"Americanizing" Cabs

N

NJCurmudgeon

New member
I've been hunting for a good modern looking high speed diesel passenger train locomotive and like some of the British ones. But I would like to use them in my fictional American layout. So having the cab controls on the left side of the cab doesn't really work. I can alter the cab art files to be mph - I've done it before - but I am unsure if it is possible to put the driver controls on the right hand side. Anyone have any ideas?

Many thanks!
 
It might be possible to change the functions of the levers. That's probably the simplest way short of making a brand new cab.

Kieran.
 
I'm not talking about the function of the levers, but swapping the "driver" side of the cab from the left side to the right side so it matches U.S. cabs. Like changing the steering wheel in a car from the right to the left. I have been able to modify speedometer dials, for example, from kph to mph in a Polish locomotive (payware) by modifying the art used for the numbers on the dial. But I'm talking about swapping sides. If I can access the art files for the interior, I could probably swap the backgrounds, but the controls would need to be moved to align and I'm not sure how to go about doing that.
 
The problem is, to flip the cab, you would have to reverse-engineer the mesh file for the cab shell and flip it. There is no easy or legal way to do this.

So the lever function is all that can be changed easily.

Kieran.
 
I'm not worried about "legal" since I do not intend on redistributing or selling the result. It's purely for my own personal use. I wonder if there is an American cab I could swap into it? If I just replace the kuid in the config file, would it accept it? Hmmm...I see some experimenting when I get some more time to play!
 
Jamie (H222) is correct, it's still illegal even if it's not distributed. That is, unless you submit a helpdesk ticket and N3V says you can do it, and that is if it is an Auran-made asset. (which I think it is, if it's the cab used on the Class 43/IC125/HST)

Replacing the kuid in the interior line in the config and kuid-table will allow you to swap cabs, although the position and orientation tags may also need to be used to get the cab in the right location if it is, for example, sticking into the ground.

Kieran.
 
captainkman said:
Jamie (H222) is correct, it's still illegal even if it's not distributed.
Click to expand...

You should not be repeating or supporting this old chestnut.

If OP has acquired the asset legally then they can modify it in any way they want, in exactly the same way that you can modify any physical product that you own. There might be some restrictions in the licence agreement (although I can't see anything that applies to this example) but that is a commercial contractual arrangement so 'illegal' is not relevant.
 
It is however in the License Agreement that you cannot reverse-engineer Trainz assets. That is what we were (Or, at least I was) referring to.

By the way, I do not think he is as old as you seem to think. ;)

Kieran.
 
I believe it may be alright to replace KUIDs for personal use.
I used to do it all the time for locos with cabs updated beyond my version of Trainz. And I still do it all the time to replace engine and hornsounds for more accurate ones.

But those buffers and screwlink couplers won't look right or mechanically compatible with the knuckle couplers of American stock.
 
Yes, it's perfectly alright to change KUIDs for personal use; I do it all the time. But what I was saying is illegal is reverse-engineering the interior's mesh to flip it so the cab's features are on the opposite side.

Kieran.
 
BuilderBob said:
You should not be repeating or supporting this old chestnut.

If OP has acquired the asset legally then they can modify it in any way they want, in exactly the same way that you can modify any physical product that you own. There might be some restrictions in the licence agreement (although I can't see anything that applies to this example) but that is a commercial contractual arrangement so 'illegal' is not relevant.
Click to expand...

No, you can't. Not only did you insult me but you're also wrong. Reverse engineering isn't permitted, regardless of distribution

Jamie
 
NJCurmudgeon said:
I've been hunting for a good modern looking high speed diesel passenger train locomotive and like some of the British ones. But I would like to use them in my fictional American layout. So having the cab controls on the left side of the cab doesn't really work. I can alter the cab art files to be mph - I've done it before - but I am unsure if it is possible to put the driver controls on the right hand side. Anyone have any ideas?

Many thanks!
Click to expand...

Unsure what North American High Speed Passenger Train cab interiors have already been freely created and released to the community, as there aren't too many of those types of trains in the game as it stands. What type of train are looking for, maybe someone may know where a modern cab interior may be obtained from, other than making your very own, of course, but, if there's one available, it'll save you a lot of work.

Cheerz. ex-railwayman.
 
H222 said:
No, you can't. Not only did you insult me but you're also wrong. Reverse engineering isn't permitted, regardless of distribution

Jamie
Click to expand...

Hi Jamie,

By reverse engineering, N3V probably means disassembling the code and the file structures to alter its workings to come up with another product. A couple of years ago, there were some people that did that from an Eastern European country. One of the members bragged about it and got banned.

Altering and replacing a KUID on a cloned asset is not reverse engineering, and doing so for your own use doesn't hurt anyone.

John
 
4.4 Except for purposes expressly permitted by law, you must not reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the Software or any of the files that are used by the Software.

The key phrase here is "Except for purposes expressly permitted by law." The clause above can also be interpreted as applying solely to the creations of N3V (software and associated files), not inclusive of third-party creation. I also think it is intended to prevent someone from buying N3V Trainz, reverse engineering it, and then putting out their own train sim game based on what they learned.

Based on my understandings of intellectual property rights law (graphics industry), the law in this case has the goal of "making whole" against damages or loss by a violation of law, rights, agreement, contract, etc. In the instance of a derivative file that I create, that exists solely on my computer for my personal use, that I do not share, redistribute, sell, trade, or profit from, there is no loss or damage to the original creator. I am not depriving them of anything. There's nothing for the law to "make whole." So under those circumstances, what I describe would be permissible.
 
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NJCurmudgeon said:
4.4 Except for purposes expressly permitted by law, you must not reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the Software or any of the files that are used by the Software.

The key phrase here is "Except for purposes expressly permitted by law." The clause above can also be interpreted as applying solely to the creations of N3V (software and associated files), not inclusive of third-party creation. Based on my understandings of intellectual property rights law (graphics industry), the law in this case has the goal of "making whole" against damages or loss by a violation of law, rights, agreement, contract, etc. In the instance of a derivative file that I create, that exists solely on my computer for my personal use, that I do not share, redistribute, sell, trade, or profit from, there is no loss or damage to the original creator. I am not depriving them of anything. There's nothing for the law to "make whole." So under those circumstances, what I describe would be permissible.
Click to expand...

And I agree. You can do with your files with what you wish. N3V wouldn't have provided us with the tools to do this if they didn't want us to do it in the first place. :)

Small world... I worked as a typesetter on a Varitype Epics 20/20 system and later did some desktop publishing. My bro still works in the industry.

John
 
Have a look at the xpt, australian version of the hst. Might be ok.
 
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