TS2015 - 18 Sept 2014

[Derek B]

It will make it slightly easier then using the incredibly annoying/ buggy Via markers in my experience.

Chris

Cant say I've ever found the "go via" instruction to be any more buggy than anything else in the editor. In fact I've found adding scenario specific markers to set as "go via's" to be one of the most useful tools in the scenario writers box.

I'm not sure why it would be any easier to use either. The purpose, as I understand things, is to make an instruction, be it a "go via" or a "stop at", invisible to the player, so that a stop or a particular routing comes as a surprise to them, rather than being flagged up in advance. The instruction will still have to be scripted same as it always was, though presumably there will be a box to tick to hide it from the task list.

Derek

[BigVern]

Some new widgets (or should that be gizzards) for the route builder. However the biggest single issue appears to remain unchanged - the dreadful terrain painting system. This desperately needs an overhaul, both in terms of how the tools work (just having the texture appear in the centre of the brush rather than at a random edge would be a start) and the ability to add in new textures without having to draw up a whole custom template. Trainz Surveyor still wins hands down in this respect - easy to blend textures to give a good contrast of 2 or 3 together, the same texture can be sized for random effect or rotated (in the case of field patterns) or swirled. Most important of all, copy and paste. If as seems to be the case a longer draw distance for detailed terrain is coming, it's imperative there is a quick and easy way of painting out a good distance from the track.

Trainz will always be No.1 for me despite all its other drawbacks for this one issue alone. Even MSTS terrtex was a quicker means of getting textures on the terrain. One can only hope this aspect will get overhauled with the UE4 upgrade, maybe even linked to Google Earth so textures can be projected and mixed automatically based on the real terrain.

[hertsbob]

Also I find it especially annoying DTG have given 2months notice for 2015 to be released so all 3rd party developers are just going to have to sit there and twiddle thumbs and hope nothing breaks come September as we all know DTG won't be giving any documentation out to help 3rd party developers transist to the new version.

I've been building routes for RSC/DTG across each and every annual upgrade (aside from RailSimulator to RW) and haven't had any issues whatsoever with any of them. Having said that, it's the reason that the SE is a bit suspect in Woodhead - it didn't exist until I was over half-way through the track - and also the reason Sherman Hill has manually smoothed gradient changes (both of them!) despite the fact that it was released alongside the version of RW that supported smoothed gradient changes.

The documentation you're bemoaning not being shared with third parties just doesn't exist. It's just one of those things. No reason for a route building hiatus at all. Perish the thought! In fact, all the more reason to crack on to get everything currently on the go finished off before Unreal comes on the scene.

[DPSimulation]

The documentation you're bemoaning not being shared with third parties just doesn't exist.

Not quite all of it. Snippets are there, I've even managed to ask nicely and receive, but just not on the scale that third parties seem to want or need.

[VictoryWorks]

A bit of info from an admin on the Steam forum

We will have more information on the how the weather system works with the new sky features in TS2015 very soon. The updated system works differently to the current TS2014 one however. As it stands in TS2014 when you pick a weather setting it is applied to the whole of the route. With the new system we can have localised weather effects meaning one section of the track can be raining while another area will be dry. Keep an eye out for more information in the coming weeks.

That seems pretty exciting, being able to choose where (and therefore when) the weather occurs in a scenario.

[malkymackay]

Now I like the sound of that. The weather system has been pretty much the same since Rail Simulator days, with the exception of scripted weather extensions.

[rfletcher72]

Me too. I have had some limited success with getting localised weather through the existing blueprints, but this sounds much more like it ,

[cjbarnes5294]

http://www.engine-driver.com/article/sh ... oved-skies

That looks pretty good to me, and I can certainly see the advantages of the new system in mountainous regions - imagine Albula with those cloud shadows, or Ben's CKPR in the Lake District with those rain clouds colliding with the peaks. It will be interesting to know if the new system has an adverse effect on game performance though, as Derek pointed out earlier in the thread. Hopefully it won't, or it will at least be minimal, because I think it's going to be a great addition in the visual sector.

Discuss.

Chris

[Rockdoc2174]

If I read the article properly, it won't be automatically applied to existing routes. I read it as saying that only the three routes coming with TS015 will have this and all other routes will retain the skydome system.

Keith

[cjbarnes5294]

That's probably a good thing, as it will leave route builders the choice of traditional skydomes or new tech skies, instead of a brute-force replacement that not everybody will want. I suspect it won't be too difficult to change routes from skydomes to 3D skies, or at least I hope it won't.

Chris