Disappointed....

[clam1952]

No it isn't graphics card related. I don't have Nvidia400 series card either.

That was the easy answer, can't win them all I guess........
I vaguely remember a post about animation in blender, unfortunately although I have it, I don't use it, been using 3ds and Gmax for too long now to change so not a lot of help there.

Using the right exporter for the version of blender?

 

[Vern]

I don't think anyone is saying "don't ask", but there are certain things - like control of curve radii and better tunnels to mention just two, that I'm sure would have been incorporated long before now if the programme was capable of it.

As said to me more than once when I criticise a certain other train sim, be grateful for what we have got and accept that each sim requires a slightly different approach and learning need/skills to get the best out of it.

 

[mrscsi]

Actually around 400 GB, if my estimation is correct. Total area for the US is about 10,000,000 km^2 (wikipedia). 10 m grid with single precision floating point per value (4 bytes). Compression may reduce to perhaps 1/4, but even then still 100GB. Factor 100,000?

SCNR.

I know from Tucson to nogales to Naco to just east of Benson in 1/3 arc was 777 meg merged...

 

[Len12]

That was the easy answer, can't win them all I guess........
I vaguely remember a post about animation in blender, unfortunately although I have it, I don't use it, been using 3ds and Gmax for too long now to change so not a lot of help there.

Using the right exporter for the version of blender?

Yep. It's been duplicated by some posters as well who use both. Everything else is fine. Even the preview window for the animation is fine just when the object is placed in Trainz it shows up black,

 

[martinvk]

... the preview window for the animation is fine just when the object is placed in Trainz it shows up black,

This is usually a sign that there is a texture problem. The 3D modeling programs will show just about anything but Trainz requires specific texture sizes and other specifications. Is this the only object that this happens to? Has another object been made using the same textures with the same results? If other textures are used on the black object, does it appear normal?

 

[defacto]

Hi mogeley.

I’ve just watched the Sims youtube terrain building video.

I agree, it does look easy. That’s because it’s very inflexible and designed for people at all skill levels to get a reasonable result very quickly. Great for beginners, but as soon as you become proficient, Trainz has much more versatility with many more tools, enabling a much more professional and realistic looking end product. Surveyor already does all of the things that you suggest, with the exception of automatic terrain texturing. Who would want that in Trainz? It would be a retrograde step IMHO.

I could see no method of adding and blending textures, much less the ability to create and add your own textures, or those of others. Texturing is one of the joys of Trainz Route creation. It allows an infinite number of end results and the ability to create prototypical landscapes. Everyone’s creations are therefore totally unique, as is evident with what you can see in the Screenshots section.

And we’ve not even looked at the effect different skies, water, time of day, good and bad weather fog can add to the atmosphere. Something which the Sims landscape seems to be sadly lacking.

I always have to thank the creators for providing and sharing such great stuff, whether it is a new loco, improved tracks, derelict stuff, buildings, vegetation, new routes .. the list is endless. It is they who have raised the bar with ever improving assets and reskins. Some of the work is breathtaking. That is where the real advances have been made IMHO. Treat those creator well everyone!

With regard to building high on one “tile”, by which you presumably mean one baseboard, 750metre by 750 metre, where in the world does a cliff or mountainside like that exist? I cannot find it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff

Cheers
Casper

You shouldn't discuss this like you are a expert on this when you obviously aren't. There are people spending weeks on a few square kilometres to make them EXACTLY as they want...

You can texture grounds, there are many different mods that allow you to do so, aswell as mods for the autmoatic texturing.

- Time of day is present in Sim city 4 too.
- Water is present, along with loads of mods relating to them.
- Skies/Backgrounds can be modded, along with clouds
- Fog and weather is sadly lacking so i can't disprove you on that point:'(

Oh, and there's just as many mods and downloads for SC4 as there is for Trainz involving everything from a Pink background with ponys on to a Highway extension pack.

On the other hand, ofcourse Surveyor has many things sim city 4 is lacking.
The amount of detail and customisation, and ofcourse the weather.

I'm not saying that SC4 is awesome and that surveyor fails, but i would like something similar as an extension to the current terrain moddeling... having some kind of ''speedtree brush'' would be awesome too.

And finally, it's Sim City 4... NOT THE SIMS NOT THE SIMS NOT THE SIMS
And that is a very important point...

 

[Pencil42]

Try to make an old west themed railroad even now it's almost impossible.

There's quite a bit of old west material on the DLS. For an example of what one person has done, look at this thread: http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=46660
Granted, some of the equipment shown is from bdaneal's site, but the vast majority is on the DLS.

Curtis

 

[Len12]

This is usually a sign that there is a texture problem. The 3D modeling programs will show just about anything but Trainz requires specific texture sizes and other specifications. Is this the only object that this happens to? Has another object been made using the same textures with the same results? If other textures are used on the black object, does it appear normal?

Not a texture problem. I have done numerous custom objects for this route all is A-ok. Just ANIMATION. That is the only time it occurs.

Here is the link to the thread complete with pictures:
http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=61276&highlight=animation+blender

 

[martinvk]

Not a texture problem. I have done numerous custom objects for this route all is A-ok. Just ANIMATION. That is the only time it occurs.

Here is the link to the thread complete with pictures:
http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=61276&highlight=animation+blender

Had a look at that other thread.

I just redid one of my level crossings for TS2010. It was originally made for TRS2004. Now it has normal mapping and an extra track, the reason for redoing it, and all the parts show their proper textures, no all black, even the animated parts. All work done in GMax.

The only thing that tripped me up for a while was the lack of animation until I remembered that an event file was used to control it. Once that was put back, it all worked as expected.

So what was animated in TRS2004 still works in TS2010 and new animations also work in TS2010 using GMax. Hope you got this issue with Blender fixed or was it something altogether different?

 

[Euphod]

So what was animated in TRS2004 still works in TS2011 and new animations also work in TS2011 using GMax.

Wow, you have 2011? Is that a beta?

 

[martinvk]

Wow, you have 2011? Is that a beta?

Sorry for the false excitement, just a typo. I've been working hard to type 2011 in all my office email that it just slipped in here. Still waiting for the beta like everyone else.

 

[Euphod]

You're hiding something, I can tell. I notice Jan also has his freeware thread for 2011, so I find it hard to believe you guys don't have 2011 already. I know how this goes, I've been down this road before, I'm always the last to know. I bet 2010 isn't the latest retail version, I bet 2011 is out there, downloadable at some secret N3V site, by invitation only!

Consider yourself outed as one of the elite, inducted into the 2011 club with all it's new features and priveleges. I will ferret the rest of you out and expose you all for the Trainz "Knights Templar" that you are.

Edit man, edit!