TS2015 is here.

[firetrap1]

I'll start with the good points Really liking the scale option for assets in the editor, that will give some excellent variation. Since when did trees all grow to be the same size after all. The visible selection of assets is a superb addition and long overlooked- a pity that it stopped working after the first time I used it and just displayed empty boxes. I presume if I left it running it would load up into some sort of buffer for quicker future access but I'm guessing there.

As many have mentioned, the menu system has been completely messed up and overdone. Someone at Dovetail redesigned it and someone at Dovetail said that's great. Both should be sacked. So many missing routes and trains thumbnails.... surely only sheer planned incompetence could have arranged that. The continued elbowing out of third party routes and assets is a deliberate act by a bully. All routes and content bring attention towards their game, they should embrace it not try and hide it.

Overall - they should have left the menu alone and squeezed in the extra editor features with a small upgrade without the usual annual fanfare. Seems to have been a lot of hot air, forced into a round balloon for the sake of having a new square balloon.

I don't often criticise Dovetail because I'm a big boy and I chose what I purchase from them very carefully. This free upgrade finally convinces me that certain people at Dovetail seem fairly.... how can I put this, at odds with common sense?

FYI the "scale Asset" feature in the world editor was first shown many years ago in the days of Rail Simulator as part of a promotional video, it's never been incorporated into the sim however until now. I distinctly recall the feature being used to increase the size of some foliage and then also to scale up the size of a house in the video.

chris

[callum1122334455]

In regards to the blue tint that occurs with the new weather system; there is a setting in the new weather blueprints named 'CrepuscularEffect'. Changing the default value from 0.5 to 0 gets rid of the unrealistic looking blue tint.

Here is a new weather blueprint I have knocked up which is reminiscent of typical British weather.
I'm still experimenting with the different cloud types but there are plenty of combinations you can have now. I thing DTG went a bit over the top with their new weather blueprints.





Callum.

[chrisell]

The old kuju engine reached the limit of what can be done with it a long time ago - Dovetail need to leave it well alone now and use the time more constructively.

They had planned, somewhat naively I think, to go to Unreal or Havok. I work in commercial simulation and I can tell you that swapping out one render engine for another isn't an easy trick. In fact, it's pretty much impossible to do without obsoleting all existing content. Of course you can attempt to write converters and such, but those are always far from perfect. With so much existing content, with all the 3rd party content, all the routes, assets and other graphical things, simply dropping the Kuju render engine is likely just not possible.
What'll happen of course, is if they ever do manage to go to Havok or Unreal, this forum will melt down as people complain that none of their old purchases work - and that will be a necessity.
As a 3rd party developer, I'm dreading the day they change render engines. The annual updates cause enough problems as it is for us without having to completely rebuild our existing catalogs.

[DaveDewhurst]

In regards to the blue tint that occurs with the new weather system; there is a setting in the new weather blueprints named 'CrepuscularEffect'. Changing the default value from 0.5 to 0 gets rid of the unrealistic looking blue tint.

Are you sure? Crepuscular Effect is visible sun rays beaming thorough the clouds, sometimes also called God rays.
If it does then fine, although your screenshots still look like they have the blue tinge

Dave

[jstange]

In regards to the blue tint that occurs with the new weather system; there is a setting in the new weather blueprints named 'CrepuscularEffect'. Changing the default value from 0.5 to 0 gets rid of the unrealistic looking blue tint.

Here is a new weather blueprint I have knocked up which is reminiscent of typical British weather.
I'm still experimenting with the different cloud types but there are plenty of combinations you can have now. I thing DTG went a bit over the top with their new weather blueprints.

Callum.

Can you please give me some directions what I should edit where? Is it the weather .bin files (like RW_Cloudy.bin)?

Or maybe we could use the weather blueprints from a TS2014 backup - if someone can advise what to copy to where...?

[karma99]

Umm Chris, are you not aware of this?
http://www.engine-driver.com/article/sh ... -simulator

TS2015 is the last itteration of TS as it is now. Next September, they move to a whole new game engine driven by UE4.

[jstange]

The old kuju engine reached the limit of what can be done with it a long time ago - Dovetail need to leave it well alone now and use the time more constructively.

They had planned, somewhat naively I think, to go to Unreal or Havok. I work in commercial simulation and I can tell you that swapping out one render engine for another isn't an easy trick. In fact, it's pretty much impossible to do without obsoleting all existing content. Of course you can attempt to write converters and such, but those are always far from perfect. With so much existing content, with all the 3rd party content, all the routes, assets and other graphical things, simply dropping the Kuju render engine is likely just not possible.
What'll happen of course, is if they ever do manage to go to Havok or Unreal, this forum will melt down as people complain that none of their old purchases work - and that will be a necessity.
As a 3rd party developer, I'm dreading the day they change render engines. The annual updates cause enough problems as it is for us without having to completely rebuild our existing catalogs.

It is going to happen, Chris. However they will keep maintaining the old TS so that old content can still be used. New UE4-based engine will require new content to be created from scratch. At least this is what they're planning...

[tycoonkid9]

I wonder if the Munich-Garmisch and London-Peterborough (I don't own the previously mentioned routes) scenarios are still obtainable seeing I upgraded only with New York-New Haven, Acela Express, and Hitachi SEC.

[alanch]

My view of the new UI and menu system - I think they are an abomination. It appears that no-one at DTG has any understanding of how to design screens for humans to use. Typefaces too small, too little contrast in the colour of text against background, active elements of the screen do not light up as you move over them, slow responses with no indication that anything is happening and so on. We may get used to it, but I doubt if we will ever like it.

[callum1122334455]

In regards to the blue tint that occurs with the new weather system; there is a setting in the new weather blueprints named 'CrepuscularEffect'. Changing the default value from 0.5 to 0 gets rid of the unrealistic looking blue tint.

Are you sure? Crepuscular Effect is visible sun rays beaming thorough the clouds, sometimes also called God rays.
If it does then fine, although your screenshots still look like they have the blue tinge

Dave

Here are two (almost) identical comparison shots.

The blueprint is identical in both images except the first image is with 'CrepuscularEffect' set to a value of 0.5. The second with the value set to 0.





As well as the second image being lighter, I think the blue tint has reduced, although maybe not entirely?

[DaveDewhurst]

That does look a lot better

Dave

[chrisell]

Umm Chris, are you not aware of this?
http://www.engine-driver.com/article/sh ... -simulator

TS2015 is the last itteration of TS as it is now. Next September, they move to a whole new game engine driven by UE4.

"Unreal Engine 4 comes with some absolutely top-of-the-line tools that offer features and capabilities that we are keen to leverage in the next generation Train Simulator"

That's marketing BS. I've used UE4 and it's a damn pain in the . to get anything done. Even basic stuff. If you think the TS2015 GUI is bad, try working with the Unreal developer GUI.

This doesn't bode well

[MaikG]

That's marketing BS. I've used UE4 and it's a damn pain in the . to get anything done. Even basic stuff. If you think the TS2015 GUI is bad, try working with the Unreal developer GUI.

This doesn't bode well

The UE editor is fine for what it was build. It is a developer tool to build a game, not an game or ingame editor like the TS editor, that is build in the game itself. Customers of TS NG will never get in touch with the UE editor. And i think even TS NG 3th party developers will have their own tools and not the UE editor to build routes and rolling stock. Only DTG will use the UE editor to build the TS NG core.

[3DTrains]

This doesn't bode well

True that.

I'm mostly concerned about built-in editing functions. As it is, we have the tools and complain to DTG that they need to update their docs. If DTG move to U4, however, then there's a possibility (my own speculation) that DTG will no longer supply any editors (save maybe track laying and object placement tools), especially considering U4's stance on commercial 3rd party content, which, IIRC, is subscription based. This would relieve DTG from having to support any and all 3rd party content (commercial or otherwise), as well as remove the burden of having to write new docs. It's bad enough to play catch-up now with the undocumented features in RW, but given a whole new game engine (U4), then those who care to tinker will do so at their peril.

[longbow]

Allowing users and third parties to create content makes the game more appealing and makes DTG more money. So why would they change policy for the UE version, especially as content availability is likely to be a major factor in persuading TS users to upgrade?