Atomic Systems

david1 wrote:

FoggyMorning wrote:There are actually three seperate Armstrong Powerhouse HST packs, which cost a grand total of £33.97 should you wish to buy them all - substantially more than the most expensive locomotives available from Dovetail. As far as I am aware, none of them include this new LNER livery either, so there is certainly a gap to fill there

If I did not already have the three packs, I would much rather shell for all three packs, than buy another DTG version, which wont have all the features that AP has, and they is already LNER skin that use the enhancement pack, I wont be buying it.

Which pack has the LNER livery? I have the Valenta and MTU enhancement packs, but not the VP185 pack, and I can't find it.

With apologies (to some) for providing yet another link to the ATS site - you may find this of interest. This is based on the MTU EP.

https://alanthomsonsim.com/?download=vtec-lner-hst-pack

jpvdveer wrote:With apologies (to some) for providing yet another link to the ATS site - you may find this of interest. This is based on the MTU EP.

https://alanthomsonsim.com/?download=vtec-lner-hst-pack

So it's a seperate download (for which I would have to buy a subscription) and not actually included in any of the Armstrong packs?

That reads to me like it's an upgrade inside and out. Which means the AP packs will be useless on it.

I certainly hope it's a big upgrade to the cab. There's so many current classes of train that are not in TS, it gets a little dispiriting seeing pointless remakes.

FoggyMorning wrote: So it's a seperate download (for which I would have to buy a subscription) and not actually included in any of the Armstrong packs?

It''s a free download - no subscription required. Most downloads on ATS are free. This pack is in fact the most popular item on the site. There is a similar IC225 pack too.

GrateEastern wrote:That reads to me like it's an upgrade inside and out. Which means the AP packs will be useless on it.

I certainly hope it's a big upgrade to the cab. There's so many current classes of train that are not in TS, it gets a little dispiriting seeing pointless remakes.

In fact the AP MTU enhancement pack is listed as a requirement for it. So not only not useless, but essential.

holzroller wrote:In fact the AP MTU enhancement pack is listed as a requirement for it. So not only not useless, but essential.

...and just to dispel the myths around all these reskins based on AP enhanced stock.....



Default Kuju model, despite the claim at ATS.com that the Kuju model's mapping doesn't work with it and no AP enhancements at all.

GrateEastern wrote:That reads to me like it's an upgrade inside and out. Which means the AP packs will be useless on it.

I certainly hope it's a big upgrade to the cab. There's so many current classes of train that are not in TS, it gets a little dispiriting seeing pointless remakes.

It isn't a pointless remake if you only ever purchase from Steam (which I suspect there are many who do) and wish to drive the LNER HST on the East Coast route.

DTG are a business to who needs cash flow, they aren't going to not release a product just because on an external site someone else has produced it!

Peter

gptech wrote:

holzroller wrote:In fact the AP MTU enhancement pack is listed as a requirement for it. So not only not useless, but essential.

...and just to dispel the myths around all these reskins based on AP enhanced stock.....



Default Kuju model, despite the claim at ATS.com that the Kuju model's mapping doesn't work with it and no AP enhancements at all.

It's not very often at all I post on these forums, in fact I think this may be my first post/reply....

I'm glad you've the time on your hands to make a point simply by taking the texture of the power car and removing the good alpha, plonking it onto a non-AP EP version (ahem, still uses AP EP textures as a base, underneath the red/white/black etc). Your second point is.... completely wrong. The Kuju Mk3 mapping is only one side, and simply rotates it 180° for the other. By doing your research you'd find the VTEC/LNER livery on the Mk3s is actually mirrored, and it always in the direction of the Power Car (depending on the location relative to the TRFB). This was reason number 1 for requiring entirely new bodyside decals. The second is that the livery extends well above the cant rail stripe, which then falls onto the hst_coach texture. The mapping is only half the roof, and the way it then maps means the directionality of the swoosh could not be adhered, nor the quality.

These decals were a massive benefit for other accuracies also. EC64 and NL65 feature blanked toilet windows based on the coach number, without having visible edges a simple square child object would show. 40805 (Hull TRFB) could not be done properly either without them. There is an update due at some point adding the correct TRFB window layouts, however my time is mostly devoted to university work, lockdown provides no rest for the wicked.

So glad of you to accuse those without knowing the full story, I shall be on my way.

theorganist wrote:

GrateEastern wrote:That reads to me like it's an upgrade inside and out. Which means the AP packs will be useless on it.

I certainly hope it's a big upgrade to the cab. There's so many current classes of train that are not in TS, it gets a little dispiriting seeing pointless remakes.

It isn't a pointless remake if you only ever purchase from Steam (which I suspect there are many who do) and wish to drive the LNER HST on the East Coast route.

DTG are a business to who needs cash flow, they aren't going to not release a product just because on an external site someone else has produced it!

Peter

Or if you want to upload scenarios to the Workshop - or has it been changed so that non-steam-stuff such as reskins can be used in Workshop scenarios now?

USRailFan wrote:Or if you want to upload scenarios to the Workshop - or has it been changed so that non-steam-stuff such as reskins can be used in Workshop scenarios now?

Reskins could be used on the workshop from the start provided it was a reskin of a product available on steam and the virgin/lner repaint is used on many scenarios on the workshop.

It has been possible to use non steam add-ons for a while now. IIRC scenarios for Swiss route one were the first to appear a few years back.

holzroller wrote:It has been possible to use non steam add-ons for a while now. IIRC scenarios for Swiss route one were the first to appear a few years back.

Which swiss route? Just tried to upload test scenarios with a variety of non steam blueprints and routes and it disallows it.

lewlad wrote:I'm glad you've the time on your hands to make a point

The point Mr Clowes, was to show that you don't need the AP enhancement pack in order to use the reskin in the game.
Yes, I misread the blurb about the mapping and thought it related to the class 43, not the MK3s so I'll agree that they need the extra body decal--that is not part of the AP pack though!

lewlad wrote:So glad of you to accuse

And where did I make any such statement...once again the point was to show that it can be used without the AP pack, nowhere did I say the quality was poor, or make any disparaging remarks about the texturing work itself.

lewlad wrote:ahem, still uses AP EP textures as a base, underneath the red/white/black etc

The one in the screenshot doesn't...underneath is/was the Kuju InterCity Swallow textures, with the addition of the body decals on the coaches of course, but regardless of what is used as a base if the supplied reskin package includes those items then once again the AP pack isn't needed.

gptech wrote:The point Mr Clowes, was to show that you don't need the AP enhancement pack in order to use the reskin in the game.

Entirely correct, skins have never technically never needed additional requirements to work if you modify them to work without.

lewlad wrote:So glad of you to accuse

gptech wrote:despite the claim at ATS.com

That's the accusation. Now you understand it's the Mk3s not the Power Cars I think we can afford to let that one slide. The Power Car mirrors behind the large bodyside grill, and so no wording, nameplates or non-mirrored decals affixed to these can work without child objects, thus circumventing the mapping. It's incredible that it stands up this well to most liveries given its age, where more recent DTG products will not.

gptech wrote:nowhere did I say the quality was poor, or make any disparaging remarks about the texturing work itself.

I didn't say you did, so that point holds absolutely no merit.

gptech wrote:The one in the screenshot doesn't...underneath is/was the Kuju InterCity Swallow textures, with the addition of the body decals on the coaches of course, but regardless of what is used as a base if the supplied reskin package includes those items then once again the AP pack isn't needed.

Just the main texture on the Mk3s, you've still got AP amended hst_coach.TgPcDx (with my edits), else you'd be missing red above the doors. What I actually meant was despite you placing the Power Car texture on a default 43, the texture itself was an edited version of those supplied with the MTU EP - I recall using Network Rail. Whilst a texture cannot "require" any sort of enhancement, only the model itself, you're still using some of the EP, even without owning it. To not use these you'd have to start with the texture texture as a base, and overlay the colours and design to that (which to my knowledge no-one that states a reskin requires an EP, then doesn't use the EP supplied textures as a base). I do think the skin would suffer further than it has already if that were to happen.

Hopefully we're now on the same page, that being interested in what DTG has to offer from this TSW port.