New Users - Guide on using the technical aspects of Trainz 2009,2010 and 12

[shaneturner12]

Hi Trainzers,

I am in the process of creating a New Users guide on how to use certain aspects of Trainz, including patching, using Content Manager, dealing with strange textures, updating your DirectX files, dealing with First Class Ticket issues, and many more besides.

Bear in mind that this is an ongoing work-in-progress, and comments are welcome either in this thread, or privately to myself if it is sensitive.

The address of this guide is http://trainz.shaneturner.co.uk/tutorials/index.php/home/new-user-guides---ts2009-ts2010-and-ts12.

Shane Turner
DirectX and Technical Adviser

P.S. In case anyone is wondering, I have no connection with N3V or any of it's subsidaries, apart from buying their products.

 

[jjanmarine3]

Watching with interest - thanks Shane.

Jan

 

[jjanmarine3]

Faulty assets

Shane, on this page of your guide : is it possible to add underneath the explanation of the two icon's what is basically to be done in the case of faulty content and/or dependencies.
I realise it is probably a long procedure and/and or many ways to do it, but a short guide will help please.

Jan.

 

[shaneturner12]

I can do - it's currently part of the Content Manager guide.

Thankyou for your comments.

Shane

 

[shaneturner12]

Hi Jan,

See http://trainz.shaneturner.co.uk/tut...rstanding-the-various-icons-in-search-results for information about the asset icons. This can also be accessed from the Newbie Guide by clicking Content Manager Guide, followed by What the asset icons mean.

Shane

 

[Scottish]

Hi Shane,

I just bought TS12 and used your tutorial to import the built-in content from 2010. The process worked perfectly and I would not have known how to do this if you had not described it so well on your webpage.

Your site is becomoming more and more usefull to not just beginners but also some 'vets' like me.

Thanks again

Scottish

PS Maybe we will meet some day since I live not far from you in Leics.

 

[bl4882]

I am in the process of creating a New Users guide on how to use certain aspects of Trainz, including patching, using Content Manager, dealing with strange textures, updating your DirectX files, dealing with First Class Ticket issues, and many more besides.

I hope you realize that by the time you finish this work you will have eliminated most of the traffic on these forums. :hehe: Seriously, congratulations on a worthy project.

Bernie

 

[Scottbe8]

I hope you realize that by the time you finish this work you will have eliminated most of the traffic on these forums. :hehe: Seriously, congratulations on a worthy project.

Bernie

Not necessarily true. There are tons of users who come here asking questions that have been answered God knows how many times, simply because they didn't find the existing answer before posting.

 

[shaneturner12]

Thank you all for your comments so far.I will be doing some further updates to the guide later on today.

I've also noticed that several of my tutorials are now appearing in Google. For example, typing 'trainz black textures' - my main fix for the black textures issue is result #5, and my video tutorial for it is result #6.

Shane

P.S. I know what you mean re: users not checking for existing answers first.

 

[Torchy85]

Shane I can appreciate your ps about people not checking for existing answers before posting requests. But have you tried using the Forum Search? Not exacly the best search engine going I'm sure you'll agree! I've tried it a few times & got really frustrated with getting either no results even when I know used right keywords or a load of results with most of them as far as I could see having nothing or very little to do with what I was looking for.
Maybe in future I'll try your tutorials/guides first & possibly(probably?)save me the trouble of using Forum search or getting a bit of flack for asking about something already answered/discussed in forums. Just my 2p worth for what it's worth

Pete

 

[shaneturner12]

I have done, but the alternative - Google - does have results for my tutorial site, as well as my blog.

Bear in mind that if it's a content creation issue, my site may not be much use on that side.

Shane

 

[jjanmarine3]

Hi again Shane. May I please lay another little egg from a newbies viewpoint.
If you could please bear the following in mind in general while you do updates. Here is an example of how I think when I am learning .

an extract from your guide :

Faulty Content
If a piece of content has the icon

, it's faulty.
To see why it is faulty, right-click it and click View Errors (and Warnings). - This tells me exactly what I want to know and I go to the next step.
If the icon is

, this means that a dependency is faulty. - Here I realise that the answer lies elsewhere but it makes me leave this area to search elsewhere and then I lose it sometimes. If you could please add in such instances what is to be done basically to fix this or leave a note of exactly what is to be done thereafter it would be perfect .Thank you for your time and all the other cool guys who help us .

Jan.

 

[shaneturner12]

Hi Jan,

I will sort that on the next update to the page.

Shane

EDIT: The page you refer to has now been updated.

 

[jjanmarine3]

One day when I am big I might ask less questions about Trainz.
Shane - I can't really find an answer/s : When is it nescessary to commit an asset and does CM commit assets automatically, and is there a feature we have to use or set to tell it to do this please.

Jan

 

[shaneturner12]

Hi Jan,

I will be updating the site later on, but in short:

An asset needs to be committed if it is not built-in (unless you are editing a built-in asset to correct a problem) or is not a locked asset (these can be identified by a small icon on the far-left column in Content Manager - usually a circle with a line through) - if it has a spanner/hammer icon (see my tutorial site to see which one this is) meaning it's open for edit.

Content Manager can commit assets automatically that are being installed from the Download Station, as well as imported using Import Content or Import CDP.

You will need to click File, then Settings, then Miscellaneous, then 'Automatically commit CDPs' to place a tick if it's not already, then click Save.

Shane

 

[Jasher]

It is about time someone got around to putting all this information together. I know what it is like to find answers about trainz. It seems to me that the answers are currently scattered, not just through Trainz postings, but throughout the WEB.

Good work Shane, and you have my humble thank you for your efforts. Keep up the good work.

Yours.....Still Stumped.

 

[jjanmarine3]

Thanks Shane, I understand.

Jan.

 

[shaneturner12]

It's OK - a bit later on today I will get chance to add the information onto the guide, along with some information regarding importing content.

Shane

 

[shaneturner12]

Apologies for the delay in making this post - I have now added information regarding committing/reverting content, and will be adding further information regarding importing content shortly.

Shane

 

[boleyd]

First THANKS

Next, the vendor should have done this a long time ago. Given some of the odd programming the operation of their product is, at times, very frustrating. If it was not for existing guides and tutorials, in the past, they might be out of business. Perhaps the vendor will be embarassed and will, at the VERY LEAST, give you a Lifetime First Class Ticket and honorable mention in their propaganda.:Y: