New to TS2012, What Next....

[Redbusmatt]

I have been very impressed by the help i have had from this forum (Coals to Newcastle thread), and would like to ask some further questions/opinions, as i am complete novice and will need lots of help. So here is a list of my questions, looking forward to some interesting replies;

1) I have installed all the freeware, but have yet to see any of the interesting Locos/liveried locos in any scenarios, why is this??

2) How do you start to design your own route?

3) How do you start to design your own scenarios, as i am an avid rail enthusiast, with a very good imigination.

4) I only have the Bristol to Exeter add on at the moment, and being on a limited budget (Children to feed), I have £30 to spend this month, what should i be thinking of in the way of add ons for my TS2012 (Re Locos or Routes etc)


Thanks in advance.

[Acorncomputer]

Hi

Your questions seem quite straightforward but the answers to each one could run to pages

1) The freeware rolling stock that you have downloaded are really there for you to use as you wish. Whilst there are scenarios and routes in the UKTS library that use freeware locos and rolling stock, you will find that these are only a fraction of those available. The idea is that you create your own scenarios (free roam or timetabled) so that you can enjoy those models that please you most.

2) Building a route is a long, time consuming process although this does depend on what you are wanting to do. You can very easily create a fictional route using default or freeware assets in quite a short time and gain much enjoyment from it but if you want to get serious then there are other skills requited such as 3D modelling, knowledge of train operations and signalling to name a few.

I try to explain how my routes are created so looking at these three threads should give you an idea of what is involved -

http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic. ... 2&t=121610

http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic. ... 02&t=98401

http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic. ... 16&t=89463

Also look through the Route Building sections of UKTS for both TS2102/RailWorks and Rail Simulator

3) If you look under the Tools & Docs tab of the TS2012 launcher screen then click on Open Folder, this will take you to the location of all the manuals. Look for one called RW Timetable View Manual.pdf and open it up. This is quite a comprehensive guide as to how to create scenarios. You will need to use your own imagination as to the format of your scenarios, which routes you are going to use and which locos you will use but the first obvious step it to use a default route and default assets until you get the hang of it.

Note the tremendous feature that is scenario specific assets. These are assets that you place in scenario mode as well as rolling stock. You can change the look of the route for just one scenario quite easily this way. Check out The Lavender Line scenarios for examples of how this works. Also new for TS2012 is scenario specific track properties such as speed limits that apply only to that scenario and changes in other track properties for that one scenario.

Route builders tend not to be serious scenario writers and vice versa so it is unlikely that you can do both in any depth.

4) The obvious choice for add-ons to TS2012 are the freeware routes and assets, not only from UKTS but also other Train Sim sites around the World. It is very difficult indeed to specify any particular payware add-on but I personally think The Woodhead Route is the best (for my interests) so far created for TS2012.

I hope that helps. Others will add their own comments.

[Redbusmatt]

WOW!

Thanks very mcuh for your help. Would you be able to recommend some freeware Scenarios & Routes (Which use some of the Freeware Loco's and Stock)?? I am a child of the eightiees, so was brought up with BR Blue and early privitisation.

I will start tonight in trying to make up some scenarios. SO if i make my own scenario's, i can use any of the Freeware Locos?? and they all have Cab views etc and are able to to be driven from the cab??

Matt

[Rockdoc2174]

There are also some video tutorials on YouTube that I found very useful. With a look at a couple of them and a read of the well-written Creator and Timetable View manuals I didn't find it all that hard to get going with my first scenario. Don't do what I did, though, and jump in with one that lasts 140 minutes! You need to test what you've done regularly if you're putting in AI (computer-controlled) trains, which can make a big difference to the atmosphere, as every time you make a change and save it your current game-save is lost and you have to start from the beginning each time. Driving the route yourself is important because AI trains are triggered at a time in the game, not by when the player train passes a certain point, so you have to know the time you arrive at each AI event quite closely. Estimates from within Railworks are not very helpful for that as players can usually drive faster than the default settings, especially over a difficult route. It's also the only way to know whether you've overloaded your loco and the train can't reach its destination.

Oh, and some of the error messages you get matter and some don't!

Best of luck,
Keith

[nobkins]

There is a pack of scenarios being worked on for the WCML-N route. I am not sure if you have purchased this route or not. The pack itself will be freeware and is due for release on Friday 2nd March. The only item you MUST have for the pack is the WCML-N route. However, many (not all) use payware DLC. To run those scenarios you will need to have the DLC in question.

Would you mind telling me what (if any) DLC you have at the moment. Then I can give better advice on approx. how many of the scenarios you would be able to play in this upcoming pack.

In the meantime here is the thread discussing the pack which explains many of the details about the pack and the idea behind it:
http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic. ... 2&t=121736

There is also a scenario pack using just free stock and routes available here:
http://www.uktrainsim.com/FreewarePacks ... ario+Packs

Unfortunately some of the scenarios have issues caused by the upgrade to TS2012 and as yet I have not had chance to go through and fix them (if they can be fixed). However, many still play with no problems at all.

Jim

[Acorncomputer]

WOW!

Thanks very mcuh for your help. Would you be able to recommend some freeware Scenarios & Routes (Which use some of the Freeware Loco's and Stock)?? I am a child of the eightiees, so was brought up with BR Blue and early privitisation.

I will start tonight in trying to make up some scenarios. SO if i make my own scenario's, i can use any of the Freeware Locos?? and they all have Cab views etc and are able to to be driven from the cab??

Matt

There are so many freeware routes and scenarios available and as I am more of a builder than a user, I don't have enough experience to point you in the right direction for specifically 80's scenes but stick around and others will help.

In a free roam scenario or timetabled scenario you can use and drive (from the cab or outside) just about any loco you wish. You will need to enable the loco in the Object Set Filter (check out the Creator and Driver Manuals). There are variations but all have cab views of differing detail and in most cases you can operate the controls with the mouse or the Kiddie HUD. (Easy visual default driving display).

[Redbusmatt]

This is amazing, so many replies in so little time .

I did once try and upload the Great Scenario Challenge, but it errored, and I have never been able to get any of the scenarios to load. Should i un-intall and reinstall the pack???

WCML is defo on my radar, but with a limited budget and so many loco packs i dont know where to go. Thinking of WCML and IOW/66 pack this month, sound about right???

[Redbusmatt]

On say the "Coals to Newcastle" scenario, using stock class 47, how do i get rid of the "Kiddie HUD" and bring up a view as if i was sat in the chair, enabling me to use the proper cab controls using a mouse???

[nobkins]

As per the other thread just press F4 on the keyboard.

In terms of routes and DLC it has to be your decision. The WCML-N is a very good route with lots of scenarios available for it.

I don't mean to plug stuff I am working on any more but the Mayflower Line is also close to release (about 2 weeks to a month). This was the winner of the UKTS Route Building Challenge #3 and we are just finishing it off now. This one only uses free content.

[Acorncomputer]

I just thought that many Freeware routes use assets from the Isle of Wight route (available as a download from Steam - payware) so this may be a good investment, besides being a delightful and easy going route to play with anyway.

[Redbusmatt]

As per the other thread just press F4 on the keyboard.

In terms of routes and DLC it has to be your decision. The WCML-N is a very good route with lots of scenarios available for it.

I don't mean to plug stuff I am working on any more but the Mayflower Line is also close to release (about 2 weeks to a month). This was the winner of the UKTS Route Building Challenge #3 and we are just finishing it off now. This one only uses free content.

Are you talking about the actual route (Downloaded last night, but not a play yet), or the Scenario pack for the Mayflower Route??

Also just noticed that there is a JT and RSC Class 67, which is best, although wont be purchasing for a while, as dont like Skips!

[nobkins]

Are you talking about the actual route (Downloaded last night, but not a play yet)

Yes the route. The version you have downloaded was the version entered into the challenge. Is was not complete as we ran out of time. Only about 40% of the route had scenery added. The version due for release in 2 to 4 weeks is complete and will come with a selection of scenarios that only use default and free stock. A separate scenario pack will also be released around the time of the route which will use DLC.

[gptech]

I'd recommend you get a copy of RW Tools--http://www.rstools.info/rw_tools.html--whilst not an item of stock it's indispensable for editing scenarios for which you may not have all the stock required.
Not only this, it contains tools for route building such as creating a route template and loading screens.

[Redbusmatt]

I'd recommend you get a copy of RW Tools--http://www.rstools.info/rw_tools.html--whilst not an item of stock it's indispensable for editing scenarios for which you may not have all the stock required.
Not only this, it contains tools for route building such as creating a route template and loading screens.

Is there a comprehensive lesson on how to use this as well??

[Darpor]

Theres a comprehensive manual!

It's worth reading everything you can possibly get your hands on.