Just a trend that I've been noticing, and it's really starting to bug me. It seems like certain contributors are putting routes/layouts on the DLS that are only half done. By that I mean the track is there but it's totally unsignaled and some of the grid is textured and some of it is left bare, seemingly randomly. Another thing that drives me crazy is when track has a different arrow direction from one spline point to the next. So often these routes that are on the DLS are not ready to run trains on for quite some time. Sometimes it can take days or weeks to fix some of this stuff what was not done right the first time. Is attention to detail and taking pride in your work a lost art now? Just wondering if anyone else has noticed these things.
Install the app
How to install the app on iOS
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Uploading half-finished routes to DLS
- Thread starter PARAILFAN
- Start date
cascaderailroad
New member
aka: Ejaculatio praecox
It's like a "Starving Artists" quick claim to fame campaign, so (prematurely) proud of their work: "This one's gonna' make me famous" ... "I worked so hard on this route, for 4 whole dayz now ... and now it's all done ... ain't it grand" !
Like lucy the elephant throwing a bucket of paint at a canvas, saying : "I call this one: Art" !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3CIpG6Eavk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkmt_Gqx2-w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTQCwqdgvtA
It's like a "Starving Artists" quick claim to fame campaign, so (prematurely) proud of their work: "This one's gonna' make me famous" ... "I worked so hard on this route, for 4 whole dayz now ... and now it's all done ... ain't it grand" !
Like lucy the elephant throwing a bucket of paint at a canvas, saying : "I call this one: Art" !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3CIpG6Eavk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkmt_Gqx2-w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTQCwqdgvtA
Last edited:
I agree with you. About 9 out of 10 'so-called layouts' that I have downloaded, really have no substance at all and I've had to delete them. I do this rather than clog up my system with someone else's rubbish. Occasionally, someone will have a nice layout that you can modify and improve on. I believe that all 'layout uploads' should be vetted first by Auran to avoid 'missing dependencies' or faulty assets. In this way, everyone can look forward to quality layouts that we can all make use of. Fortunately we've all got a 'delete' button.
RoyB
RoyB
I agree with you. About 9 out of 10 'so-called layouts' that I have downloaded, really have no substance at all and I've had to delete them. I do this rather than clog up my system with someone else's rubbish. Occasionally, someone will have a nice layout that you can modify and improve on. I believe that all 'layout uploads' should be vetted first by Auran to avoid 'missing dependencies' or faulty assets. In this way, everyone can look forward to quality layouts that we can all make use of. Fortunately we've all got a 'delete' button.
RoyB
The only problem with this is even though you delete the garbage route, how many more dependent assets get downloaded with it that you otherwise would not have needed?
Why do you guys think we now have 400,000 plus assets on our hard drives?
Seriously, over the past decade of using Trainz I have downloaded and removed many routes which of course bring all their dependencies with them. The advantage of this is later on all you need to download is just the route its self because you already have the tiny bits.
I do understand where you guys are coming from. I've seen a lot of garbage up there lately, then yet again the old adage is what is perceived as someone else's junk is another person's treasure, paraphrased here of course. The good thing with the required thumbnails now you can see (well sort of) whether the route is worth downloading or not. If I see a blank baseboard and a circle of track or a splotch of texture here and there, it's a no go. Then again we maybe missing some good stuff because these could be the default screen thumbnails generate automatically be the program for routes.
We have to remember too that there are a lot of new users now and a lot of them are quite young so I give them a little slack. At least they're showing some enthusiasm for the hobby and not just playing Minecraft all day on their Xbox360.
John
Seriously, over the past decade of using Trainz I have downloaded and removed many routes which of course bring all their dependencies with them. The advantage of this is later on all you need to download is just the route its self because you already have the tiny bits.
I do understand where you guys are coming from. I've seen a lot of garbage up there lately, then yet again the old adage is what is perceived as someone else's junk is another person's treasure, paraphrased here of course. The good thing with the required thumbnails now you can see (well sort of) whether the route is worth downloading or not. If I see a blank baseboard and a circle of track or a splotch of texture here and there, it's a no go. Then again we maybe missing some good stuff because these could be the default screen thumbnails generate automatically be the program for routes.
We have to remember too that there are a lot of new users now and a lot of them are quite young so I give them a little slack. At least they're showing some enthusiasm for the hobby and not just playing Minecraft all day on their Xbox360.
John
We have to remember too that there are a lot of new users now and a lot of them are quite young so I give them a little slack. At least they're showing some enthusiasm for the hobby and not just playing Minecraft all day on their Xbox360.
John
Yes! They are Trainz future!
nfitzsimmons
New member
I don't mind downloading a good (decent trackwork, prototypical design, etc.) route because I can have fun "finishing" it to my preferences. And I don't really mind downloading assets required for routes that I later delete, because I frequently discover useful assets I can use in my own routes that I wouldn't otherwise have known even existed. I find this especially true for many of the assets that are on the DLS, for example, but are named and described in languages other than English.
I look at it like an Easter egg hunt. I never know what I'm going to discover. And if I find after I download it that I don't like it I just delete it. (And I do the same for assets I either don't like or would never use.)
I look at it like an Easter egg hunt. I never know what I'm going to discover. And if I find after I download it that I don't like it I just delete it. (And I do the same for assets I either don't like or would never use.)
cascaderailroad
New member
I never texture my routes, until they are completely done. Buildings, trees, grass can come dead last ... or can be installed by the end user, as a DIY project.
If a route has bad, sharp kinked curves, and turnouts that are too sharp or not straightened, gradients that are ridiculous ... they can add zillions of textures, trees, grass, buildings, and all the other filler fluff to cover up track imprfections ... but the route trackage will still be garbage, camouflaged by filler fluff.
If the trackage is not done right ... it's not ready for upload !
If a route has bad, sharp kinked curves, and turnouts that are too sharp or not straightened, gradients that are ridiculous ... they can add zillions of textures, trees, grass, buildings, and all the other filler fluff to cover up track imprfections ... but the route trackage will still be garbage, camouflaged by filler fluff.
If the trackage is not done right ... it's not ready for upload !
Last edited:
I think part of the cause of this is that with the iPad and TS12SP1 versions of the game (and possible others; I only know of those two) they made uploading waaaay to easy. Everyone can now upload every empty baseboard with just a few clicks, some people might not even know they are uploading it to a "shared" space. And some indeed are uploading their not even half done stuff as "backup".
It would be nice if every 3 to 12 months (figure out what fits) a group of frequent users sit together and simply would delete all these "empty baseboards with 2 tracks" routes.
Yes, yes, I know "how are You going to decide what is ugly or is half done or not". I know there is a big grey area, but I don't have to decide what is ugly or not, but there is also a lot of stuff out there that is obviously black or white (unpainted baseboards with a few tracks). And no, N3V does not need to hire someone for that; there are enough frequent users with a healthy set of brains that probably would not mind grouping up to do the clean up of these empty routes.
While we are on the topic...
How about merging / obsoleting those routes that have a bunch of versions on the DLS? If you don't know what I mean, do a search for "Gotthard".
On a related note: 32 British Midlands and 31 City and Country USA routes. Do we want those really? Some have different thumbs, most the same description, I doubt most of them are own creations.
For the record:
With excluding the obsoletes / out of dates, there are now 2452 routes on the DLS.
Cleaning out the junk every now and then makes it so much easier to find the diamonds out there.
Let me end this post with that: A thank you to the people that do take the time to create something and then upload their fantastic work with a decent description and fitting thumbnail. Bravo!
It would be nice if every 3 to 12 months (figure out what fits) a group of frequent users sit together and simply would delete all these "empty baseboards with 2 tracks" routes.
Yes, yes, I know "how are You going to decide what is ugly or is half done or not". I know there is a big grey area, but I don't have to decide what is ugly or not, but there is also a lot of stuff out there that is obviously black or white (unpainted baseboards with a few tracks). And no, N3V does not need to hire someone for that; there are enough frequent users with a healthy set of brains that probably would not mind grouping up to do the clean up of these empty routes.
While we are on the topic...
How about merging / obsoleting those routes that have a bunch of versions on the DLS? If you don't know what I mean, do a search for "Gotthard".
On a related note: 32 British Midlands and 31 City and Country USA routes. Do we want those really? Some have different thumbs, most the same description, I doubt most of them are own creations.
For the record:
With excluding the obsoletes / out of dates, there are now 2452 routes on the DLS.
Cleaning out the junk every now and then makes it so much easier to find the diamonds out there.
Let me end this post with that: A thank you to the people that do take the time to create something and then upload their fantastic work with a decent description and fitting thumbnail. Bravo!
aka: Ejaculatio praecox
It's like a "Starving Artists" quick claim to fame campaign, so (prematurely) proud of their work: "This one's gonna' make me famous" ... "I worked so hard on this route, for 4 whole dayz now ... and now it's all done ... ain't it grand" !
Like lucy the elephant throwing a bucket of paint at a canvas, saying : "I call this one: Art" !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3CIpG6Eavk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkmt_Gqx2-w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTQCwqdgvtA
Ha, very well said. Everyone wants to be famous fast, instant gratification.
Trainz is a great hobby and I have always been glad that I originally came across it by accident and not looked back since. As for what are described as unfinished routes that is one of those wide open subjects. One route which I downloaded being a tram layout was not a particularly large one but had parts with no colours in places and the grids obvious with a laco of scenery. The present project I am working on is a fairly large one and what holds me back a bit is the time iI spend on the scenery to make it as near as one can to the real thing it is based on. So I did muse on the gaps on the downloaded route but it wasn't a particularily niggly thing. It all depends on each individual the effort they want to put in and my case is as individual as anyone else's. With hundreds of boards on my build I would find it hard not to have any bare bits but that is just me!
I do agree that having a blank route is sometimes a nice little treasure trove. These can be the blank canvas from which to work with and perhaps as a merger candidate should the basic layout be nice enough to incorporate it into something else. The problem though, as has been mentioned here is should the track be poorly laid and other aspects sloppily done, why is it worth uploading?
Like the other 'old timers here' I still have a certain level of pride and would never let something like that go out of my computer. There are many false starts and test routes that look very much like these uploaded examples that have been released. The only difference is they've never left the hidden sectors of my hard drive.
John
Like the other 'old timers here' I still have a certain level of pride and would never let something like that go out of my computer. There are many false starts and test routes that look very much like these uploaded examples that have been released. The only difference is they've never left the hidden sectors of my hard drive.
John
I suggest that what would certainly help is the author providing some details, possibly with maps or images, in the Freeware forum. Just a quick summary of the route, it's purpose, who might find it of interest, how may dependencies are not on the DLS, ... .
It would certainly make the task of sorting the wheat from all the chaff much easier.
It would certainly make the task of sorting the wheat from all the chaff much easier.
cascaderailroad
New member
I downloaded some routes that had heaps of missing and unknown assets ... and the route ran just fine ... as long as it had track ... you can always take your time, years ... and finally track down all those assets.
The first route I ran was the NS Reading Lines on USLW ... I was amazed !
The Loops, and Down East Fishing Village by GFisher, and the NEC by Neuman
The first route I ran was the NS Reading Lines on USLW ... I was amazed !
The Loops, and Down East Fishing Village by GFisher, and the NEC by Neuman
I've downloaded a fair few "unfinished" routes and an equal number of "finished" routes that were not very good either. It is all subjective of course but to be strictly honest, if a route hasn't been fully textured or scenicked (sp) it should be incumbent on the author to state this in the title - either WIP, Alpha/Beta or Abandonware for someone else to finish. I know that N3V can't apply full QA on everything uploaded to the DLS, but given routes may bring with them an attendant 500Mb of assets it's in their own interest to reduce pressure on the DLS I would have thought, to weed out the chaff. And again it's all about N3V's shop window for new users, when somebody excitedly downloads a route which fails to deliver on their expectations.
No route is ever truly "finished" but it is a bit galling for those of us who do take some pride in presenting our work in a reasonably complete state when this happens.
Maybe there needs to be a special "beta" section or category on the DLS. Maybe N3V need to take a leaf out of RSC/Steam book with the recent addition of routes to Workshop - which need a certain number of "positive" votes before they can be made final. A route sitting on the DLS for months with 4 or 5 positive votes would surely be a sign for the librarian to take action and remove it.
No route is ever truly "finished" but it is a bit galling for those of us who do take some pride in presenting our work in a reasonably complete state when this happens.
Maybe there needs to be a special "beta" section or category on the DLS. Maybe N3V need to take a leaf out of RSC/Steam book with the recent addition of routes to Workshop - which need a certain number of "positive" votes before they can be made final. A route sitting on the DLS for months with 4 or 5 positive votes would surely be a sign for the librarian to take action and remove it.
Similar threads
- Replies
- 0
- Views
- 743
- Replies
- 7
- Views
- 835