Hours of work lost

[F2Andy]

I got TS12 a little while ago, and had a quick play around. Over the last couple of days I actually started to build something, and spent some hours creating a large station, using the AJS method.

Come to open it today, and it is all gone!

All the trackwork, all the scenery objects, all the splines. All that is left is the trains, terrain and textures (so I know I saved it, as I added them last). The track from when I was just messing around is still there (and is the same type; the track type has not evaporated). Oh, and the autosave is just the same.

What sort of crap software allows that to happen? How can a company release software that does that? The mind boggles.

Anyone want to point out that I am not using it properly? Maybe so, but if its usage is so obscure that this happens (and bear in mind I have used TS2009 for years, so I am no neophyte; oh, and I do IT support at work, so yes, I have tried restarting the PC), then it is crap software.

If anyone is reading this forum contemplating purchasing this software, I urge them not to. If you cannot trust it to save a map properly, it is not worth a penny.

I am now going to uninstall Trainz 12. What a waste of money that was.

 

[shaneturner12]

This could be something as simple as you working in the wrong layer (and subsequently selecting Do Not Save Session), or using Edit Route rather than Edit Session. Before blaming the software, check that it's not actually a case of user error - as the old saying goes, a program is only able to respond to what the user asks it to do.

Shane

 

[F2Andy]

This could be something as simple as you working in the wrong layer (and subsequently selecting Do Not Save Session), or using Edit Route rather than Edit Session. Before blaming the software, check that it's not actually a case of user error - as the old saying goes, a program is only able to respond to what the user asks it to do.

Shane

With all due respect, that is bull****. If the software lets me edit the track, then it should save the track or warn me that it has not. It is as simple as that.

 

[trainman7616]

Shane is right. This has been basic knowledge for years, not just with trainz but for any computer program. Just check the layers to make sure the station and tracks are not hidden. TS12 also has a autosave interval feature which can be edited.

 

[Bill69]

Trainz also does automatic backups. Look in your 'user data' folder for the backups.

Cheers,
Bill69

 

[F2Andy]

I checked the layers; there is just one session and one route, both visible, both unlocked. There is nothing hidden.

If "Edit Route" lets you change the track, but then fails to save it, then the software is crap. If you can edit it, you should be able to save it. If you cannot save it, you should not be able to be edited.

Eg, you cannot modify pages on the web, so Internet Explorer does not allow you to edit those pages
Eg, you cannot modify "read only" files, so Word or whatever will warn you if you try to edit them, and make you save it under another name

It is not rocket science. And I will blame the software when it does not make this clear.

 

[shaneturner12]

The question you should be asking yourself is which layer you are editing in. Most issues involving disappearing objects are layer-related.

Shane

 

[cascaderailroad]

Which layer should he be editing ?

 

[shaneturner12]

cascaderailroad:

Depends on the asset. For tracks, stations etc it should be the route layer. For trains and other session-related items, it should be the session layer.

By default if it's opened in Edit Session mode it will default to the Session layer.

F2Andy:

There is one other possibility though. Did you get any warning/error messages during the save process?

Shane

 

[Vern]

My experience is that the route layer always loads by default, so unless you deliberately go poking around in the layers it should be on top after editing the actual route.

The only other thing I can think of at this stage is that Trainz ran out of memory to perform your last save operation but didn't generate a warning. I had routes go skew whiff that way before, when in Developer Options I had maximum number of folders set to 7, whereupon my hard drive was actually filled to capacity. The other situation where I had a route load in a raw or previous state, was when I had the raw/source Transdem extraction in the UserData folder and for some reason the programme used that to overwrite all my hard work. Since then, Transdem extractions go to custom folders in My Documents folder and nowhere near the N3V install. Not saying these are the issues here but just noting there are plenty of things going on behind the scene, which could trash a route without you even knowing.

One last thought, did you leave TadDaemon and TrainzUtil to finish after exiting Trainz before shutting down your PC? It can sometimes take 2 or 3 minutes for the processes to complete (not exactly efficient but that's what N3V have given us to work with) and if it happened to be processing one of your route files still when you shut down - could explain the kaput.

 

[jordon412]

I have similar problems and I found a way to resolve this problem. You need to make a new layer, name it whatever you want. When you make it, double-click on the eye. The second time the track should reappear. Then merge the layer with 'route-layer' and you'll have the track back. Simple as that.

 

[Stationbeem]

I am not computer savvy in any way, but i seem to have no problem at all. I have laid 50+ miles of track on a route i am creating, and so far have had no problems saving and opening the route. Everything is there and running with no problems. I have only been using TS12 since Feb of this year.
Shane has helped me few times to understand how this works and I am very grateful. So to call the game crap, when others have got it running seems to tell me it is user input related.

 

[stagecoach]

Edit route will allow you to change track but will save it if the changes are made in the route layer. When you open a route for edit do so from the edit session window and not the route window as sessions are saved separately from route. Every time you open only the route a new session is created which is empty at that point. Click the arrow to the right of the route name to see what sessions are saved against the route.