What is this?

This is collection of Traxx TXX project files containing the exact texture layouts of the stock 4x4 Evolution tracks. These are only TXX files, you will need to extract the ART from the 4x4 Evolution track PODs before you can use them (see instructions). TXX is a saved Traxx track project, holding all track data within it.

Following up on what was started "here", I have converted the 4x4 track layouts into TXX files (which can readily be used to build PODs with) for the purpose of allowing others to continue the work started by Phineus and EmceeMart so long ago. What needs to be done at this point is to assemble usable templates and patterns and perhaps even assign proper texture properties as all grass, dirt, depth designations were lost in the translation.

Instructions: (one method)

1) Go get the full version of Traxx (which is now FREEWARE) at www.malibu350.com

2) Unzip it to it's own folder and run it, once it's setup and running go to "Options" (in the "View" menu) and set your folders to just plain "ART" and "MODELS", meaning no long folder path preceeding those folder names (i.e. c:\programs\blah\blah) . Doing this will allow you to create new folders anywhere you like and paste copies of traxx.exe into them, this allows for unique working folders for each project, with Traxx setup this way it will always look for ART and MODELS in relation to where it is at instead of in a single fixed location.

3) Create a new folder then paste a copy of Traxx.exe into it, chose a simple to type path such as "C:\Traxx4x4"

4) Launch Podview and extract a stock 4x4 track into the new folder, being sure to "recreate directory structure".

5) Copy the proper TXX file from this ZIP (matching the track POD you extracted) into the new folder, then launch Traxx. See table for trackname/podname equivilents.

6) Open the TXX file with Traxx and you're ready to edit. Write a POD and you can play it in MTM2 or 4x4, or you can clone it with TrackEd3.

Missing Textures

Traxx cannot load more than 512 terrain textures (the MTM limit), therefore the two tracks with more than 512 textures had to be trimmed down to work properly. Here is what has been carefully cut:

Technical: how it was done

I've wondered for a long time how to convert a 4x4 track into an MTM track, having just figured out some things related to textures I realized how the terrain texturing might be converted, a few minutes of experimentation revealed it could be done. I discovered the .TEX file inside a pod lists all the textures used in a track and the .CLR file holds the data that determines how they are laid out. Here is how I did the converting:

1) I started a new track with Traxx by pressing "new", then wrote a "blank" POD without doing anything else but giving it a simple name (to name the base data files), I then completely extracted this track POD to a new folder with Podview, and pasted a copy of Traxx into it as well.

2) I extracted a stock 4x4 evolution track into yet another new folder, with Podview. In the resulting "data" folder were the .TEX and .CLR files needed.

3) I edited the .TEX file with Wordpad to make it look like an MTM style .TEX (compare them and you'll see what makes them different). I deleted the second part of the listing containing the "shadow textures" (all with "$" in their names), as well as everything from the very top of the file except for the number for the base textures. Then, creatively using search and replace I eliminated ALL of the numbers preceeding the textures in the listing, then saved the file, which was now identical to an MTM style .TEX (the same format as a pod.ini -- number/files).

4) I renamed the .TEX and .CLR files to the same name as the "blank" track's basename then moved them to the new track's folder, overwriting the existing ones, I then moved the ART folder to the new track's folder.

5) I then started Traxx and "cloned a TrackEd track", selecting the .SIT file of the extracted blank track. Thanks to the .TEX and .CLR the 4x4 textures loaded right up in the way they were supposed to. I then gave the project a new name, made a custom track palette for possible MTM2 usage, then saved the TXX file.

This process takes less than 10 minutes per track. I averaged between 6 to 9 minutes each time, with the exception of two tracks which had more textures than would load in Traxx and required some selective removal (in Traxx, NOT the .TEX file).

Track name / POD name equivilents: