TRS19, and T:ANE: how to organize both?

C_Blabsky

Member
Throwing caution to the wind, I got TRS19 even knowing my 4-yr-old graphic card would struggle. With tweaking the settings (no Ultra), it runs well enough but I will upgrade shortly. So I DLS'd, signed up with 3rd parties, etc. and got lots of nice shiny things. After a few weeks, I noticed that a lot of what I had was actually made to work with T:ANE editions (and TS12 to a degree), and that the T:ANE was very well established. At some point, I saw on the forum that missing kuids may be solved by exporting/importing between the two.

So, there was a good sale deal, and now I have the latest T:ANE (which runs very well), and have used the CM to switch files. Since I have got both in a bassackward way. I'd like suggestions from folks about organizing them before I get too involved in re-inventing the wheel. It's not an issue of space as much as ease of use.

Also, I would assume that routes and assets are allowed to be used in both. leaving aside what works technically.

Thanks!
 
I'd like suggestions from folks about organizing them before I get too involved in re-inventing the wheel. It's not an issue of space as much as ease of use.

Routes you create with TRS2019 cannot be imported into T:ane. If you edit an existing route in TRS2019 and save it then it becomes a TRS2019 route and will not import into T:ane. Some assets on the DLS (and, less often, on third-party sites) are for TRS2019 and later editions only. If you are familiar with Windows' procedures for file associations you can select which edition will be associated with .cdp files. Other than being aware of those issues, no particular organisation is required, as the two installations are quite separate.
 
Thanks, SDan. But if I put a T:ANE route into TRS19, there's a good chance it will be very close to complete now that I've been doing just that for a while. My TRS19 install is quite large. Also, IIRC I exported/imported a couple of T:ANE routes via CM From:TRS19 To: T:ANE instead of re-DL'ing.

What I seem to understand is there is no way the two different games..er,uh simulation.. can seek out kuids from a common folder of any sort, it's just easier to let CM download and install anything needed for an asset in either one.
 
Also, IIRC I exported/imported a couple of T:ANE routes via CM From:TRS19 To: T:ANE instead of re-DL'ing.

You can download a route into TRS2019 and export it for use in T:ane (provided it is compatible with T:ane). Just don't save it from TRS2019 first.
 
Thanks, y'all, I appreciate the responses and opinions. Since I am in the process of upgrading, I need to ask some questions in the Hardware Forum; I go with towers and use multiple drives.

I've got some things transferred with no issue using CM; when the cdp exports from TRS19 into a folder, then gets imported into T:ANE, CM will indicate any missing kuids and can dl. (CM 101, huh.) So that is easier than trying to associate, as long as there's internet. I'm acquiring some of the wonderful signature routes and building a solid version of T:ANE.

Trainz is a continuum, or appears to me. Many forumites have long strings of versions in their sigs. TRS19 is really wonderful and worth aiming for, IMO. My current FCT runs through the summer.
 
Hi.. purchased TRS19 Early Release outright (Oct 2018) and then when Gold after that so I have access to all Tane and all TRS19 apps and content. I mainly use Tane to help "debug" sessions that may not work in TRS19. Best thing I did was install a large SSD drive and then download all payware and most "talked about" and known good routes. Result? When I download freeware routes/sessions now missing/unknown kuids are minimal. Any Route or loco I don't want to "see" I just disable in CM, leaving all the assets available in case another route/session calls for them in the future. (I actually have 3 installs, one with built in and freeware content only so any future routes/sessions created can be shared, a "main" install with freeware and payware (gold and 3rd party owned) , and one install for Trainz plus beta stream. Works out very nice. Many others have similar multi installs.
 
Thanks, y'all, I appreciate the responses and opinions. Since I am in the process of upgrading, I need to ask some questions in the Hardware Forum; I go with towers and use multiple drives.

I've got some things transferred with no issue using CM; when the cdp exports from TRS19 into a folder, then gets imported into T:ANE, CM will indicate any missing kuids and can dl. (CM 101, huh.) So that is easier than trying to associate, as long as there's internet. I'm acquiring some of the wonderful signature routes and building a solid version of T:ANE.

Trainz is a continuum, or appears to me. Many forumites have long strings of versions in their sigs. TRS19 is really wonderful and worth aiming for, IMO. My current FCT runs through the summer.

You can purchase annual FCTs (recommended) because they always manage to run out just when you need them the most. Yes this program has that effect on people. A continuum is a good way to put it. Many people have been here since the program's inception back in 2001. Their forum join date is incorrect since that was reset in 2006 due to a forum "crash". I've been here since December 2003 myself and started with TRS2004 and later bought the 15-anniversary set of the older versions, but yeah many people have years of experience.

Importing CDPs into any version of Trainz, is a lot easier if you drag and drop the CDP into Content Manager. This ensures you are installing assets in the right place. Having two different versions of Content Manager, however, does get a bit confusing! :)

A tower is highly recommended due to the amount of heat generated by graphics intensive programs. You want plenty of fans and ventilation with more the better especially during the warmer months. Since you are just setting things up, we all recommend putting your data outside of the C:\Users\<profile>\App Data data structure. With T:ANE and up, you can specify where your data goes. I for example have TRS19 data on my E: drive and T:ANE data, for which I still use occasionally, on my F: drive.

As far as mixing databases, don't ever do that. You'll be in a world of hurt doing so because some things are the same, but a lot is different. I have shared the same database over a network for the same version of T:ANE between my laptop when I used it with only one copy of T:ANE being used at a time. It worked, but it was slow going due the limitations of the network speeds. It was convenient, however, sitting on my deck and Trainzing, but the sacrifice in speed wasn't worth it. There was also that chance of things hanging due to a network glitch.

You'll be presently surprised how resilient, overall, the program is as well as the array of hardware that the program can operate under. I happened to replace my video card a few years ago, if not longer now, with a GTX1080TI. I don't run it at full throttle and enjoy smooth performance overall on my very, very detailed tree-covered routes. (I admit being from the Northeast tends to make me want trees, trees, and more green!). The thing is this program is a lot different than a fixed "game" with a set of limited assets. You are going to find that some assets are going to perform better than others, that some routes are going to be too complex even for a Cray computer to handle. The good news is you can modify these routes, the ones you've downloaded mind you, to your heart's content. Remove as many trees as you want, add in as many other details as you want. You'll see what I mean here later on as you get more into the computer.

Speaking of a Cray killer... I downloaded a very nice-looking route. It look fabulous, but even with my decent processor and video card at the time I could net get anything more than a slideshow. I opened the route up in Surveyor and had a look around. There I found a gazillion grass splines overlaid on top of more grass splines. There were also grass splines where no one would ever see anything to begin with. I cloned the route and did some lawn mowing across the map. It took me a couple of hours, but in the end the frame rates doubled. Yes, they actually doubled after peeling back the layers of grass. Did we see anything different? Nope. The grass is just as thick as before only there's less of it. With the Turf-FX available today, I may remove the splines and replace them with that, and that route will look even better.
 
Trainz will point out any computing deficiencies, and quickly. The lack of good organization on my machine was just a result of laziness, other priorities, but just letting it install on the C: soon revealed my follies. Currently have a 120G SSD with a 1TB mechanical as second drive. Moving the data to the second drive was done fairly early. Now I am looking at getting another SSD for third drive to put all the data and reorganize some other stuff.

Your responses here have changed my focus since the opening post. Instead of consolidating for efficiency, it looks like multiple installs actually helps. What kind of restrictions are there for that? (I'm assuming that 6 PC's on a network can't all use the same program for a multiplayer, they would all have to have a separate license.) I especially like the idea of an install for making sessions for sharing that has only built-in assets.

Back to researching...I actually have been reading these forums and the Wiki for over a month before I posted any NewGuy questions. Y'all who post here have helped a great deal. Now, I have to haul that freight up to Wallangarra!
 
Unless it has changed since TS12, multiplayer access was by username so unless you had different valid usernames it wasn't possible to play with yourself.

When you open a asset for editing in explorer, the files appear in the "editing" folder within the program's directory. Each asset in it's own folder. You can make a copy of those folders and paste them into a folder on your drive for moving to another version. Then use Revert if Unchanged to close the open files.

Then use File > Import content folder to import them into the new version of Trainz. This works for anything that isn't built-in. I prefer to drag and drop one folder at a time on CM. That way using the "Today" filter I can delete anything that didn't work.

To move DLC to another version, sometimes you can just copy the packages than begin with the same name like sc455xxxx to the package folder of the new version and then do a database rebuild and restart the game. This works as long as the DLC is compatible with both versions.

William
 
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To move DLC to another version, sometimes you can just copy the packages than begin with the same name like sc455xxxx to the package folder of the new version and then do a database rebuild and restart the game. This works as long as the DLC is compatible with both versions.

I've had good luck with cloned installs where all the DLC came with the install, but never with copying the folders. In the end I ended up downloading the content again from the DLC server.
 
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