As the title says, I don't mean to bash Trainz and I'm probably dated and rather ignorant in my statement (hasn't gotten any farther than TRS2004) but last I remembered that the Trainz engine has little to no lighting. It's not anything really important but it bugs me because I feel it's something that I feel would make it inferior to alot of other simulation games out there. Are there plans to improve lighting in future Trainz games or would it even be possible to do so?
Something about lighting...
- Thread starter moogle826
- Start date
I've found it quite annoying in a tram route im making, i find loads of high detail buildings and objects then they turn out to have no lights, making the city incredibaly dull at night. Making a night-mode for assets really isn't that hard, i would do it if i could finally get an IM exporter.
You could always make and add a night mesh to any building via PEV's excellent attachment point maker, placing it into position might be a bit challenging. Once so done, reference said night mode mesh in the configuration and Robert is your mother's brother. Easy
.Mesh exporters for TRS/TS are found on the DevWiki web site.
Cheers
VinnyBarb
mezzoprezzo
Content appreciator
I’m not clear what the OP means by lighting. There are so many aspects.
If you mean light pools coming from assets such as loco headlights, lamp posts etc. then these already exist in their hundred (probably thousands).
The in game lighting is a different matter. I think it works well, casting a darker (not hard) shadow on the sunless portions of the terrain. In addition this changes according to time of day. Furthermore it will change according to the latitude set in your route with a remarkable level of accuracy.
In the World flyout you can change the lighting dynamics to an unlimited degree. I’ve hardly started on the potential of those controls.
With assets, the shading cast by the in game lighting is dependent upon how well made the models have been made. Most of the better creators (but not all) will build in a shading effect which will match the lighting cast by the sun. You can check this by looking at an object, and changing the time of day dial. You will see the shading move around the object.
Many assets, such as houses and rail carriages, are created with internal lights which automatically illuminate at twilight and turn off at dawn.
Hence my confusion as to what you mean by lighting. What improvements exactly are you looking for?
If you mean light pools coming from assets such as loco headlights, lamp posts etc. then these already exist in their hundred (probably thousands).
The in game lighting is a different matter. I think it works well, casting a darker (not hard) shadow on the sunless portions of the terrain. In addition this changes according to time of day. Furthermore it will change according to the latitude set in your route with a remarkable level of accuracy.
In the World flyout you can change the lighting dynamics to an unlimited degree. I’ve hardly started on the potential of those controls.
With assets, the shading cast by the in game lighting is dependent upon how well made the models have been made. Most of the better creators (but not all) will build in a shading effect which will match the lighting cast by the sun. You can check this by looking at an object, and changing the time of day dial. You will see the shading move around the object.
Many assets, such as houses and rail carriages, are created with internal lights which automatically illuminate at twilight and turn off at dawn.
Hence my confusion as to what you mean by lighting. What improvements exactly are you looking for?
Sorry for my blunt and poorly worded post, I was primarily talking about light from lamp posts and how it doesn't illuminate things like Engines and other objects like real light would if that clears it up a little bit for you guys. Perhaps I've been playing too many FPSs and too much Minecraft and gotten used to the lighting in those games.
Last edited:
In Jet engine exists bug, that the ground and bump-mapped objects can't be instantaneously illuminated by two different sources of light (one of them emits during the rendering). And you are asking about hundreds (because of draw-distance is 1000-1500 m for objects, unlike 150-300 m in FPSs ) of such sources 
...
In any way, make an attempt to replace the lights with invisible locomotives on invisible rails. I'm sure, you wouldn't be satisfied with the level of performance(frames/second). As I know, this part of Jet engine hasn't got any changes since ts2004.
...In any way, make an attempt to replace the lights with invisible locomotives on invisible rails. I'm sure, you wouldn't be satisfied with the level of performance(frames/second). As I know, this part of Jet engine hasn't got any changes since ts2004.
Retro00064
New member
Only locomotives support dynamic lighting. Scenery objects and other stuff must use "simulated" lighting by using a seperate mesh that is visible and illuminated at night. Thus, street lamps use a "light pool" night mesh to simulate light casted on to the ground.
TRam's first post in this thread contains this interesting statement:
Which makes sense. Some people have come upwith a method for making dynamic lighting come from lamps by laying down invisible track at a steep grade up in the air at the light tower's head, and then putting an invisible locomotive with a headlight on that invisible track to shine down on to the ground. I have not tried it myself, but that information is basically what I have read around here.
Regards.
