WHAT!!!???
- Thread starter ozzie34231
- Start date
meatloaf747
Spotter...
Ozzie - Ozzie - Ozzie - Hoy - hoy - hoy... Sorry Ozzie, but I couldn't resist that one... (hopefully only a Kiwi could get away with that) !!! 
(I don't think the rest of the world understands this "Kiwi - Ocker" thing)... Rugby, racing & beer !!! (and now VinnyBarb's thrown "wild women" into the mix)... :hehe:
Ozzie,
Firstly, welcome aboard.
You can also use "Ctrl - Alt - Del" to get to your desktop while running Trainz as well.
As a number of replies have said; Trainz is a very resource hungry game - simulator. (2.5 - 3 plus gigs of RAM is highly recommended. 2.5 to 3.2 ghz dual core CPU & a good newesh video card with aleast 512 megs of ram).
You don't mention what sort of video card you have.
If you don't want to upgrade any of your hardware, you could contact Auran direct (or your local games retailer) for "The Trainz Collection" This has TRS2006, Trainz routes 1-4 for 2006, TRS2004, UTC & Trainz Paintshed.
Some of these earlier versions of Trainz's will run OK on your older PC !!!
I picked up a copy for my newphew about 17 months ago direct from Auran for $39.95NZ (thats about $24US)...
Good luck Ozzie with getting things sorted. Hang in there, because once you get the game-sim up and running properly you will soon become "hooked".
Very addictive !!!! :hehe:
Cheers, Mac...
(I don't think the rest of the world understands this "Kiwi - Ocker" thing)... Rugby, racing & beer !!! (and now VinnyBarb's thrown "wild women" into the mix)... :hehe:
Ozzie,
Firstly, welcome aboard.
You can also use "Ctrl - Alt - Del" to get to your desktop while running Trainz as well.
As a number of replies have said; Trainz is a very resource hungry game - simulator. (2.5 - 3 plus gigs of RAM is highly recommended. 2.5 to 3.2 ghz dual core CPU & a good newesh video card with aleast 512 megs of ram).
You don't mention what sort of video card you have.
If you don't want to upgrade any of your hardware, you could contact Auran direct (or your local games retailer) for "The Trainz Collection" This has TRS2006, Trainz routes 1-4 for 2006, TRS2004, UTC & Trainz Paintshed.
Some of these earlier versions of Trainz's will run OK on your older PC !!!
I picked up a copy for my newphew about 17 months ago direct from Auran for $39.95NZ (thats about $24US)...
Good luck Ozzie with getting things sorted. Hang in there, because once you get the game-sim up and running properly you will soon become "hooked".
Very addictive !!!! :hehe:
Cheers, Mac...
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I minimize my Trainz quite often by just hitting my Windows key on the keyboard check my email and then bring the game back up. This can cause the game to crash sometimes.
As stated earlier, Trainz is a very demanding game on most systems. Trainz will bring a very good machine to its knees, but once you get it tuned in, you'll be addicted. I used to be a model railroader, but have given that up. I've built routes that would be impossible as a model railroader.
I'd also have to agree that you're probably going to need more RAM. I'm guessing that's one of your problems. You also don't say what kind of video card that you have, but I'd suggest investing in a good one if yours isn't up to par for this game.
Mike
Have you tried it? It's only the single most effective method of increasing Trainz performance.
Over the past 8 years, I have changed Mobos, GPU's and RAM, and increasing the RAM is the best bang for the buck solution, bar none, no matter what version you are using.
Yes indeed. I increased the amount of ram from 1GB to 3GB and it had hardly any effect on TRS2004's performance.
As a totally separate operation, I changed the video board to one with a much more powerful graphics processor and it had a huge effect.
As ever, "your mileage may vary" and the general opinion is that Vista needs more ram than XP.
John
Hello
Hello Ozzie (I'll leave the numbers off!),
You are my age and I think you must be incredibly brave to dive into 2009 in the first place without going through the upgrade route most of us have, like from the original Trainz, through UTC and 2004.
I produce routes, quite a lot of them, for the Download Station, and to do that I use TRS2004.
I did buy Trainz Classics 3 but gave up trying to get CMP to do anything at all, at our age you haven't got that much life left!
So I stick with 04, it's easy to use, will most likely run fairly well on your PC's specs (and you can theoretically increase those by simply reducing the Detail levels and Draw Distances in Specifications, oh, and add full Daytime Fog Effect as well, that will help running enormously).
You should be able to pick up 2004 quite cheaply now, but make sure it is a new copy and has never been registered, otherwise you won't be able to register it yourself.
There is no CMP with 2004 either, just a couple of clicks on a downloaded assets puts it into the Trainz database, no hassle, no waiting, no messing about. Then the world is your oyster, and that includes the Download Station where there are masses upon masses of assets to add to your Trainz.
2004 will do most of the things other versions do and probably better in some cases, like the sound to mention just one.
Hope you can sort this out otherwise you will miss a wonderful and intriguing program that you will/can get addicted to.
Bless you,
Angela
Hello Ozzie (I'll leave the numbers off!),
You are my age and I think you must be incredibly brave to dive into 2009 in the first place without going through the upgrade route most of us have, like from the original Trainz, through UTC and 2004.
I produce routes, quite a lot of them, for the Download Station, and to do that I use TRS2004.
I did buy Trainz Classics 3 but gave up trying to get CMP to do anything at all, at our age you haven't got that much life left!
So I stick with 04, it's easy to use, will most likely run fairly well on your PC's specs (and you can theoretically increase those by simply reducing the Detail levels and Draw Distances in Specifications, oh, and add full Daytime Fog Effect as well, that will help running enormously).
You should be able to pick up 2004 quite cheaply now, but make sure it is a new copy and has never been registered, otherwise you won't be able to register it yourself.
There is no CMP with 2004 either, just a couple of clicks on a downloaded assets puts it into the Trainz database, no hassle, no waiting, no messing about. Then the world is your oyster, and that includes the Download Station where there are masses upon masses of assets to add to your Trainz.
2004 will do most of the things other versions do and probably better in some cases, like the sound to mention just one.
Hope you can sort this out otherwise you will miss a wonderful and intriguing program that you will/can get addicted to.
Bless you,
Angela
Ozzie
You are younger than me, welcome to the wonderful world of Trainz.
Angelah has given you some sound advice. Start with TRS 2004 as it is a lot less complicated than later versions that rely on CMP to function. CMP can be temperamental to say the least.
Another suggestion, get Trainz Objectz from Tafweb. It provides many features that make Trainz more functional.
You are younger than me, welcome to the wonderful world of Trainz.
Angelah has given you some sound advice. Start with TRS 2004 as it is a lot less complicated than later versions that rely on CMP to function. CMP can be temperamental to say the least.
Another suggestion, get Trainz Objectz from Tafweb. It provides many features that make Trainz more functional.
TO
Just remember that TO, as TrainzObjects is affectionately known, is for 2004, not later versions of Trainz.
But sound advice from happyj there, you can't go wrong with that....
Normally I would hesitate about recommending an older version because Auran are running a business and need cash-flow, but as I said, at our age you want things simple and for them to work first time, because time is against us.
Blessings,
Angela
Just remember that TO, as TrainzObjects is affectionately known, is for 2004, not later versions of Trainz.
But sound advice from happyj there, you can't go wrong with that....
Normally I would hesitate about recommending an older version because Auran are running a business and need cash-flow, but as I said, at our age you want things simple and for them to work first time, because time is against us.
Blessings,
Angela
Angelah,
I'd be disappointed if you didn't at first discard what I am about to say as company man talk, but I can honestly say I haven't been so inspired by a version of Trainz since UTC.
Yep there are issues like there are in every increment of every version. I agree and appreciate that Content Manager is like that freaky looking person you don't ever expect to like.
It turns out they are a really great guy once you get to know them.
Angelah, I do also relate to the romance you have for the pre-Auran/Microsoft sims, which despite being comparatively simple, seemed to have an unlikely intuition for getting everything so right.
Content Manager has been here since 06 now and it's grown up a lot. It has saved me about 300,000,000 runtime crashes that I used to get experimenting with new things in the older versions; and I don't have to fiddle around deleting chump files or anything else.
Of course I have been heard to call it, Content Mangler, Content Damager etc etc but I have to say it's become one of my favorite little apps and taught me a lot about what's allowed from version to version.
Are you sure there isn't something among the new features that entices you? I would have thought a creator of your experience would welcome the new possibilities.
My comments are intended with the greatest respect.
~R~
I'd be disappointed if you didn't at first discard what I am about to say as company man talk, but I can honestly say I haven't been so inspired by a version of Trainz since UTC.
Yep there are issues like there are in every increment of every version. I agree and appreciate that Content Manager is like that freaky looking person you don't ever expect to like.
It turns out they are a really great guy once you get to know them.
Angelah, I do also relate to the romance you have for the pre-Auran/Microsoft sims, which despite being comparatively simple, seemed to have an unlikely intuition for getting everything so right.
Content Manager has been here since 06 now and it's grown up a lot. It has saved me about 300,000,000 runtime crashes that I used to get experimenting with new things in the older versions; and I don't have to fiddle around deleting chump files or anything else.
Of course I have been heard to call it, Content Mangler, Content Damager etc etc but I have to say it's become one of my favorite little apps and taught me a lot about what's allowed from version to version.
Are you sure there isn't something among the new features that entices you? I would have thought a creator of your experience would welcome the new possibilities.
My comments are intended with the greatest respect.
~R~
narrowgauge
92 year oldTrainz veteran
Angelah
I will second Rob's comments. Some time back he and I had a rather strenuous argument about CMP and my opinion of it's value. My opinion has changed, CM2 is a completely different animal and I am now so accustomed to using it that returning to TRS2006 or TRS2004 is like going back to working with Dos instead of Windows.
In all the months since the first Beta was made available, not once has CM2 let me down. If I want something off the DLS, it is always available, every time and I think that speaks for the quality of the program. Trainz has always responded and is stable, I can flip in and out using the Windows key and it has never frozen, unlike the previous version.
I strongly believe that TS2009 will develop into the program we have all been looking for. It is still being developed so I will agree that for some it might be too early to change, however it would be a missed opportunity to ignore it completely, even at these early stages. It really is a better program. Use it, help find the bugs, comment about the things that matter to you but don't ignore it.
Peter
I will second Rob's comments. Some time back he and I had a rather strenuous argument about CMP and my opinion of it's value. My opinion has changed, CM2 is a completely different animal and I am now so accustomed to using it that returning to TRS2006 or TRS2004 is like going back to working with Dos instead of Windows.
In all the months since the first Beta was made available, not once has CM2 let me down. If I want something off the DLS, it is always available, every time and I think that speaks for the quality of the program. Trainz has always responded and is stable, I can flip in and out using the Windows key and it has never frozen, unlike the previous version.
I strongly believe that TS2009 will develop into the program we have all been looking for. It is still being developed so I will agree that for some it might be too early to change, however it would be a missed opportunity to ignore it completely, even at these early stages. It really is a better program. Use it, help find the bugs, comment about the things that matter to you but don't ignore it.
Peter
ozzie34231
New member
Hi Mac,
You and the others certainly are an enthusiastic bunch, I salute that.
Don't know anything about your side of the world, sorry. My middle name, Ozzie, has to do with my parents enjoyment of a bandleader in the great depression, a fellow who later became a TV star, Ozzie Nelson. If you're less than 50 years old you never heard of him.
I'll play with Trainz as time permits, seeing if cutting back the operational perameters, improves performance. I might even think about more RAM.
I think the Video card in this machine is an Nvidia with 512 on board.
What does RAM cost these days.
One problem with getting old is that prices always seem shocking, and we haven't seen anything yet.
Jerry Ozzie Pryor
You and the others certainly are an enthusiastic bunch, I salute that.
Don't know anything about your side of the world, sorry. My middle name, Ozzie, has to do with my parents enjoyment of a bandleader in the great depression, a fellow who later became a TV star, Ozzie Nelson. If you're less than 50 years old you never heard of him.
I'll play with Trainz as time permits, seeing if cutting back the operational perameters, improves performance. I might even think about more RAM.
I think the Video card in this machine is an Nvidia with 512 on board.
What does RAM cost these days.
One problem with getting old is that prices always seem shocking, and we haven't seen anything yet.
Jerry Ozzie Pryor
nVidia make hundreds of models of video boards
Use a free utility audit program such as Belarc Advisor to discover what model you have. Then look up which tier it is on Tom's Hardware Guide's list (most powerful at the top). Check AGP/PCI compatibility, slot space, and that your power supply and fan can cope with a more powerful board and look up prices online.
Run Crucial's free online utility to check your memory upgrade options, then look up prices online. You may be in for a pleasant surprise.
If any of the computer jargon is a mystery, try Wikipedia for explanations. That's also an excellent reference source for railway terminology (and just about any other information).
If you're not confident fitting new parts inside the computer, get someone competent to do it for you even if you have to pay them to do it.
John
TS 2009 performance
I also am using a High Speed DSL modem, are you using DSL or dailup??
My only wish is that I had a more modern 512MB video card as this one tends to overheat with out an extra fan.
Ozzie; I am running a 3.2Ghz / 2 GB Ram machine with a 256MB Video card, and am happy with the performance of TS2009. You did not mention a video card - without a video accelerator you are using the native pc video. TRS2006 and TS 2009 require a video card.
I also am using a High Speed DSL modem, are you using DSL or dailup??
My only wish is that I had a more modern 512MB video card as this one tends to overheat with out an extra fan.
TC3
To NarrowGauge and Rob,
I do appreciate what you're saying and it may surprise you to know I do own TC3 having bought it recently. It ran too, but I just could not get CMP to work. Several folk gave very helpful suggestions but whatever I did and whoever's advice I followed, the wretched thing just sat and looked back at me saying IDLE.
It's simply time, I don't know how much I have on this world left so cannot spend much more than a week trying to make a version of Trainz work when I have a perfectly good version up and running already.
So perhaps you can see what I am saying now.
04 works amazingly well.... I hardly ever have problems. Why make it endlessly more complicated and call it something else?
So TC3 has been relegated, words that most men will understand, to the bottom of the league. With a snort of disgust I just don't use it. I also had a sound problem with it even with the patch installed....
I produce routes, as you know. I don't usually run a route, only to test, so better performance and greater visual distances don't worry me, nor importing vast quantities of rolling stock. All I want is to be able to download and import assets simply and quickly, and that doesn't seem possible with TC3, not on my PC anyway. It almost refused to import a cdp of a route I made from my own PC. I say almost because it eventually did and I went in and had a look, but there was so much missing....well, you know what that looks like. Next time I went to open it the route had vanished! That was the moment I said, enough is enough, bye bye TC3...
Hence I stick with a Trainz that creates as easy as pie, or if you're English, it's a piece of cake.
Blessings,
Angela
To NarrowGauge and Rob,
I do appreciate what you're saying and it may surprise you to know I do own TC3 having bought it recently. It ran too, but I just could not get CMP to work. Several folk gave very helpful suggestions but whatever I did and whoever's advice I followed, the wretched thing just sat and looked back at me saying IDLE.
It's simply time, I don't know how much I have on this world left so cannot spend much more than a week trying to make a version of Trainz work when I have a perfectly good version up and running already.
So perhaps you can see what I am saying now.
04 works amazingly well.... I hardly ever have problems. Why make it endlessly more complicated and call it something else?
So TC3 has been relegated, words that most men will understand, to the bottom of the league. With a snort of disgust I just don't use it. I also had a sound problem with it even with the patch installed....
I produce routes, as you know. I don't usually run a route, only to test, so better performance and greater visual distances don't worry me, nor importing vast quantities of rolling stock. All I want is to be able to download and import assets simply and quickly, and that doesn't seem possible with TC3, not on my PC anyway. It almost refused to import a cdp of a route I made from my own PC. I say almost because it eventually did and I went in and had a look, but there was so much missing....well, you know what that looks like. Next time I went to open it the route had vanished! That was the moment I said, enough is enough, bye bye TC3...
Hence I stick with a Trainz that creates as easy as pie, or if you're English, it's a piece of cake.
Blessings,
Angela
Route SLW
To Ozzie,
Yes, I have heard of that person...
If you would like to see what I do with 04 go to this thread....
http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=39953
You can do that too...
Bless you,
Angela
To Ozzie,
Yes, I have heard of that person...
If you would like to see what I do with 04 go to this thread....
http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=39953
You can do that too...
Bless you,
Angela
narrowgauge
92 year oldTrainz veteran
Angelah
It seems that Rob and I were not talking about your concern. In my opinion, CMP in TC3 was the same 'dog' that it was in TRS2006 and I know I would agree that TRS2004 is preferable to TC3.
We were talking about TS2009 in which CM2 is kind, gentle and always cooperative, just like me. TRS2004 is going to be left further and further behind as TS2009 matures.
Peter
It seems that Rob and I were not talking about your concern. In my opinion, CMP in TC3 was the same 'dog' that it was in TRS2006 and I know I would agree that TRS2004 is preferable to TC3.
We were talking about TS2009 in which CM2 is kind, gentle and always cooperative, just like me. TRS2004 is going to be left further and further behind as TS2009 matures.
Peter