Two Version of Trainz on the Same Machine

[dricketts]

Will it be posibile to have TS210 and TANE installed on the same hard drive with just one local folder? Have both versions pointing to or using this same local folder. This way saving valuable HD space. Eventually I would be uninstalling TS2010 once I'm confident TANE is stable and my TS 2010 routes have been imported.

Thanks,

 

[shaneturner12]

That may be problematic when one or the other does a database repair.

Shane

 

[dricketts]

Thanks Shane. I'm looking for a clear and concise answer. Are you saying don't try? It will not work.

So everyone running two versions of Trainz has all their assets duplicated twice on the same drive. 70 Gb of content now becomes 140 Gb of content.

 

[shaneturner12]

It's not something I would advise doing as Trainz can run into problems if the content is modified by two versions. In the case of T:ANE especially, the file format it uses is not compatible with previous versions.

Shane

 

[JCitron]

That is correct. You will need multiple asset sets.

In part is the file format is different between TANE database files and TS12. You can get an internal 2TB WD for about $120 and this appears to be what I'll be doing. I'll use the new drive for TANE and use my old one for my TS12 install as is.

The advantage of having two installs is if one is repairing or for some other reason can't operate, you can still use your old one.

John

 

[clam1952]

T:ANE uses a different format tzarc files in the hash folders, so it's not possible, earlier versions cannot read them and TANE will convert the old stuff to the new format and render it useless in old versions.

 

[dricketts]

Thanks for feedback guys. That answers my qeustion. I use a high end gaming laptop and also have a couple of external drives via USB mostly for backing up data.

I still want to have access to my WIP route created in TS2010 with all assets visible. Not so much for playing purposes but for visual reference. After working on my highly detailed route for several years I've used thousands of assets for a specific reason. Maybe artistically they worked or they are part of a large kitbashed facility. My point is I chose those specific assets for a reason and if they can't be fixed for TANE I need to visually reference my past work of five years to find a suitable replacement.

Does anyone see a reason I couldn't continue to run TS2010 from an external drive and install TANE on my internal drive?

Thanks...

 

[martinvk]

The access the external drive might not be fast enough.
Why the major concerns? Everyone who has been running multiple version of Trainz has always had multiple databases. the reason why it is possible to have UTC, TRS2004, etc all installed at the same time is precisely because they each maintain their own data.

 

[dricketts]

The access the external drive might not be fast enough.
Why the major concerns?

Well because we're talking about 300 Gb of data just for the local folder if it's on the hard drive twice. It might work though.

 

[martinvk]

Well if you have the same or almost in TRS2004, TS2009 and TS2010, you already have it three times if they are all installed. Besides, you'll only want the best of the best in T:ANE so it wont be 300 GB for a while. And if like me, you don't use the default appdata folder in your C:\user but instead use another internal drive, you can have both the disk access speed and the space.

 

[dricketts]

I only have TS2010 installed and have never had more than one version installed at a time. I've always let Trainz install to the default location.

 

[martinvk]

... I've always let Trainz install to the default location.

You might want ot reconsider that option for T:ANE. It's default is in the C:\user\appdata folder and if yours is anything like many people, it is not a very big place plus you'll have permission issues and being, hidden, you'll not even see it unless you make some system level changes.

 

[itareus]

...I still want to have access to my WIP route created in TS2010 with all assets visible... ... for visual reference... ...Does anyone see a reason I couldn't continue to run TS2010 from an external drive and install TANE on my internal drive?...

...The access the external drive might not be fast enough...

Does disc access time matter if the 'visits' to TS2010 are just for reference ? Probably not.

You say you have a couple of external drives so why not give it a try ?

 

[dricketts]

Does disc access time matter if the 'visits' to TS2010 are just for reference ? Probably not.

You say you have a couple of external drives so why not give it a try ?

You are thinking just as I am. I think I will. For a few reference visits performance shouldn't be that big of an issue.

 

[JCitron]

An external drive might not be fast enough, not necessarily so. If the drive has an ESATA interface, it will operate nearly at the same speed that the internal drives do, provided the PC or Laptop has the same interface. USB 3.0 isn't so slow either. I have run TS12 SP1 HF4 (Build 61388) on an external drive. There was a bit of stuttering on occasion but it wasn't as bad as I expected.

The ESATA interface, though, does give the best performance between the two.

John