Some news from France

[ebensoussan]

Hello

It was indeedd a very long time that I didn't come on this forum and I have some regrets of the time when I could spend two or three hours by day with this hobby.

Since my move in the region of Grenoble last september, I dedicate all my energy to the business that I have just started. So you can guess I have’nt any time to have a look on MSTS.

And, on the other hand, the small village where I presently live (located 10 miles near Grenoble) is fitted only with a low ADSL debit and, worst at all, I am too far from the telephonic central switch for even to benefit of it !!! At home I have just a « prehistoric » access to the web to pass some emails. This afternoon in my office people are maintening my professional operating system and I hope to have enough time to download some files from UKTS, the first time since some long months .


But before, some words about what’s new in France since …last summer !
I spent recently a couple of hours on the main french sites just to discover there were very few new files.
The most interresting projects concerning new routes (TGV London Waterloo to Paris Gare du Nord route , Breizh route ) have been delayed
What are then the new files ?
a) A new amended version of the route Y Grenoblois (Lyon to Grenoble) to be downloaded from Fun train :
http://www.funtrain.net/index.php?cible=ligne&id=25
( a 75MB self installer )
The new version has an extension towards the south (the scenic « Route des Alpes ») The trach layout is faithfull with the real one . Some improvemnts could be made whit the scenery.
You can dowload only one activity in french from Jueg’s site (see below)

b) a completely new version of the RER C, named PSO (Paris Sud Ouest) with nearly 150 miles of new tracks towards the south (Orleans, Vierzon, Chateauroux). It’s the main line to Toulouse and some years ago there were some prestigious trains like the Capitole which run at high speed on this itinerary. Be aware the route will have the same name (RER C) in your route folder thant the previous, and you MUST delete it before installing the new . I invite you to save apart the previous activities, services, traffics and pathes you can paste later on the new route EXCEPT the activities to the north west branch. Unfortunately, Patrice Fabard decided to cut this branch from his new opus, considering this area was well reproduced in an other route (Paris le Treport)

PSO can be downloaded from Funtrain :
http://www.funtrain.net/index.php?cible=ligne&id=33
Be aware the route REQUIRES 1,1 GB on your disk ! ! !

Patrick Fabard created a site devoted to the PSO :
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/patrick.fabard/


c) A new version 4 of Paris Le Treport I had no time to test and which can be downloaded from

http://www.funtrain.net/index.php?cible=ligne&id=2

d) A completely new Paris area suburban route I ha d no time to test (I read that the track layout is fine but there are no sceneries except station buildings)

http://www.funtrain.net/index.php?cible=ligne&id=29

the author’s site is http://prg.laap-neotek.com/

Don’t forget to have a look on Juerg’s site for a lot of activities for french routes (all in french)

http://www.actmsts.net/

(click on the banner to enter)

Concerning rolling stock I will only mention these higly recommandable productions :

231 G Pacific from Pascal Grando
http://railatelier.free.fr/models/modeles.htm

and Patrick Gaurat 141 TA
http://ajtrainsim.free.fr/

direct link to the engine http://msts.free.fr/models/F_PO141TA.zip

See you soon .. (I can't connect at home) perhaps on Easter holydays (I hope one day ADSL will arrive in my home)


Emmanuel

[crwbandrwg]

A very welcome back to you

I really missed your updates about the French MSTS scene and your helpful advice. Good to see you back. Looking forward to the new TGV Route and going straight off now to Funtrain to get myself the new PSO route

Carl

[jp4712]

Emmanuel

It's good to see you back, questions were asked about where you'd gone.

Paul

[moofychops]

A very big welcome back Emmanuel. We have all missed you.
Ron

[asalmon]

Thanks for the update Emmanuel - very interesting.

Alan

[seaeagle]

It's great to see you back, you have been missed.

[Elojikal]

wb Emmanuelle! You have indeed been conspicuous by your absence. I hope your business is doing well.

[jbilton]

Hi Emmanuel
Great to hear from you.....you'll be hundreds of files behind on UKTrainsim....but not so many on EUTrainsim...since you stopped uploading.
Been in the position your in at present....but our village finally went ADSL in the summer.
If you can recommend anything that would be good on EUTrainsim .....and you can carry out the negotiations...I would be happy to do the uploading on your behalf
Cheers
Jon

[ebensoussan]

Thank you for your kind messages. I am going to try to connect from time to time to this forum to keep you informed of the main news from this side of the Channel. Considering what I told you last wenesday, the only possibility is a computer in my office in Grenoble but I’m afraid my job keeps me very busy and by the way I’m most of the time outdoor with my customers. Exceptionnally, I’m in my office this afternoon waiting for an appointment

Among the news I noticed I didn't speak anything concerning the works of Henri Verpiot. To speak frankly my feelings are ambivalent about Henri Verpiot. He is someone that I admire a lot for his works and the thousands of hours he passed on them. The Savoie route occupied me very gently dozen of hours when I began with TS more than 2 years ago. But how many difficulties and disappointments! Missing texture or shape files, stocks for activities unindentified or impossible to find, consists with stock names differents from the originals, no answer to mails sent to the author….. In short ! A nightmare for French people and surely far more for people not fluent in french !

Today Savoie downloadable version 6 from http://www.funtrain.net/index.php?cible=ligne&id=16 remains a very pleasant route although somewhere a little bit out dated concerning realism and scenery. In my opinion, and due to the possibility to realize interresting activities between France and Switzerland , it’s always recommandable BUT ONLY IF you have some notions in french and are patient minded (to look after the stock) Otherwise you can possibly put apart activities, services and consists and make your own activities (or download those of Juerg that have genearly a good documentation with links with the stock – but be aware that for old activities links with the required stocks could be broken ! )

The second opus of Henri Verpiot is La Bosse route (all lines between Besançon, Bourg en Bresse and Vallorbe in Switzerland). Several ulterior versions drove us to Morez (superb realization) and to Dijon. The route had to stop there but Verpiot decided with several uploads to prolong it to Paris. In fact last version 12.5 stops before Sens It seems that Verpiot encountered problems there and he decided to undertake another route called Dijon - Paris (Version 4 today links Dijon to Sens) hoping he could be able to merge one day the 2 projects (surely a monster considering the space needed on your hard drive)

Problems:
Henri Verpiot site is a little bit confused: http://hpv-trainsim-plm.com/

There you can only find La Bosse version 12.5 whereas the previous uploads (which cannot be found anywhere !) are necessary to install the route if it’s your fist attempt. As far I’m concerned, I had tried to install the upload 12.5 last June and I could not make run it because of missing files.

I didn't test anymore Dijon Paris version 4 The links seem to send back to the same files that La Bosse ? ? ? ! ! !

If you feel like it…

PS : Verpiot realized too a short swiss line called Martigny Orsiere but it seems that today links on his site don’t work

Emmanuel

[ied]

Hi, do you have any idea when the LGV 3 Capitales will be released?

Cheers

[barrymcguire9999]

Hi Emmanuel and welcome back!

Apart from UK routes, I tend to have an interest in French routes as well (LGV-A, LGV-Med, RER-B, RER-C, PACA and Paris Rive Gauche on my system).......had my honeymoon in Villefranche-sur-mer (just east of Nice) in December 2004 and am now keen to see the Nice-Ventigmilia line for MSTS (having travelled on it), perhaps the creator of PACA may extend eastwards (well, I can hope ), in fact http://uk2.multimap.com/home.html does have detailed maps of France as well, wouldn't be too much to do a marker file for the route myself, ah well, maybe one day!

Barry

[jbilton]

Hi
I know someone posted about the reskins "Trains de nuit Vol.1"....thought it was here...but no....anyway....they're available below.


http://www.activitysimulatorworld.net/L ... caises.htm


Cheers
Jon

[wilkinson]

Emmanuel,

Quel soulagement! Vous êtes de retour. Maintenant que vous êtes Savoyard j'espère que vous aurez une bonne vie nouvelle au milieu des montagnes et que vous aurez aussi le temps de nous renseigner comme au passé au sujet des routes françaises.

Bienvenue mille fois!

Jock

[laverack2]

had my honeymoon in Villefranche-sur-mer (just east of Nice) in December 2004 and am now keen to see the Nice-Ventigmilia line for MSTS (having travelled on it), perhaps the creator of PACA may extend eastwards (well, I can hope ), in fact

I love that part of France, and I would also be excited to see this route created. I would be particularly interested in how Monaco station is repreasented. This is one of the most spectacular stations I have ever seen; the corridors are lined with marble floors!

[ebensoussan]

Concerning the LGV 3 capitales, I read some weeks ago that the route is always a work in progress project. No date for the issue has been published by the authors, but they continue to work hard on this route

Unfortunately there are no serious project for a french riviera route. Nevertheless you can comfort yourself with the excellent italian route Riviera Ventimiglia V2, avalaible from trenomania

As I spent recently several hours on the Paris Epinay le Treport (see the topic I posted 2 weeks ago) , I discovered some activities were unplayable by people who had not already all the required stock, due to the fact thet some links are no more in use. I decided to build a commuter activity with a lot of trafic, using existing stock. I will upload here it soon and write too to the author if he agrees his route could be avalaible from EUtrainsim. (same thing for the Y Grenoblois- the author was ok for the first version - and for the new version of RER C)

Emmanuel