Track smoothing and textures.

[Orpheus2000]

On returning to Trainz after a break of a week or so I found that a lot of track was below the ground level. I used the track smoothing tool on these parts but it had no effect. Then I found that replacing the ground texture with some others cleared the problem, suggesting that the problem has arisen with changes to certain textures, but generally I had to use the track height adjustment tool to lift the track above the ground. This has happened on two layouts, one of which I hadn't looked at for some months and on which I certainly hadn't changed anything. I've also noticed that all my layouts and sessions now have "missing dependencies"....

It seems that something has happened to the content database during my time away from Trainz, but that's only my guess. Does anyone know what is or might be going on here?

 

[JCitron]

This is caused by textures being updated to the new PBR textures. PBR and non-PBR textures don't work well together and cause this. There are two ways to solve this.

1) You can change out the PBR for non-PBR. but this means cloning all your routes to do it. This can cause issues for sessions which will need to be modified in Content Manager to reassociate with the new route.

2) Go into the Launcher and turn down the Shader Quality to Standard. You do this in the Performance tab in Trainz settings.

I did this on my setup and I'm at peace now. The performance is a little better too and I can enjoy both the PBR and non-PBR textures together without holes.

There are a number of causes for the missing dependencies.

Ensure you have all the current updates for any DLC and built-in routes. There have been a bunch of updates for the DLC, and this causes the older sessions to show missing. I noticed, however, that even though I did update the content there are still some sessions showing missing content, but these are the out-of-date ones that can't be updated because they're built in or in packages.

 

[Orpheus2000]

Thank you so much once again, John.

I had noticed that the PBR textures seemed to be involved but there are too many to check it conclusively. After testing the revised performance levels briefly, all seems well. The missing dependencies aren't a problem.

Interestingly the layout in question is a merger between two older layouts, both quite big. One had, eventually, about 30 AI trains; that layout had always had serious performance problems - extreme jerkiness - and at one point I guessed it was to do with the number of trees. The second layout, also big, but not as detailed had no performance issues, but also had fewer trains. The merged layout, almost double the size of the first, also had no performance troubles, but just as many trees per square metre, as it were. I am now waiting to see what happens as the number of trains approaches 30, something that will take quite a time, though. I suspect that may be the cause.

Thanks again for your help .

Alan

 

[JCitron]

You're welcome, Alan.

I have a couple of routes like that myself. My very first real Trainz route is one of them that I started in January 2004 in TRS2004 SP1. I still have a kernel of that route in my current iteration and combined with all the additions, mergers, and extensions, it's now about 190 miles end to end. Like you, I noticed my route begins to suffer from lagging and stutters which I attributed to the trees. It's not like I don't mind open countryside but where I live it's all thick forests and that's what I model. The problem though this appeared to be too much of a good thing.

One day I decided to do some trimming of some of the larger spruce and oaks. Using the bulk update/delete utility, I cleared large swaths of forests in areas. This looked really great at one end of the route, but there was an issue which I didn't notice. When replacing objects, if the delete option is still checked, you'll delete the objects! On my route, I completely deforested the mountains while substituting some of the spruce with another kind. I didn't notice this until I checked on some of the assets in that area. When I saw it, my heart sank to my knees and figured this was now the end of the line for the route after all this time.

I was about to delete the route recently when I discovered my backups I had made prior to this renovation. I lost a bit of baseboard rearranging by going back a version, but I was able to recover my route. I took the older versions and combined them as I had them in the broken version and everything is together as before sans the extra spruce I removed. I discovered this around 3:00 am long after I should've been in bed. I was so excited I literally did a happy dance on my way to bed and got right back at the route the next day and got everything merged back in.

In the end, did removing the extra thick trees help the performance? It sure did! Those Speed Trees are a system hog and really push the video card a lot. By thinning down the forests carefully this time around, I was able to keep the performance up and still have what looks like a deep forest.

The problem, however, isn't just here. I too have run into performance issues with too many consists. I think this has to do with how the program keeps track of what's where and doing what. With a large number of AI drivers doing their thing, I think the code gets mired down and eventually everything stutters to a halt. This is quite frustrating because we spend hours making our worlds look realistic only to be cut off at the pass while we're in the process of doing it. I suppose we do only have desktop computers and not super computers even though what we have are the fastest machines out there today.

 

[pware]

There are two ways to solve this.

1) You can change out the PBR for non-PBR. but this means cloning all your routes to do it. This can cause issues for sessions which will need to be modified in Content Manager to reassociate with the new route.

2) Go into the Launcher and turn down the Shader Quality to Standard.

I encountered similar issues in my current project. "Some-when" between the SP5 betas and the SP5 release, a number of my favourite non-PBR textures (all of my textures were non-PBR) were upgraded to PBR. After some thought I decided on a 3rd, more radical, option - a variation of option 1) above.

3) You can strip out all the existing textures, using the Bulk Update/Replace Asset Tool with the TRS19 Standard Grid texture as the replacement texture, to leave all the baseboards bare (i.e. unpainted) and then repaint with only PBR textures.

This is the option I am currently using, admittedly it is not for the faint-hearted. I did make a backup of the original first and I am working on a clone. It is a very large route, over 300km of track, and the repaint will take quite a while to complete. I have found and installed suitable PBR textures, in most cases far better looking textures, to replace my original non-PBR palette.

So far I am very impressed with the improvements it has made to the appearance of the route.

There is a learning curve, particularly when texturing near spline assets that have set heights, such as track and roads. But a bit of practice and care have so far overcome any issues.

My thoughts.

 

[Orpheus2000]

Trainz is great, especially for people like me - retired and living on my own - but it does get frustrating when hours can be consumed while you put things right, and then it's too late in the day (or night) to start actually running trains.

I've just spent a merry time replacing Ultra textures, which seem excruciatingly ugly, with non-ultras. My latest whinge, however, is the new placing of the map options menu, because when you alter any one setting the menu closes, so to alter several settings you have to keep reopening the menu.

 

[pware]

My latest whinge, however, is the new placing of the map options menu, because when you alter any one setting the menu closes, so to alter several settings you have to keep reopening the menu.

I must confess it has been a while (at least a few beta versions) since I used the mini-map. I do like the idea that it is now full screen (in Driver mode at least) but you are right, it is annoying that the display options menu now closes as soon as you make a selection. But that is how all pop-up and pull-down menus behave in Windows programs. I suppose it would be possible, and a good idea as well, to have it as a "panel" or "palette", to use S20 terminology, with its own close and minimise buttons, an "x" and a "-", on the top right corner.