When it comes down to it, I really am only interested in making , not operating .....

dangavel

Well-known member
As I'm waiting for my mac( which has all my own routes on it ) to be restored, I'm at a loose end and Ive tried to busy myself with downloading a few routes on my PC and driving/operating. I don't have access to all the routes I do like driving ( such as Rollins pass ) as they were on my mac drives and its a lot of work to restore them on the PC .Ive spent days just downloading stuff and them often finding it will take a lot more to time to fix /find assets that are missing or don't work .
I've found the experience most disappointing, apart from the major issue that almost every route has a lot of missing dependencies and I see little point in spending days finding them as I hope to be route making again soon , so it doesn't seem worth the effort , but I also rapidly get frustrated as I see things I'd like to improve and I know if I do, I'll then not have time to improve the entire route.
I'm a hopeless case, I have to be involved in MAKING to find satisfaction in this hobby ( I was the same when I made a model railroad) ,I was wondering if there is there anyone else out there who feels the same.
if you do, I feel sorry for you... I've been doing a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle of the Durango and Silverton in desperation as an anecdote to boredom. :)
 
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It must be the South Australian in me, but I feel the same. :D Being creative is far more satisfying than consuming creations.
cheers
Graeme
 
I prefer the operation aspect of it, but so much of my time is consumed creating so I actually have a route to run on that has everything I want.

Matt
 
Many share this similar passion, one related to me that he had no actual route that he drove, he only created and tested assets out. My passion is track laying, and figuring out why things don't work automatically right out of the box, troubleshooting, and fixing them.
 
There is much of my experiences in these replies. I mostly favour route and session creation (the latter is sometimes the more difficult) but I do enjoy driving for some mental therapy.
 
Oh yes, I share that creative bug, the only time I drive is just to test a route for functionality, which usually ends with more creative modifications.
Creating sessions? well, I take my hat off to those creators, I find entering driver instructions a chore.
I really like making reskins too.
I don't know how many of my layouts/routes will actually make it to the DLS, I keep adding to them :eek:.

I am pretty much housebound these days and to me the creativity of Trainz is a lifesaver!
 
I don't know how many of my layouts/routes will actually make it to the DLS, I keep adding to them :eek:.!

Knowing when to stop is just as important a skill as any other. "I could fit in another industry there, another siding could go here, that bend needs tidying up, more trees and bushes there would make all the difference ..."

A perfectionist is never finished.
 
Knowing when to stop is just as important a skill as any other. "I could fit in another industry there, another siding could go here, that bend needs tidying up, more trees and bushes there would make all the difference ..."

A perfectionist is never finished.

This is known as MRBS - aka Model Railroader Building Syndrome.

We are all guilty of that as we open up a purportedly finished route, a route we deemed finished and boxed up, only to discover that nice industrial building recently found in our downloads would look neat next to the river we put in ages ago.
 
I'm also more of a creator than than a player. Most of my time is either repairing/testing assets or investigating stuff related to modelling.

But I have been toying with the idea of resurrecting my Island Railways route that started as an TS06 route, cleaning it up and extending it. This time, however, I'll make everything I need including track, houses, stations, industry etc. That should keep me going until I drop off the perch.
 
I am thrilled to death that you creators are making the routes that I get to enjoy. My skill level is nowhere near what you all have achieved over the years of hard work, and the magic that all of you create is greatly appreciated by those of us who don't have the time or the skill level to make these amazing routes.

From time to time, I get the urge to try and create something, but the learning curve is so daunting that I usually end up shelving the creative action for a while and loading up some routes and sessions, and then getting totally immersed in the escape. I can go back in time to eras from the past, or visit a different country and drive trains there, all virtually. I wouldn't be able to experience that wonder if all of you weren't as creative and generous as you are. I thank you all for this crazy gift you have.

I will eventually get into creating routes and then will have the same MRBS that many of you have, haha, but for now it is so wonderful getting to see some of your route screenshots and, in some cases, getting to actually drive trains on some of those creations!

Heinrich505
 
Good topic for discussion.

Personally, I started out preferring the drive, but as I gained skills and experiences in surveyer, I actually now heavily lean more for creation, tweaking and expansion of routes I create. I do still fire up a route, jump in the cabin, and run up the notches for the fun of it, but I have an 80/20% ratio of build to drive right now. This hobby called rail simulation is too fun and I am indeed an addict...
 
I think I might like driving a lot more if I was actually 'driving', not using the simplified mode, but since I have so much to do, ive never had the time to actually apply myself to driving using the actual controls, at least , not since I purchased 2010 ... a very long time ago....... and then I only tried using diesels . Many moons ago I used to drive 5 inch live steam models such as the Flying Scotsman and City of Truro and loved it , but that was back when I was about 14 ...:)
 
I love the creative process of building a route/layout. My GER Norfolk layout has grown from being only 5 miles long to being close to 40 miles long now. I like to see a new section develop from being just an image in my mind's eye to becoming a completed part of the layout. I have all the main line trackwork laid now with the branchlines still needing a little more work. The basic landscape shaping is all done so now things will move onto all the detailing which brings a layout to life. I know very well that that part of the project will never be completed because there will always be just one more thing I could add to make everything look better.

Driving and running trains is something I enjoy. 90% of the passenger services are run by AI drivers using the simplest methods i could devise since complicated makes my brain blue screen and crash. Apart from some through goods trains that basically cross from one side of the layout to the other and disappear into portals I do all the shunting and trip workings myself since I really like doing that.
I enjoy seeing trains crossing the landscape while doing a trip working along the tramway. Does the fact that I can tell which engine it is by its sound and whistle note and which service it's running and the name of its driver without doing any checking mean that I might be a Trainz addict beyond all hope of recovery?
 
I have built many routes over the years across all three main sims, but rarely actually drive them!

I do though enjoy driving the creations of others, not just Trainz but currently in MSTS/OR having great fun driving the North Wales Coast add-on (a route we could do with in Trainz...).

Maybe part of the issue, by the time you are done with building it your brain is fed up with the sight of the project and the last thing you want to do is spend more leisure time driving it!
 
Maybe part of the issue, by the time you are done with building it your brain is fed up with the sight of the project and the last thing you want to do is spend more leisure time driving it!

A distinct possibility. Plus after a year (or more) of route building you know every turn, every feature, every blade of grass (almost) so there is no "novelty factor" in driving the route.
 
Creator Here, Too

Multi-dittos on building (mostly locomotives) rather than running. I've gradually learned, though, that for me the best layouts to run are those with a lot of empty space to traverse, not a lot of track. Seems more like I'm accomplishing something (g).
 
I am thrilled to death that you creators are making the routes that I get to enjoy. My skill level is nowhere near what you all have achieved over the years of hard work, and the magic that all of you create is greatly appreciated by those of us who don't have the time or the skill level to make these amazing routes.Heinrich505

I'd like to second that. Route, Session, and Individual Asset creators: THANK YOU.

One observation as to Routes: It's interesting that even Route building has so many different aspects. One creator may seek a visually stunning "freelance" work, while one goes for strictly prototypical. And then there are Routes that seemingly are created just to be "fun" to drive. And the different styles all serve the community well.

For myself. I've only been here for a little over a year. Have not found my "thing" yet. I'm enjoying all aspects and learning. I've made and uploaded one rather simple session for Kickstarter 2 and I really liked session creation. I get frustrated with trying my hand at route building, at least anything I would share. I find my lack of railroading knowledge a real handicap as I'd like things to be somewhat close to reality.

However, as to how a Route "looks" I have made a few "scenes" that look great but I can't imagine being creative enough or having enough time to do that for an entire route. It just takes me too long to learn what may be appropriate assets and then to find matching assets in the CM.
 
Primarily route building, content creation for things that I can't find anything suitable for, which given my choice of routes I build always seems to be a lot! Driving, testing out my WIP route and less frequently other routes when when I get a creators block.
 
I'm primarily a route builder, is what I neglected to say before.

I find building routes based on a set theme and sticking to that theme keeps the progress going in the same direction rather than letting things become that inevitable bowl of spaghetti with my sessions remaining pretty simple affairs mostly to test the route I'm working on. More recently I'm trying my hand at interlocking-towers. They're a bit frustrating at first, but like all logic puzzles things then fall into place nicely. I got my first tower operating well on my Gloucester route and need to install a few more.
 
I do route making also as they are lot of fun. I have 7 of them slowly getting done.

RJ Artim
 
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