Driver Setup problem

[Yorkshire]

I decided to make changes to a route and 'save as' with a new name - including the original session. The basic problem is that something has gone wrong in the process. When I went in to the session, the Driver setup showed all the drivers in yellow. I tried removing them, saving the session and then returning, the drivers were still there. In the end I decided to delete all the engines from the route, both in the session and the layout and saving again. When I return to the session, there are still 5 drivers listed in yellow, one of which was deleted a long time ago in the original route. Have tried a database repair, have deleted all the drivers in driver setup and saved the session - only to re-open and discover they are still listed. Where is the session getting its information from if I have deleted them and saved. This really seems very flaky - and frustrating. Even computer restarts to try and empty any residual memory doesn't work. Any ideas please!

Yorkshire

 

[stagecoach]

Did you open the route for edit only and then save as? This will break the session link to that route and if you altered anything in the session as well this will break the link from both routes.
To Save as you need to get the original route and select view sessions. Then edit the session, this now has both the route and session linked. Now you can save as with a new name. The session will be attached to the new route.

 

[Yorkshire]

Hi Stagecoach - no I'm very sure that I opened the route in the session and then did a Save As. I then modified the new route in edit mode. This was probably where the problem started. However, I am now in the situation where even when I delete the sessions with the new route, delete the Driver setup rule, save, go out of the route, return, I still have 5 drivers listed in the Driver setup - in yellow. This is even after I have removed all the locos on the route (both layout layer and session layer). Trainz still lists 5 non existent locos. Just not sure how to start with a clean sheet! Thanks for the response.

 

[Christopher824]

I decided to make changes to a route and 'save as' with a new name - including the original session. The basic problem is that something has gone wrong in the process. When I went in to the session, the Driver setup showed all the drivers in yellow. I tried removing them, saving the session and then returning, the drivers were still there. In the end I decided to delete all the engines from the route, both in the session and the layout and saving again. When I return to the session, there are still 5 drivers listed in yellow, one of which was deleted a long time ago in the original route. Have tried a database repair, have deleted all the drivers in driver setup and saved the session - only to re-open and discover they are still listed. Where is the session getting its information from if I have deleted them and saved. This really seems very flaky - and frustrating. Even computer restarts to try and empty any residual memory doesn't work. Any ideas please!

Yorkshire

I don't know if this will help you in your case. This is just my thought process I use when building routes.

I have had weird problems between the Route and the Session(s). After some playing around I came to a conclusion that to guarantee almost a 100% success rate dealing with sessions for my routes, the route was the top level of the hierarchy, and as such can corrupt everything below it. I follow this rule set as a plan of action.

1 Make the tracks and industries for the route
2 Test route with basic disposable sessions that just test the track work, this is where you can also dial in your industries. Delete all sessions after any editing of the route. Never use the Default session, always create a new session and name it when testing.
3 If not already 'painted', paint it (ground, buildings, flora, roads, people etc.)
4 Test some more sessions, be careful not to depend on them as final sessions if defects in the route are found.
5 Once satisfied, create your first 'production' session. This will be the first stress test on the route, and continue on till the end.

Adding trains, consists, etc to the route, will effect all sessions dependent on it. If you have a session that has a consist sitting on a siding that you added in a session, then later added a consist on the same spot in the route, which the session is reliant on, what do you think happens? So a good top down approach in layout will smooth the building process.

Just my experiences, hope this helps.

 

[G.M.]

Hi, Yorkshire,
you cloned the route and the session, good, this way the old is untouched and handy for reference
Christopher made some nice points, here is my step by step


What i do here next, is clean up
Route
-open the cloned route, delete things you don't want.
-check if there are no consist in the route (i prefer trains only on the session layer and in sessions)
-after all ok, do delete missing assets and save the route.


Session 1
-make sure its linked to the new cloned route (open config and find the map line) submit
-open the new session, edit session, delete rules and driver commands you don't want, V save it
-add rules you like and actually use, V save it
-in Driver Setup [Edit] [V] Generate new Drivers for empty trains,
why? this will show you what trains(consist) trainz can find
For each of these consist, check if you really want them, delete those you don't want
is the base ok ?, now do delete missing assets
save the session (never as default, give it a name) exit trainz


Session 2
-open the cloned session again, open edit session, open driver setup
now critically go through the list, which trains you want to drive, delete all other drivers
[_] Generate new Drivers for empty trains, now turned off, V save it
-again do delete missing assets, save


You should be clean, and only see drivers with trains you want to drive
hope it works for you
greetings GM

 

[llebrez]

Reported a few weeks ago, I have a more convoluted-related problem: My list of phantom drivers (It says "not assigned)) grows every time I save and open the session. Originally I had 23 now is over 60! One route, one session, nothing else. I cleaned, was clean already the route. I deleted all the locos, drivers and rolling stock on the session: Is empty except for scenery, tracks and what makes my World. If there are no rolling stock, there are no phantom drivers in the drivers list. Add ONE loco and assign a driver, and the phantom list starts to populate, many of the drivers are repeated: Frankie shows 3 times!

Not sure what you mean with yellow drivers, mine are there but not assigned. Have help desk on it and will send them route and session for diagnostics. My problem started right after SP2. Never seen before.

(For anyone suggesting I have ticks on the bottom of the drivers list (surveyor), no. The only one ticked is "focus camera on first driver", and on this list everything shows as I created it. The phantom ones are on the list at left in driver mode with the funny moving heads.

 

[ColPrice2002]

Hi,
I wonder if llibrez's post has a hint.
Personally, I can't stand the swivelling cross-eyed heads, so I always have them disabled.
On some routes/sessions, I've had drivers' names assigned, but no image - just a yellow box with the old red logo.
I think that the number of fully configured drivers in TS19 is less than in previous (non-animated) versions, so using non-animated driver may cause a non-fatal error.

Colin

 

[PC_Ace]

I have my Driver Portraits 2D only and have disabled animated portraits as the default. TRS2019 happily handles up to 50 of them in some of my sessions.
If you encounter problems similar to those mentioned above, suggest that (in Session Edit mode) in the Edit Session dialog, you elect to 'Restart all Rules' if that is available (Bottom left of screen) and saving the session.
Beforehand, however; Check the Driver Setup list for any extra drivers at the bottom of the list which do not have any driver commands associated with them. Remove these drivers (and Save).

 

[Yorkshire]

Thank you everyone for the advice proffered At last it is sorted - basically following GM's procedure. I think in future I will only install consists/loco's and rolling stock within a session. Will require self discipline!

Cheers everyone

Yorkshire

 

[llebrez]

But wait! There is more to this. After several messages and advises from help desk, I decided in my own to try something. And it has FIXED my problem. Very simple. It so happens that before SP2 the ticking menu at the bottom of the drivers list in surveyor could be ticked or unticked by your desire. But after SP2, if you untick "remove all existing drivers first" the program will populate the drivers list on driver so you can assign drivers to whatever loco you want. I was told this is a useful feature for people wanting to move drivers within you pool of locos on the fly, not just on surveyor. I don't do that since I don't care if the driver is Frankie or lily. So, tick remove all drivers first and the problem is solved, no more "non assigned drivers: with moving heads, just the ones set by your driver configuration, as it used to be.

 

[llebrez]

Thank you everyone for the advice proffered At last it is sorted - basically following GM's procedure. I think in future I will only install consists/loco's and rolling stock within a session. Will require self discipline!

Cheers everyone

Yorkshire

Keeping the rolling stock on sessions only is a wise decision. Here is the practical side of it: You have a lovely route, and you run diesels. One day you want to run steam on old times. Clone the route (empty of rolling stock), and create a session with steam. Basically what you do here is to have a base route that can be used for different times or, and type of rolling stock. You can create different sessions of the same route one for each type of time or traction type, but I rather do clone so you can change some scenery items, such a water tower and cola loader, used for steam but not for diesel. If you do electrics, you can have a same route but the clone can have all the overhead wires and power stations not used by steam or diesels. The cloning also works very well for the speed settings, lower for steam than modern stock. Experiment with all that and you'll see what we mean.

 

[PC_Ace]

llebrez - Agree that you should always keep working locos and rolling stock on Session Layers and not in the underlying route.
But you don't need to clone the route for this change in 'era'. Simply Create a New Session based on the underlying route. Your diesels are stored safely in their descriptively-named existing session.
I have many such different-era sessions based on routes such as Jango's excellent T:ANE-era 'Sherman Hill Vers 3.1' map. Big Steam on one such session set in the late Fifties and 2000's-era diesels on another...
However, if you do want to put in the infrastructure to support an earlier era (Coal towers, bunkers, water tanks etc.,) that have been removed from your modern-era map, then cloning is a sensible solution.