WIP AT&N Class 280-157 Consolidation

[buzz456]

I've done many tests, on different routes, and so far I get the same fps as with other locos. For example, I made a scenario on the HSC, and when I substituted the Consolidation for the EMD GP7 (or was it GP9?, I forget now), the fps were exactly the same. I've even run a triple-headed freight with fps around 17, on the HSC, with everything on maximum, AA on x8, resolution 1920x1200. If I run it in windowed mode at 1024x768, I can lock the fps at 30 and it stays there, rock solid.[/quote]

Excellent!

[johnmckenzie]

Just watched the Youtube video again - that is really superb work, you should be proud of yourself!

[mrennie]

Just watched the Youtube video again - that is really superb work, you should be proud of yourself!

Thank you John, I appreciate that.

I really must do another video tomorrow. For a start, I've discovered PlayClaw that makes videos that are much smoother than FRAPS. Secondly, the loco is now looking better that in that video, and I want to show off the new animation of the Walschaert's valve gear. I repositioned it to be in the right place for the forward setting of the reverser and added the lifting link that joins the radius rod to the reverse rod, so now the gear itself is complete. I just need to add the reverser (Johnson bar?) in the cab and the rods and springs that go between it and the reverse rod and shaft.

I was also thinking about how to switch to a modified animation when the loco is in reverse. The reverse rod lifts the radius rod, via the lifting link, so that the phase of the valve piston is changed to let steam into the opposite side of the cylinder and reverse the direction of thrust. If you know this, then it looks strange when the rods aren't in the right positions for the direction of travel. However, I think it might make the wheels suddenly snap to their starting positions when switching from one animation to the other, and that would really look strange!

[mrennie]

I'm a stickler for detail

That I know, I'm just hoping your a stickler for FPS smoothness as well

I make frequent road tests in RW, and I haven't had any problems with FPS. If anything, the Consolidation is actually a little bit better for FPS than some of the other payware locos I've tested, for comparison, in the same scenarios.

[mrennie]

This is amazing! I've just updated my graphics card drivers to the latest ones from Nvidia (131.42). My fps have doubled!

I'm testing the Consolidation with all in-game graphics options on their highest settings, except for passenger density which is low (I can't stand the clones). I also unticked low quality shadows and depth of field. I'm running RW in full screen mode, at 1920x1200, Anisotropic x8 texture filtering, Anti-Aliasing MSAA x8 with post-processing. I also ticked multi-core and 30FPS Lock, as well as the audio options (Enable EAX and Enable Software Mixing, even though I have no idea what that does).

I have a system I bought in 2009, with quad NTX-295, 12GB RAM, and two SSDs in RAID 0.

In the Nvidia control panel, in "Manage 3D Settings", for railworksproc2.exe, I've got it as:

Anisotropic filtering: Application-controlled
Antialiasing - FXAA: Off
Antialiasing - Gamma correction: Off
Antialiasing - Mode: Application-controlled
Antialiasing - Setting: Application-controlled
Antialiasing - Transparency: Off
CUDA - GPUs: All
Maximum pre-rendered frames: 3
Multi-display/mixed-GPU acceleration: single display
Power management mode: adaptive
Texture filtering - Anisotropic sample optimization: Off
Texture filtering - negative LOD bias: Clamp
Texture filtering - Quality: High quality
Texture filtering - Trilinear optimization: On
Threaded optimization: Auto
Triple buffering: On
Texture filtering - Anisotropic filter optimization: Off
Vertical sync: On

In the exact same scenario as before, at Altoona on the HSC, instead of the fps dropping to 17 in some instances, or lower than 14 when the F4 drive-by view camera passes through the smoke from the stack, it now stays locked at between 29 and 30 all the time!!! It's amazingly smooth.

[jpetersjr]

Looking forward to that new video, as well as more progress on the engine.

How is the engine coming along, and how is the trucks coming along.

Also, I have a question, how do you make your window pains show up as transparent in Railworks. I will be working on the windows for the 20th Century Limited soon and this would be helpful to know.

[Hawk]

This is amazing! I've just updated my graphics card drivers to the latest ones from Nvidia (131.42). My fps have doubled!

What vid card are you running?

[mrennie]

This is amazing! I've just updated my graphics card drivers to the latest ones from Nvidia (131.42). My fps have doubled!

What vid card are you running?

NVidia GeForce Quad GTX 295 ... quite old by today's standards.

[mrennie]

Looking forward to that new video, as well as more progress on the engine.

How is the engine coming along, and how is the trucks coming along.

Also, I have a question, how do you make your window pains show up as transparent in Railworks. I will be working on the windows for the 20th Century Limited soon and this would be helpful to know.

I've completed the animation of the entire valve gear including the parts that go to the reversing gear. Just got the Johnson bar (the lever that goes up into the cab) to do now.

For the window panes, it's as I described in the tips and tricks page of my blog:

To get a tinted, transparent (like glass) effect in 3DC:
Material Palette
> General > Diffuse 35 / Ambient 5 / Specular 0 / Translucent 1
> Primary Texture - .ace texture file (xxxx_nm.ace), RGB/8 bits per channel, with alpha channel (approx. 27%). The blacker the alpha channel, the more transparent the window.
> Environment map - .ace texture file, 64x64 pixels, RGB/8 bits per channel, no alpha, with a gradient going (from bottom to top) evenly from black to white
> Custom Fields > Rail Sim > TrainGlass.fx
> Tx Alpha > Transparency

Play about with the alpha channel in the primary texture to get the right amount of transparency.

I'll have to spend 30$ to do the video, because the watermark that PlayClaw adds in the trial version is very annoying.

[mrennie]

I've been working mainly on the reverser (Johnson bar and its mounting bracket, connecting rod, reverse rods, reach shaft, spring and lifting links).

Note the fps counters in the corner ... 34, 41, 38, 39.

280WIP10Sep12-001.jpg

280WIP10Sep12-002.jpg

280WIP10Sep12-003.jpg

280WIP10Sep12-004.jpg

[harryadkins]

absoolutely fantastic 3d modeling

[mrennie]

absoolutely fantastic 3d modeling

Thanks Harry, much appreciated :)

[ilovenxstage]

Nice!!!!! Can't wait till it comes out!

[mrennie]

Nice!!!!! Can't wait till it comes out!

Thanks :)

Still a lot of work to do on effects, sound, cab view ...

[mrennie]

I modelled this using the diagrams and pictures from the pamphlet for "The 'Pyle-National' "K-2" and "K" Headlight Equipments" (published in Chicago, U.S.A. 1918). I still have to connect up the steam pipe and the electrical cables, but here it is atop the smokebox ...

280WIP10Sep12-005.jpg

280WIP10Sep12-006.jpg

280WIP10Sep12-007.jpg

280WIP10Sep12-008.jpg

I'll try to add its sounds to the engine ambient sounds (although I still haven't worked out how to do that).

Here's the original, for comparison:

Pyle K Turbo-Generator.jpg