Ever so slow

[Toripony]

All of the trees you see in the mountainous / hilly areas are the RSC Oak blocks. .

OMG, that is ever so slow!

RSC though, has an annoying habit of "showcasing" stuff that either takes a year to appear or never actually materializes.

I wouldn't single out RSC for that. Seems like a pretty common practice in today's marketplace.

My guess is they are going to release the BIG update with the NEC route.

I don't think the NEC will be much of a "tree route". Even in the forested regions of the route the terrain is flat; planting forests on flat terrain is a cinch. My guess is we won't see block tree assets until December.

I plant them first on my route then track. because i use the copy paste method by selecting a few random assortments of trees and start applying them like they are 1 asset(which they are not considered unfortunetly. Then i draw a circle around them and hit the J key.

In a new project of mine, the plan is to finish all track, then temporarily remove the tracks.bin file and track tiles folder, use the copy/paste method to plant individual trees judiciously along the route following the roadbed in the terrain. After "J-keying" the trees to the ground, I'll put the track tiles and bin back into the route folder, clean up any branches hanging over the tracks and then start adding scenery items. Adding a few tree groups on the horizon and playing lumberjack to cut out places for scenery should be fun, instead of the usually PITA.

In any case, I have a feeling that planting the vegetation before "logging" out places for scenery and towns (just like real-life) could end up looking more realistic than ever.

Tori

[Rich_S]

Jerry, I know exactly how you feel Although I'm using both the RSC default trees and the tree clumps from 3D-Trains.



I figure about the time my route is finished, RSC will release the block assets tool

Regards,
Rich S.

P.S. Thank you for the great crossing signals, they look and work great

[kcs_fan]

OK, I got questions!

WHERE can I get trestles, highway bridges, track and homes that look like yours? I haven't sen anything that good yet! ! ! Yours looks REAL and mine looks like a computer game!

Thanks!
Dru

[SMMDigital]

Roads, highway bridges, tracks, and trees are from 3DTrains (http://www.3dtrains.com). There are two flavors, free and high res. If you install the free ones, then buy the high res, it automatically "upgrades" the free ones.

Trees are also from the High-Res foliage pack which is free from RSC.

Trestles are the NRD packs found here in the file library and on that other rail simulator forum.

Some of the photos you see here may also contain referred assets from payware routes such as the Portland Terminal.

@Rich: I like that photo. That looks like classic Appalachian railroading at it's finest!

[Toripony]

@Rich: I like that photo. That looks like classic Appalachian railroading at it's finest!

Yes it does! Beautiful tree work.

Did RSC increase the view distance somewhere along the line of upgrades? It looks like you're using the default weather/day scripts in this screenie. I remember when I started the Alleghany long ago, the trees were not visible on top of the hills like I see here, so I quit putting them out there. Do I need to adjust something?

You can tell I haven't worked on scenery for a long time. Looks like some experimentation is due.

Tori

[Rich_S]

Did RSC increase the view distance somewhere along the line of upgrades? It looks like you're using the default weather/day scripts in this screenie. I remember when I started the Alleghany long ago, the trees were not visible on top of the hills like I see here, so I quit putting them out there. Do I need to adjust something?

You can tell I haven't worked on scenery for a long time. Looks like some experimentation is due.

Tori

Thanks Jerry for the compliments on the screen shot

Tori, I'm not sure if one of the recent updates increased the viewing distance? I don't want to steal Jerry's thread but here is another screen shot:



Maybe I'm just getting lucky and the hill tops are close enough together that the trees don't drop out? I have all of my options set to max and yes I'm currently using the default summer while I'm working on the route. I'll probably change that once I get the route a little further along

Regards,
Rich S.

P.S. RSC, please release the block asset tool

[jamesphh]

As far as I can tell RSC has NOT yet increased view distance. I still get pop ups,even the Oak Forest block. My thinking on this change is that they will use some type of LOD doubler. If the LOD in the file is set to 2000, then it will be visable at 4000. Otherwise changing each file would be massive. And of course 3rd party would need to be changed. The one nice part of adding to the unsceniced part of the NSAND is that I have a greater appreciation for what route builders go thru. One nice point is that I have rarely had a SBHH in this modification.

[SMMDigital]

Ehh, I don't get to up in arms about going off topic in a thread I started, as long as it makes for good conversation!

I'm not exactly sure what will be considered as "increasing the viewing distance" in the sim. I though that rather than increasing LOD distances, which would be nice, it would involve getting rid of the fog so that you could see mountains much farther away. Of course, if that is done, then LOD's will have to be increased as well...

[jamesphh]

Actually I sort of like the 'fog'. By accident and not design I have some Oak Forests that appear slightly grey in the distant fog and become clearer as the train approaches. Something I consider a nice effect. Also use tree blocks just over a hill with just the tops showing. One other thing I like to do is to sink weed groups into the terrain giving a differet look to them.