Terrain Help

[UPSD70ACe]

Hello all I am editing the Pacific Surliner Route for myself I want to go from LAUPT too San Louis Obispo,When I was adding tracks the terrain dropped off.I want to make it level so it can go for miles,miles.I saw some videos on how to do small sections for that.How do I do it so it's all flat terrain I can start laying track again?

[RailWanderer]

You need to first setup a DEM/SRTM folder and fill it with .hgt format data files of the area you are working in. Without doing so, you can't use the Paint Tool/Import feature of the Editor. Here's an excerpt from one of my posts at my club site that I posted explaining the process in detail. The drop off is caused by no terrain data being present for the area you are working in. After you lay your track on created terrain you may then have to adjust the terrain under the tracks by using the Paint Tool/Snap/Track feature.

Additional Notes on Route Creation

Before we get to creating a route, I would like to talk about Geographic Coordinates and Digital Elevation Maps, and how to come up with the data to use in relationship with the editor.
When dealing with real life or real world terrain data to be use with our routes we need to know where our route is located and how the terrain in that location looks. To do this we need two sets of data, real world geographic coordinates for our location, and DEM data in the SRTM format. We also need to create a folder to hold the DEM data so TS2015's editor can use the data.
In case you were wondering, Geographic Coordinates are the east-west (Longitude), north-south (Latitude) data to show a point on the Earth's surface. A good way to find these coordinates is to use the Google Earth application, and using the search mechanism to find the named place you want the coordinates for. These coordinates need to be setup so we get the right data format to use in TS2015. To do this go to the Tools/Options menu and under the 3D View tab, in the Show Lat/Long section click the radio button named Decimal Degrees, then Apply, OK. Now wherever your mouse moves to, the readout at the lower right will show the coordinates in Decimal Degrees, which is what we want for use with the editor. When your search location is found, a red marker will show there, use the Add/Placemark menu to add a Placemarker and a dialog box will open that has the coordinates we can use for your location. Copy these to a convenient location by either writing them down on paper or using Notepad to record them. Just remember what you name the file and where you stored it. Now we have our coordinates for the location on the surface and for our route creation.

Next we need the dataset for the DEM height data used with the editor to create our terrain in our location. We can find this data at http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/Coverage%20map%20viewfinderpanoramas_org3.htm , you may need a viewer here, if so, you can locate it at the website. Just search for the general location for the area your route will be in and download the zip file for that info. You may end up having to download two or more different sets to make your whole route show in the editor in TS2015. When you open the zip files you will see height map data that has both the latitude and longitude numbering that should match our coordinates. Let's say your latitude begins with 40* and your longitude is -77* then the files for that area will be N40W077 or something close to that and all the file will have a format extension of .hgt . So, you may have to search through several data zips to find the right numbers for your coordinates. At this time you may want to determine the extent of where your route will run and write down the maximum north-south, east-west coordinates so you have the right data files in your folders. Speaking of folders, now is a good time to create two folders you will need. Under the root Railworks folder create this tree branch DEM/SRTM that's two folder one under the other, DEM first and SRTM under it, and spelt with uppercase letters. Now you can copy and paste just the height data file into the SRTM folder, and the TS2015 Editor will be able to use them. We will talk about using these files when we get to that part of building your route.


This may not be the best explanation, but it works.

[UPSD70ACe]

My paint tool works on that area it makes the terrain level in one small area.Wish RSC would have made it all flat an level bummer there.

[RailWanderer]

If you just want to make it flat and not use the actual real world height data, then just use the Paint Tool/Level feature and set the height below to match what is already there. Once you are in the Level tool you can see the height as you move the pointer around at the bottom right of the UI. Using DEM is a bit complex but not hard if you are willing to spend time to learn it. You have to do the setup to make the DEM data work for you. Otherwise, use the level tool if you don't want to spend the time learning the DEM process.

[UPSD70ACe]

I did something few years ago was easy to do don’t member what it was it leveled the whole area flat.Last I hit srtm ground was all gone,Got it back the ground almost messed up the whole.Simulator all my routes were no ground.