Beginner bewildered

I have come to the sad conclusion that I am severely mentally incompetent. This shattering event has been made apparent by my inability to understand the video illustrating how to unload rail vehicles in the Innter Kohn Necktion sessions. I am running TRS19 and the video and the author's instructions seem to be irrelevant to what I experience when playing the game. I wish that people making content for the game would road-test that content by asking novices to use said content, not by asking experts.

I have previously expressed frustration at the lack of simple 'How To Do It' resources offered in various locations which I have stumbled across. The lack of centralised help in easy-to-find documents make the game difficult to like.

Can somebody please help me?

I have passed on your request to the creator of that work. He is always most helpful.

I'm not the creator of the route but try this:
(You have Platinum version and you get to the screen just a bit differently than how it's done in the video.)

- Launch your session
- Make sure you are in Surveyor mode (Tools menu, 3rd from left at top)
- Slide out "Trains" panel (bottom "handbrake" icon on right edge of screen)
- Click the Question Mark (Properties)
- Click on train car and Properties window will open showing "load"
- Possible loads are shown. Click the item that's loaded. I believe there will be a green bar underneath.
- Item and Units loaded will show
- Click the "X" on the loaded item. Note bar underneath is not green now.
- Click checkmark to complete and close window. Your car is now empty.
- Go back to Driver mode.

If you have "commodity overlays" options set you will see status of load change (green bars that hover over cars at certain times.) "Commodity overlay" options are found in the "Display Menu" (4th from left icon at top, looks like a computer display). You can have them always hidden, always visible, or only if changed recently.

To load items, when in the Properties window click the "Plus" and find and add your commodity then enter and amount you want loaded. Typing a large number like 999999999 will fill it to capacity, automatically adjusting the total.

Note that commodities will change as you add routes and sessions. Commodities are assets that are built in to the game but also created by users and added when you download from CM (Content Manager). You can end up with hundreds and hundreds of commodities. So many, you may need to manage them (delete un-used ones) over time. So learn how to use your content manager well too. First thing to do in CM is to click on the column header and add all columns. Click on "Type" on column head and it will sort by Type. You can then scroll thru and see all your commodities. Also learn how to create Filters in CM. They are very useful.

See if that works for you.

Get used to asking a lot of questions on the forum. There is no such thing as simple -or- easy to find docs in this game.

Hi Oldie --

Is this the video?


Now you might be "shattered". Trust me, it aint no different for me, so welcome to the club. I invariably get shattered/angry/frustrated/despairing/ ... with each new release or update of Trainz. Something always changes, affecting either the routes and layouts that I've made or the sessions for them. Then I have to decide to leave as is or do updates. Or go back to Microsoft Train Simulator which, of course, hasn't been updated since the birth of Adam.

So. The video above was made with Trainz TRS19. Then along comes SP1 and the way of accessing that flyout on the right hand side changed. It changed once more in TRS19 Plus and Platinum.

Now I don't have Plus or Platinum. I jumped aboard TRS19 when it was first released and have just the basic TRS19. But I've been told that in Platinum and Plus, the "Edit Trains" is found in Surveyor mode. Use TOOLS menu, at the top left of the screen, to go to Surveyor. Next click the round "handbrake" icon (the bottom icon) found on the right hand edge of screen. You are now in "Edit Trains." Your Edit Trains panel should look like the one in the video above. Follow the video showing how to use the Edit Trains panel to load and unload freight cars.

Could you tell us if this helps? Feedback is important -- this issue might arise again and if you can understand the process it gives me more confidence.

OK -- one more question. I note your frustration but are you enjoying Trainz? And this little layout?

And have you visited this thread?

https://forums.auran.com/trainz/sho...er-Kohn-Necktion-Railroad-Model-Trainz-Layout

Phil

Edit:
After reflection on this overnight maybe my criticism of N3V was a little too harsh. Every iteration and every update has been an improvement. With one exception -- in TRS19 SP1 removing the Do/Redo buttons in Surveyor.

You can also try my driver commands: InstantLoadAtFocus and InstantUnloadAtFocus (in Driver Mode). Like Phil, I have only the original TRS19.

Here are some points to consider as you begin (or should I say endure) your commodity loading/unloading adventure in Trainz.

There are a handful of content creators that have donated industries and cars and commodities that work in various combinations. Some work with only their own creations, some are more flexible. There also have been many new versions of Trainz over the years.
Also, cars have to be configured with attachment points for the loads. Even though under the properties tab can show a window with an alphabetical list of scores of commodities, it does not mean they will work.

Also, some industries load with a "load" driver command, some by driving slowly, and some not at all.

Unless you are a supply/demand enthusiast, most invisible commodities don't really matter anyway (at least at this point of your operation).

If you stick with prominent creators like Philskene, or built-in sessions, you can assume they will work somehow. I franky cannot suggest you try your own unless you are prepared to deal with trial and error, and failure in some cases.

If the industries or cars don't seem to behave, you can usually use the properties tab as in the Philskene video, or some variation based on the release version.

There are several driver commands that have been donated that can be used in lieu of the properties tab. I mentioned 2 of mine in a previous post in this thread. There are also a couple of others by other scripters.

So, be prepared to be flexible, and probably frustrated from time to time.

There seems to be some confusion on the tabs. TRS19 Platinum is the same as other versions. The tabs are all on the right of the screen when in surveyor. The difference is that while in driver you can also access the edit train via the drop down menu as shown in the video. The video is not using the industry to load but is doing so by editing the consist manually.

Hi pitkin --

Those InstantLoad / Unload commands are excellent. The main drawback is that they only load and unload the first commodity in the config.txt que. ElStoko has an alternative that can be configured for a particular que, but it's a bit harder to use. Neither will load a commodity that's not listed in the config.txt file. That's the beauty of the flyout method.

The real reason that I use the method shown in the video -- making Chuck & Joe multitask as Yard Master and Load Master -- is to free me from the tedium of configuring industries, the Multiple Industry New, for example, and then testing the session.

Phil

philskene said:

Hi pitkin --

Those InstantLoad / Unload commands are excellent. The main drawback is that they only load and unload the first commodity in the config.txt que. ElStoko has an alternative that can be configured for a particular que, but it's a bit harder to use. Neither will load a commodity that's not listed in the config.txt file. That's the beauty of the flyout method.

The real reason that I use the method shown in the video -- making Chuck & Joe multitask as Yard Master and Load Master -- is to free me from the tedium of configuring industries, the Multiple Industry New, for example, and then testing the session.

Phil

Click to expand...

It has been awhile since I wrote them, but if memory serves me, they look at the loading report for that vehicle. I believe they show all the queues and products for which the car has been configured. i don't recall reading the config.txt file. Maybe you are thinking of a different command?

(I will check when at my Trainz computer).

Maybe I am looking at something different. I'll have another look at InstantLoad / Unload. They might be just what I need for another project.

philskene said:

Maybe I am looking at something different. I'll have another look at InstantLoad / Unload. They might be just what I need for another project.

Click to expand...

Just looked at a flatcar, and menu showed 8 queues to choose from. I think one of the commands to load an entire train used the first commodity it came to (from where I don't know, I did not write it). TRS19 SP1

@philskene,

I believe that Pitkin was referring to the two commands he wrote - InstantUnloadAtFocus and InstantLoadAtFocus. I believe they provide the selectivity needed.

Bob Morrison

Robertbc6 said:

@philskene,

I believe that Pitkin was referring to the two commands he wrote - InstantUnloadAtFocus and InstantLoadAtFocus. I believe they provide the selectivity needed.

Bob Morrison

Click to expand...

Of course, the unload command does not require much selectivity, as it unloads whatever is in the car .

Thanks!

Thanks to all for the useful information - just what I was looking for.