Huge Tsc Update Due 27/4/23

After some further testing, I can say that there is a significant improvement in performance, fps is around 50 as opposed to 30 before.
I just did a "flyby" of a route I am building and there is a dramatic improvement in loading of tiles.

none of the DLC's I have are causing the crash that others are experiencing, but maybe this is because I only recently started using TSC so don't have any older content with the old .png images.
I still have the occasional hang at launch, the first "home" menu will freeze and needs to be crashed out to restart the game (no different than before).

 

Lets remember the DX12 "update" is a EXPEREMENTAL launch so expect issues when using it. Which people here will forget and start moaning as usual.

 

DTG JD what can we expect from DX12 in general for the game? Did you noticed any improvement?

 

That is always the case but I don't believe it's so unstable that it is not usable. It needs to be testing so there need a version thats Running.

 

Great to hear JD and congrats to the team for taking a old piece of software and being able to achieve what they have done thusfar thank you all.

 

yes and the keyword in your post TESTING is what people will forgot and then get issues and go running complaining it is broek and not working and how DTG are making the sim worse.

 

Suggestion:

Keep this thread clean please, no rants, just technical reports. You're obfuscating this thread with stuff that does not help the devs, making it hard to find useful posts.

As I see it, the issues are now known and pinned down.

- Menu: image.png compatibility (standard: 256x144 or 512x288 for 4K, non-interlaced png)
- lua processing .dll

I am convinced the next update is just around the corner - relax please.

 

If it was still in beta test, no one would plead right?
Outside, it's on the available game that they do their test, so yes ... expect other complaints

For my part it is already settled in advance, no maj dx12.
I wouldn't be a beta tester.

 

Suggestion:

Keep this thread clean please, no rants, just technical reports. You're obfuscating this thread with stuff that does not help the devs, making it hard to find useful posts.

As I see it, the issues are now known and pinned down.

- Menu: RouteInformation\image.png compatibility (standard: 256x144 or 512x288 for 4K, non-interlaced png - I have some 3rd party routes which just supplied a full HD png as a thumbnail)
- lua processing .dll

I am convinced the next update is just around the corner - relax please.

 

Please list the content of the folder:

Assets\UnionWorkshop\GE_East_Asia_Scenery_Pack\

 

The core seems to be okay for me, however, this update has had a weird impact on a lot of LUA scripts from various providers. I expect many devs will be re-working their LUA scripts over the next week. I know it shouldn't have had this impact, but, for whatever reason, it has.

e.g. The follow now behaves unexpectedly on the MPV:-


- DSD Isolation on rear cab panel is inoperable
- DRA Isolation on rear cab panel is inoperable
- Auto operator has stopped working correctly
- PBC seems to have issues releasing brakes fully (2% remain on)
- Wheelslip seems to be much more pronounced

Rest assured I'll work through these items as quick as I can.

 

After more tests on OOM providing routes still not a single problem. (i must be in the 5% lucky then ).
Im really fully satisfied and hope bugs that affect some users will get resolved.
As for not having a save of my folder i rapidly reinstalled AP things, i dont thing i miss anything now.
Just Trains worked straight of the box by the way so no need to reinstall for me.

In two words : thanks DTG !
Stability confirmed. Havent noticed any performance change as expected. Will try the DX12 part this evening.

 

What happens if you use the plain, uncompiled .lua scripts on your MPV? Just a guess that's its the format it is compiled to .out, but I think the .dll will be updated soon to work again.

Testing this would immediately show the cause and save from rewriting the scripts (without knowing what to change...)

 

I would not touch any LUA script yet. Just wait. The core LUA implementation will not change (i guess DTG has mentioned it somewhere). Scripts have to work as before or it will produce a huge mess for the existing content. There is way to much out of it to now change all the scripts. No developer, with a larger catalogue of content, is able to handle that.

 

Lucky ...
I envy you, I will have dreamed of having a simple and efficient shift....

 

But if the problem came from that what could we do?
Will things be broken forever?

 

This is how it is!

 

No, it will get sorted or rolled back

DTG perhaps a bit too eager to release this update?
It might have worked on their staff's PC's using only a small number of stock DLC but what about their QA 'experts'?

Neither Msrs Rennie, Gotz, JT, AP, got a pre-release testing opportunity? Everything was strictly kept in house?

 

I'll check that out later torfmeister, thanks for the suggestion. If I can leave everything as is, that would be the ideal.

 

Does look like the update is unavailable, I just tried and it was a tiny 45mb install, hopefully the patched update will be out pretty soon. I have a back up from a couple of months back that I can fall back on just in case. Oh and I hold my hands up for being completely wrong with my understanding of said update (Back on page 1) Looking forward to seeing what DX12 will bring.

 

Updated. Editor is fine. Seems smoother in loading stuff. Page two inaccesible bug in QD AI spawnpoint is still there sadly.

Playing: as others have reported as soon as TS tries to load a page with thumbnails, it freezes. But i knew i would probably encounter that.

So it’ll be a weekend of gigs and working on our next album. And mowing the lawn….

 

Should I expect a graphics miracle from DX12?

AFAIK, a simulation/game's artificial world's display is dependent on a whole chain, shapefile, texture, renderers, LOD culling, shaders, lighting (i.e. lattitude, longitude, time-of-day, season), graphics drivers and finally your display's refresh rate and calibration?

 

Good experience here , tried a scenario from london bridge on south london network , does seem smoother . better performance

 

It is. It has to validate the game to ensure it is legally owned by checking your Steam library.

 

Not unless you can choose what type of compression it uses. I forget what type was causing the issue now, but someone posted about it in either this thread, or the one in Technical Reports, and they named it. Sorry... in a bit of a rush this lunchtime otherwise I'd track it down for you. Do you have another graphics program you can try saving out from? Are there any options available when you export it? Can you use a save as option instead of export? Sorry, but can't be of much more help right now.
[edit] I just saw this.... https://dovetailgames.freshdesk.com...99-how-to-fix-the-tsc-menu-crash-after-update

 

I had no intention of moaning LOL. I read the DTG releases

 

So why .....

It may well just be that one route. If you are having no other problems I would refrain from spreading doom and gloom just yet.

 

It may sound nitpicky but you've set Steam offline, not TSC. (From an updates perspective, that's enough.)
Could be a feature by TSC to try and respect Steam offline status.
It just loads a couple pictures from a web service.

 

Transparency, and swift feedback. I applaud you for this.

 

The only thing I have noticed is the tile stutter beeing a bit less. No increased FPS or shorter loading times on my side. I worked on my route last night and I was messing around alot with lofts. Usually the game would dump 3-4 on me, when messing about with ofts. Yesterday only once after like 4 hours. So that may have also improved a little.

 

Disappointed Page two QD hasnt worked - still hopeful Huddersfield QD issues have been fixed! Will find out when I install the update.

Thanks for the Communication DTG… Seems to off quieten down a little bit the last few hours in this thread!

Hopefully a sign that nobody is finding more significant issues… either that… or a lot of lawns are being cut now!

 

Strange yours is broken but others are not having problems

You raise a ticket and the normal place
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/reporting-a-technical-issue.31193/

 

Decided to edit a Freeware route which had a missing Signal.
In to Build > Pick Route, find location, place Signal then Save.
4 mins later it has saved the route

Might be normal for you - when I previously edited the same route it saved in less than 2 mins.

 

I want to join the chorus of delighted users who have found the update - though not perfect - to have improved performance and provided a stutter-free and fast-loading game engine. But most of all I'd like to thank the developers at DTG - Steve, Jamie, and probably many others - who have taken this old engine and given it new life. As can be seen by the comments on this forum and many others, TSC has a passionate audience that loves this game and will support it for years to come. I've been on board since my original EA discs were purchased at a big box computer store (remember them?) and have tons of DLC. The developers' hard work and commitment to their craft have given me well over a 1000 hours of pleasure. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!

 

But editing a route isn't a single thing. Signals and track edits will require to a different and considerably larger file (tracks.bin) than if you placed a wall, made terrain changes.

 

Everything went well for me with the upgrade. My favourite route failed to load freezing on the menu page. Having read the other reports of freezes and fixes related to image.png files, I converted the image.png in question to uncompressed and that one problem is now resolved. Looking forward to trying the DX12 beta.

 

You made a change to track (inc signals or anything attached to the track) - when you save track changes it basically re-writes the entire tracks.bin file, so the more the track the longer a route will save. Where as the other save you probably only touched scenery - so didn't take long to save.

 

Before the update I added two signals on a short route.
After the update I added one signal in a different place on the same route.
But it took twice as long to save

I was unsure why hence my comment.

 

Like others I'm having problems with certain parts of the game.

I can use the Editor to change something on a route and I can edit a Scenario then play it.
But if I choose the Drive menu and then an option it crashes on the Route Selection part.

I believe some comment was made about the route Picture Files the game uses and some errors in them.

Peter

 

I guess it is better to wait and install the game and wait until the probelms have been solved as I see many have problems after the update.

How is it working with third party routes and locos after the update?

 

Fingers crossed they get something sorted. Vanilla install after validation and still hangs on opening screen Synchronising Workshop - I do not have any Workshop Subscriptions

OK re tried on vanilla and left it synchronising for an hour and IT LOADED finally.

So trying now with one of my Route sets (I have a lot of routes so split them into separate Route folders as TS always used to crash with too many routes/scenarios) and so far have loaded 2 or 3 UK scenarios ok - so major progress

 

How did you do that please?

 

I've seen other users say that all they did was to open the file in paint and save it again, overwriting the original with a newer compression format. save as and replacing the original.

Any editor can be used just avoid saving with "Adam7 interlacing" compression, that's the version that is breaking the game.

 

Hi,

I did the following (the paths might not be quite right because I'm not at my PC):
- took a note of all of the routes this was happening on (9 per page)
- for each route, used loco swap to find the route GUID
- move into the railworks-dir/content/routes/GUID for the route
-if not existing, extract the RouteInformation directory from the .ap file
- change directory to the RouteInformation directory
- open the image.png in paint.net
- rotate vertically then save (doesn't matter what you do as long as it forces a save)
- rotate vertically again (to set back to the original way) then save
- rinse and repeat for the nine routes
- try again in TSC

Alternatively, DTG have published instructions to unpack the .ap, remove the RouteInformation directory then delete the .ap file.

I'm not quite following their instructions because I couldn't be bothered with a one at a time process so I just did all nine to be sure. As such, I've not noted down all the routes I had problems with because I don't exactly know. Anecdotally it impacts: south London network, South Wales coastal (the new one), test Trak, at least one route starting with M, and another career one near the end of the alphabet.

G

 

here we go

 

Okay this update useless... Performance is the same or more worse... I have not the ilusion this game will ever come on a decent quality. I have a realy good pc with a high standard GPU but in the most situations i have 20/25 fps with higher settings....
I have the idea this is more code in the backgroud with no clue whats better in this build

 

Thanks for that info.
I was looking thru the Routes/Content folder for image.png files and I noticed a number were oversized.

I will work my way thru them.

Peter

 

Have you checked to make sure TSC isn't using an on-board graphics chip instead of your GPU?