iPortal myself into Trainz?

[Approach_Medium]

Today I am feeling depressed and disgusted with the real world.
I wish there would be a way to iPortal myself into one of my Trainz routes, so that I could enjoy driving my trains all day in real life!

My computer system (P4 3.8Ghz, 3Gigs, GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB) is too slow to run TS2010 fluidly when the route is complex, so if I could portal myself into the Trainz world I wouldn't need the computer anymore!

I could create any world I wanted to live in, and have the tools to modify that world once I am inside of it.

Virtual reality? NO! This is reality! My current life would become the virtual one!

Rant as I will; I love Trainz. Regardless of the occasional issues with this or that, I find Trainz to be my best therapy for feeling down and aggravated.
I just get into a long, heavy freight train, and start driving it on my 150 mile long route. Sometimes I let AI drive other trainz that I have to meet along the way, on this single track line.
Sometimes I'll take the Amtrak along the route at high speed.

And sometimes I just dabble with a new route. Whatever my mind wants to do. Trainz has provided me with so much entertainment and relaxation that I cannot compare it to any other product (software or other) that I own.

I hope someday I will be able to afford a much faster computer, and will be able to build more complex routes that will run smoothly. But until that day, I am still having fun with what I've got... TS2010_SP2 and my 5-1/2 yr old ASUS/BFG NVidia system.

See... now I feel better already!

FW

 

[tomurban]

Me Too!

Tom

 

[JCitron]

I thought I was the only one.

Since I've been out of work and out of school, I have Trainzed everyday to a point where I was dreaming about my route.

Trainz gives me a way to escape from the rotten world we're in now with the sucky economy and everything else. The good news is I have a job starting soon(tm), but not soon enough since my unemployment benefits ran out this week, so now I'm broke. At least Trainz doesn't cost much for me to run so I can enjoy that without spending too much money.

Recently after being tired of Surveying for weeks, I let the AI drivers do their thing on a portion of my route. While they were doing that, I was sending freight trains out of portals, and switching cars out of them in the yard. When I was done with them, I sent them on their merry way to wherever they were supposed to go. Knowing the AI, they probably got lost, but I wasn't in the mood to chase them down; I was too busy switching cars at the various warehouses in the industrial park in South Bristol.

So for me Trainz is a giant model railroad. Where else can anyone delve into a world of their own complete with rivers, trees, and buildings. Trainz helped keep my hobby going while everything else has crumbled around.

John

 

[llebrez]

At night, when going to sleep, I am inside of a baggage or mail car.. sorting mail.. seeing the shadows of the scenery pass-by.. Only thing missing is the vibration, smell, noise, and... but the rest. Is quite real.. This is the real thing, folks! and is getting into our brains!

 

[Approach_Medium]

There was a movie during the 1980's called "Tron". It was shot almost completely in CGI, and was the first of its kind.
I would like to be "zapped" into the world of Trainz. I wouldn't care whether I ever returned or not; as long as the world of Trainz doesn't crash

Now, I'm wishing I had the money to buy a new system, so that Trainz wouldn't run so "jerkily" when there's a lot going on. But I also need a job.
Maybe one of the local RR's will be hiring soon:hehe:

FW

 

[WillPac]

Trainz is far from perfect, but so is every other computer program. But glitches aside, it has let me do what I could not EVER come close to doing in scale model railroading.

I was into N scale since I was 12 years old, but combinations of lack of money, space, time and skills finally led me to selling off my collection last fall.

But as luck would have, my brother gave me this program (TRS2006) for Christmas. I already had UTC, but had not given it much of a look, as I was still into the 3D version of the hobby.

This time, I dove in with more enthusiasm and was hooked from the get-go. DLS and CMP have serious performance issues, but without them, I would not have been able to amass a nice roster of motive power, rolling stock and scenic items that would cost a fortune in a hobby shop.

I have added 203 locomotives and and 1,128 pieces of rolling stock. But with the ingenious ARN system, this has effectively expanded my roster to a mind-blowing collection: 10,007 locos and 20,254 boxcars, gons, hoppers, flats, reefers and other rolling stock.

With Trainz, my layout is FAR longer than it ever could have been (my current Portland to Albany Trainz route would still require 3/4 of a mile of REAL N scale track!). I can change eras and seasons with far more ease than it would entail on the model. I can build one "layout" without haveing to "tear down" any other I have created. I can shift from driving Southern Pacific's gorgeous GS-4 Daylight train to manning a quartet of growling Dash 9s. Whole forests can be made with a few mouse clicks. How many hours does that translate into for model RR tree building? Whole cities can be laid in mere minutes. How many DPM and Walthers buildings would THAT require?

Yes, sometimes I miss the feel of a boxcar in my hands, making strides in creating my whole little miniature world. But to take what I've managed in Trainz and putting it into N scale would require an auditorium (which I do not own) and an income on par with Alex Rodriguez and David Beckham (need I say how far short MINE falls?!?). Besides, I just have to plug in an HDMI cable from TV to laptop and my Trainz RR FILLS our family room. It even has the capability to produce a few oohs and ahhs, a common sound at train shows.

 

[Approach_Medium]

I had a relatively large HO scale layout in my attic when I was a teen, but I never knew enough carpentry to get the benchwork right, and my trains were always derailing - and - usually in the worst places. I would have to crawl into tight spaces and watch the trains to figure out what was wrong (as my brother ran the controls), but it always seemed that no matter what I did to try leveling the track, the train would find another place to derail.
Now, I understand that my benchwork was constantly changing, and creating new humps in the track where trains would derail.

Before the HO, I had O gauge, and that was very forgiving. I didn't have nearly as many derailments, and was even able to construct my own grade crossing with a 1/32 scale (slot car) racing system. That was a lot of fun, with the race cars trying to beat the trains.
I even had automatic crossing gates and lights at the crossing, for which I built my own controls.

I never had much scenery on my model layouts. I was more into running trains and electrical/electronics.

I only wish that I had a much faster computer so that I didn't have to scale back on scenery detail and draw distance in TS2010 to get my trains to run smoothly.
But what I did find recently, is that I can increase both scenery detail and draw distance in a driver session once the train is running out on the main where there aren't other trains to slow down performance. Of course, I do have to keep my buildings and trees down to a minimum to get good performance, but I am having a far better time with Trainz than I ever did with the real models.

Oh, and another thing I have to say is that running Trainz has absolutely gotten into my brain, and the "main track" of my life.
I also dream about trainz; sometimes I'm adjusting the terrain or laying track in prototype situations; very strange dreams (or should I call them dreamz?)

FW

 

[Approach_Medium]

But with the ingenious ARN system, this has effectively expanded my roster to a mind-blowing collection: 10,007 locos and 20,254 boxcars, gons, hoppers, flats, reefers and other rolling stock.

Not to sound ignorant, but what is ARN?

FW

 

[Ernest2d6]

I have a i7 930, 12G ram, ATI Radaon HD 5970, Win7 64 bit and Trainz 2010 still stutters and jerks, so I don't think a faster computer will help you.

Better programing would.

I play Eve-online and its graphic intensive and it runs smooth as ice . So I don't believe its our end of the digital stick that's the problem.

Some comments so far on the game:

The Port Ogden & Northern Railroad Company has speed trees planted on the tracks, kinda sloppy, I moved them when I figured out how to do it. I get it was a 2009 game but I was wondering if this was done on purpose?:hehe:

Sometimes I get the black screen, I click it and it turns white and then W7 ask if I want to wait to see if game responds, I click yes and the game comes back on, bug.

I had blue screen once and lost my PW and serial code.

I had lock ups and now I try not use my mouse if a key board key can be used.

I wished I had known the the FCT that came with the game was only fourteen days long, I wouldn't have used it right away, by the time I figured it out I only had a day to use it.

How do you stop these damn trains in cab mode? By the time I see the red light I sail through the switch

I had two head on crashes and I even fell off an bridge.

Anyway so far so good, I hope the next patch will help with the lag in the game.

Ern Matthews

 

[WillPac]

Not to sound ignorant, but what is ARN?

FW

It's the auto numbering utility that basically gives you an unlimited number of just one loco or boxcar. So I COULD have said I have an infinite number of locos and boxcars, open hoppers and flatcars (I don't think I have found any on reefers, covered hoppers, gondolas or crummies). But one of the most fun parts of model railroading for me that has kept true with Trainz is research. So my numbers (especially with the locomotives) is pretty dead on, as I discovered how many the real RR had.

I have every rail car and locomotive in a spreadsheet, with details like reporting marks, road numbers, build date (if it has one that I can read), any restricted loads, plus the era or eras that it fits. That was, I can stay as prototypical as I can, even though I really don't have to. But I think part of the fun is making it as real as the real thing as I can.

 

[Approach_Medium]

It's the auto numbering utility that basically gives you an unlimited number of just one loco or boxcar. So I COULD have said I have an infinite number of locos and boxcars, open hoppers and flatcars (I don't think I have found any on reefers, covered hoppers, gondolas or crummies). But one of the most fun parts of model railroading for me that has kept true with Trainz is research. So my numbers (especially with the locomotives) is pretty dead on, as I discovered how many the real RR had.

I have every rail car and locomotive in a spreadsheet, with details like reporting marks, road numbers, build date (if it has one that I can read), any restricted loads, plus the era or eras that it fits. That was, I can stay as prototypical as I can, even though I really don't have to. But I think part of the fun is making it as real as the real thing as I can.

OK. Now I get it. I've got the ARN on some of my locos; mainly the ones I purchased from Jointed Rail, but I have seen it on freeware as well.

 

[Approach_Medium]

How do you stop these damn trains in cab mode? By the time I see the red light I sail through the switch

It takes some learning. Basically, the cab mode is supposed to simulate the true physics of train handling. Whether or not it actually does, I can't say, since I've never driven a real one
Cab mode is certainly more prototypical than DCC mode, which is more like your model railroad controller.

When I want to slow a train, the first thing I do is bring the throttle down. Depending on how fast and how much slower I need to go determines the amount of braking (if any) you need.
I find that, unless I want to stop the train very quickly, keeping the throttle at 1 or 2 and applying the correct amount of braking works best.

As for stopping at the junction; you need to set up signaling so that you have at least one signal in advance of the one at the junction, so that you know when to begin slowing your train.
I am still trying to get the hang of handling very long and heavy trains, that don't seem to want to get going, but once they do, they're very hard to stop.

It's a lot of fun; but I would love to do it for real someday. Maybe when I win the lottery, I'll buy a shortline RR and get my chance:hehe:

I play Eve-online and its graphic intensive and it runs smooth as ice . So I don't believe its our end of the digital stick that's the problem.

Maybe I should try some other games and find out what my system really can handle.

FW

 

[William0d0]

Trainz, take me away.

 

[cascaderailroad]

The only thing bad abot Trainz is: Eventually you will need glass's, and the tunnel-vision field of view is not like the human eye view at all, even at -surveyorfov=125 -cabinfov=125 & -driverfov=125, and the trackside panning and rotating cameras always seem to look down at the wheel flange when a train passes by.

 

[williamhalsall]

iPortal

Today I am feeling depressed and disgusted with the real world.
I wish there would be a way to iPortal myself into one of my Trainz routes, so that I could enjoy driving my trains all day in real life!

My computer system (P4 3.8Ghz, 3Gigs, GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB) is too slow to run TS2010 fluidly when the route is complex, so if I could portal myself into the Trainz world I wouldn't need the computer anymore!

I could create any world I wanted to live in, and have the tools to modify that world once I am inside of it.

Virtual reality? NO! This is reality! My current life would become the virtual one!

Rant as I will; I love Trainz. Regardless of the occasional issues with this or that, I find Trainz to be my best therapy for feeling down and aggravated.
I just get into a long, heavy freight train, and start driving it on my 150 mile long route. Sometimes I let AI drive other trainz that I have to meet along the way, on this single track line.
Sometimes I'll take the Amtrak along the route at high speed.

And sometimes I just dabble with a new route. Whatever my mind wants to do. Trainz has provided me with so much entertainment and relaxation that I cannot compare it to any other product (software or other) that I own.

I hope someday I will be able to afford a much faster computer, and will be able to build more complex routes that will run smoothly. But until that day, I am still having fun with what I've got... TS2010_SP2 and my 5-1/2 yr old ASUS/BFG NVidia system.

See... now I feel better already!

FW

Like it. But you will never have a fast enough computer, until you get a Cray 5000

 

[JCitron]

Like Ron I came from an NScale world. My first layout was a 2 x 4 loop with a crossover that my dad setup for me. The layout rolled under my bed for storage. This was an old Postage Stamp sets manufactured by Rapido for Revell models. My grand dad gave me this for Christmas when I was about 7. The old powerpack and track remained intact for years. Today I still have most of the track and all the trains, but the powerpack died years ago.

Eventually I outgrew the little loop set, and my dad and I set out to build a larger layout. This went through a couple of iterations, and eventually when I bought my house I have now, I built my final layout. This was all and good for a few years, but due to some neuro-muscular problems, and the fact that my cats were stealing trains and leaving in the kitchen, I decided it was time to break up the layout and pack things away. It was also at this time that I discovered Trainz, and my train-world changed.

With Trainz I've reproduced my final layout - the Scenic and Relaxed, and ny fictional route that was to be my dream layout. My dream layout, could never be built using even N-Scale as it would probably fill a stadium with tracks. A layout this size would also be impossible to maintain as well.

The S&R was as designed in the Nine NScale Layouts book by Atlas. The fictional route is freeform, and will most likely never be published unlike the S&R which is up on the DLS.

It's in this area where Trainz excels. A layout/route can be built, taken down, modified, and added on to with no expense except for the initial investment. There's no mess of plaster, which I found out I'm alergic to and sawdust. The track laying is a snatch. I spent most of my time with my final layout redoing track because I had trouble lining up the rail joints. The track looked fine, but when I ran a train over the track, it would derail. Upon inspection I found track joints that overlapped instead of in the joiners.

The thing is, as I've said before, the program has something for everyone from layout builders to the scratchbuilders, and the wiring experts (the script writers).

John

 

[Approach_Medium]

Like Ron I came from an NScale world. My first layout was a 2 x 4 loop with a crossover that my dad setup for me. The layout rolled under my bed for storage. This was an old Postage Stamp sets manufactured by Rapido for Revell models. My grand dad gave me this for Christmas when I was about 7. The old powerpack and track remained intact for years. Today I still have most of the track and all the trains, but the powerpack died years ago.

Eventually I outgrew the little loop set, and my dad and I set out to build a larger layout. This went through a couple of iterations, and eventually when I bought my house I have now, I built my final layout. This was all and good for a few years, but due to some neuro-muscular problems, and the fact that my cats were stealing trains and leaving in the kitchen, I decided it was time to break up the layout and pack things away. It was also at this time that I discovered Trainz, and my train-world changed.

With Trainz I've reproduced my final layout - the Scenic and Relaxed, and ny fictional route that was to be my dream layout. My dream layout, could never be built using even N-Scale as it would probably fill a stadium with tracks. A layout this size would also be impossible to maintain as well.

The S&R was as designed in the Nine NScale Layouts book by Atlas. The fictional route is freeform, and will most likely never be published unlike the S&R which is up on the DLS.

It's in this area where Trainz excels. A layout/route can be built, taken down, modified, and added on to with no expense except for the initial investment. There's no mess of plaster, which I found out I'm alergic to and sawdust. The track laying is a snatch. I spent most of my time with my final layout redoing track because I had trouble lining up the rail joints. The track looked fine, but when I ran a train over the track, it would derail. Upon inspection I found track joints that overlapped instead of in the joiners.

The thing is, as I've said before, the program has something for everyone from layout builders to the scratchbuilders, and the wiring experts (the script writers).

John

You should try using the JK points instead of standard Auran junctions. I love the realism they add, and managed to get my track to exactly match the track and ballast for the junction.

I just wish I could get rid of the junction sound that all trains make when traversing any junction. It's built into the program itself, so not something a CC or Surveyor can do.

I also love setting up and using signals. For all of my US routes, I am using the Norfolksouthern37 Safetran signals.
I use the ATLS system for grade crossings, and highway traffic lights.

These are all the little things that add the finishing touch to any layout. Something I never got a chance to do on my HO layout.

And yes; if I tried to build my CSX River Line Trainz route in HO, it would be 2 miles long from one end to the other. In N scale, that would be only 1 mile, but still way too large to actually construct.
I guess in any model railroad layout, you create long routes by doubling back on itself through mountains or between buildings, etc.

I have been working on several prototype routes, including the CSX River Line, which is my most complete route, the state of Vermont, which has just started after creating the DEM's and exporting to Trainz, and my Newark, NJ to Harrisburg, PA line which includes the Lehigh Gorge to Scranton; but that is also in the very young stages.

Sometimes I get tired of working with prototype routes, and start on a freehand route.
That's the nice thing about Trainz. You have several routes of your own, plus the built-in routes to do whatever you feel like doing at the moment.
Now, I'm starting to get into the mood for switching industries, so I am working on placing industry tracks, using the multiple industry assets, track markers and triggers to make the trains do what they are supposed to do.

And I would like to have about 6 trains running at the same time on my CSX River Line route, letting AI control 5 of them while I control the last one.
I need to set up triggers and trackmarks, so I can issue drive to, drive via, and wait commands.

So much to do, and not enough hours in the day

FW

 

[Approach_Medium]

I want to create a "Tron" type movie but use Trainz instead.
Would be real cool if we could have animated people, have them get on and off, and run in front of trains. This could be done easily using invisible track, triggers, rules, and some people "vehicles" that run on the track.

Getting myself inside of Trains is easy though. I just go to sleep after a long session.

Funny thing that last night I dreamed that I was driving a train and saw that new welded rail had been laid on either side of the track. Only problem was that the new rail sometimes crossed the main track, and I was wondering how the train was going to get over it. It seemed that the train just pushed the unspiked rails out of the way:hehe:

Then this morning, I was listening on my scanner to CSX, and hear that there is a rail train laying rails nearby.
I swear that I didn't know anything of the rail train before I went to sleep

FW