What Makes a Route Great?

In Trainz, there are many many routes available on the DLS or on 3rd-party sites. But, with all these routes available, how do you sort the great routes from the not-so-great routes, what do YOU as members of the forum look for in a route, or what do YOU as members of the forum do in order to make your own routes great?

This thread is intended for all members of the forum to learn something, not just myself.

I don't make many quality routes, but for me, what makes a route great is detail. It doesn't have to be a long route, as the PH&D shows, but as long as there's enough detail in the route that it actually feels like a simulation instead of a game. Long routes CAN be detailed, but as Monroe Pass shows, are not always.

If the creator enjoyed making it and they are encouraged to develop it or perhaps make another then it's great. Should they then make the effort to upload it to the DLS and others download it and enjoy it, and/or provide constructive feedback then that's a bonus. Peter

I totally agree with these two. From what I know, the more work you put into a route, the more great it becomes. I mean, my routes aren't half as perfect as Si3D's or the built in content in 2010, but I put a lot of effort into them. So yeah!

For me, quality assets are what make a route great.

(Responding to my own question... WHAT?)
Anyway, what I look for in a route is the detail and how well that detail is dispersed across the route. What I mean is that there should be a lot of detail near the tracks and detail decreases the farther you get away from the tracks.

I call long, detailed routes(like the TS2009 default Robe River Iron) good routes.

For me it's attention to detail as well. Simple things like rotating textures, making sure frog rails cross at the same height or roads don't bury the track at crossings and platforms are perfectly parallel to track the list goes on. Also little things like scenes dotted around the route which add life.

On a few occasions though I have envied those that can build really long distances quickly at acceptable levels of detail, something my OCD won't allow me to do.

Perfect radius curves, prototypical measured turnouts, and precise gradients ... If the trackwork is not correct, a route will never be great ... all the gwass, twees, schwubery, and buildings are fluff, and come later on after trackwork is done

Here a work in progress. Making a grate route isn't something you can do in one day or a number of days I looked at it the same was as a model railroad, your never really finished there always something you can do better. I a route builder and made a number of routes that are grate to some but I think they need more work. I don't bleave in "A grate route". for me its the time and work the goes into it that makes it grate looks and detail are importen, some pp are too picky.
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It's a very subjective question, not least because one person's idea of a great route might be considered a dud by others. The routes which fall in this category are generally those that show the author has poured their heart and soul into it. They've used Transdem or HOG to get the terrain right, they've ensured there are sufficient distant tiles so no abrupt end of the world is visible. The track layout and gradient profile will reflect the prototype so far as possible. Like Cascade, I would rather the rail infrastructure be correct and not so fussed over use of generic buildings and placement to represent towns and villages along the way. Obviously if the author has gone to the trouble of creating custom structures etc. that's even better.

Inclusion of several sessions or scenarios (in the case of other sims) so users can crack on and experience the route with no delay.

A decent readme or documentation written in an articulate and literate way also indicates the author has gone the extra distance to share their passion for the particular prototype.

What makes a route great...

- Having well laid track and roads that aren't floating or have bad twists in them.

This has always bothered me and now with T:ANE we can lay track and roads which are sunk into the ground rather than floating above it. Some splines and tracks still do this, however, the replace assets tool can fix this and update the assets quickly.

- The use of vignettes with transitions between areas.

A route that is constantly busy from one end to the other is tiring to drive. Sure there are going to be exceptions such as a transit route or industrial area, but overall having the curtains between the acts helps make the route more interesting. This isn't to say that we shouldn't have little interesting scenes in these in between places either, but these should be a bit more relaxed perhaps vistas of farms and rivers followed by a small town with a siding or two to represent the rolling landscape. before getting slammed again with more intense decision making moves.

This also has the added benefit of allowing the computer to cool down a bit if there's a lot of heavily detailed areas, which can really, really put a strain on any computer hardware.

- A route that has a backstory or history.

The story, the backstory, give the railroad a reason to be. Is it a tourist operation on a former branch line? Is it a small industrial operation that took over part of a mainline? Is this a portion of a larger system, or a branch with connections to the rest of the world? Coming up with something like this gives some connectivity to the route. When building the route with the backstory, it also serves as a basis for the route building, and in general this helps keep a route together so that it's more of a ride or drive through an actual area even it it's totally fictional. The placement of coal mines next to a Grand Canyon like rift doesn't quite make sense, with a steel mill in the same area isn't quite plausible. Laying out the landscape in a realistic fashion no matter how small or large a route is, makes it much better.

- Having an operation session, even if it's a quick one, to give the new user an opportunity to drive around and explore the route with extra traffic is helpful. The inclusion of a base session, so to speak, setup with the track marks, rules, and other complex entities is even more helpful.

Thread revival/ bump!

JCitron, I really like your idea of a "backstory" behind a route. That is a very intriguing idea.

Some things I have learned recently:

There is a point where there is too much detail. Basically, for me and my ancient machine the point where there gets to be too much detail is when I am on the lowest settings but I still cannot manage to get more than 10 fps. If this does occur on a route I am creating, I first try to change high-poly assets with lower-poly ones. Then, I start cutting out unnecessary details. If it is on a route that somebody else created I do the best I can with the route or just simply not use the route very often.

Recently, I have been working on my small town building skills. What I have found that works best for small towns is to keep a grid-like pattern, place detail not only close to the track but also where you can see straight down the road from the track. Something else that I have learned is the Trainz is a very "static" game. I What I mean by that is that with some routes, when you explore them, it does not look like anyone is living there. In a town or city there should be "imperfections" in addition to people and cars that make the scene more life-like and interesting.

I think the thing(s) that really make a route "pop" in my mind is using assets that somewhat "fit" with one another. For example, having a US-looking house right next to a tokyo skyscraper does not look good at all. Even if you are creating a model railroad. Also, textures should "blend" with one another creating "transitions" between textures and ground types.

The last thing I want to mention (this goes with the previous point.)is that (dependent upon where the route is supposed to take place) there should be varying amounts of weathering. I find that using weathered-looking assets really brings the route to life. What makes it even better is if the author of the route contrasts and changes the amount of weathering in different areas by using different assets. The use of flora also helps bring in this "weathered" look that makes the difference between simulator and the closest thing you are ever going to get to a real-life image.

I've seen the use of using different track types with different ballast in the same route. I think that gives a certain variation to a route.

Bottom line is the route has to be functional, what good is a highly detailed route if it is not functional......my thread in Trainz model railroad, basically covers the upgrade process I did to the Brazemore Yard layout which is an excellent route for long unit trains and switching opportunities but left something desired for me in the detail department so I basically added to the industries and replaced existing ones to get the look and feel I wanted.

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/show...t-more-enjoyment-out-of-Trianz-Model-Railroad

If you start at the beginning and progress you can see the before and after shots. I really like the layout's design.

Personally I think most route builders if not all don't get the recognition they deserve there are two many to mention like GCR and London to Penzance which I would love to see on DVD, Not taking anything away from the usa builders but my love is for the UK routes with the cross over from steam to the class 37s ND CLASS 40 you have all given hours of fun and pleasure to many and long may it continue I just wish I had your talent Thank you to All.

First step in making a route "great" is learning how to spell the word great.

PARAILFAN said:

First step in making a route "great" is learning how to spell the word great.

Click to expand...

Since I have a problem spelling fahrvergnügen, I won't pick on those from other nations that have mastered their languages but struggle with English; we get their point even as we hope that they understand ours.

This thread is interesting reading, though. It would seem that a highly detailed route is not necessarily one that would be considered great; but rather, there is a balance between realistic detail and performance.

I generally think of one word: philskene. His routes at least deserve a good number of study hours in order to learn the delicate balance of quality versus performance.

Revisiting this thread had me thinking again. Sometimes the greatest routes don't have to be the biggest and grandest of them all. My Gloucester Terminal Electric Railroad is a spin-off of George Fisher's Gloucester Terminal. I modified the original route quite a bit, put up trolley wires, and setup some trams running a circuit on the mainline alongside diesels pulling short trains for switching the various industries. I put the earlier version of this route up on the DLS, for anyone interested, however, that's not the point I'm making here. There are a lot of shortcomings in the original design, and the early revision has since been updated with a complete realignment in the yard to make it more useful, added a branches out to West Gloucester and one out to Eastern Point. The complete route is about 7.5 miles from West Gloucester to Eastern Point, or about 3 miles each direction from Gloucester yard!

The base operating session has trams run the circuit from Gloucester to Eastern Point, Inner Cove, a shopping mall, and out to West Gloucester along with trams running to and from the outskirts into the main crossover terminal. This keeps the local tracks busy. In the meantime there is the real, slight modified, Boston and Maine Rockport branch, which in reality has a 4-track passenger layover and a single platform at that end. In my version Boston and Rockport exist as portals from which I send out, about every 30 minutes in both directions, MBTA commuter trains and various freights. The freights, especially with their size, are fictional since there hasn't been any freight in real life along this line since the early 1980s, and even then it was a small local. In my version, there are long freights of containers and other mixed freights to add interest to the operation. Since this track is strictly point to point, there is little interaction between the trains on this line and anything else on the route. The passenger trains do stop at West Gloucester and Gloucester as they go from Boston to Rockport and vice versa.

All in all, there's probably about a dozen active AI trains going about their business pretty well, though sometimes they get a snit and decide to make things up and skip a track mark or station, which of course is frustrating and I've yet to find out who causes this.

So anyway with the base session going, I'll switch some freight cars and bring them to various industries. This process requires getting an engine or two from the engine terminal and building a consist. Every car in the yard is similar to one that is used somewhere on the route. It means if there's a CryoVac reefer, there's most likely one elsewhere on the route to be switched out and replaced with the one in the yard. The yard, I should mention, contains various boxcars, reefers, a handful of covered hoppers, some tanks, and a few flats.

Once I've setup my train, depending upon the consist, I'll head out on to the mainline. With the constant run of trams moving on the routes, I need to check the map (my dispatcher) to see if there's a tram or two nearby. I'll sometimes have to wait a few minutes or longer until these move along and out of the way before I pull out of the yard.

On to the mainline we go. In this case, we're going to the fish pier out on Eastern Point. This requires hogging the mainline most of the way and tying up traffic. The mainline has speeds up to 45 mph, which is okay for the trams, but these freight cars require a bit slower, maybe 20-30 mph all the way. The consist is all Alco powered with two former CR RS-27s leading the way along with a former B&M S4 behind pulling the a string of 4 boxcars. This doesn't sound like a lot of cars, but there are some tight curves and some steeper grades so that needs to be taken into consideration.

Eventually we get out to Wonnset Jct. and we can relax as we head out to Eastern Point. There's company along the line, but it's not as hectic as the rest of the route. Various seaports and industries now give way to trees, big fancy houses, and horse farms as we head through Southeast Harbor, which actually has a good spur there and takes more than a few cars.

Eastern Point its self has a trolley loop and a station as well as a rather rusty and decrepit, well more like less than maintained branch down to the fish piers. The train pulls into the old branch and the RS27s run around the train and wait up on the lead while the S4 switches out two boxcars at a time and brings them down to the pier. The track radius are tight here and it requires starting up the old Plymouth diesel to do the switching. Once all the cars are switched out, the S4 brings his small train up hill, and meets up with the RS27s to head back to the yard. If they are lucky, they can time the operation just right so the crew can stop for lunch at the diner before heading back to the Gloucester Terminal Yard.

The trip back to the yard becomes hectic again once they hit the Inner Harbor to West Gloucester and Gloucester mainline. This can get tricky and timing is of the essence here. If we hit the timing wrong, we get stuck in a parade of yellow lights all the way. If we hit it just right, we might get a single yellow and one red at Roger's Street where the big crossover line terminal and loop is located. After Roger's Street, it's home sailing to the yard lead and we can relax. Since these cars are full of fish and seafood, they are put up on the connection for a mainline freight to pick-up, or a local will leave the yard and head up to Rockport with a delivery.

How long did all this take? This operation takes at least 2-1/2 hours, and can be longer if we run into traffic, not counting dumb AI moves which need to be occasionally sorted. Sometimes after heading back to the yard, I'll make another switching run. This time it might be the LPG and oil dock which also has some other warehouses to service. There's a little switcher located there too to take care of the warehouse branch. Other times I'll do a short trip to the brewery located along the old Riverside Railroad branch. This means taking a good number of cars and a single switcher down to the yard there for the brewery then having their switcher do the work of switching out some tanks, boxcars and hoppers. There's usually another load of empties in that yard and that means I'll be taking those home as well.

A day with trips around the route can take up to 9 real hours of driving. Yes, that's a full workday of switching cars. This is what makes a route great.

Thanks, here's a few thoughts

First, it has to be driveable, cause that's what this game is for. To seem interactive, it should be AI friendly and in the beginning Phil Skeen's method of keeping AI from getting lost really was a stroke of genius. I'm messing with another route that seems to do a similarly good job by placing a whole bunch of those directional arrows on his dual track route but that probably only works because the Trainz guys codded the game to work with them.

I like a long linear type route similar to Phil's Industrail, it has nice scenery to look at during your trips between towns and industrial centers and it has plenty of industry to be tweeked to individual preferences. The thing about the linear route is that I don't get lost. I kind of liked the Hinton route that came with TANE but that big map with track going every which way may have been prototypical but I kept getting spun around in my mind and forgot where I was going.

Since this is a transportation game, I like to have at least one Power plant and at least one coal mine to provide fuel. I like an oil well to provide product to at least one refinery to produce diesel fuel which I will also require to run machinery at the coal mine. In my session I will try to tweek the produced amounts and the needed amounts to an obtainable level not just max every thing out as suggested when we first learned how to play these type games. If I supply the above and have a stockpile of product then I can start servicing other industries. When I get good at this I would like to invoke the " Power Plant Rule " and really put the pressure on!

Something I find extremely important to me is, as Phil has also done in Industrail, some way to turn my steam engines for the return trip, sometimes it's a turntable, sometimes a wye. I made the suggestion a long time ago that even if one is authoring a prototypical route, it has to end somewhere and if that somewhere is tracks dead ended in the middle of nowhere, then just how is that prototypical, you might as well make a note that this is not how it is but I am going to put a wye or turntable here so Willy can get his steam engine to go back running forward.

When the company makes the portals spit out steam engines I will be happier than a kangaroo in Austrailia.

Thanks for all you guys do.

Wild Willy the Wacko