Disappeared again!

[sandancer]

Why is it every so often trainz decides to completely erase work, a weeks worth this time, :'( when I click on the route and surveyor pops up theres no track, scenery, rolling stock, stations or signals just the ballast and grass colours, autosave hasnt helped and I do save the work every hour or so into seperate sessions, all gone, wot have you got to do to ensure your work doesnt do a paul daniels magic trick!

 

[cascaderailroad]

You are probably not saving the layer that you are working on, or something like that.

This is why I like good ol' TRS2006 surveyor, as it has no complicated layers.

 

[JCitron]

I understand your frustration, especially with the hard work that goes into route building....

You might want to look into how you are running the program, and there are steps to ensure that things don't go tits up and you end up losing your hard work.

1) Run TS12, or any Trainz version, as Administrator on any modern operating system such as, (gasp and shudder) Vista and up including Windows 7 and Windows 8.x.

2) When restarting or shutting down your computer after running Trainz, wait at least 2 minutes or more to ensure that the database has a chance to close all the files. Even though the screen has disappeared, this doesn't mean it's not finished doing stuff yet, so waiting gives it a chance to clean up.

3) Go into Content Manager and ensure you are not missing dependencies or have faulty content. If there's anything like this, you can have problems with your route, and content can disappear if it's currently faulty.

4) Run a database repair... Your current install might be corrupted and require a repair. This process can take time, a lot of time in fact, so I recommend performing a database repair at night while asleep, or while you are away so you don't disturb the computer and it has a chance to do what it has to as quickly and undisturbed as possible. Perform a Quick Database Repair first. This like the Extended Database Repair, does take some time, but it's not as intrusive. You may then have some faulty assets, but when you get to that point, we can help you. In most cases, the repairs are fairly easy, and in many cases there are false warnings after the repair which clean up quickly.

Hope this helps get you in the right direction.

 

[martinvk]

... and I do save the work every hour or so into seperate sessions, all gone, ..

And there in is your problem and solution. If you are saving to a new session every time, then the last new session before you close the route will have all of your work. If you then open the route, only those objects in the route will be there. Anything in the session(s) will only be visible if you edit that session.

In the route you put all the objects that should always be available: track, scenery, stations, buildings, etc. They can all be in one layer or you can have separate layers fro each type pf object. Makes it easy to edit only one type of object without affecting anything else.

In the Session you put only those objects that belong to that session, usually rolling stock but it could include some scenery, especially if each session say represents a different time period. The same separation into different layers can be done at the session level but that might be over kill.

Once a session has been created, then when you open a map and edit at the route level, everything in previous sessions stays in those sessions and you get a new blank session. If you edit at the session level, then everything is that session along with the associated route will be available. So once you've created a session, always start there. Once open you can always edit the underlying route too.

If you've ever worked with CAD or Photo Editors you'll know how useful layers are to organize and isolate different parts.

 

[sandancer]

Thanks guys I had recently done a databas repair but will take on board your tips about running as an administrator and the shut down times etc. and thank you martinvk for shedding a little light on the layers I obviuosly have to look into how to save my work properly ive been saving it in a session, then every now and again creating an extra session as a backup clearly not rite but you live and learn from those in the know, and yes cascaderailroad 2006 was more basic but I had my moments with that too lol ok thanks again guys.

 

[parryjc]

Thanks guys I had recently done a databas repair but will take on board your tips about running as an administrator and the shut down times etc. and thank you martinvk for shedding a little light on the layers I obviuosly have to look into how to save my work properly ive been saving it in a session, then every now and again creating an extra session as a backup clearly not rite but you live and learn from those in the know, and yes cascaderailroad 2006 was more basic but I had my moments with that too lol ok thanks again guys.

Thanks Sandancer for this most useful thread, I too have been very confused with layers in routes. Now I hope I have gained the knowledge (thanks be to you) to "sort out" my routes, and layers. Cheers! :wave: