Trainz Plus Beta TLR Phase 2 - Mac 128359

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n3v_laurence

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Hello Everyone,

We have a Trainz Plus Beta Mac update as we gear up for TLR Phase 2 and the SP5 Update release. This is a large update and includes all our new features for TLR Phase 2. To give you a jump start into the new changes, Trainz Plus Beta users can access Coal Country (HDT) which includes a ready to try, TLR session. Simply install the package and drive the session Coal Country TLR. Players can sit back and watch the trains go by, performing tasked issued by the Dispatch Manager or take control and claim a task for themselves.

Previously, players lacked a central location to manage Living Railroad. This makes it difficult to discover issues, or get an overview of the status of industry chains within the Route. The Dispatch Manager aims to fix that, by adding a new interface for managing and claiming dispatch tasks.

Where to find it:
Dispatch Manager can be located via Tools menu or opened via “Show Dispatch Manager” found under Driver properties, Dispatch Status

What you can do with it:
  • Easy way to monitor all dispatch tasks and identify any issues
  • List all Drivers and their dispatch status
  • List all the industries and dispatch status
  • List all Trains and the list can be broken up into rolling stock and powered trains, or both
  • Find rolling stock for a product
  • Find and claim a task to drive as the player

New Option: Claiming a Task (TLR)
  • Claiming a task will behave differently depending on whether it’s an active task or not.
  • If an active task, the current driver commands will be cleared, and the train will be brought to a stop. The train control mode will be switched to either DCC or Cab control, depending on the session/player default
  • Tasks can be claimed via Dispatch Manager or via Driver Details, under Dispatch Status

In addition to the Dispatch Manager, there is a new vehicle queue editor with reworked UI, and a new Activity Journal.

Update: New Vehicle Queues Editor
  • A new UI can now be found for vehicles. This replaces the old script and will resemble the interface used for Industry queues
  • Accessed by CTRL + Right click on rolling stock in Driver or Edit Details in Surveyor
  • Can add commodities directly
  • New copy and paste feature to copy commodities to other rolling stock

Activity Journal Script API
  • A more compressive logging system in order to track activity with dispatch and AI driving behaviour

How to try TLR Phase 2:
  1. Install the latest Trainz Plus Beta update (128359)
  2. Install "Coal Country (HDT)" (simc:1663)
  3. Drive "<kuid:661281:110131> Coal Country TLR Session"
  4. Feel free to watch the drivers carry out tasks or claim a task for you to perform

Key Features:
  • Dispatch Manager
  • New Vehicle Queue Editor
  • Activity Journal Script API
  • Access to Coal Country HDT
  • New Build version 5.6

REMINDER:
** Please ensure you have a backup of your local data folder before using it with Trainz Plus Beta **

INSTALLING & PATCHING:

For Trainz Plus Beta via the Trainz Plus Beta Stream
Trainz Store Only:

PC: Please see https://forums.auran.com/threads/trainz-plus-beta-tlr-phase-2-128360.179593/

Mac: Requires Trainz Plus 126293 (Mac). This is a large patch 9.9 GiB for build 128359

Please report any bugs using this link: https://n3vgames.typeform.com/to/xRdryu

Change log (126293 to 128359)
  • Dispatch Manager (new)
  • Living Railroad Dispatch Disable/Enable option under Session Options (removed)
  • Claim Task option (new)
  • Vehicle Queues Editor (new)
  • Activity Journal Script API (new)
  • New Build 5.6
  • Misc Bug fixes
 
Excellent. :) Downloaded and moved everything back to my Mac mini M4 Pro from my MacBook Pro M3. DB Rebuild as I hadn't done one in a while. Personally I would recommend and then check for Faulty Assets. Just my opinion. Off we go.
 
**Update** - Running latest Mac OS Sequoia 15.2 Downloaded and installed Trainz 128359 fine with no issues. No big deal as I hadn't done one in a while but DB rebuild showed 68 errors and 6021 warnings. Started with everything maxed out and was running @ 25-30% CPU/GPU (SOC) System on a Chip usage, 14-16GB RAM usage, 14-15fps, fan running 1900-2000rpm out of 4900 and holding around 82C/180F. Train rocked quite a bit between coal load and unload but everything else seemed fine. Knocked anything I had set to Ultra down a notch and doubled fps and seemed to run better on my system. Still concerned as to why Trainz refuses to use more CPU/RAM when it's there for it to use. As stated in other posts I have made, I refuse to run Antialiasing below 8x. Overall 8/10 so far. Thanks Devs for all your hard work.
 
I took advantage of Apple’s extended return policy during this time of year to try out the base M4 Pro model. Running database repairs consistently caused the app to crash three-quarters of the way through the procedure. I was able to run my route for a minute or two before experiencing a CTD (crash to desktop). However, database repair and pre-caching were significantly faster compared to my 2010 3.46GHz 6-core Xeon. No surprise there.

During those brief runs, performance was refreshing, with speeds of 40 FPS at full settings. Dropping settings to high and normal (except for AA) increased speeds to around 60 FPS. Viewed at 1920x1080 on a 27-inch monitor, I couldn’t honestly see much difference with my eyes. Since pre-caching probably didn’t get a chance to finish, I’m unsure if it would have affected running speeds. During database repair, memory pressure peaked into the red just before the CTD, always at the same point in the log. I’m not familiar with interpreting logs, but I suspect the issue might stem from a corrupt SpeedTree library.

Most of my playtime with the M4 Pro was spent troubleshooting the database issues, so I never got a chance to fully test it. I decided to return it before the Christmas rush. None of these issues are the fault of the Mac Mini itself—it’s very fast, and the GPU cores handled my route well. GPU usage hovered around 80%, memory stayed at 16GB of the available 24GB, and CPU usage rarely exceeded one core.

That said, I feel the need for more GPU cores. The M4 Max chip is showing impressive results and would certainly be more future-proof, though it likely won’t be available until June.

What to do, what to do.
 
@CaseyBerg Sucks things didn't work out with your M4 but glad you were able to return. I'm running all of my local LLM/AI stuff on the M4 along with Trainz, Plex Server plus a local RAID setup and other file shares. Should you ever want to run that 2010 Xeon on 15.2 Sequoia, OCLP is available and does a fine job. I believe that box you have has a GPU that is Metal capable so easy going on OCLP install. I run my old 2011 Mac mini with OCLP but it has a non-metal intel graphics chipset so a couple of Sequoias features don't work. No biggie to me as I run it as a "headless" server anyway. Sequoia via OCLP also allows me to get the latest Mac security patches as well.
 
Thank you for all your feedback, as we have a new Trainz Plus Beta available, this thread is now locked.

Please post comments on the new thread.

 
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