How do you model terrain for your tracks?

[Arthur]

OK, as a newbie modeler in general, and especially track modeling, I got to ask how other track makers do the terrain. As I've seen in some tracks, it looks like the terrain was made first, and then the road was carved out in the terrain. I have done it the other way around, which means I need to fill the middle with terrain (and some on the other side as the road as well).

I just wonder, what's the most practical way of doing it? I've tried extruding parts of the road inwards, but in curves I get problems and there's much manual work involved to fix it, so I'm afraid to end up using lots and lots of time, and get a bad result. In fact, I believe it would end up as an unholy mesh.

The other way of doing it, which I'm pondering now, is to use a separate plane object and then model it to follow the road, with no visible gaps between the road and the terrain mesh. This, in my view, seems like a better way of doing it, but of course I'll have to use much time for it to look right, with no visible gaps and all.

Are there any better options I've overlooked? If not, what would you choose in my situation?

[STKRudy85]

Can you send us your blend ,please ?

[Funto]

I've got no experience in making tracks, so my opinion doesn't count much on that, but if I was to make a track, I think I would start by the road and fill the terrain by extruding from it as you did ^^
Then probably I would try to "converge" to a regular structure (grid), so extending the terrain would be simpler then.

I think the road it the most important part on a track so I would start with that ^^

[Kinsu]

Like Funto, I've not made a track yet, but I've used blender a little bit so here's what I think :
The road first ! You finish the road (eventually with a really rough environment for better immersion & test atmosphere), and when you like the gameplay result, you make the environment. The decor is only for display, whereas the road is for gameplay, so priority to the road

I think the extrusion of the road sides is the simplest way : no gaps, no texture problem related to 2 different objects that must be shown as only 1. What I'd try to do is to begin with a simple plane grid, as Funto said, then when it's clean, add some relief (eventually with some mesh loopcuts if you need more details).

Maybe it's simpler at the very beginning to start with a plane (with as much vertices as needed), and move some of its vertices to make the track... then modify the rest of the mesh for the decor... it needs a try (or a track-maker's opinion ).

[Arthur]

Thanks folks, I went with using a separate grid mesh and model with that. Later on I'll probably merge it with the road; I think it's easier this way than extruding from the road manually, with all the headaches that would bring. But I still have a long way to go, so don't expect any alpha-quality release soon.