Hello. I just bought trainz and Im frustrated.

ledzeppelinfan1

New member
I'm new here and to the game, but not to train sims entirely. However, I have zero experience with add-ons and that's where my current frustrations lay. I downloaded some freeware from jointed rail today (track and other rolling stock) and I have absolutely zero idea how to get them into the game. Also, where in the hell do I find the track eraser to make the crossings work? I've watched several tutorials and it seems easy enough, other than I can't find that stuff.

While I'm at it, why is it that when I watch a tutorial where the user is working with track, they seem to have zero trouble with the tracks when laying them side by side? Mine seem to want to run together or form a stupid loop and connect at the ends of the two sections. Its maddening and makes attempting to make a yard ladder infuriating.

Hey...this game could be great, but it needs a huge facelift when it comes to any form of a manual.

Seriously though, I appreciate ahead of time any and all feedback.
 
Hi and welcome to the forums. You'll find it's a fun game (although there can be a bit of a learning curve) and the forums are generally very friendly and helpful.

Preventing loops can be done by simply holding down the SHIFT key before you let go of the mouse button.

Most third-party content like the JR rolling stock and track is downloaded as a CDP file. That's Trainz' version of a ZIP or RAR file. Just go into Manage Content and click on File->Import Content Files. However, a lot of Trainz content requires dependencies in other files, and JR is no exception. Be sure you look on their site and grab bogies, TrainFX, Script Libraries, and anything else you may need.

If an asset shows as Red in Content Manager (or Surveyor) it's often because it's missing dependencies.
 
What version do you have ... Please register it at MyTrainz, and create a profile ... There are many things that we can teach you

Will do. Ill get right on that. :)

I have Trainz 2012

edit...I apparently have already registered it. I thought I had already, but didn't know if I needed to register it somewhere else, too.
 
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OK, after some running of the Mojave route, I had a thought that seemed cool...but I'm not so sure of its feasibility.

I would like to take over the Mojave route as my own...meaning, I would like to clear all of the trains, replace them with new ones, fill the route with cars needing to be switched, etc. So I went into the Edit Session and began tinkering a bit but it began to get a wee bit late and I thought I was onto an idea.

Now to run multiple trains at once, how the heck do I do that? Would I have to mess with AI Engineers or could I simply go back and forth between trains to keep an eye on things?

I would like to think that I could save my session over the previous and the route would essentially become a living world where I could operate the rail traffic, leave off, and come back and things would be as I left them...

Oh, and is it possible to produce traffic on the roads in these prebuilt routes that have none?

I'm also interested in doing the same with other routes, particularly some created by other users, but my Content Manager feature looks at me like I'm an idiot whenever I try to use it.

Is any of this feasible? I sure hope so.

Route creator is cool, too. But I'm not so sure I'm patient or even intelligent enough (lol) to do it any justice.

Sure would like to get some more rolling stock.

Oh, here is another question. When adding trains, is it possible to filter out all the European stuff that I have no interest in?

Sorry for the aimless meandering. :hehe::cool:
 
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Hi and welcome to the forums. You'll find it's a fun game (although there can be a bit of a learning curve) and the forums are generally very friendly and helpful.

Preventing loops can be done by simply holding down the SHIFT key before you let go of the mouse button.

Most third-party content like the JR rolling stock and track is downloaded as a CDP file. That's Trainz' version of a ZIP or RAR file. Just go into Manage Content and click on File->Import Content Files. However, a lot of Trainz content requires dependencies in other files, and JR is no exception. Be sure you look on their site and grab bogies, TrainFX, Script Libraries, and anything else you may need.

If an asset shows as Red in Content Manager (or Surveyor) it's often because it's missing dependencies.

Thank you so much for that little tip. Made a huge difference!!! :)
 
...

Now to run multiple trains at once, how the heck do I do that? Would I have to mess with AI Engineers or could I simply go back and forth between trains to keep an eye on things?

You need to issue instructions to the drivers in Edit Session->Menu->Settings->Driver Setup. I suspect its all in the manual.


...
I would like to think that I could save my session over the previous and the route would essentially become a living world where I could operate the rail traffic, leave off, and come back and things would be as I left them...

...

You can save the game in Driver and it will take a snapshot of the location of all your trains. You can then restart from that point.

Your game isn't registered correctly with N3V. Once registered, you will have access to other areas of this forum as well as the ability to download routes, sessions as well as thousands of other assets from the Download Station. Once registered correctly, it will show TS12 in your timeline next to your user id.
 
If you bought on Steam the SP's will be updated automatically ... If you have a SimCentral Disc or digital download the SP patchs will need to be manually downloaded and applied to your instalation
 
OK, after some running of the Mojave route, I had a thought that seemed cool...but I'm not so sure of its feasibility.

I would like to take over the Mojave route as my own...meaning, I would like to clear all of the trains, replace them with new ones, fill the route with cars needing to be switched, etc. So I went into the Edit Session and began tinkering a bit but it began to get a wee bit late and I thought I was onto an idea.

Now to run multiple trains at once, how the heck do I do that? Would I have to mess with AI Engineers or could I simply go back and forth between trains to keep an eye on things?

I would like to think that I could save my session over the previous and the route would essentially become a living world where I could operate the rail traffic, leave off, and come back and things would be as I left them...

Oh, and is it possible to produce traffic on the roads in these prebuilt routes that have none?

I'm also interested in doing the same with other routes, particularly some created by other users, but my Content Manager feature looks at me like I'm an idiot whenever I try to use it.

Is any of this feasible? I sure hope so.

Route creator is cool, too. But I'm not so sure I'm patient or even intelligent enough (lol) to do it any justice.

Sure would like to get some more rolling stock.

Oh, here is another question. When adding trains, is it possible to filter out all the European stuff that I have no interest in?

Sorry for the aimless meandering. :hehe::cool:

Welcome to the forums and to Trainz a new world which will keep you occupied for a lifetime!

The things you are requesting here are all possible in TS12.


You can clone the route by opening the route for editor in Surveyor, then choosing to save it. You will be prompted to save a copy because you can't overwrite the built-in one. With your own route, you can do whatever you wish including adding traffic, adding more baseboards, merging with other routes and many, many other things.

To add traffic, edit the route in Surveyor then pick Main menu Edit route. (Don't ask why it's called this). Here you can change the region to something which will have traffic such as United States. There are even others available on the Download Station (DLS) which will add different vehicles, and you can modify these to create your own flavor. This aspect is a bit advanced for now so we'll leave that for another topic.

Content, as has been mentioned, is available on the Download Station (DLS), or from third-parties such as Jointed Rail www.jointedrail.com. If you are going to do a lot of downloading, and this seems to be the case, we highly recommend a First Class Ticket. They cost about $25 to $30 USD for a year. (The price shown on the Simulator Central website (N3V's store), are in Australian dollars which are a lot higher). This will give you unlimited download capabilities, unlike the default 100MB per day without one on a very slow connection.

When setting up running sessions, you can filter the content to show only US and or Canadian content. This will eliminate the European stuff you don't want. I recommend looking at some of the European buildings and stuff in case you decide to build routes because much of it is applicable. And for non-European stuff, look at the stuff from Australia and New Zealand. Where the content creators used those places as the region, however, the buildings are applicable for here.

In the Edit/Create session, you can setup and save multiple AI drivers, add extra drivers, and add all kinds of destinations rules for them to go to. This will give you many, drivers to fill your routes. There are even ways of saving a library, called the Schedule Library, to save a string of driver commands so you don't have to re-enter these over and over for each driver. There are also portals which are placed in Surveyor, but setup in the similar-looking Session editor, that will spit out full AI-controlled trains which you have assigned driver commands to. These will appear at a set time, you specify, and will create extra traffic on the route.

My favorite thing with this is to let the AI run lots of traffic while I take over a train of my own. I usually switch a yard or run locals and commuter trains while the AI are driving. Periodically, as when I switch the yards, I will take over an AI-controlled train, uncouple the engines and send them to the engine house while I switch out the cars. When that's all finished, I recouple the AI-driven locos and have the train continue on its way.

So yes in so many words, what you have asked can be done and much, much more. If you noticed many of us have a join date on the forums of Nov 2006. This date is actually wrong and many of us here have been here since 2001. I started in December 2003 and haven't stopped using the program and its iterations since. As I said, you've acquired an addicting and absorbing program which will hopefully give you many years of enjoyment.

In closing, ensure you are properly registered. You need to enter in the serial number in your My Trainz account area as well as entering in the serial number when first installing. Once this is done, the program should appear on your station line, and if not you will need to submit a ticket. By registering, you will be able to download the content and have access to other aspects of the forums.

John
 
I suggest registering since it will give you access to the DLS which is where most of the value in Trainz is. The user created content. Trainzproroutes isn't bad either.

Cheerio John
 
As far as filtering out things you don't want to see it can be done in 2 ways. In Railyard you can mark/unmark locos and rolling stock as "Favorites" then, in Surveyor you can set a "Favorites" filter and only those items will show. You can also mark routes as favorites in the main listing screen so only those favorites will show. I found this very useful in TS 12, it was inexplicably removed from TANE it seems, I hope it is brought back. The one bug with this was that sometimes the Favorites wouldn't stick and things Un faved would show up again as Favorites, especially after Database repairs.

You can also "Rate" content from 0-5 stars in Content Manager and create surveyor filters that way. Another feature gone missing in TANE, it's actually there but broken at the present. You can also "Disable" content in Content Manager. This will make it invisible and unavailable in game. If you do this you should check to see if it is a dependency for anything you may want to use such as a route or session before disabling it.

If you've registered your game and it is not showing in your timeline, send a ticket to the Helpdesk so they can fix it.
 
Welcome to the forums and to Trainz a new world which will keep you occupied for a lifetime!

The things you are requesting here are all possible in TS12.


You can clone the route by opening the route for editor in Surveyor, then choosing to save it. You will be prompted to save a copy because you can't overwrite the built-in one. With your own route, you can do whatever you wish including adding traffic, adding more baseboards, merging with other routes and many, many other things.

To add traffic, edit the route in Surveyor then pick Main menu Edit route. (Don't ask why it's called this). Here you can change the region to something which will have traffic such as United States. There are even others available on the Download Station (DLS) which will add different vehicles, and you can modify these to create your own flavor. This aspect is a bit advanced for now so we'll leave that for another topic.

Content, as has been mentioned, is available on the Download Station (DLS), or from third-parties such as Jointed Rail www.jointedrail.com. If you are going to do a lot of downloading, and this seems to be the case, we highly recommend a First Class Ticket. They cost about $25 to $30 USD for a year. (The price shown on the Simulator Central website (N3V's store), are in Australian dollars which are a lot higher). This will give you unlimited download capabilities, unlike the default 100MB per day without one on a very slow connection.

When setting up running sessions, you can filter the content to show only US and or Canadian content. This will eliminate the European stuff you don't want. I recommend looking at some of the European buildings and stuff in case you decide to build routes because much of it is applicable. And for non-European stuff, look at the stuff from Australia and New Zealand. Where the content creators used those places as the region, however, the buildings are applicable for here.

In the Edit/Create session, you can setup and save multiple AI drivers, add extra drivers, and add all kinds of destinations rules for them to go to. This will give you many, drivers to fill your routes. There are even ways of saving a library, called the Schedule Library, to save a string of driver commands so you don't have to re-enter these over and over for each driver. There are also portals which are placed in Surveyor, but setup in the similar-looking Session editor, that will spit out full AI-controlled trains which you have assigned driver commands to. These will appear at a set time, you specify, and will create extra traffic on the route.

My favorite thing with this is to let the AI run lots of traffic while I take over a train of my own. I usually switch a yard or run locals and commuter trains while the AI are driving. Periodically, as when I switch the yards, I will take over an AI-controlled train, uncouple the engines and send them to the engine house while I switch out the cars. When that's all finished, I recouple the AI-driven locos and have the train continue on its way.

So yes in so many words, what you have asked can be done and much, much more. If you noticed many of us have a join date on the forums of Nov 2006. This date is actually wrong and many of us here have been here since 2001. I started in December 2003 and haven't stopped using the program and its iterations since. As I said, you've acquired an addicting and absorbing program which will hopefully give you many years of enjoyment.

In closing, ensure you are properly registered. You need to enter in the serial number in your My Trainz account area as well as entering in the serial number when first installing. Once this is done, the program should appear on your station line, and if not you will need to submit a ticket. By registering, you will be able to download the content and have access to other aspects of the forums.

John

Thanks for the hella awesome response. I will be using this thread going forward as to not create a bunch of forum clutter and hopefully help other newbs like myself.

I believe I'm properly registered, but I guess I won't know for sure until I see my timeline on this post when completed. I purchased a one year first class ticket and downloaded a UP loco.

I haven't looked for said locomotive, so hopefully I can find it.

Now, all that said...in the Content Update section of the main menu, there is a staggeringly high number...it says 10519...I assume that means there are that many files to DL. I'm not so sure that's a good idea!!!

I love that what I want to do is so very possible!!! Thanks fantastic news. I will have many questions I'm sure going forward. Now, lets hope my timeline updates when I post this response, eh!!?!?!?!
 
If you are referring to your registration, you may need to contact N3V's Helpdesk on that one as it hasn't shown up on your timeline (it's likely to be a problem at N3V's end rather than yours if you've filled in the form at MyTrainz > Serial Number).

Regarding the content updates, they are for content that is locally present in your version (for a new installation it's for built-in content). Some of it may not download though as it's made for Trainz A New Era which is newer than TS12.

Shane
 
If you are referring to your registration, you may need to contact N3V's Helpdesk on that one as it hasn't shown up on your timeline (it's likely to be a problem at N3V's end rather than yours if you've filled in the form at MyTrainz > Serial Number).

Regarding the content updates, they are for content that is locally present in your version (for a new installation it's for built-in content). Some of it may not download though as it's made for Trainz A New Era which is newer than TS12.

Shane

Yeah. I've put a ticket in with the Help Desk. So, theres that...

I must say, this game seems amazing, but having dolled out 20 bucks for the 1 year FCT, I'm finding the interface and process very discouraging. I've attempted to DL a locomotive which I can't find. Ive tried to search for rolling stock, but I'm not exactly sure what is compatible with TS 2012. Should I set the search filter to just that version in the DLS, or are others compatible. I've searched the Help Desk for how to install my DLs and it isn't quite clear.

The process seems extremely disjointed and convoluted right now and I'm growing more and more irritated. Everything I attempt seems to run me straight into another problem!!! I've been sitting here for 3 hours and I've accomplished very little at all. Just to successfully DL one piece of rolling stock would seem like a HUGE accomplishment!!!

Can someone, in layman terms, spell how with a crayon how the hell this DLC process works!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :'(
 
In terms of downloading using Content Manager, I have a sticky thread in the DLS,FCT forum that may help on that front. If you right-click the column headings at the top then select the Trainz Version column (I think that's what it's called from memory) it will then show you the Trainz build for each piece of content. For TS12, you will need content for 3.5 or below if your build on the Launcher is less than 48249, 3.6 for builds lower then 57720, and 3.7 for builds above that.

Shane
 
Well...now what is the problem? I found the loco I DL'd earlier in the Railyard (there's hope!!! lol)...

Problem is when I click on it, you can't see the locomotive. I went into Surveyor to see if I could place it on the tracks...and nothing. So...now whats the problem. See what I mean, every success leads directly to the next problem. lol

I need a drink.
 
Just DL'd an awesome boxcar...same problem. Its in the rail yard, but without an image. This can't be hard to fix...lol..right?

Okay, after some research by googling my problem, I found the fix and now I can access my boxcar!!! YAY!!! But the loco is still out of reach. I had to go into the 'open for edit' and hit select them and commit them. Like I said, it worked for the boxcar and not the loco.

The loco says it has no errors. I dunno. But hey, at least I'm getting SOMEWHERE!!! :)
 
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