Should NV3 just draw a line in the sand ???

[boc61]

As an end user, the tact N3V took with errors after the release of 2009 was nothing but a headache. Tons of errors with no viable way to fix them without learning to be a content creator and learning 3D design. Until PEV came along.
I have learned Blender, got my textured box in game, found out I don't enjoy it at all. Trainz is a pass time. An amusement when I have the time. I have no desire to be a content creator just to use it.
For those who create, enjoy and thanks. For those who just want to build routes and "play" this error thing is beyond banal and frustrating to the point of dumping the program or reverting to older versions as I have done. I have enough content on disc to keep me busy for a lifetime in anyone of the versions I own.
Just giving a perspective of an end user who doesn't want to feel he is attending an N3V board meeting by coming to this forum.

I'm with Sparky. Some people are tinkerers some are not. I never understood the appeal of laying under my car on a Saturday morning to change the oil when I can just pay the mechanic down the street to do it for me. I'm not particularly mechanically inclined, but others are and enjoy doing it, or economic reality necessitates it. Some with Trainz, or any computer based effort. I really don't have a great interest in the intricate workings of my PC, nor do I really care. I had the machine built for me where I could have done it myself and saved some money, but that savings would have been mitigated I'm sure by the time and cost of mistakes I probably made.

As far as Trainz goes, I am more of a watcher than a doer. I prefer running AI trains and sending them on their way while I enjoy the scenery. I want that to be done as easily and realistically as possible. How it's done is not my concern, I'll let the people with that knowledge hash it out. I'm not interested in creating content, haven't really done any route building, and while I have fixed the simple errors that pop up, it's usually because I really want or need that item, otherwise it gets deleted. (Please fix the delete asset function in Surveyor).

I have the utmost respect and gratitude for the content creators both free and payware based, if it weren't for them there would be no Trainz for me. I want the next version of Trainz to be the game changer we all want it to be and I hope it can be done with reasonable respect to backwards compatibility, I genuinely understand their concerns but if not, I am prepared to leave my old stuff behind, including all the payware if it can't be brought forward. To do otherwise, in my relatively uneducated opinion wouldn't be moving Trainz into "A New Era".

 

[clam1952]

Some people are tinkerers some are not

And that's part of the attraction of Trainz, it suits or should in a perfect world suit both those of us who don't mind tinkering and those who just want to run Trains and let someone else worry about problems.

The repair program which should be addressing the compatibility issues has ground to a halt because the dependencies many of which are faulty are not included in the list for fixing therefore can't be fixed yet, no point in fixing a loco if the wheels don't work, that sort of issue. Very frustrating when you can fix it but can't upload it as it's not on the list. Something for N3V to address before December 2014 I think.

I get the impression that the increased error checking in TS12 is more a get us ready for T2, so there isn't as much if any fiddling required in a years time, I'm fairly confident that if it's ok in TS12 it will be OK in T2.

 

[martinvk]

... Unable to load mesh file:'black5_shadow.pm'....

Does the file exist in your black5 folder? If it does, it has to be converted to an IM type file since PM files are not supported anymore. Hardly a unique situation, lots of things in the world that were once common are not supported anymore, Trainz is no different. The ease of making the necessary modification will vary. I think PEV has a converter for this case.

 

[JCitron]

Someting Id like to see - as someone who struggles to repair faulty assets, is some tutorials - all in one place - which will walk us through the various errors. For instance the other day I looked at the black 6 by blue. It only gave one red error and I thought that cant be difficult to do. The error was: Unable to load mesh file:'black5_shadow.pm'.
I have no idea how to correct this or even what program will help. But I know Im not the only one to baulk at repairing assets when we have no idea where to look. And constantly asking for what may seem really easy stuff to solve must get tedious for those who know how to do it.
So is there a single place we can go to to find such basic tutorials? If so where? If not - why not start one?

A sub-group called Yesterdayz Trainz is planning on releasing content repair tutorials complete with video how-to's, diagrams, and lots of copy at some future point in time. The creation process is very long, and very, very, time consuming. I would say to get these done right, it's almost like building a steam locomotive asset.

When the project will be completed? Don't know. We don't have an ETA for this at this time.

John

 

[andi06]

The problem that really needs to be addressed isn't HOW to fix so called broken assets but WHERE to fix them.

The know-how and the tools to deal with fixing the vast majority of broken assets already exist. What is missing is clear and considered leadership by N3V on ensuring that EVERYTHING in the published builds is error-free (as opposed to just having the errors hidden) and that EVERYTHING POSSIBLE on the DLS is 'repaired' so that any existing broken assets can be fixed by downloading an update. EVERYTHING ELSE on the DLS (stuff that can't be repaired or is obsolete) should be clearly flagged as such.

To go with this, in my opinion, CMP errors and warnings should be reclassified into three categories:
A: Broken to the extent that it won't show up in game.
B: Broken or Missing Dependencies.
C: Everything else.

A and B obviously have to be displayed to even the casual user, but C should only be displayed on a 'need to know' or 'want to know' basis.

I expect that if sorting out the broken content issue was one of the 4 Kickstarter goals, it would win the election by a country mile, I also expect that it would be the cheapest to address.

 

[AntonyVW]

Does the file exist in your black5 folder? If it does, it has to be converted to an IM type file since PM files are not supported anymore. Hardly a unique situation, lots of things in the world that were once common are not supported anymore, Trainz is no different. The ease of making the necessary modification will vary. I think PEV has a converter for this case.

I did check that the file was there. The original error was about .pm not being supported ..... Etc. I am aware that PEV has a tool to convert it but it was using this tool that got me therror I now have. Hence why I'm clueless.

 

[AntonyVW]

A sub-group called Yesterdayz Trainz is planning on releasing content repair tutorials complete with video how-to's, diagrams, and lots of copy at some future point in time. The creation process is very long, and very, very, time consuming. I would say to get these done right, it's almost like building a steam locomotive asset.

When the project will be completed? Don't know. We don't have an ETA for this at this time.

John

i shall keep my eyes open for this. Thanks for the heads up.

The problem that really needs to be addressed isn't HOW to fix so called broken assets but WHERE to fix them.

.....snip

I expect that if sorting out the broken content issue was one of the 4 Kickstarter goals, it would win the election by a country mile, I also expect that it would be the cheapest to address.

I would certainly vote for it

 

[Pendolino]

I did check that the file was there. The original error was about .pm not being supported ..... Etc. I am aware that PEV has a tool to convert it but it was using this tool that got me therror I now have. Hence why I'm clueless.

If you have a "black5_shadow" IM file, open the config.txt file of the asset, search for "black5_shadow.pm" and replace it with "black5_shadow.im". Then save the modified config.txt and commit the asset.