New to train models

Hello everyone! I don't know if I am in the right section or not but I have a train modeling question. My 15 year old has been playing trainz since he was old enough to figure out a computer (he has autism) and now wants to create his own trains for Trainz Simulator. The problem is #1 I have no idea what program to get him and #2 We have a mac so paint shed will not load. Help Please!!!!! Thanks in advance!
 
For modeling, although I've never tried it, I recommend Blender. Be careful though, many content creators say to NOT start with a locomotive. Start with a simple piece of scenery instead.
 
You need to run the importer from N3V to import from Blender into Trainz, unfortunately it only runs on windows as far as I'm aware. There are two ways to create content, the first is to reskin or repaint existing assets the second is to create in a 3D software program that has an exporter for Trainz. 3DS has an exporter, and the community has created a Blender exporter that creates an xml file that is fed into the N3V importer.

Gimp is available for Mac, however be aware that creating content has a learning curve, some models can take a year or two to create. It can be very frustrating. Steam locos are about the most complex, scenery the simplest. You maybe able to run Windows on your Mac hardware.

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Trainz and scroll down to asset creation, its a good place to start. Blender is available on Mac so you just need someone to take your blend file and run it in windows to expert it and create the .cdp file.

Cheerio John
 
I think the easy way to get into 'making trains' is to try 'reskinning' where you simply change the textures linked to a model, using a programme like GIMP, to create a revised version of the model which can then be uploaded to the community, with the permission of the creator of the original asset.

Making models from scratch - by creating a mesh, textures and using scripts and/or animations if the model is more complex - is much more advanced and demanding. These days Blender is usually proposed as the best application for this purpose, unless you have a lot of money for more ambitious software.

It depends on your 15 year old's interests and talents. Asset creation involves a range of activities - from the graphical to the mathematical - and it may be that he has a particular niche that could get him into creating most easily.

Let us know how he get on!

Paul
 
Back
Top