Why do so few routes make it to the DLS ?

I'm going to say it. What's good enough for me is not good enough for others.
Who says? Who is the judge of your work and efforts? My philosophy has always been that if someone is not satisfied with my work then they are more than welcome to put in the effort (months, years) to do a better job. I will look forward to critiquing their efforts 😄 .

Also, how would I know what people really want?
No-one could ever answer that question. I have always built assets that I needed and that I was interested in. I never conducted an opinion poll on what others wanted me to build. Why couldn't they build it themselves (and do a far better job in the process)? Of course if someone is willing to pay me for my time and efforts then that could be a different matter - but I am not cheap. I have expensive tastes in wine and food, a partner and a cat (both with equally expensive tastes) to look after.

Some want an 800 mile route with a 200mph speed limit so you can traverse the line in 4 hours of continuous game play.
My current real-life project, which has been on and off for several years now, is 280 miles in total (including all branch lines) and runs at an average speed of 30-40 mph (in different parts) and would take 7-9 hours to traverse which is close to the actual timetables of that era.

Part of the beauty of Trainz is that you can use an existing route in many different ways, most of them were not even remotely considered as possible by the original creator. So some-one runs a French TGV passenger express on your stone quarry route. Let them! It is a hobby and for their enjoyment after all.

Not everyone will be interested in my current project - the historically (or, if you prefer, hysterically) correct recreation of a narrow gauge railway from the 1950s in the Aussie Outback. But no-one is forcing them to download and use it. Just as I am not really interested in North American or European railways of any era. That is another great thing about Trainz - you can pick and choose what you want from the DLS and DLC.

Don't waste time worrying about what others want, do you own thing.
My opinions.
 
I'm going to say it. What's good enough for me is not good enough for others.

Also, how would I know what people really want?

Some want an 800 mile route with a 200mph speed limit so you can traverse the line in 4 hours of continuous game play.

If I were to upload my boring desert route which only exists to haul rock and gravel in open hoppers, someone else may reupload my route with 15 Amtrak passenger depots, 3 intermodal container facilities, 15 logging loadouts and 3 sawmills...does anyone see where this is going?

I get it that people want playability, but it's a very different vision of the original creator of the route.
If you didn't give permission for that person to upload your route, you can very much contact the helpdesk to request the other upload be removed. There's nothing to stop a player from editing a route in the privacy of their own Trainz installation (that is, IMO, one of the fantastic parts of Trainz); but that doesn't mean that people can share other people's content (be it modified, or unmodified) without permission :)

Regards
 
If you want users to see and say things about your route, upload plenty of screenshots.......
If you upload your route expecting it to remain as it is.... WELL GOOD LUCK WITH THAT...

it is not going to happen, as soon as you upload it to the DLS, that route is now out of your hands.

As to those who say they can not create a route, it is very easy.... just open trainz and open a new route and take your time. to start with keep with the basics and build on that.
it does not have to be millimeter perfect. ONLY YOU know what you like.... so go ahead and try.....
 
As to those who say they can not create a route, it is very easy.... just open trainz and open a new route and take your time. to start with keep with the basics and build on that.
it does not have to be millimeter perfect. ONLY YOU know what you like.... so go ahead and try.....
What I did back a bit over 20 years ago is open up existing routes to see how they are made. That's the cool part of Trainz. After I did that, I then experimented with a couple of baseboards as I tested different features and then set out to create my own route. After a while, I found certain route builders I liked more than others and adopted their building style and intermixed my own.

My old route started officially in January 2004 and is still in existence today. The original 4 baseboards have been renovated and blended into a much larger empire that still follows the original theme I created for the route.

Having a theme and sticking to it helps a lot to keep the route within scope and to grow easily. It also prevents doing non-prototypical things, unless that's the intent, such as a coalmine next to the Grand Canyon for example, and it helps find assets relatively easy since they are more or less part of the theme.

Having a backstory helps too. I based my route on the area where I live and the history of the railroads in my region. At one point, I wrote down the history and it reads like one of those railroad history articles we see online or in print such as the old Train Watcher's guides from Kalmbach Publishing. I actually based this document on something similar.

As we work on our routes, we need to remember that patience is a virtue because building and creating a route takes a lot of time. There will be time spent laying track and placing objects along with time spent fiddling and fussing with mistakes and perfecting. Much like a model railroad, a route is never finished. My 20-year-old route is still being updated, is still being "finished", and is still being fixed. The only difference here is I don't need to clean the tracks and chase the spiders out of the buildings when I decide to operate my driving sessions.
 
What I did back a bit over 20 years ago is open up existing routes to see how they are made. That's the cool part of Trainz. After I did that, I then experimented with a couple of baseboards as I tested different features and then set out to create my own route. After a while, I found certain route builders I liked more than others and adopted their building style and intermixed my own.

My old route started officially in January 2004 and is still in existence today. The original 4 baseboards have been renovated and blended into a much larger empire that still follows the original theme I created for the route.

Having a theme and sticking to it helps a lot to keep the route within scope and to grow easily. It also prevents doing non-prototypical things, unless that's the intent, such as a coalmine next to the Grand Canyon for example, and it helps find assets relatively easy since they are more or less part of the theme.

Having a backstory helps too. I based my route on the area where I live and the history of the railroads in my region. At one point, I wrote down the history and it reads like one of those railroad history articles we see online or in print such as the old Train Watcher's guides from Kalmbach Publishing. I actually based this document on something similar.

As we work on our routes, we need to remember that patience is a virtue because building and creating a route takes a lot of time. There will be time spent laying track and placing objects along with time spent fiddling and fussing with mistakes and perfecting. Much like a model railroad, a route is never finished. My 20-year-old route is still being updated, is still being "finished", and is still being fixed. The only difference here is I don't need to clean the tracks and chase the spiders out of the buildings when I decide to operate my driving sessions.
You should charge the spiders rent...hehehe
 
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@JCitron - @WestSideRailways >> I wish I had the space to build a super detailed On30 layout, where I could place buildings that the spiders could hide in....
Sadly I live in a standard, L-shaped ranch-style with no space really, for even a shelf layout. Trainz will have to do ☺️


¯\_(ツ)_/¯


Rico
To Think I ever walked miles and miles of RR Tracks, but to run into this Spider, would surely be the End of Me :eek:
 
I'm going to say it. What's good enough for me is not good enough for others.

Also, how would I know what people really want?

Some want an 800 mile route with a 200mph speed limit so you can traverse the line in 4 hours of continuous game play.

If I were to upload my boring desert route which only exists to haul rock and gravel in open hoppers, someone else may reupload my route with 15 Amtrak passenger depots, 3 intermodal container facilities, 15 logging loadouts and 3 sawmills...does anyone see where this is going?

I get it that people want playability, but it's a very different vision of the original creator of the route.
No ,they cant make a variation of your route unless you give permission for them to do so in your config file, you can specifically note in the route info as well whether you permit copying or modifications. As for appeal , well who cares ? , if you want to share , go for it, if not, don't, its quite simple.
 
When I think about uploading my route, I get a little self conscience that what looks right to me might look a little off to other people . It's probably just my imagination, I don't know.

My-Trainz-Screenshot-Image.jpg
 
Jim, I'm sure your creativity will be the envy of some and an inspiration to others. Peter
Thanks Peter. Sometimes when I create an asset and upload it , the size isn't quite in proportion with the rest of the scenery. I just worry about getting a lot of complaints.....which I can sort of understand.
 
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