Why do so few routes make it to the DLS ?

[Thai1On]

I would love to upload the updated version of the Levi & Appalachian with new HD textures, track realignments, and addons. The problem is the L&A is a large route to begin with and now with HD textures it is too large to fit in a CDP file. Does NV3 plan on addressing this problem?

Dave

 

[pware]

with HD textures it is too large to fit in a CDP file. Does NV3 plan on addressing this problem?

Yes, they did post recently that it is one of the things on their "to do" list.

 

[JCitron]

Procrastination is the thief of time , but I'd also say that perfectionism is too. I used to teach ' gifted and talented" students, many of them failed because in their desire to complete the perfect project, they never actually completed the work , my attitude now is, " the work will never be perfect and given the state of flux in the nv3 world, it never can be because what might be complete in 2019 will not be in 2024. " and to illustrate this, some very early textures that displayed correctly in my last version of the Timber ridge have now become bright purple, red and yellow for some reason when viewed from a distance, I've replaced them, but who knows what the next version of the game will do to any asset ?

So , what I'm going to do soon is release a newer version of one of my routes which is slightly incomplete , I don't have time to complete this little corner of the route , as I have other projects to complete , it might get completed in the future ,it may not.

I find many people make their own changes to routes anyway , I used to do it myself which is what got me into route building in the first place , so if they don't like something about the route they can make the changes themselves .

Every time I review what I've done, I see mistakes ,but if I allowed it myself to get hung upon that I'd never release anything . I've never been able to create things purely for myself ,if others don't use it, I can't see the point in making it. I like to share.

Nothing wrong if you don't btw, it's all personal preference .

I know that Trainz or in fact anything we do isn't perfect, and my level of perfection is quite high. It's something that was engrained in me since I was a kid. It wasn't just do your best, it was it had to be perfect, otherwise you'll make an a$$ out of yourself. Yeah, my parents were kind in that way.

Anyway, as I said, because of this I tend to be afraid to release something or send off a recording because I'm afraid others will find holes and bumps that I didn't notice and make a goofus of myself. To make matters worse, a music performance must be 100% perfect all the time, but anyway we're not talking about music here per se.

It was by accident, I "discovered" an answer to this. It's not a perfect solution but it works to a certain extent. I had recorded a piece for my teacher and then didn't have time to go back and listen to it. I had a few weeks for this project and I left the piece to work on something else that was due.

Instead of jumping in immediately and critiquing the piece I recorded on my digital piano, I left the piece alone for a couple of days and then went back and listened to it as if I was listening to a recording because I had more or less forgotten what I had done.

The difference was I was able to hear the overall goodness and focus on the things that definitely needed attention such as some insecure areas that are still a bit sketchy, or some dynamics and other things that weren't quite right. I then made a fresh recording and some cuts and everything was ready to go. This doesn't say that a recording won't be deleted, but it gave me a chance to hear this from afar.

A few months ago, when I finally had a chance to do some route work again, I tried the same thing with my big route I've been building since TRS2004. I had rebuilt a section of my old route from the ground up. I was satisfied with my progress at the time. The next day, I didn't bother looking at that part and went back to work elsewhere since the route is huge.

A few days later, I checked over the area I had worked on and I was still happy with what I had done and only had to move a few trees out of the way in the tree tunnel and adjust a few other things and move on to another area I'm rebuilding.

This process actually makes the route-building process shorter, and in the end, the progress is better and the satisfaction level is higher. By stepping away, we can take in the whole picture then focus only on the things that need fixing instead of getting mired down in the details.

 

[JimDep]

I know that Trainz or in fact anything we do isn't perfect, and my level of perfection is quite high. It's something that was engrained in me since I was a kid. It wasn't just do your best, it was it had to be perfect, otherwise you'll make an a$$ out of yourself. Yeah, my parents were kind in that way.

Anyway, as I said, because of this I tend to be afraid to release something or send off a recording because I'm afraid others will find holes and bumps that I didn't notice and make a goofus of myself. To make matters worse, a music performance must be 100% perfect all the time, but anyway we're not talking about music here per se.

It was by accident, I "discovered" an answer to this. It's not a perfect solution but it works to a certain extent. I had recorded a piece for my teacher and then didn't have time to go back and listen to it. I had a few weeks for this project and I left the piece to work on something else that was due.

Instead of jumping in immediately and critiquing the piece I recorded on my digital piano, I left the piece alone for a couple of days and then went back and listened to it as if I was listening to a recording because I had more or less forgotten what I had done.

The difference was I was able to hear the overall goodness and focus on the things that definitely needed attention such as some insecure areas that are still a bit sketchy, or some dynamics and other things that weren't quite right. I then made a fresh recording and some cuts and everything was ready to go. This doesn't say that a recording won't be deleted, but it gave me a chance to hear this from afar.

A few months ago, when I finally had a chance to do some route work again, I tried the same thing with my big route I've been building since TRS2004. I had rebuilt a section of my old route from the ground up. I was satisfied with my progress at the time. The next day, I didn't bother looking at that part and went back to work elsewhere since the route is huge.

A few days later, I checked over the area I had worked on and I was still happy with what I had done and only had to move a few trees out of the way in the tree tunnel and adjust a few other things and move on to another area I'm rebuilding.

This process actually makes the route-building process shorter, and in the end, the progress is better and the satisfaction level is higher. By stepping away, we can take in the whole picture then focus only on the things that need fixing instead of getting mired down in the details.

Great post , John. Having invested parents makes a huge difference. When you're a kid, they can seem too strict and controlling at times but it sure can pay off for you later in life in how to cope with set backs, survival and success. There also has to be positive re-enforcement, love and compassion combined, otherwise a kid can grow up with anger and resentment for authority.

 

[JimDep]

delete

delete

 

[JimDep]

delete ..........IT'S THE CAT'S FAULT !

delete

 

[Driver_Col]

This has probably already been said in various ways but the question I ask myself is "Is it better to get this Route/Session on DLS now and let other trainzers enjoy it, knowing full well that there is likely to be 1 or 2 revised versions to follow ...... or is it better to keep it to myself until it is perfect? Perfection is, to me, unobtainable.
I test my Routes by riding the trains on the outside so I can survey the scenery near and far, and every time I ride a train, I will pickup on something that could be improved. Ride a train over the same ground but in the opposite direction and I'll pick up more irregularities. Riding close to the rails shows up things that are not so obvious from 50ft above the train, but low flying over the Route draws attention to all kinds of other irregularities.

My recent Tristyn District GWR (TRS19) Route already has a revision in progress! I like to "play" as well, and playing always draws my attention to things that could be improved hence my perspective that a Route will never be perfect. My only criteria (just my personal thing), is that my Route/Session must be seen to be complete and ready to play. I have had some lovely comments about my Routes over the years, none of which would have happened if I had waited for that "perfect Route/Session". Finally, as I believe I noted in an earlier comment, there is no way that I am going to sink 400++ hours of my time into a Route/Session and then just keep it to myself!

Regards to all. Colin.

 

[pware]

or is it better to keep it to myself until it is perfect? Perfection is, to me, unobtainable.

A true perfectionist would never release a route as "finished" but for the rest of us there comes a point where it is time to move on to something else. Having said that there is nothing wrong with coming back to an old finished project and upgrading or renovating it to meet the latest Trainz standards.

 

[dangavel]

A true perfectionist would never release a route as "finished" but for the rest of us there comes a point where it is time to move on to something else. Having said that there is nothing wrong with coming back to an old finished project and upgrading or renovating it to meet the latest Trainz standards.

One reason why I hardly ever open up my old projects, I see all the flaws and the 'improvements' I could make , next thing I know I've spent two months 'improving' it . However it is a useful thing if I'm burnt out working on a particular route and need a change. I think the reason I've done so many versions of timber ridge is that its not prototypical and I don't have to constantly look at maps and images to ensure I'm not making any mistakes.

 

[Cayden]

Over the past year, I have been upgrading my route, the Canadian Pacific Railway’s Mountain Subdivision, to Trainz 2022. I have been working on a

Mac currently running Trainz Plus version126293. The intent was to share the upgraded route as I had previously done for a T:ANE version back in 2017 (https://doug56.net/CPRMS/home.html).

Alas, “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley”. On my Mac all is well. Yes, I do have eight assets that are “Packaged” or Packaged, Payware”. All are textures except one, which is an asset of mine. How it got packaged I have no idea, not even the DLC to which it is associated.

Part of my detailing is to “hand ballasting” the track. Starting with unballasted track, I use Trainz HD capability to ballast the track to represent the crude ballasting the Canadian Pacific Railway initially did to expeditiously complete the route.

Ported over to my PC running Trainz Plus version 126280 was a shock. I have 54 assets that are listed as faulty! Some are textures, as you can see. Others are building, etc.

Also, the HD terrain did not transfer accurately. Not just the ballast but even the contour of the rail bed.

So much for sharing.

It’s a shame that there are so many obstacles to sharing a route these days. It seems that packaged or packaged payware are only just the beginning.

In addition to the route, I had planned to share YouTube videos portraying some of the history of the route when it was constructed back in the 1880s. This may be the only way you will get to see 150 mile long route.

Cayden

 

[dangavel]

Over the past year, I have been upgrading my route, the Canadian Pacific Railway’s Mountain Subdivision, to Trainz 2022. I have been working on a

Mac currently running Trainz Plus version126293. The intent was to share the upgraded route as I had previously done for a T:ANE version back in 2017 (https://doug56.net/CPRMS/home.html).

Alas, “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley”. On my Mac all is well. Yes, I do have eight assets that are “Packaged” or Packaged, Payware”. All are textures except one, which is an asset of mine. How it got packaged I have no idea, not even the DLC to which it is associated.

Part of my detailing is to “hand ballasting” the track. Starting with unballasted track, I use Trainz HD capability to ballast the track to represent the crude ballasting the Canadian Pacific Railway initially did to expeditiously complete the route.

Ported over to my PC running Trainz Plus version 126280 was a shock. I have 54 assets that are listed as faulty! Some are textures, as you can see. Others are building, etc.

Also, the HD terrain did not transfer accurately. Not just the ballast but even the contour of the rail bed.

So much for sharing.

It’s a shame that there are so many obstacles to sharing a route these days. It seems that packaged or packaged payware are only just the beginning.

In addition to the route, I had planned to share YouTube videos portraying some of the history of the route when it was constructed back in the 1880s. This may be the only way you will get to see 150 mile long route.

Cayden

What a total drag, it looks amazing, I was considering purchasing the new m4 Mac mini when it comes out , looks like that's not a good idea if one is making routes that will be used by others on pcs .

 

[Cayden]

What a total drag, it looks amazing, I was considering purchasing the new m4 Mac mini when it comes out , looks like that's not a good idea if one is making routes that will be used by others on pcs .

Yeah. I was really surprised. The route seems to run well on my PC. I thought that might not be the case as I am upgrading it on my Mac Studio. With so many assets needing upgrades and, of course, they are not my assets, I think I am hooped! And that's not to mention that the terrain didn't transfer worth a damn.

Cayden

 

[CaseyBerg]

Looks like I’m stuck at OS Monterey then until the M4’s come out. There is no path for the old Mac Pro with an RX5700XT beyond Monterey and N3V only supports Ventura and up. My plan was to load Windows with OpenCore and the latest Trainz build in the interim, but it looks like from your experience things will get messed up. M4’s not expected until mid 2025. Sigh.

 

[dangavel]

As i have no intention of adopting HD until it comes with a standard version of trainz, i suppose a mac mini might still be on the cards, but I've had to give up running trainz on my mac to make routes, for some reason 2019 sp1 did a wobbly on my alpine tunnel route, as I use high sierra so I can still use adobe cs 5 , I cant go any higher as far as OS versions are concerned . So, I've been using a pc for the past several years for my routes , the six core mac pro 2010 still works ok on most programs, but even with the nitro rx580 it used to struggle with trainz , however it is saving me around $900 a year in subs to adobe, so its certainly paid for itself, even my 2008 cheesegrater was fine up until a few months back for doing most tasks, but it showing its age with only a 2gb card and it started slowing down considerably, I still maintain those mac pros were the best macs ever , as far as longetivity and for swapping out drives/ ram etc

 

[Morten16c]

Over the past year, I have been upgrading my route, the Canadian Pacific Railway’s Mountain Subdivision, to Trainz 2022. I have been working on a

Mac currently running Trainz Plus version126293. The intent was to share the upgraded route as I had previously done for a T:ANE version back in 2017 (https://doug56.net/CPRMS/home.html).

Alas, “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley”. On my Mac all is well. Yes, I do have eight assets that are “Packaged” or Packaged, Payware”. All are textures except one, which is an asset of mine. How it got packaged I have no idea, not even the DLC to which it is associated.

Part of my detailing is to “hand ballasting” the track. Starting with unballasted track, I use Trainz HD capability to ballast the track to represent the crude ballasting the Canadian Pacific Railway initially did to expeditiously complete the route.

Ported over to my PC running Trainz Plus version 126280 was a shock. I have 54 assets that are listed as faulty! Some are textures, as you can see. Others are building, etc.

Also, the HD terrain did not transfer accurately. Not just the ballast but even the contour of the rail bed.

So much for sharing.

It’s a shame that there are so many obstacles to sharing a route these days. It seems that packaged or packaged payware are only just the beginning.

In addition to the route, I had planned to share YouTube videos portraying some of the history of the route when it was constructed back in the 1880s. This may be the only way you will get to see 150 mile long route.

Cayden

Nice video. Thanks. Which Mac are you using please?

 

[OddRails]

Enjoyed the video and the history. Thanks.

It's unfortunate that transfers between platforms aren't seamless. I'm all PC now but back in 1984 I was amazed that a Mac had so much free software on it.

 

[Cayden]

Nice video. Thanks. Which Mac are you using please?

Mac Studio (2022) M1 Ultra with Somona 14.6.1.

Cayden

 

[Morten16c]

Mac Studio (2022) M1 Ultra with Somona 14.6.1.

Cayden

Thank you so much Cayden.
Morten

 

[donhan]

Over the past year, I have been upgrading my route, the Canadian Pacific Railway’s Mountain Subdivision, to Trainz 2022. I have been working on a

Mac currently running Trainz Plus version126293. The intent was to share the upgraded route as I had previously done for a T:ANE version back in 2017 (https://doug56.net/CPRMS/home.html).

Alas, “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley”. On my Mac all is well. Yes, I do have eight assets that are “Packaged” or Packaged, Payware”. All are textures except one, which is an asset of mine. How it got packaged I have no idea, not even the DLC to which it is associated.

Part of my detailing is to “hand ballasting” the track. Starting with unballasted track, I use Trainz HD capability to ballast the track to represent the crude ballasting the Canadian Pacific Railway initially did to expeditiously complete the route.

Ported over to my PC running Trainz Plus version 126280 was a shock. I have 54 assets that are listed as faulty! Some are textures, as you can see. Others are building, etc.

Also, the HD terrain did not transfer accurately. Not just the ballast but even the contour of the rail bed.

So much for sharing.

It’s a shame that there are so many obstacles to sharing a route these days. It seems that packaged or packaged payware are only just the beginning.

In addition to the route, I had planned to share YouTube videos portraying some of the history of the route when it was constructed back in the 1880s. This may be the only way you will get to see 150 mile long route.

Cayden

Nice work Caydon, it is hard sometimes but never give up!

 

[derznovich]

Another point to mention, maybe already has been, is that HD routes are much bigger files. I wonder if that eventually forces a change in the size limit.