Decision Making Help Needed

[BigBoyFan4006]

I'm trying to decide if I want to update my TS12 build past 49922, but it's hard to tell if I should or not. Anyone have some helpful advice (without going on a rant)?

 

[JCitron]

I'm trying to decide if I want to update my TS12 build past 49922, but it's hard to tell if I should or not. Anyone have some helpful advice (without going on a rant)?

Simple.

Make a backup of you current Trainz install at 49922. Put the hole kit and kabootle on another drive and rename the folder to something like TS12-Pre SP1HF3.

Once this is done, you can then upgrade if you wish. I recommend doing backups periodically anyway because you can lose your stuff. I had that happened this past Saturday. I pulled a brain fart and lost my documents. I had my Trainz backed up but not documents! Doh!

Anyway if you do decide to upgrade, have patience. This process will take a very, very, very long time. The SP1 it self is huge and takes time to download, then the install is wicked. This process can take hours. Mine took over 12 hours to install, but that was with 10 years of content in my local folder.

Make sure your antivirus is off and you are disconnected from the network (Internet) while the upgrade is going on. Once all of this is completed, reboot your PC.

Now run an EDR which can also take a very, very, very, long time. You are going to see a ton o' errors in Content Manager. DON'T PANIC!!!

Reboot again after this, and then install the subsequent patches to bring everything up-to-date.

Now here's the clincher...

Don't go right into Trainz. Go to Content Manager first (again). You are going to see warnings and possibly lots of errors in Content Manager. DO NOT Panic. These are usually because of missing thumbnails. Create a simple "Thumbnail.tga" and use that as a placeholder for any missing ones. You'll need to edit the assets in Content Manager using the edit in Explorer, but the process is quick. Any other errors we can help you with if you have them.

Good luck, and I think I may have covered everything. Again, the backup is your savior should things go tits up as they say.

John

 

[Racn]

Advice I cant give you, but personal experience I can share. Prior to any updates Trainz would crash while working in surveyor on a pretty regular basis, often enough that I would manually save every 15 minutes. Installed the servie packs and hot fixes as they became available so now using Build 58414. Crashes while in surveyor still do happen occasionally, but way less often.
I have only been Trainzing for 17 months so not that long compared to most around here. I had no older content to deal with when updating Trainz, which I believe was or still is a problem for some.
Running Trainz on Windows xp 32 bit, Build 58414 with all hot fixes, runs smoother and I can add more goodies to the scenery then prior to updates.

 

[BigBoyFan4006]

Forgot to ask. How far can I upgrade my Trainz build before I have to download the Hotfix?

 

[cascaderailroad]

Make sure your antivirus is off and you are disconnected from the network (Internet) while the upgrade is going on. Once all of this is completed, reboot your PC.
John

Isn't the patch, or upgrade, an internet download ... if you disconnect from the internet, you wouldn't be able to get the download ? ? ?

 

[shaneturner12]

It depends on whether you use the manual patch or the auto-patcher.

In terms of build numbers, build 49922 is the highest you can go without installing SP1 (the regional versions have slightly higher build numbers). Build 57720 is SP1 without any hotfixes, and 58414 is SP1 plus hotfixes 1,2 and 3.

When updating, make sure you have a full backup, as John said. Also be aware that the patch is around 1.8GB in size, so may take several hours (there have been reports of it taking 24 hours or longer for some, but I've a feeling that they didn't turn their antivirus software off, which must be done when patching). If you are using the manual patch, you can also disconnect from the Internet. Once the patch is done, run an extended database repair.

As said before, some assets may show as faulty and/or warnings after the update. This is due to stricter checks in TS12 SP1. You can ignore the warnings, but do check if there are any updates available for any faulty assets.

Another thing to watch out for as well. Any routes created/modified in TS12 SP1 cannot be backdated to TS12 pre-SP1, hence why a backup is so important.

A couple of other things. TS12 SP1 does have some known bugs, which are covered in the very long TS12 SP1 Bugs thread. Also, some of the built-in KUIDs have changed.

Shane

EDIT: I've just remembered one more thing. If you have bought any payware addons from N3V, the old method of installation does not work in TS12 SP1, and any serial numbers for the addons in the Trainz Options box will become invalid. The content will be automatically re-downloaded when in-game, and requires an internet connection in order to validate it.

 

[rickf77]

I've been putting this off. Will there be a new BOXED TS12 with ALL the updates on it? I think if I every get around to doing the updates, it will take even longer. I will have to download files on one machine and transfer them to my off line rig. The only thing I feel I am missing out on is some great steam era routes that have been built for SP1. I have asked this before, but forgot to mention that I wanted a boxed version, not the download version.

Cheers and thanks....Rick

 

[BigBoyFan4006]

I think I'm just going to stick with the build number that I currently have. Doesn't seem like it's worth all the installation crap. But thanks for all of the input, guys!