Mini Routes : The way forward?

[steam4me]

Nowadays with 1TB drives being dirt cheap (the highly-regarded 1TB Samsung F3 Spinpoints are now less than AU$70) and a full MSTS installation being only 1.6G, I've modified the mini-Route system somewhat as there's now no real premium on saving disk space (a 1TB drive can theoretically hold about 800 of the type of mini-Route I'm about to describe).

I've divided my MSTS routes up by states in Australia, then there's a couple of overseas favourites like Milwaukee Road, etc.

1. I copy my working MSTS.
2. The resultant folder is "copy of 1MSTS".
3. I rename that folder to say, "1MSTS_AUS_NSW".
4. Within that new MSTS folder, I then go into each default route folder and delete the following folders: Activities, Paths, Services, td, Tiles, Traffic, World.
5. I delete all files in the route's top folder (you could just delete the .trk file).
6. I delete all consists except "2 x gp38-2.con".
7. I delete the Samples and Tutorial Route folders.
8. I LEAVE the Template folder as installme.bat files created by Route Riter often reference files in that folder.
9. Default Trainset folder is only 170MB, so I don't bother deleting it: as there are no consists, they won't appear in your MSTS.

This gives me a cut-down MSTS installation ready to have any route or rolling stock installed. The default routes won't appear as there's no .trk file and as there is only one default consist, you have effectively a functional empty-shell MSTS installation. I use Route Riter to point the registry to the new mini-Route folder.

I can now run any installer for any route straight into that mini-Route folder and the big/huge (as Julia Roberts said in "Pretty Woman") advantage is that the installme.bat file will run correctly. Previously with mini-Routes, you needed to start with your default MSTS, install the route and get it working, then use the mini-Route installation technique to create your own mini-route.

Also because you've left the default rolling stock in place, any aliasing on installed stock will work correctly.

(Edited to correct typos).

[rufuskins]

Once again I feel the need to state that I am beginning to feel very sorry for the cat, as this thread shows that is there more than one way to skin that cat!

To each their own.

Alec

[NewcastleFlyer]

A mini route is a standalone copy of MSTS

But why would anyone want (or need) to buy multiple copies of MSTS for?

[steam4me]

A mini route is a standalone copy of MSTS

But why would anyone want (or need) to buy multiple copies of MSTS for?

No-one has said anything about buying. Read the thread,

[slipperman12]

Hi Yuri,
Many thanks for the detailed list!
I use a similar procedure for my installations, but as I wasn't sure about what was and what wasn't required, I left all my default entries intact.
What I do differently is that I have a separately named version of the Train Simulator folder for each route, which gets renamed to 'Train Simulator' when I want to use it. This way, any icons on the desktop work correctly and 'call up' the version I want; this also applies when installing activities and additional stock to a route.
As Alec as said,

there more than one way to skin that cat!

Cheers,
Ged