CM problems

[llebrez]

There are 3 things I don't understand about CM.

1) Some assets are marked as Built In. Opening the asset in explorer, it shows files in TEXTURE format. And CM don't flag them as Faulty. But if there is an asset as Modified and it has TEXTURES, it is faulty. Is there an advantage to convert these TEXTURES to TGA ? Once converted they show as Modified. So, why one is not faulty and other is?

2) Some assets show "Newer version available". So you open Version, and sure enough there is one available to download. After downloading, it shows "Obsolete". I thought that a new version should be new, not obsolete right away. ??

3) This one beats my understanding: Many assets, coming from earlier TS19 now show Modified Faulty Payware. Checking the fault, it goes back to the TEXTURE thing. Fixable, but you can't, because it is Payware ! Some of these assets are a small bush or something unimportant. Is it so valuable to make them Payware? At some point in the evolution, when an upgrade is offered, there should be a warning: If you upgrade to next built, you may lose many assets. And if you pay for something, you don't want to see faulty things, yes? Anyhow, is there a way to fix it?

For anyone that asks I am using Built 117009

 

[pware]

TEXTURE format is the standard format for all image files in assets that are Built-in, Base, Payware and Packaged. It is not a fault or an error. The TEXTURE format uses a higher compression than assets Installed from DLS or you have created yourself (Modified). The higher compression allows them to be downloaded faster and takes up less space once installed.

1). Assets labelled as Installed from DLS and assets you have created yourself will have their texture files stored as .tga, .png, jpeg, .bmp plus a few other more obscure formats. If you clone one of these compressed format assets (e.g. Payware) and convert it to Modified then the texture files will not be converted to .tga etc. The converted assets will then show up as faulty. If you want to continue using the converted asset then you will need to convert their textures. There is a utility program available that will do that (ImageToTGA or a similar name - I do not have it so I cannot remember its exact name).

2). When you have an asset on your system that has an updated version on the DLS then the version on your system will be shown in CM as Newer version available. If you download and install the newer version then the original asset will still be on your system but will now be labelled Obsolete because it has been replaced by the newer version. In most cases the newer version will have an "Up-versioned" <kuid> (e.g. the original and now obsolete version may be <kuid:1234:5678> and its replacement may be <kuid2:1234:5678:1>. The new version may not have exactly the same name as the original. See the Trainz Wiki at Newer_Version_Available for a fuller explanation.

3). Payware is the property of the original creator, not you, not me and not N3V. Some payware creators have encrypted their assets to prevent copying or modification. It is easy to ask why is a small bush so valuable that it is payware but that implies that the effort that went into its creation was insignificant - the creator may disagree. It is up to the creator of a DLC package to decide if an update of the package is worth doing. Sometimes an asset that was originally Payware is released as "freeware" and becomes available on the DLS (Available for Download or Newer version available). If an older version of a payware asset no longer works and no update is available, then (politely) send a message to the original creator and ask.

 

[Dinorius_Redundicus]

1) Some assets are marked as Built In. Opening the asset in explorer, it shows files in TEXTURE format. And CM don't flag them as Faulty. But if there is an asset as Modified and it has TEXTURES, it is faulty. Is there an advantage to convert these TEXTURES to TGA ? Once converted they show as Modified. So, why one is not faulty and other is?

This question was asked just a few days ago. I wrote a detailed answer --> here

 

[JCitron]

The unfortunate part is if a creator decides to encrypt their routes and sessions, then every dependency ends up encrypted as well. It's part of the data processing and nothing the creator has control over. If the asset is something that was on the DLS but not found due to being up-versioned or only included in the package, then contact N3V Helpdesk and they will upload the asset or repair it so it's available for download.

 

[llebrez]

Bottom line, what I have been doing up to now solved the problem. Contact helpdesk for a bush? not worthed. Using built 111951 does not show faults because it is not so picky on the texture thing. And now that I think, if Texture is better than TGA, why the change? May not be better 100% but due to complexities, I fail to see gains at the expense of creating more problems.

Regarding the upgrade to a newer version of assets, after downloading, I see the old one and the newly installed one next to the other. Indeed with the upgraded kuid number, and the obsolete title. And the older one says "available to download". The asset is visible and functional, so once again I have to say, "thehellwithit".

 

[norfolksouthern37]

And now that I think, if Texture is better than TGA, why the change?

There has been no change. This has been the case for 20 years and more.

images such as .bmp .jpg .png .tga and so on are converted to .texture format combining the original graphic data with the texture.txt file information when an asset is submitted in CM. This is always what trainz uses while running, never the other types unless they are to be used in an outside-the-sim context (like the asset thumbnail). The reason for this is that it compresses the textures with DXT, a common game-use image compression and generates level of detail maps, this along with other trainz specific information in the image format makes .texture far faster and more lightweight than the other image formats with a few drawbacks that are considered acceptable for live scene rendering.

When you have an item that is built-in or packaged, the original images and associated .texture.txt files are not included in order to save data space. as long as they are used within the sim, no issue, but as soon as you open them for edit, CM will expect any source files to be present in order to re-submit the item to the content database.

 

[pware]

I see the old one and the newly installed one next to the other. Indeed with the upgraded kuid number, and the obsolete title. And the older one says "available to download".

The original and now obsolete version should only show "Available for download" if it has been deleted from your system. I routinely delete assets labelled "Installed from DLS, Obsolete", because they have been replaced by a newer version so why waste the space. After deletion their label is changed to "Available for download, Obsolete". You have an early version (SP3) of TRS19 and that may be the cause of this discrepancy.