RW Decal VS GE accuracy.

[RAILSOHIO]

I am a stickler for having things as accurate as possible. When I set up my Ohio route I made sure my starting point was dead on. I used RW decal for the first few years. I made certain my decals were perfectly aligned with the markers. But as I go back and update areas that were laid down early,I am uneasy about conflicts between the Google Earth overlay,and the decals. I want to trust the GE overlay,as it is automatic,and it should be properly referenced. What is the consensus? I am the kind of guy who will move a whole mainline 2 feet,because it is "off".

[buzz456]

OK you are a nut, and I say that with fondness.

[RAILSOHIO]

I know,I am a perfectionist,that is why I have not released anything,in the 7 years I have been working this sim. But I am looking to see what route builders have to say.

[wacampbell]

I have done some careful checking on several routes and have always found the GE overlay to be accurate to within a couple of meters. I haven't used RW Decal and can't speak to it though.

[krellnut]

I use both. Overlay to build, and RWDecal when overlay is blacked out.

[RAILSOHIO]

Well there is that time when tiles are blacked out. I spent a few hours re-doing a stretch today. I think I am going to accept the overlay as being "right",but keep the decals,as most of them are near 5 years old,as things do change in 5 years,as far as imagery goes.

[buzz456]

And don't forget those ley lines.

[frankenthal]

I started out using GE and later learn of RWDecal and for a while things worked out pretty good. I ran into a issue when I started on the KCS West yard near New Orleans. The main track runs straight through the yard but I found that both platforms would have the you almost 200 feet off center. I gave myself a gray area to work with and after hours/days and many reworking's I got it down to a few feet. As we all know GE's overlays don't line up and you have to use your best judgment. On the West end of the yard the line comes off a curve, on the East end the there's a short "S" curve to the left. Since the GE Overlays didn't line up in between I just used trail and error to line up everything in the middle. A lot of work, but I'm happy with it now.

[Bananarama]

GE is constantly updating their imagery that are more accurate. You can confirm accuracy in most places by using the clock icon, and setting it back to black and white, and then compare those to current imagery. The black and white stuff is dead on, albeit at very low res. So if the new color pictures match, then you know you're OK.

[RAILSOHIO]

Most of the rail lines I am "modeling",have been abandoned 25 plus years. So that is why I like to have older imagery. But if the newer imagery is referenced more accurately,that is a good thing. I do wish we could use the time and date slide inside RW,even if it is lower rez.

[Bananarama]

I do wish we could use the time and date slide inside RW,even if it is lower rez.

That would be most useful. Let's hope Dovetail are listening, and that they add it to their to-do list.

[davedingler]

As long as we're wishing for enhancements, how about adding a small compass to the view when running or building a route?

Dave

[DrewG]

There is a compass on the top flyout while in building & scenario editing mode.

[barnez]

Both are accurate, GE moreso.

The trouble with RWDecal is that there is a certain amount of "drift" as you get farther from the start point. The cumulative drift adds up, and although small, over the course of say 30 miles can be about 1 track width off.

That said, because the decals sit on the ground itself it can be easier to actually lay track with RWDecal than it is with GE.



-barnez

[RAILSOHIO]

That is helpful. That confirms my suspicion of drifting far away from the origin. I have decided to use GE as the "law",though i hope the tearing issue can be improved someday. But it may be the factor of a curved map projection on a flat surface.