New York Division-Bergen Line
Re: New York Division-Bergen Line
by NStrains » Fri Mar 31, 2017 6:26 am
Don't worry Minerman, we haven't ran away... Except to run the Bergen! I've got some good shots coming your way when I get off work this afternoon.
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Re: New York Division-Bergen Line
by minerman146 » Fri Mar 31, 2017 8:24 am
First Run to halfway across the mighty Moodna Viaduct all in glorious ERIE Railroad!
I cannot believe how great this looks! The train is complete dominated by the bridge and surrounding valley.
Just WOW!
I cannot believe how great this looks! The train is complete dominated by the bridge and surrounding valley.
Just WOW!
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"In business, I prefer to keep company with honest men, so I ship on the Erie"
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minerman146 - Posts: 2507
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Re: New York Division-Bergen Line
by buzz456 » Fri Mar 31, 2017 9:30 am
Buzz
39 and holding.
"Some people find fault like there's a reward for it."- Zig Ziglar
"If you can dream it you can do it."- Walt Disney
39 and holding.
"Some people find fault like there's a reward for it."- Zig Ziglar
"If you can dream it you can do it."- Walt Disney
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Re: New York Division-Bergen Line
by NStrains » Fri Mar 31, 2017 2:34 pm
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Re: New York Division-Bergen Line
by Overshoe » Fri Mar 31, 2017 4:32 pm
Well, MM... I liked the Erie Steam pic so much I decided I wanted to see it full screen a lot. So... my new splash screen:
If anyone else wants it, its too big to attach so I put it on my Mediafire.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/sbkmcu0jn ... ailsim.zip
If anyone else wants it, its too big to attach so I put it on my Mediafire.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/sbkmcu0jn ... ailsim.zip
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-Tom Constantine
Acer Nitro N50-656, Core(TM) i5-14400F, 16 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 /8GB, Win11 64bit up to date. Acer 23" monitor @ 1920x1080 x2
Acer Nitro N50-656, Core(TM) i5-14400F, 16 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 /8GB, Win11 64bit up to date. Acer 23" monitor @ 1920x1080 x2
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Re: New York Division-Bergen Line
by GERUNIMO625 » Fri Mar 31, 2017 5:13 pm
Overshoe wrote:Well, MM... I liked the Erie Steam pic so much I decided I wanted to see it full screen a lot. So... my new splash screen.
Simply an outstanding, beautiful route that I enjoy running as well as following the progress of, mile by incredibly detailed mile.
Also, a very stricking screenshot with a very clever use for it. Great idea Overshoe!
Jerry
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Re: New York Division-Bergen Line
by minerman146 » Fri Mar 31, 2017 8:44 pm
Tom, I got a little distracted and didn't get a chance to say "your desktop shot is boss!" that will go on the super secret spy squirrel development machine of magic. I was driving home thinking about the time you took to make that ... I shoulda just made the EL route first! Thoughtfulness goes a long way with me. (side note) I asked Mr. Moderator to remove the post above mine with extreme prejudice and to offer a last meal for mine before the execution.
Ok lets get down to what . is . going . on.
*Route Update Time*
You all noticed that there was no route update today. I would love to give you one, but ... the scenery is not developed enough before the trestle and around it to let you all take screen shots of it. I may update Monday morning as I have a 3 day business trip and will not return until late Thursday.
As you may have noticed, I have done this 'thing' with the irregular asset tool that is allowing me to extend the viewing distance of forests. I am blessed, being able to deliver 365 degrees of forest for well over a mile makes the Moodna Creek area possible. This was a huge concern of mine that I would not be about to convey this place. There is so much to talk about here. Once its out, I hope I get lots of questions on how I got it done. So, I have a good deal more detail work to do here before release. And as a final note, for you NJT/MNCRR guys we will be adding station #23 , which is Cornwall-Salisbury Mills in the next update.
MM
PS. NSTrains - you put your Bergen shots is the best possible lighting ... it looks better in your shots than on my machine. Thank you as always.
Ok lets get down to what . is . going . on.
*Route Update Time*
You all noticed that there was no route update today. I would love to give you one, but ... the scenery is not developed enough before the trestle and around it to let you all take screen shots of it. I may update Monday morning as I have a 3 day business trip and will not return until late Thursday.
As you may have noticed, I have done this 'thing' with the irregular asset tool that is allowing me to extend the viewing distance of forests. I am blessed, being able to deliver 365 degrees of forest for well over a mile makes the Moodna Creek area possible. This was a huge concern of mine that I would not be about to convey this place. There is so much to talk about here. Once its out, I hope I get lots of questions on how I got it done. So, I have a good deal more detail work to do here before release. And as a final note, for you NJT/MNCRR guys we will be adding station #23 , which is Cornwall-Salisbury Mills in the next update.
MM
PS. NSTrains - you put your Bergen shots is the best possible lighting ... it looks better in your shots than on my machine. Thank you as always.
"In business, I prefer to keep company with honest men, so I ship on the Erie"
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minerman146 - Posts: 2507
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Re: New York Division-Bergen Line
by minerman146 » Sat Apr 01, 2017 6:58 pm
Been Working on track side detail between the two trestles all day. Taking a break so I took a ride.
I'm thinkin... uh... were good with the trees at this point. There are plenty. Oh yeah, they put the hurt on FPS. But you can see 'em for miles.
I'm thinkin... uh... were good with the trees at this point. There are plenty. Oh yeah, they put the hurt on FPS. But you can see 'em for miles.
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"In business, I prefer to keep company with honest men, so I ship on the Erie"
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Re: New York Division-Bergen Line
by GERUNIMO625 » Sat Apr 01, 2017 9:32 pm
Holy Cow!!!
That valley is just amazing!!! It's so lush, and vast, not to mention that bridge!!! Incredible, absolutely incredible!
I have a personal route that is only 5 miles long that crosses a small river/creek and I've been futzing with that route for years
So I can't imagine the work, pain, and suffering you've gone through to make that bridge, let alone the entire route!
Have a great day, and thanks for sharing!
P.S. I can't figure out why but I love that third picture!
That valley is just amazing!!! It's so lush, and vast, not to mention that bridge!!! Incredible, absolutely incredible!
I have a personal route that is only 5 miles long that crosses a small river/creek and I've been futzing with that route for years
So I can't imagine the work, pain, and suffering you've gone through to make that bridge, let alone the entire route!
Have a great day, and thanks for sharing!
P.S. I can't figure out why but I love that third picture!
Jerry
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Re: New York Division-Bergen Line
by minerman146 » Sat Apr 01, 2017 11:06 pm
GERUNIMO!
I really get all pumped up - when I get a post like yours to respond to. I have to say I am very excited about this new section of the route.
My response will be in reverse - starting with your comment on picture #3 (The Woodbury Trestle).
In that picture there is a lot going on. There is the trestle, NY Route 32, the Woodbury Creek, the old "Newburgh Branch and the valley is at its narrowest point. On the left the Hill (out of picture) goes up to about 900 foot and the SHunnemunk Ridge starts at the right of the picture and goes to 1600 foot. Suffice to say, this place is very visually appealing. And as such, I detailed the heck out of it, thinking that people would be taking screenshots all day long here. I keep taking screens here too, a victim of my own work.
On your next comment, I'll call it "Blood, Sweat and Tears". Route work is continuous and I mean it. The only thing that keeps me from working on the route is Sleep and being physically away from my office, when I go on Vacation or I have a long shift at work. Every workday, I put in about an hour before I go to work. When I get home, when the family has retired for the evening about 930/1000 I get to work and go to midnight or 1am. I do this every day. Friday nights I run 11-1 or 2, And I work on an off Saturday and Sunday. Sunday night about 930, I go to midnight. Building the route I put in about 20 hours a week, every week for the past 3 years. In conclusion - the Bergen is so big and so done, because of an immense amount of time put into it. So yes, I am a bit sleep deprived all the time (and lovin it). My trick or my advantage, if you will, is that I am continuously thinking about, or working on the route. My 1 hour commute gives me time to solve technical "how am I going to do that" questions, or I plan what work I am going to do that evening. The whole operation has become routine at this stage. I think a building session would be much less productive if I just did it on the weekends.
So to your first comment. I could not have created the Moodna Viaduct and the valley a mere 8 weeks ago. Before the end of February - all the terrain was hand formed - I did not have imported SRTM files. I also didn't have the "parts", I thought, to build the trestle. You may know I have a rule about only using 3 DLCs and the Euro/US Asset Pack. This is so more people can enjoy the route of course!
So, one night I decided to 'find the bridge" I checked every single bridge - and I found this one from Castle Rock on the US Asset pack, the supports are wire towers from the NJCL route. It was total luck! I also figured out a way to make the concrete bases for each leg of the supports. At this stage, I have the bridge and I have the terrain, but I then had a new problem: visual distance. In game, you can see 1 tile and 1/3 away (about 4 thousand feet). At the Moodna trestle, in real life, your view distance, think about being on top of the bridge, is up to 30 miles. I looked at the topo maps and located all the hills (with Tree lines) that could create a 'break' in my scenery, so that you will see distant tree lines and then very distant mountains (up to 2000 feet high and 2,5 and 30 miles away). So, I had to be able to give you visible trees at 2 miles away. This is TWICE the available viewing area in game. And I also had to consider your direction of travel. So if your going East you will trees up to 1.5 miles in front and up to 2 miles to the left and right. The distant will "pop in " at the right time. I also did this West bound using the same technique. If you are still with me here, lets recap. We have the bridge, the bridged details to make it like THE bridge, the accurate terrain, we have forests, and we have forest that will appear in a 270 arc in front of you when they are supposed to... to distances up to 2 miles away. This is a big deal!
But, we got a problem - frames per second, fps the scourge of train simulator. I know trees in game, they KILLLLLLL fps. The 2D " ping pong paddle" trees can soak up fps too. And in this situation we are reaching "peak tree". I am manipulating the FPS with trial and error, presenting the right amount of trees, at the right place and time. I am doing this with the irregular asset tool, forcing the game to present trees very far away. (One this update is out you will see what I did in Editor, its very complex and painstaking) I am tightly controlling the density trees and modifying the LOD (level of detail) in every other object I place. This process enables me to lessen the stutter between tiles and to keep FPS to no less that 18fps on my machine. At this location, the trees and the distance is most important, so If I have to, I will reduce the amount of other asset details, like houses, fences, cars as I need to. The lesson is: a great deal of thought goes into every mile on the Bergen so you can see it, love it and then write nice things to me about it!
Know this, it is you and all the other great people, that take the time to comment, take pictures and make videos that are a part of making this possible.
Like I said at the beginning - I enjoyed your post!
I really get all pumped up - when I get a post like yours to respond to. I have to say I am very excited about this new section of the route.
My response will be in reverse - starting with your comment on picture #3 (The Woodbury Trestle).
In that picture there is a lot going on. There is the trestle, NY Route 32, the Woodbury Creek, the old "Newburgh Branch and the valley is at its narrowest point. On the left the Hill (out of picture) goes up to about 900 foot and the SHunnemunk Ridge starts at the right of the picture and goes to 1600 foot. Suffice to say, this place is very visually appealing. And as such, I detailed the heck out of it, thinking that people would be taking screenshots all day long here. I keep taking screens here too, a victim of my own work.
On your next comment, I'll call it "Blood, Sweat and Tears". Route work is continuous and I mean it. The only thing that keeps me from working on the route is Sleep and being physically away from my office, when I go on Vacation or I have a long shift at work. Every workday, I put in about an hour before I go to work. When I get home, when the family has retired for the evening about 930/1000 I get to work and go to midnight or 1am. I do this every day. Friday nights I run 11-1 or 2, And I work on an off Saturday and Sunday. Sunday night about 930, I go to midnight. Building the route I put in about 20 hours a week, every week for the past 3 years. In conclusion - the Bergen is so big and so done, because of an immense amount of time put into it. So yes, I am a bit sleep deprived all the time (and lovin it). My trick or my advantage, if you will, is that I am continuously thinking about, or working on the route. My 1 hour commute gives me time to solve technical "how am I going to do that" questions, or I plan what work I am going to do that evening. The whole operation has become routine at this stage. I think a building session would be much less productive if I just did it on the weekends.
So to your first comment. I could not have created the Moodna Viaduct and the valley a mere 8 weeks ago. Before the end of February - all the terrain was hand formed - I did not have imported SRTM files. I also didn't have the "parts", I thought, to build the trestle. You may know I have a rule about only using 3 DLCs and the Euro/US Asset Pack. This is so more people can enjoy the route of course!
So, one night I decided to 'find the bridge" I checked every single bridge - and I found this one from Castle Rock on the US Asset pack, the supports are wire towers from the NJCL route. It was total luck! I also figured out a way to make the concrete bases for each leg of the supports. At this stage, I have the bridge and I have the terrain, but I then had a new problem: visual distance. In game, you can see 1 tile and 1/3 away (about 4 thousand feet). At the Moodna trestle, in real life, your view distance, think about being on top of the bridge, is up to 30 miles. I looked at the topo maps and located all the hills (with Tree lines) that could create a 'break' in my scenery, so that you will see distant tree lines and then very distant mountains (up to 2000 feet high and 2,5 and 30 miles away). So, I had to be able to give you visible trees at 2 miles away. This is TWICE the available viewing area in game. And I also had to consider your direction of travel. So if your going East you will trees up to 1.5 miles in front and up to 2 miles to the left and right. The distant will "pop in " at the right time. I also did this West bound using the same technique. If you are still with me here, lets recap. We have the bridge, the bridged details to make it like THE bridge, the accurate terrain, we have forests, and we have forest that will appear in a 270 arc in front of you when they are supposed to... to distances up to 2 miles away. This is a big deal!
But, we got a problem - frames per second, fps the scourge of train simulator. I know trees in game, they KILLLLLLL fps. The 2D " ping pong paddle" trees can soak up fps too. And in this situation we are reaching "peak tree". I am manipulating the FPS with trial and error, presenting the right amount of trees, at the right place and time. I am doing this with the irregular asset tool, forcing the game to present trees very far away. (One this update is out you will see what I did in Editor, its very complex and painstaking) I am tightly controlling the density trees and modifying the LOD (level of detail) in every other object I place. This process enables me to lessen the stutter between tiles and to keep FPS to no less that 18fps on my machine. At this location, the trees and the distance is most important, so If I have to, I will reduce the amount of other asset details, like houses, fences, cars as I need to. The lesson is: a great deal of thought goes into every mile on the Bergen so you can see it, love it and then write nice things to me about it!
Know this, it is you and all the other great people, that take the time to comment, take pictures and make videos that are a part of making this possible.
Like I said at the beginning - I enjoyed your post!
"In business, I prefer to keep company with honest men, so I ship on the Erie"
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minerman146 - Posts: 2507
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Re: New York Division-Bergen Line
by NStrains » Sun Apr 02, 2017 10:45 am
A PC GP35 and it's 3 GP9 siblings are doing their part to keep the bugs away during this wonderful Fall afternoon. 
1/2
1/2
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Re: New York Division-Bergen Line
by NStrains » Sun Apr 02, 2017 10:47 am
2/2
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Re: New York Division-Bergen Line
by minerman146 » Mon Apr 03, 2017 8:16 am
Wow - NSTrains great shots sir!
Here is another WIP of the Moodna and the foliage detail that is critical to convey what this looks like.
This is one cool looking bridge!
Here is another WIP of the Moodna and the foliage detail that is critical to convey what this looks like.
This is one cool looking bridge!
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minerman146 - Posts: 2507
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Re: New York Division-Bergen Line
by ErikGorbiHamilton » Mon Apr 03, 2017 12:56 pm
minerman146 wrote:Wow - NSTrains great shots sir!
Here is another WIP of the Moodna and the foliage detail that is critical to convey what this looks like.
This is one cool looking bridge!
Incredible!
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Re: New York Division-Bergen Line
by minerman146 » Mon Apr 03, 2017 11:12 pm
This is my last round of pictures for this week. I have to head out of town on business - Pittsburgh! Here is my early update for this week. Were gonna miss this one too. I was hoping I do the scenery without laying track all the way to the other side and release that to you. But, I needed to keep the track to review the scenery. We have a bit of work ahead to get the rough scenery fine tuned and extra lush for your first run. You will be posted, if I can get a blow out going for this weekend, then we shall see. So it looks like no update until April 14th. I am losing 3 days production while away.
See you on the other side!
Of the Creek
See you on the other side!
Of the Creek
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