Different

[baz66]

Hi all. Me again. I promise no shouting. (How do you shout on a forum anyway. Perhaps it,s just rudeness.)
Anyway , back to the subject.
Having been totally engrossed in trainz since buying 2004 (have I been sitting here for that long!!) I like many took the plunge and got 06 then 09. Wonderful. All my old routes that I wanted to keep were transferred across and played with. The trouble is, only one ever made my favorite list (ozmodelrr1) which I put on the DL. Okay, not being a RR person, I began to think,"I,m maybe not doing this right" I know nothing about real or model RRing and can,t remember the last time I was on a train.
So! I,m going to do a 30+grid layout by doing all the terrain first and then building the rest. Normally I have been putting down the track first which is fun but I don,t think I get the realism. After all, railways were built in a world which was there long before railroads were invented.
What do you experts and others think. Will I get lost in the forest or is this a good Idea?
baz66

 

[Ghostryder]

hey baz

nice to see another near local, i use whatever method suits the route i am building at the time. as the current ones are using DEM it has required me to place the rails first and then see how the scenery fits in. but i guess its each to their own.

cheers

ghosty

 

[baz66]

ghosty
I returned your email. Did you recieve. Hear from nbretoner?
baz

 

[Ghostryder]

Baz66

no mate have not received it. my addy is lordghostryder@hotmail.com.
please feel free to resend it.

cheers

ghosty

 

[Approach_Medium]

I've done it both ways. I like the idea of building the terrain before laying track, as it presents a more realistic, and more challenging task of getting the track laid.
It's a whole lot easier though, if you have a specific route you are modeling to use DEM. I use Transdem, Trainz edition. That program does not yet work with TS2009, but Phil is working on a new version.

Sometimes I forget that Trainz is a simulator/game and I am supposed to be having fun<g>. I'm working on a prototype route, and getting stressed about not getting things right. Actually, it's nearly impossible to build a truly prototypical route, unless you know Gmax real well and are going to build a lot of your own content as you go.

FW

 

[baz66]

I know what youmean FW. I,ve tried it on 6 grids. I,m happy enough with the terrain but stumped as to where the track might go. With trainz, there are too many options. If I go one way or the other I might have to redo it because it looks wrong. Back to square one. All my own creations look wrong. I don,t seem to be able to get the realism, yet it is there. It just takes lots of practice. To me, that,s the beauty of this sim. It has no ending.
baz

 

[nicky9499]

In a prototype, the track can only go the way the map shows.

In a freestyle, the track can go anywhere. The only time it looks wrong is excessively sharp curves and switches that have not been straightened, diverging at a severe angle (these are real eyesores).

Sure, you can always do the terrain first. In fact, you can cover any number of baseboards (think 10x5-ish and you're around there) with a displacement map at a low threshold, then trim off the excess, DEM style. There are even programs to help you create custom disp maps, but I can't remember them offhand.

Just a suggestion: when building your terminal city or some urban area, I find it best to leave it at 0 or flatten it to a uniform level; it's easier to put buildings and the streetlights don't "bury" themselves into the ground at night.

Cheerio,
Nicholas.

 

[Approach_Medium]

I'm currently working on a huge prototype route in TS2009 SP1+patch, but I have done free routes as well.
I always started out with the terrain, creating mountains, rivers, etc.
I kind of determine while building terrain where my track is going to go, where yards will be, etc so I can sculpture the landscape to fit the track I want to run.
I had one route that was looking pretty nice, with deep gorges and high mtns, but I lost it somehow. I thought I had it backed up, but apparently not.

I have been working on the current prototype route since June 2008, and I have lots of backups<g>

FW

 

[nicky9499]

Hmm. Also lost a route before, wasn't a nice experience.

Now, I export a cdp of my route to the secondary drive after every day of working on the route. Not too much hassle for alot of security (or the sense of it rather).

It also helps (for freeform routes) to sketch on a piece of paper how you'd want your route to look like, where landforms and features are in relation to the track etc.

For novices (like me), it's best to start out small, completely finish building an area first before moving on. This way the route feels "more complete" and less "daunting". When I get tired, I take some time off and drive around the completed areas. It helps.

Cheerio,
Nicholas.

 

[baz66]

Yes Yes All good ideas and info. I think the main prob is us. Here we have a sim that can deliver the goods but we are not van gogh enough. Our own desires to build the best route ever overtake our capabilities and so we?(me) are not satisfied. I will try to be a little less critical in the future and maybe post some pics when I have them to get other views.
baz

 

[nicky9499]

Absolutely correct. I've been playing for more than 2 years and have yet to truly complete a route of my own. :hehe:

I'll be looking forward to your screens.

Cheerio,
Nicholas.

 

[Tokkyu40]

And try not to overdo it. I always succumb to the temptation to add one more detail to make it perfect, until my processor starts crawling on the floor begging for mercy.
It's fun to see how much you can do with just a little bit of detailing.

Claude

 

[baz66]

OK took a little time to continue this thread. I've tried the terrain first on the route. Did the first 6 grids terrain only then continued in my normal fashion. To be honest, theres not much difference. Both ways have there advantages and disadvantages. I,m pretty happy with the result tho and will continue to do a combiation of both. I'll learn how to post the pics in JPG as soon as I,m well along with the route which I plan to have about 30 grids.
BAZ

 

[nicky9499]

Good to hear you've started. Wish you the best of luck and look forward to your screens soon.

Cheerio,
Nicholas.

 

[motorbreath]

I have stressed myself out so much trying to create a prototypically detailed route that will work at a good frame rate on my computer. I just reinstalled 06 and got rid of a lot of stuff I downloaded and never used. I've been taking my time as far as where to start for my next big route or routes, since I usually work on a narrow gauge, a transition era, and a semi-modern at the same time. I decided to make a 4 baseboard "train set" type of layout that my nephew could enjoy. I did lay the track first, including some grades. The track loops around in a model RR type way which may not be the most realistic thing, but it looks good. Any way, for this project, I laid the tracks and set their height. 30in track with fill that is. I set straightened track where my bridges would eventually go, as well as where the small yard and where the few turn outs would be. I then raise and lowered the mountains and valleys, following the curves of the track so it looks like the track was built around the mountains and valleys instead of vise-versa. I then smoothed track bed. Aside from a few small areas I had to adjust afterwards, the effect was very good.