New to this Simulator -- help!

ryankask

New member
Hey all,

I just downloaded Trainz 2009 from Steam because, like I'm sure all you do, love trains and tracks and yards and all that good stuff. I'm a little overwhelmed by all the content I can download. For one thing, the content downloads very slowly. Second, if I select a feature (for example, the Florida East Coast Railway line), are its dependencies automatically selected for download? Then what do I do on the line? I don't mind just driving around but I want to do scenarios. Where is the best place to find scenarios for Trainz 2009? The game seems to come with a lot of scenarios but they are mostly short, introductory in nature, and the good ones seem to be in German. Are there any scenarios (kind of like industrial wasteland) that never run out of things to do? How can I be a train operator and pick up coal, take it to a power plant, goods to a port, and not just do a 15 minute mission but operate a line like you would in real life (if business was constant). Does anyone know where I can start with all this?

Thanks,
Ryan
 
If you're downloading from the DLS (Download station) then you're automatically going to have slow download speed unless you get the FTP. If you download a route from the DLS then all of its dependencies are marked for download as well, so long as they are on the DLS. Some routes or other items have dependencies available only on other sites and you may have to do some searching.

As for where you can find scenarios to operate, I'm not too sure on that. But you can set up your own, though it can take a lot of time to learn how to do all of the little things you can do. but for now you can just add an engine(s) and a consist and just run around to whatever industries are available. You don't have to have it set up where you have to follow a specific waybill. You can customize the industries on a route (ie what or how much of a product they consume or produce) by going into the structures tab, clicking on the question mark, and clicking on the industry. Hope this helps.
 
Welcome to the world of Trainz. As you may have noticed, it can be a bit over whelming at first. Everything you need is either available at the Download Station or built in. Later you may discover the fun of creating your own objects but don't worry about that right now. Being open ended means there is nothing you have to do. You can sit back and enjoy the view, build your own worlds or follow instructions.

Speaking of sessions, they can be created by the original builder of the route and or you could add your own. I have not delved very far into sessions myself. The most I ever did was to create a couple of demos to display the features of a route.
 
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Welcome Ryan. You are my favorite kind of Trainzer, so I hope I don't dampen your enthusiasm with my answer.

A couple of things about content and 2009:

2009 was built to expect standards in content that many objects do not meet yet. Most of what you can download will show errors or missing dependencies. These can usually be resolved on a case by case basis, but it will require some work from you. In native mode, 2009 will show bad trees, powerlines and some other objects because they changed the way in which the program displays some content. To avoid this, run 2009 in "compatability mode". You can find this option in the options menu as a box to tick off.

There are many fine routes on the DLS with sessions, depending on your tastes. When you download a session, route or scenario, the DLS automatically gives the CM2 the information for all the content it needs, and if that content is on the DLS, it should be downloaded automatically.

I will refer you to Phil Skene's route; Port Ogden and Northern. If you like the idea of driving passenger rakes or local freights, I suggest you look for "Regional Passenger Transit 2005". I helped to make that route. There are three sessions that go with the route, but there are no "pop-up" instructions. You are expected to "ride along" with the engineer and take notes until you can take over and drive yourself. RPT has all dependencies on the DLS, btw.

I'll be happy to answer any questions you may come up with.:)
 
Say Ryan, perhaps you could enlighten us about the method you used to acquire Trainz. No need to answer if you don't want to.

You say you used Steam. Did you have to install a Steam client before downloading? Does the client have to stay on your machine? Does it have to stay active? Do you know if it communicates with Steam or any other destination?

So far I have not found anyone here who likes Steam so I can't ask anyone else. If you would rather not answer, no problem

Also, just wondering, why you chose to use Steam rather than order directly from Auran? You used Steam before, you didn't know Auran sold direct or some other reason? :)
 
I just use Steam for Day of Defeat and saw Trainz so I had to buy it so I can't really comment on anything except I haven't had any problems with the service thus far (which isn't to say there aren't).
 
Some help....

:cool: Hello Ryan & Welcome to the Auran Trainz Forum Community!

Here is the Trainz Community link, read the "Sticky" threads & study the materials you run into when surfing.

There is something here for everyone!
 
Okay, thanks. so where should should I download this Ogden and Northern line/scenarios. As I'm new to this game I see that 2009 is very new? Where is the Download Station? Also, how come users haven't adopted a peer 2 peer approach instead of running everything through a central host?
 
If I could offer my own advice, from my own past mistakes, it would be:
Try to find out what you like about RR's, a particular RR line, country, or era. And only download just what you need. If you are doing a British Columbia Kicking Horse Pass Spiral Loops route (like I am)...you will not need all 127 varieties of SD45's out there, you'll never use them all. And if you are doing a 1920's PRR Horseshoe Curve Route (like I am) I would not necessarily need each and every modern locomotive, and every extended height freight car from all across the country. Although you could download and back up all these un-needed extra assets on a 1Tb external hard drive, in case you ever need them. When you have 1327 different varieties (of things you probably will not use) of track, and tunnels, and buildings, sometimes things can get confusing and cluttered up.

Most important is a hand written log book of important stuff, things that you might forget, like: Where did I get that track, and who was the creator ? Or: What things did I change in my Trainzoptions file, that I now want to reset back to original settings.
 
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... Where is the Download Station? Also, how come users haven't adopted a peer 2 peer approach instead of running everything through a central host?
I know that this has been the subject of much debate but it really depends on how you see the objects you want to share with others.

From a creator's point of view, having direct control over the objects that are offered to share has a certain appeal BUT
From a user's point of view, I think it sucks to have to run all over the Internet to find various bits and pieces. Much better to have a central repository like the DLS. And for those that use CM2, it is integrated right into the DLS. No need to even exit to get that something extra. :cool:

Plus when they are on the DLS, only registered Trainz users can access them whereas if they are on other sites, there is no way to know if the downloader is a real Trainz user or someone who has stolen the game. :eek:
 
Hi Ryan --

If you want PO&N and the sessions for it, just search the Download Station with my name, "philskene", as the author.

PO&N was constructed in TRS2004 and while it runs in TRS2006 you will find a few scenic glitches. Also make sure you have Compatibility Mode enabled in TRS2006. I'll release a TRS2009 version of PO&N once I've finished a new route, tentatively named "HarborMaster".

My latest IndustRail is fully TRS2009 usable. See here:

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=36136&highlight=industrail

and sessions here:

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=38620&highlight=industrail

and here:

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=39159&highlight=industrail

Phil
 
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