Ohio CSX Route

[Chacal]

Got it. It is just a mistake in your readme file.

[daniellouwrens]

Okay, so the readme says

"MUST OWN HORSE SHOE CURVE ROUTE TO PLAY."
Well I do so why is the RW_Tools reporting all these and more missing???

AP's have been unpacked

C:\Rail Utilities\Steam\SteamApps\common\RailWorks\Assets\3DTrains\ScaleRail\RoadNetwork\Roads\Dirt_1L_A1.XSec
... [Edit by Chacal: pages of listing snipped for sanity] ...
C:\Rail Utilities\Steam\SteamApps\common\RailWorks\Assets\RSC\HorseshoeCurve\Scenery\Buildings\HSC_Tower_Gallitzin.GeoPcDx



All that effort by the creator and the end result is just P'd off simmers!

Makes me wonder

Daniel

[Chacal]

C:\Rail Utilities\Steam\SteamApps\common\RailWorks\Assets\3DTrains\ScaleRail\RoadNetwork\Roads\Dirt_1L_A1.XSec

Is this really where you installed TS2015?
Or maybe you set up the path incorrectly in RW-Tools ?
EDIT: Just to make this clear, there is no way the assets should have C:\Rail Utilities\Steam\SteamApps\common\RailWorks as the path, this looks more like the place where you would have installed RW-Tools, which is used as the default Railworks path if you don't change it as Mike says in the RW-Yools instructions.

[bulljose]

use the mike simpson rw tool to swap out any missing asets you don't have for asets that are in your asset list, (swap out missing engines and freight cars for the asts in your asset list )

[daniellouwrens]

C:\Rail Utilities\Steam\SteamApps\common\RailWorks\Assets\3DTrains\ScaleRail\RoadNetwork\Roads\Dirt_1L_A1.XSec

Is this really where you installed TS2015?
Or maybe you set up the path incorrectly in RW-Tools ?
EDIT: Just to make this clear, there is no way the assets should have C:\Rail Utilities\Steam\SteamApps\common\RailWorks as the path, this looks more like the place where you would have installed RW-Tools, which is used as the default Railworks path if you don't change it as Mike says in the RW-Yools instructions.

It is and it works fine, the key is "\Steam\SteamApps\common\RailWorks " This is my install of RW2015.

Daniel

[daniellouwrens]

use the mike simpson rw tool to swap out any missing asets you don't have for asets that are in your asset list, (swap out missing engines and freight cars for the asts in your asset list )

Fair enough, so why is this not in the readme.

I Downloaded the route believing that I could run it.

Daniel

[jwtheiv]

Folks - can we please take a slight step back?

He's new to route building and offered something gratis.
Yes, the read-me file needs to be better.
Yes, he should probably reach out to the community and ask for beta testers to try and catch a lot of these type of issues.
Those are the type of things you learn as you go through the process.

Trying to pillory him because he's made some novice mistakes isn't great for the community as a whole. I like free stuff. I like seeing routes and repaints and mods. Dog-piling creators every time they put out something less than perfect mostly leads to less sharing of creative efforts.

[Chacal]

+1.

@Daniel: I just realized that most of these assets (Horseshoe Curve, Donner Pass, Kuju RailsimulatorUS), are now archived in .ap files, which is why RW-Tools cannot see them. As Mike explains in his docs, you must unpack the .ap files for RW-Tools to see them. This is not a problem with the route. I suggest you read the RW-Tools docs.

What remains is a few assets that most people already have and that you get easily, such as 3DTrain's Scalerail (which is a good thing to get because lots of 3rd-party routes use it anyway).

This should be in the readme, but the skills for making routes and the skills for making readmes are not always the same.
This can be fixed easily.

@Tom: Perhaps you should consider the crazy idea of making positive contributions to forum threads, like maybe trying to provide solutions to problems.

[daniellouwrens]

+1.

@Daniel: I just realized that most of these assets (Horseshoe Curve, Donner Pass, Kuju RailsimulatorUS), are now archived in .ap files, which is why RW-Tools cannot see them. As Mike explains in his docs, you must unpack the .ap files for RW-Tools to see them. This is not a problem with the route. I suggest you read the RW-Tools docs.

As stated in my post I did unpack the AP's.

I guess my post is the result frustration rising from many downloads where the readme was misleading.

My apologies to the route creator, hope it come good for you.

Cheers

Daniel

[Chacal]

I just checked this route.
Here are the needed assets:

Essential: route won't be playable without these
RSC\HorseshoeCurve : Lots of scenery, tracks, etc. Payware DLC from Steam "Horseshoe Curve Route Add-On".
RSC\MariasPass : Lots of scenery, tracks, etc. Payware DLC from Steam "Marias Pass Route Add-On".
3DTrains\ScaleRail : Tracks. Freeware or payware from 3DTrains, everyone should have this. Also get Scaleroads. http://www.3dtrains.com/products .

Important: route will be playable but missing items will be noticeable
RSC\NorthEastCorridor: Lots of scenery. Payware DLC from Steam "Northeast Corridor Route Add-On". Includes APStation scenery items.
RSC\ShermanHill: Lots of scenery. Payware DLC from Steam "Sherman Hill Route Add-On".
RSC\DonnerPass: Lots of scenery. Payware DLC from Steam "Donner Pass: Southern Pacific Route Add-On".
Thomson\EandG: Scenery items and sounds. Payware DLC from Steam "Edinburgh-Glasgow Route Add-On".

Desirable: You may notice missing buildings and you will miss out nice features
3DTrains\SceneryPacks : Trees. Freeware from 3DTrains, everyone should have this. http://www.3dtrains.com/products .
CaptainBazza\Nautical: Great ships. Included in the free DLC from the RWA library "Industrial Interactive Route for RailWorks, version 4" .
G-Trax\PortlandTerminal: Buildings and scenery. Payware DLC from Steam "Portland Terminal Route Add-On".
Kuju\RailSimulator: Scenery items and sounds. Payware DLC from Steam "European Loco & Asset Pack" but included in many routes. If you have Railworks or Train Simulator 2012, you already have the contents of this pack.
Kuju\RailsimulatorUS: Scenery items and sounds. Payware DLC from Steam "US Loco & Asset Pack" but included in many routes. If you have Railworks or Train Simulator 2012, you already have the contents of this pack.
RSC\APStation: Scenery items. Not available separately but included in many routes, such as NorthEast Corridor, Falmouth Branch, Doncaster Works, Woodhead, Western Lines Of Scotland, Settle & Carlisle, Portsmouth Direct, WCML North.

Not important: some scenery items you won't notice
Developer\Addon: Clutter. Possibly default, everyone seems to have these.
GreatNortherner\Allegheny: Clutter. From one of numerous freeware and payware on Michael's "Golden Age of Railroading" web site at http://www.stephan-michael.de/railsim/index.html .
GreatNortherner\GNRy: Clutter and streetlights. From one of numerous freeware and payware on Michael's "Golden Age of Railroading" web site at http://www.stephan-michael.de/railsim/index.html .
RSC\BathTemp: One light. Payware DLC from Steam "Somerset & Dorset Railway Add-On".
RSC\CajonPass: One light. Payware DLC from Steam "Cajon Pass Route Add-On"
RSC\F40PHPack01: One light. Payware DLC from Steam "Amtrak F40PH ‘California Zephyr’ Loco Add-On"
RSC\HageSieg: One light. Payware DLC from Steam "Ruhr-Sieg Route Add-On"
RSC\NewcYork: One light. Payware DLC from Steam "East Coast Main Line Route Add-On"
Wilburton\Stockton: Some scenery. Wilburton\Stockton buildings and vehicles by Steve McGowen, available at uktrainsim.com. Included in the freeware WIP route from the RWA library "Sparks - Reno ".

[ex-railwayman]

Thank you for creating that list Chacal.

Cheerz. ex-railwayman.

EDIT:: Oh, has anyone posted any screenshots of this route yet, please ???

[Chacal]

Not yet I think.
I have completed the first scenario and taken a few screenshots.

The route is quite extensive, the track network is very complex.
The 10 provided scenarios are also quite complex, with lots of AI traffic and manual routing through yards and mainline.
I spent several hours swapping out assets from the SD75 DLC from the 10 scenarios, because I don't want to buy this DLC.

The only assets I'm missing are Thomson\EandG, which I listed as important above. So far I've only noticed a couple of missing bridges, but I could also be missing some buildings and clutter, because some places seem very clean.

So far my rating is "surprisingly good". My expectations were pretty low due to the lack of publicity (the author just dropped the route in the file Library, I haven't seen any announcement in any forum), lack of documentation and the author's partial command of the English language.

But I guess route building and writing are two very different skill sets because the result is quite good for a huge freeware route that seems to have been built by a single author. The 10 scenarios are a big plus, sadly not every freeware route is published with scenarios and that's important for me. They are challenging and enjoyable, if you can live with messages in all caps and approximate grammar.

I just wish Jose had used only north american assets. Most people here have HSC, Donner, MP, SH and NEC, but not everyone has UK routes. Also some assets don't really fit, I'm pretty sure I spotted the Canterbury cathedral in Columbus and you'd be surprised at the amount of double-decker buses being used in Ohio.

[DapperDan]

I echo Chacal's comments. I would never attempt route building and give kudos to the author for his efforts. I only wish he would have considered approaching the community to see if anyone would've been interested in doing some beta testing before he released it. I've noticed a number of tunnel entrances that require some tweaking and I noticed a communication tower floating above the ground (can't remember where it was), and I also noticed some bridges that are floating in mid air. I'm going to have to fire up RW_Tools and check things out. There's a couple of scenarios that I've been unable to complete. I get an X on a couple of sidings that I'm backing into so I can drop cars in the Columbus to Fontonia scenario and in The Last Train Out I can't even load passengers at the first stop. Haven't taken the time so far to see if there's something I'm doing wrong or something I could tweak or change in these scenarios to make them work for me. I also swapped out all the SD75Pack01 items as I don't have them.

All in all, I think it's worth the download.

I just wish I didn't see vehicles on the wrong side of the roads.

Edit: I've never attempted route building so I might be incorrect on my findings using RW_Tools, but it looks like why I'm missing things including roads, floating bridges and incorrect tunnel entrances is because I don't have "Thomson E&G. But hey, I could be wrong.