Stations - Platforms etc. I need some help !!

[dougtrain]

I moved up to 2004 at Christmas from UTC and Trainz before that. Now I am able to use the passengers loading and good of course. Getting to grips with the new features is not as easy as it should be and I have got myself stuck.

I have looked at the various manuals available but cannot find enough information for what I need. Perhaps I am looking in the wrong place.

From my old layout I have changed the stations using the basic station in 2004 that is opaque and comes with passengers. I can name the staion and adjust for peak time, rush hour etc. I can change the number of passengers. In the 'Drive to' in driver I can select my station but all the platforms are 'Platform 1' - Can I change this and how? My main central station has 3 up and 3 down platforms - all named platform 1!!

I need also to find information about placing and using the track markers. I am familiar with the red ones and naming them. What to do with the yellow and violet ones?? I cannot find much information regarding triggers either. I realise I have much to learn regarding rules and writing them but should download TrainzScript or is it installed?

I think a lot of this was taken up in the old forum and it is a pity that seems to have been lost. Now the questions will have to be asked all over again. Can anyone help me unravel the mysteries as I would like to be able to get this running properly.

Regards Doug

 

[paulzmay]

Try out Andi06's invisible stations, or Bloodnoks interactive blank platforms. These are single items that have seperate numbers for each platform. Andi06's kit also has a new feature allowing you to place each platform as a separate object (like it sounds like you are doing), and use the new "Call at" command. His site here http://www.ajsmith.nildram.co.uk/trs/ has better explanations and tutorials for this and lots of other really cool stuff - all of the items are on the DLS.

Paul

 

[Moojgoo]

Dosen't '04 come with a maunal? It should.

 

[nawlins]

To answer the other half of your question, Doug. AI trains have a bad habit of taking the shortest route available to them, so they will go down the up track and up the down track just to bypass a signal, if they feel so inclined. The yellow marker is a direction device that gives a stretch of track a specific direction. The AI trains will not travel agains the yellow arrow. (in theory). I have seen them ignore the direction arrow but it works most of the time as long as you remember to lay your track in the direction of travel. That is very important.
As for the purple arrow some one else will have to fill you in on that. I don't use it.

 

[JCitron]

"...As for the purple arrow some one else will have to fill you in on that. I don't use it. " - as posted by Nawlins.

I don't use it either, but I'll try to explain what it is.

The purple trackmark is for setting up priority routes for specific trains. This is a two-fold process.

1) You have to set the priority of the consist.

2) Assign the priority to the purple trackmark.

With this setup, trains set to priority 1 will take only the priority 1 track, priority 2, priority 3, will only take those specified tracks.

Kind of a pain in setting up. IMHO. I'm sure others could explain this better than I, and perhaps add more details.


John

 

[dougtrain]

Hi Paul and many thanks for the link. Been there and downloaded what certainly looks like "cool" stuff. Now I will go and see if it all works. Once again, thanks.

Doug

 

[paulzmay]

Sorry I missed the other half of your question - skim reading again. The other answers should help (thanks guys), but note:

...long as you remember to lay your track in the direction of travel. That is very important.

...is still a matter of some debate. If this was essential, double track wouldn't work, and single track routes would have serious issues. It does help to lay in the correct direction, but as far as I've experienced, only to have trackside objects sit on the correct side of the track when you first lay them. I've yet to see hard evidence that there is any other difference, if the route is properly signalled and yellow markers used.

Have fun with the Andi06 stuff - there's a bit of a learning curve, so read the tutorials thoroughly. Note that 99% of occasions they don't work is due to missing dependencies, so always download the whole pack.

Have fun...

Paul

 

[Bill69]

Stations ETC.

Hi Doug,

On reading through these posts there seems to be one of your questions unanswered, how to use triggers. There is a pictorial tut on how to use triggers on my webpage, (still under construction and not updated for some time unfortunately) but the tut is complete. Go to www.lapsley.net.nz and select Bill's trainz then Tutorials.

Hope this helps,
Bill69

 

[dougtrain]

A question to the answer

Hi and thanks to all you guys for your response. I have been away from trainz for a while so I did not get a chance to read through the replies. Printed out the tutorial on triggers - thanks Bill. I have heard about laying track in the direction of travel and thought much along the lines of the response in this thread. It makes no sense when you lay double track or you want a single track to work either way. Proper signals and track markers seem to be the answer.

As for a manual. no comment. If the manuals had sufficient content then there would be no need to ask questions on the forum would there? It would seem to me that the manuals get you started but to get the bugs out of the system then the only thing to do is go and ask the people who have already been there and done it.

Perhaps we shall meet again. Thanks again.
Doug