Deleting Entire Routes from your PC

[shinymac]

Chaps

This may seem a simple question...but, is there a way of deleting an entire route from your PC, which would ensure all assets that come with it specificly, are also removed from your hard drive ?

I know that you can "delete" a route in RW Tools, but does that not simply stop the route showing up in the game, but not remove it from ones hard drive ?

Thanks

Derek

[amtrake8a]

You can try going into Steam. Go to Library > Games, then right click on Train Simulator and click on View Downloadable Content. A box will open with a list of your DLC, and there will be a column titled Install. Uncheck any routes (or any DLC for that matter) you want to remove.

[Bradforth]

Hi,
I should think again about deleting Assets as well as the route because very often assets are required for other routes to function.
You could go into Windows Explorer and delete the route from there leaving the assets in situ in case they are required for anything else.
You can obtain the route number you require from the build list from within TS 2016.
Regards,
Pete.

[Timex]

Hi,
I should think again about deleting Assets as well as the route because very often assets are required for other routes to function.
You could go into Windows Explorer and delete the route from there leaving the assets in situ in case they are required for anything else.
You can obtain the route number you require from the build list from within TS 2016.
Regards,
Pete.

You beat me to it.
You'll be surprised what assets are used in different routes.

OP wanted to delete the route so it wouldn't show in TS, leaving the required assets in situ in the route folder wouldn't work.

[ashgray]

OP wanted to delete the route so it wouldn't show in TS, leaving the required assets in situ in the route folder wouldn't work.

Deleting the route folder itself from the Content folder is the easy part. AFAIK, the only way to delete the accompanying assets from the Assets folder would be to use RW Tools to identify all of the routes where each asset is used, then delete those that only relate to the route to be deleted - quite a cumbersome and time-consuming process but I cannot think of another way of doing it.

Ash

[gptech]

I know that you can "delete" a route in RW Tools, but does that not simply stop the route showing up in the game, but not remove it from ones hard drive ?

No Derek, it throws away the route, but not the assets---assets aren't part of a route, they're just used by a route and live in the Assets folders---there's a subtle but very important distinction.

So, lets assume you wanted to remove a route called "The Ardsley Line", and the route lives in

..\Content\Routes\1234abcde-99cc-b52e-03452af542bh

Deleting that route folder (1234abcde-99cc-b52e-03452af542bh) in Windows Explorer, or by selecting the route by name in RW Tools and clicking on 'Delete selected route' gets rid of it. You could also delete it within the game, from the 'Build' menu.
Any assets that came with that route thoughwill still be on your hard drive.

leaving the required assets in situ in the route folder wouldn't work.

Route folders don't include assets. All the files in a routes folder merely point to assets that live in

..\Assets\......

If "The Ardsley Line" came with all the assets it uses in a folder called

..\Assets\WakeyLads\ArdsleyLine

then deleting that assets folder completes the job.

I should think again about deleting Assets

Agreed, but I'd go even further and advocate not deleting anything. Simply cutting the folders out of the game, using Windows Explorer and pasting them to a suitablre archive location means that when/if you change your mind--lets say the 'WakeyLads' got their fingers out and put all the faults in the route to rights, but only as an upgrade package to the route which you'd need to have installed, and you decided to give it another go you could very easily put the route folder (1234abcde-99cc-b52e-03452af542bh) back into

..\Content\Routes

and the WakeyLads\ArdsleyLine folder back into

..\Assets

There are many ways to remove a route and assets from the game; which one you choose depends greatly on why you're wanting to remove it and also where it's from.

DLC from Steam is easily removed, as outlined earlier, but a freeware route that may reference hundreds of different assets folders is a much more involved task.

What exactly are you wanting rid of?

[brysonman46]

As usual, Gary hits the nail on the head! To add my "tuppenceworth", I keep dummy folders in my Railworks/Content/Routes main folder. These have names with the first 4 numbers of the route, together with the name (so the two sit side by side). When I wish a route to disappear from the Game Menu, I simply drag and drop the route into its dummy folder. When I wish to use it, simply reverse the process. I also keep in the dummy folder any notes/screenshots/info etc, that are relevant (saves seeking them out elsewhere). The dummy folder shows up in RWTools (and you can access the files to view Textures or manipulate binaries). If DTG sends out an update to a Route that is hidden in its dummy folder, the amendments show up in the Main Routes folder, so you can compare versions.

[ashgray]

Now that's a good idea!

Ash

[JohnM1945]

FWIW, I do something similar, but one level higher in the root structure.

My 'Content' files (and I have a few of these, for different regions) each contain a 'Routes' folder (which is the one that TS/RW sees) as well as a 'Route Alternatives' folder (for different versions of the same route) and a 'Routes - Minor' folder in which I keep most of the interesting DIY essays that turn up on the Workshop and elsewhere. I also use 'Routes - Minor' to store well-loved major routes that I'm not playing with at the moment, having found that as the number of routes in 'Routes' grows, the in-game route/scenario loading process can slow to a crawl.

In some ways, I'm really looking forward to TSW, not because I plan to go there but because it'll slow the ever-accelerating stream of TS16/17 introductions that I'm desperately trying to keep pace with. You can have too much of a good thing...

Kind regards,

John M

[Timex]

do some 3rd party routes like WCML London and Midlands use scenery from the route folder?

edit: http://www.rstools.info/storethem.html
this does the trick for hiding the route, with the options to hide the assets too.

[USRailFan]

If it's a self-contained DLC route it can be removed via Steam now.

[shinymac]

Thanks Lads

Looks like I have opened up an interesting discussion !

I dont know enough about deleting assets, and as many have said, its a risky business. I was just thinking of a way to free up a bit of space on my HD. Its not at a critical level yet, but my Railworks latest backup took 3 hours to do, and is around 260Gb in size !

Thanks again..will leave well alone.

Regards to all

Derek

[ashgray]

my Railworks latest backup took 3 hours to do, and is around 260Gb in size !

Only 260Gb? A mere bagatelle sir! Small potatoes!

Mine is way larger, probably because I never get rid of unused routes and download all manner of assets that I never use!

Ash

[brysonman46]

my Railworks latest backup took 3 hours to do, and is around 260Gb in size !

Only 260Gb? A mere bagatelle sir! Small potatoes!

Mine is way larger, probably because I never get rid of unused routes and download all manner of assets that I never use!

Ash

As do we all!

Nick

[Bradforth]

Thanks Lads

Looks like I have opened up an interesting discussion !

I dont know enough about deleting assets, and as many have said, its a risky business. I was just thinking of a way to free up a bit of space on my HD. Its not at a critical level yet, but my Railworks latest backup took 3 hours to do, and is around 260Gb in size !

Thanks again..will leave well alone.

Regards to all

Derek

HI again shinymac,
Why don't you just buy yourself a new and bigger hard drive, they are not that expensive these days?
Regards again,
Pete.