Check your Assets folder \RailWorks\Assets\UnionWorkshop\GE_East_Asia_Scenery_Pack\ Do you have the following two aps? GE_East_Asia_Scenery_PackAssets.ap GEEastAsiaSceneryPackAssets.ap Then you can safely delete the second one. I contacted UnionWorkshop about this and they said only the first one is official. The second one must have been distributed earlier by DTG and has the same files only some textures have different sizes. You do not need it! I deleted this and since then the japanese routes work fine with -fastload.
This took some research. See here. I am certain this is my source of the same file as it's installed with the Story of Forest Rail DLC. It also comes with Sakurai and Hidaka, which I do not own yet. I do not have GE_East_Asia_Scenery_PackAssets.ap and am interested in knowing what that installs with. For anyone who has it, check the date of the file as it installs with the date based on when you purchased it. This may lead us to the information about which package it's part of and I can then figure out what other packages it's part of for anyone having fastload issues. In my case, I found the folder dated January 5, 2021, and GEEastAsiaSceneryPackAssets has the same date. I also want to know if the contents match and one could just rename the file as applicable. FYI, this is what's hidden inside the one I have:
I just checked. The one with underscores installed with the Tadami Line! And as T9 from UnionWorkshop wrote to me this is the official pack. The contents are the same just some difference in some texture files.
Just checked again, like I said there is small difference in the CityBlocks textures and additional vegetation in the newer .ap. Well for me it is fixed. As having both packs produced a zero-byte blueprints.pak which leads to the crash, and removing the old one fixed that I'd be interested Cyclone: Does your TS create a valid blueprints file?
That was T9's (UnionWorkshop) reply to me: Hi, Thank you very much for your support and valuable feedback! As of the dependancy asset pack, we only have GE_East_Asia_Scenery_Pack here and not sure why there are two. I suggest you remove another one and see if any assets missing in the route, also, I will write to DTG to ask them why there are two same pack with different name and if they have any solution. Have a nice weekend! Regards, T9
Can you give me their contact info? I want to contact them regarding the fact that the only one I have is the "unofficial" one. I can give them the SteamDB links and this could change the asset layout on Steam if there is an error.
If your game is not crashing with those assets (which were shipped with Forest Rail) then everything is ok for you. Get Tadami and you'll have the new pack, but you have to delete the old one yourself. I think the problem is just that they did not overwrite the old pack, and that was probably just a naming mistake, which just surfaced with the introduction of -fastload and is probably no issue for people not having Forest Rail, or people having only newer stuff and not Forest Rail. That's why not everybody is concerned and the Steam-side fix is not easy, as Steam would constantly have to check if you have both packs just to delete the older one. That means they cannot either install or remove something without veryfing. (With 400GB Railworks install on HDD veryfing takes hours...) Contact them here if you wish: unionworkshop_at_outlook.com
Btw perhaps it has already been fixed? Try unticking ForestRail DLC to reinstall again. Maybe you'll get the updated asset pack.
I checked SteamDB yesterday. The “non-official” pack is still there. So they would have to change the package. I wonder if they would have to put a null file at that location. The failed fast load may be because it tries combing through both AP files. Remember that Sakurai and Hidaka have it, too.
I sent an e-mail to Union Workshop with the research and may pass this directly to someone within DTG since I understand, from your message, that they were already contacted. The answer is that the file you were told to delete is used by the Wakayama & Sakurai Lines. Don't have that? It's also used by the Hidaka Line. Missing that too? Look for Story of Forest Rail. All three include the non-underscored version, and I presume reference that file for their content. Therefore, by deleting that file, you just borked those three routes. I recommend, if you have not emptied your Recycle Bin, to restore the file to be able to later use those routes and just deal with the slow loading. I have given the inormation to Union Workshop to advise them to stop telling people to delete what actually is an official file included with three of their routes. The only option they have is to standardize the files, and by my logic, they need to change the Tadami Line to the location used by the other three. You can also uninstall and reinstall any of those routes to reacquire the non-underscored edition. I feel they can merge the contents, if there is anything unique to the Tadami Line, then they'd have to repoint the asset links to that file and nullify the one currently included. They would have to spend time testing that everything still works before the update is published. By the way, the asset APs are different sizes, so there are differences in the packages. It's about a 4.65 MB difference, but it's there.
Just an FYI in case anyone missed the patch notes, fastload is now integrated into the core so if you need to disable it you will need to ADD -DisableFastload (case sensitive) to your start up parameters whether that's via the Steam options or the properties of your desktop shortcut depending on what method you use to launch the game.
I saw that and forgot to note it myself. Important information for anyone who doesn't want to use it, cheers for posting it.
Hi Cyclone. Just to clear things up. TS doesn't reference a specific .ap name. Just to the contents. And GE_East_Asia_Scenerey_AssetPack.ap contains everything for ALL UWS routes. I checked that. So it IS safe to delete GEEastAsiaSceneryAssetPack.ap if you have both. You don't need to disable fastload. And yes combining the two packs in memory is what creates 0-byte blueprints.pak and leads to the crash.
Then DTG needs to be aware of this issue. But again, I don't know what the differences in the contents are, and if someone sent me the AP to check it out...well, it's not the route, so I wonder if this would be OK as it's sort of a grey area in this circumstance (it's useless without the route, so I'm not really gaining anything as I have most of the files already). Even so, not going to ask for that. Can you compare the files and see if there are any size differences in files, any unique files, etc.? Screenshots of the applicable information would be useful.
DTG is the publisher. As the publisher, they have two different versions of the asset pack in the store. This is against what Union Workshop intended, so as the publisher, DTG needs to resolve this to have only the one official version of the pack. UW themselves contacted DTG about this after it was raised with them. According to a screenshot I got from UW, there is a RailVehicles folder and a blueprint file in the "official" version that are not in the "non-official" one, and the other folders are the same, suggesting that the files are identical. Combing through the files would be a way to eventually combine them into one set, assuming any files are different and actually required by the other three routes. If all files in the stub version are identical, the file should be removed and replaced with the other one, and updated. I don't think having an extra rail vehicle in there will be a big deal.
As I posted before they are both official. It's just that it was updated for a later route e.g. Tadami and the gave the .ap a different name with the underscores. So normally the old one should have been overwritten. If you have only one of those you're fine. You have all assets for the routes you bought. If you buy Tadami you'll get the updated pack. (That's when I got it - may be in Wakayama too, dunno). THEN and only then you have to delete the old one manually if DTG doesn't do it for you. No big deal. You do not even have to DELETE it. Name it GEEastAsiaSceneryAssetPack.ap.OBSOLETE or something like that ;-) The differences in detail: New files in \Scenery\Vegetation: cabbage.bin cabbage.GeoPcDx cabbage.TgPcDx cabbage_wi.TgPcDx SakuraLevelslow.ban Files modified: \Buildings\CityBlocks nearly all files modified. The rest is the same. I took two pictures of the modified assets. Above the new set, below the old one (without cabbage field). I see they changed the ground texture in the big cityblock in the middle. The rest may be subtle changes.
I see. The CityBlocks gardens now use the ground texture instead of their own predefined. Makes sense. Again I say everything is ok as long as you only have ONE .ap inside the Asset folder. Keeping both leads to failed blueprint compiling and crash and makes no sense anyway. Cheers!
And it seems you are confusing some asset packs. There is no rail vehicles inside the GE_East_Asia_Scenery_AssetPack.ap. In neither one. They are in the ForestRail, TadamiLine, etc - in the route specific asset folders! The East Asia Scenery is generally used in all of their routes. So. Easy fix. Should have been a seperate thread... And I don't think DTG will do something because it is third party stuff. (Btw yes I purchased everything UWS related from Steam and no other vendor.) And furthermore I experienced no problems at all using fastload on any other route. Seems that this was the only coincidence that triggered a crash. Over and out.
I see it was a RailNetwork folder. My mistake on the name, but still a unique folder not in the other version of the assets. As the above shot comes from UW, I cannot see inside of it. But given it's not on the other routes, it seems specific to Tadami and may be utilized in later projects as well.
A package with these contents has not been distributed by DTG/Steam to my knowledge. And I think it makes no sense chasing ghosts as there's obviously no problem with any of the routes like missing assets. Looking again, the picture you uploaded is not the contents of an .ap file, as the blueprints.pak is always outside the .ap! So this is the developers' folder not the distributed package.
I found the origin. GEEastAsiaSceneryAssetPack.ap was delivered with Wakayama Line (not Forest Rail). GE_East_Asia_Scenery_AssetPack.ap came with Tadami Line. So if you have both these routes they will crash with -fastload unless you delete the old .ap. I will forward this to DTG.
It comes with Hidaka and Forest Rail. You're saying Sakurai came first? This would make logical sense if so as the source. https://steamdb.info/sub/167277/apps/ https://steamdb.info/sub/37774/apps/ BTW, Forest Rail is the earliest product based on the sub of 37774 compared to 167277 or 69900. So Forest Rail is the origin.
Yes. But it was also in Wakayama, which I had first and that's when it was installed on my system. Well, the rest is up to the publisher/developer. And you saw I proved that no route is borked when removing the old .ap. You have those small updates to the buildings and some new assets. If you were to unpack both which would result in overwriting older files you'd get the same result as just having the new pack. And now for something completely different.
I removed the file GEEastAsiaSceneryAssetPack.ap and made a copy on my desktop but now all of my Japanese routes crash. Should this file be reinstated in Assets/Union Workshop.
...strange. That is the Union Workshop recommended fix. So something is amiss here. Maybe put all of the files from the Underscored version into the folders, and see if that helps?
I have restored all files Unticked all routes and reinstalled removed -fastload, cleared cache and verified files and still all routes crash.
Hmm. We might be getting to the point where you may want to uninstall all Union Workshop content completely, delete the UW folder, then fresh install UW content. Don't forget to cover both the Assets and Content sides of this, and back up any scenarios that are left over if you added any from the Workshop or elsewhere. You can then install one route at a time and see if it works, then install the next, and so on.
Please update on the progress and where any problems start to occur. I have a feeling adding Tadami while others are installed, leaving two asset packs, is going to cause an issue. But let's think positively.
Thank you so much Cyclone, for your suggestions, I renamed UW as UW1 and reinstalled all four of my Japanese routes, namely Hidaka, Shanghai Maglev, Tadami and Wakayamal. I am delighted to inform you that they all work again with -fastload showing. GE_East_Asia_Scenery_Pack is the only other Folder within Union Workshop now showing. In my original folder there are other folders. Japan_Railway_infrastructure. Should I transfer this over or delete it? Also GuiGuangHSR is in there too. I unticked and reinstalled and this now shows in the main folder Any further suggestions as to the content of this folder would be useful. Thank you.
The scenery pack issue was the main one. I'm not sure if you said you got rid of the duplicate AP file or not, but we already got to the main objective - that it works - so we don't need to follow that step. Can you tell me more about this Japan_Railway_Infrastructure so I can try to find it?
Inside the Japan_Railway_Infrastructure folder opens to a folder RailNetwork which then opens to Signals folder which leads to Textures folder and over 90 files and in the Textures folder there are over 50 files. Also I still have the GEEastAsiaSceneryPackAssets file in a separate folder not deleted!
Did you buy or download anything directly from a third party? I wonder if that folder is from there. It's also possible it's one of the other two Union Workshop routes that doesn't use the scenery AP files.
The only Japanese routes I have bought have been from Union Workshop via Steam. I have now transferred this folder to the original Union Workshop folder. I do buy routes from Just Trains, RSSLO and Stream Sounds Supreme. The only other Union Workshop route I have is the Chinese High Speed. I have now also deleted the folder GEEastAsiaSceneryPackAssets to my recycle bin. Is there any reason I should keep it? If so where?
I just wanted to note the recent update. In case anyone didn't read announcements, a fix for the Tadami Line is what is discussed. Since I have the update but don't own Tadami Line, I have checked the relevant Depot information at SteamDB and can report the following: The update applies to all four Union Workshop routes previously discussed in this thread. That means Story of Forest Rail, Sakurai, and Hidaka also get the updated underscores file. Further, Tadami now has the scenery stub from the other three as part of the install for the route, so that there is a single unified file for all four. Previously, Tadami did not include the scenery stub. So this is now rectified for all four routes and your workaround is no longer necessary.
I've already marked that as solved/DTG updated. The old pack was updated (with many temporary files left in, so they really went through all the assets. Sometimes raising a ticket works mate.
Indeed it does! I also DMed Jamie with the mechanics of what I already knew about this. Hopefully further details get added regarding the updates to the other three routes (it was the scenery file and the organization aspect of the Tadami Line updated, nothing really changed in Tadami Line itself).
But remember this is a third party route and I provided Union Workshop with the facts... hope DTG continue to fix own their stuff too.