Route builders, esp spyware, why don't you...?

frogpipe

Yesterdayz Trainz Member
Route builders, esp payware, why don't you...?

Why not use procedural track and avoid billboard trees?

Honestly wondering. I don't know about track, but isn't billboard flora harder on frame rates? It certainly doesn't look as good (to me anyway).

(EDIT: PAYware, not SPYware... that's what I get for posting from my phone...)
 
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Why not use procedural track and avoid billboard trees?

Honestly wondering. I dont know about track, but isn't billboard flora harder on framerates? It certainly doesnt look as good (to me anyway).

It depends on when the layout was first started and the requirements. You can always do a search and replace on objects and update them.

Cheerio John
 
I know. And I do. In fact I speedtree'd Eagle River by finding similar shape and size speed trees, making copies, then making them :99 versions of the billboard trees used.

Got most of them with like 6 or 7 psudo-updated assets.

It just leaves me to wonder why.
 
Since there is not a specific route listed, it may depend on what version of Trainz the route was built in and how long ago.
 
I also speed-tree'd that route and many others myself.

While the old billboard trees caused performance issues, this doesn't seem to be the problem any longer. The issue now is they don't look good and look like sheets of mylar or cardboard crisscrossed into stars. The billboard trees rendered well for a bit under TANE and early TRS19 then unfortunately N3V "fixed" something and broke that part and now they render poorly.

Track is a different story, although procedural track (pro-track) has gone through a bit of development with a lot of aches and pains to go with it. Pro-track looks well and renders well, today but the early versions are clumsy. It took me until last year to replace all of my older track with pro-track, not that it took that long to do it but more like it took me that long to find something suitable. The problem I found with the early versions is the ties are too narrow and widely spaced and the rails are too thin. This looks okay for transit track, and maybe for some of that found elsewhere, but it doesn't look good for American railroads, meaning both US and Canada. The track is also a bit tricky to work with in some locations where the switches are a bit tighter such as those found on transit lines and in and around industrial areas, but once I've gotten used to its limitations and quirks, I can get things to work well otherwise.

After trying various pro-track "flavors", I've settled on those by Trainsboi and Samplaire with the latter being European with screw fasteners but looks good, in particular the rusty and dirty track, and I'll use that for cruddy old sidings and mostly abandoned or closed lines which are found on my original route I started back in December 2003 and has been under renovation and revisions recently.
 
Why not use procedural track and avoid billboard trees?

It depends on when the layout was first started and the requirements. You can always do a search and replace on objects and update them.

I have done just that in my current project which began in TRS2004/2006. I have now replaced all the non-procedural track with procedural track, billboard trees with SpeedTrees (some billboard grasses and small bushes remain) and all textures have been replaced with PBR textures (I am still on a learning curve there!). I have also added TurfFX and Clutter layers but I have yet to attempt the Water Effect layer (it is a dry region route so there is not much call for water).

I am obviously biased but these changes have made a huge improvement to the "look and feel" of an old route.
 
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Since there is not a specific route listed, it may depend on what version of Trainz the route was built in and how long ago.

Point taken, but these are TRS19 routes, or so stated - but its hard to tell often if they mean Only, Compatible, or Updated but they didn't change the track or trees... Our loose goosey versioning system.

I hate billboard trees. I love Pro Track.

Nuff' said.

I'm with you.

I also speed-tree'd that route and many others myself.
...
After trying various pro-track "flavors", I've settled on those by Trainsboi and Samplaire ...

I'll take a look at them. I've been favoring MSGSapper's track myself.
 
I also use MSG-Sapper's track as well. I forgot to mention that one. It's great and looks good for those big mainlines.
 
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