Trainz 2019 - frustrated new user need to know how to back work up

Westernmost

New member
New user. Frustrated with lack of manuals and other searchable documentation. Calling my route the T&E, for Trial & Error, as that's what it's taking to do anything.

Biggest issue is this: How do I back my work up? The only thing I see that even hints at it is under the DEV tab in Settings, where there's a number 7 in a field called Daily Backups to Keep. What does that mean? is that an automatic backup? To where? How do I back it up outside my computer?

Trainz is capable of producing absolutely amazing results in trained hands. But its greatest need is a basic orientation that teaches rookies like me the fundamentals of where things are and why. Like what the "Working Scales" mean, if anything - I spent an hour discovering that they don't seem to mean anything. Or what each square on a mapboard represents - an area of about 38x38 feet, in any scale, determined by laying straight track and placing a locomotive of known length on it. Or, HOW TO BACK IT UP.

For crying out loud - For as snazzy and sophisticated as this thing is, the information available to give a novice anything to start from that's not covered in the How To wikis is pitiful. So too for that matter is the fact that the wikis aren't searchable. It all adds up to a new user feeling like an outsider who isn't privy to the secret key to knowledge.

Anyway, enough venting. Any help on the backup issue would be much appreciated.
 
Google is the best way to search for any answers to Trainz.

Type if "Working Scales" +trainz and it shows one link to a forum post that provides the answers.

Type is "Trainz Manual" - this showed as the 2nd link: https://www.trainzportal.com/files/TANE/trainz_a_era_manual_digital_en_150513.pdf

Even though it's the wrong version, it will give you a pretty good overview of the functionality.

Re backups, my suggestion is to use Save As to create multiple "copies" of a route and backup your local data folder to an external drive
 
There is a How to Manage Backups guide in the Wiki.

There is also a guide to Trainz Basics.

Re: the lack of information - I agree. The vast majority of information on the Wiki site has been created by users, like you and I. A significant part of the problem is that Trainz is changing rapidly (too rapidly for some, not rapidly enough for others) - new versions and updates with new features being released regularly (if you have Trainz Plus then new features come out every few months) so it can be impossible to keep up. N3V are a small operation without a large (or even without a small) marketing department.
 
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You can search the wiki with Google Site Search by typeing your search term, space, and "site : online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/" without the spaces around the colon.

I have a bookmark setup with a generic search term and when needing a search I just click the bookmark to populate the url field and then I replace my search term. Better yet would be the setup of a hotkey or such to pop in the site string after you enter your search term.

My frustration is all the notes in the wiki that xyz is no longer valid, or no longer compatible, etc etc etc. I agree with your general assessment.
 
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To get you going as in the most important thing is saving your route, highlight it in Manage Content, right click, export to cdp and point it at wherever you are saving backups.

If you have used the default location for your local data, that will be shown in the Launcher under Trainz Settings > Install > local data folder, default is usually in the users folder which is hidden, copy the location from the local data folder box into the file manager or run box and that will open the local data folder which you can backup, I'd suggest making a shortcut to it, note if you make any screenshots they will be in the screenshots folder which is created in the local data folder the first time you take a screenshot, irrespective of if you use the builtin uploader to the Trainz Gallery, can get full up with jpgs and waste space if you don't keep an eye on it.

I use FreeFileSync and backup my local data to an external drive.

Actually I put my local data in the Trainz Program folder and backup the whole lot in one go. Saves having to reinstall if anything goes wrong, just reverse the backup.

Most of us move the local data folder somewhere where it is more accessible, it doesn't have to stay hidden in users. Link for moving instructions in the setting install tab or here https://online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/index.php/Help:Moving_Content
 
I recommend getting yourself an external hard drive such as one of those large desktop drives from Western Digital or Seagate and diligently backup your data folder to the drive. You can easily backup everything using Windows File Explorer. Open up the folder location, usually your App Data folder/N3V Games/TRS19/.

Copy that build-something, the -something is a unique alphanumeric code, lock stock and barrel to your external drive.

In addition to that backup, use Content Manager and create a CDP archive. This is a Trainz Content Data Package, a Trainz-specific archive format file. Once your CDP is created, you can then copy that to your external drive. I have a Route WIP folder as well as specific permanent backups, and periodically I have had to visit these to retrieve routes for various reasons.

Welcome to the forums and to Trainz. Feel free to ask questions here and we will help you the best we can.
 
Thanks to all

Thanks to all who responded and who empathized. I was able to do the Manage Content/Export to CDP bit, and thank heavens for the search function to find my three files out of all that! It just would really be nice to have all this useful information readily available front and center as soon as a new user enters this wonderful world.

For that matter, why is the forum hidden in the Wiki and not accessible from the help menu on the Trainz pages?

The whole problem with relying on a Wiki system is, with all respect to its contributors, how is a reader going to know how reliable the information is? Also, having some kind of consistency in how the stuff is written would REALLY be helpful, especially for someone like me who is using this but with a set of tech skills and savvy straight out of the steam era. I know that's a heck of an anachronism, but I'm really drawn to the creative opportunities this thing offers, and I've drawn a lot of inspiration from other people's work. I know full well it takes a lot of learning and practice, but I want to make it happen.

Oh, and by the way, I found the answer to my question about grid size on the map boards - entirely by accident, by clicking at random into a YouTube video of someone's creation! The Tidewater & Eastern, "The Trial & Error Route," lives up to its name!
 
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As a relative newcomer, I would suggest searching the forum for anything authored by the above gentlemen who have previously responded. Welcome to Trainz University!
 
Revisiting Backups...
There simply is no substitute for disk backups (not simply file backups). Get an extra disk and a utility and backup the entire disk daily (overnight.) The software you choose should be able to do timed backups so you can set it up to backup while you sleep. Computer work is my business (website and eBooks) and I have automatic backups several times a day. I also make a bootable copy of the system disk. When I leave the house I carry a little bag of disks with me. All the backup drives are worthless if there is a fire or if someone breaks in and steals them. This, of course, does not eliminiate the need and usefulness of "cdp backups" "individual file" backups and such. If you are not backing up your entire disk every day you WILL LOSE data files some day. I actually suggest a 3-4 day rotation with 3-4 different drive backups. I am amazed that people will spend hundreds of dollars on RailDriver, special bass vibrating chairs, fancy RGB lightshow headphones and keyboards, etc but not have one single disk backup for their precious data. Go figure...
 
I am amazed that people will spend hundreds of dollars on RailDriver, special bass vibrating chairs, fancy RGB lightshow headphones and keyboards, etc but not have one single disk backup for their precious data. Go figure...

Amen to that.

Call me paranoid but at the end of each Trainz editing session, at least once each day, I make multiple backups of my work.

I export my latest Trainz edits (as .cdp files) to my One Drive folder so they can be easily accessed by other computers in my network that are running Trainz.
I also save copies of documentation changes (Wiki Pages and graphic files) to my One Drive folder.
I use backup software to copy the updated files to 2 attached external USB HDD drives and a NAS drive.
One of my network computers also has an external USB HDD attached and I copy the updates from One Drive to that device as well.

A similar backup process occurs for any non-Trainz files I create.
 
Thunk!

Sound of my rookie chin hitting the tabletop as I see some incredible screenshots in the EL Mahoning Division thread. Big hat tip to that artist and all others who create such amazing scenes in this. Quite the inspiration to keep at it!
 
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