used to reduce sharp edges and sudden changes in height. Select this tool and left click on with the brush on the area you wish to smooth. The size and intensity of the smoothing is affected by the sliders below the brushes.

Preset ShapesWhen this icon is selected, the list of brushes is replaced with a set of fully constructed shapes. You can use these shapes for many of the common sections that are present on a track. As with the brushes each of these shapes can be modified using the sliders at the bottom of the sidebar. The “Base Height” height option under the sliders is also now available. When this is active (checked) the ground is cleared before the shape is put down and is done so at the base height level. The slider attached to this option determines the base height. When this is not active (unchecked), the pre-set shape acts exactly like a regular brush, it adds to the height of the terrain it is placed upon.

Smoothing can be applied to the brush shape with the Smoothing slider shown above; the following screenshot illustrates the effects of smoothing. The three hills were created with the same solid round brush, but with progressively higher levels of smoothing.

This rollout behaves identically to the global rollout in the “Terraforming” sidebar. You can switch between the center terrain and the landscape, as well as import and export painted terrain.

This rollout is once again similar to the corresponding rollout in the “Terraforming” sidebar. This is broken into two main section, brushes and textures. The brushes in the top half are all the different shaped brushes you can apply the texture with. These can be modified with the slider bars at the bottom. Below the brushes are the textures that you can use. Upon choosing a brush and texture as you left click on the terrain the texture will be painted down. Below the texture are the following brush options.

Size X/Y

This slider controls the width and height of the brush.

Strength

The density of the texture as it is painted is controlled here.

Rotation

The rotation of the brush is controlled by this option.

Smooth

The level of smoothing applied is controlled by this slider (see picture below).

The blocks rollout allows you to paint with an image loaded from disk. You can simply click on the load button; select the image and then paste in on the terrain. The Size, Strength and Rotation sliders behave in the same manner as for regular painting. The second button allows you to place a block on the map, which allows you to select the currently loaded block as the drawing tool (without re-loading the image file).

The Generate rollout is an extremely handy timesaver and is a perfect way to make a first pass at texturing. It automatically colors the entire terrain for you, within a certain set of parameters. For example you chose three main textures, one for the center of the track, one for the edges of the track and one for all the terrain that is outside the track boundaries. You can then set the smoothness of the generation, which will add a smooth gradient between the different areas, and also set the opacity, which determines how much of the underlying terrain is kept visible. To be able to use this tool properly you’ll need to already have laid down your track segments.

The tire tracks segment is used to add tire tracks along the track segments; you can vary the number of tracks, and their opacity.

If you need to undo either of the two operations, you can do so with the “Restore last texture” button.

The “High Detail” rollout enables you to add a secondary texture on top of your existing texture. The pattern selected will be tiled over the texture that you have created, adding more fine-grained detail to the ground. It is important to note that the detailed texture will only be visible in-game, so you will have to load the map inside the game itself to see the result of this change.

The first of the rollouts controls the lighting for the track. The first part of this is the light position, and this is set in the first two boxes. You can change the direction and distance with the first window by moving the sun icon. The second box will control the angle and height of the sun by once again moving the sun.

The next of the light settings is to set the light color. This is done in two parts setting the Sun and Ambient. As you select either it will bring up a color swatch in which you can set the color of either of these light colors. The icon of the sun to the right of the color turns the sun on or off.

Shadow is the next section below under the lights rollout. This is in two parts: terrain and object shadows. Both can be toggled on and off by clicking on the checkboxes above the slider bars. The slider bars control the intensity of the shadows. Every time you change the terrain shadows intensity you will need to click on the Update Terrain Shadow button.

When you are satisfied with all the shadow and light settings click on the “Render in Terrain Textures” option and the shadows will now be part of the texture on the ground. You should do this after you have painted your track.

This rollout allows you to choose the “Skybox” you wish to add to your environment. A “Skybox” is a large textured box around the track that simulates having a sky.

The first of the two buttons in the top right corner toggles the skybox on or off. The second will change the camera view so that the top of the skybox is easily visible.

If you are applying a skybox, but the camera is at a downward angle, the sky will appear to be only a single flat color because only the bottom of the skybox will be visible. The four smaller icons affect the size of the skybox. You can preview icons just below them.

The final rollout on this sidebar is the fog rollout. This allows you to apply distance fog to the track. Setting the fog distance can add atmosphere to a track. This is controlled by two slider bars that set the start and end distance of the fog. Below the sliders is the option to set the color of the fog to match the environment or mood of the track. Selecting this will bring up a swatch of colors to choose from.

This sidebar allows you to place objects on the terrain and manipulate them. The first rollout allows you to switch between Inner Terrain and Perimeter Terrain for placement of objects on the Outdoor (National) tracks. The next rollout is for placing and manipulating objects. Objects are selected in the folder view below the icons and placed using a left click. For objects there are the following buttons under the tools section

Select / Displace ToolTo select an object use this button. You can individually select objects with a left click or drag select objects by holding down the left mouse button and dragging over an area.

Unchanged

When displacing an object, its vertical height and angle of rotation are preserved.

To Ground

Objects displaced while this option is selected automatically have their height adjusted to that of the terrain directly under them.

Ground Oriented

Similar to the “To Ground” option, except that the objects are also rotated to align their bottom with the slope of the terrain directly below them.

Add ToolWhen this icon is the object you have selected, it is added to the world in the folder view below.

To Ground

Objects added while this option is selected automatically have their height adjusted to that of the terrain directly under them.

Ground Oriented

Similar to the “To Ground” option, except that the objects are also rotated to align their bottom with the slope of the terrain directly below them.

Move ToolWhen you have selected an object then selected this button you can drag objects horizontally, in a singular fashion, or in groups.

Location

Moving the mouse will displace the object horizontally.

X-Axis

The object will be displaced along the X-Axis (left/right).

Y-Axis

The object will be displaced along the Y-Axis (up/down).

Z-Axis

The object will be displaced along the Z-Axis (forward/back).

Rotate Tool: Selecting an object, and then this button, will allow you to rotate the object along the Y Axis and change the facing direction of an object.

Free Rotate

Moving the mouse will rotate the object along all axes.

X-Axis

The object will be rotated around the X-Axis.

Y-Axis

The object will be rotated around the Y-Axis.

Z-Axis

The object will be rotated around the Z-Axis.

Select All ObjectsSelect this button to automatically select all objects in the world.

Remove ObjectThis will delete the currently selected object(s).

Move Object to GroundTo move the objects to the ground level, select the object, and then press this button.

Move Object to Ground OrientatedThis button has the same effect as the previous button, except that it also re-orients the object so that the bottom of the object is aligned with the slope it is resting on.

The activities sidebar allows you to put the finishing touches on your map. The list box allows you to select the types of races that will be active on your map. The radio buttons at the bottom right toggle which type of track you are editing. The “Track” setting allows you to edit the physical track that defines the boundaries and starting/ending locations. The “AI” setting allows you to set paths that the computer-controlled players will follow.

Add Activity: Add a new type of race to this track.

Remove ActivityRemove an existing type of race from the track.

The track rollout allows you to lay down sections of track, connect them together, manipulate them and add starting and ending gates. For a detailed description of all the icons, see below.

Next Segment Track Width

Affects the width of track sections as they are laid down. Does not affect existing track segments.

AI Lateral Drift Limit

Value

Amount that the AI will drift from center line.

AI Funnel Convergence Speed

Value

How fast the AI will converge onto the center line from the start.

First Lap Settings

Don’t Count First Lap as a Lap Completed

As stated, if checked, your first lap will not be counted.

Don’t Keep Time for First Lap

As stated.

Start a new segmentTo begin a new track, select this icon and click on the terrain. This will place the first node. The “Add Node” tool automatically becomes active after placing the first node of a segment.

Continue segmentThis tool is selected automatically after a new segment is started. To add a new node simply click on the terrain where you would like to extend the segment and the new node will be placed there. The nodes are joined together automatically. When you are ready to complete a segment, hover the mouse over the starting node of the segment until the segment snaps into alignment with the starting node, then click with the left mouse button.

Insert nodeThis tool allows you to insert a new node in the middle of an existing segment. Simply hover the mouse until the new node appears, then click the left mouse button to finalize it.

SelectWhen this icon is active, the mouse can be used to select the track, or individual track sections. You can click and drag with the left mouse button to change the location of entire tracks, or simply move the individual nodes.

Edit NodesThis tool allows you to select individual nodes. This can be useful to make fine-grained adjustments to either the track boundaries or slight adjustments to the individual AI nodes.

Place start gateSelect this tool and then click on the track segment where you want the start gate to appear. The position of the start gate will determine where the Supercross race begins.

Place end gateSelect this tool and then click on the track segment where you want the start gate to appear. The position of the end gate will determine where a lap ends.

DeleteThis tool can be used to erase entire tracks, or to remove a specific node from a track. To use it, select either an entire segment or a single node in a segment and click the icon.

Import/Export TDFYou can use these buttons to save or load Track Definition Files, which are simply the collection of track segments/nodes associated with the current activity.

Speed: Amount in miles per hour that the AI will attempt to achieve. (Default is set at -1, which is full speed.)

Reset and Special

No Reset Zone

When applied to a node the player and the AI will be advanced to the next valid node.

Pullback

When applied to a node, this option informs the AI to “pullback”.

Elevated

Apply to set the elevation of a node.

Disable ALOD

When applied to a node this disables automatic level of difficulty for that segment.

No Track Offset

When applied to a node, the AI will adhere directly to the center line of the track.

Clutch

When applied to a node the AI will use the clutch where specified.

Preload

When applied to a node the AI will preload where specified. (The AI will preload 10% every mile per hour underneath the target speed).

Allowed vehicles: As stated.

When you have finished laying down your track, press the “Generate” button to automatically create a mini map for you. The mini map may be exported to an image file and later reloaded with your custom modifications. To do this, save the mini map as an image file with the “Save” button, modify the image with your favorite image editing program, and then reload the image with the “Load” button.