Atomic Systems

Posted: **Mon Nov 27, 2017 3:32 pm**

749006 wrote:
xguerra wrote:
749006 wrote:I've just bought the Corris route so I though I can give the this route a run.

I went north from Porthmadog. Between Nantmor & Beddgelert I have a lot of floating trees as if part of the senary is missing.
RW Tools tells me I'm missing a number of assets from the MichaelWhiteley folder.
Would the lack of the ‘Memories of Maerdy’ route cause some of the hill side to go missing?
Yes as no doubt many rockfaces and infills were used from Memories of Maerdy.
Thanks for the very quick reply Xguerra

I might put this route to one side or delete it.
Even in the sale Memories of Maerdy is another £12.59 for a route I won't run

Peter

If you're up for it you could swap all the missing Memories of Maerdy assets with those from Return to Maerdy, as all the assets should be effectively identical but in a different directory.

Posted: **Mon Nov 27, 2017 5:40 pm**

Hi everyone,

I'm pleased to see that the route is still quite well-received, thanks again for all the lovely feedback, again the biggest issues people are having relate to the asset requirements, which is not unexpected. I chopped a few requirements off the list by doing swaps and suchlike but every route that is still needed donates something noticeable - in the case above, a lot of tons of rock! And those rock assets were used copiously!! It might be possible to swap with the other Maerdy but I don't have that route to check... You'll also lose a lot of houses, especially terraces around Blaenau, without the Memories pack.

Whilst the route is 'done', the project is not over and I'm pleased to have had a bit of a chuff around Minffordd Yard with Prince, which is looking splendid indeed:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/ ... 1213877665

I hope to test the re-worked guided tour scenarios soon to check that I have fixed the broken one, and also tell a little bit of the history of the Welsh Highland too, time permitting. This will be released when ready.

I thought the point earlier about the drive from Dinas to Waunfawr was interesting, and something which hadn't really struck me at the time but is true - it is possibly the most challenging bit of the whole route due to the 'garratt dips' under the road bridges creating quite noticeable gradient changes. The long slogs of 1:80 and 1:40 are in some ways easier due to their continuity!

Out of idle curiosity (given that the route itself is what it is so can't really change much!) - what have everyone's most and least favourite bits been so far? Is there anywhere which stands out in the memory, for good or bad?

For myself I think heading north from Beddgelert, leaving the woods and just before passing the lake with the WHR summit in sight is always something of a welcome "sigh of relief" moment...! Oh yes, and managing to get out of Minffordd Yard without stalling or speeding is always a bit of an adrenaline rush... I look forward to hearing what other people have experienced!

Thanks again, everyone, for your continued interest!! As always, more news as and when

ThePhantomPhish

Posted: **Mon Nov 27, 2017 6:32 pm**

xguerra wrote:
749006 wrote:I might put this route to one side or delete it.
Even in the sale Memories of Maerdy is another £12.59 for a route I won't run

Peter
If you're up for it you could swap all the missing Memories of Maerdy assets with those from Return to Maerdy, as all the assets should be effectively identical but in a different directory.

That is an excellent idea - thanks again Xguerra

I might look at creating a dummy directory so I can copy the assets in to it

Peter

Posted: **Mon Nov 27, 2017 6:40 pm**

My favourite bit so far was experiencing the gravity train run.
It was very interesting to discover that the gravity train on the Ffestiniog worked so well that braking was not required for miles. The train kept to manageable speeds as the gradient was just perfect, neither letting the train overspeed or slow down too much. The engineers who surveyed and built this track deserve our total respect.
On the WHR run, however, it was obvious that this track was never designed for gravity running. The train needed a lot of braking to keep to a reasonable speed.

It goes to show that accurate modelling can produce interesting results.
Geoff

Posted: **Mon Nov 27, 2017 8:27 pm**

749006 wrote:
xguerra wrote:
749006 wrote:I might put this route to one side or delete it.
Even in the sale Memories of Maerdy is another £12.59 for a route I won't run

Peter
If you're up for it you could swap all the missing Memories of Maerdy assets with those from Return to Maerdy, as all the assets should be effectively identical but in a different directory.
That is an excellent idea - thanks again Xguerra
I might look at creating a dummy directory so I can copy the assets in to it

Peter

And that work almost perfectly - the Speed Boards are a bit weird looking with black numbers over lapping - but it won't take long to change them

Thanks again for the idea of using the Return to Maerdy assets

Peter

Posted: **Tue Nov 28, 2017 12:04 am**

If you were to swap the MoM assets for RtM assets then is there a chance of you uploading to UKTS? I only ask as this would be incredibly helpful for me... I have RtM, and the idea of buying a very similar route for a not-especially-low price isn't especially appealing at present. I do want MoM at some point, for the Military liveried Austerities, but for now there are a lot of routes further up the list!

All the best,

sem34090

Posted: **Tue Nov 28, 2017 6:02 pm**

sem34090 wrote:If you were to swap the MoM assets for RtM assets then is there a chance of you uploading to UKTS? I only ask as this would be incredibly helpful for me... I have RtM, and the idea of buying a very similar route for a not-especially-low price isn't especially appealing at present. I do want MoM at some point, for the Military liveried Austerities, but for now there are a lot of routes further up the list!

All the best,

sem34090

It was a 5 min job of extracting and copying folders - It might not be the best way but seems to work

Using Windows Explorer open up this folder
\railworks\Assets\MichaelWhiteley
You might have a folder called Austerity - if so that is good - if not you need to create one.
Then open up the folder called EEType3B - inside is a file called EEType3BAssets.ap
You need to extract the files from this folder - I used 7Zip and extracted them to the same EEType3B folder
Then select everything Except the EEType3BAssets.ap file - click Cut
Go back the the MichaelWhiteley directory and open the Austerity folder the click Paste and the assets will be moved there - if it asks to Overwrite say No.

Clear the Cache and you should be ready to go

Sorry I cannot upload the modified version to UKTS - not sure how.

Peter

Posted: **Tue Nov 28, 2017 7:24 pm**

A few searches on non-sim sites has unveiled (to me) a whole lot of politics regarding the WHR stable...

Especially re K1, the NG15s, NGG16s performance / availability and diesel stand ins...
Admittedly quite a few years old, but seemed like the 300odd hp diesels were struggling.

Needs some bright spark to bung in some charismatic EE engine / traction eqpt into a narrow gauge format

Posted: **Wed Nov 29, 2017 9:16 pm**

I'll try swapping the files over now. Do you know how many gaps that'll leave without S&C? I'll try and get hold of that at some stage, but if there's not too many gaps left after that then I can't wait to run the route!

All the best,

sem34090

Posted: **Thu Nov 30, 2017 11:30 am**

Hi All,

I'm glad to hear that the swap with RtM assets seems to have worked, I didn't think it would have affected the speed boards but it isn't beyond the realms of possibility! Hopefully the rock will make much of the route look a significant amount better?!

Missing the S&C will probably also have a huge visual impact, especially as it is the primary source of scenery for the whole WHR line. Some stuff could be swapped for Woodhead equivalents but there is, as with all DLC requirements, a reason why it is required.

Swapping assets is something that would be better done on an individual bespoke level rather than through a UKTS update, otherwise we risk lots of independent modifications being released which might (or of course might not) conflict with each other... It's a learning curve to do it - BACK UP FIRST! - but worth learning for any other projects too. For anyone struggling, there is a fantastic collective mind here that will help guide you through what you need to do to acheive what you're trying to do, as shown by the instructions above for the RtM rock swap.

It is also nice to hear that the gravity run worked well (credit and thanks, as for all the rolling stock, to Steve P who is still working on further add-ons). You really can tell that the FfR was well engineered for gravity working, and hopefully modelled appropriately despite the shallow grades just below T-y-B; the route also shows that the WHR wasn't meant to be a gravity line in the slightest. I doubt there has ever been a traditional gravity run on that stretch in real life as all stock on the WHR has to be vacuum fitted due to the steep gradients!

And as for the subject of railway politics... this isn't the place for specific discussion of those but yes, there have always and always will be strong opinions and divisive matters in the real world - grab a pint in Spooners at Harbour Station and listen for a while and there will most likely be a passionate debate break out at some point about something or other!

Thanks again for reading, I hope you're all still enjoying the route!

ThePhantomPhish

PS If anyone has any viable scenario ideas to consider, then do please let me know, especially as the England Engines will need some employment when the Virtual Chief Mechanical Engineer is ready to let them leave the shed for proper testing

Posted: **Thu Nov 30, 2017 11:43 am**

749006 wrote:It might not be the best way but seems to work

It certainly isn't, even though it does.
All those copied .bin files will still be pointing to the original folder, so all the other files that have been copied are essentially just junk taking up disc space.
Far better to extract the files from the .ap archive and use RW Tools to swap the assets in the route itself; once done just delete those extracted files.

Posted: **Thu Nov 30, 2017 12:46 pm**

"England Engines"?

Puzzled I am, Phantomphish!

Kind regards,

John M

Posted: **Thu Nov 30, 2017 1:43 pm**

JohnM1945 wrote:"England Engines"?

Puzzled I am, Phantomphish!

Kind regards,

John M

0-4-0 narrow gauge tender engines built by George England & Co. in London for the Ffestiniog Railway Company in 1863. Affectionately known as "England" locos.

6 built, 4 survive into preservation.
They are Princess, Prince, Palmerston and Welsh Pony.

Posted: **Thu Nov 30, 2017 5:02 pm**

gptech wrote:
749006 wrote:It might not be the best way but seems to work
It certainly isn't, even though it does.
All those copied .bin files will still be pointing to the original folder, so all the other files that have been copied are essentially just junk taking up disc space.
Far better to extract the files from the .ap archive and use RW Tools to swap the assets in the route itself; once done just delete those extracted files.

Sorry if I'm being stupid - but i don't fully understand some of the bit's of route building.
If the route is looking for an asset called Rockface01.bin in a folder called \MichaelWhiteley\Austerity\Scenery\rockformations which it finds - How is the *.bin file pointing in the wrong direction?

And if I had updated the route with RW Tools so it looked at \MichaelWhiteley\EEType3B\ instead of \MichaelWhiteley\Austerity\ would that work be for nothing if the route was updated?

Peter

Posted: **Thu Nov 30, 2017 5:52 pm**

749006 wrote:but i don't fully understand some of the bit's of route building.If the route is looking for an asset called Rockface01.bin in a folder called \MichaelWhiteley\Austerity\Scenery\rockformations which it finds - How is the *.bin file pointing in the wrong direction?

It's nothing to do with route building Peter, but how .bin files work.

The game looks for a .bin file of the right name in the right place--right being where the route's .bin files tell it to.
You copy the contents of the EEType3BAssets.ap archive over, and yes, the game finds the right named .bin file in the right place but that .bin file points to the location of the associated .GeoPcDx (model shape) file etc.

Just picking one file at random, Bridge01.bin from the ..\Scenery\Bridges folder (where else?) and opening it with RW Tools shows us:

Code: Select all

					<GeometryID d:type="cDeltaString">MichaelWhiteley\EEType3B\Scenery\Bridges\[00]Bridge01</GeometryID>

which is the original .GeoPcDx file. Accordingly, all those .GeoPcDx files you've copied over are useless.
The .GeoPcDx files define the location of the textures, in relation to their location, in this case

Code: Select all

			<TextureByName>
				<e d:type="cDeltaString">[08]bridge01</e>

No path to a folder, so that shows that the bridge01 texture file is in the same directory as the .GeoPcDx.
As the game won't be using the copied .Geo, it obviously won't use the copied textures either.

749006 wrote:And if I had updated the route with RW Tools so it looked at \MichaelWhiteley\EEType3B\ instead of \MichaelWhiteley\Austerity\ would that work be for nothing if the route was updated?

Yes it would, so taking the middle ground between the *proper* way of doing it and editing the route and the *daft* way of extracting the contents of a .ap archive that wouldn't be used, the next best option is to just extract/copy/paste the .bin files for the assets actually used in the route.
Much depends on just how many assets are involved---if it's a small (open to definition of course) number then re-editing any upgraded version of the route to suit (and it's not something you'd be doing every other day when all's said and done) isn't an onerous chore.

Atomic Systems

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