Speeding up the process of building real routes
- Thread starter Rom71
- Start date
Now I must ask "Where is the fun in that?"
I am nearing completion (if ever a route is completed?) of my latest work. It started somewhere about 2005 or 2006. It has been an "on and off" process with a few updates released along the way.
I have a copy of TransDEM but did not use it. All the terrain heights for over 280kms of track were fashioned by hand (with shovels, picks and the occasional stick of dynamite) from Google Earth data painstakingly transferred to Surveyor. It kept me sane while I was employed for several of those years in a stressful work environment.
Creating a route the slow way has given me a great deal of enjoyment. I would find using AI or even TransDEM would defeat the whole purpose and take away the fun.
While I understand the desire to do it completely by hand, there is something to be said for "a little help from my friends." Until I can easily create smooth rolling landscapes in Trainz, I'll let TransDEM do that and in conjunction with JOSM, have it place the initial tracks. I still have to go in and fine tune everything so it's not like everything is done for me.
I mean, we spend a lot of time in the Trainz editor rather than enjoying train rides.Time is precious, and we're not getting any younger.
True that but for some people, the joy is in the building, the creating, etc and the driving is just to validate that it was well done.
I am certainly in that category but I would not deny the "instant noodles" mob their right to churn out a new route every week (or every second day) if that is their desire.
When I finish a route I will start work on developing sessions for it and that can sometimes take as long as the route construction itself. To me sessions provide the context for the route - why was it built? What did it carry? What types of trains did it run? But I make sure that one of those sessions is "Free Roam" with all the rolling stock in place and industries configured but no set missions or tasks to be completed.
This is not a criticism, just an observation, but too often we see routes uploaded to the DLS without sessions or a set purpose and sometimes without any rolling stock and I ask myself - why did they bother?
My opinions.
In my case i bother to upload prototypical routes without sessions because creating sessions isn't my bag.
Life is short and if we all waited many years until a route was completely finished in every possible way, including sessions, before,uploading it, then many of us would not be around to enjoy it.
Its proven a pretty good strategy so far because other people have created sessions for almost all of my routes and that has enabled me to create about 5 routes in under 10 years. If i had made sessions I doubt I would have even uploaded two by now.
I used to teach so called 'gifted and talented " students and one of their biggest problems was completing projects to deadline, they were so concerned that it had to be perfect that they often failed the course because they never submitted the work. Procrastination is DEFINITELY a major thief of time.
We sadly lost Clam1952 and Euro modeller when they were part way through routes,if they had uploaded WIPs then it would have been much easier for others to complete their routes and their work would then have lived on after them , it is their legacy and a huge shame if it wasnt shared with others.
Fortunately in Malcolm's case some one else had access tp his work and they completed his last route, but I am sure there are many many fine works that are lost becuase the creators didnt upload until they were completely safisfied with their creations.
As for including rolling stock, in one case when i did upload with all the rolling stock contained within I was roundly criticized by some people because ( and this is from memory, so i may not be correct) it interfered with them making sessions and some of it could only be obtained from third party sites.
I have to ask, why do you ALWAYS append ' my opinions ' at the end of your posts ? , do you occasionally employ some one else to express their opinions under your name ?
Its just a very curious thing to do.
Sometimes my posts upset some readers. I feel that it is important to point out that we are all just expressing our views/opinions here and that does not mean that other views are unacceptable or that our/my posts are the only possible views.
It is unfortunate that these days expressing an opinion can be a dangerous act.
My opinion
Aha I see, fair enough .Sometimes my posts upset some readers. I feel that it is important to point out that we are all just expressing our views/opinions here and that does not mean that other views are unacceptable or that our/my posts are the only possible views.
It is unfortunate that these days expressing an opinion can be a dangerous act.
My opinion
Expressing opinions has ALWAYS been a dangerous act..... in certain circumstances. Humans are tribal and most of us only want to receive information that conforms to our preconceived belief systems.
However even if you state that its your opinion, I don't quite see how it clears the way to you NOT being challenged by anyone who takes offense.
If i stated "surveyor 2 is the best thing since sliced bread and anyone who doesn't use it is a moron " and then appended "My opinion" afterwards , it doesn't stop anyone from taking offense and either complaining to the mods or going on the attack.
Quite justifiably in that case, however I know you would never be that rude to anyone.
In my opinion, the only real way to ensure that no one takes offense over what I type is to never post anything at all. !!!! The bad news is , I very rarely follow my own advice, I am my own worst enemy.
A fair point. Creating sessions is much the same as programming - setting initial conditions, adding and configuring rules, testing, testing, testing. That is not for everyone.
As an alternative to programming I have started creating Wiki Scenarios that provide the initial conditions (the starting point) and lay out the sequence of events to be followed (as Train Orders) - even providing a sample timetable. They are based on a "Free Roam" session with all the consists in place, industries configured and no AI trains running.
These take far less time to create than sessions and no knowledge of the Session Editor and Rules are required. They are also easier to edit and update.
Two examples from the 24 that I already have on the Trainz Wiki ready for my current (yet to be released) project are:-
- Coffee Pot Special - a simple return tourist run on the Pichi Richi railway.
- Transcontinental Express Freight a more complex operation with several options to choose from.
Especially the "testing, testing, testing" part
.I love making sessions but I also like them to be different every time they are played, otherwise - my opinion
- the results of months of works is a "Groundhog day" syndrome: the session is played once or twice. Unfortunately, every single change in the session increases the number of possible events geometrically, requiring dozens and dozens of test runs.Years ago I made an apparently simple session - running a regional train on a 80-km journey - but added a series of portals randomly generating trains that might or might not interact with the player train (the most hated was a train of ballast hoppers who "ran" before the player train at 55 kph, causing a huge delay). Making the session took some months, but testing it required almost a year
I would add : testing, testing, rebuild, re-export, import, testing, testing ...Especially the "testing, testing, testing" part
This is your impatience coming out. Trainz is like a gigantic model railroad. The route building part is the plywood, lumber frame, plaster, and chicken wire part with the rest of the landscaping and track to go with it. Sessions are the wiring and running stage and like a real model railroad, this stage takes the longest as things are tweaked, such as extending a passing loop or siding, adding in additional signals as needed, and so on in addition to fixing the stupid stuff we find such as trees in the way, floating buildings, or bridges that are too low just to name some of things we find when we start driving the route.
When I work on a route, I'll "finish" up small sections at a time to a point where I can get in the cab and give it a drive. This gives me a chance to enjoy the hard labor of working on the route before I continue on to the next part.
TransDEM and JOSM all us to bring in realistic terrain and maps along with roads and tracks. While they can be imported, they still require a lot of adjusting and tweaking afterwards. This makes building a prototypical route easier. Actual terrain is also great for creating a fictional route by working out a line that could be there. I've done this a number of times and it's quite a challenge keeping the existing roads and building locations as much as possible along with surveying a probable route based on the terrain. This latter part can become a whole day's project as I work out where the line may run through a certain area. When this is done it's easy to see why a route was chosen rather than the one we're planning. The old guys weren't so dumb after all.
It's done through TransDEM.