Can anyone out there load, run, or edit third party routes?

[fecrails]

I don't have third party routes, so I haven't had the problems with the upgrade being discussed in this thread. That being said, I'm very concerned when this much chaos occurs with each upgrade. There's no question that RSC must be aware of the fact that such major changes to the file structure and error checking in the core code will wreak havoc with third party content. Yes, it's a move forward with the capabilities and the future of the game to make these changes, but at a rather big expense in customer good will. It's at this juncture every year where many of our most dedicated and talented people get frustrated and question whether or not they want to invest any more time, effort, or money in the platform. It doesn't have to be that way. A small amount of communication on their part could go a long way toward easing the transition to the future instead of burning bridges. When it comes to this aspect of their new edition roll-outs I give RSC a BIG FAT F-

[_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha]

You are right, more and clearer information beforehand could save us and RSC lots of time and trouble.

Most of those freeware routes have been years in the making, some even started out under the old 2008 Rail Simulator.
Many specs and requirements have been changed over the course of time, and not all creators have followed.
Mind you, even to this day there are creators that don't read the somewhat outdated but still valid developer documentation that is available.
Not setting up the required folders for your route and assets, making your assets dependent of the old Kuju folder structure by "stealing" a few audio or simulation blueprints from Kuju, putting everything in the Kuju folder, etc. is still happening with a few lazy, ignorant or stubborn,creators.
They are bound to end up in trouble and take a whole lot of players down with them.

All in all, don't despair, don't panic. Read a few threads here and on UKTS and when in doubt ask for help and advice.
Our community has proven very valuable in sorting out my Railworks problems over the years.

[buzz456]

Many creators are not lazy ignorant or whatever, they just don't frankly always understand the complex and often vague crap the RSC puts out and calls it documentation. I still can't get half these routes to open and all that happens is the Logmate gives me some obscure message and then the sim freezes. And yes I waited patiently for 45 minutes on one of them for it to do something and it all just sat there.

More

[PapaXpress]

So here is a good thing (I mentioned this in the BPE thread), content creators are warned about most (if not all) of these issues in the new BPE. There is a new take called Errors. It covers both Errors and Warnings and the description of the problem is OK (it was a bit too generic). You can click on the error or warning and it will take you straight to the offending item in the blueprint.

So for the active routes out there, does anyone have the source files for Ann Arbor, COA, and others? It can simplify part of the debugging process. The rest I am afraid will have be done the same way you and I (for my own route) are doing it now. LogMate and (when updated) RWTools.

[OlPaint]

Kanawha

I am hanging in there...This discussion of the "Priesthood" knowledge of the behind the scenes stuff that makes RailWorks tick has always interested me. I am lurking very diligently to all this extremely detailed conversation.

OlPaint

[dejoh]

does anyone have the source files for Ann Arbor.

Would it not be appropriate to ask the author of the Ann Arbor route? Georgian22. Who also created the Mobile Alabama route.
Since the upgrade, both routes run perfectly for me Better framerates, sharper color, quick load times.
Happy camper here

[buzz456]

does anyone have the source files for Ann Arbor.

Would it not be appropriate to ask the author of the Ann Arbor route? Georgian22. Who also created the Mobile Alabama route.
Since the upgrade, both routes run perfectly for me Better framerates, sharper color, quick load times.
Happy camper here

Mine worked for two days and then something happened.

[g_nash]

You are right, more and clearer information beforehand could save us and RSC lots of time and trouble.

Most of those freeware routes have been years in the making, some even started out under the old 2008 Rail Simulator.
Many specs and requirements have been changed over the course of time, and not all creators have followed.
Mind you, even to this day there are creators that don't read the somewhat outdated but still valid developer documentation that is available.
Not setting up the required folders for your route and assets, making your assets dependent of the old Kuju folder structure by "stealing" a few audio or simulation blueprints from Kuju, putting everything in the Kuju folder, etc. is still happening with a few lazy, ignorant or stubborn,creators.
They are bound to end up in trouble and take a whole lot of players down with them.

All in all, don't despair, don't panic. Read a few threads here and on UKTS and when in doubt ask for help and advice.
Our community has proven very valuable in sorting out my Railworks problems over the years.

One or two interesting comments in there .. I'll leave those alone though and point to this [ my bold ]

RPS: Why were Donner Pass, London-Faversham, and Hamburg-Hanover chosen as new default routes, and which routes have been dropped to make room for them?

From here .. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/09 ... ore-169886

And ask what will happen to those who have followed the correct path i.e. using the correct folder structure for their route, creating the correct blueprints for Weather, TOD, Ground Textures and Track Rules (* not the hacks that were used when little was known ) and then find that at some point in the future, the scenery content referenced in those routes is no longer available and the route is essentially useless to some new user ,, say they purchase TS 2015 or TS 2016 ?

It's often said that nothing lives for ever, and apparently some digital content in Railworks/Train simulator might also destined for the scrap heap.

Maybe I'm wrong,,or not.

[buzz456]

If that happens Rail Sim is headed for the scrap heap with us serious fans.

[Chacal]

I'm not sure I see the problem. It all seems logical to me.

The only way to make sure your route stays playable forever is to use no external assets at all. Make your own assets or distribute free assets with your route. If you use reference external assets, then yes, there is a risk that some day they won't be available. It's like making a forum post linking to an external image instead of attaching the image to your post.

There's also a risk that the assets were free when you referenced them, and become payware later. Which means people will have to pay more for using your route. You accept that risk when you choose to reference them.

As far as I know, RSC never made any promise that their pricing would never change.
Of course, I do think it was a bad decision for them to stop naking the Kuju assets available for free.

[buzz456]

That may be the silliest post I have ever seen here. Just blow up all that has come before? That is nuts. Maybe if you just want to look forward on the sim and railroading that's fine but if you want to preserve the traditions of railroads and therefore in the simulator you can't expect the builders to re-do their stuff every time there is a update. For cripe sake the most loyal creator here dies eventually. Do you want that to be lost?

Half of us are on here because we can run that which is no longer on the rails. You want to junk that?

Not in my world.

[g_nash]

I'm not sure I see the problem. It all seems logical to me.

The only way to make sure your route stays playable forever is to use no external assets at all. Make your own assets or distribute free assets with your route. If you use reference external assets, then yes, there is a risk that some day they won't be available. It's like making a forum post linking to an external image instead of attaching the image to your post.

There's also a risk that the assets were free when you referenced them, and become payware later. Which means people will have to pay more for using your route. You accept that risk when you choose to reference them.

As far as I know, RSC never made any promise that their pricing would never change.
Of course, I do think it was a bad decision for them to stop naking the Kuju assets available for free.

Come on mate , how many guys here that have built routes for their own pleasure, to share with others, and to help bring new blood [ customers for RS.com ] have those skills ?

Seriously, I do this for living, should I tell you how difficult it is to build enough bespoke assets for a real world route ?. Even with the advantage of using tools that aren't readily to all i.e. in house or prohibitive do to costs of a license [ we're talking thousands of $$ ] and working with a group of people that do have the skills necessary this takes a crap load of time for anything of reasonable length.

I know that RS.com make no guarantees, and that's fair enough for any business, but they should at least come out and say 'hey, sorry no more'

This won't directly impact my use/enjoyment of the game, but it's a tad unfair to others if this is the chosen path for the future.

[Chacal]

Apparently you guys can't read a post.
I said the only way to be sure was to include all assets in the route, making the route self-contained.
Put that in a generic form : if you depend on an outside resource that you don't control, you are vulnerable.

I'm not saying route creators can or should make all their assets, or that it should be the way of the future.
But in not doing that, they can't be sure. They take a risk.

As users, we share the risk. We have to enjoy the routes while they're working. That's OK.

[railduffer]

Try Opening Steam. Go through the steps to Verify Integrity of Game Cache. I tried to run a third party route and it only partially worked. I then repeated the Verify Cache about two more times. I only have three third party routes. Now everything works for me.

[buzz456]

Try Opening Steam. Go through the steps to Verify Integrity of Game Cache. I tried to run a third party route and it only partially worked. I then repeated the Verify Cache about two more times. I only have three third party routes. Now everything works for me.

If you don't mind my asking what three? Just trying to work sure my issues?