How to contact Pikkabird?

Richarde57

Active member
Hi,

I'm trying to send a mail to Pikkabird, but got it back in a few seconds.

I'm using an address found in the config.txt of the BR Class 87 Blue which he posted on the DLS a few days ago.
So that address must be valid, I thought.
Every site that offers his stuff for download has displayed the same address.

The problem:

To get the better looking class 24 and others, I bought last week the S&C route.
But the route sucks, the trainz quality looks like 30 years old.
FREE but way better are the "Dearnby & District" and the "Cornish" routes.

There are 24's on the DLS but they have all frozen windows.

The 24's as payware should have clear windows as shown on de pictures on the sites.
Problem is ALL the 24's I got have a bit too clean windows, or in other words no windows at all !
Because it's payware I expected the locos as shown on the pictures.

So I sent him a question about it via mail, but no luck.
I got them back as "undelivered mail returned to sender"

Who can clear this windows problem?
Or do you all (other buyers) have the same problem?

I bought it from here:
https://store.trainzportal.com/products/trainz-route-settle-and-carlisle
To expensive imo, but that is my own fault. I should have known it.

http://www.rail-sim.co.uk/
Old... but not gone... still with nice stuff.

End of message.

☼!¿?¡☼
 
You may as well forget Pikkabird as he has had nothing to do with Trainz for several years now and will not respond to requests, many have tried over the years and failed, any updates are being done by the Content Repair Group on behalf of N3V not Pikkabird.

CRG only fixes errors that stop the asset from working in current versions of Trainz, not modifications or improvements.
 
There is no standard for payware. I have one that the wheels did not rotate. Looks nice apart from that though.

Windows are a problem. Basically there are two ways to do them one involves alpha channel and the transparency varies widely between TANE and TS19. The other involves having a mesh with the right parameters. So if your windows are totally clear what you can do is add a window mesh to the model.

Cheerio John
 
So, someone makes and post things on the DLS with a fake "has nothing to do with the original" name?

Found this, so Clam1952 is right:

David Dallaston (username: Pikkabird)

Whilst no longer active in the Trainz creation scene David was for a long time been regarded as amongst the foremost creators of content. David's signature piece is the Class 37 locomotive, but his high quality content included wagons and brake vans and they are still to a large extent considered as benchmarks. David contributed some of his unfinished projects to the team's Hawes Junction project and these were completed by Paul Hobbs.


http://www.rail-sim.co.uk/team.shtml

Ok, then we go on with the unfinished 24's without the windows.
A bit cold these days, even with the heater on 10.

Weird story.

:eek:
 
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Checked the 24s in TS12 they have glass partially open Windows, not visible in TANE can just about make out there is something there in TRS19. As they are locked payware not a lot anyone can do. Guess it's another victim of
Settle & Carlisle (SnC) has been updated for Trainz A New Era!
 
As far as I know PikkaBird had nothing to do with the SnC Class 24s. They were made by Michael Whiteley (think I got the name right).

Paul
 
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Aha, that would be great if it's just something wrong with Tane.

Maybe it can be fixed.

I have them too in not payware version but then there's something special with the the mesh.
I can see everything else except for the mesh of the loco.
That must be hidden somewhere else?

But also the not payware versions have the same problem... no windows.

There's some little trick to make the payware versions obsolete, resulting in a full editable other version.
But again with a hidden mesh.

Still weird... :)



It's Michael Whiteley
 
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I think at some point, S&C should be dropped to freeware, or much lower price. N3V charging $25 for an ancient route only survives because SOOOOOOO many British routes are rife with assets from that route. You either pay the price or live with missing assets for just about everything else. I have heard it is a great route, if dated, but I don't consider it worth the cost of some very good other assets and routes at that price point. Just my $.02 and probably what it is worth...
 
Don't know who made S&C, but driving the route trough a landscape of only grass with all the same looking trees, which both are way too light green, it was just boring.

The rolling stock should made worth it, but did not.

The buy on Trainz Store sais: Settle & Carlisle (SnC) has been updated for Trainz A New Era!

Looks like they forgot to upload the update...



But for just once let's go back to PikkaBird and his PikkaRail...
There are a lot assets where his name is linked to.
He had even his own logo.
See this:

https://pikkarail.com/trainz/

He made some good looking stuff for that time and if you like the British Railways you will have a lot of his assets in game.

The British locos itselfs are a bit weird looking and more ugly then nice and make the sound of a blubbering coffee machine.

Maybe they are just so ugly that they become funny to drive around.
 
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SnC was made for TS2009 by Rail Sim UK and was originally only available from their website, the TANE updates from that site were included in the N3V TANE update not sure who did that or when it became N3V DLC probably back in TS12 days as it's fine in TS12,
Trees? Due to replacing the old billboard trees that do not work in TANE as it has a different / New Game engine, with SpeedTrees, which were not that good back when TANE first appeared.

Class 24s checked the ones from the website which are the same in TRS19 as in no glass, however it is fixable as the ones from the website are editable.

So Download and install, they will show as obsolete.

Only need to fix this one <kuid2:141830:24041:41> BR Class 24 Two Tone Green Discs Half Yellow, the others are aliased to it

Open for edit

Upversion the kuid to higher than the builtin payware DLC version <kuid2:141830:24041:43> (42 is the payware one)

Do not change the build version or you will get issues with the Alias

Do not commit but use import folder which will install it.

Get hold of IM Editor - from here https://contentcreation.trainzsimulator.com/category/software/ down the bottom of the page.

Launch IMEditor

Open for the upversioned loco for edit.

Drag main.im into the IMEditor Window

Click on Object 13

Change to opacity to 50% just an arbitrary value I picked you can adjust to suit

Click the floppy disk icon to save, if its greyed out just click on something else without changing it, it will then go dark and you can save

Submit the asset.

Result in TRS19 preview asset, the others are now also fixed without needing to do anything, you may need a different opacity value for TANE.

 
bigsmile 100x100.png


This is me at the moment...


Thank you very much!


:D
 
Hello Richarde57

I confirm what clam1952 has shown, it's the opacity that needs increasing, however in TANE, at certain angles and also the time of day will produce un-natural shadows around the ventilator grills,
I'm afraid we will have to live with that as the mesh needs amending and only the author can change that.

My-Trainz-Screenshot-Image.jpg


Cheers, evilcrow
 
Hmm, then the windows not 50 but 40%?

Or even 35? As long the windows are visible it will be fine.

edit
Just editted it to 35%, looks good :)
end edit

Cheers too,

 
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Just a slight correction, the S&C route was, at least in the US, sold as the route in Trainz Classic 3. It was an expansion of the Hawes Junction route that was included in TRS2006. There were updates to the route and the rolling stock when TS2009 was released and that updated version was sold as the S&C DLC package. The rolling stock got another update after TS10 was released. If you like S&C you should consider purchasing "The Loops" from the same group of creators.

William
 
William,

No, I don't like the SnC.
I thòught I would like it, but it turned to be not.

So, before I buy PLL I would like to see some ingame movies.
And, very important, it must be free to edit.

If SnC was not locked then I could make it to what I like.
Unfortunately it isn't. Waisted 25 dollars.
Don't want to do that again.

Some nice PLL movies would be a great help.

Richard

:)
 
Found zero interesting videos but I bougt PLL.

Not happy with the tax! :(
I never have to pay tax when buying things for trains.
And I do that a lot...

pll bill.jpg


Now it's waiting for the package in my mail box.
Not working in Tane it sais on the site, but all of the stuff I bought or downloaded I can repair to work in Tane.

Time will tell

☼ ... ☼
 
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