help requested in making earthen platform

[gwgardner]

I would like to have a stock loading platform that is essentially just the track lowered in relation to the terrain, with an abrupt right angle to the ground near the track. I would place a timber barrier there as a retaining wall.

I've tried making an enbankment set at .99, which is what you see in this screenshot. Didn't work too well.

I just can't figure out a way in the editor to get the earth up near the track like that. Any ideas?

[gwgardner]

Well, here's one possibility: using lpl cut a dark, from the loft objects. I can place the log or timber barrier against that edge, and blend the ground texture.

[thecanadianrail]

as i recall there was a loft shaped just like the concrete barrier from B&SB route, but coloured green like grass that could possibly work?

[DashingDan]

Or how about if you lift the terrain to the level you want, then use a tunnel shadow where the trackage goes, and put a road loft (like dirt path or something) under the trackage to cover the hole in the terrain....and logs along both sides......

But, wait, would that even work? I have no idea.

Now where did I leave that bottle of port?

[SAR704]

You need a custom 3d object which matches the terrain texture underneath exactly. This does not necessarily mean the resolution of the texture in your object needs to be 256 x 256, but it means that whatever is visible in your textures needs to match the terrain texture so that the difference is imperceptible.

Build the sides of the platform that aren't up against the rails at a shallow angle, so that the shadows created by the sim don't darken the 'walls' too much. Experiment with shaders if the lighting doesn't turn out right the first time, relative to the surrounding terrain surface.

[gwgardner]

Thanks for the suggestions. Here's what I ended up doing.

[Csxgp38-2]

That's quite a bit of trash fowling the track, is the platform abandoned? Looks great!

[gwgardner]

It's a platform long enough to load six stock cars at a time, for a cavalry post - Camp Big Tooth. Under the assumption that they might need to move a lot of horses quickly. The track is not used that often, so looks rather forlorn. The wooden planks are used to extend from the platform to the car for loading.