Adjusting the height of industries

Hi, Most industries will not allow height adjustment with the height adjustment tool, so to adjust the height I have found a work around.

When the industry is first laid the height does not always match the track height. To correct this lay a piece of track over the industry track using the shift key so it does not connect. Set the height of both spline points on this track to the same as your main track, then use the smooth spline point tool to bring the ground to the correct level for the new track. This will cause the ground to rise and the industry will rise with it, then delete the extra track.

Cheers,
Bill69

...or, you can add a height-range tag at the root level of the config to enable height adjustments with the usual Surveyor tool. For example, to allow adjustments of +/- 10m, the tag would read;

height-range -10,10

I suspect that's a solution that is local only to your copy of Trainz though.

Dinorius_Redundicus said:

...or, you can add a height-range tag at the root level of the config to enable height adjustments with the usual Surveyor tool. For example, to allow adjustments of +/- 10m, the tag would read;

height-range -10,10

I suspect that's a solution that is local only to your copy of Trainz though.

Click to expand...

Not sure about current versions, but at least up to TS10 you could edit the asset on your local machine, adjust the height to suit, and the object would appear at the adjusted height on distributed maps. The only downfall was that if there was an attempt to adjust the height on another machine with the un-edited asset, all instances of that asset on the route would snap to +/- 0

Not having distributed a post-TS10 route I can't guarantee that things haven't changed, but unless fundamental references have been altered, it should still be good to go...

Andy

Dermmy said:

Not sure about current versions, but at least up to TS10 you could edit the asset on your local machine, adjust the height to suit, and the object would appear at the adjusted height on distributed maps. The only downfall was that if there was an attempt to adjust the height on another machine with the un-edited asset, all instances of that asset on the route would snap to +/- 0

Not having distributed a post-TS10 route I can't guarantee that things haven't changed, but unless fundamental references have been altered, it should still be good to go...

Andy

Click to expand...

Hi Andy!

Yes, that still works. Nothing much as has changed other than the pretty parts.

Or you can just raise or lower the ground under the asset to get it's track to the same level as your main line.

Alikiwi said:

Or you can just raise or lower the ground under the asset to get it's track to the same level as your main line.

Click to expand...

Which is what I do. Using lengths of track, I surround the industry, then make the track vertices the same as the lead-in and exit track. using the "smoothing terrain" tool, a couple of clicks on the surrounding track later, the industry is raised/lowered to where it needs to be. Delete the extra track.

Bill

Dermmy said:

Not sure about current versions, but at least up to TS10 you could edit the asset on your local machine, adjust the height to suit, and the object would appear at the adjusted height on distributed maps. The only downfall was that if there was an attempt to adjust the height on another machine with the un-edited asset, all instances of that asset on the route would snap to +/- 0
...

Andy

Click to expand...

Yes, this property is stored in the map files that go with the route so it retains the adjusted value. Another property like this that comes to mind is roll. When you edit them in Surveyor it uses the config definition to determine the allowed range and follows the current config definitions.

Though in my experience when they are edited by any one that doesn't have the asset's edited config they are not reset to the default heights and roll, 0 in these cases, but still retain the adjusted values. Any user that attempts to edit them in Surveyor (without the edited config) will now get a warning that the object does not allow height changes or rolling. And obviously if they place new instances of these assets they get the same warnings.

To make any changes to the height or roll of that asset a user has to edit the asset's config to allow the change just like the route creator did.

Bob Pearson

PS. With any scenery with track asset - industries, buildables and fixed track - the height is always set relative to the ground height directly under the origin of the asset. There is no way to "fix" the assets height. They always move with the ground if its height is edited. I've wished for a way to fix the height but there currently is none. It would make track grading and terraforming near these assets much easier.

I am fully aware that you can alter the config.txt file to correct the height, but if it is to be used in a route you intend to upload you cannot use it with an altered config, especially if you have cloned it before altering it. This is also a way that can be used by anyone who does not know how to add tags in a config file.
I note it is the same method that HiBaller uses.

Bill69

The point Bill is that you can edit the config on your machine, add the height-range tag, upload the route, and the asset will appear at the altered height even on machines with the unaltered asset. When loading a route trainz does not check reference the config of every asset, so in effect it doesn't know the raised/lowered asset can't be raised/lowered.
There are countless assets on my routes with height and/or roll tags added....

Hi Dermmy,

I don't see how that works as you only reference the item when uploading a route.
You do not upload the actual item therefore when the route is downloaded the item will be
downloaded from the DLS and will have the original config.txt file included.

Cheers,
Bill69

The position of an asset in X,Y,Z space on a route is presumably encoded as part of the map's data when the route is saved. The asset kuid references (as expressed by the kuid-table) must only say which assets are required, but where every instance goes is decided by the map. So the asset starts off wherever it was (including height adjustment) when the map was saved. Only if you try to change that position, and it has no height-range tag to tell it otherwise, the height collapses to the default value (0) relative to the ground. At least that's what I think must be going on.


.

Deane is exactly right, the position of an asset on the route is defined in one of the route files, the asset config is in that sense irrelevant. The only issue is that if someone attempts to height-adjust the item for whatever reason the asset config is then consulted and in effect the asset says "Oops, I shouldn't be up/down here, I'm not height adjustable," and runs home to mother, taking every other instance of the asset on the route to relative zero with it. IMHO that just teaches people to leave the blasted route the way I built it....

Dermmy said:

... taking every other instance of the asset on the route to relative zero with it. IMHO that just teaches people to leave the blasted route the way I built it....

Click to expand...

That is not exactly correct as I pointed out in post #7. Unless the asset's config on a user's PC permits height changes they just get a warning that the object does not allow height changes and the height you set in Surveyor and was distributed in the map's .obs file(s) remains unchanged. It does not reset all instances of the asset the user is trying to edit to the default height value which for scenery assets is 0m relative to the ground height.

Bob Pearson

Thanks Bob, just curious tho what happens if the end user ignores the warning and moves his/her mouse? The 'target' asset will certainly snap to zero, but your point certainly makes me question it 'taking all other instances' with it, and that eventuality certainly doesn't make sense in relation to the .obs file. I wonder where I picked up that particular trainz myth lol.

The point for Bill however remains that you can edit locally, distribute the route with the un-edited asset, and all will be well unless the end user ignores a warning, and then saves the route, in which case they deserve to have one or more assets buried in the mud...

Cheers

Thanks for all these insights. I will try altering the config and transfer the route to another installation I have with out the particular industry, then download the industry to see what happens.

Cheers,
Bill