A little TransDEM help needed

Yes, there is a sequence. First of all the dem map created in TransDEM is its own map. You are pretty much done with it, and it won't show until you actually create a Trainz map, later in the process. Your second step is creating, or calling up a created georeferenced raster map. A georeferenced raster map has the .trf type. This is actually your working overlay map. The dem map has no place here and it must be closed. Save before creating or working on the georeferenced raster map. The third step is creating your route on the georeferenced raster map. Once you have the map loaded, the route tools we be available to you. The route map is the .str type and is overlaid directly on your georeferenced raster map.
I hope this clarifies, somewhat, the difference between the maps.
regards
Mike

Correction: actually you can overlay a georeferenced map on the dem map it is related to. But it must be a valid georeferenced map.
 
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@Sharknose: Version 2.6.0.2 for 64-bit OS.

I think I found the combination. In any case, I managed to assemble all the elements necessary to produce the tutorial route. For the route I used to start this thread, I stitched together 12 georeferenced raster maps and saved it as one big one.

I imported the tutorial route, and the surface was laid with the black & white map as it should have been. Now I have to figure out how to do that on my own route and get the GE images to display instead of the mottled surface. Slowly, I'm getting there, though.

Mike, that was a big help! I think I may be getting it.

Bill
 
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For my own route, I think I see my problem. The tutorial route already HAS the three files needed for Part 1 - Step 2 (the DEM, TRF and STR files).

For my route, I have a DEM and a georeferenced TRF file, but I do NOT have an STR file. I don't know how to create that file. What is the input for that file?

I'll sleep on it and maybe the answer will come to me.

Bill
 
HiBaller said:
For my own route, I think I see my problem. The tutorial route already HAS the three files needed for Part 1 - Step 2 (the DEM, TRF and STR files).

For my route, I have a DEM and a georeferenced TRF file, but I do NOT have an STR file. I don't know how to create that file. What is the input for that file?

I'll sleep on it and maybe the answer will come to me.

Bill
Click to expand...

Bill,

I'll speed things up for you. The STR files are the route path files created for placing the images on. You can also create a path file for your own tracks too and to limit the number of baseboards as this will set the center point for which to base the number of tiles on.
 
Bill,

as John has said, you can draw your own path using the built-in "Simple Route Editor". .str is the default file format for it.

I suggest to do the "Map Tile Services" tutorial next, in the TransDEM main manual, from page 141 (it's also recommended in the Quick Start Guide). This tutorial includes a short introduction to this "Simple Route Editor", which, once you have activated it, should be quite intuitive to use and more or less self-explanatory. It's all click, drag, shift or ctrl click and context menu. If you want to read it up, you'll find on page 79 in the TransDEM main manual.

Map Tiles are the quickest way to obtain raster map clippings and ortho imagery.

Note: There is a catch (actually two) with Google Maps and ortho-photos. Firstly, Google changes the version number quite frequently, which is part of the URL and needs configuration tweaks in the TransDEM settings (which you can do yourself). Secondly, Google limits the number of tiles you can acquire via the map tile interface. Therefore, Microsoft Bing (formerly Virtual Earth) might be an easier option for ortho-photos.
 
I did some route editing yesterday. In fact I "drew" the entire route (21Km). But when I finished, I couldn't find any way to save it. There wasn't any menu dropdown that gave me that option. I'll find it, though.

The tutorial you advised me to do next is on my list for today.

Bill
 
Just completed Tutorial 7. The map tile servers set up properly and I finished the tutorial satisfactorily. A couple words of warning, though:

In Part B, Step 2, you choose the Open Street Map server. If, at ANY time, while zooming in to find your target area, do NOT roll the mouse wheel as it will change the server. I snapped the wheel and suddenly the names changed from Romaniized to Cyrillic. This happens because the dropdown for Provider is still active and rolling the mouse changes the server name. I am so used to using the mouse wheel for zooming that I forget once in a while and do it anyway.

The choice of the narrowgauge line is intriguing, but when zooming down from 1 through 5 or 6, the map jumps around so far that you have to do a lot of searching to find Dresden again. I had to open up Google maps and re-locate Dresden so I could re-center the zooming process. If I were familiar with the geography of Germany, perhaps it would be easier, but if a person isn't familiar with the country, this could be a slow process.

The tutorial was a success. I'm going to do it once more and then attempt to use it, but substitute my own route for the sample.

Sailing into uncharted territory. :eek:

Bill
 
Good post, Derek. How did you manage that? I have version 2.6.0.2 (64-bit).

Bill
 
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"Sailing into uncharted territory"
Indeed it is. And a merry time for all. Enjoy!
What better adventure, than challenging the unknown. Aaaargh!:cool:
 
Tried all day, but all I got was the same ugly/blotchy ground cover no matter what I did. I'm going to step back and do all the tutorials (maybe several times) until I have the steps down better. Then I'll substitute my route for the tutorial route.

Bill
 
I'll assume you are attempting to use Google Earth (or similar) images as a ground texture on UTM tiles. UTM tiles is the keyword here, as they allow higher resolution images to be applied. I believe there is a tute on those. If you are trying to apply Google earth images as a texture overlay, then I'm lost, because I'm not so sure that the image resolution is suitable. I use only USGS topo maps as an overlay to apply terrain painting later in Trainz. Others can speak to that issue, as it's been over a year since my last TransDEM project. Sorry.
 
Well, if I were creating a US route, then my first choice would be USGS charts, but my route is in Japan, south coast of Honshu, and GE is pretty much all I have. I have done the 2D flat tiles at 1KM square just fine. I just can't seem to create anything 3D. Maybe I should just give up and go ahead and use the 2D on the 3D surface and adjust the height so I can tell where roads cross the line and station placement.

Bill
 
Woo Hoo! I did it! I've managed to get my GE images as 3D ground cover. There is a little bit more I have to do though as there are extra map boards that have a total black covering but they are away from the tracks and can be covered by textures. I also need to go back and expand my initial GE images to a bit further away from the tracks as some of the 3D tiles weren't generated as they fell outside the "bounding square" I drew with the mouse.

Tutorial 2, under Tutorials for Legacy Exporters in the TransDEM Trains PDF file did the trick. I need to make my LGB file a bit larger so it will encompass areas farther away from the mainline track.

Here's what it looks like:

what_i_got.jpg



Bill
 
Hello Bill,

Good job :Y:.

Keep on experimenting. I also advise you to write your experiments in a notebook or digital document until you reach the best result. Why? When you start with a new route, in let me say a few months, sometimes it is hard to remember how you got your best result in your first route.

Best regards

Kurt:wave:
 
You bet, Kurt. I know all about the importance of documentation, having written computer programs since 1964. Once I get it down, I'll probably create some sort of PDF Tutorial that details what I did from start to finish.

Bill
 
I noticed that it started with opening the Muengsten LGB file. When I went to my own route, I found I had stitched together a lot of GE images I had converted to UTM-style LGB files. So, I loaded up each one in turn until I had a huge set of them stretching across my route. Then I saved it as a big LGB file.

EDIT: I made these using the tutorial titled "Google Earth and TransDEM" and saved each individual file, each with a single "pushpin" on the image.

Using Tutorial 2 (the legacy one), I followed the steps and made sure that the "3D" radio button was pushed after clicking "Reset" in Step 14. Then I adjusted the "where to put it" field to my route instead of the suggested TRS2004 spot. When I clicked "OK", the route was generated.

Starting up T:ANE, I did a drag/drop of my newly generated route into CM (including all the individual scenery objects entitled "UTM...."), and then started Surveyor on the new route in the list. There was all the ground cover exactly as I wanted it. I am going back now and starting over, making the GE images spread out far enough to encompass the entire route (I didn't make them quite large enough and ended up with a pop-up error message after generation the route telling me that certain tiles weren't created). That should fix it for me.

I can also see where the black ground cover came from. It is the black area where the GE images aren't covered, but INSIDE the bounding square of Step 12.

Bill
 
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I see.

There is a "Reset" button in many of the dialogs. Several settings will be saved automatically between sessions. Reset restores the default settings.

What I always recommend, if you go for UTM tiles and ortho imagery, is to also use a (topo) map at a lower scale, 1: 50,000 or 1:25,000 (5 m grid), for ground textures. Ortho-images won't work here, for technical reasons having to do with the way Trainz baseboards are designed and how TransDEM tries to make the best of it. So, as with the Muengsten tutorial, in a first step apply the (topo) map, when creating the route, then in the second step, load all the ortho-images and create UTM tiles. This will produce less black, because in areas where there is no photo image, the map beneath will be taken, as in this example:



You will sometimes notify false colours in UTM tile textures. That appears to be a fault in TransDEM's internal lighting adjustment for T:ANE. T:ANE has a new lighting system, as we all have found out, and TransDEM is trying to cope with it.
 
The Reset button I mean is the one mentioned in Step 14 of the Legacy Export tutorial.

For my purposes, the imagery I have will work just fine. All I really needed it for was to make sure I had crossings, major houses, stations, and the like aligned approximately where they should be without having to constantly refer to GE. Going back and forth between the two is tiring. What I have now also lets me see where the forests are on the sides of hills. All in all, this is a perfect solution for my needs.

I really appreciate now how much easier TransDEM is than the MicroDEM/HOG procedure ever was. TransDEM is wonderful software.

Bill
 
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