tractorking
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I forum this old post on an MSTS in a Trainz discussion.
I think its important and I think we should add to this string and build a knowledge base.
Cheers
#2795, "Route building tips."
Sun Aug-24-03 10:30 AM by AlphaMaster
This post will hopefully offer several tips which the begining modeler, or the advanced modeler can use to make their routes better.
These tips work in RL, and are easily applied to Trainz.
1.) Just because your route takes up 80 miles, doesn't mean you absolutely have to model every 80 miles of it. You can fake distance by doubling back or even looping around. A good example is my Cactus Gulch railroad. It takes up one "baseboard" and yet when running flat out at 12mph (max is 20) on the line, it still takes an hour to run the length of the short line.
2.) View blocks are very useful. Dictate WHAT the user sees by blocking their view of the rest of the railroad. Advanced users can take this a step further by using curves, hills, and buildings to block the view of the track ahead. This gives a perception of distance.
3.) Just because you know something is there, doesn't mean it has to be. Sure, you know there's supposed a building half a mile away from the tracks, behind a huge stand of trees where the railroader will never see it, doesn't mean it has to be there. Furthermore, just because you know that your little logging line should have thousands of trees, doesn't mean you have to plant every one of them.
4.) Use textures to your advantage. Blend and shading can make for interesting scenes and shots, while covering up any minor mistakes you may have made. This also adds depth.
5.) Become the master of the micro scene. It is far better to have several small highly detailed scenes, scattered throughout a route, rather than a huge route with so many details that your viewer gets lost in them. This goes to rule number 3. Just because you KNOW something should be in between the micro scenes, doesn't mean it absolutely has to. A good example would be to super detail a passing siding and station with numerous small details that the user would see.
A way to consider where to put a micro scene, is to think ahead, What is the speed through this area? The slower it is, the more details you ought add. There's more chance your user or viewer will pick up on them.
6.)Take breaks, run your route often. The reason for this is two fold. Many times I've found that I put a grade too steep in building, and needed to go back and level things out, or would decide to put something new in. By running and testing often, I would get a fresh new look on things and get a better idea of what I needed to do. The second reason is you think better on a fresh start or fresh mind, so taking a break gives you a chance to digest what you've just done.
7.) Don't be afraid to change things. Sometimes I've laid things out on a route, only to find that after some running, I didn't like the way things looked. Try new set ups, play with the layout some.
8.) Save often. (if online)
9.) If building in Narrow Guage, remember, Tight turns are common, furthermore, with Logging lines, the track wasn't always perfect. If things line up a little kinkish, then good. Leave it that way.
If this has been posted already, my apologies.
I think its important and I think we should add to this string and build a knowledge base.
Cheers
#2795, "Route building tips."
Sun Aug-24-03 10:30 AM by AlphaMaster
This post will hopefully offer several tips which the begining modeler, or the advanced modeler can use to make their routes better.
These tips work in RL, and are easily applied to Trainz.
1.) Just because your route takes up 80 miles, doesn't mean you absolutely have to model every 80 miles of it. You can fake distance by doubling back or even looping around. A good example is my Cactus Gulch railroad. It takes up one "baseboard" and yet when running flat out at 12mph (max is 20) on the line, it still takes an hour to run the length of the short line.
2.) View blocks are very useful. Dictate WHAT the user sees by blocking their view of the rest of the railroad. Advanced users can take this a step further by using curves, hills, and buildings to block the view of the track ahead. This gives a perception of distance.
3.) Just because you know something is there, doesn't mean it has to be. Sure, you know there's supposed a building half a mile away from the tracks, behind a huge stand of trees where the railroader will never see it, doesn't mean it has to be there. Furthermore, just because you know that your little logging line should have thousands of trees, doesn't mean you have to plant every one of them.
4.) Use textures to your advantage. Blend and shading can make for interesting scenes and shots, while covering up any minor mistakes you may have made. This also adds depth.
5.) Become the master of the micro scene. It is far better to have several small highly detailed scenes, scattered throughout a route, rather than a huge route with so many details that your viewer gets lost in them. This goes to rule number 3. Just because you KNOW something should be in between the micro scenes, doesn't mean it absolutely has to. A good example would be to super detail a passing siding and station with numerous small details that the user would see.
A way to consider where to put a micro scene, is to think ahead, What is the speed through this area? The slower it is, the more details you ought add. There's more chance your user or viewer will pick up on them.
6.)Take breaks, run your route often. The reason for this is two fold. Many times I've found that I put a grade too steep in building, and needed to go back and level things out, or would decide to put something new in. By running and testing often, I would get a fresh new look on things and get a better idea of what I needed to do. The second reason is you think better on a fresh start or fresh mind, so taking a break gives you a chance to digest what you've just done.
7.) Don't be afraid to change things. Sometimes I've laid things out on a route, only to find that after some running, I didn't like the way things looked. Try new set ups, play with the layout some.
8.) Save often. (if online)
9.) If building in Narrow Guage, remember, Tight turns are common, furthermore, with Logging lines, the track wasn't always perfect. If things line up a little kinkish, then good. Leave it that way.
If this has been posted already, my apologies.
Claude