Greetings, Thanks and A Question about modding

[crisger]

Hello
I have been active in MSTS making various kinds of models, both landscape, structure and various vehicles and working on a number of historic routes all from steam era. A fellow modder introduced me to Trainz and I am very interested. I would like to learn about the proceedures and tools needed for making skins, repaints, mods and models of all kinds. Is there a sub section of the forum and or info on this? i will start looking around but wanted to say hello and thank you to all for some remarkable work I have already seen. My main interest is US Civil War era, to late US steam but i have also studied and collected equipment and routes from all over the world and all various kinds of RR. This is a remarkable community and I hope to contribute. I was for some 40 years a professoinal artist, a painter mostly of landscapes but got intrigued by virtual worlds some 10 years ago and game and sim development..and the rest is as they say...history.

I have made some ships one of which has already been converted to Trainz...a 1920s three island steamship Freighter and I plan to make more of that era. I will attach a pic of her.

Hello and I Hope to meet and share with some of you soon. I have used the handle "CrisGer" on my model making for MSTS and will just keep it here too as it is easy to remember for one of advancing years and decreasing memory

SS. Macken 1920

also one of my repaints of a 4-4-0 in the livery of the US Military RR during the Civil War, i am working on a route from the Civil War with naval and land battles and resources that I may convert or make for Trainz...now...

 

[BuilderBob]

I would like to learn about the proceedures and tools needed for making skins, repaints, mods and models of all kinds.

See here:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Trainz
(under asset creation).

 

[Dinorius_Redundicus]

Welcome to Trainz. Your stuff looks excellent and will be snapped up eagerly.

I'll just mention that there's also a Content Creation Support part of this forum, a place to go to when the Wiki is incomprehensible or otherwise lacking.

~ Deane

 

[crisger]

Hi BuilderBob and Dean and thanks much appreciate that. I have to get used to the Content stream but it sure looks well organized and well done. thanks again. I also have buildings, trees, special vegetation, textures, historic figures in period dress from a number of eras, horse drawn vehicles and wagons, both civilian and military, and am making more. thanks for the nice replies.

1860 US Box Bed Wagon

Civil War Ironclads, Cottonclads, Gunboats, and Bomb Ketches

Models by Larry Mullett some retex by me..Larry has been one of my teachers and mentors and is am amazing modeller in MSTS and really helped me a lot. He created some of these ships and allowed me to use his CSS Virginnia to alter it into the USS Cairo a River Monitor of the city class, and he has generously allowed me to include his models in my Civial War route planned for MSTS and that I may also move into Trainz as well. Larry also enjoys Trainz and told me of a fantasitc Route for 2004 Trainz called Rollins Pass. He is one of the best model makers I know and i hope maybe he can help me with my work here once i figure out how to do things.

US MRR Boxcar 1862

Models by Larry and John Fleming, retex by me

models by refman retex by me

anyway that is a peek, will have to learn the conversion proceedures and the modeling requirments for Trainz but look forward to the learning curve thanks again for the links and info.

 

[SharkNose]

crisger,

Welcome! When I saw your civil war interest, I thought about the cannon on rails seen in Buster Keaton's "The General" (which is available for Trainz - I forget where right now). Lo and behold as I scrolled down, there was your picture of one that looks very similar. There's few sub-groups of Trainzers that specialize in military/war scenarios that I'm sure would welcome you too!

Andrew

Edit: The "General" is here on our DownLoad Station created by tbryson2: https://www.auran.com/TRS2004/DLS_viewasset.php?AssetID=226410

 

[jordon412]

Welcome to Trainz, crisger.
This is the best site for steam locomotives. It covers most of the steam era, mostly 1900 and on. If you use gmax, there is a section that'll give you a head start on making a USRA 2-10-2.
Website: http://www.steammachine.com/bdaneal/

 

[crisger]

Hi and thanks Jordon, and hey everyone just call me Cris pls that is fine.

Yes i saw that site today amazing stuff, really nicely done and Yes i can do G max that starter set he shared is really nice. Such good work going on here,i was very impressed. thanks again in the middle of a move but will catch up and study things here soon and look forward to seeing much more! I got the older version of Trainz on the reccomendation of a good friend and one of my fellow mod makers as he reccomended Rollins pass and Murchison and I guess they only run on the old 2004-2006 set up. I will also get the latest version too so i can make mods for both. Sure are some wonderful 1800s steamers been done! thanks again, i felt a bit shy about posting pics didnt mean to blow my own horn too much just wanted to give an idea of my interests and what I have been working on.

That Mortar that you like is one of Larry's amazing civil war models, he does great work and that is a superb example. I hope to ahve those in the route and at fortifications I plan for the route.

 

[RRSignal]

Welcome! It looks like you are quite skilled. As others have pointed out, you can learn a lot from the wiki (http://online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/index.php/Main_Page) and the content creation forum here. There are several key tools I'd recommend:

Blender (2.71 is the latest) http://www.blender.org
Uschi's Blender exporter - see this post: http://forums.auran.com/trainz/show...er-Exporter-for-Trainz-Version-0-96-available
Gimp (Some prefer Photoshop or Paintshop Pro) www.gimp.org
PEV's TrainsMeshViewer, Images2TGA, and AttachmentMaker - http://trainz.shaneturner.co.uk/tutorials/index.php/home/utilities/pevsoft-trainz-tools

Blender can import a number of formats. It's probably the best free modelling program for Trainz; 3DS is officially supported by Trainz' maker, N3V, though they may go over to Blender as well. The older version of Blender has a reputation for being extremely difficult to learn, but the newer versions (2.5 and after) are very easy; I went from zero to modelling lamps and buildings in about 4 hours.

As for getting stuff into Trainz, feel free to open up any of my assets and use the config.txt file or adapt them to your own needs.

 

[crisger]

wow thanks RR, very helpful and I will check out your assets...i need to learn my way round the config file system here, and will get that viewer asap. I have Gimp use it for mods for other games but do most of my texture work with Photoshop 7.0 and making textures etc.,Looks like TGA is used here as it is in MSTS so am used to that format....and I assume there are alphas as well in Trainz. have looked at Blender ages ago but as you say the older versions were VERY klunky, i had heard the updates were much better so that helps i needed to know what the best tools were for this ..you hit all of the nails on the head that were remaining in my question box. thanks so much.

In MSTS you can add items to either an engine or a car with an animation line, i understand you can add passengers to cars and maybe drivers to engines in Trainz..but I dont know yet how that is done, will look or ask on the content page thanks again for the kind welcomes and posts. Other things i look forward to learning about are shadows, and night lighting...and texturing both on models and in the actual landscape. All are areas of interest for me for I like to work for the best and most workable detail possible whatever sim i am working for.

 

[Pencil42]

Welcome, Chris!

Your models look good; it will be nice to see them in Trainz.
The Civil War scene has been pretty quiet here lately. As mentioned, Tbryson built the General, Yonah, and Texas; wva-usa did some freight cars; I did a couple of generic passenger cars and some supporting items (water tanks and wood ricks); Dreddman, Whecsailor, and others also did some content. And, I know there's more; it's just been a couple years since I've looked at it.
Elvenor did quite a bit of old west stuff; much of which is probably applicable to that era.

Curtis

 

[captainkman]

G'day Chris,

First of all, welcome to Trainz!

Second of all, thankyou for letting me convert the S.S. Cordene. I'm not the person who sent you the email, I did the conversion for a friend but only on the condition that he ask for and receive permission first.

If you have Skype or another instant-messaging service, I would be interested in using it to talk to you about converting your lovely models and also to assist in such. I am particularly interested in those mortar wagons.

It is fortunate that any model that is scaled correctly in MSTS will also be correctly scaled in Trainz. This speeds up the conversion process.

Kieran.

 

[stouthm]

Welcome Chris. I see that you're running 2006. You're already behind most of us. I hope that some of the more knowledgable people here will help me with this and correct me if I'm wrong and direct you correctly but I think you might have some problems if you start out with 2006 since TRS12 is the newest version out there and a newer version called T:ANE will be available soon as we say in Trainz land. This is a great group of people so don't be afraid to ask questions. Hope you enjoy the ride.

 

[Falcus]

Hey Cris!

If I remember rightly, didn't I used to see you alot over at Elvastower?

Falcus

 

[crisger]

wow what fun. ..first thanks all. and yes Elvas Tower is where my models are hosted currently for MSTS that i would be moving into Trainz and then making new ones here...if all works out. Hi Keiran would love to chat with you at your convenience, i am up pretty late here as i have other friends who i talk with all over the world including down under....so you can try me on Skype i will PM you my addy. Great to hear the scaling is correct yes i am happy to share any of my work for Trainz and that was a nice job you did on the SS. Cordene which was the UK version of the Machen pictured above with some alternations for the red duster i look forward to chatting, i am in the middle of a RL move but it actually is calming to keep working on these virtual projects

cheers and thanks all! great to hear of the Civil War work in detail, as you can see I have been working on assets for some time..I do very deep research, just getting the data on how 1860 wagons were constructed, and worked took months...not to say research finding what photos exist for Confederate as well as Union RR ..i did manage finally to find an excellent photograph very rare of the ATlanta Roundhouses WITH intact Confeerate engines and rolling stock which i eagerly look forward to modelling when time permits. anyhoo, thanks all, and very nice to be here.

I will get the latest version this week I promise and will model for it, i jsut wanted to see the older one for those older routes i mentioned as i was not sure what was updatable and what worked on what version but whatever I do will work on the latest I promise esp if i get the skilled help of the senior members with the skills I must learn already in hand.

If i get TS12 will I miss out on the versions in between....or can things made for them run on TS12? I hope so.

ah Curtis! You have the Carson Shops! i was drooling over some of that stock just yesterday in the midst of other work..wonderful stuff there, i recgonized many familiar items that I had planned to make some of myself...so great to see it all!

wonderful work.

 

[Dinorius_Redundicus]

Cris

Trainz creator Leeferr (ID 262137) also made a lot of American civil war stuff which is available on the Download Station. I don't think he's active any longer on the DLS, but his earlier material is still there.

Are you a 3DSMax user?

~ Deane

 

[JCitron]

Hi Cris and welcome to the forums and to Trainz.

To answer your question regarding TS12: Think of this as a cumulative update. With TS12 you will be at the forefront ready to move forward to the newer version, Trainz: A New Ear (T:ANE for short) scheduled for the end of this year.

What works in previous versions, for the most part, works in TS12 and will work in the future product.

What are you missing by going from TRS2006 to TS12? Not much, really. Most of the content in TRS2006 is already in TS12 and then some, and anything up on the Download Station (DLS), is then available to you. TS12 also has the added benefit of full N3V technical support which is no longer available for the older products.

Hope this helps answer your questions, and I hope to see more of you and your great works here. Feel free to post questions and hopefully we can answer your questions!

John

 

[itareus]

Welcome Cris,

I would strongly suggest you get TS12 before delving into the depths of content creation.

Content creation wise, many things changed from TS2009 and with later versions, if you learn using TS2006 then you will have to relearn for TS2009 and later.

One of the great strengths of Trainz is the database of downloadable free assets made available by Trainz users - the DLS (DownLoad Station run by N3V). If you purchase TS12 you will get access to this resource at a slow speed and with limited downloads. A FCT (First Class Ticket) will buy you faster, unlimited, access.

Love the steamship model, just the job for a route I'm currently working on.

Cheers

Chris

 

[johnwhelan]

If i get TS12 will I miss out on the versions in between....or can things made for them run on TS12? I hope so.

In theory anything made for an earlier version that is error free will run in TS12. Not absolutely true but near enough. There is a background project to go through the DLS which is the central repository and clean up anything with errors. There are a number of sites over 200 that have Trainz assets available for download besides the DLS. www.trainzkuidindex.com can be useful for locating assets.

Welcome to Trainz, I think at the moment Blender is used fairly heavily by the content creators but GMAX and 3DS are also used.

Cheerio John

 

[crisger]

John, Chris and John, thank you all very much. I have purchased and am downloading 2012 now, and will get it loaded up as soon as the ferrets on the Iternet tread mill grind out the files ..... thanks a lot for the kind welcome in very nice indeed and the advice. I hear you about versions just needed to know. I dont mind having the older one as when i study a sim and its development I like to start at the beginning and see the devel, did that with Flight Sim series, Silent Hunter, the MSTS train series and Railworks..and others and it is very interesting to see the development of the enhancements and the amazing commitment of the supportive communities. Trains and RR history are a personal favorite of mine and I have returned to it again and again seeking the detail that I crave and I may have indeed found it here for a number of enhancement projects i had started or planned for MSTS exist already here ..thanks again.

Cheers
Chris