If anyone out there is willing to help me out with DEM, I can't seem to figure it out. I would like the DEM from Scranton/Clarks Summit PA to Syracuse, Watertown, NY and the Canadian border following I-81. I would create it myself if I knew how. How do you create DEM maps with the lines for highways, roads, railroads, rivers? Is there an easy way to do it? What is the easiest way to do it? Thanks. My email is rwk9024@msn.com if anyone is willing to send me any files. I would've asked fishlips but not sure if he is taking any more requests.
DEM request
- Thread starter rwk
- Start date
titaniclover
TS2010EE SP3; Build 49933
so are you literally doing a CSX line all the way up to Canada?
i would be happy to help i know the yard in Syracuse well.
i would be happy to help i know the yard in Syracuse well.
What I would like to know is what mapping program do you use to create real world layouts with all the highways, roads, railroads, and rivers mapped out for you in real mileage. How did Fishlips do it? I know CP and Susquehanna have tracks between Scranton and Syracuse. And I-81 goes the entire way up to Canada. It's a pain trying to build a layout by hand one block at a time.
there are a couple programs out there that do that. the one that first comes to mind is transDEM (or is it trainzDEM???) Generally they are payware programs so I haven't been to keen in paying attn to them. you might search the payware forum for "DEM" or "HOG"
peter
peter
Fish used MicroDem and HOG to create the terrain. Both are free programs available on the web. TransDem is a newer program. It's payware at a reasonable price. There's an ongoing thread about it in the payware forum. All have a learning curve to follow before you can get a terrained map for trainz but probably TransDem is the easiest and has a number of nice features.
One way to get the roads, streams and rail lines textured is to use vector overlay data. In the US the so called TIGER data is the source most often used.
Bob Pearson
One way to get the roads, streams and rail lines textured is to use vector overlay data. In the US the so called TIGER data is the source most often used.
Bob Pearson
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There is a good tutorial "Surveyor - Topology" Computer - Generated Terrain on the website
http://freepages.misc.rootsweb.com/~wewain/trainz/Surveyor/Baseboard/Topology/Terrain
I recommend working through the tutorial. I did it and was surprised at how easy it is. You will need to download MicroDEM and HOG to generate the maps. Both are free.
Earl
http://freepages.misc.rootsweb.com/~wewain/trainz/Surveyor/Baseboard/Topology/Terrain
I recommend working through the tutorial. I did it and was surprised at how easy it is. You will need to download MicroDEM and HOG to generate the maps. Both are free.
Earl
I still can't figure out how to select the area I want. Like, if you click on the PA or NY state on the map at one of the DEM sites, it takes you to a page to individual counties. What do you do? How do you generate a seamless map from point A to point B over 230 miles apart? Also, what do you do with the TIGER data? Does the program automatically integrate it with the terrain? Like if I wanted my map to go from Clarks Summit, PA (Scranton), to Binghamton, NY, Syracuse, Watertown, and Canadian border following I-81 what would I do to generate a whole map of that area?
G'day rwk,
All of the answers to your questions are contained within the tutorial to which Apogee10 has directed you. I should point out though, that because HOG is an old DOS based program (despite it's Windows 16/32 interface), it doesn't use any more than the basic 640 K base memory with which most PCs are equipped. As a consequence, you will not be able to create a route for the full 230 miles of track you are intending to create in one piece - it will have to be imported into Trainz as several pieces (probably three) and then 'joined' to create a whole. This will need to be taken into account when creating the route. Have you considered looking on 'fishlipsatworks' wewbsite? He may already have this route available!
Jerker {
}
All of the answers to your questions are contained within the tutorial to which Apogee10 has directed you. I should point out though, that because HOG is an old DOS based program (despite it's Windows 16/32 interface), it doesn't use any more than the basic 640 K base memory with which most PCs are equipped. As a consequence, you will not be able to create a route for the full 230 miles of track you are intending to create in one piece - it will have to be imported into Trainz as several pieces (probably three) and then 'joined' to create a whole. This will need to be taken into account when creating the route. Have you considered looking on 'fishlipsatworks' wewbsite? He may already have this route available!
Jerker {
}Nope, the route isn't there. On the DLS, there are driveable cars and road tracks, I was trying to build a highway route and perhaps some tracks with automated trains with portals where tracks would follow the highway at points or go over/under. I was trying to go from eastern PA to Canada with my route, I actually have a partially route built by hand with very little scenery except for some rest areas and a few towns. But, the problem is, is that I'm estimating mileage. I use the feet ruler tool to measure the distance and use Google to convert feet to miles and vice versa, and mapquest to find out the miles between points. The problem is, is that the highway (PA Turnpike & I-81) zig-zags alot and I have to measure the feet of every straight section to get it right. I'm doing it the hard way. It's just flat baseboards at elevation 0. For mountains, I'm using backdrop splines. How do you use TIGER data? Can you use it on just flat baseboards without using the DEM stuff so that it would make it easier to place the roads and rails the correct distances and angles? With TIGER, can you select the entire area you want to model in one fell swoop?
Even TransDEM would not be able to create 230 route miles in one rush. That's no reason to worry, though. Seamless merging of modules is not a problem with TransDEM generated terrain. With HOG you may need a bit of experience to accomplish this.
In addition to DEM-based terrain TransDEM allows you to acquire topographic map clippings up to 1:24k from TerraServer USA in an automated way, via its WMS interface.
These map clippings can be converted to (low-res) Trainz ground textures, or applied as (hi-res) object textures to flat carrier objects, called UTM tiles in TransDEM (aka Basemaps). You can also peg-out the route in TransDEM with the built-in polyline editor and generate Trainz track or road splines from the lines you have drawn.
See links in my signature for further info. As stated before, TransDEM is payware.
geophil
In addition to DEM-based terrain TransDEM allows you to acquire topographic map clippings up to 1:24k from TerraServer USA in an automated way, via its WMS interface.
These map clippings can be converted to (low-res) Trainz ground textures, or applied as (hi-res) object textures to flat carrier objects, called UTM tiles in TransDEM (aka Basemaps). You can also peg-out the route in TransDEM with the built-in polyline editor and generate Trainz track or road splines from the lines you have drawn.
See links in my signature for further info. As stated before, TransDEM is payware.
geophil
TransDEM sounds like it would be much easier than the other way but it's freaking $28.90 US! But, I guess if I want an easy way of creating maps then it will cost me. I lost my PayPal account so there better had be another method of payment. Are you the author of the software, geophil? Does this program match maps with Trainz baseboards and to the correct mileage/distances? And it builds Trainz routes without the need for another program? So, you can import map data and export a Trainz route ready to use in Trainz?
I followed the tutorial and have the .gnd file created, the problem is I can't figure out where/how to get it into surveyor now. The tutorial was for Trainz 2004 and put it in the folder C:/Program Files/Auran/TRS2004/World/Custom/maps
I don't see the maps folder in Custom for Trainz 2006; I'm suspecting the layouts are stored in the infamous database somewhere, because when I search my hard drive for *.gnd and the layout name I created I only get the list of files I created.
After thinking about it for a bit I figured it out. What you need to do is go into Content Manager Plus (CMP) and edit your layout in Explorer. When the layout folder opens up just replace the .gnd file with the one you created in HOG (renaming the HOG file to be the same as the one in the layout folder).
As a side note, if you are following the tutorial, the newest version of DEM on the government site now allows you to save the files as .tga as well as .bmp so you can skip the converting using Photoshop.
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TransDEM uses the widespread standard UTM map projection which provides good distance matching and minimal distortion. The UTM projection comes with a certain error in the mathematical sense like all map projections but we can largely ignore this for our purposes, particularly when building north/south oriented. (About this error: we are talking inches here, not yards.)
The Trainz baseboards use a Cartesian system with metric scale. So does UTM. Hence we can transfer geo data prepared in TransDEM to a Trainz map without the need for re-projection. TransDEM takes care of position and scale.
All the complex re-projection with different coordinate systems and geodetic datums takes place when opening geo data in TransDEM, be it a DEM, a topographic map, an aerial image (Google Earth), or vector data. It's an essential part of the TransDEM functionality.
If you download your NED DEMs from USGS seamless server as geotiffs, collect your topo maps from TerraServer USA and add a few Google Earth images you don't need another programme apart from TransDEM in its current version. Earlier versions of TransDEM required Hog for the actual Trainz terrain creation and sometimes MicroDEM for DEM conversion but that's no longer the case.
(Without any intention of advertising I recommend PayPal. For the time being it seems to be the cheapest and safest way to transfer small amounts of money across the pond.)
geophil