Custom Track Tutorial
MAINTENANCE
This page is under maintenance. A written custom track tutorial is currently in progress. Do not use this tutorial as a reference yet!!
Introduction
Welcome to the the main page of the Custom Track Tutorial. Here, you'll see a brief overview of the SZS (track) file, a listing of programs you might need to edit them and in-depth tutorials on creating and editing each of the files. All files and sections are combined together to form a track, so it's important to know what each of them does while working with them. It's important to read all the tutorials thoroughly before starting to make the custom track. The tutorials are presented in an order, however, you will find yourself jumping to previous and later steps, as it's impossible to define a strict "order" of building the track. During this process, it's common to run into issues or freezes of unknown origin.
You can join the Mario Kart 7 Modding Central discord server if you have any question or if you have problems.
Overview of a Custom Track File
Mario Kart 7 uses SZS files to store track data. All of the original tracks can be found and extracted from the game's CIA using Godmod9. (Here is a tutorial if you want: Dump game files tutorial.) You will mainly be working with the following files when creating a custom track. They are all required for your track to load and work.
The file of each track contains many different file types in it.
- Gxxx_TrackName.szs
- SZS is an archive format used by Nintendo for many types of data, and is similar to a ZIP or RAR file. Your SZS file will contain all the files needed by your track, including:
- Gxxx_TrackName.bcmdl
- BCMDL/BCRES files contain 3D models and textures. They don't have any solidity on their own. The file defines the main course model of the track.
- Gxxx_TrackName.kcl
- This is the 3D model that defines collision data. It determines what parts of the level can be driven on, where the walls and boost pads are, and which parts of the level are out of bounds, and many more.
Tutorials
Main Tutorials
If you need help making custom tracks, consult these tutorials.
Links
Videos
Tutorial Archive
The following programs and tutorials are outdated and/or obsolete and not recommended.