I am sure that others have done this before and probably much more successfully , but i thought I'd pass on this technique of using embankments so one can get a more realistic outcome, I try to avoid using embankment splines because all too often they lack variety, but they do have a great advantage of enabling one to create narrower ledges and to fill under track where surveyor topography tools are not subtle enough. so i have been working on ways to get variety into the sides of the embankment . this seems to work quite well.
i customised some embankment splines with generic new mexico/colorado dirt textures and used that for the ground texture as well. using the embankment on either side of the track i've built up the ground so it covers most of the embankment ( this also helps as a guide when using the topography tools )
The big issue here was when I built up the ground on the right it covered the track and when I lowered it,that left a gap under the track which looked awful . To counter this I put another embankment under the track ,which filled in the gap and allowed me to make a narrower track bed. I then inserted vegetation on the ground underneath, thus one has more variety than one can usually achieve with a spline and also one can get closer to the track than one could otherwise, it takes a while,( theres couple of patches I cannot cover in this example which I have to camouflage with rocks etc ) but I think the end result makes it worth it .
You can see how much closer I got to the track , the only thing is , the ground is higher then it should be on the right, as the embankment cannot be rolled, but I figured it was a reasonable trade off. if I played with it more I reckon it would also allow me to make a ditch next to the track as well .
If anyone has any other way to do this I'd love to see your solution .
i customised some embankment splines with generic new mexico/colorado dirt textures and used that for the ground texture as well. using the embankment on either side of the track i've built up the ground so it covers most of the embankment ( this also helps as a guide when using the topography tools )
The big issue here was when I built up the ground on the right it covered the track and when I lowered it,that left a gap under the track which looked awful . To counter this I put another embankment under the track ,which filled in the gap and allowed me to make a narrower track bed. I then inserted vegetation on the ground underneath, thus one has more variety than one can usually achieve with a spline and also one can get closer to the track than one could otherwise, it takes a while,( theres couple of patches I cannot cover in this example which I have to camouflage with rocks etc ) but I think the end result makes it worth it .
You can see how much closer I got to the track , the only thing is , the ground is higher then it should be on the right, as the embankment cannot be rolled, but I figured it was a reasonable trade off. if I played with it more I reckon it would also allow me to make a ditch next to the track as well .
If anyone has any other way to do this I'd love to see your solution .