In Need Download Station Guru?

[MrScott2006]

I spent the better part of last night and early morning hunting through Russian site looking for one item. This was tough because I don't speak Russian. After many hours of download stuff that I didn't want I did find what I was looking for. I then came up with this thought. Why are there so many sites that have exclusive content? What's the reasoning behind it. The only things I could think of is creative rights for the content and the Download Station is too hard to work with. The first idea is ridiculous, but that's another battle that I have no intentions of fighting here. This leave the Download Station and it could stand some attention.
Since I can't work and have too much time on my hands, I'm a perfect volunteer to upkeep the DL Station. What does this mean for Trainz followers? I don't know, but I am here to volunteer my time and effort in straightening out the problems with the DL Station. All I ask for in return is the Current edition of Trainz.

My only idea at this time would be to create a new DL Station and I can convert content from the old DL Station to the new DL Station. There is no point in keeping the same DL Station if it stops working every other week.

I'd like to here people thoughts on the subject, but I really like to here Auran's thoughts on the subject.

 

[bendorsey]

This idea has been brought up several times in the past. Cleaning the DLS up. Mis-catagorized content, etc. It all boils down to it can only be done by someone with considerable access to the Auran site. A far higher level of access then Auran is willing to give. After all no matter how nice a bunch Trainzers are it only takes one bad guy to trash everything if they have a high enough level of access. Its a great idea but a risk Auran does not dare to take.

Ben

 

[MrScott2006]

I know they don't have enough people to fix the problem or the DL problem would be fixed already. They are going to have to go with volunteers sooner or later.

 

[NICKEL]

I know the DLS could use some work but it is still 100 times easier than trying to troll the net to find assets. Also tried a few sites and my virus site checker has erupted with alarms.
It is much more permanent than a lot of CC sites, nothing worse than looking for assets and you find the site has been gone for a year so none of this persons excellent product is available anymore. I try and use only DLS items in case I should ever finish something to upload to the DLS.

 

[MrScott2006]

There's lots of nice content out there but most will never know about it because it's on some unknown site and perhaps a different language.

 

[MrScott2006]

After writing the last post I started thinking...

If there was a post somewhere that show one word in different languages like "bridge" or "track". I don't think the DLStation factors that in when running a search. That's another way good content gets missed.

 

[Johnk]

Dear Mr Scott 2006,

Deary, deary me, golly, gosh, gee.

Haven't you heard of the Trainz Resources Directory, where you will find most (if not all) Russian sites listed with links in both Russian (for those who speak the language) and English (for the rest of us)? I would love to tell you how many hundreds of hours I've invested creating all those wiz-bang, supa-dupa listings for the occasional few who bother to look, but instead I'll just remind you all that the service is there for e v e r y o n e, not just a chosen few.

If you find a site that's not listed, being the nice kind-hearted guy that I am, I will list it for you along with all the translation you need within 24 hours, provided you let me know.

Oh, just in case you have problems, you'll find the listings under Web Sites in the Categories box on the left.

Please, please enjoy and make my day.

 

[bendorsey]

My personal opinion is a single source for downloads such as the DLS is far better then multiple smaller sources. This doesn't mean the smaller sources are bad or of lesser quality or should not exist. What is does mean is lesser exposure. I have some items on another site. They have been downloaded a maximum of 14 times. If I had placed them on the DLS they would have been downloaded several hundred times each by now. This isn't a brag - its past experience. Far too few folks even know of the other sites.

I certainly agree the DLS needs an overhaul as does the entire upload and approval process but only Auran can do that and it isn't going to happen any time soon given the current economic situation.

Ben

 

[angelah]

I agree

My personal opinion is a single source for downloads such as the DLS is far better then multiple smaller sources. This doesn't mean the smaller sources are bad or of lesser quality or should not exist. What is does mean is lesser exposure. I have some items on another site. They have been downloaded a maximum of 14 times. If I had placed them on the DLS they would have been downloaded several hundred times each by now. This isn't a brag - its past experience. Far too few folks even know of the other sites.

I certainly agree the DLS needs an overhaul as does the entire upload and approval process but only Auran can do that and it isn't going to happen any time soon given the current economic situation.

Ben

Dear Ben,
I agree with you, and of course there is the added difficulty (especially with me and my rotton memory) that if a route creator uses assets from 'outside' sites the folk downloading off the DLS won't necessarily have them so a glorious asset hunt ensues.... all over the place.
Some asset creators have been kind enough to upload the off-site assets to the DS but they are few and far between.

Angela

 

[bendorsey]

Hi Angelah:

I rarely run Trainz to run a train. I just keep a blank baseboard for testing thinmgs I make prior to uploading but I can see where havng to go on "safari" for items not on the DLS can be a major pain-in-the-drain. Particularly when it might be on a site of which you are unaware. No fun at all I'm sure.

My items on the other site were supposed to be uploaded to the DLS as well but the automatic checks won't allow it even tho the items generate no errors in the game. Something else that needs to be looked into.

Example 1:
I've made a number of passenger enabled traincars and stations which have lots and lots of passenger attachment points. I occasionally get carried away and put one to many in the config file. This generates a "attachment point (a.whatever) must appear in the mesh" error so the item gets rejected even tho it causes no problems whatsoever in the game.

Example 2:
Another Trainzer has made some very nice animated brake hoses. The attachment points for them go in a dependency mesh - not the main mesh but the attachment points for them are in the main config file. Needless to say they get the same rejection even tho they also work perfectly well in the game.

One too many attachment points in the config file should not be a reason for rejection.

Ben (end soapbox mode, lol).

 

[MrScott2006]

Dear Mr Scott 2006,

Deary, deary me, golly, gosh, gee.

Haven't you heard of the Trainz Resources Directory, where you will find most (if not all) Russian sites listed with links in both Russian (for those who speak the language) and English (for the rest of us)? I would love to tell you how many hundreds of hours I've invested creating all those wiz-bang, supa-dupa listings for the occasional few who bother to look, but instead I'll just remind you all that the service is there for e v e r y o n e, not just a chosen few.

If you find a site that's not listed, being the nice kind-hearted guy that I am, I will list it for you along with all the translation you need within 24 hours, provided you let me know.

Oh, just in case you have problems, you'll find the listings under Web Sites in the Categories box on the left.

Please, please enjoy and make my day.

Finding the Russian site wasn't the problem, identifying the name of the item was.

 

[StorkNest]

What prevents community volunteers from fixing the DLS.

1 - The security issue Ben mentioned. Also some people's ideas on what they should be allowed to do with security access. Hypothetically, if you get access, do you now have the right to start making demands in other areas of Auran's business? Similar to how I had Top Secret military clearance solely because it was needed for certain communications equipment I used, I could access certain files but in the normal course of my time I really had no reason to do so. The point being sometimes when someone is given a security clearance, they start looking forways to violate it based on their own moral compass. Not everyone is qualified for security access even if they think otherwise.

2 - Language barriers. In making TS2009 groundtextures, I did use the config features for username and decription fields in other languages (using every language supported). Takes me a good amount of time just to do 10 groundtextures this way with online language translators and the work is so repetitive you can get easily bored, lose interest, do something the wrong way and may even find you're sick of looking at your screen. And I still don't know what the difference is between Traditional and Simplified Chinese. Some creators may not be interested in investing the time to translate names/descriptions to other languages and some may not know it can be done. Maybe Auran could add some type of Builtin DLS translator for certain words but what words make up the list and does this require a CMP overhaul? Just because DLS might get a translator doesn't mean CMP will be able to use it and CMP is the direction things are going in.
I should note I see this problem posted a lot by English/American speakers but haven't noticed any non-English/American speakers comment.

3 - Then comes the naming issue that is one of the, "always comes up once or twice a year," things. You take 5 of the same Shed in different colors and the creator named them Shed1, Shed2, Shed3, Shed4 and Shed5. Some but not all users demand they get named Shed Red, Shed Blue, Shed White, Shed Green and Shed Gray. Not everyone agrees to the same names. Heck, I'll admit some names I don't like such as certain TS2009 German Builtins appear to have names that are not words in any language! But if you get access to DLS, what stops you from totally renaming things and annoying some in the community by forcing them to accept your names when they prefer theirs? Its like the Fred Astaire song.

There is another alternative that allows both fixing errored content and getting dependencies all in one shot, the only things holding it back are:
A - Permission from creators. Some creators have licenses that prevent this but sometimes it is either nobody asks or nobody knows about this feature. And of course some creators are gone.
B - Auran investing time with regard to the fixing errored content bit. Not as much as a full DLS overhaul but they would need some investment.
I don't think this is available in TRS2004 and earlier, only TRS2006 and up can do it.
I have a more detailed explanation but haven't had time to even mention it until now.
But it would both fix some errored items and get you dependencies without hunting for them.

 

[j_maybury]

Finding the Russian site wasn't the problem, identifying the name of the item was.

There is a fix for that and a good one!

If you load the Google Toolbar on to your Internet Explorer, or Firefox, (at least I think there’s one for Firefox) it will change all languages into English at the press of a button.........it is simply MAGIC......try it you will wonder what you ever did with out it!:clap: :clap: :clap:

It Tranclates the whole page, not just one word.......Brilliant.:Y:

PS, It also works in this forum so you can read what our none English speaking brother are saying.

 

[bendorsey]

Hi StorkNest:

Very good points all but I would have to take slight (very slight) exception to limiting corrections to 2006 and up only because all my items are made for 2004. Mine don't get fixed?:'( (only kidding).:hehe:

I had a secret clearence in the militrary as well as at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft. I'm sure you know a secret clearance is a lot harder to get as a civillian then in the service (took a year). Your point tho about folks tiptoeing where they shouldn't is extreamly valid. It certainly happened at P&WA now and then. I suppose Auran could set up a system whereby the dls corrector dude would have very limited access but in todays computer savvy society I wonder how long it would take a dedicated snoop to bypass. Not long I suspect. As I said above its simply a risk Auran dares not take.

What if eveyone donated 1$ (au or otherwise) to Auran to hire a temporary employee (who would be legally bound by Auans non-disclosure, etc. rules) to clean up the DLS? Perhaps even a collage student majoring in computer science. I think it would work but wheather Auran would go for it or would have the time to do it is another matter.

Ben

 

[Johnk]

Jonathan, I think that's why the Trainz Resources Directory is patronised by people from over 40 countries. Every page in the Directory can be translated into almost every language, and all foreign sites are translated into English. It's all done for you, all you have to do is remember what language you use. Google does indeed offer a translation service where you can type in any word, phrase or even a book, and as you say, it also automatically translates web sites.

Many of the foreign language Trainz community web sites also have properly translated pages for us English speaking users. All you have to do is find the English pages and take advantage of them. Our European friends look after us far better than we look after them.

 

[MrScott2006]

Our European friends look after us far better than we look after them.

How many different languages are needed in Trainz? It's not a politically correct type of question...it's a real question. I bet there's alot!

Anyhow, My labor is still being offered if needed. I'll sign anything Auran wants me too.

 

[bendorsey]

Nice of you to offer but I suspect even if Auran was willing they would much prefer someone local so they can keep an eye on him (all that Aussie beer ya know, lol).

Ben

 

[StorkNest]

How many different languages are needed in Trainz? It's not a politically correct type of question...it's a real question. I bet there's alot!

As of TS2009 (not sure about before because I never did it), these are all supported in the config file according to what I got from TrainzDev and somewhere else.

Standard and used for English:
username
description

Used for Chinese:
username-cn
description-cn

Used for Czech:
username-cz
description-cz

Used for German:
username-de
description-de

Used for Spanish:
username-es
description-es

Used for French:
username-fr
description-fr

Used for Italian:
username-it
description-it

Used for Dutch:
username-nl
description-nl

Used for Polish:
username-pl
description-pl

Used for Russian:
username-ru
description-ru

Appears to be 10 total though the Standard format can be used for any language. Don't know of any special extension for English.

Hi StorkNest:

Very good points all but I would have to take slight (very slight) exception to limiting corrections to 2006 and up only because all my items are made for 2004. Mine don't get fixed?:'( (only kidding).:hehe:

To clarify, I don't think TRS Content Dispatcher allowed making CDPs of other users content or packing their items in a CDP of yours, CMP/CM2 does. So you could pack route files or any asset with dependencies made by someone else or pack a fixed item where you corrected errors. But you would need permission to distribute of course. When I first found it, I thought it was great for archiving items I fixed but then saw the potential for piracy, however I sent a ticket to helpdesk and they stated they allowed this for the reasons I mentioned, packing an asset with dependencies of other creators and they presume we (the community) ask permission of other creators. So it is possible to pack items with dependencies from other locations presuming you have asked to do so and were told yes) and pack fixed content. All that is needed is permission to upload thus part of any fix to DLS is in the community hands.

Only time in TRS2004 I saw an asset packed with dependencies from other creators, it was an EXE file.

Google does indeed offer a translation service where you can type in any word, phrase or even a book, and as you say, it also automatically translates web sites.

I think some update to IE adds the Translator button I have that does most websites. One click and some pages get a split screen showing the original and translated pages. Might be an Addon you download from Microsoft.

 

[IsambardKingdomBrunel]

post deletedhttp://babelfish.yahoo.com/

 

[bendorsey]

Hi StorkNest:

Whoa - I missed your point there by a mile didn't I? Profuse appologies.

Ben