Controlling Basemap Movement

[lewisner]

I have never bothered with basemaps before but in my current project I am using a lot of them. However, I have a problem; inevitably when I try to move an Object above the basemap, at some point I accidentally move the map. When I click on the map to move it accurately back into position it flies off wildly and then I have to drag it back. If I go into Wireframe and up to a high altitude the map disappears. What am I doing wrong and is there any way to control the Basemap movement more accurately? I am wasting a lot of time like this.

 

[mezzoprezzo]

Some users lock them into a layer.

If you're using an earlier version which doesn't have the layers feature it is a problem. It can be overcome to some degree by using wireframe mode so that you can check for movements of the basemap when trying to move another object.

Another dodge is to make sure that you go in absolutely vertically to move other objects, and zoom in as close as possible before attempting to pick up the object. That usually works for me.

With regard to the basemap flying off wildly, that tends to happen when there are large variations of terrain height in the area where the basemap need to be. I've temporarily flattened some areas to try and stabilise the positioning of the basemap (form memory towards the top left corner). I've also temporarily laid extended baseboards to allow a bit of overlap. Basemaps don't like being placed at the edges of routes.

 

[cascaderailroad]

There is a sweet spot for dragging them around.
They often get rotated when you rotate a building.
You can place 2 buildings, at right angles to each other, so that the corners of the basemaps line up with them.
You can write down the rotation numeral on a piece of paper.
In your Trainzoptions file you can type -surveryorfov=185 and that will give you a fish eyed distant view (I find -surveyorfov=100 to be sufficient, and - surveyorfov=35 is as small as you can go.

Once you draw all the lines of rivers, roads, and rail lines, a basemaps use is fulfilled (you can leave it there, under the grid, and go retrieve it at a later date, or delete it down the road).

 

[lewisner]

Thanks for the replies guys I will look into what you said especially the Route Layers thing. As a particularly cruel irony I just did a bit more work and tried to move a basemap expecting it to fly off but it moved about 3 scale feet! Its a pity basemaps can't be somehow classed as a Track object so that the chance of moving them was less. I am trying to be as exact as I can so although I can lay the roads I would rather have houses and so on in the precise location. I think a sensible compromise is to have my laptop running Google Earth at the same time as I have Trainz open on my desktop.

 

[geophil]

I have never bothered with basemaps before but in my current project I am using a lot of them. However, I have a problem; inevitably when I try to move an Object above the basemap, at some point I accidentally move the map. When I click on the map to move it accurately back into position it flies off wildly and then I have to drag it back. If I go into Wireframe and up to a high altitude the map disappears. What am I doing wrong and is there any way to control the Basemap movement more accurately? I am wasting a lot of time like this.

You have a few options here:

• Restrict basemap movement in config.txt.
• Put basemaps into a separate layer and lock the layer.
• Or - excuse the ad - let TransDEM do this for you. :wave: