Rolling Stock and other questions from NEWBIES

[edion2]

I got Trainz Classic & 2006 (build 3337) last November. I was heavily into HO scale models back when IBM announced their sate-of-the-art "personal computer" with 64KB of RAM :hehe: !!!

Then a divorce in 1981 . . . and all my fun stuff had to go . . . RC planes and Ho trains too. Now that I'm an old fart . . . I got the itch to do HO trains again.

Then I found Trainz . . . VIRTUAL MODEL RAILROAD. But I was skeptical until I installed and ran it on my computer . . . Wow ! All the same fun as HO scale but all I need is a decent computer . . . no need for all those modeling tools and soldering gun ! No more need for space and thousands of hours of building a layout and wiring it!

I decided to concentrate on the 2006 rather than the Classic for now. I did read the manual. I understand that "building" a "loco" requires learning some 3D software with a pretty steep learning curve. I understand that "paint shed" doesn't allow me to "weather" an existing loco. I am going through all the "NEWBIE-pitfalls". I am having "V8 moments" one after another. I am finding the advantages and disadvantages of "VIRTUAL". But still is a lot of fun.

I have started building a route, so I've laid tracks, created junctions, read some tutorials on track laying, started tapping the bounties of DLS, and tried many aspects of Trainz . . . I didn't know about the invisible arms that reaches out from the screen, grabs you and keeps you there until you pass out LOL . A few times on Friday and Saturday nights, I'd feel a LITTLE sleepy, I'd glance at the window, AND ITS GETTING LIGHT OUTSIDE !! Anyone stayed up Trainzing till dawn ??


NEWBIE QUESTIONS (Most of what I can think of at the moment)

** ACTIVE / INACTIVE ROLLING STOCK :
Is it possible to make ANY rolling stock active ? I must have missed it somewhere in the manual if this is possible. I've downloaded a bunch of US rolling stock and half of what I got is inactive. Mainly some nice "Autoracks", articulated "trailer cars" and TTX well cars for containers . . . but they are inactive. Are there any of these that are active ?
Included in 2006 is a Conrail SD70 that can take on deisel fuel . . . very cool. I had assumed (my bad) that all or most of the locos are capable of this . . . so I put a refueling station in my yard. Surprise . . . none of the locos (SP, UP, ATSF/BNSF and DRGW) I downloaded is capable of refueling. Can I make them "active" to take on fuel ??

** UGLY PARTS :
Many rolling stocks have some very ugly looking bogies. I'm just starting to explore "config.txt". It seems just replacing the kuid with the kuid of the bogie I like in the "cinfig.txt" is all it takes . . . right? I'd like to replace some of the ugly couplers (the boxy ones) with ones that are a little more realistic looking ones. Same procedure as bogies ?

**Fixed Tracks :
Creating your own . . . does it require learning 3D software to accomplish this ? Is there a way to replace the "look" of the Fixed Tracks to the one I like in the "spine track" ??

**CONTROLLING JUNCTIONS IN DRIVER MODE :
After laying out my yard . . . I am finding it difficult to select the junction I want to change with my mouse cursor . . . it keeps switching the wrong ones ! Is there another way to control the turnouts ? In the HUD ?? Any options OTHER THAN with the mouse cursor?

**MISSING DEPENDENCIES OR BROKEN ASSETS
Some of the locos I downloaded won't show up in Surveyor. One is the UP SD70 Ce. How do I fix it so that it works? Some of the locos are missing the "windshield" and it looks wierd without it. CMP can't find the missing dependency in DLS. Now what . . . are these locos just dead? Is there a trick to fixing broken/faulty assets ? Is there a place to report these problems ?

**COPYING SPLICE TRACKS & OBJECTS :
I think this just can't be done . . . but maybe I missed something. It seems very logical to me to be able to copy spline "things" to another location. We can copy & paste everything else . . . why not spline??

**CREATING NEW OR EDITING EXISTING TEXTURES :
This seems should be the simplest of all . . . but there are nothing in the manual that touches "CREATING OR EDITING" TEXTURES. What file formats are used for the "texture image"? I thought it must be a jpg. or bmp. file. Which brings us to my next question . . .

**WHAT IS THE LANGUAGE USED TO NAME THE "LOCAL" FILES ??!!
Ive got tons of folders in "local" which is where all my assets are saved. Why are the folder names encrypted . . . it makes no sense . . . totally unusable due to the large number of folders under "local"

**ADDING A NEW BASEBOARD :
Is there a way to change the default baseboard elevation to something other than ZERO elevation ??

**DARKEN / LIGHTEN COLOR ON LOCOS & ROLLING STOCK :
I have some nice reefers that are waaaaaay too bright . . . they need to be darkened. Can it be done ? If so, HOW ??


I will think of more questions later to add here.

If you are a NEWBIE and have some basic questions, maybe you might want to post them here.

Thanks everyone :wave:

 

[leeferr]

Well, first of all, let us welcome you to the wonderful world of Trainz and yes, I have watched the sun set and the sun rise all in the same session of working on building a route or some content of particular interest.
You've asked a lot of questions and I'll try to answer them the best that I can. Some of them I don't know and someone else will have to come along to answer. Also, I use TRS2004, not 2006, but here goes...

Rolling Stock: I've never made any rolling stock, but to make inactive into active, I believe that you need the original Gmax mesh so that you can add some attachment points for the product that you are loading.

Ugly Parts: I believe that you can change the bogies and that it is done through the config. I've never done it, but you should be able to replace the KUID for the bogies listed in the config with the one that you want to use.

Fixed Tracks: If you want to create your own, you're going to have to create it in some kind of 3D program that can import into Gmax (or create in Gmax directly). You have to use the Gmax plug-in to package and export your creation to Trainz.

Controlling Junctions: There may be, but I'm not aware of one

Missing Dependencies: I'll pass this one on to someone else to answer

Copying Splines: Sorry, but the simple answer is No. You cannot copy splines. Wish we could though.

Creating New or Editing Textures: I've never made a textue file, but I believe it is one of the simplest creations. I'll leave this one for an expert.
The image may be a .tga

Language: As I said, I don't use 2006, but in 2004, content is downloaded into folders that carry their KUID numbers as names. This may be the language that you're talking about.

Adding a baseboard; The simple answer is no, however, I seem to recall having seen a thread recently that discusses ways to do this.

Darken / lighten color: It's a matter of changing the textures in the folder for the content. There are some reskinners around the forum that are experts at this, so I'm sure that someone will be along to help.

If I"ve answered anything wrong, I'm sure someone will politely correct me. Again, welcome.

Mike

 

[PerRock]

I got Trainz Classic & 2006 (build 3337) last November. I was heavily into HO scale models back when IBM announced their sate-of-the-art "personal computer" with 64KB of RAM :hehe: !!!

Then a divorce in 1981 . . . and all my fun stuff had to go . . . RC planes and Ho trains too. Now that I'm an old fart . . . I got the itch to do HO trains again.

Then I found Trainz . . . VIRTUAL MODEL RAILROAD. But I was skeptical until I installed and ran it on my computer . . . Wow ! All the same fun as HO scale but all I need is a decent computer . . . no need for all those modeling tools and soldering gun ! No more need for space and thousands of hours of building a layout and wiring it!

I decided to concentrate on the 2006 rather than the Classic for now. I did read the manual. I understand that "building" a "loco" requires learning some 3D software with a pretty steep learning curve. I understand that "paint shed" doesn't allow me to "weather" an existing loco. I am going through all the "NEWBIE-pitfalls". I am having "V8 moments" one after another. I am finding the advantages and disadvantages of "VIRTUAL". But still is a lot of fun.

I have started building a route, so I've laid tracks, created junctions, read some tutorials on track laying, started tapping the bounties of DLS, and tried many aspects of Trainz . . . I didn't know about the invisible arms that reaches out from the screen, grabs you and keeps you there until you pass out LOL . A few times on Friday and Saturday nights, I'd feel a LITTLE sleepy, I'd glance at the window, AND ITS GETTING LIGHT OUTSIDE !! Anyone stayed up Trainzing till dawn ??

NEWBIE QUESTIONS (Most of what I can think of at the moment)

** ACTIVE / INACTIVE ROLLING STOCK :
Is it possible to make ANY rolling stock active ? I must have missed it somewhere in the manual if this is possible. I've downloaded a bunch of US rolling stock and half of what I got is inactive. Mainly some nice "Autoracks", articulated "trailer cars" and TTX well cars for containers . . . but they are inactive. Are there any of these that are active ?
Included in 2006 is a Conrail SD70 that can take on deisel fuel . . . very cool. I had assumed (my bad) that all or most of the locos are capable of this . . . so I put a refueling station in my yard. Surprise . . . none of the locos (SP, UP, ATSF/BNSF and DRGW) I downloaded is capable of refueling. Can I make them "active" to take on fuel ??

>>the easy answer is no. generally most rolling stock that has visible loading of items made for TRS2006 and later is. anything before 2004 isn't and anything built for 04 is up in the air. there are a handful of ways to make a piece of rolling stock think its active. which can be found arround

** UGLY PARTS :
Many rolling stocks have some very ugly looking bogies. I'm just starting to explore "config.txt". It seems just replacing the kuid with the kuid of the bogie I like in the "cinfig.txt" is all it takes . . . right? I'd like to replace some of the ugly couplers (the boxy ones) with ones that are a little more realistic looking ones. Same procedure as bogies ?

>>Bassically yes, it may take a little more than that because you'll need to make sure the bogeys fit and all, unlike HO there anre less standards here

**Fixed Tracks :
Creating your own . . . does it require learning 3D software to accomplish this ? Is there a way to replace the "look" of the Fixed Tracks to the one I like in the "spine track" ??

I'm not sure what you mean here. DO you want to:
a) Make your own track? -- If so first look arround there may be on similar already
b) Make your own layout? -- If so you need to meander arround in surveyor which is comes with TRS
c) Replace track in a route with another type? -- If so, i beleve there is 2 ways. One is to maunall in surveyyor replace it. or I beleive there is a way you can use trainz map to do it. someoen with more knowlege of TM can correct me.

**CONTROLLING JUNCTIONS IN DRIVER MODE :
After laying out my yard . . . I am finding it difficult to select the junction I want to change with my mouse cursor . . . it keeps switching the wrong ones ! Is there another way to control the turnouts ? In the HUD ?? Any options OTHER THAN with the mouse cursor?

>>There is a key command to switch the junction in from of you and the one behind you. in UTC it was the comma and [ctrl] comma, although I beleive this has changed in 06. (I don't have my cheat sheet in front of me right now)

**MISSING DEPENDENCIES OR BROKEN ASSETS
Some of the locos I downloaded won't show up in Surveyor. One is the UP SD70 Ce. How do I fix it so that it works? Some of the locos are missing the "windshield" and it looks wierd without it. CMP can't find the missing dependency in DLS. Now what . . . are these locos just dead? Is there a trick to fixing broken/faulty assets ? Is there a place to report these problems ?

>>IF the missing dependancy is not on the DLS, there is a couple of things to do:
1st check the item description, often where to get the item is listed there
2nd check the TARL (a simple google search will find it)
3rd ask the community; if you ask us where a specific KUID is or a specific item (kuid plase) generally someone can tell you whats up with it.

**COPYING SPLICE TRACKS & OBJECTS :
I think this just can't be done . . . but maybe I missed something. It seems very logical to me to be able to copy spline "things" to another location. We can copy & paste everything else . . . why not spline??

>>I beleive the trick for copying splines is that the splin has to start and end within the copied area. although i am not sure, as i do not use that tool that much.

**CREATING NEW OR EDITING EXISTING TEXTURES :
This seems should be the simplest of all . . . but there are nothing in the manual that touches "CREATING OR EDITING" TEXTURES. What file formats are used for the "texture image"? I thought it must be a jpg. or bmp. file. Which brings us to my next question . . .

>>There is a number of simple tutorials explaining how to do this, a search here will come up with a hand full. and I'm sure the next few posts will have some peopl telling you to use theirs.

**WHAT IS THE LANGUAGE USED TO NAME THE "LOCAL" FILES ??!!
Ive got tons of folders in "local" which is where all my assets are saved. Why are the folder names encrypted . . . it makes no sense . . . totally unusable due to the large number of folders under "local"

>>Its a special "filing" system used by CMP to access the folder of an item you first have to open it for editing in CMP where you will then access the file in your "Editing" folder.

**ADDING A NEW BASEBOARD :
Is there a way to change the default baseboard elevation to something other than ZERO elevation ??

>>As far as I am aware no.

**DARKEN / LIGHTEN COLOR ON LOCOS & ROLLING STOCK :
I have some nice reefers that are waaaaaay too bright . . . they need to be darkened. Can it be done ? If so, HOW ??

>> probably the simplest way is by learning how to reskin items. again there are a handful of tutorials on how to do that (visit The Trainz Resource, by clicking the image below and I have a few) I generally find the TRS does lighten things too much.


peter

 

[nwhitney]

Welcome,
** ACTIVE / INACTIVE ROLLING STOCK :
That's fairly easy, especially with locos, or anything not visible. Are you comfortable with editing the config file? Just add the lines:
queues {
load-diesel {
size 1200
initial-count 500
product-kuid <kuid2:86105:60600:1>
}
}
size is in liters, I think. Not sure as I don't do diesels. Unfortunately, they won't consume fuel without a script, but you could always use the driver command InstantUnloadLocos when you feel it's time to refuel. Do the same with boxcars and covered hoppers, substituting the correct product kuid. For visible loads, you'll need to add attachment points. That's not so easy. You'll need to learn how to use gmax, make an invisible mesh with attachment points, then edit the config. When you're ready, someone will help.
** UGLY PARTS
Couplers are a little more involved than bogies. Only if the coupler is added as an attachment will you be able to change it. More likely not.
**CONTROLLING JUNCTIONS IN DRIVER MODE :
Pressing "J" on the keyboard will change the turnout ahead, and "Ctrl+J" for behind.
Norm

 

[shikadi]

I I understand that "paint shed" doesn't allow me to "weather" an existing loco. [/quote You can if you have Photoshop/PSP.
By using this http://www.3dtrains.com/guides/painting/ tutorial.

**CREATING NEW OR EDITING EXISTING TEXTURES :
This seems should be the simplest of all . . . but there are nothing in the manual that touches "CREATING OR EDITING" TEXTURES. What file formats are used for the "texture image"? I thought it must be a jpg. or bmp. file.

The image files are normally in .tga format.If you want to reskin a specific type of loco that isn't in paintshed,you'll have to find the loco(in CMP),then click on "Edit in Explorer" the search for xxxxxxxxxx_body, and then you will find the .tga files.

Hope this helps
shikadi

 

[barn700]

Most of the points have been covered already, but here is my 2c worth:

** UGLY PARTS :
You can try swapping the kuids and see what they look like, if OK then keep

**Fixed Tracks :
You can change the track by looking at the tga textures in the 2 tracks, and by swapping/pasting you should be able to retexture track to be something more acceptable

**MISSING DEPENDENCIES OR BROKEN ASSETS
Missing assets may be found by hunting around on the website where you got the loco from, or emailing the author.

**CREATING NEW OR EDITING EXISTING TEXTURES :
Textures mostly tga format, I use Lview Pro or Paintshop to create or edit. Another editor is Irfanview.

**WHAT IS THE LANGUAGE USED TO NAME THE "LOCAL" FILES ??!!
makes no sense to me either

**ADDING A NEW BASEBOARD :
Add a baseboard(s), then set a point to the correct height you want, then using the plateau tool, you can level the whole area to this height

**DARKEN / LIGHTEN COLOR ON LOCOS & ROLLING STOCK :
Trainz I find brightens too much (maybe Aussie sunshine) I darken everything ny 22%, usually tga files, just adjust brightness down by 22%.

 

[edion2]

Wow ! So many replies in less than 24 hours ! It seems I found a true COMMUNITY of railroad fanatics.

Back when I was into HO scale in late 70's and early 80's, the club I belonged to was called B.A.R.F. (Benevolent Association of Railroad Fanatics). We ran on a layout built in a 2 car garage and tunneled into the adjacent den of about equal size. I had a small 3 ft. X 22 ft (L-shaped) layout with a small yard with 8 industries with one or two car capacity each. All tracks and turnouts were scratch built with basswood ties. I even built two double slips, a challenge to say the least !

nwhitney,
Thank you. Yes, I am comfortable with editing config files. I printed out the code. I'll cut and paste it into a loco's config file the next chance I get. Ill also look at the config file of the Conrail SD that came with 2006 as a guide to see where the new code fits in. HMMMM . . . can't take on more fuel if its already full ! THATS REALISTIC . . . gotta remember "InstantUnloadLocos".
I'm assuming "visible loads" are containers, trailers, logs etc. And these require mesh anipulation . . . seems that would be for later. I'll just look for existing active cars for now.
I guess I'll have to live with UGLY COUPLERS for a while, but its nice to know bogies are easier. I'll try to match the correct bogies to the freight cars. I'll need to do some looking around. The only one that really looks bad shows up in config file as "bogey 100080" or the 10000nn series.
"J" & "Cntrl-J" for junctions !!!!! YES !!! Thank you. I don't have to re-design my yard !!!

_____________
PerRock

Thanks for your replies.
In the "FIXED TRACK", I was wondering if there is an easy way to change the looks of an existing Fixed Track piece to match the looks pf the spline tracks that I've already used. One of the next thing to try is to change the track on a bridge. I read a Thread describing how it can be done. I don't think I want to create my own fixed track, just modify existing ones.
I downloaded Trainz Map. Haven't had a chance to play with it yet but A thread on "changing tracks on existing route" is possible using a function in Trainz Map.
I will try your suggestions on the Missing / Broken dependencies.
A "special filing system" for CMP . . . Hmmmm . . . I think Auran dropped the ball on this one . . . because the folder names in 2006 under "local" looks like "053#$%ty&*779" !!! The one file I want to "BACK UP" all the time is the route I am working on . . . since I have many hours invested in it. But it is impossible to find that file under "local" to copy it somewhere else.
Hmmmm . . . . RESKIN. One more thing on my "To Learn How" list, LOL. Well . . . I've spent many hours and destroyed few undecorated plastic bodies in my HO scale days learning how to airbrush . . . at least in Trainz I don't have to inhale the fumes :hehe:

__________________
shikadi

YES !! I do have photoshop, and I've used it a lot for creating posters, logos etc. I'll go through the tutorial ! Thanks.
I just realised the .tga file extension . . . and Photoshop can open it ! I'll play around with the non-paintshed content.

__________________
leeferr

Thanks for your reply.
Glad to know Texture are somewhat simple to create. Textures will probably be the first things to "create" in Trainz . . . for me that is. I have a digital camera. I'm sure I can find a "How to" tutorial on textures.

___________________

NEW QUESTIONS :

** BACK UP OF SPECIFIC FILES
So . . . How do I keep a safety back-up copy of my route . . . or any single content . . . without having to copy the ENTIRE "LOCAL" folder ?

**WHAT ARE THE SESSION SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTES
I'm just starting to get deeper into SESSIONS. If create a new session, the load "start amount" or "load state, empty / loaded" and capacity of EACH active freight car has to be set ? Once set, I'm assuming that "load type", "state", and "capacity" is NOT attached to the asset. In other words, if I use the same freight car in another session, it should show up with "default" load parameters . . . correct ?
I realized that junction conditions are stored with the session. Are there any other parameters that are stored with the sessions that are easily missed?

**INDUSTRY CAPACITY TO CONSUME/PRODUCE
Unlike freight cars, I'm assuming that THESE changes made to Industry remains until changed again . . . correct ?

**TRACK DIRECTIONS (OH MY . . .)
After miles of happily laying tracks, I read, as a part of a tutorial, that TRACKS HAVE DEFAULT DIRECTION (the direction that they were laid)!! Not being aware of this, a lot of tracks I laid have differing directions !! Is there a way to change embedded track direction without placing track markers on each piece of track ? How important are Track Directions ? How does it affect AI drivers ? Which direction should a single track bi-directional line be? Am I going to have to re-lay much of my track?

Thanks everyone

 

[barn700]

LOL .... I like the BARF ... bet someone took days thinkin that one up !!!

** BACK UP OF SPECIFIC FILES
If you find the specific folder, do a backup of that alone.
The MAPS for routes are usually manageable in size, so backup the whole lot.

**WHAT ARE THE SESSION SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTES
If you set the load parameters for thsat car in the config, then it will stay at that state

**INDUSTRY CAPACITY TO CONSUME/PRODUCE
Yes

**TRACK DIRECTIONS (OH MY . . .)
Track direction is important for AI and correct signalling. You can check track by putting a car on the track and notice the red/green arrows. You can replace 1 section of track at a time, just move the car, delete that track, then replace in the correct direction.

 

[PerRock]

Wow ! So many replies in less than 24 hours ! It seems I found a true COMMUNITY of railroad fanatics.{/quote]


PerRock

Thanks for your replies.
In the "FIXED TRACK", I was wondering if there is an easy way to change the looks of an existing Fixed Track piece to match the looks pf the spline tracks that I've already used. One of the next thing to try is to change the track on a bridge. I read a Thread describing how it can be done. I don't think I want to create my own fixed track, just modify existing ones.
I downloaded Trainz Map. Haven't had a chance to play with it yet but A thread on "changing tracks on existing route" is possible using a function in Trainz Map.

>>Ok i see what you mean. what you want to do involves editing the config file of the fixted track to include a line, wich i can't remeber (i've been away from TRS for more than a month now, and am getting rusty)

I will try your suggestions on the Missing / Broken dependencies.
A "special filing system" for CMP . . . Hmmmm . . . I think Auran dropped the ball on this one . . . because the folder names in 2006 under "local" looks like "053#$%ty&*779" !!! The one file I want to "BACK UP" all the time is the route I am working on . . . since I have many hours invested in it. But it is impossible to find that file under "local" to copy it somewhere else.

>>the easiest way i would do it is to go into TRS open the route for edit, and back up that copy. you can then later if needed reinstall that copy.

Hmmmm . . . . RESKIN. One more thing on my "To Learn How" list, LOL. Well . . . I've spent many hours and destroyed few undecorated plastic bodies in my HO scale days learning how to airbrush . . . at least in Trainz I don't have to inhale the fumes :hehe:

>>a great pluss to the virtual sim

NEW QUESTIONS :

** BACK UP OF SPECIFIC FILES
So . . . How do I keep a safety back-up copy of my route . . . or any single content . . . without having to copy the ENTIRE "LOCAL" folder ?

>>again see my earlier responce earlier.

peter

 

[Mike10]

Most questions seemed to have been answered but I think I can help with a couple.

Don't mess with the files in 'local' only access them with CMP.

There is a CMP User Guide here: http://www.rail-sim.co.uk/content.htm

The guide will answer some of your questions. Including how to backup only your route from within CMP (no messing with opening for edit etc, just use an archive). Also covered is editing content, fixing errors etc (there's a seperate Error Fixing Guide on the site there). You'll see that it doesn't matter what the files in local are called because CMP will deal with them for you.

For the problem of changing junctions... if you look closely you'll notice that the junction that will change when you click the mouse button 'glows' slightly brighter than the others round it.

Mike.

 

[LBoorse2]

"File Name Structure"
I can simplify this answer as I've learned the hard-way. Don't worry about the file name structure under the local directory. If you need to move/change files, do it in CMP under Edit -> Edit in Explorer. TRS06 and TC don't like it too much when you mess around with the file structure directly.

Lee

 

[Dinorius_Redundicus]

The 'track direction' is nothing to worry about. The only thing it affects is the initial orientation that signals, speedboards, etc take when you first place them on the track. This is completely trivial. Flip them to the direction or side of the track that you want by using the 'rotate' button.

Beware that some items are built for use on one specific side of the track, so if you use the wrong one, no amount of flipping will make it correct!

For locos and rolling stock, the 'rotate' button will change the physical orientation of those objects on the track as expected, but you also need to tell the train what direction is foward/backward (indicated by the green and red arrows above the train). For that, find another 'rotate' button (a red & white one) found under the Consists tab.

 

[RPearson]

Welcome,
** ACTIVE / INACTIVE ROLLING STOCK :
That's fairly easy, especially with locos, or anything not visible. Are you comfortable with editing the config file? Just add the lines:
queues {
load-diesel {
size 1200
initial-count 500
product-kuid <kuid2:86105:60600:1>
}
}
size is in liters, I think. Not sure as I don't do diesels. Unfortunately, they won't consume fuel without a script, ...
Norm

Yes, size is volume of the fuel tanks in liters. You can find a custom script that I wrote to turn diesels into fuel consumers here: http://pages.prodigy.net/rpearson/_wsn/page4.html . Certainly not the same as the SD70's and can have some problems if one loco in a lash up runs dry but afaik it's the only free and open source script available at the moment. Merging scripts together can be a pain too if the loco already has one to do other things. But you can play around with it and modify as you want as long as you follow the restrictions on the web page.

Bob Pearson

 

[shikadi]

__________________
shikadi

YES !! I do have photoshop, and I've used it a lot for creating posters, logos etc. I'll go through the tutorial ! Thanks.
I just realised the .tga file extension . . . and Photoshop can open it ! I'll play around with the non-paintshed content.

I should've mentioned that the tutorial was created for MSTs and not Trainz,so all you have to do after reskinning is overwrite the .tga file.

 

[nwhitney]

You can find a custom script that I wrote to turn diesels into fuel consumers here: http://pages.prodigy.net/rpearson/_wsn/page4.html ....

Bob Pearson

Say Bob, would that work for oil burning steam locos, such as Rich's shay and Dirk's heisler?

Norm

 

[nwhitney]

If anyone's interested, yes, Bob's script works on Rich's shay. As water was much more important than fuel in a steamer, I going to try changing it to water, with Bob's permission.
Norm

 

[edion2]

Dinorius,

So . . . I won't have to re-lay half my tracks !!!!! ??? The signals will work properly . . . I assume. My branch to a few industry in another town is 20 minutes driving time (real time). . . my double track main line to next town is 30 minutes. . . so thats a lot of trackage. and thats less than 10% of planned length. Maybe I'm biting off more than I can chew . . . but I'm thinking 2 to 3 years to completion.

____________
shikadi

I tried the Photoshop thing . . . just to see what can be done. Much to my surprise the .tga image used for the loco is a like a "parts sheet". That means a smooth transition of "airbrushing" from one part to another is very difficult without revealing the "edge" of one part against another. I'm gonna have to do a lot of experimenting to get things to look right. But . . . if I just want to adjust brightness, contrast and hues . . . its pretty simple. Eventually Ill get it. Things always seem daunting at first . . . like learning to drive a stick shift. LOL

_____________

I tried replacing ugly bogies and it seems to work fine.

I'll need to search for a tutorial on creating textures.

I just tried the "file back up trick" by opening my route for edit . . . it ends up in the "editing" folder and copied it to my external drive. Then I "revert"-ed it to continue working. I like to keep a copy of important files, physically away from the computer.

So much options . . . so many things to do . . . so many things to learn . . . and soooooo little time to do them. I never imagined a $20 software can be so addictive. LOL

I'll post more questions when I come across more.

Thanks everyone

 

[barn700]

Find a bit of track laid in the wrong direction, then find a signal that you are going to use, and try it. I for one will be suprised !!

Normally locos travel down a track in one direction, with others travelling in the opposite direction say on the right of you.

Signals for you are expected to be on the left of you (or am I mistaken)

Give it a try and see.

Here is some more info on signalling issues http://forums.auran.com/trainz/search.php?searchid=423713

 

[RPearson]

Say Bob, would that work for oil burning steam locos, such as Rich's shay and Dirk's heisler?

Norm

Norm, no need to use it as Trainz doesn't care what kind of fuel you use if you ref a steam-engine spec. For tank locos, which includes the shays and heislers that carry their own water and fuel you just need to define the load-fuel and load-water queues in the loco's config. Fuel and water are removed from the queues based on settings in the steam-engine spec and shovel (spacebar) and injector controls.

The energy content and amount of fuel used per shovel are set in the spec and thus the spec should be designed based on the type of fuel used. But the game engine simply deducts a specified amount and it doesn't matter what product is actually in the queue. I've set them up to burn wood, coal and various fuel oils.

For diesels/gas locos you have to manage any fuel queue thru scripting. There is nothing built into the game that associates a fuel queue with power production for these types. Auran would need to modify the game engine and add additional container/tags to the engine spec to provide data necessary to calc fuel consumption. Right now with my script you have to hard code the info by changing a few define statements. Though the script could be changed to read this from an extensions container added to the loco's config.

Bob Pearson

 

[nwhitney]

Thanks Bob, but slugsmasher's ws shay 12 doesn't drive like a normal steam loco in cab mode, more like a diesel with 8 notches. The same with Dirk Mewes' heisler. As I said, I'd like to try modifying your script to reflect water consumption. While it won't be correct, I figure I'll just tweak the settings until I get 15 miles to the load.
Norm