lost splines, textures and objects

[ntesdorf]

I recently contacted Auran HelpDesk regarding lost spline,texture & object recognition on routes and was referred to the Forum because of their cutbacks.
After a recent trainz programme failure (trying to go back while using splines!), some of the routes on one of my two computers started to fail to draw some objects, splines and texture. This failure was slow and progressibe not instant. These items seem all to be built in items not downloaded ones. I keep the same local content on both computers for this very event. On each route the missing dependencies can be seen in CMP Manager listed as misiing in one but not another!
The missing items vary in number from 2 to 128 on various routes. Often missing items on one are visible on another. On my other computer the routes are fine, the programme works well and all objects appear OK. If I try to replace the missing splines, there is an instant programme failure. The spline handles are no longer moved as splines, they now think that they are track and although splines are invisible the handles of the splines are visible and are moved my track pointer.
I have re-installed trainz 2006 and service pack 1, new net framework 2 and directx 10 without effect.
I also re-installede Windows XP to no effect.
Have you any suggestions?
N.W.Tesdorf

 

[JCitron]

I recently contacted Auran HelpDesk regarding lost spline,texture & object recognition on routes and was referred to the Forum because of their cutbacks.
After a recent trainz programme failure (trying to go back while using splines!), some of the routes on one of my two computers started to fail to draw some objects, splines and texture. This failure was slow and progressibe not instant. These items seem all to be built in items not downloaded ones. I keep the same local content on both computers for this very event. On each route the missing dependencies can be seen in CMP Manager listed as misiing in one but not another!
The missing items vary in number from 2 to 128 on various routes. Often missing items on one are visible on another. On my other computer the routes are fine, the programme works well and all objects appear OK. If I try to replace the missing splines, there is an instant programme failure. The spline handles are no longer moved as splines, they now think that they are track and although splines are invisible the handles of the splines are visible and are moved my track pointer.
I have re-installed trainz 2006 and service pack 1, new net framework 2 and directx 10 without effect.
I also re-installede Windows XP to no effect.
Have you any suggestions?
N.W.Tesdorf

This sounds like your route is corrupt. You may have had this happen by using the Undo command too much during your route building. (It's a known bug). From what I understand, you already have a backup of the same route so I would copy that route over to the 2nd machine and hope for the best.

Good luck,

John

 

[ntesdorf]

Lost splines

Thanks for the reply. I am sure that you are right about the use of the the Undo command as being the source of the problem. I have tried copying the good back-up over the offending one on the second computer, however although it works well on computer 1 all the time, the self-same route on computer 3 shows the same lost splines, tecture and objects immediately. I have ordered Trainz Classics and will fit it up as per recent suggestions to accept Trainz 2006 comtent and see if this kills the problem.
Where the corruption actually lies is the mystery as I have replaced Windows, Drivers, Trainz2006 amd all Contents with good new copies and yet it is still there.

Thanks again

ntesdorf

 

[JCitron]

Thanks for the reply. I am sure that you are right about the use of the the Undo command as being the source of the problem. I have tried copying the good back-up over the offending one on the second computer, however although it works well on computer 1 all the time, the self-same route on computer 3 shows the same lost splines, tecture and objects immediately. I have ordered Trainz Classics and will fit it up as per recent suggestions to accept Trainz 2006 comtent and see if this kills the problem.
Where the corruption actually lies is the mystery as I have replaced Windows, Drivers, Trainz2006 amd all Contents with good new copies and yet it is still there.

Thanks again

ntesdorf

You're welcome!

When you are copying your files are you importing them using CMP, or just copying. If youi're just copying them over, you need to delete the Assets.tdx file. This will force Trainz to rebuild the database. The recommended way to bring content is using the import function on the file menu in CMP. When this is don, you need to select all the imported content, then commit.

Classics I don't think will help in this case.

John

 

[ntesdorf]

copyin files

John

Thanks for the extra advice. When I copy the route from the good computer to the compromised one, I make a CMP of the route and import CMP into the other computer. So far the second computer just looks at it and hides the 16 missing splibes and objects.
I will follow your suggestion to cut the tdx file so the computer has to rebuild the list.
I have run register cleaner on the computer in case the fault is in the register, but there was no joy there desite a lot of faults being removed
I had hoped that Classics if instakked it would be occupying a post trauma part of the computer register. We'll see about that later
The computer that the routes run well om is a 512 machine, whereas the one that they don't run on is a 1,024 machine. (no justice there!)
I intend to upgrade the 512 machine to 1024 but will set up Trainz on the new one and get it working on the old one first.
The weird thing is the random nature of the missing elements as if each route was running on some different machine. The element are all built in ones so they must get installed in a re-install of Trainz, but the routes and Content Manager just can't see them for the affected routes.

 

[BobbyB]

Hi

I have found 2 computer hardware areas which can cause very weird problems like this to show up.

First is the CD-Rom drive used to install the game. Windows will not display read errors from the cdrom drive while an install is in progress. If you copy all the files on the cdrom install disc to a folder somewhere on the computer the read errors will show up.

Second is RAM memory in the computer. Sometimes memory will fail in a mostly unused area. I've seen computers work fine 90% of the time and only fail while running certain programs. TRS is one of those programs which will use ALL the memory installed on your computer. It's very easy to test the RAM using a free open source such as Memtest86+.

Hope this helps
BobbyB

 

[lewisner]

I"ve had this problem bigtime with my route being destroyed twice and losing all textures and the ground height returned to zero on all baseboards except the first and last.The undo button is almost certainly the cause of it.For this reason I save my route as a CDP to an external hard drive every day.

 

[ntesdorf]

cures for lost assets

Thanks for both suggestions. I will follow3 up on the Memtest idea. I also have always made CDP backups each day for the very reason that you mention. Computers and Programmes are inherently unreliable items. I have plave the undo button on the banned list as well.
Removing the Assets.tdx and replacing it with the Assets.tdx from the other computer (no.1) made it sit up and listen for a while. After rebuilding the database, computer no.2's Download station said that all assets were in place on all routes. However on running the routes, the missing assets were gone away again.

Thanks

ntesdorf

 

[ntesdorf]

assets.tdx

I have just noticed that on the trainz friendly computer the assets.tdx is 33,476 kb and on the trainz unfriendly one it is onlt 2,374 kb. There is clearly something in this but I don't understand it. A 16:1 ratio is way beyond expectations for two computers with exactly the same stuff on them. What drives the assets.tdx. ? Can one get at it?

ntesdorf

 

[ntesdorf]

further discoveries on missing splines

I uninstalled Trainz on computer 2 and removed all items visible except the Trainz folder by hand. I reinstalled and replaced local items. Then I pur in the Assets.tdx from Computer 2 into Computer 2. I checked CNP and there were no missing dependencies on any Route. Then I launched Trainz and it rebuit (or should I say downscaled) Assets.tdx to 2,345 kb from 33.425kb.. After that it was back to square one with missing elememts in all local and a few built in routes in CMP. Clearly the faulty rebuilding of Assets.tdx is the cause of the problem. I hope for some suggestions.

ntesdorf

 

[ntesdorf]

assets.tdx

I have just noticed from other threads that CMP uses the web connection to rebuild assets.tdx. My computer no.2 has no web, connection. As a result when it tries to rebuild the assets.tdx, it messes it up. :hehe: I will follow this line of thought to see where it goes.

ntesdorf

 

[ntesdorf]

The Last Word

The solution to this problem was suddenly and finally revealed when I connected computer No.2 to the Internet. CMP got busy and miraculously 'discovered' all the itmes that were already on the hard disk. Assets.tdx obviously involves the internet connection to the home database after a major crash. Assets.tdx is now back to full 33,453 kb size!

ntesdorf