OT: Do you like trains?

[empeck]

There is a nice Railworks discount on Steam:

http://store.steampowered.com/sub/3087/

Just bought it, I hope it will be nice replacement for unreleased MSTS2...

[strykerpsg]

I would love feedback on this one, talk about a great price! Thanks for the heads up.

Matt

[deimos256]

Oh wow I didnt need to see that! I been looking into this for a while. After msts2 went by the wayside I had been hoping for a train sim. I hope this sale goes on for a little bit, as id like to get feedback on it!

[gajit]

Hi

Thanks very much for the HU. I have been thinking of getting it for some time so am now downloading :jump::jump::jump:

[strykerpsg]

Please post feedback.........................thanks in advance.

Matt

[empeck]

I've downloaded game already, but haven't time to play yet. I'm assembling new bed for my daughter.

I'll try to play in the evening.

[Henry]

excellent deal
thanks for the HU
H

[warchild]

I noticed they have Union Pacific in there.. Do they have any of union pacifics A-B power lash ups like the gas turbines or the early GE's??

[deimos256]

If it has a community like ours then the possibilities are endless. I don't know how easy that is though if your running it thru steam.

[Dain Arns]

Wonder how long that deal lasts? Payday is next week... :kilroy:
That's really a great deal. I've been contemplating Railworks for some time.

[Mithrin]

It's worth it for that price. I don't use it much but every now and then I fire it up and go training! :D

[dsawan]

Only like military trains. especially with arty and flak guns like Germany used and European countries in WW2. Having to dodge aircraft must be kinda fun.

[empeck]

OK, I've played for a moment with easy settings, and I like it. I'd prefer to play with Polish rolling stock, but there is nothing for Railworks, most of Polish communities are gathered around MSTS and Trainz, which I don't like (I guess I'll have to make my own models :173go1:), but there are many different locomotives in Railworks to keep me busy for a while. Graphics are OK, just lighting and shadows could be better. Here are few screenshots I did in free roam mode. I love that little steam engine :applause:

http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r362/empeck/Railworks/th_RailWorksProc22010-03-0622-25-58-09.jpg (http://s353.photobucket.com/albums/r362/empeck/Railworks/?action=view&current=RailWorksProc22010-03-0622-25-58-09.jpg) http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r362/empeck/Railworks/th_RailWorksProc22010-03-0622-26-14-73.jpg (http://s353.photobucket.com/albums/r362/empeck/Railworks/?action=view&current=RailWorksProc22010-03-0622-26-14-73.jpg) http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r362/empeck/Railworks/th_RailWorksProc22010-03-0622-33-59-63.jpg (http://s353.photobucket.com/albums/r362/empeck/Railworks/?action=view&current=RailWorksProc22010-03-0622-33-59-63.jpg) http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r362/empeck/Railworks/th_RailWorksProc22010-03-0622-35-27-23.jpg (http://s353.photobucket.com/albums/r362/empeck/Railworks/?action=view&current=RailWorksProc22010-03-0622-35-27-23.jpg)

http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r362/empeck/Railworks/th_RailWorksProc22010-03-0623-14-18-63.jpg (http://s353.photobucket.com/albums/r362/empeck/Railworks/?action=view&current=RailWorksProc22010-03-0623-14-18-63.jpg) http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r362/empeck/Railworks/th_RailWorksProc22010-03-0623-14-40-68.jpg (http://s353.photobucket.com/albums/r362/empeck/Railworks/?action=view&current=RailWorksProc22010-03-0623-14-40-68.jpg) http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r362/empeck/Railworks/th_RailWorksProc22010-03-0623-15-02-39.jpg (http://s353.photobucket.com/albums/r362/empeck/Railworks/?action=view&current=RailWorksProc22010-03-0623-15-02-39.jpg) http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r362/empeck/Railworks/th_RailWorksProc22010-03-0623-21-43-80.jpg (http://s353.photobucket.com/albums/r362/empeck/Railworks/?action=view&current=RailWorksProc22010-03-0623-21-43-80.jpg)

@Dain Arns - their newsletter says - offers run between 5-14th March.

[peter12213]

Sadly enough I do my Dad has a massive collection and a 00 gauge layout he spends more than I do on this (I mean flight sim) 80 to 100 quid on 1 train at times, he loves the Hornby class 08 and Bachmann modern stuff, he doesn't like the steam era, I do though , so we've got a massive collection worth litterally 1000's of quid but a board thats only 4 by 3 lol and thats foot not meters!

Unfortunately I cannot get him to use a computer he hates technology and doesn't drive has no mobile phone and won't even reconise a PC lol, he's an engineeer of old and only believes in laithes and hammers lol!

that last shot Embeck is that a PUG?

[Lateral-G]

I LOVE trains.

thanks for the heads up!

-G-

[Snuffy]

I like trains, but I'm into the old steamers of a century or two gone by now. (1800s ... 1860 - 1865 in particular)

[warchild]

really didnt like having to join steam, and their fonts are impossible to read, even on a big screen, but ,, i was bad.. i got it :) .. downloading now.. its a nice break from doing numbers all day i think.. and since i dont have a room or garage to set up an N-scale layout, this will do nicely i think.. :)..

[Snuffy]

Lemme know, can you build your own lines?

[Henry]

Lemme know, can you build your own lines?
yes you can but you have to be smarter than I:isadizzy:
that only leaves 99.9% of the world:icon_lol:
would love to have a LNER track from liverpool st to Kings lynn
or for that matter a KCS track in the us
H

[warchild]

I've been able to locate a community of sorts here .. http://railworksamerica.com/fl/rts.html They have files, models, tutorials, buch of stuff, but its still kinda confusing.. seems they use 3D canvas to create models. Maybe Gmax or Max isnt out of the picture. i dont know,,, Gonna keep looking for other communities as well.. there must be at least a few..

[warchild]

Henry: This may interest you and others too..

http://store.steampowered.com/app/24021/

PS can we move this to the off topic forum?? its a good thread but shouldnt be here..
Thanks
Pam

more decent reading:: http://www.railsimdownloads.com/files/content/manuals/RW%20Creator%20Manual_Web.pdf

[Lionheart]

Thanks for the heads up Empeck. Looks awesome.

Is this sim easier then MSTS?

With MSTS, I kept getting shut down on routes with auto-brakes. Hard to finish a route. Dropped it after a couple of days of trying.

(I want to run the train, not hone my abilities to work on speed limit signs and deceleration abilities)...


Bill

[Gdavis101]

I have been using Railworks since it was released, great product! As for Steam, I didn't really care for it at first but it does make it easy for keeping the game up to date and I have bought some pretty nice add-ons for RW there. There are some other really good routes out there, the Colton and Northern is a really good one as is the Rascal and Cottonwood. Isle of Wight is magnificent and is one of my personal favorites.. Bought this package not to long ago and it is very good as well, http://store.steampowered.com/app/24031/ .

[empeck]

that last shot Embeck is that a PUG?

It's 0-4-0ST Saddle Tank locomotive. It's a payware locomotive bundled with the pack.

Henry - yes you can build new routes, new rolling stock. There is even a channel on the youtube with videotutorials for Railworks editor:

http://www.youtube.com/user/RailSimulatorDotCom

And a wiki with docs:

http://www.railsimdownloads.com/wiki/tiki-index.php

warchild - Gmax is not supported, but there are plugins for 3dsMAX. Very good British community is here: http://forums.uktrainsim.com/

I wasn't a fan of Steam too, until their holiday discounts, hehe. Now I have few games there and I even like it.

[warchild]

welll, i gotta admit. after taking a run up through cajun pass i figured i'd try and fnd some nice US routes ( where i can drive my new centenial ) but alas, i cant find squat for america.. plenty for Britain, germany even argentina, but nothing for america.. thats when i decided i'd give it a go making a cross contry line someday ( like UP ) and start with part of the rock island line out of chicago.. heh.. theres no chocago.. the rail designer is flatter than a board.. I'm lost ::lol:..
Knowing the "siim" community though, and seeing how much fun this can be, i fully expect over the next cou7ple years, there'll be addons galore, and maybe even a multi-player mode where maps can be shared and everyone be on the dame page alll at once.. it'd be cool (especially as i drive up in that monster :) )

i will say his much. Everything about the game is extremely complex, except for driving the trains, which is dirt simple .. It's a great game.. I've been up all night enjoying it..

[Bjoern]

Yeah, I like trains, but only as a passenger and preferably in nearly empty carriages. :d

[ryanbatc]

Yes I like trains, I also like PZL Orliks :icon_lol:

[deimos256]

well the lack of American content kind of puts me off. Im sure there are some great routes in europe but I'm looking for some scenic american routes

[empeck]

Yes I like trains, I also like PZL Orliks :icon_lol:

:D

I've just finished coding first radio mode in Orlik. It is now possible to input COM frequency with keypad in VC. I have a manual of radio from Unimor Radiocom (Polish manufacturer of military radio equipment), and I'm trying to make it 'as real as it gets' ;) I hope I will be able to make channel programing mode too. I'll make short film and I'll upload it to youtube when I'll finish coding. Of course it will take some time :/

[ryanbatc]

:D

I've just finished coding first radio mode in Orlik. It is now possible to input COM frequency with keypad in VC.

Wow neat! That's gotta be a first! :jump:

Anyway....trains.... uuuh yeah! They ride on rails lol

[Gdavis101]

Colton and Northern & Rascal and Cottonwood are fictional US routes, but they are really good.. Also, the Raildriver unit works well with RW's and makes the whole thing much more realistic. Raildriver.com

[gajit]

Its all excellent. I have not been near FSX for 2 days - a record. But I still cant take off :isadizzy:

[warchild]

spent pretty much the last 48 hours downloading, installing, and learning.. I sem to have found most of the payware.. looking for decent freeware now.. fortunately even the payware is inexpensive and dangerously affordable ( its only 10 bucks,, i cant get overdrawn on that can I ?/).. Sadly, the Payware DD-40 i bought isnt quite up to specs.. with a half mile train behind a double unit its only managing 35 mph on a 2.4% slope.. Thats a bit ridiculess..
Biggest drawback, i'm a flight simmer as well as rail fan, and i'm accustomed to there being a complete world out there in sim land.. not just pieces of one.. cant wait for this to get a couple years older so that theres more available for it.. would also like to se some U-boats, and 9 crossing fingers ) a veranda style gas turbine..

Steam really went out of their way to make sure you couldnt find the game files.. i've never seen a structure so kerfuggled in my life. its confusing as hell, but i'm glad it works.. some other things could be a bit more user friendly as well,, but for a version 2 package, i cant complain.. its tons of fun, and quite relaxing ( til you fall asleep and hit the junction at 70 mph ) Cant really aford any hardware. just wish there were a way for me to use the throttle and other niceties of my joystick.. till then, the keyboards ok i guess.. wish i could do scenery. then i could start laying out all the east west mainlines between new york and california, then the north south lines.. theres a couple i remember from my old days with N-Scale like the red rock and western that i'd love to do in railworks as well.. its simply gorgeous ( and tricky i might add ) very fun sim.. more than worth the 30 bucks they're charging for it, though i wish they would have included the challenger in this version instead of the other..

[empeck]

Biggest drawback, i'm a flight simmer as well as rail fan, and i'm accustomed to there being a complete world out there in sim land.. not just pieces of one..

That's why I can't forgive Microsoft that they axed Aces... MSTS2 was supposed to have whole planet already with default tracks from various vector data :(

Website is still live: http://www.tsinsider.com/ :/

[Snuffy]

Question folks ...

So what I'm reading here from WC and others ... the American Continent is there, its just flat and uninhabited? No lakes? No rivers? No mountains?

Has anyone seen any Baldwin 4-4-0s?

Any rolling stock from the US 1800s era?

[michael davies]

Question folks ...

So what I'm reading here from WC and others ... the American Continent is there, its just flat and uninhabited? No lakes? No rivers? No mountains?

Has anyone seen any Baldwin 4-4-0s?

1800 rolling stock from the US era?

Train sims unlike FS are modeled differently, the whole world is flat, everywhere, everything....except the bits with tracks in...obviously. In train sim you are given a blank canvas, you select your geographical area that you want to model, then you go and get the DEM data for that region, you import the DEM for your route and it generates the land mass from the base flat land. You dont need masses of DEM, just 15 miles each side of your route should suffice, ie you make a 'corridor' of terrain for your route.

Once you have that then you go in and begin laying tracks, there are tools that wil allow you to say map out your route in Google earth, placing way points are key locations or trace the route every 200m or so if you wish, you then import that into your terrain and it will place markers for you to follow when you lay your rails, as you lay your rails you set your gradient as you go along, to match your terrain or your gradient profile. Once thats all done you begin to add in your scenery and other structures.

Thats basically how MSTS 1 and partsof MSTS 2 worken, not sure if Railworks is exactly the same but it'll be something close to that from what I've read.

I've managed to avoid this with great restraint but it draws me ever closer as time passes LOL.

Best

Michael

[Henry]

I've managed to avoid this with great restraint but it draws me ever closer as time passes LOL.

Best

Michael
LOL
tempting aint it:icon_lol:
H

[Snuffy]

... I've managed to avoid this with great restraint but it draws me ever closer as time passes LOL. ...

Thanks for all that info Michael. I guess that means I don't have to tear up a bunch of pre-existing terrain and other features. That's cool.

Pertaining to your quote above ... Yeah its getting harder ... I might be able to model that rail system I've always wanted to model and not take up 10,000 square fee to do it. LOL!

[warchild]

What theyve done is to try and find the balance between the best of two worlds. The world of the software simmer ( naturally ) and the world of the table top modeler. Thats why the world is flat to begin with.. it allows you to create your own layout in any way shape or form you want ( was just doing some sandbox playng in there.. havent used finger paints in nigh on 60 years ). its kinda cool, but it also means that if you want an accurate representation, you need to be more technically minded.. If you dont want to get too technical, you can still build a really nice layout. i thnk fantasy layouts make up almost 80% of all scale railroading. its by neccesity of course as no one has a mansion they can dedicate to nothing but a single rail layout.. Even in Z scale, it could take that big a barn ( and Z scale will fit in a small briefcase )

[michael davies]

LOL
tempting aint it:icon_lol:
H

You HAVE NO IDEA !!.

Must resist !, actually its not too hard 'right' now as I'm cataloguing all my internet ship (35,000) and train (85,000) photos as well as my own photos (500 alone last month) and when I'm not doing that I'm out when ever the sun is out taking even more ship and train photos.

Quite what I'm ever going to do with all those images is beyond me, but I've enough ten times over for any Max project I ever wish to choose for !, just like taking and collect photos really, bit like stamps, only cheaper LOL.

Kindest

Michael

[empeck]

There is one tempting thing... To build SM-42 diesel locomotive for Railworks :) I have a certain aircraft to finish though.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE6s_EUBZqM

[warchild]

Ok.. for those tempted::
yes, you can purchase railworks for 30 bucks right now and ya know, it aint bad.. I mean straight out of the box it aint bad.. If you like american style though you might want to get the american version as the mega bundle has mostly euro roads in it.. not much american at all.. ( gee, you can go between barstow and san bernadino.. great thrill there.. helllp.. we need scenery and routes )..
Heres the thing, or rather things..
Railworks is straight forward.. Valve has gone way out of their way to make sure no one can pirate any software you download from them ( you dont even know its downloaded till you run the sim ) BUT..
when searching for 3rd party freeware and payware, it gets confusing as all hell.. Theres trainsim, railsim1, zugu ( sp?) railworks, TPR, you name it, and they dont like to talk with each other.. The upshot is that the playground is even. its just as confusing no matter which sim you get, the downshot is that railworks is new, and there isnt much there 9 although thats changing ) and theres far far more available for MSTS than there is for railworks. the upshot is that most adons cost betwen 6 dollars and 20 dollars ( imagine owning a detailed 4-6-6-4 for 18 bucks ).
Quality of course varies with the skill of the modeler. i just deleted a semi nice little GP-7 because the xml code was so kerfuggled the whistle would never shut off and getting it to run was like pulling teeth while saying the rosary a hundred times.. Oh well. i keep searching..

Upshot number two.. i had a very peaceful sleep last night.. started in san bernadino and set the brake and throttle and let the train do its own thing at 15 mph. the hum of the diesel put me straight to sleep and i slept like a baby for the first time in fourty years..

[Snuffy]

Hey Pam, Can you post some screenies of the United States, particularly the Eastern seaboard? I'm curious as to what's there to start with.

Thanks.

:icon29: :ernae:

[warchild]

The only thing with this program is there is nothing for it.. 98% of everything i've installed ( about a hundred packages ) fals to work. some packages require you have paintkits installed that dont exist anywhere but in a note on a page, and still other so called freeware sites limit your download speed to 5 k/s unless you want their premium package, and to make it worse they put you in a cue that doesnt ever move.. Theres only a couple extra routes available, and the pikes peak one consistantly blows up on me. That means make my own or go take a flying leap.. Amazon still wants 114 dollars for MSTS which is quite rediculess, but, theres a ton and a half of stuff out there for it.. Valave simply wants top money for everything and then your limited to their offering.. This is quickly getting frustrating and pathetic.. Sorry for the rant, but needed to blow off steam.. Thanks for being there for me ..
Pam

[N2056]

Trains are #2 in my book after things that fly. For many years I was an active member of the San Diego Society of "N" Scale (http://www.sdsons.org/). They are one of the groups that are part of the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. (http://www.sdmrm.org/) The Museum is billed as the largest in North America.

I was there the night the "pool shark" came to be :eek:

1721

[warchild]

Hey Pam, Can you post some screenies of the United States, particularly the Eastern seaboard? I'm curious as to what's there to start with.

Thanks.

:icon29: :ernae:

Afraid i dont have anything on the east coast.. just the default colorado and california routes plus some euro stuff i havent played with yet, but, heres what i got so far...
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k171/urushira/railworks/Screenshot_Castle-Rock-Railroad_391.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k171/urushira/railworks/Screenshot_Barstow-to-San-Bernardin.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k171/urushira/railworks/Screenshot_Barstow-to-San-Bernar-1.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k171/urushira/railworks/Screenshot_Castle-Rock-Railroad_-1.jpg

[warchild]

Trains are #2 in my book after things that fly. For many years I was an active member of the San Diego Society of "N" Scale (http://www.sdsons.org/). They are one of the groups that are part of the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. (http://www.sdmrm.org/) The Museum is billed as the largest in North America.

I was there the night the "pool shark" came to be :eek:

1721

Land shark!! ::lol::...
The only think i didnt like about N-scale ( well things really ) is no one made a GE Gas turbine in veranda styling for it, and the only existing DD40 was a bachman, sucked weenies, and didnt have a B unit.. About the time i started running out of money and getting out of N scale, they were beginning to import some really nice locos from germany and austria. They also cost over a hundred bucks each back then.. But ya know. I'd pay 300 bucks for a detailed n-scale challenger or big boy..

[empeck]

The only thing with this program is there is nothing for it.. 98% of everything i've installed ( about a hundred packages ) fals to work. some packages require you have paintkits installed that dont exist anywhere but in a note on a page, and still other so called freeware sites limit your download speed to 5 k/s unless you want their premium package, and to make it worse they put you in a cue that doesnt ever move.. Theres only a couple extra routes available, and the pikes peak one consistantly blows up on me. That means make my own or go take a flying leap.. Amazon still wants 114 dollars for MSTS which is quite rediculess, but, theres a ton and a half of stuff out there for it.. Valave simply wants top money for everything and then your limited to their offering.. This is quickly getting frustrating and pathetic.. Sorry for the rant, but needed to blow off steam.. Thanks for being there for me ..
Pam

You should try Trainz instead. Downloading anything from Auran Download Station is nightmare, unless you pay them for access. Every route I tried to download had a list of hundreds individual objects to download from websites that doesn't exist anymore. And Auran releases new version of Trainz every year, only to break compatibility with something done for previous version.

[warchild]

yeah, i know.. as much of a whiner as i am. i did do some looking around, and frankly, railworks is the only thing that looks like it has any future..hopefully it'll get better... till then, maybe having copies of msts and rw isnt such a bad ( though rather expensive) idea..

[empeck]

There is a nice Newcastle to York route review at Avsim:

http://www.avsim.com/pages/0310/JustTrains/NY.htm

[warchild]

thanks empeck.. heding over that way to read it...

eye opener..

I just installed a demo of MSTS (yup. they're still available ..) and right off, t didnt want to run on windows 7 64 bit with the Nvidia drivers, but it rn fine on vista. Graphics are on par with that time period and fs2000 which isnt saying much.. Layout editor has a few decent things going for ity, but only a few.. virtual cabin?? what virtual cabin?? Looks lie the default 747 panel got used in more than one place..
Bottom line is that, no matter how you slice it, railworks has msts beat all around ( naturally ) and whether heres anything that works on it or not its the best game in town ( err, simm ).. I didnt see a single thing in msts to recommend it to me over railworks outside of there being terrain in the default layout editor example.. that isnt enough.. So, the best bet is to relax, breathe and enjiy whatr i can as developers come online with more addons for railworks..
Now if only RW didnt hae such a weird graphics file forma5.. oi..

[warchild]

One of the quirks i face with most routes is that they are too small.. its odd because when i get in a plane, i want to fly for an hour or two and then go do something else, but when i'm driving a train, i wanna drive one of those ones that keep you waiting at the crossing for an hour while they go by.. trains big enough that they go on for miles. stuff that you could see going over Sherman hill a few years back.. I want to start in Chicago, and go to seattle or portland and all through the sawtooths and cascades.. Most routes are just a bit short of that..

Theres a really nice railworks F7 combo thats perfect for the job too.. the sound is that deep throaty sound that can kull you to sleep, and theres more than enough power there for a one or two mile consist.. ::chuckles:; talk about fast freight.. I guess the bottom line is that, when it comes to trains, i'm a size queen.. i like em, big. real big.. and that kinda wipes out doing shorter routes.. maybe omeone will do the UP northern transcon route, or the CP/Via transcon route.. could you see highballin acros the canadian prairie and then taking it nice and easy up through the rockies in british columbia?? Jeez that could be sweet..

[HippyEd]

Hey Pam, you need to drive a coal train from Powder River Basin to Boardman, Or. Longest trains on the line. Also the steepest grade going up to the Coal Plant. 115 cars with 14,000 tons of coal. 3 trains a week.

Ed

[warchild]

:::LOL: hi Ed.. Ya know something, i'd love that.. I'm a bit skeptical as to whether it can be done or not.. One of my experiments was to build a fifty car consist behind four DD40s. Now, the four centenials are producing enough power to topple a pretty decently sized building, and yet, the best speed i can get out of it heading out of san bernadino up into cajon pass is 51 mph.. Oddly, an F7 lashup ( f7 A-b-b-b-A ) gives me the exact same performance pulling a 15 car passenger train.. I'm gonna have to look into that. Dont have any real suspiions yet, but maybe its something with the way railwoks is managing that area.. No matter what though, That aint what i'd call fast freight..

Oh yeahhhh.. I found this handy litle page last night that could come in handy designing routes and scenery... enjoy :) .. http://www.railsimdownloads.com/wiki/tiki-index.php?page_ref_id=5

[Snuffy]

I'm still teetering on the edge here ... I'm trying to get my head wrapped around the importation of DEM info first.

I have a feeling that based on what I want to do, I'm probably going to have to learn to model as well since there seems to be a massive lack of period stock for my layout.

Haven't bought anything yet just reading all I can ... Just attempted do to a data gathering at USGS and got no where. :(

[michael davies]

Theres a really nice railworks F7 combo thats perfect for the job too.. the sound is that deep throaty sound that can kull you to sleep

It was only a matter of time before you opened my can of demons LOL. EMD 567s are the only sound I will drop everything for, if I'm ever comatosed the wife has instructions to play 567 and 645 sounds, they form such a deep memory in my child hood days in Denmark, listening to them accelerate past my grand parents house and up the hill, the sound drifitng in and out of the forest clearings as they got ever further away, its a sound I'll never forget. Forget the hanging gardens of Babylon, Niagara falls or the Grand canyon, the 567 is the 1st wonder of the world, period, end of debate.

I used to chase MX's, MY's and MZ's in Denmark, much to the chargin of my fiancee, later wife, when they were gone, a small fortune spent in Belgium on the Nohabs there, chasing and rail fan trips to sample and cab ride them, forgave a company meal and night out in Ireland to visit the local station and photo and sample Irish 567s, cut across four lanes of freeway in Belgium when I heard a 55 start up.

Dont mind 645 engines either but a 567...game over :).

Its an illness, an affliction, there is no cure, like a moth to a flame I am drawn.

If I ever have a row with the wife, a bad day at work or generally depressed, I go here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6K3oMQlxyA&NR=1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6K3oMQlxyA&NR=1) An excellent sound and video of Australian bulldogs almost slipping to a stand or here for full raw up hill thrash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr_o-7028dU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr_o-7028dU), a short clip of a Danish Mz (EMD 645) exported to Australia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbMjROQB714 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbMjROQB714) and finally an Irish 645 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZc4X-nfgBo&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZc4X-nfgBo&feature=related) none of your Euro tree hugging Cat 5 emission regulations here !! :). All an instant gratifying spine tingling, eye watering, lump in the throat experiance.

I appreciate many here will cast odd looks, I understand peoples passion for Spitfires, Mustangs and other fine specimens of flight, but whilst I love all trains, the 567 stands shoulders above everything else.

Its a door I keep tightly shut, but when opened am lost for days. The Railworks F7 is a nice model, I know the modeller very well, we met in the US once at a rail sim convention, hell of a modeller and hopelessly in love with EMD F units.

I'd been kicking my heels for a theraputic Max project to do, whilst I also love other stuff ( Close run between UP stuff and a Euro MaK1206 or Dutch 6400) the Nohabs will surely win through, if Railworks sounds like any of the above then I'm sold, I'm still looking for a decent sound chip for O scale Nohabs, then I can finally have an excuse to begin my scratch built 567 loco model ( prototype undecided right now, probably SNCB as the DSB My is already covered by Heljan in RTR).

Time to re compose myself LOL.

Enjoy

Michael

PS I love turbines as well, get a copy of Turbines Westward by Lee, its in its 5th run now I think, all the Turbine data and pictures you could ever want for, Giants of the West is another by G R Cockle, mostly DD35s, and GE U50s but has some Turbine stuff in there, mostly GTELs, George has also done Centennials West a soft back on DDA40X's both of these are out of print, my GotW cost over $100 second hand ten years ago and I've seen them go for more recently, He did one other of diesels of that ear whos name escapes me, also out of print but I've never seen one second hand anywhere.

PPS, don't ever get me started on GG1s and the NEC !.

[deimos256]

its soooo tempting to buy this, I wish they had a demo so I could make sure it was what I was looking for. I recently dropped $50 into the wind on FTX NA Blue only to have it perform poorly and be unusable. Is the actual running of the trains somewhat straightforward? I dont think I have the time to read over countless manuals these days with school.

[warchild]

wellll,,, railworks is designed to run on 512 meg of ram. it seems to like the newer video drivers, and heres one ( 1.. ) set of instructions to set up your joystick throttle for saiteks.. theres little AI, very few routes, tons of scenarios, a cantankerous and frustrating scene/route creator and more confusion that ive had with a game in a great many years. Over all, it feels raw.. It doesnt feel finished or polished, and valves involvement with its distribution and sales makes me dubious about its future, however,,,,
given all the pros and all the cons, the pros weigh more.. it IS fun to edit scenarios and change out consists and power lashups. ity IS fun to sit in a 3D cab and look out the window as you keep the thing under the speed limit, it IS fun just toodling about with 15000 horsepower under you and frustrating ad it can be, it is a major load of fun just opening up the scenery creater and doodling and experimenting..
I've said it before, and i'll say it again.. for thirty bucks, you cant go wrong with it.. Downloadable payware content is inexpensive. Priceyest thing i've found and bought was the 4664 challenger at 18 dollars. i just bought a wide nosed SD-40 canadian for ten dollars.. I'll post pics of the VC's..

Freeware and paintlits is where the bigest sadness comes in.. freware isnt around a lot, but enough exists to make a few really nice trains, and the quality is very good there as well, though i've got some that made me shudder.. painkits are an eclectic subject.. i dont really understand them.. there are some psd filles tht you can save as a dds file, and a converter for the dds file that converts the files to the graphics format used by rail sim, bt frankly, it isnt straight forward or simple, which is too bad because i'd love to model The rock and Rock island Lines.

Bottom line is that trainworks, though a sim, is more like a table top layout than a simulation.. your simply not restricted to one table top, and you get to drive the trans from inside them or ride as a passenger if its a pax run.

I've started blueprinting the main lines from Lasalle st station in chi town moving west. i hope to cover omaha, Grande junction, North Platte, yelowstone and the cascades, but i'm making the scenery without any included rail stock or power. it'ss be scenery and nothing else so that people can simply ad the trains they want and it'll work without the snafu's i've experienced.. However, thats a LOT of railroad, so its going to take a while..
If someone wanted to go from chi town southwest to santa fe that would be cool too, especially if we could jjoin them up somewhere ( like ummm,, chi town )..

[deimos256]

Wow, well I have seen some US expansions on steam that are upwards of 25 bucks, but with 20 miles of track and 30 industry routes and something like 100 spur lines that sounds pretty decent to me. I have pretty limited knowledge of railroads aside from turning down a job for a major US one. Anyways This is very very tempting and I'm very close to buckling.

[warchild]

Well, keep in mind, this more of a table top simulator than a procedural simulator, although you can set up procedural scenarios that'll make you pull your hair out.. In my experience with it, twenty miles is a bit shy of the norm.. monument up to cascades is about fifty miles, and san bernadino to barsto is quite a bit l9nger than that.. The colton line which i just picked up as well, is based on a table top model, but even it is more than twenty miles, and at this moment, is the most beautiful line i have.. I'm loving it..

I seem to remember back in the 90s when i was laying out N scale dioramas, that there was a piece of software that you could use for designing and running the trains, before you started laying down plaster and rail.. This really reminds me of that, but light years ahead. There appears to be the possibility of creating a complete world with this software, but its main thrust is the individual modeler. Still noises have been made to include multi player in future releases.
The nicest thing about this sim is that you arent restricted to a table top.. Perhaps thats not such a great thing, but you can model any route, of any line, in its entirety. To me, it almost feels as if that moves it beyond an enjoyable hobby, to a full on simulation. in its broad scope of possibilities, it loses that simple quaintness that table top modeling offers, but then again, your not going to be going to D&J hobbies or another train store once a week to chaw with the gang and talk about new Athern or bachman models..

Maybe doing both isnt such a bad idea.. I like camaraderie..

[Snuffy]

Well, keep in mind, this more of a table top simulator ...

So let me get this straight, no predefined continents? No oceans?, No rivers?, Nothing but flat green and the ability to locate stuff by lat and lon?

So if I want rivers and oceans and the like I have to edit the table top to give me those things?

I agree with an earlier post that said something about a demo ... I'd love to get my hands on just a 30 day trial demo ... But then again, I probably wouldn't have what I was looking for any how, so I'd have to make a decision based on subject matter that doesn't interest me.

Like I said earlier, if I can wrap my head around the inputing of geography, and then figure out the modeling process, it probably isn't such a bad thing.

[empeck]

So let me get this straight, no predefined continents? No oceans?, No rivers?, Nothing but flat green and the ability to locate stuff by lat and lon?

So if I want rivers and oceans and the like I have to edit the table top to give me those things?


Exactly. Both Railworks and Trainz works that way.

[Snuffy]

Exactly. Both Railworks and Trainz works that way.

Thanks Empeck, I just wanted to know what I was/might be getting into before I leaped.

What about MSTS? Does it have the predefined continents and such? How easy is it to mod or create layouts in it?

[empeck]

I don't know, I haven't played MSTS, and now it would be too difficult to jump into the game that doesn't have 3d 'virtual cockpit' for locomotives.

[michael davies]

Thanks Empeck, I just wanted to know what I was/might be getting into before I leaped.

What about MSTS? Does it have the predefined continents and such? How easy is it to mod or create layouts in it?

Ted,

No MSTS doesnt have terrain either, none of the train sims do, they all give you a bare enviroment to begin with, adding DEM to MSTS was quite easy, there are tools out there to do it for you, not sure on Railworks but something similar must exist, most just let you select the eare you want to add and it auto throws it in, then you add water and such, in MSTS that was quite easy, you just selected the water icon told it what elevation you wanted and it puts a flat plane in with water already added and thus your shore line is created. One of the pitfals with MSTS was that it could not model sloped water, ie like in a ravine or fast flowing river, but everything else was fine.

Best

Michael

[Snuffy]

Alrighty, so plan green flat table top.

And its only easy if you can get the DEM info ... I tried yesterday and failed meserably i'm afraid. LOL.

Rgr that on the "sloped" (as opposed to slopped,) water. LOL. Fortunately many of the fall lines in the rivers next to my project have islands and rocks and other debris to make the change in elevation less painful(?) :)

Thanks for all the help and replies, both public and private.

:wavey:

[warchild]

was working on doing one of my sandbox/fingerpaint learning things with the layout editor last night.. What i found was that if i "paint" the main areas first, then the rest of the layout gets a little easier..
Paint a BIG black or tarmac dot underneath the scenario marker, then block out the major terrain with colors that match what you want to put there ( grasslands, marshes, mountains etc ). After that, you can start laying track OR, raising and lowering the land to match what you want.. It makes it somewhat easier..

[warchild]

ok, sooo, i think i'm beginning to get a sliver of a clue... Spent a few hours in my railworks scenery sandbox today.. nothing spectacular but i figure if i can do it, it aint that hard.. After blocking in major terrain areas with different colors, i raised those areas, then sarted adding in track.. That may have been a mistake, but its one way of doing it.. in the end, i got a nice little scene Hope you like it..
Pam

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k171/urushira/Screenshot_scenery-trial-3_3909119-.jpg

[Matt Wynn]

Pam..... that wouldn't happen to be a Class 55 Deltic would it?..... you know what i'm like if anything looks even remotely like a class 55 deltic.... :icon_lol: uh oh.... just realised my covers blown as a train enthusiast as well *Changes anorak and hides back in the dark corner*

[Snuffy]

Pretty cool WC ... you keep hammering at me and I just might break.

I did manage to find a link to some HGT data files ... Now all I gotta do is figure out how to use them. LOL!

Still haven't bought it yet .. but that rope is down to a thread or two.

Good Job on yer scenery! :applause:

[Snuffy]

Pam,

Try wrappin your head around this link ... :)

http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/

Check out the samples ...

http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/SRTM_image_sample/picture%20examples/

[warchild]

Ah yeahh.. srtms.. Not sure if they're useful in railworks or msts or not.. the programs i know of use DEM's (Digital elevation models ) which can be purchased for various resolutions and areas.. I found some for Illinois counties at 15 cents each so prices arent too bad..

heres a link as well. dont know how good it is.. havent bought anything from them...

http://www.dielmo.com/eng/modelos-digitales-terreno.php?gclid=CLr6zaK6r6ACFSpeagodMlwzag

[Snuffy]

According to the railworks Scenery Creation document found here, (scroll to the bottom its the last link,) http://railworksamerica.com/fl/d-t.html It says that you can use the HGT data on the site I located (found from another forum on railworks,) the document in this link tells you how to use the HGT data.

And the best part ... its FREE.

[warchild]

Free is good.. free is very good.. Gonna head that way to check it out..

[heywooood]

*sigh*

[warchild]

yerahhh, train sim 2 would have been great.. but it doesnt exist.. :(.. I know that sounds oxy-moronic in light of the given evidence in the pics, but really, try finding a copy.. it doesnt exist.. .

Given also that Amazon is charging 114 dollars for MSTS 1, i'm terrified to think what would have been charged if they ever made it to 2..

[heywooood]

well I probably have more than three times that amount tied up in FSX with all the payware I've added -

I would have bought TS2 for whatever they set the price at - something for a serious developer to consider is the amount of money disappointed TS2's potential fans are now shelling out for Railworks and its addon packs.

[warchild]

What we need to do is make railworks good.. it wont be easy ( not if we model the world ) but it can be done, somehow.. is got a very good foundation, and the graphics and physix is good as well.. Just needs to be developed more i think.. and for thirty bucks, that aint bad..

[empeck]

*sigh*

*sigh* :(

[CurlSnout]

Given also that Amazon is charging 114 dollars for MSTS 1, i'm terrified to think what would have been charged if they ever made it to 2..

I've seen this claim posted twice now; although it may be factually accurate, it is at the same time rather misleading. Manufacture of the discs must have dropped off or halted; supply has gone down and price has gone up. Until quite recently MSTS could be found at discount outlets for around ten bucks. If you're serious about getting a copy you can find it in abundance at online auctions for under $30. Using the inflated price of MSTS to extrapolate/speculate over the (imaginary) cost of MSTS2 is baseless.

On a different but related note for anyone interested, the rise and fall of MSTS2 was/is well documented at the dedicated 3DTrains forum that was quite lively and is still archived - the developers were active participants right up to the (unexpected and very sad for many of us) cancellation:

http://www.3dtrains.com/forums/index.php?showforum=90

On a positive note, for those of you discovering or renewing your intereste in train sims (MSTS, Trainz, RAILWORKS), be sure to check Obo's locomotives catalog(s) for content (you want a Class 55 Deltic, Smoothie?):

http://railworks.banal.net/catalog/catalog.html

Hi-Ho and Have Fun,

cs

[Matt Wynn]

Woooooo! Deltics! and wow everything from the class 40 early ones to the later class 55 Deltics! wow! i might just have to get that Railsim is it? and get modelling the lines in the UK :icon_lol:

[warchild]

What i want to see is more american rail stuff.. i understand that most developers live in europe these days, and so i also understand that they wouldnt be as interested in american rail as their own, but americas history and railroading are on in the same thing. American rail took this country from being 13 little colony/states, and turned it into a 3000 mile wide nation. Railways also gave us standardized time, and on the downside, were responsable for the alarm clock that wakes you up in the morning.. Trains made this nation possible, and carried it on their backs for over a hundred years. American rail isnt the nice, efficient and clean stuff you see in europe. It's big and brutish and can carry a three mile long set of cars up the side of a mountain, because it had to do that. Its given us some of the biggest, most intricate, most powerful machinery on the face of the earth ( 4-8-8-4 Big boy, 4-6-6-0 Mallet ) and the stories of the American rail more adventure, more romance, more danger and excitement, than almost anything that could have ever been written by Wells and Verne. So yeah. I want to see more american stuff. I consider Microsofts dropping of MSTS2 not only an insult to rail fans, but a betrayal of our history. Being an american vet, you can probably guess what my feelings are about betrayal.
Pam

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k171/urushira/Screenshot_Barstow-to-San-Bernardin.jpg

[warchild]

On a different but related note for anyone interested, the rise and fall of MSTS2 was/is well documented at the dedicated 3DTrains forum that was quite lively and is still archived - the developers were active participants right up to the (unexpected and very sad for many of us) cancellation:

http://www.3dtrains.com/forums/index.php?showforum=90



Tried joining the forum there. They dont like my email address though so i couldnt join.. Kinda stupid banning someone from joining because of where you live ( email wise )..

[Snuffy]

Well Pam, I think you hit it on the head. (Being an American Railroader ... )

Today I spent much time doing research for locomotives and rolling stock to see if I could populate a route once I decided to do this thing.

I'm finding Railworks to be pathetically lacking in any kind of period vehicles. On the other hand, MSTS seems to have an over abundance of period vehicles for what I want to do.

So now I'm at the quandry: Keep progressing with RW and then figure out how to build 3D models for the thing, or switch to MSTS and try to find a cheap package that hasn't been used.

:banghead: What to do!!??!! :banghead:

[Henry]

Well Pam, I think you hit it on the head. (Being an American Railroader ... )

Today I spent much time doing research for locomotives and rolling stock to see if I could populate a route once I decided to do this thing.

I'm finding Railworks to be pathetically lacking in any kind of period vehicles. On the other hand, MSTS seems to have an over abundance of period vehicles for what I want to do.

So now I'm at the quandry: Keep progressing with RW and then figure out how to build 3D models for the thing, or switch to MSTS and try to find a cheap package that hasn't been used.

:banghead: What to do!!??!! :banghead:
some can and will work
H

[warchild]

Is UKTrainsim on the rocks?? I just tried downloading the amtrak fleet cars from there.. heres the message i get..


Your download is in queue position 85 of 86
There are 5 concurrent downloads out of 5 maximum.
Each user has approximately 5.00 k/s available to them.
Get unlimited access to the File Library!
No bandwidth restrictions, No queues
Click here (http://www.atomic-systems.com/common/subscribe.php) to become a PREMIUM member!
Running Queue
There are approximately 145,870.00 Kb left to be downloaded from current downloads.






SOOO, i go to throw them some money, and heres the message i get..



<fieldset> 404 - File or directory not found.

The resource you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.


I dont get it..



</fieldset>

[warchild]

Well Pam, I think you hit it on the head. (Being an American Railroader ... )

Today I spent much time doing research for locomotives and rolling stock to see if I could populate a route once I decided to do this thing.

I'm finding Railworks to be pathetically lacking in any kind of period vehicles. On the other hand, MSTS seems to have an over abundance of period vehicles for what I want to do.

So now I'm at the quandry: Keep progressing with RW and then figure out how to build 3D models for the thing, or switch to MSTS and try to find a cheap package that hasn't been used.

:banghead: What to do!!??!! :banghead:


I'm going to run both msts and railworks.. Disk space is at a premium, but Railroading is the only thing in my life i can do where no one else is involved, and so its my only personal pleasure.. MSTS offers a plaethora of addon components and allows me to do historical ( hysterical? ) and period railroading with the only cost being the lack of a virtual cabin ( and price of course ), while RW with its advanced physX generator, and pretty much a blank open canvas, points to a future. That will give me the best i could hope for at the moment, and help me establish a solid platform for future development.

[empeck]

Yeah, it's ridiculous :|

I have the same problem with rolling stock as you. Most of Polish locomotives, wagons, routes are for MSTS and Trainz. There is absolutely no Rail Simulator/Railworks scene. It's a pity, because I really like this game :|

[Bjoern]

Does Railworks offer one of these?

http://cdn.fotocommunity.com/photos/6763995.jpg

Or - better - one of these?
http://www.pflasterstrand.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/ice3.jpg

Frankfurt - Cologne with 300kph...how cool that was...*Dreams away*

[Snuffy]

some can and will work
H


Whutchewtalkinboutboy?

And how do I find out?

[warchild]

That looks like the front window from a Bullet train in tokyo ( which isnt included).. RW DOES contain a version of the ICE and a seconf "drb" Ice version is available for free.. both are awesome looking trains, though since yheir electric, i havent driven them yet...

[Snuffy]

Now to make everyone a little jealous ...

Found this thread on a MSTS forums on route creation ... 23 pages so far lots of pictures of progress.

Enjoy.

http://forums.flightsim.com/vbts/showthread.php?t=283302

[Henry]

Whutchewtalkinboutboy?

And how do I find out?
try um and find out
if they dont work delete em
but i hev found out most ovem do
H

[warchild]

Henrys correct.. Most Railsim addons function in railwoprks, but getting them into the game may be a bit complex...
almost all railsim packages install with the normal package installer. Tey dont need to be installed as a legacy addon.. Thats the easy part..

One your in the game, in order to see the train, you need to take a few steps..

At the bottom of the screen, in the popup tab, click on edit and save the route info.. This will open up some tabs on the left side of the screen..

In the top tab, click on edit scenario ( top right icon ) and again save your information. the screen will reload into the scenario editor, which is where you want to be.. Go to the bottom right of the screen and click on the icon of the lock, to unlock the scenario.

Next, on the second tab on the left, click on view filters on the bottom left of the top icon bar. it looks like a blue cube..

Click on the engine icon next ( also in the second tab )

Move to the tab which has appeared on the right side of the screen. it should contain a list of manufacturers names taken directly from the folder names in the trainset folder. Click on each of the entries to bring up the softwware they have installed//

Below the name bar in the right hand tab, you will see the particular software listed and some will have a smal box to the right of the titles. click on that box to make the item appear in the engine list in the tab on the left side of your screen..

after youve clicked off all the boxes, go to your list and you "should" find the engine ( or rolling stock if thats what you want ).

click on it and move your mouse to a track. That engine will appear on that track. click on it and it will be added to the scenario. Once you have added yur engine right click on the one that pops up next to make it disappear..

On the bottom right of the screen, click on the play button and the program will change back to play mode, with your engine sitting right where you put it..

The legacy installer is only used if you have an exe file installer for software from railsim..

hope this helps..
Pam

[deimos256]

Alright well as good as rw looks, I'm only interested in American stuff. I bought msts a very long time ago and never really got into it but I think I still have it laying around somewhere. My question is are there a lot of routes and content for the US and Canada? I can deal without a virtual cabin I just would rather drive the trains and routes I see on a daily basis. Also does it work on windows 7 64?

[Snuffy]

Well I suppose if the equipment is freeware I don't see where that would get expensive.

However, based on the link I provided just recently about a MSTS short line project, and noticing the creation software the builder was using, (GSU mostly,) I've got to wondering whether RailWorks will allow for GSU models to be imported.

So many questions, I suppose the best way to answer all these questions is to just do it. Give in to my desire and buy the software and be done with it.

:banghead:

[Bjoern]

That looks like the front window from a Bullet train in tokyo ( which isnt included).. RW DOES contain a version of the ICE and a seconf "drb" Ice version is available for free.. both are awesome looking trains, though since yheir electric, i havent driven them yet...

The first pic shows the "old" ICE1, the second one shows the newer ICE3.

Anyways, thanks for the HU Pam. I think I will give that rail sim a try one day. Until then, it's real-life train rides only. Sadly, not in an ICE though (IC access only here).

[deimos256]

Ummm can anyone explain how msts got up to the ridiculous price of $115? When I bought it years ago it certainly was not that much.

[Snuffy]

Ummm can anyone explain how msts got up to the ridiculous price of $115? When I bought it years ago it certainly was not that much.

Its called supply and demand. Since MS did away with the ACES team, and I have no idea whether they're still stamping out the game CDs/DVDs, I would presume that its all a money grab based on the remaining stock of packaged sim CDs/DVDs.

[warchild]

Ummm can anyone explain how msts got up to the ridiculous price of $115? When I bought it years ago it certainly was not that much.

I was able to get an old copy from one of my friends across town here, but i looked into it and found this site..
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=microsoft+train+simulator&_sacat=See-All-Categories
Hope this helps.
Pam

[Snuffy]

So what are you saying WC? You got both RW and MSTS now?

[SirBenn21]

Got my copy last night. Always been inquisitive and now the price was right to have a look. :wiggle:

Ben

[warchild]

So what are you saying WC? You got both RW and MSTS now?

Yup, i do, because i figure that anytime you want to get serious about something you need to examine past efforts as well as present effort in order to plan the future of your involvement in that hobby. MSTS offers a great deal, inspite f its age, poor organizati9on, and bad graphics. It itself was the successor and spin off from 1990s scale model planning software. Railworks is simply whats here today. For some reason, i cant bring myself to trust in the companies involved with it, and microsoft has obviously show us its true colors, but i digress..
for all of its sparkly sham and dodge, railworks has many good things going for it, just as msts has had, but if there is going to be improvement in the enjoyability of this hobby, the its going to be yp too us few to help define what that should look and feel like.
on a more personal note, i've also started pricing n-gauge stuff and am hoping to start on a new diorama later this year,,,

[gajit]

Its now over a week since i flew FSX due to this tread forcing me to buy Railworks. With self shadows, bumpmapping, etc it is very appealing and quite challenging.

[empeck]

Sorry I've started this thread :ernae:

I'm playing with World Editor, and I've managed to make my route template and import SRTM data :) Now I've stucked with markers and decals.

[warchild]

::LOL:: 'm Jealous.. i got raising the dirt kinda figured out and i can lay a straight piece of track, but thats about it so far.. world editor is daunting to me, and after three hurs today, i finally gave up on trying to join two rails together, and went back to flying a plane ::lol:;...
i will say this much.. After a week of frustration, my challenger finally works and i was able to copy in better sound files for the DD40 although i still think msts has better sounds. i wish i could find a way to convert wav files into dav filles..

[deimos256]

got msts back in but in the course of some 6 to 8 years I have lost all the documentation!!! UH OH

[Snuffy]

try um and find out
if they dont work delete em
but i hev found out most ovem do
H

Well Henry, I'm befuddled now. The folks over on another forum devoted to train sims says that none of the stuff is cross compatable. :isadizzy:

[warchild]

Well Henry, I'm befuddled now. The folks over on another forum devoted to train sims says that none of the stuff is cross compatable. :isadizzy:

its only cross compatable with railsim . Anything zugu before railsim 1 is not compatable.. which is really too bad because msts sound files are SO much more accurate that railworks/railsim..

[gajit]

::After a week of frustration, my challenger finally works and i was able to copy in better sound files for the DD40 although i still think msts has better sounds. i wish i could find a way to convert wav files into dav filles..

Hi Warchild

I just bought the Challenger and its the only train i cant get to work without a prob - did you find a simple cure?

BTW - just realised that a reflection of a signal showed on the side of an engine as i passed it - amazing!

[Brett_Henderson]

I've been following this thread.. thought I'd pop in :wiggle:

I've been a passionate rail-fan for about 40 years.. got hooked living near the CB&Q main-line in suburban Chicago.

Along the way, I've tried a couple of Desktop train simulators. My favorite for general "aura", is MSTS. But, it's just too buggy. I even went as far as to edit the cofig files for things like coupler breakage, traction, de-railments over certain track types.. etc. It was really educational, because you got to see where they tried to appy real physics.

Another MSTS plus was that it does indeed allow you to select specific terrain meshing.. from a global map, to at least give you broad, real-world elevations to build your route into. But again.. the sim itself is so buggy, it got dis-heartening.

As for software that helps you design layouts before laying track ? I've used CadRail.. it's pretty powerful software.. This link is to some photos of my HO layout under construction.. one of the photos is a track-plan made in CadRail, with arrow references to some of the photos.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17121447@N08/

As for simming ? I've settled on Trainz2009. It has the most realistic physics.. decent selection of rolling-stock built in.. and the downloadable stuff is good too. But as mentioned.. be careful about compatability.

Trainz is also fairly straight-forward when it comes to route design.. I'm about 1/2 through replicating the old; SooLine/WisconsinCentral route connecting, Manistique, Newberry, Trout Lake, St.Ignace and Sault Ste Marie, in Michigan's upper peninsula. The first trick to learn.. is to lay the track (grades and all), and then "force" the terrain to meet the track-bed. The turnouts and signal laying is more logical and functional than the other sims.. and the triggers and priority markers aren't as likely to cause conflicts. To me.. the idea is to get it so that several AI trians populate the route on realistic schedules.. then you as the virtual engineer can pick any of them and run it as you see fit.. it can get pretty intense when your industries start screaming for products.. :jump:

[Snuffy]

Have I mentioned, I've narrowed down my selection to either MSTS or RW ... and with that in mind, that was the question I asked on the other forums with regard to compatibility.

That the answer was NIL, that leaves me with the quandry ... MSTS has the rolling stock in the era I want to build in ... RW doesn't. Do I really want to have to learn how to model 3D equipment just to make my layout work? Or should I go with MSTS and use the existing equipment?

Hmmm ...

BTW ... welcome to the thread Brett. :)

[empeck]

I've been following this thread.. thought I'd pop in :wiggle:
Another MSTS plus was that it does indeed allow you to select specific terrain meshing.. from a global map, to at least give you broad, real-world elevations to build your route into. But again.. the sim itself is so buggy, it got dis-heartening.


It's quite easy to set real world elevations in Railworks. Free global SRTM data is available here:

http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/version2_1/SRTM3/

Download suitable chunk for your route. Unzip them to DEM\SRTM\ folder. In proper lon/lat place just press T. Thats all.

I've also found two useful apps that makes few things easier:

http://www.rwdecal.co.uk/ - it grabs snapshots from Google Earth to make decals in RW (RW as far as I know doesn't allow to make photoreal ground textures) Those decals are used for reference only.

http://www.rstools.info/ - RWTools. It's quite powerful tool, but I haven't read all docs yet. I did new route template and created new markers with this program.

[Brett_Henderson]

I'll admit to not having any Railworks experience.. and if I wasn't already so wrapped into this route with Trainz2009, I'd buy it and try it.

Does it have a good physics set ? WarChild seems to think otherwise, per the DD40 tests.

What I did with Trainz, was to test it extensively. I set up a long, straight track with a 1.75% grade and put 100 coal hoppers on it. I won't bore you with details.. but the testing worked out well. The load behaved as expected from empty car, to full cars; and the number of engines needed to pull them up the grade.. right down to wheel slipping (and sanding)... you have to "nurse" the throttle, and can even end up sliding back down with the throttle jammed in notch-8... wheel-slip light flashing. The multi-unit lash-ups work perfectcly.. even for helpers at the rear of the train.

Another neat thing, is that you can jump from loco-to-loco.. train-to-train.. during any session. I seem to remember that wasn't possible in MSTS.. don't know about RailWorks. For me, that means setting the big train into motion (with several, conditional commands stacked up), and then popping over to the destination yards to start puting another train together with a switcher. All the industries are fully designable.. You can set what materials they need delivered to them.. and what they produce.. with very good animations for loading and unloading. Again.. not sure how RailWorks handles that, but Trainz works very well.

[empeck]

I haven't tested Railworks physics that much. Locomotives are acting different, I can feel how much power they have, etc. But don't know if they act like real. I like graphics, tools are nice and playing is fun :)

I've tried Trainz few times, but every time I tried to download custom route I failed, there was to many dependencies from various sites to download. Unfortunately a great freeware route has been released lately - Sudety 1976 - my favourite place in Poland. I'll have to buy Trainz 2006 (I have TRS 2004 and Classic) and give another try.

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?p=498204

Trainz has almost every Polish locomotive, Railworks doesn't have even one (yet) :)

[Brett_Henderson]

but every time I tried to download custom route I failed, there was to many dependencies

Oh yeah.. that's a nightmare. I don't even try to download routes. Building my own keeps me pretty busy.

I do cheat a bit though. There are several good parts in the routes that come with it (2009).. I just load one of those routes.. delete all but the tiles I want to add to my route, and then merge them. You can also cut/paste several tiles worth of the work (elevations, textures, trees, buildings and all)... that makes filling the large parts of your route that are mostly "background", and that don't need custom detailing, quick and easy.

[Snuffy]

Well I have a somewhat major problem here.

I finally caved in late yesterday afternoon and swallowed the "deal" from steam. What a catastrophe.

No, my railworks doesn't work. I don't even know if it was properly downloaded and installed.

All I know is when I click the icon on the desktop it tells me that my version of Direct X isn't strong enough to support RW. I have (as far as I know, the latest 9.0c version of Direct X.)

My OS is the latest upgraded XP Pro, and the rest of my system is more than strong enough to support this. I also didn't get a CD Key so I can't authorize my download.

What a mess this is turning out to be. :kilroy:

[deimos256]

There's a thread about your exact problems over at the trainsim forums, I didn't read any of the replies but I know the OP has the exact same issues.

[Snuffy]

There's a thread about your exact problems over at the trainsim forums, I didn't read any of the replies but I know the OP has the exact same issues.

You didn't happen to notice that the OP had the exact same nick as mine did ya? :mixedsmi:

[deimos256]

I actually didn't notice but as I was writing the reply the thought had crosses my mind sorry

[warchild]

One trick you might try is to open steam, and go to "My Games". Right click on Railworks and select properties from the popup menu. Under the properties selection, choose "Verify local cache ( or files)" Then go have coffee and a golf game with your buddies { No lie, it takes that long } while steam goes in and checks all your files. If anything is wrong, it gets flagged for redownload the next time you start steam. Now, once thats done, close steam and restart it. Although my directx is the absolute latest, for some reason, every single time i do that, it downloads a new copy. That should take care of your problem, but seeing what ive seen, it may not. still, its worth a try. I had to do that a great number of times trying to get the challenger addon to work. i dont know what finally happened that it started working, but it did, and all those directx reinstalls did no damage to my system at all..

[Snuffy]

I actually didn't notice but as I was writing the reply the thought had crosses my mind sorry

Its okay ... LOL! :salute:

[Snuffy]

One trick you might try is to open steam, and go to "My Games". Right click on Railworks and select properties from the popup menu. Under the properties selection, choose "Verify local cache ( or files)" Then go have coffee and a golf game with your buddies { No lie, it takes that long } while steam goes in and checks all your files. If anything is wrong, it gets flagged for redownload the next time you start steam. Now, once thats done, close steam and restart it. Although my directx is the absolute latest, for some reason, every single time i do that, it downloads a new copy. That should take care of your problem, but seeing what ive seen, it may not. still, its worth a try. I had to do that a great number of times trying to get the challenger addon to work. i dont know what finally happened that it started working, but it did, and all those directx reinstalls did no damage to my system at all..

Similar advice I got from the other forums Pam ... I'll give it a go tonight when I get home from work. It'll be after 1800 hours EST though.

I have another question.

If I go and find this simulation on a CD/DVD in a store, am I still expected to hook up to steam?

[gajit]

One trick you might try is to open steam, and go to "My Games". Right click on Railworks and select properties from the popup menu. Under the properties selection, choose "Verify local cache ( or files)" Then go have coffee and a golf game with your buddies { No lie, it takes that long } while steam goes in and checks all your files. If anything is wrong, it gets flagged for redownload the next time you start steam. Now, once thats done, close steam and restart it. Although my directx is the absolute latest, for some reason, every single time i do that, it downloads a new copy. That should take care of your problem, but seeing what ive seen, it may not. still, its worth a try. I had to do that a great number of times trying to get the challenger addon to work. i dont know what finally happened that it started working, but it did, and all those directx reinstalls did no damage to my system at all..

Thanks very much for that advice - im giving it a go now - just putting the kettle on!!

[Snuffy]

Still no joy in this.

I've done everything and RailWorks tells me my Directx is no current ... I went so far as to find the directx that came with the download and ran the exe file from there ... still no joy.

[warchild]

I'm doing a net search to see if i can find any related problems for ya snuffy.. please give me a day or two.. Life just took off for me like someone strapped a jato to my butt and hit the ignition.. its a good thing, but real real crazy for the next couple days.. will do my best to help you out though..

[Snuffy]

Thanks WC! I'm gonna open a ticket to steam ...

[deimos256]

Well I hope you get it fixed. Are you running dx10?
I decided to dig up my msts instead of getting rw, figuring there would be a robust freeware collection over all these years, but addons are a pain to install and usually require multiple payware addons to already be installed already. Not only that but just putting a train together is a pain.

[Snuffy]

I'm running XP Pro with DirectX 9.0C xxxx as per the installation download, and even after running the provided direct X on my machine, the RW start up still tells me my directX is the wrong version.

I think I know where the problem is steming from.

When I run dxdiag, the first opening general tab dialog box says the direct x version at the bottom is still version 8 something with a (5.xxxx.xxxx) number

So RW is apparently reading something somewhere that reflects that misnomer with dx.

How do I get directX to update the version number? (I've got a dozen questions posted on the MS technical support forums.)

[empeck]

Have you tried to install latest DirectX (February 2010)?

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=0cef8180-e94a-4f56-b157-5ab8109cb4f5

[Snuffy]

Not yet. It was late last night when I finally decided to check with the dxdiag to see what I might find. When I found it listed as 8.xxx in the dxdiag dialog, I immediately went and found the install version from RW and installed that, or I thought I did. I'll give your link a try tonight.

and I'm thinking I probably should do this in administrator/safe mode ... :)

[Snuffy]

Have you tried to install latest DirectX (February 2010)?

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=0cef8180-e94a-4f56-b157-5ab8109cb4f5

Alright, well its a failure.

My dxdiag dialog box still reads 8.1 even after this install. I even went to safe mode and system administrator to install it ... no joy.

I'm at a loss here, I have no idea what's going on. So far, none of my questions in any of the microsoft help forums have been answered either.

[Snuffy]

YAY!!! Got RW to work finally.

My OS was reading my DirectX as 8.1 ... once I got it so it read DirectX as 9.0c .... Steam updated a couple of things in RW and I was on my way.

Spent a couple hours in the test trak route ... LOL! I managed to do a split. Apparenlty didn't back off the switch far enough and ended up with a pair of trucks on two different tracks and my loco riding between the two sets of rails!

I'm bad! :applause:

[Henry]

still working on a forum
an stlill playng
H

[Henry]

here
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/forumdisplay.php/74-train-simulator
a wip
H

[gajit]

Hi Henry

Thanks :salute:

[Snuffy]

here
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/forumdisplay.php/74-train-simulator
a wip
H

Thanks H'

Now if we can get this thread moved there ... :)

[Helldiver]

I guess I was too late for the sale on Railworks. They're back to $49 bucks.
I grew up loving steam trains. Nothing like a 6500 HP 4884 Big Boy to get your attention. When it came roaring down off the mountain pulling a three and a half mile freight train, at Gloversville. It would scoop up the water between the tracks to slow her down. A magnificent, fierce, explosion between steam and water.
Ah, them was the days!

[rohan]

FYI, there's a special deal at Steam on Railworks bundled with BNSF Dash 9 which looks as if it runs until 2nd September. Price shown in the UK is £ 23.49 -
http://store.steampowered.com/

Ro
:ernae:

[rohan]

While the FlightSim shop has a special offer of "RailWorks Ultimate Train Simulator with Bonus Challenger" for only $ 24.98 this weekend -
http://www.fspilotshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=2425

Ro