TurfFX way too complicated

This new TurfFX addition is much too complicated for the average user, IMHO. Sheesh, all those settings are too much. In other game map editors, all I have to do is SELECT what I want and, presto, I'm "painting" it in my map. Long grass, short grass, bushes, trees, etc. they are much simpler to use in those editors. In TRS2019, it takes a long time to get the effect you want. What ever happened to KISS?

Also, I am having a very difficult time deleting the turf grass unless I use a very large brush. When I try to use a small brush I get an alternating red and white brush circle and none of the turf gets removed. And from what I can see, the grass is either short or not--- I can't get the tall grass I was aiming for.

You guys are going to have to simplify this TurfFX thing a whole lot before I'll be impressed with it. It doesn't look all that great anyhow. So what if the grass is "waving in the breeze?" I couldn't care less if my grass moves. I want it simpler to use.

You have to make a new layer for every kind of grass you want.

t

davesnow said:

This new TurfFX addition is much too complicated for the average user, IMHO. Sheesh, all those settings are too much. In other game map editors, all I have to do is SELECT what I want and, presto, I'm "painting" it in my map. Long grass, short grass, bushes, trees, etc. they are much simpler to use in those editors. In TRS2019, it takes a long time to get the effect you want. What ever happened to KISS?

Also, I am having a very difficult time deleting the turf grass unless I use a very large brush. When I try to use a small brush I get an alternating red and white brush circle and none of the turf gets removed. And from what I can see, the grass is either short or not--- I can't get the tall grass I was aiming for.

You guys are going to have to simplify this TurfFX thing a whole lot before I'll be impressed with it. It doesn't look all that great anyhow. So what if the grass is "waving in the breeze?" I couldn't care less if my grass moves. I want it simpler to use.

Click to expand...

I have not tried TurfFX yet but that is rather disappointing to hear.

Nothing complicated, just copy all the values from the approximate route and insert into your fields.

Perfectly simple to use TurfFX & Clutter.......anybody can learn it.....nothing hard about it at all.

Like all things, there is a learning curve.

I suggest that people get used to searching the Trainz Wiki for information:

http://online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/index.php/TurfFX_Effect_Layer

This includes a short tutorial video (placeholder as we work on a more detailed version).

Another feature designed to chew up CPU & GPU cycles.
Damn hard to see the trackside grass waving in the breeze as you drive past at 100 clicks !
PG

Not all routes are built for speed and obviously you only need to use it where you would have used grass splines anyway which are just as much, probably more of a load.

OlegKhim said:

Nothing complicated, just copy all the values from the approximate route and insert into your fields.

Click to expand...

It is complicated and definitely NOT intuitive. It could certainly use a more user friendly interface like most everything else. You know, just grab, point, and click. To have to go through multiple setups and use multiple layers, is not intuitive. And copy what from where? That's assuming you have something downloaded that use the TurfFX you want to use else where. Again, not at all intuitive.

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Screenshot the settings and display on a second monitor or PC if available works until you get used to it.

I think we need for the moment to accept that TurfFX is a new concept for N3V and hopefully things will get made simpler at some point.

Size of the circle? to get it small you just need to nudge the size setting, so it's just off the smallest circle, not sure if that's deliberate due to some kind of technical limitation or an error.

Hi

I have a single blank baseboard into which I've copied as many different TurfFX and Clutter settings as I can find. There is nothing else on this baseboard, just the TurfFX and Clutter settings.

To use it you have to clone the board and give the clone the same name as the route that you want to update or create, but with TFX or some other identifier added at the end to make the name unique. Open the clone and merge the route that you want to update into it. When you've done that you can delete the single board and you will have all the TFX settings left in the new route.

It does work but I'm still unsure if it loses stored settings from the original route. I know that if I merge the single board into the route instead of the other way round then the TurfFX settings are lost. Perhaps one of our route creators who understands such things may be able to comment. It is certainly much quicker just to merge the board than to re-enter all the settings each time.

It's just a pity that N3V didn't have the foresight to make the demo route non DLC so that we could have merged a clone of that instead of having to create a separate board.

Regards

Brian