Chapter 1 — Workflow Overview

The iCars system is built to give you full control over cars and traffic inside Blender—whether you want realistic motion, cinematic drifting, interactive driving, or procedural traffic in massive urban scenes.

This chapter guides you through the starting workflow.

1.1 Getting Started

iCars is designed to be intuitive from the very first step:

1. Append a Car or Create a Traffic System

  • Choose from 18 included high-quality cars (high-poly & low-poly), or bring your own custom vehicle.
  • For large scenes, generate a complete traffic simulation with one click.

2. Connect a Car to an Animation System

Each car can be paired with one of four animation systems—each system offering a unique style, from path-controlled animation to real-time driving.

3. Customize Driving Behavior or Traffic Flow

  • Adjust curves, drifting, speed patterns, physics, and more.
  • Every animation system is designed to give you both speed and artistic control.

By the end of this chapter, you'll be ready to choose the right animation system for your scene.

Chapter 2 — Animation Systems Overview

iCars includes four major animation systems. Each system targets a different purpose and workflow.

2.1 Curve Controlled System

This system gives you the highest precision.

  • You draw a path, snap the vehicle to it, adjust speed curves, and refine motion.
  • Perfect for advertisements, cinematic shots, and highly controlled animation.

2.2 Auto Drift System

A smart system that calculates drifting behavior automatically based on the path curvature.

  • You get stylish drifting without manually animating wheel angles or tilt.
  • Ideal for racing scenes and dynamic car stunts.

2.3 Ghost Controlled System

The most advanced method of motion planning.

  • Each "ghost" represents the car at a future point in time, fully rigged and editable.
  • Modify the ghost positions → the car animation changes structurally.
  • Ideal for complex, stylized, or non-linear motion.

2.4 Free Drive

Drive the car with your keyboard directly inside Blender.

  • See instant animation results as you move, steer, brake, drift, or use nitro.
  • Perfect for layout, previews, and fast blocking.

Chapter 3 — Curve Controlled System (Advanced Animation)

The Curve Controlled System is the backbone of many iCars workflows. It separates the animation into five logical sections so you can fine-tune every aspect.

3.1 Path Section

Overview

This section defines the route the vehicle follows. You draw a curve—straight roads, loops, mountain paths, racetracks—and the system transforms that curve into perfect vehicle motion.

Tools

  • Edit Path: Manipulate curve points directly in the viewport.
  • Collider: Necessary when exporting baked simulations (Alembic/USD).
  • Snap to Ground: Makes the car follow terrain elevation with accuracy.
  • Terrain Collection: Assign the geometry the car should follow.
  • Smoothness: Controls interpolation quality for natural motion.

Preview Settings

Visual helpers highlight the car's future movement:

  • Arrow spacing & transparency
  • Dot spacing & transparency
  • Ghost spacing (distance-based)
  • Monitor icons (Auto/manual preview modes)

3.2 Speed Section

Overview

Speed is controlled independently from the path. This keeps animation realistic, flexible, and easy to modify.

Tools

  • Edit Speed Curve: Larger distance = faster car.
  • Reset Curve
  • Speed Multiplier: Global speed scaling for the entire animation.

Preview Settings

  • Speed values shown along the path
  • Custom text size & spacing
  • Auto/manual preview switching

This gives you full visibility over acceleration, braking, and pacing.

3.3 Drift Section

Overview

This section adds dynamic body tilt, controlled oversteer, and visual drifting behavior.

Drift Tools

  • Edit Drift Curve
  • Reset Drift Curve
  • Tracks Width (visual feedback)
  • Preview Eye Icon

Physics & Limits

  • Side Tilt Limit
  • Front Tilt Limit
  • Steer Angle Limit
  • Smoothness Factor

These tools ensure drifting looks stylish, controlled, and physically believable.

Preview Settings

Real-time drift labels along the path with configurable size and spacing.

3.4 Camera Section

Overview

Built-in cinematic tools let you attach a camera directly to the car or path.

Camera Tools

  • Switch Camera Parent (car or path)
  • Status Display
  • Monitor Icon

Camera Movement Modes

  • Auto: Moves automatically with the car.
  • Factor: Manual offset control.

Additional Controls

  • Offset Factor (for manual animation)
  • Smoothness
  • Transform (rotate/position camera manually)

This section makes cinematic shots effortless.

3.5 Materials Section

Every car includes professional material controls:

Car Body

  • Two-color blending
  • Clear coat
  • Metallic flakes
  • Specular/roughness controls

Glass

  • Tint
  • Transparency
  • IOR
  • Refraction

Lights

  • Light power, radius, color
  • Beam shaping

You can easily match your vehicle to your scene's look and style.

Chapter 4 — Auto Drift System

The Auto Drift System automates sideways motion and drift angles based on curve shape.

4.1 Path Tools

  • Edit Path Curve
  • Collider
  • Snap to Ground
  • Smoothness

4.2 Path Preview

Arrows, dots, and monitor icons for visual debugging.

4.3 Ghost Calculations (Auto Drift)

Not real-time like Curve System; must be pre-calculated:

  • Calculate Frames
  • Bake
  • Delete Cache
  • Ghost Spacing (frame-based)
  • Monitor Icon

4.4 Speed Modes

  • Static: Constant speed
  • Radius-based: Using curve radii and Alt+S
  • Random: Noise-driven variation
  • Curve: Dedicated speed curve system

Speed preview shows values directly in the viewport.

Chapter 5 — Ghost Controlled System

The most advanced system for manual motion control.

5.1 Core Idea

Ghosts represent the car's future at specific frames.

Each ghost is a rig you can pose → the car animation changes accordingly.

5.2 Ghost Controls

  • Auto visibility
  • Monitor toggle
  • Edit Ghosts (Pose Mode)
  • Regenerate Ghosts
  • Spacing
  • Smooth Blending
  • Display Style (Red / Blue / Wireframe)

5.3 Physically Aware Controls

  • Collider
  • Snap to Ground
  • Terrain Collection
  • Interpolation Factor
  • Path Preview Tools

5.4 Speed Section

Same four speed modes:

  • Static
  • Radius
  • Random
  • Curve

Plus:

  • Static Speed value
  • Speed Previewer

Chapter 6 — Free Drive (Real-Time Driving)

Free Drive gives you a fully playable car inside Blender.

6.1 Activation

Start Free Drive with Ctrl+D.

On-screen widgets appear for:

  • Play
  • Cache
  • Delete cache

6.2 Keyboard Controls

(Default keys are fully customizable)

  • W: Nitro boost
  • S: Brake
  • Arrows: Steering & movement

6.3 Drive Settings

  • Driving Speed
  • Acceleration
  • Torque
  • Max Forward/Reverse Speed
  • Steering Angle
  • Turn Speed
  • Brake Force
  • Apply Brake

6.4 Terrain Settings

  • Select terrain object
  • Snap to Ground
  • Snap to Ground Velocity

6.5 Advanced Physics

Physical Attributes

Body weight, wheel weight, brake weight, suspension weight.

Suspension

Stiffness, damping, travel.

Turning

Torque, angle, stiffness, damping.

Friction

Different front/rear friction settings for realistic handling.

C Button

Switch cameras instantly during driving.

Chapter 7 — Traffic System

The traffic system procedurally animates multiple vehicles in large environments.

7.1 Initialization

  • Start System: Adds procedural base roads.
  • Link All Cars: Automatically connects all cars to the traffic engine.

7.2 Car Behavior Settings

  • Cars Density
  • Cars Spacing
  • Cars Seed
  • Random Speed Variation (with Min/Max)
  • Stopper Objects

7.3 Vehicle Distribution

Set probability for:

  • Cars
  • Sports Cars
  • Buses
  • Trucks

7.4 Terrain Integration

Assign terrain collections for snapping.

Chapter 8 — Traffic System Editing & Preview

8.1 Sync Tools

  • Sync With iCity (triangle button)
  • Live update toggle

8.2 Editing Domains

  • Intersection Editing
  • Segment Editing

8.3 Baking

Bake the entire traffic system for smooth playback.

8.4 Visual Preview Settings

Path Previewer

  • Arrow/Dot spacing & transparency
  • Vehicle Previewer (LOD)
  • Auto/Monitor switches

Intersections Previewer

  • Speed text scale
  • Spacing
  • Auto/Monitor

Intersection Controls

  • Intersection Speed
  • Radius
  • Intersection Type:
    • Traffic Lights
    • Roundabout
    • Bare Intersection

Chapter 9 — Roundabout Settings

Roundabouts include their own geometry and behavior system.

9.1 Roundabout Configuration

  • Roundabout Radius
  • X Offset
  • Y Offset
  • Orange Time (transition)
  • Green Time (flow duration)

Chapter 10 — Road Segment Settings

Customize each road segment:

10.1 Road Configuration

  • Road Type (Street / Highway)
  • Street Lanes Count
  • Street Lanes Width
  • Segment Speed
  • One-Way or Two-Way
  • Flip Direction
  • Middle Island (Add/Remove)
  • Middle Island Width