TSM Exporting Problems

mpeffers · Post by **mpeffers** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 9:28 pm

Seeing as it was only Â£8, I splashed out on TSM at Warley. Having fiddled around, I managed to create a simple Shunter, along with seemingly corresctly applied .bmp textures. In the rotating view, they're all there.
However, when I try and export it, it says it cannot locate the texture files. They are in my pictures, and haven't been moved,. Can anyone help me out?
Thanks,
mpeffers

(PS Please excuse the poor typing/. I'm working left handed having had a Hepititus A jab earlier, leaving my right arm useless)

cua193 · Post by **cua193** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 9:40 pm

You don't say which version of TSM. If it's version 1 go to the abacus site & get the update.

Go to the steam4me site, download all relavant TSM tutorials & read through them.

There's a lot of learning necessary with all of the 3D programs, don't expect to produce your A4 within an evening or two.

I don't understand your use of .bmp files -- in TSM they're only used for background files, for texture you'll be using .tga files.

TSM likes you to have texture files & working files in the same subdirectory. TSM itself is hopeless for transferring texture files - far easier & safer to use makeacewin & tstools.

It's all in my tutorial on steam4me - rather dated now but it still applies. Look through the archives on this site & cache anything useful.

Richard Osborne

johny · Post by **johny** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 9:16 am

Richard,

Strange you should say that TSM is hopeless at transferring texture files. When making signals TSM makes the ace file, and I have had no problems, but then signals are relatively uncomplicated objects.

John

mpeffers · Post by **mpeffers** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 10:00 am

cua193 wrote:You don't say which version of TSM. If it's version 1 go to the abacus site & get the update.

Go to the steam4me site, download all relavant TSM tutorials & read through them.

There's a lot of learning necessary with all of the 3D programs, don't expect to produce your A4 within an evening or two.

I don't understand your use of .bmp files -- in TSM they're only used for background files, for texture you'll be using .tga files.

TSM likes you to have texture files & working files in the same subdirectory. TSM itself is hopeless for transferring texture files - far easier & safer to use makeacewin & tstools.

It's all in my tutorial on steam4me - rather dated now but it still applies. Look through the archives on this site & cache anything useful.

Richard Osborne

I had a look at your tutorial (and vetry giod it is too

) but I had the model by then and was justy finding the exporting part. Off hand I can't tell you what version uit is, but when you right click on a part and select textures, it comes up with an explorer type box searching specifically for .bmp files. You might be able to change that to .tga files so I'll try that but otherwise I'll have to try something else.

qzdcg8 · Post by **qzdcg8** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 10:04 am

I use bmp files for the base textures - even if these end up as transparencies / alphas later - I usually let TSM do the first convert to ACE and then use TGATOOL2 after that to create alpha's etc

DarwinS · Post by **DarwinS** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 11:42 am

I have given up letting TSM export any textures, as I can't be bothered to work out what it works for and what it doesn't.

Export your model from TSM with all the texture options unchecked.

Use TGA Tools2a to create your .ace files, if you are starting from .bmp files you can also use TGA Tools to make transparency templates and I usually save these as .tga files as well as exporting them as .ace files just so I have a backup.

cua193 · Post by **cua193** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 9:17 pm

I agree with DarwinS; the other point about transferring texture files with TSM is that it rewrites the .eng file every time. It's so much of a fag checking & unchecking files it's simpler to use tgatools & makeacewin. I rarely use tgatools except to verify .ace files.

TSM does have one very cunning feature - can't remember where but on one of the drop down menus is the facility to reassign texture files at one stroke.

Click on 'help', 'about train sim modeller' it'll show which version you have. My advice would be to make sure it's version 1.1; version 1 has some major flaws - it's not worth the bother of fighting with it.

mpeffers · Post by **mpeffers** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 9:48 pm

OK. Had the day off school, so I fiddled around with it. I thinmk the textures have nw workeed but it wont make the .s file properly (I tried doing covert top binary on and then off. Oh yeah, it's v1.0 so I;ll go and upgrade now.
Thanks,
mperffers

BrianB · Post by **BrianB** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 1:37 am

Make sure that when you create the textures files - either BMP or TGA - that you DO NOT have spaces in the filenames - either close up the wording or use underscores - eg RedBrickWall.bmp or Red_Brick_Wall.bmp.

I have now made over 500 scenery and rolling stock objects with TSM, both for British modellers (in 'Thames-Mersey' + my file downloads) and for Australian modellers (in 'Coals to Newcastle' + my NSWGR rolling stock), and I have never really had any problems with TSM creating the ACE files.

However, I do carefully watch how some BMP's are exported, particularly if it has an alpha channel, as TSM will strip out the alpha channel - so for certain ACE files I keep a backup copy to overwrite the 'corrupted' ACE after it has been exported by TSM.

For rolling stock, I always take a backup copy of the .eng or .wag file first before I export any revised models to MSTS - this way I just over-write the .eng or .wag file created by TSM, so I get my carefully 'tuned' original file back again.

Regards, Brian Bere-Streeter

ianmacmillan · Post by **ianmacmillan** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 11:23 am

I create a folder for the vehicle and make the ace files first using TGAtool2. I usually start with an existing ace and repaint it.
I then save a copy as a bmp with a short name which I move to TSM.

I already have a good wag file in the Resources folder of TSM and adjust this if nessesary.

I include all the files in my first save but, after that, I only save the shape file.
Every now and then I will delete the TSM produced ace and replace it with a copy of my original with the short name to check it in the sim and see the alpha.

When I am finished, I use SFM to rename the ace reference in the shape file to something more descriptive.

mpeffers · Post by **mpeffers** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 4:07 pm

I've sorted it out for now (apart from not changing the size from the Dash 9 in the .eng file, so it's currently sunk into the ground). I think it just needs some minor detailing added and it should be ready to muck around in.

(P.S. My arm's better now, apart from swollen fingers, so I can use the mouse properly and type 2 handed pain free

)