TMR2017 is "Default Heavy"

[Col_Klink]

I have had TMR2017 for a bunch of months now and am rather largley discussed with it in two particular areas.

1) No one at N3V seems to understand that a custom train set should be that - custom. It's mine, I paid for it and I want it to be ALL MINE, not theirs anymore !!
I cannot delete any of the Built-in assets. Why is that ?? It takes up a lot of room, some of it is very olde an not useful for me and now, N3V has made it so we cannot
delete it EVER. I try not to download anything older than v2.9 so it runs like it should in this advanced Trainz platform. The olde stuff looks really crummy in here
as it did years ago. Thanks for having it so we can get started running but, now I want your realistic 3D models that look and run perfectly.

2) I just ran through a situation that almost made me toss the (dam) thing out and go with another product.
I just recovered from a minor crash that puzzled me completely. The mouse quit working, and I could not press anything to find out why. So, I ultimately had to use the
'off' switch to turn it all off and start over. After a few minutes of waiting, I turned the PC back on. Everything came back okay and the mouse began to live again.
I got the TMR2017 to come back and after about a 15 minute start-up, it appeared.
Here comes the crummy part.
Once I checked the menu for my route that I was building for me and the friend in Kansas City, it was gone !! None of my two weeks of work had shown up anywhere.
It was completely gone. The Content Manager had no listing for the route nor did it have any downloaded assets that I had found for the past two weeks.
The entire game had gone back to the factory default and nothing of mine was anywhere to be seen. Like I had just bought the game and was beginning to find my
place.

I want this game to be mine - no one else's. That's all. I really hate showing my ass by doing this but, (*?*?*?*?*?*??*), it belongs to me now and I want it to have
all of my downloads just like I like them. Many of us olde timers, since about 2004 (13 years and counting) which is awesome in some usual cases, should have some
respect shown and be able to expect someone to give reasonably powerful answers. I would refer someone from product development, management or programming
to give me an answer that I understand and why this thing cannot (or can) be changed.

I would like the ability to delete all the built-in assets that I do not want.
I would like the "asset database rebuild" to be eliminated.
I would like for the default mechanism in this game to be corrected so that when there is a system annoyance, the game does not revert
back to factory level.

I do understand that this game was built from scratch by programming, scripts and codes. Someone who knows what I am talking about can go into the codes and
change what has been written to make these thing go away. If it was written in there, it can be removed.
This could be my thesis for a 10 page gripe, but I won't do that. I have respect for the company and the game so please respect my dilemma deeply and try to
correct a few 2017 issues.

Col Klink

 

[shaneturner12]

As a bit of a programmer myself (although nothing as complex as Trainz), I can understand at least the second aspect. When it comes to databases, if a crash happens that prevents information being committed to the database (or in some cases if the crash happens whilst it was doing so) then it causes the database to become corrupt which is why the rebuild process is there to help recover from this.

As for the built in aspect, I can't really answer that one although I know in earlier versions the files were kept in compressed archives that only the patching software was able to modify. There is the option of disabling built in assets though.

One thing to be aware of though - what may seem like a simple removal to end users may actually break something elsewhere in the code.

Shane

 

[whitepass]

"I would like the ability to delete all the built-in assets that I do not want."

No game ever made lets you do that.


"I would like the "asset database rebuild" to be eliminated."

Trainz uses a database and therefore must have a way to rebuild it.

"I would like for the default mechanism in this game to be corrected so that when there is a system annoyance, the game does not revert
back to factory level."

This also just happens in games.

You should have made backups of your route.

 

[JCitron]

I understand your frustration regarding the locked built-ins and the inability to edit built-in routes. The decision was made back a few years ago, maybe more now that I think about it, when we went with TS12 SP1 due to some people in the world deciding to lock, stock, and barrel rip off the built-in assets and distribute them so sadly we all have to feel the brunt of the decision. At some point, the wish is to all us to modify the content ourselves, but not be able to upload it or distribute it, but how to go about that coding is another thing out of our hands, and this is probably low priority anyway.

So what happened to your setup is you had a hard crash, which removed your user information and you ended up with a default setup. What you need to do is start up T:ANE.

At the Launcher edit your user settings again, and ensure your data location is correct, and your username and password are correct.

Once all that's done, run a database repair, which is found under the Developer menu item.

The good news is repairs don't take very long so you should be all set.

What caused your crash? I don't know as it could be any number of things that can cause that kind of thing including a static zap, which I did to an laptop I was repairing the other day. With that zap, I took out the keyboard, or part of it anyway, and found that out after I rebooted the machine. All I did was reach for it to login, and the arc was huge enough and bright enough for me to see , and feel, and kill the machine.

 

[SharkNose]

Col_Klink,

There was a thread on here quite some time ago about some software manufacturers that do not "sell" you their software. Instead you are paying to "lease" the software and use it. I think Microsoft falls into that category. I forget whether we decided N3V was also in that scenario or not.

"Default Heavy". That's a great description of the problem. I can't speak to TMR2017, I only have TANE installed currently, but there was also some discussion here about eliminating all assets and starting with a completely blank installation. Look for a thread entitled "Trainz Unplugged" for further details.

I deleted all routes, assets and anything else I could think of and was left with only a few dozen core items like scripts and assets like clouds, water and a few other ones. This was good for a while. I only downloaded assets that I made or liked for my own routes. The cleanliness of the items lists was very nice to work with. And the TANE folder structure had a very small footprint in disk space.

The problems came when I went to import some N3V payware like Blue Comet and PRR T1, etc. They showed missing dependencies that were found nowhere on the 'Net nor on the DLS. It turns out those dependencies are built-in with some of TANE's included routes, which of course I had eliminated.

To make a long story short, I ended up re-installing TANE again and am ignoring the 11 GB of assets I will probably never use.

Andrew

 

[Col_Klink]

Andrew, I love the "Trainz Un-Plugged". I honest-to-God loved it. I think than you, JCitron and Martinvk have my greatest empathy.
No better words were said that mirrored my feelings (even last year) like them.
I almost know where in the deeper folders, where to disable the assets that should not be there. However, each time I start Trainz,
there is a separate menu that comes up and wants to do the rebuild. I have to hit the "Red X" to stop it. (I'd love to know where that booger is deep down and crush it !!)
Actually though, if we eliminate all those in a certain folder, not knowing where the kuid is or what it represents, it could be a dangerous
delete. That I understand. I've tried it once before. I'll do a little more digging to find out what I can do on the top-of-things so it
will be a more personalized edition and not (leased) belonging to the company.

@ whitepass - Good and to the point. However, I needed a deeper thought. And, this time, I did save the route and assets.

 

[leo655annst]

One suggestion to save your sanity is to set an automatic backup of your user data folder on a reoccurring basis. One of the best free programs I have found for this SYNCBACK.
Be sure to only load it from the company site so you don't get any unwanted programs.

https://www.2brightsparks.com/

Hope this helps you to keep from worrying about losing all the hard work you have completed so far.

 

[oknotsen]

It's mine, I paid for it and I want it to be ALL MINE, not theirs anymore !!

Not correct. You paid for a license, not the actual ownership of the software.
Since the software is not yours, you can't do everything you want with it.

I cannot delete any of the Built-in assets. Why is that ??

Because else half the forum would be filled up with post like "I accidentally deleted built-in asset Xyz. I want it back", most likely followed by a rant of some sort after you tell them some of the content can only be restored by a new install.
I would be a nice feature for the happy few that would first sign a contract to never ever moan when they accidentally delete an asset, but till that time I am happy we don't get a wave of this crap over us.

A solution to this is disabling the assets you do not like.
I did that myself to a few of the routes and assets and it really nicely cleans up my list.
To do the same, follow these steps:

1. Go to "Manage Content".
2. Search for the stuff you don't want.
3. Select it.
4. Go to the "Content" menu (4th at the top)
5. Select "Disable" (9th option from above)

To enable stuff, follow the same steps but obviously select "Enable" (which has replaced the 9th option).

I do like that "Trainz Unplugged" idea that SharkNose mentioned, though I would never buy it myself.

It takes up a lot of room

Unless your HD dates back to something pre 2005 (or you have a really tiny SSD), this is really the least thing to complain about. There are at least dozen or so things wrong with every version of Trainz that are more worth complaining about that the less then 1% space the few GB the built-in assets take on any modern HD (or maybe a few on a small SSD).

I just recovered from a minor crash that puzzled me completely.
...
my route that I was building for me and the friend in Kansas City, it was gone !! None of my two weeks of work had shown up anywhere.

Sorry to read about the first time in your life that you lost something during a crash of any software ever. To bad it was Trainz; could have been every piece of software, but it was Trainz. I fear this is that magical and frustrating moment you learn about making regular backups.
If this wasn't the first crash ever that made you loose content, you either have a recent backup or should ask yourself why this had to happen to your more then once before starting to keep backups.
And just in case you feel offended by the above: I (also) had to make the mistake more then once before I learned.

About the crash:
See if you can reproduce the problem and report it as a bug. We all hate these things and the more of them that can be reproduced, the more that can be fixed in a future patch or version of the game.

I want this game to be mine - no one else's. That's all.

Get a few hundred thousand dollar (or maybe a few million) and either hire a bunch of programmers or buy the software from N3V.
As long as that is too much money for you, I fear you will have to learn to live with having a license and with that some limits of the software you are licensed to use.

give me an answer that I understand and why this thing cannot (or can) be changed.

I am sure some of the things you mentioned can be changed, but the arguments not to do so seem to be stronger for now, so I doubt they will till that changes.

I would like the "asset database rebuild" to be eliminated.

So you want this piece of software to become completely useless after one crash, loose everything you had downloaded or created yourself and start with a fresh install?
If not, be happy that it exists till the software is perfect and never crashes again... which is what we all want but never ever will happen. Not with Trainz, not with most (but most likely all) software (that does little more than "hello world").

Don't get me wrong:
I sure hope TMR2017 will get a decent patch shortly after TANE SP2 is finally released. But as an ex-programmer (o, who am I kidding, I still do some scripting almost every week) I am telling you: don't expect this software (or any software for that matter) to ever be perfect.

Happy Trainzing!