Missing Assets is a phenomena n3v should not ignore

[vinay13f]

This is my personal request to n3v, to not to ignore the phenomena of missing Assets, while downloading which I think many user are facing. I spent TIME downloading few routes (British Midlands, Mystic Island) but they had some dependencies which were not even shown on the Download station (when searched by their KUIDs).
After a whole day of work, it is really not a good idea to first struggle to look for a single session, download it and then find out that it will not work for you.
If n3v can provide such a wonderful Train Simulation experience, it should look into overcoming these minor problems, which really discourages me and many others.
Thanks

 

[RRSignal]

Ugh, you can't blame N3V for this one. Blame folks who refuse to host their content on the DLS. What you're saying is not news. Non-DLS content is a huge problem with Trainz - so much so that many folks like myself avoid using content or routes that have too much stored off of the DLS. Payware is another matter.

 

[shaneturner12]

Hi vinay13f,

Perhaps I can shed some light on things.

Some dependencies that people use cannot be placed on the Download Station, either due to the creator of the asset not wishing to be bound by N3V's download station agreement, or are too old version-wise, or that are payware assets that can only be purchased from the creator's site.

Shane

 

[johnwhelan]

There is a thread that contains only links to routes where everything is on the DLS. You can of course simply delete missing content.

Cheerio John

 

[Winnaa]

I myself refuse to d/l anything from a creator site, only from dls and put everything i create on dls. IMO those who dont place their stuff on dls can keep their creations to themselves. Same goes for the non english or no descriptions etc, makes it so hard to see what your dling when all you have is a website picture and a title in a foreign language I cant read. All you can do is d/l it and see what it is, usually only to delete it as it's something you arent looking for. I understand why those creators do it, it takes time to take screenshots of new content, size it etc, and when you have 100 different trees eg to upload, you are looking at hours of extra time spent when you could be doing something else.

I dont have that sort of numbers of creations but I do take the time to take the screenshots etc, give a good description as I know the probs others have are the same as I do when searching for that 1 item that is closest to what you need for a certain task when building a map eg.

And whats so upsetting in the dls? nothing!!! seriously.

garry

 

[philskene]

I agree. Non-DLS dependencies are a real pain.

But all that is required is for the uploader to provide a direct link to the location of anything that is not on the DLS.

Damn it - if I can do it it can't be all that hard, surely?

 

[sniper297]

Main trouble is lack of testing, and/or not knowing how to test properly. Example, Clinker Coleman creates an SD9 and hosts it on his own website as a complete package - all the sounds, bogeys, engine specs, etc. are in a single download file. Over the years Clinker gets quite a following for his Awesome Engines, hundreds of people downloading everything he makes.

Then one day he gives someone permission to upload a reskin of one of his SD40 models. The guy who made the reskin has no idea what the dependencies are, or where they came from, he just knows it works on his system. Any of Clinker's fans who download the reskin have no problem, but anyone who has NOT been following Clinker for three years has unknown KUIDs because the bogies come from that old SD9 package and are not available anywhere else, the specs are from an entirely different engine and the horn sound is from yet a third engine package. The only people who can get the reskin to work are those who already have all three of those other engines installed.

At one time there was talk about no longer approving any upload for the DLS with unknown KUIDs, dunno what happened to that. I personally have 2 F7A and one B reskins on the DLS that require dependencies from one of the Jointed Rail freeware packages, didn't know that at the time I uploaded them. Learned from that tho, now I make additional copies of TS2010 and TS12, set the content manager filter for built in - false and location - local, select all delete all so I have a virgin copy to test each new asset for availability of dependencies before I upload.

 

[RRSignal]

Actually, there is one worse - and common - scenario. Third-party site closes up and those dependencies are gone, and everyone who needs them is completely...outta luck.

 

[sniper297]

And the putz who made them left a ridiculously restrictive EULA on them, then died.

 

[cascaderailroad]

This is the way Trainz is ... and probably always will be ... as many people do not want their assets re-distributed, or placed on the DLS (I can't fathom why though, why they feel this way).

If I created something ... I would want ALL to have it (as freeware), via the DLS. Others feel quite the opposite.

I find fixing assets, and tracking down missing assets a chore, but it is also very rewarding, like a hunt !

Be vewwey' qwiet' ... We're hunting Wabbat' !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiEUDzIrEQE

 

[haddock56]

I too cannot figure out why some content is only on third party sites. Foriegn languages mystify me even more unless I can get the gist of what they are saying. And whoever created the F7As hosted on N8phu's site, www.theerectinghall.com, needs to change the config file for the RS5T horn in the JR ATSF F7 pack. I tried three times and could not get even one of the F7-A units to work with a config KUID change! I eventually deleted all of them. Unknown KUIDs are a real pain to find.

 

[cascaderailroad]

Third pary sites are seperate entities from N3V ... They prefer their assets to stay that way, I guess ?

Try Google Translate ... Not all the world speaks english.

The reason why they might not work is because some of the dependencies may be on 3rd party sites, like USLW, JR ... etc ...

Patching past your versions Compatability mode also may have something to do with it .

I have even found that with enough work, I can get almost any TS12 asset backdated and working in TRS2006.

 

[Winnaa]

Yup, Unknown kuids. delete, keep what little hair i got left.

garry

 

[jjanmarine3]

I have found a way of hunting missing and unknown kuids.
Like cascade said , it is like hunting rabbits - When you hunt for rabbits you must be very quiet , you go and lay down in the grass where the rabbits are, make a noise like a carrot and when they come and look you grab 'em ...so....be very quiet, go lay down in the route or session with the missing stuff, make a noise like a broken asset, and when the dependencies come look, you grab em.

 

[johnwhelan]

I too cannot figure out why some content is only on third party sites.

All content on the DLS has to be available for payware, some textures, sounds files, or meshes are only licensed for freeware or the version used is TRS2004 etc so the content cannot be placed on the DLS and meet the N3V licensing requirements. Trainz Pro Routes TPR isn't too bad a host.

Cheerio John

 

[vinay13f]

Ugh, you can't blame N3V for this one. Blame folks who refuse to host their content on the DLS. What you're saying is not news. Non-DLS content is a huge problem with Trainz - so much so that many folks like myself avoid using content or routes that have too much stored off of the DLS. Payware is another matter.

No i am not blaming n3v for this problem.
What am i saying is n3v should solve the problem. Having a few working assets is better than lakhs of broken ones. Its like water water everywhere only a few drops to drink and we dont know where these few drops are.