Train Simulator 2014 Announcement

[buzz456]

Buzz has a point. Might as well stick to what we got and just enjoy it. Even thoguh me and da guys are startinf operatinf session for rwa, I think we trying to make it more enjoyable even though you don't see other trains.

Would you please just your spell check or your check check????

[CSX2057]

Buzz has a point. Might as well stick to what we got and just enjoy it. Even thoguh me and da guys are startinf operatinf session for rwa, I think we trying to make it more enjoyable even though you don't see other trains.

Would you please just your spell check or your check check????

Sorry Buzz. I was using my android. Small keys, big fingers. That's what messing me up and btt I notice it was too late.

[buzz456]

Juct makun fon.

[fecrails]

Just don't let Siri do your typing without checking her. My wife uses Siri and has almost caused WWIII with some of the text messages she has sent family members.

[bpetit]

Request to get back on topic? Good.

I wonder if they have new route building tools.

[artimrj]

Request to get back on topic? Good.

I wonder if they have new route building tools.

Like exit with out save.

[5292nate]

Request to get back on topic? Good.

I wonder if they have new route building tools.

Like exit with out save.

Amen! I loused up the east end of NERW because of that!

[_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha]

Request to get back on topic? Good.

I wonder if they have new route building tools.

No, I don't think so. With the EULA, Steam Workshop, Kiddie Konsole Kontrols, locked down assets and current trend to charge $$$ for each and every repaint, rebranded former default route and train over and over, releasing such tools to the public is not in the business interest of RSC.

No doubt these tools exist in their offices and with their 'selected business partners', otherwise there would not be new trains and routes for us to buy. We could build them ourselves. There isn't even a serz.exe that is capable of compiling modern engine's xml, shape and texture files for a starter.

Powerful tools like that need documentation, support and dedication, none of which RSC has been known for.

Hats off to those independent creators amongst our mids who aren't part of the circle of 'anointed ones', and who keep trying despite all the SBHH, RSC's shenanigans and resulting frustration and waste of time and energy.

Will see what will be actually released and judge by September 22 wether RSC is capable of releasing such important updates without calamities like last times.

[mrennie]

Request to get back on topic? Good.

I wonder if they have new route building tools.

No, I don't think so. With the EULA, Steam Workshop, Kiddie Konsole Kontrols, locked down assets and current trend to charge $$$ for each and every repaint, rebranded former default route and train over and over, releasing such tools to the public is not in the business interest of RSC.

No doubt these tools exist in their offices and with their 'selected business partners', otherwise there would not be new trains and routes for us to buy. We could build them ourselves. There isn't even a serz.exe that is capable of compiling modern engine's xml, shape and texture files for a starter.

Powerful tools like that need documentation, support and dedication, none of which RSC has been known for.

Hats off to those independent creators amongst our mids who aren't part of the circle of 'anointed ones', and who keep trying despite all the SBHH, RSC's shenanigans and resulting frustration and waste of time and energy.

Will see what will be actually released and judge by September 22 wether RSC is capable of releasing such important updates without calamities like last times.

Maybe I'm not an annointed one then. I'm in the partner programme, but I can tell you I use the same tools that are available to everyone else, and nothing special. Actually, in my case, it's even worse. I don't even have access to 3DSMax (lucky devils, those who do - I have to put up with 3DC crashing every ten minutes, doing my shadow baking entirely by hand, trying to simulate ambient occlusion by eye, dealing with out-of-memory errors, etc. etc.). I know about the problems with serz.eze. 3DC doesn't export the rain effect shader names correctly, so they have to be edited afterwards, but guess what, the Consolidation's cab is so detailed, and therefore the file so big, that it causes serz.exe to crash, so instead of editing and compiling the .xml, I had to use a binary editor to hack the actual bin file.

This is simply to point out that there is at least one 3rd party dev who who gets by without any help (apart from help with beta testing) from RSC during the making of the models. I'm sure the others are probably in the same boat. It's not a criticism of RSC either, it's just so that you can see that a lot can be done with the tools that are already available to Joe public. I'm also sure that RSC would love to have more people making stuff for the game. However ... there are no tools that supply the talent, artistic streak, time and patience that you need in abundance to make something decent.

[imnew]

I wonder if they have new route building tools.

A wish from a guy who spends most of his time in the route editor: Some form of easy to understand error reporting system whenever sbhh pops up. A system that tells the user why and where the sim failed.

[CSX2057]

Let's hope trains don't fly off the track like it did the last time.

[_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha]

However ... there are no tools that supply the talent, artistic streak, time and patience that you need in abundance to make something decent.

That goes without saying! Tools are only as good as the craftman holding them. Time and patience are very expensive commodities nowadays, with the amount you spend on the FEF, it may end up costing tenfold the standard RSC loco's price. And there is still the question as to what she will pull in passenger cars.

Are we lacking in design tools with respect to the other train simulators? From what I know, no sim is natively supported by any 3D editor. I also have 3DC and it seems to have stalled in development and active support. Blender is perhaps better suited for small projects, for it is open source and has an active communtiy. Don't know about 3D Max, etc. Those professional programs have a very steep learning curve and ditto high price.

It would be wise for RSC to ask or poll us (US players) for our needs. Your FEF will be very welcome and fits in very well with Sherman Hill.
Lord Mannu's SD45 was very welcome also.
But what about Reppo's Centipede and even his GP20? The Centipede was a white elephant in prototype, and a very limited loco for Railworks, no matter how good the model.
A GP20 is only a low nose Geep to the uninitiated.

There are so many more desirable models on our wishlists: E8, PA's, Sharks, U-boats or just a plain GP40 will be bought straight away by the majority of us.

Have we been polled for our wishes and desires regarding TS 2014? I cannot remember. From my POV RSC still isn't fully commited to the US market by not capitalising on what we already have in routes and trains and expanding from there.

Waiting for September 22 and hoping Steam doesn't screw us all up.

[buzz456]

I have never had a texture fail yet new or old using DXTBmp and RSBin and I have never had serz fail me on a xml file yet either. Am I just lucky?

[mrennie]

That goes without saying! Tools are only as good as the craftman holding them. Time and patience are very expensive commodities nowadays, with the amount you spend on the FEF, it may end up costing tenfold the standard RSC loco's price. And there is still the question as to what she will pull in passenger cars.

I think I might have an advantage in that I spend as much time as I myself think necessary to get the model to a standard where I'm satisfied with it, without paying any attention at all to the ratio of potential profit v. time spent on the model. That's because I don't depend on it for a living - it's more of a hobby that happens to be a way of supplementing my income. Commercial developers (by which I mean developers who depend on it for their livelihoods) do have to think about that and inevitably limit themselves in terms of effort. Anyway, what that means for the FEF is that it doesn't matter how much time I spend on it - when it comes to pricing, I'm not in the loop. It'll probably be the standard price. I haven't seen locos being priced according to quality or the time they took to develop.

As for passenger cars, I might, one day, do some myself (to be decided), but there are already some suitable cars. I can't remember if they came with SH or with the Challenger that I got in the sale (just to borrow the tender for screenshots until I have my own), but there's a UP observation car, a baggage car, passenger cars and even a caboose.

EDIT: Sorry Buzz for drifting off topic.

[mrennie]

I have never had a texture fail yet new or old using DXTBmp and RSBin and I have never had serz fail me on a xml file yet either. Am I just lucky?

You're just lucky to have files that are small enough for serz.exe to manage. The Consolidation cab file was enormous, too big for serz, which could generate the xml file but couldn't convert it back again.