Atomic Systems

hi,

On home page of uktrainsim there are some files that are quick picks i.e. route riter, train store and conbuilder.

my question is doyou need these or can you run train sim without them?

You can run MSTS without them.

The reason that they are there - and we are all so grateful to their creators - depeends on what you use them for, but in general they are there because MSTS has limitations and is a bit buggy and isn't the easiest program in the world to tinker with. But if you just want to run the default trains on the default lines, you don't need them. However I would suggest that if you really want to enjoy MSTS, you'll end up downloading stock and routes from this site and then yes, you will find the quick picks indispensable.

Route Riter - where do I begin with this powerful utility? It has many tools for route builders, but for end users amongst its most useful functions are the facility to check a route to see if you have all the files you need (and helps you locate them if you haven't); it can seek out and delete unused files from a route, saving many Mb space; and it has several functions to check activities you have downloaded, such as checking if you have all the stock you need and giving you the option to swap for something you do have. It'll also fix couplings, change brakes from air to vac etc, make the tea and give careers advice to your son...

Train Store - as you get more and more routes and stock, MSTS will get slower and slower as it loads and tries to load everything you have. MSTS also has a bug whereby if you approach or exceed 899 consist (ie different train make-ups) it will get very unhappy and indeed fall over. If you think 899 is a lot, give it six months and I bet you're up there! Train Store is dazzlingly clever in that you use it before you fire up MSTS. You tell it what you want to do - which route you want to use, what activity you're going on or which loco you want to use to explore. Then T-S does something brilliant - it 'hides' everything you DON'T want, so that loading up takes a fraction of the time and the whole thing runs soooo much more quickly!

Conbuilder - there are two ways to make up consists. One is to dive into the user-unfriendly MSTS Activity Editor, and the other is to use Conbuilder. However Conbuilder is easy to use and doesn't crash at the slightest hint of a missing file. It also has a facility to check your stock for missing sounds, cabviews etc and your consists for missing units.

Shape Viewer - you don't know what a piece of stock looks like until you fire up the sim, right? SV gets around that. Once it's downloaded and you've associated .s files with it, double click any .s file (ie shape) and you can see it, walk around it, see what it looks like at night or from a distance and if it's a kettle animate the motion. You can even add other shapes so you can see what the whole train will look like in the sim.

So in short, the answer is still strictly speaking 'no'. However using them all will increase your satisfaction, especially as your collection of routes, stock and activities grows, and they will also reduce problems.

Hope that (long answer) helps

Paul

They are addons that make MSTS easier to use, they are not compulsary.

Great explanation that JP 4712. Well done.
It should be shown elsewhere on the site so all the new-comers to Train simming can read it easily. May be a sticky on the new-comers forum?

there would be no point in putting them as stickey cause as we have found out before, new comers come to the forums, ignore the sticky posts and ask a question that has answers in tthe sticky posts.

Yes but how do you know how many new-comers come to the forum and see the sticky and go away with the information satisfied without troubling anyone?
Not trying to be awkward just a thought.