Railworks America

Let me apologize upfront for such a noob question, but I am just getting started with creating my own repaints. I have been a casual Train Simulator fan for years, but always used whatever rolling stock I had in game. I am trying to create a KCS GP38-2 based on the Peninsula Corridor GP38. I have created all the skin colors and have a few minor lines to straighten out. My issue is that I cannot find any information online as to how you go about relocating and resizing the cab numbers. I want to move and shrink the cab numbers so they fit in the right place. See my repaint and a picture of a real engine to see what I want to accomplish. I want to move the 535 cab number so that it only fits within the yellow stripe under the cab window.

I meant to post a reply in the GP38-2 WIP thread but never got around to it. First, great work so far on your KCS skin.

Now for the bad news. Unfortunately, there is no way of moving the numbers up inside the yellow stripe. The only alternative is to create statically numbered units.

JM1261 wrote:Now for the bad news. Unfortunately, there is no way of moving the numbers up inside the yellow stripe. The only alternative is to create statically numbered units.

That sucks! I can't believe that they make it so hard to do something like that. With each rail company, they not only use different sizes for their cab numbers but they also use different styles, colors, and locations. I was hoping with all the different modders that we have, including some that make their own content, that someone would know how to do this. I even tracked down the roster information for KCS and have edited the .dscv file to include the 43 different cab numbers that KCS has in their fleet. Static numbers would work fine for Amtrak that only has 2 SW1500s in their fleet, but with railways that have larger fleets it would be nice to see more cab numbers in game, especially if two engines are teamed. Can't believe DTG locks something like this down.

JM1261 wrote:I meant to post a reply in the GP38-2 WIP thread but never got around to it. First, great work so far on your KCS skin.

Thanks, I live two blocks from the KCS main line between KC and Shreveport, LA and see their engines all the time. Was really hoping to create some nice repaints based on high def engines. The ES44AC is nice, but it is the old Kuju engine and hoped to move on to a newer model as well as the SD40, SW1500, and Genset. This number issue is really making it hard for me. I can get through all the hard work of editing layers in Paint.Net and getting everything in straight lines and looking good. I had also hoped to move on to creating some Pennsylvania rolling stock from the era before they filed bankruptcy. Might be nice to create some scenarios along Horseshoe curve with a Pennsylvania SD40 and some more modern cars.

It is part of the GEO so we are not allowed to modify other peoples models as they are their intellectual property. It's not that some of us don't know how it's that it is against the law and our rules.

So, basically DTG does not allow you to modify the GeoPcDx file in order to make your repaint work. That just sucks.

wlenz781 wrote:So, basically DTG does not allow you to modify the GeoPcDx file in order to make your repaint work. That just sucks.

Put another more polite way most artists value their property and don't want to see it plagiarized or worse stolen.

Is it possible to create an .xml file to load a .tgpcdx file as a child object with the right coordinates and alpha out the primarynumbers and use my own custom numbers? If so, I could modify the .bin file to load the .xml file and map the numbers where I want them.

wlenz781 wrote:Is it possible to create an .xml file to load a .tgpcdx file as a child object with the right coordinates and alpha out the primarynumbers and use my own custom numbers? If so, I could modify the .bin file to load the .xml file and map the numbers where I want them.

A child is a new asset and needs a GeoPcDx for the model. I have no clue how to do this this but you can't just make a xml and it magically appears. Assuming you don't know how to do this you would be better served to make the numbers invisible and manually put numbers one at a time on the side of the cab.

I have found several articles about creating a geopcdx file and creating a child object. Guess I have lots of learning and reading to do.

wlenz781 wrote:I have found several articles about creating a geopcdx file and creating a child object. Guess I have lots of learning and reading to do.

You can't create new autonumbering and attach it to the engine as a child.

I was able to alpha out the UNION PACIFIC text down the side, but do to the way the doors run as a separate texture mapping I am unable to place the KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN text down the side. Also without being able to resize and relocate the cab numbers, DTG has made this engine nearly impossible to repaint. I hope someone has better luck than me with the Peninsula Corridor GP38.

Would this allow me to accomplish what I need with the autonumbering to complete this repaint?

http://railworksamerica.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3934