IndustRail routes

[ostkamp]

Hi,

on the DLS one can find many of Phil Skenes great IndustRail versions, e.g. 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, ... , 7a, 7b, 8a etc.

I am wondering if there is any connection between the different versions.

In TRS 2004 I have IndustRail 8a. Now I've learned that 2a is apparently for TRS 2009, hence a newer number does not mean a more up-to-date version. This numbering scheme drives me somewhat crazy

Does anyone know what's behind the numbers?

Are some versions updates of another ones, are they just sub-parts of something larger, or the same but for different Trainz versions?

Regards

Guido

 

[philskene]

Hi Guido --

"Does anyone know what's behind the numbers?"

Well, if anyone does it should be me, the author.

It all started with a small module called "Loco Depot 1a".

I added three modules at the south end, including the steel works, and it became "Urban Industrial 1a" (note the "industrial").

The route gradually expanded, mainly to the north, through Urban Industrial 2a to 4a.

With the next northward extension I changed the name to "Urban IndustRail", continuing the sequence with 5a and working through to 8a.

Along the way there was an occasional "b" release. This was a minor service pack where there was either an error in the route or a dependent asset was changed or removed from the Download Station by the author.

The next iteration bought another name change to just plain "IndustRail", and I began this series with 1a.

The latest version is 2a. Despite what the description says under the thumbnail on the Download Station, this route was made in TRS2004 and will work in 04, 06 and 09. The only problem is that Download Helper will not automatically catch the dependencies because I uploaded this version through TRS2009's CM2. The TRS2004 "Black Screen Of Death" will, however, install all the dependencies.

There may be one or two more iterations yet once I've got "HarborMaster" out of the way.

So in summery the sequence is:
Loco Depot 1a
Urban Industrial 1a to 4a
Urban IndustRail 5a to 8a
IndustRail 1a and 2a

Phil

 

[ostkamp]

Hi Phil,

So in summery the sequence is:
Loco Depot 1a
Urban Industrial 1a to 4a
Urban IndustRail 5a to 8a
IndustRail 1a and 2a

thank you very much for this detailed historical write-up.

If I understand you correctly, than each of the versions should fully contain everything that it's predecessor had (with the exception of some content that you had to replace because it was no longer available e.g. on DLS). In this case I believe it is safe to assume that most if not all content is reused so that each newer version in fact needs only the delta objects not being already used in its predecessors and the route info itself.

The question now is how this affects the sessions that you have created for earlier versions. Is it possible to use a session that was created for e.g. "Urban Industrial 8a" in "IndustRail 2a"?

I'm believing it isn't and most likely you have not ported and republished all the sessions created for earlier invocations.

This would mean that - in order to get the most out of your routes - one has to download and install all the routes including the older ones to run all the sessions.

Am I correct with the above?

This is not meant as criticism, I just wan't to understand how it works; I suppose based on the above that downloading an updated new version does not really matter in terms of size compared to the initial download.
Thanks again for the great freeware, your work is really appreciated.

Best regards

Guido

 

[philskene]

Guido --

I've had very limited success in taking a session that was made in one version of IndustRail and running it in a later version of the route. It seems to depend on the track file. If that section of the track file that defines the starting position of the rolling stock and the industries that have been configured in the session has not changed, then the session may work. If the track layout has been altered where the rolling stock is located it certainly will not.

The only sure way is to edit the config.txt file of the session, replacing the kuid for the old route with the new. You will find this in two locations - in the first section of the txt file and further down in the kuid table.

"In this case I believe it is safe to assume that most if not all content is reused so that each newer version in fact needs only the delta objects not being already used in its predecessors and the route info itself."

Yes, that is correct. In general, each successive iteration of the route requires a few more assets from the Download Station.

The vast majority are common. The biggest downloads are the products used by the industries. The 20ft and 40ft container products are, for example, quite big but once downloaded are used in all successive versions.

You will also find that my routes use the same basic toolkit of assets. If you have IndustRail 2 you will have most, if not all, of the assets needed by my latest route "HarborMaster".

Phil