Static Locomotives

C

CRO

If it ain't broke...!
I have searched the DLS for some static locomotives without success.
I have tried the obvious keywords and found lots of vehicles, containers, planes etc., but no locos.
I am populating several well known routes, (e.g. protoClinchfield, NSW NE Coast) with consists in the yards and sidings.
To date I have been using normal driveable locos, but I end up with too many "drivers" to keep a tab on when plotting AI.
If there is nothing suitable on the DLS, is there a way to edit driveable locos to convert them into static objects?

Cheers
Bob (CRO)
 
When you mean static, do you mean powered down as in stored? If so you will have to do a bit of work, but I think you can convert them to rail cars with the appropriate enginespec. They will then act like a rail car and just sit there. Would be good for a scrapyard scene or deadline.
 
Search for "297 static" will get you some old US freight cars that are track objects, clone one of those and replace the meshes and textures with Aussie car bodies and bogies. For a loco;

http://www.trainsim.com/vbts/showthread.php?301358-Painting-tutorial&p=1707368#post1707368

Same thing, copy the mesh and textures from a loco, and the mesh and textures from whatever bogey it uses, into the clone of the static freight car. You'll need to look at it in game and adjust the position numbers in the config file if it looks weird.
 
Ad602000 has a NSWGR 48 class loco as derlict loco on the dls - has hood doors open to look like it being used as a source of parts.
Motorman1066 has some trams as buildings that can be used for all sorts of things
 
I would think the poly count and framerates would be the same whether a loco is static, or driveable ... what would changing it achive ?
 
http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=76129

Main problem is the way the game is programmed, any loco or car whether moving or not and regardless of how far outside the player's view distance, has the physics data loaded into memory and constantly worried over by the game engine. Justin and I worked on a "sleep script" for freight cars, included in all my rolling stock and free to use in others, that makes the game ignore the physics for that car when used as a loose consist. It "wakes up" and loads the physics and starts processing the data only when a loco or train with a loco couples on. Point to that is if you scatter 1000 freight cars around the route in spurs, sidings, and yard tracks, it has an impact on framerates because the physics data from 1000 cars is constantly hammering the CPU with needless bits and bytes. The carfizzix script prevents that.

Locos we haven't found a cure for yet, but 100 locos is 100 physics packages tugging the skirt of the CPU demanding attention every few milliseconds even if it's sitting in a shed 20 miles away - so static locos would cure that problem since 100 static locos would have no physics data to constantly process.

Obviously there are other limits, polygons is polygons so when those 100 static locos are all in sight at the same time it will bog down the video card, the whole point is they won't bog down the processor when you're five miles away like real locos would.
 
Thanks to everyone for all the input. I was under the impression, apparently fasely, that driveable locos put much more strain on the system than consists.
I was mainly concerned because when Trainz allocates each loco a "driver" when placed in surveyor, you end up with a dozen or so locos, powered up, puffing exhaust smoke, when they are not intended to be driven. Also adds unnecessary drivers to the AI driver list.
I'll follow up the suggested links in the morning and add some more to my learning curve.
The main thing I have learnt in Trainz is that nothing is a simple as you would like it to be.

Bob (CRO)
 
CRO said:
To date I have been using normal driveable locos, but I end up with too many "drivers" to keep a tab on when plotting AI.
Cheers
Bob (CRO)
Click to expand...

Hi Bob,

You can get rid of all the drivers you don't want in your route by doing the following...

For Trainz 2010 and 2012...

Go to your route in which you are having problems with,

Then go to "QUICKDRIVE", this is usually in the top right hand side of the screen, and around the third button in.

Click on "DRIVERS",

Then select what engines you want to use in your route,

Then assign the drivers you want, to the locomotives you want to use, you can even rename the drivers to someone you know.

As for the drivers you don't want, Just untick there boxes, and they will dissapear from your route.

-----------------------

If you are using Trainz 2004/2006/2007/2009, or a Trainz version without "QUICKDRIVE", then follow this...

Go into your route in Surveyor,

Then go to MAIN MENU at the top of the screen,

Then scroll down until you get to Edit Session,

Then go to Edit Driver, from here you can assign what drivers you want, and name them to however you want, plus you can get rid off any drivers you do not need, by clicking the delete driver. After this you will only have the drivers you need.

Hope the above helps solve your problem, until an easier way comes round.

Joe Airtime
 
Hard to tell, all you old fossils playing with outdated versions would need to go to the black pages, set the filter for TS2009, and download any one of the PON Freight or Chimet Freight cars to get the carfizzix script. You might be able to get the script to work with earlier versions, but you wouldn't be able to upload them since the DLS no longer accepts any build lower than 2.8.
 
Thanks again for the insights into Trainz.
@airtime - I've never explored that feature of TS2010 - now I know, and I think this may be an easy solution for my particular likes and dislikes.
- Must stop playing and actually read the manual one day -

Cheers
Bob (CRO)
 
But don't get me started on that or the locked switches, in the process of trying to be "proactive" and invent solutions to prevent imaginary potential problems in TS12 multiplayer, they created a plethora of real problems that have no solution other than moving back to TS2010. :n:
 
Main problem is trying to get the right one with the new uncoupling interface, then changing switches between cars in the hump yard. With TS2010 you could throw the switch as long as the car wasn't in the 20 meter radius of the switch, in TS12 the switch locks when the car is further away dependent on the speed it's rolling. That whole thing irritates me, set derailments to none and I still derail if the trailing points are set the wrong way, and in TS12 you can't reset the switch to the track you're approaching from at the last minute. Going too fast to stop before the switch, you're going too fast to change the switch in TS12. :'(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top