The Revamped Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (for T:ANE-SP4)

I'm a TRS2019 user who is missing an asset: <kuid2:523:1124:3>

This one can safely be ignored. I created a local copy of Auran's "Missing Spline" so I could click on it in a route and substitute other content. You could "delete missing assets" but then the route would be saved under your KUID and the sessions wouldn't work. OR, you could do as I did, clone 523:1124:2, change the KUID version to "3" and drag/drop the edited folder back into CM. It would make it a change local to your computer and make the missing asset go away.

Bill
 
Ian

I'm 91.5 so perhaps I'm a SuperSenior. At that age the problem is 'memory', my desk is littered with notes to remind me what i was working on.

Peter

I do something similar. Sometimes late at night, when I'm laying in the bed trying to go to sleep, I'll remember something I need to do the next day, so I'll get up, put a post-it note on my computer screen, because I'm concerned that when I wake up the next day, I won't remember what I had to do that day.
 
It seems the time has come for our DHR. It is not happy in 2019, although I have done short runs in 2019 and despite the old style scenery, it still looks good.

This poses a question, Bill has no time to spend in doing the updates needed and I have clocked over to 92 years old and Trainz reworking is not easy for me.

So, is there anyone out there with 2019 who will take on some of the necessary work or do we allow it to fade out?

No hard feelings if you all say 'No'

Peter
 
Hi Peter,

I don't want to see this project fade away, it was one of the reasons I stayed with Trainz instead of moving to that other payware sim ( a long time ago).

I admit to not having looked at it for a long time, but now I feel that I might be able to help to update it.

I'll put it in TRS19 (basic version) and see what I can help with.

Cheers,

Graham

------------------------------------------------
Update,
I put the route from the DLS into TRS19 v4.8 SP3 build 111951.
No lost dependencies, all were there.

The biggest problem is the textures, they look awfull and so need replacing.
Trees are the other downfall, they need replacing with speedtress.

I am going to clone the route and see what I can do with the textures and trees.
I will not be using PBR textures, they (to me) are not suitable for this terrain due to the jelly effect on the slopes as you pass by.
If I can't find suitable textures I will make some to match as near as possible.

I'll do a test area first and get some screenshots up.

Cheers,

Graham
(a youngster at 70, + 4 months :) )
 
Last edited:
Hers's a chance to remake some of the DHR as your baby.

I have to check with my co-creators for their reaction but for my content, I would like to see new and enthusiastic creators and I would be happy to allow any/all of my content to be re-issued under the KUID of the updater. This is "off-the-cuff", there may be things to sort out.



Peter
 
I definitely agree with Peter.

Graham, it would be wonderful if you can do some updating on our route. I agree the textures have gone wrong since we updated the DHR to TANE. They are WAY to bright (for one thing) and they don't play well with surrounding textures. The trees, being billboard trees, are a problem that speedtrees would take care of. We opted not to turn them into better trees mostly because at the time computers couldn't handle the vast amount of trees on the route. This is also why we didn't opt for road traffic as it would have slowed frame rates.

The "people" themselves are 2D as well. One of the reasons we felt the DHR had come to life was the addition of people everywhere. A glaring omission on most routes nowadays is the lack of people, cars, and other items one finds in abundance but never think to add to a route. I see huge business/apartment buildings with vast parking lots, yet there are no cars in them. Shopping malls with no people. It's jarring not to have them.

If you need any help at all, I'll do what I can. I have every piece of content saved in several places (including on a thumb drive) and also have permission from every contributory creator to alter and submit whatever needs to be done.

Bill
 
Thanks guys,

I loaded it into TANE SP4 to have a look as well.

If the route is to last in the Trainz World, I will need to work on it in TRS19 (v4.6, build 106618, basic version.)
I can then update it at some point in the future to a (hopefully) stable SP3..

I have found the cause of the ground texture failure so I know what lies ahead for me there.

The trees are a problem, it's not possible to change to identical speedtrees so I will have to install alternative ones that look similar.


I know it's a big task, but I like a challenge and will give it my best shot, it will take me a while but I will forge ahead with the update.

I'll post some update screenshots to you via PM to let you see progress and if you are happy I will carry on with the project.


I think my new avatar looks nice too :)

Cheers,

Graham
 
...


I know it's a big task, but I like a challenge and will give it my best shot, it will take me a while but I will forge ahead with the update.

...

Cheers,

Graham
Having followed and played with the DHR in the past, I too look forward to see an updated version. :D
:mop:
 
@ narrowgauge : thankz a lot, supersenior, for all your creations and inspirations .. stay strong ..
@ euromodeller : looking forward to it .. take your time .. stay safe ..
.. keep on shakin' the world ..
grtz with most respect
daveric
 
When we first started this project (back in the Dark Ages) Google Maps didn't have any street views from India except in the largest cities. I had to struggle to make the DEM for the route, sometimes from nothing but a textual description and a Topographic map. A lot of your locations would have been a huge help. Good to see there are now better ways to visualize locations. I like the shot of the shops along Hill Cart Road in Sonada. We struggled to add as much detail as we could to give everyone the look and feel of India without bringing their computers to their collective knees.

Bill
 
Bill,

I really admire your team for making this route with the resources that you had available.

I think the word to use for your efforts is 'EPIC' .:Y:

You should be proud of what you achieved.

The lowest frame rate I have had is 25fps, highest is over 80fps. (but that is with an ASUS ROG RTX 2070 Super)

Google Maps is a great resource, click a location and you'll most likely get photos of the area on there, it has certainly helped me with choosing and planting the trees.

I have just found this video and at the moment I have watched it up to Rongtong so far (8.56), I am grabbing screenshots along the way to help me.


Cheers,

Graham.
 
I have half a dozen DVD videos of the DHR we used for local color content. Unfortunately, most are copywritten so I can't distribute them. They are also fairly old, so they wouldn't reflect anything past around the 1990's. The video you posts is great. I wish we could have duplicated the trackwork we see in most of the video. It's terrible, isn't it? I especially liked the way the derailment was handled.

Bill
 
I have half a dozen DVD videos of the DHR we used for local color content. Unfortunately, most are copywritten so I can't distribute them. They are also fairly old, so they wouldn't reflect anything past around the 1990's. The video you posts is great. I wish we could have duplicated the trackwork we see in most of the video. It's terrible, isn't it? I especially liked the way the derailment was handled.

Bill

This is from a charter train in March 2018 that ran from Siliguri Junction and Darjeeling pulled by Class B steamers. I think that the engines could use an update as well as I'm running one of the DHR sessions with the Class B loco running in reverse pulling the train from Darjeeling and I'm not getting any sounds from the steamers. I can also see using lilb's script to recreate the people on the footboards seen on the steeper parts of the line, spreading sand in front of it, and on top of the coal bunker breaking coal. stevelerro used lilb's script on Atlanta & West Point #290 to add extra fireman to the cab, often seen on excursion trains. This video is part 1, which covers between Siliguri to Tindharia, and I'll make another post with part 2, which covers Tindharia to Darjeeling.

 
Here's part 2 and to quote the description:
"The first part of the video shows arrivals, departures and shunting movements around Darjeeling station and engine shed (featuring B Class steam locos and NDM6 Diesel locos).
The second part of the video was filmed from the train hauled by a B Class loco between Darjeeling and Ghum (and return) showing the juxtaposition of road, rail, buildings and people! Finally, film shot from the train in the dark on a Darjeeling Tours Ltd Evening Dining Charter train between New Jalpaiguri and Rangtong. The loco, struggling at times, finally succumbs before Rangtong is reached. All filmed in March 2018."


 
Thank you for some very interesting Videos, amazing to see these little Steam Engines working in Real life at 6000 Feet of Elevation or more.......:p

Quite an accomplishment for them to build a RR like this in that extreme Mountain terrain and it still works..........My Hats is off to them..........:cool:
 
I've spent the best part of this week researching on the web, watching videos and getting to know the assets on the route and continuing the upgrade.

So here are a couple of shots around Chunbhati loop with different lighting setups.
These are WIP shots.

Best seen in fullscreen if you can do it.

DHR-Chunbhati-1.jpg


DHR-Chunbhati-2.jpg


I hope the DHR creators approve.

Here's a short video of one of the many Z reverses used to gain altitude.


Cheers,
Graham
 
Back
Top