Track and Game Performance

[dricketts]

I recently replaced "MP Track wood v2" by philskene with "slave-driver" high res track from USLW on my current route project. I was a little concerned how it might effect frame rates and performance being a high res track. My route also has some heavily forested areas with pofig's speedtreez. I was getting under 20 fps and stuttering at times in these heavily forested areas in native mode.

To my complete amazement after switching to slave-driver's high-res track the positive performance improvement is the difference between night and day. In these same areas of the route the frame rates are still showing about 20 fps but there is virtually no stuttering. Even at 14 or 15 fps the action is so smooth compared to what it was before the track change. This is with the tracking camera too. I've tested with different locos and rolling stock and still get much better results.

The point of my post is it looks like track can make a pretty significant difference in performance. Even if they are both showing error free.

 

[ivantr]

The tracks by slave-driver are the best that Ive seen but they only have 1 level of LOD and is a FPS Killer. When you see they in tracking/outside/free camera there is a impact with FPS because you see the track in front and rear and if you see it in cab you only see the front track and in this view there is a low impact with FPS. I have a route with a yard of 11 of these tracks and my comp goes slow.

Cheers

 

[cascaderailroad]

RTS Track (Romanian Trainz Studio) is great ... I would use it on mainlines only, as in 5 miles of 30 track yards on my route, all the rest of the high detailed looking tracks have severe kinking, and highly adverse effect on framerates.

I liked Slavedrivers track, but it too kinked horribly in turnouts ... as does hundereds of other great looking tracks, they kink horribly.

I tried his low poly chunky mesh track, but it was disappointing in yards with lots of turnouts ... and it still kinks.

So being that my route has thousands of turnouts, and complex interlockings ... MP Wood v2 is the only one for me, in yards.

My mainline uses RTS#24 & RTS#26 track

 

[dricketts]

Yes I hate the kinking too. It looks ridiculous when it kinks. Using his chunky mesh at turnouts seemed to be a workaround for me with no kinking. Since he has a high res and chunky mesh version of the same track they go together nicely.

Everyone has their own preference of track and that's great. The point of the my thread was I just can't believe I'm getting much better native mode performance from a high res track compared to a low res track. Specifically "MP Wood v2." I'm curious to the reason for this. Again remember they both run error free.

As to ivantr's comments about slave-driver 's track being a FPS killer... what are you comparing it to? On my system slave-driver 's track gives me much better performance than MP Wood v2. The FPS read about the same using FRAPS but visually there is no comparison with respect to performance. No jerking or stuttering. It flows so much smoother and natural looking.

 

[cascaderailroad]

I just wish all tracks curved as smooth as glass, as the Chunky Mesh - MP Wood v2 by Philskene.

I understand the MP Tunneltrack Dark, MP Rusty, MP Concrete are unavailable ... as the JosefPav-HP Trainz site has been under construction for the past 2 years time.

I wish Philskene woud do a remake of the above classic tracks, so that they too would show up in 09/10/12.
http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showpost.php?p=474895&postcount=51

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showpost.php?p=487013&postcount=53

http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc339/cascaderailroad/PRR8.jpg

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showpost.php?p=516504&postcount=66

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showpost.php?p=710638&postcount=124

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showpost.php?p=753445&postcount=134

:mop: :udrool: :mop: --->http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showpost.php?p=781815&postcount=378

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showpost.php?p=765784&postcount=170

Have you tried RTS Tracks ? If so ... do they display well in 09/10/12 ?

 

[dricketts]

Yes I've tried them and they are great looking. I didn't use them in Driver though to check performance. They all seem to kink rather badly and since there is not a chunky mesh to go with them I'd rather use slave-driver's. You can seamlessly use the high res and chunky mesh together.

I sent slave-driver a pm asking if there might be rusty versions of his track available in the future. Will see...

The largest yard on my 80 mile route is not near as large as yours. slave-driver's chunky mesh track seems to work well in this yard. These are notes from an ex Frisco employee and I've reproduced the entire trackage in this diagram.

 

[shaneturner12]

If the tracks have been saved as splines, adding uncached_alphas into their config files may reduce the performance hit (note though, that it may also make them appear odd)

Shane

EDIT:
This is the format for adding uncached_alphas into a config file:
...preceeding lines of config file....
uncached_alphas 1
...following lines of config file....

Also note that some tracks do not support uncached_alphas, and will report as faulty.

Shane

 

[cascaderailroad]

Oh ... uncached_alphas (was ist das) ? ... what about unsalted cashews ?

 

[mtldrm38]

I use trunda s G-tracks on my Chicago route and they hold theyre own very well on FPS...........

 

[BobCass]

Hi All: I too use RTS Track but just on line up to the Log Camp..I like it particularly because it has good track sounds..Just this one line of RTS gives me sound through out my layout..Now, I have recently have downloaded "Sam track III/B Class 3 v1, and it seems to have a decent frame rate..It also looks good..but, my understanding is that it is made 09/10/12..

 

[JCitron]

I use the RTS track in a few places on my route like those used for disused sidings, and other yard areas where the track is in poor shape.

I tried using it on my main line, but the track doesn't have much of a base to it and it.

John

 

[BobCass]

Here is a picture of Sam Track II/B Ov5..

 

[Dap]

Bob,

Where did you get the frog & guard rails? THey really add a lot to the turnout.

 

[BobCass]

Dap: Thanks for asking..Kuid #236618:90268 Turnout Frog-3 Brown Left SG
Kuid #236618:90269 Turnout Frog-3 Brown Right SG
By Frank Dean..I think they are on the DS, but I'm running 2009..

 

[Dap]

Found them - they work in 2010 also. Thanks.

 

[Blackie11]

Hi there all,

Just wondered then... MP Wood v2 is better for framerates than using MP Wood? That right?

Regards,

Dave

 

[cascaderailroad]

I believe that MPWood v2 displays as a more detailed track in higher versions ... as MP Wood displays as a rather lackluster track.

Someone please ... make a version of MP Rusty, MP Tunneltrack Dark, MP Concrete, such as Philskene did with MP Wood v2.

I believe old chunky mesh tracks were the lowest framerate and best curving in turnouts.

 

[Blackie11]

"In higher versions." Like 2009?

I am using MP Wood and when I lay a section of MP Wood v2 next to it, there seems little difference between them, just looking at them they look the same to me. That is why I was asking about the FPS, that seemed like a reason to switch.

Regards,

Dave

 

[cascaderailroad]

Its probably better to swich all MP Wood routes over to MP Wood v2, so that future downloaders get a better looking track.

For your own use in 04/06 MP Wood and MP Wood v 2 look identical.

But if you spend a year or two builing a route with MP Wood, and should you import it into TS09/10/12 installed on your PC ... you will want to switch out the track anyway.

 

[Retro00064]

As far as I know, MP Track wood V2 is just a version created by Phil to allow users to use that track in newer versions of Trainz, where it is obsoleted by built-in Auran 3D track. That is what I have heard, that is. I have seen scre3enshots using the MP Track wood where the track looked like it was normal-mapped (?), but I do not know if Philskene's version is normal-mapped.

Any way, I would think that there would be absolutely no difference between the original MP Track wood and Phil's update, unless Phil's version is normal-mapped.

Regards.