Black Country

[abclare]

Just installed BC have an Icon on my Desktop but when i open it i get Mini Loader but nothing runs dont know what to do????? Why is it not in Train Store like other Routes installed? Can anyone advise me what i have done wrong please??

[photons66]

1. Double click on the mini-route icon.

2. The Mini Route Loader will load. Ignore the error message about having no route selected (if you get one).

3. In the window in the left hand corner, navigate to where the CD installer installed the mini route. It's found in the root c drive. (it's something like C:\bc1_MiniRoute)

4. Open up the Train Simulator folder WITHIN this c:\bc1_MiniRoute folder and navigate to the ROUTES folder, then BC1.

5. Click on the red button CONFIRM ROUTE.

6. Open up the ACTIVITIES folder within the BC1 folder and chose an activity. It'll be in the format bc1_xxxxx.off

7. Click ACTIVATE SELECTED ACTIVITY, then RUN ROUTE, and the route will load with the activity that you've chosen.

[45002]

Or read the "Read Me" thats comes with DC1, here C:\bc1_MiniRoute\Train Simulator\ROUTES\BC1\Docs look at the Read Me called

Mini-Loader

MARTIN

[abclare]

Thank you will have a go, does that mean that it will not be in TS????????

[Easilyconfused]

Yes - that is the whole point of the miniroute. It is not in Trainstore but in it's own route folder and only 1 activity is active at a time.

[abclare]

Thanks all for trying to help me, did i install wrong in the first place by going into C:/program files/MSGames/TSimulator?? May be i should uninstall and start again?? If so what is the correct procedure??

[dean1986]

Id much prefer the traditional method of using trainstore. Is there anyway of getting this to run like other routes using trainstore?

Dean

[Tonysmedley]

I am also having problems. I installed to my drive I, where MSTS Train Simulator is held. and everything appeared to go as planned. The Install-me ran through and Run Route brings up the Train Simulator screen. Whilst I can bring up the display Options, clicking on Drive a Train or the other running options produces no result.
I am tempted to put it into the main Train Simulator program, but don't want to wreck that !
Route Riter goves the route as having no errors, but I cannot check the Black Country activities in Route Riter.

Later::
I have copied Black Country into the minm Train Simulator folder, overwriting.
Going to Train Store, I cannot store everything but Black Country because Train Store says that there will be no activities. In Easy mode there are no actiites for Black Country.
In Train Simulator>Routes>BC1> Activities there is a ful list of activites, but the file types are given as .OFF, not as .ACT

[emrhd01]

Hi Dean,

This may be of help to you, but don't forget to 'Back up' your Train Simulator folder 'First' with 'Everything Unstored' in Train Store (if you use it).

Hi All

Once you have installed this can you copy over everything from the miniroutes folder i.e. ROUTES,TRAINS,GLOBAL &c to the main MSTS folder as it causes just more clutter on my already fragged up tiny laptop HDD

TIA

Darren
73E

PS I'm running Vista and it's installed everything correctly on the batch file

This is from this Thread, Page 3 of 3;
http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic. ... &sk=t&sd=a

[rufuskins]

I have installed BC1 from the disc and it duly created the miniroute and eventually an activity appeared, BUT why does it feel the need to provide an alternative display to mine in terms of the driver aids, and it also seemed to change my screen display size??

I too want to run it from TrainStore as it is my preferred means of operating MSTS. Somehow I feel bad about what appear to be minor complaints, and I am sure that the aim was to be as helpful as possible. But the one thing that comes across time and time agin is that many of us have our own preferred method of operating MSTS - including those who do not use TrainStore.

When running a new route I like to run it through RouteRiter and I am not clear how this can be done from MiniRoutes.

I also believe that this approach may not be helpful to new starters - of course I may be wrong, and my immediate reactions may be related to my age.

In the meantime I will look to see how the route can be transferred to the main Train Simulator folder, and without changing my driver aids. In all honesty that could be my biggest gripe!!!!

Again I feel extremely guilty as the creator has devoted many hours to what is almost certainly going to be excellent route once I have set it up to suit my own preferences.

Ruf

PS Perhaps in future similar routes could be offered with alternative default locations, AND without changing my preferred driver aid displays.

[Easilyconfused]

I will try here to explain why the route is the way it is. I was involved in the final stage of testing along with a couple of other people - we got the DVDs last Friday. Some concern was expressed about the way it was done. Matt gave us the following explanation.

The route *requires* MSTSbin to work reliably. We have permission to include MSTSbin, plus we have been able to include Mike Simpsons mini-trainstore, so by setting up an entirely different route we can install it easily without requiring an end user to install MSTSbin themselves (and wonder if they already have it, whether this version is newer or older, whether it will make or break something on their system etc). This way, it's easy and whatever they have it should make no difference to it.

As far as I can see it is essentially cloning the main MSTS installation and then adding the route to it. There is no reason why you should not then add your preferred driver aids to it.

It ought to be possible to copy the route folders back into the main MSTS installation but that is clearly a decision individuals have to take. Since I also help on the UKTS support ticketing system I will keep my installation as a default one so I can be sure of the advice I am giving.

[rufuskins]

OK I will accept the situation as It has a certain logic to it. I will endeavour to sort it out to suit my own preferences.

My only other comment is that the above statement could have been included in the README. Mind you for some reason when I clicked on the README tag on the opening screen it briefly showed an HTML blank screen and then reverted to the BC1 screen.

Oh well let's hope I don't mess up my current MSTS set up.

Perhaps I want things to neatly set out on the infamous plate!

Ruf

[rufuskins]

I knew there was another query which is the same as one of the earlier ones by Tony. I note that the activities are defined as ****.OFF and that they change to ****.ACT when you "activate" it. However once you activate another the original one goes back to ****.OFF.

Can anyone say whether they all revert to ****.ACT when moved to the "normal" Train Simulator folder???

Sorry to be a proverbial pain, but ..........

Ruf

[Tonysmedley]

The Read Me which comes with the disc indicates that the route may be copied to the normal Train Simulator folder, subject to certain conditions. But it does then overwrite screens and driver aids etc. Presumably these can be reverted if you wish, and have a back up copy of MSTS.
Now here is a mystery. Both in the mini route and in the route as i copied it to my normal MSTS folder on my ”I” drive, all the activities are labelled as OFF files and appear to be invisible to Train Simulator.
I re-installed the BC1 route to my “C” drive and it copied al the batch files over from my “I” drive. Now when I run this mini route on my “C” drive one activity, and one only appears, and it will work – Dudley to Walsall -- and this is labelled as an ACT file; all the other activities are still OFF files. I have tried renaming the OFF files as ACt files but this does not work. .

In answer to Rufus's query, all the activities are OFF files in the normal Train Simulator folder. And how do you "Activate" a route? The procedure for running the mini route does not include as far as I can see any procedure for pre-selecting an activity. I do not know why the Dudley-Walsall activity is "live" in my installation - I did not select it and cannot de-select it or seect any other activity.

[rufuskins]

I have at least solved this. You need to open up the MiniRoute using MinLoader and clicking on UNSTORE ALL and this changes all of the Consist and Activity files to ***.CON and ***.ACT. Discovered this by reading the mini-loader document in the DOCS folder of the ROUTE folder BC1.

Hope this helps.

Must admit that I am annoyed that BC1 will overwrite my driver aids and appears to reset my screen size! I honestly think that that is wrong.

Ruf