Black Country

[Easilyconfused]

The only issue I have with Mike Simpson's mini-loader (trainstore for mini-routes I believe) is that although you can see all the activities, you cannot read the briefings, so until you load up the route, you're not too sure which activity you'll be playing (as far as I can see).

This is true. However, there is a "Docs" folder referred to in the readme. That has a PDF document for each activity since it is recommended to hit F11 immediately each activity opens. The PDF document gives instructions on what to do (some are more complex than others) and some helpful hints.

[Iluka]

Hi Geoffrey

APK's will not work with Mini_Routes.

Activities are made the usual way using Editor & Tools but then have to be Zipped up using either RR or Winzip.

The Activity will then be uploaded to UKTS as a Zip for subsequent insertion into the relevent Mini Route (after unzipping) into the Activities/Paths/Services/Traffic & Consists Folders.

Regards

Mike

[rufuskins]

Oh my . . the next person to suggest that this is all very straightforward will cause me unnecessary grief - lack of hair on scalp will cause me to pull skin off!!!.

It is only straightforward if you know what you are doing. It seems patently obvious - well to me anyway - that there are many who are struggling with this, and this could put people off from future route purchases.

BUT I know that I am in a difficult position because I am dependent upon the generosity of others who provide such excellent pieces of work. The current upsurge in stock is "manna from heaven", as is the new plethora of routes.

I believe that one significant mistake was not stating at a very early stage that this was the intended means of packaging BC1. Had this been done then I and others could have got to grips with the mini-loader/mini-routes approach prior to receiving BC1.

I am sorry if I appear to be excessively scratching this itch.

Ruf

PS Having also purchased Bala Hub V4.2 at the same time - must be OK though as no such corresponding thread has appeared - I will open it with great trepidation. Thankfully my 50/50s add-on seems to have loaded OK.

[abclare]

Thanks all for trying to help me, did i install wrong in the first place by going into C:/program files/MSGames/TSimulator?? May be i should uninstall and start again?? If so what is the correct procedure??

So in simple terms install to C:Drive and NOT Train Simulator???????

[abclare]

Oh my . . the next person to suggest that this is all very straightforward will cause me unnecessary grief - lack of hair on scalp will cause me to pull skin off!!!.

It is only straightforward if you know what you are doing. It seems patently obvious - well to me anyway - that there are many who are struggling with this, and this could put people off from future route purchases.

BUT I know that I am in a difficult position because I am dependent upon the generosity of others who provide such excellent pieces of work. The current upsurge in stock is "manna from heaven", as is the new plethora of routes.

I believe that one significant mistake was not stating at a very early stage that this was the intended means of packaging BC1. Had this been done then I and others could have got to grips with the mini-loader/mini-routes approach prior to receiving BC1.

I am sorry if I appear to be excessively scratching this itch.

Ruf

PS Having also purchased Bala Hub V4.2 at the same time - must be OK though as no such corresponding thread has appeared - I will open it with great trepidation. Thankfully my 50/50s add-on seems to have loaded OK.

HEAR! HEAR! Ruf.

[rlmathers]

Well from reading all the posts, it appears people are not `getting on` very well.
Perhaps if the community was ASKED which they prefer, normal install or mini-route, a choice of `take it` or `leave it` is no choice at all.
In the Routes folder they are easily accessible from the Editors & Tools or TrainStore.

I have noticed a change in attitudes over the years, the ethos of the earlier community has been lost, most noticeably is the trend now to include a commercial alias to cabviews or sounds.
Blatantly stating on the download page that you will require the commercial files before the model will work in MSTS. Very often without a readme.txt for alternative community choices.
It is not only against the spirit and intention of the community but downright deceitful.

Do I have a choice of downloading routes? Do I have a choice of what stock is installed? Do I have a choice of which activities are installed?
All I require is the route and an introductory train ride.
Perhaps I can decide whether to use MSTSBin or not, which activities or stock I would like to use on the route.
No the only choice now is purchase a CD or DVD
The whole community, including the site, now smacks of commercialism.

Will I be purchasing Black Country? At least THAT is a choice I can make.

[Easilyconfused]

Well there have been a lot of posts. However, given the number of DVDs shipped then problem rate appears to be under 5% currently. Having talked at length about this with Pete and others I think I can safely say that miniroutes are the way forward as the routes get more complex and demanding.

This route was built and tested using MSTSbin at a particular level. The only way to get it installed without risk of major pain for a lot of members is the miniroute method. Otherwise there is a high risk of trashing existing MSTS installations or upgrading MSTSbin for people who are choosing to remain on a lower level out of choice (or not running it at all).

Matt has already indicated MEP will be the same - talking to Pete earlier - it just does not work even with Trainstore. So it is not a case of asking if people want a miniroute or normal install - it is a case of do you want the route or not ?

It is also not about commercialism although clearly Matt can't run the site at a loss.

Take Dorset Coast for example - as soon as DC 4 / DC 5 / DC 6 were released as downloads there were a flood of posts saying they were too big to download or too hard to install and when was it coming out on DVD ? Same thing happened when the stock and activity pack for DC 6 was released - a few people had a hard time understanding how to install it and the usual comments about waiting for the DVD version appeared.

Conversely, with North West England 2.1 - that was on CD and people were asking where they could download it from so it was repackaged and put up on the file library and then people can't work spanned zips either because they don't read the instructions or won't acquire the relevant software or one of the free alternatives.

I'm sure if Black Country was put up as a download then there would be tickets in the ticketing system and threads on the forums complaining that members can't figure it out no matter how clearly the instructions are written.

Maybe what is required is a clear statement on the CD ordering that it will install as a miniroute and it does require the use of MSTSbin. That might generate additional questions in the ticketing system from the members who don't frequent the forums (and there are a lot of those). The Railworks products in CD ordering do clearly state that internet access is required to activate and we have had at least 1 ticket complaining that the PC it is going to be used on does not have internet access

[abclare]

Thanks all for trying to help me, did i install wrong in the first place by going into C:/program files/MSGames/TSimulator?? May be i should uninstall and start again?? If so what is the correct procedure??

So in simple terms install to C:Drive and NOT Train Simulator???????

Any answer or advise to this question pleasE?????

[Easilyconfused]

Do not install it into the normal MSTS folder structure. If you have room on your C: drive just accept the default settings and it will be fine. Then you access it from the icon it puts on your desktop.

[1crick14a]

Let me put my record straight here although I posted my problem
elseware.

Thanks to a pal of mine MW he reminded me to check on my MSTS
install even though it was running as I thought fine including editors,
however I did an un-install and deleted of a lot of my collection backed
up anyway, re-installed MSTS reloaded BC1 it works fine now only thing
I cannot get my head around is that you/I needed to run the full selection
to get the next activity to run, oh and it does seem still a wee bit querky.

Other than changing track textures alls well.

Hope this may help some thanks to those who tried to help me but the bats
file was not a problem.

Rick

[dee4141]

The whole community, including the site, now smacks of commercialism.

It's comments such as this that will drive contributors away from this site. Why should people spend hours of their own free time producing routes, models and activities if this is the attitude of the wider community.

[Iluka]

Hi Art

Unfortunately I haven't received my copy of Black Country yet (understandably as I live in Western Australia) but you should NEVER install a Mini Route into your MSTS Train Simulator installation.

Mini-Routes are "Stand Alone" Routes so you can install it onto your Desktop and then copy it to wherever you want.

I have a seperate Folder on my E Drive named Mini_Routes and all my Mini Routes are located in there.

I am surprised that there doesn't appear to have been installation Instructions issued with Black Country reading some of the posts or if there was some of the UKTS community haven't read them

Regards

Mike

[abclare]

Do not install it into the normal MSTS folder structure. If you have room on your C: drive just accept the default settings and it will be fine. Then you access it from the icon it puts on your desktop.

Thank you John (& Mike) thats what i will do, hope that it works o/k

[rlmathers]

Matt has already indicated MEP will be the same - talking to Pete earlier - it just does not work even with Trainstore. So it is not a case of asking if people want a miniroute or normal install - it is a case of do you want the route or not ?

Of course I want the route, I don`t necessarily require the stock or the activities or anyone to dictate how I should install anything on my computer.
By choice, give the community the availability to download the route.
I am a Premium member by choice.
In partnership with Howard Payton we have uploaded cabviews for the benefit of the community by choice.
I am sure Don would want his route to be shared by all in the community.

[Hymek]

i have a few issues with the miniroute not copying certain files over, but i just copied the relevant files i wanted into my main install, and all went fine

It is a very very good route, Ive had fun driving between Snow Hill and Stourbridge so far

Thanks to everyone who worked on that project