Post by Admin on Jun 2, 2018 1:15:54 GMT
Some Starting Thoughts
To begin, the whole concept of route creation is to be able to produce a train route or railroad system that is enjoyable for yourself. Later you may want to share it with others, and in doing so, some protocol is required to make it all work. Here I will try to convey to you what I have learned from my attempts at route creation and what I can reference to allow you to learn more.
The tools provided with the TS201x version work fairly well and allow us to create the proper files and folders, create terrain, lay track and other lofted (splined) items, place buildings and trees, etc. Think of the editor as if it were your personal extreme model railroad, the manipulation of files and folders is just a way to make things work properly within the editor and the actual simulation.
I admit, I am not the best person to convey this information, but since there are no real step-by-step complete instruction tutorials that follow a path of creation I figured I would attempt this. After all, I have created what I think is a fairly worthy railroad for my own entertainment. This tutorial will follow the best way I know how to create and edit the railroad empire you may want to build. It may not be exacting in it presentation, but is presented accurately to the best of my knowledge.
First, I didn't care for the answers I had received in many a forum, but the advise to read the developer docs is a very good idea. These documents will get one familiar with how things work, but be aware that these documents are fairly old and can lead you to do the wrong thing in regards to current procedures.
There are things one needs to consider when designing a route, whether for personal pleasure or to be uploaded to the Workshop. Will one create a route from fantasy, one from reality, or a hybrid of both. A fantasy route comes from the imagination of the designer, more like creating a model railroad, in a sense. The designer creates everything from scratch, terrain, town placement, track, objects, etc. The fantasy route gives one the ability to create exactly what one wants in regards to the ideal route. A reality route can be a current recreation of a contemporary railroad, or a recreation of a historical route that may no longer exist, but is based on a past working real life railroad, these can be interesting, but also quite extensive in size. The hybrid railroad design is created using real life DEM data to create terrain of realistic proportions, and using the fantasy design aspect to create the placement and functionality of the route. My first route was created in the hybrid style as it adds a very realistic flavor to the route, because the terrain and foliage are closer to the real thing. The hybrid route also allows one the ability to create the ideal route, but may use assets that are already created, thus making the design process a bit speedier.
Another aspect of railroad design is to have an era and road name selected to go along with the route one creates. Will one chose early or late steam, early or late diesel? What areas of the world will the route represent, the eastern United States or deep in the Siberian region of Russia?
To begin, the whole concept of route creation is to be able to produce a train route or railroad system that is enjoyable for yourself. Later you may want to share it with others, and in doing so, some protocol is required to make it all work. Here I will try to convey to you what I have learned from my attempts at route creation and what I can reference to allow you to learn more.
The tools provided with the TS201x version work fairly well and allow us to create the proper files and folders, create terrain, lay track and other lofted (splined) items, place buildings and trees, etc. Think of the editor as if it were your personal extreme model railroad, the manipulation of files and folders is just a way to make things work properly within the editor and the actual simulation.
I admit, I am not the best person to convey this information, but since there are no real step-by-step complete instruction tutorials that follow a path of creation I figured I would attempt this. After all, I have created what I think is a fairly worthy railroad for my own entertainment. This tutorial will follow the best way I know how to create and edit the railroad empire you may want to build. It may not be exacting in it presentation, but is presented accurately to the best of my knowledge.
First, I didn't care for the answers I had received in many a forum, but the advise to read the developer docs is a very good idea. These documents will get one familiar with how things work, but be aware that these documents are fairly old and can lead you to do the wrong thing in regards to current procedures.
There are things one needs to consider when designing a route, whether for personal pleasure or to be uploaded to the Workshop. Will one create a route from fantasy, one from reality, or a hybrid of both. A fantasy route comes from the imagination of the designer, more like creating a model railroad, in a sense. The designer creates everything from scratch, terrain, town placement, track, objects, etc. The fantasy route gives one the ability to create exactly what one wants in regards to the ideal route. A reality route can be a current recreation of a contemporary railroad, or a recreation of a historical route that may no longer exist, but is based on a past working real life railroad, these can be interesting, but also quite extensive in size. The hybrid railroad design is created using real life DEM data to create terrain of realistic proportions, and using the fantasy design aspect to create the placement and functionality of the route. My first route was created in the hybrid style as it adds a very realistic flavor to the route, because the terrain and foliage are closer to the real thing. The hybrid route also allows one the ability to create the ideal route, but may use assets that are already created, thus making the design process a bit speedier.
Another aspect of railroad design is to have an era and road name selected to go along with the route one creates. Will one chose early or late steam, early or late diesel? What areas of the world will the route represent, the eastern United States or deep in the Siberian region of Russia?