S20 route building

jkg777

New member
I'm building a route but I'm struggling with the laying out of the track with elevation change.

For my first attempt, I started at my yard which is flat and then I set the gradient value and built my track out from there. I continued to build for a few baseboards and my track was elevated as expected.

Then I selected the entire length of new track and used the "smooth ground under selected" option. This worked OK but I did get some weird topology on the inside of curves that I had placed. I wanted to fix them and also add some elevation changes to the parts of the map that are surround the tracks. I used the brush tool and was able to get some changes to the elevation but the changes in the elevation were very abrupt. Plus when changing the terrain my tracks would some time not be in contain with the ground, both underground and floating.

What's the best method to smooth out the elevation of the terrain? I tried the grade option but really couldn't figure out what it was doing.

For my second attempt, I did the opposite and created the terrain first and then put the track down on the terrain. I used the "Settle on ground" option but ended up with a roller coaster instead of a train line. I could not figure out if there was an option to smooth the track out. Is there a way to smooth out the track?

I'm open to any other suggestions on better ways to create a route of a fictional hilly terrain. Any videos of methods would be extremely helpful.

Thank you.
 
I'm open to any other suggestions on better ways to create a route of a fictional hilly terrain. Any videos of methods would be extremely helpful.
Unfortunately making videos is not in my skill set. I prefer the written word.

Your post did not state if you are using Surveyor 2.0 in Trainz Plus or in TRS22PE. There is a difference.

In Trainz Plus the default terrain for each baseboard is HD - which, at a guess, may possibly explain the "weird topology" (whatever that means) you encountered. In TRS22PE the default terrain is the standard 10m Grid and HD is not an option.

The Brush Radius setting in the Tool Options Palette plays a significant role in controlling how the Smooth Ground Under Selected option works. Basically for splines (including track) the distance on each side of the spline that will be affected will increase with larger entered values. The minimum radius value will depend on the set baseboard grid size - from my observations this will be approximately 10m radius for 10m and 5m grids, 5m for HD grids

My preferred method of smoothing out terrain is to lay track (or a suitable spline such as the Ruler) as a series of connected segments across the terrain then:-
  1. Set the Brush Radius to your preferred value (I normally use 10m)
  2. Double Left Click on one of spline segments to select them all
  3. In the Info Palette open the Splines Pos (X Y Z) controls - see Position_Info_and_Controls - do not confuse this with the Focus controls above the Pos controls
  4. On the right of the Z: control box there is a pair of up/down arrows. Just perform a single Left Click on one of these arrows - this will set the spline segments so that they form a smooth curve between the endpoints and eliminate the "roller coaster" effect.
  5. In the spline Context Menu select the option Smooth Ground Under Selected
  6. If you are using this technique to smooth out a wider area of terrain then move the splines the required distance to the left or right - if the segments are still highlighted then the Free Move Tool can drag them all across in one move
  7. If necessary (because in their new positions the endpoints may need to be at a different height) open the splines Context Menu and select Settle on Ground
  8. Repeat from step 3 above
It is crucial that all the spline segments are always selected (highlighted) from steps 3 onward. If that highlighting is lost at any point then repeat step 2 above.
 
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Thank you so much for this information. It is fantastic!!

I did not realize that there was a difference between Trainz Plus and TRS22PE. I'm running TRS22PE.

I was able to follow your directions and fix my issues. The part that helped the most was step 4. I didn't think to click there to even out the track along the length. Are there any other hidden things things like that? Is there a user's guide/documentation for it?

Thanks again so very much.
 
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