TS2013 - blueprint editor won't build projects any more

[chrisell]

The problem is the way how the new blueprinteditor.exe convert the textures. The old file, from TS2012, works fine, but it doesn't compile the lua files.

I did notice in the screens that flash up during the texture conversion that there seems to be a new command line option on the converttotg.exe program - from memory it's something like -pushalpha, or -alphapush. I don't remember seeing that before - I wonder if converttotg.exe is exiting in a funny manner and that is what is messing up the following step - either LUA conversion or BIN conversion. Perhaps replacing just the texture conversion executable with the old one might solve the issue?

[rkalousd]

It's strange that the export got so broken for you. I have the feeling there are some redistributables that are needed that RSC didn't include in the installation. Something from .net or visual studio or something. I wonder if I have them from some other software and you don't which is what is causing problems for you?
But you said that until the update, the old blueprint editor worked OK?

Until the update the Blueprint editor worked okay, except for the small bugs that were already known, the latest TS 2012 version of Sept. 8 still worked too before the upgrade to TS 2013. I still need to do a compare of the 'old' exported engine xml files that TS 2012 generated and the 'new' ones from TS 2013 that do not work, at a first glance I did not see a difference between them. When I convert the engine 3d models as a scenery object and place the converted 3d model in the correct location in the file structure manually in combination with the old converted engine xml files, everything still works like it used to. Because of the fact that the bug is so specific for the engine xml's I suppose it could be in my case that the xml structure during the export is not converted properly. Very strange phenomenon.

[chrisell]

rkalousd : I use a great program called 'beyond compare' for doing file and folder comparisons. I've used it extensively in my development for merging and comparing XML files. If you've not seen it, it might be worth looking at for your XML comparisons.

[rkalousd]

rkalousd : I use a great program called 'beyond compare' for doing file and folder comparisons. I've used it extensively in my development for merging and comparing XML files. If you've not seen it, it might be worth looking at for your XML comparisons.

A good file compare tool was exactly what I wanted to use, thanks for the tips about this. I found out two things when I compared the old and newly generated engine blueprints:

1. The engine blueprint files that I create with the new BP editor have new entries, such as:

<AnimatedBodyNodeName d:type="cDeltaString"></AnimatedBodyNodeName>
<ShowOnTrackProfile d:type="cDeltaString">eTrue</ShowOnTrackProfile>
<ValidStandaloneLoco d:type="cDeltaString">eTrue</ValidStandaloneLoco>

<HUDControlsPath d:type="cDeltaString"></HUDControlsPath>
<MinimalHUDControlsPath d:type="cDeltaString"></MinimalHUDControlsPath>
<HUDControlsTexturePath d:type="cDeltaString"></HUDControlsTexturePath>

In the control values section per control value:
<HUDControlID d:type="sUInt32">0</HUDControlID>
<OutputInterface d:type="cDeltaString">eCab</OutputInterface>

I can only imagine what these new values do, but I do not use them yet.

2. The reason why my old engine blueprints did not work anymore was fortunately a consequence of something simple: when you omit the 'xml' extension in the blueprint where you refer to other xml files such as the bogie xml's, the engine is not shown. I can't remember well if this was the same in the old situation, but it fixed the whole thing! Only one issue remains: the not loading engine blueprints that I created in TS 2012 and try to load with the new BP editor. But that's easy to solve.

[chrisell]

Glad you were able to find some differences, and in the end, the one big error.
Those new values seem pretty self-explanatory but I'm sure a lot of testing needs to be done to figure exactly what they do

[longbow]

I see that the 10 Oct TS2013 patch included a "Fix for Blueprint Editor "Invalid Parameter" error". Has this fixed the problem under discussion?

[chrisell]

I see that the 10 Oct TS2013 patch included a "Fix for Blueprint Editor "Invalid Parameter" error". Has this fixed the problem under discussion?

Honestly I didn't know there'd been an update. How do you find this out? That's the problem with Steam - it does stuff so quietly you never know if anything has changed. At least in the "good old days" you had to manually install stuff so you had a chance to know what was going on. Are there release notes for the patches and where do you find them?

[longbow]

In Steam library window - (TS2013) Properties>Updates>View TS2013 Update History

[chrisell]

In Steam library window - (TS2013) Properties>Updates>View TS2013 Update History

Thanks. Shows you how much I use steam

[chrisell]

Tried the new, patched blueprint editor tonight and so far so good. Went through a bunch of engines and wagons without issue. Fingers crossed then.

[longbow]

Good. When you're done please let us know if all is now well.

[chrisell]

Good. When you're done please let us know if all is now well.

I cleared out my latest project from the Railworks Assets folder this morning and did a full recompile using the new blueprint editor on all the engines and wagons and didn't have any more issues.

BUT (and it's a BIG BUT):
You CANNOT delete the .OUT files any more (for cleaning up third party installations). The new blueprint editor does NOT dump the LUA files into the exported Assets folder any more, only the OUT files. If you delete them, especially on trains and wagons, you end up with no script functionality.

This leads to a followon question now : did TS2012 use the .LUA files or the .OUT files? I don't remember ever seeing .OUT files before in my simulation scripts folders. If it uses the LUA files, then users with TS2012 will not be able to use any product exported with the new blueprint editor....

I know the TS2013 upgrade was 'free' for existing users (the core software at least), so in theory that means nobody is left with the old TS2012 core software? If that's right, then this isn't a worry, but if there's any way a user could still have the old pre-upgrade TS2012 software, then you MUST export projects using the old blueprint editor for those customers to be able to use your projects.

[chrisell]

Well I learned an important lesson today.
You CANNOT use the new TS2013 blueprint editor AND be backward-compatible with TS2012. Because the new blueprint editor does not output LUA files into the assets folders any more, any scripts you rely on WILL NOT WORK in TS2012 unless you either
(a) use the old blueprint editor which does copy the LUA files
(b) you manually copy the LUA files yourself after the fact

TS2012 does not read the .OUT files - the resulting 'compiled' LUA scripts - it only reads the .LUA files.

Please don't ask me how I found this out - it's been a bloody and painful day today.

[DaveDewhurst]

just rename your compiled .out file to .lua, that way it will work with both versions.

Dave

[Juanillo99]

In Steam library window - (TS2013) Properties>Updates>View TS2013 Update History

Most of updates are not recorded there.

There is another place where yes all updates are recorded. It is a file named steam.log, and it is located in the Steam folder. It can be opened with a text editor.

just rename your compiled .out file to .lua, that way it will work with both versions.

It's not as simple as you say.