N3V: Why are there no U.S. standard gauge procedural tracks available in TRS19?
- Thread starter MSGSapper
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At the risk of sticking my neck out (yet again) the questions that should be asked is why are no US creators building "US style" procedural track for TRS19? Why does N3V have to create it? After all N3V are not based in the US so they would probably get it totally wrong and that would probably be far worse than not creating any at all.
Yeah, yeah, I'll get there.... ;-P
Looks like Elstoko's track which has problems in TRS2019 with green and sparkles.
Great stuff in TANE, been using since it was uploaded. Reskinned with JR rail color.
Harold
Dinorius_Redundicus
kuid 68213
I've noticed how the ties on ElStoko's pro-tracks go pale green in TRS2019 too. Does anyone know why this happens, or what should be done to correct it?
As I posted previously in this thread, according to N3V is an asset develops a "green tinge" it means that it has a faulty or missing texture. Just because it was "fixed" in TANE does not mean that it was "fixed" for TRS19.
Seems like every other long thread, no one reads the whole thread just jumps in at the end or even reads the original thread discussing the release of the asset.
From the creator:
Harold
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Because it will make building a USA based route so much easier if you have the track for it.
Anyway,
If anyone is going to make one, please-o-please go the extra mile and also make it seasonal (as in "shows up with snow on it above the snow altitude").
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Peter;
I've looked at a lot of his track but none matches anything U.S. The rail cross section is "flat bottom" in some cases but the fasteners on those tracks are pure European.
A few days ago I asked him in his track support thread if he would consider creating a U.S. specific procedural track but he has not yet answered. I suspect he has been asked this before over the many years he has been in Trainz, and the fact that he hasn't done it so far doesn't give me hope for a positive reply. But if you don't ask, you don't get.
Here is where I posted my request to him:
https://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?148761-SAM-Procedural-Tracks&p=1733465#post1733465
I know Trainz is an Australian product, but I suspect a lot of it's customers are U.S, as evidenced by the included routes/rolling stock/locomotives that come with TRS19, so I don't understand why there is no U.S. specific U.S. procedural built into the basic TRS19, especially as many years as Trainz has been around. It doesn't help that virtually all the provided built-in TRS19 procedural track uses "bull head" track, which has been obsolete for years, even in the UK which created it.
Bob
I have traced the problem with ElStoko's track showing green in TRS19. It's is his use of "tbumpgloss" that is causing the problem.
I was able to solve it in Blender by renaming the texture from rail2.m.tbumpgloss to rail2.m.tbumptex. After exporting in Blender to an .IM file I tested this in TRS19 and it no longer shows green.
Since N3V does not appear to show any interest in solving this lack of a U.S. modern track problem, I am currently working on a variation of ElStoko's track for use on my upgraded routes. This will be a slow process as I am new to Blender and it will take some time to get through the learning curve. Of course this will be under the same ProTrack license that ElStoko used.
I expect the hard part for me as a newbie Blender user will be re-working the existing track fastener meshes to look more like U.S. fasteners.
Bob
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Excellent. That is the kind of entrepreneurial spirit that has always existed in the Trainz community but seems to have been "diluted" of late. Instead of waiting for "big brother" (N3V) to do all the work on a small budget and with few staff, community members take on the responsibility themselves. As a result we all benefit and the creators gain new skills.
The biggest problem for me is overcoming the Blender learning curve. I was used to GMax a few years ago, but haven't done any mesh work in well over 2 years or so which means I have to re-learn how to do these things, and with a new Blender program which operates differently from GMax.
FYI I have corrected all the "green" problems in the meshes and have done a few other things as well. Haven't progressed far enough yet to be able to alter the base plates so they look like closer to this image, which are U.S. ones:
In addition I am trying to get rid of the "sparkly effect" on the rails and an issue around the base plates. Here is a screenshot for are how things look like at this point:
I am committed to getting this done and having a U.S. standard gauge track available for all my routes that I intend to upgrade. Because I am not good enough at mesh work to be able to do LOD, the track I will be uploading eventually to the DLS will be for build 4.2 or below and not have PBR ballast textures.
If anyone who is skilled with meshes wants to help in this project I can send you the meshes in .3DS format for import into your program along with the texture files....
Bob
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On the other hand, this could be a good excuse to make the plunge into Blender 
Trainboi1 has some US-style procedural track at https://trainz-forge.com/p/new-releases that's at least sorta modern
Trainboi1 has some US-style procedural track at https://trainz-forge.com/p/new-releases that's at least sorta modern
Christopher824
CDETrainz.com
I think you are saying that it does not look like pre-1970's 'Spiked' fasteners. Newer US track use 'Pandrol' fasteners and the DMT Pro track looks more like the 'Pandrol' type.
There is still lots of spiked track in the US at present.
There is a need for that type track.
Harold
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Christopher824
CDETrainz.com
So now I better understand, and I do agree about the 'Spiked' track, I have seen some great examples, but they are not procedural like you state. JR has a real nice one, but it's also marked as Payware in TANE and was included with the TANE Deluxe version. I quit using it because it's not procedural and its Payware, so it does not move well when creating Routes and then giving those Routes to other people.
The significance of the Spike in the USA railway system can be historically signafied when the merge of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads on May 10, 1869 and was joined with a Golden Spike. That is a long time ago.
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