Atomic Systems

Hi guys,

An .exe file will give a greater compression factor than a zip file which is why I used it for the Pidd.

Some other things to watch out for.
Run the route through RouteRiter, but study the route directory closely afterwards.
RouteRiter won't remove files if it doesn't know that they're not supposed to be there...
E.G. If you have added a .jpeg file to your textures directory for safe keeping RouteRiter won't delete it.
LOOK FOR AND DELETE ANYTHING THAT DOES NOT NEED TO BE THERE.....

RouteRiter doesn't always remove every file that it can and add an entry to the batch file. I saved lashings of space on the Pidd by manually deleting textures that are available in the default routes but RouteRiter had not added to the batch file.
E.G. The pidd uses textures from some of the default stock, these i deleted from the routes texture directory and added the entry to the batch file.

Sorry to bang on about this stuff (especially if you've already worked it out), but I found all this out the hard way and I would hate for you to have to learn the same way.

Great looking route though, I for one will download when your done and I've not downloaded anything for quite sometime....

Thanks for the advice Andrew. I had picked my way through route riter and tried the options to delete files found in default routes, but ran across a problem which you may have worked out. I actually use very few default objects, only the trees, but because the route is x2, I can't take the objects from another route, because they will come out half size. I suspect that it is possible to put them back and manually amend the bat file so as not to copy them in - is this so?

I have had a first trial pass with Clickteam installer for the route and first batch of stock with a limit of 70Mb for the files and was surprised to produce one 70Mb and one 50Mb file - I had expected more. When I ran this installer on my (employer's) laptop, it all worked beautifully until I tried to run a train when complaints about no explorer.act and being unable to save the service arose. The number of activities I have run could be counted on the fingers of one hand, so I hadn't written any - do I have to write one for this to work?

Final question. In order to fit within the yards, I have used the zero degree points in a few cases, but I can't tell which way they are set as nothing seems to move: is there a way around this?

Hi mate,

I'm afraid that I can't answer the question about the 0 degree point, perhaps you could try the standard gauge 'bods'?

However, I do know what is causing your installer problem.... The freeware version of the ClickTeam installer rather annoyingly deletes any empty directories it encounters. When you run MSTS it needs ALL the directories in the route file and is incapable of creating new ones.
The simple solution to this is to add an empty file to any empty directory you may have in you route directory. I made a blank text file for the Pidd. Have a look.

Using default shapes.
If there is one lesson that I learned when packaging the Pidd it was that the only thing contained within a route directory that has any impact on the eventual size of the route it is the texture files. Everything else either compresses up or is not that large in size so as not to make a great deal of difference.

Two pointers here.

*A well compressed ace file won't compress much more in an installer program. You need to have made sure that you have got the most compression by using the couple of programs that we have for the job. I will be able to help you there.

*Any default texture that you may have used (trees, etc...) should not be using valuable space in your eventual package. These must be added to you batch file.

*You can edit a batch file (or create your own) to copy, move, delete, etc... any file you choose. The trick is making it work for you.
E.G. If you have used an ace texture more than once in different directories (terrtex & texture directories) you should delete one copy of the texture and get the batch file the create a copy during the install.

I have to get some work done now but will catch up with you latter.
Cheers.

Thanks Andrew, that makes a lot of sense. I am compressing s files using Shape File Manager, so that the whole of the basin, gasworks and surrounding mills (a single shape) is only 196kb, texture files are the problem as you say, but I think I can get the install file quite a bit smaller by copying textures in the way you suggest.

I have decided to tackle a problem that I had skirted around before. Murray reported that a coal train leaving the colliery stuck on the curves when the brake van reached that point. The line abounds in sharp curves, but this one is not all that sharp: I played around with the wag and sd files, starting off by borrowing those form the much shorter wagons which happily snaked round the bend. This worked very nicely, but of course the van overlapped the wagon in front: lengthening the wag file caused the sticking problem to return, so I cheated and stuck one of the Horwich towbars in front of the van and left it short. In this form the train runs nicely, but it doesn't seem right! I tried running Kevin's Dolgoch and vintage train on the same piece of track, and the old lady hovered round the bends beautifully. Putting Kevin's TR van on the back of the 18in coal train also worked! Borrowing the wag and sd files from the TR van for the Sand Hutton one was the next step, and the train stuck again. So we have
- an s file which works if the wag file and sd are too short
- wag and sd files from a longer, working vehicle, which do not work with the s file above.

I am not sure where to start, the fact that Kevin's van works and my s file used with his wag and Sd files does not, suggests a problem with my s file. Any ideas?

The route is now available for download with a selection of stock

Eighteen Inch Gauge Route and Stock [102183542 bytes] - bhp.zip File ID: 19743 Date: 17 Sep 2008 - 743 Downloads

The Horwich works stuff wasn't included as I had some difficulty getting things round sharp bends, and I planned to get some better textures on a visit to York. All this is now sorted and these should appear fairly soon.

(The problem with the Sand Hutton van finally gave way to persistence. It may still be cheating, but it works!)

Having downloaded and run the line i must say it does you credit, nice locos nice track, though lack of station markers did fox me a bit, until i had line worked out in my head!

I'm downloading the file now, did you put the altered track shape into the download?
If not , will host it on my site. XTracks is virtually done with these days....

Paul,

Thanks very much, this is my first serious route, so there are probably a number of things that I have missed, the stations are only approximations, and the line certainly does not have a timetable!

Andrew,

No, I didn't put it in, I (perhaps naively) thought that it would be covered by the next release. If you would make it available, that would be very helpful

Dont suppose theres any chance of the sand hutton coach to go with esme, i know it survives at lincolnshire cost railway@skegness in a slightly altered form. Anyone got any plans for any other 18inch gauge stock, some toast rack coaches maybe?

I'll add it to my website later tonight, after work.
I did email Okrasa (Mr. XTracks) with the shape but he has never got back to me. Rather unusual for him actually, perhaps he never got the email?

Paul,

The Sand Hutton coach is on the list, though it may be a little while in coming out. The next releases will be

The Horwich works locos and stock
The 0-4-2T Vulcan

both complete and should be out this month.

I intend to produce some of the Chatham fortification stock, including a coach which might qualify as a toast rack.

Excellent, must say the quality of ur stock is superb, and no doubt before long someone better qualified than me will rustle up some driver/fireman figures (hint hint)

The Sand Hutton coach is quite a complex vehicle, the roof in particular, and I have had to use a little bit of licence, but here is the present state of the job:-

Click the image to zoom in


I have realised this weekend that Esme shouldn't have a cab backsheet - the engine was built as Gwen and had a name switch quite late on - I may take some corrective action

ooooooo nice coach, cant wait to see it properly well done for another brilliant model