't Hart Van Nederland V2 - And Other Great Freeware Routes

And you're not using the beta branch, which has known problems with signaling scripts, also with Schuster's, which are compulsory for German routes?

What is the working contact address for Dutch Classics? Their Support pages do not list any updates while there must be since the TSC core has changed since 2016.

 

Of course I am not using the Beta Branch. I tested it, it has game breaking issues, so I reported the bugs and removed it. I've rolled back to the only good version which is v75.8a (TSC "2023") before they broke light flares and turntables..

Contact DutchClassics at informatie_at_dutch-classics_dot_com (obscured to prevent spambots from picking it up which is probably the reason it's hard to contact some 3rd parties - never post email addresses unobscured.)

 

I have the NS 1200 & 1300 locos but when I tried placing them on the track in the current version of TSC it just crashed the game.
They still work in v72.3 ok. The NS 1300 has a faulty speedo showing the wrong speed compared with the HUD.

I have not seen any scripts mentioned for the locos.

 

They work for me Peter. About the speedo, I haven't checked.




(The DR 120 "Taigatrommel" in the back is freeware from rail-sim.de, the chimney is because Tutorial Scenario Markers do not have a Geo by design, and I still have my chimney checker on for new routes, which helped me find out I didn't have Opa Flodder installed )
https://rail-sim.de/forum/filebase/entry/3897-mk72-rlb-team-dr-v200-beta-2/

 

interesting to notice the different approach between creators regarding the headlights.

Some have beam casting emitters in every headlight, others only a general emitter casting a soft glow on the track in front of the locomotive in addition to a 'glowing lightbulb' texture in the headlight fixture.
with or without a halo, or those often annoying flares, since the developer usually only adds one, instead of the number of bright headlights.

Probably depending on prototype practice where headlights function more or less as markers, not requiring to illuminate the track tens or even hundreds of meters in front.

Do we have reflective trackside signs in TSC, like in Run8?

 

I'm going to assume it doesn't. You can check other depots for the needed files; here is Rascal/Cottonwood for a start. https://steamdb.info/depot/24028/

To check another depot, visit the DLC page and copy the DLC ID to replace "24028" with above. For example, Ohio Steel 2, if you visit it, shows "65243" in the URL in that spot.

 

It needs Allaboard\Trackplans, which is part of either R&C or Colton. Note that RC puts additional vegetation in 3DTrains folder, these are probably being used too.

Ohio Steel is not required in any case.

 

Correct, Ohio Steel 2 is not needed. It was simply used as an example of one I had checked to show how to check Steam depots.

 

Coffee and Cigarettes

Route: 't Olielijntje -Scenario: 03.08 Laatste dieseldag van Emmen naar Zwolle - Stock: MyRailDreams NS Plan U



Great vegetation assets and texturing on that route, a pleasure to the eye. If you look closely, it's a very efficient and cleverly used mix of 2D and 3D veg assets. This route runs super smoothly with max settings on 75 FPS (HD) here.

 

What happened to the De IJssellijn route?

 

It is gone. Nobody knows why.

 

Finally catalogged all of the non-fictional NL Routes/Scenarios. Here is how many times each of the ChrisTrains are used

V-IRM 65
SLT 58
GTW 47
FLIRT 47
ICM 38
BR186 33
SGM 29
Mat64 22
SNG 19
ICNG 18
DDZ 17
6400 14
DM90 12
DD-AR 10

I will be catalogging the scenarios available to each loco on my web site imminently

 

This requires further explanation. Are you saying that this is the number of times the locomotive in question appears in any scenario included with any of the Dutch routes available from SimTogether?

It may be worth adding the Retro Canvas Route to this. ChrisTrains locos are used in those scenarios, as well. Fictional 35 km route. There is a slightly longer one out somewhere now, as well, for some 50 km.

 

I have been cataloging all of my DLC associated with real world maps which I have also been creating. I map out each scenario as I complete it on Google Earth. Just something I enjoy. The count is per scenario where the user drives that train (so not including AI controlled trains). I typically only catalog real world routes where I can map out in Google Earth. There are quite a few routes where some of the coordinates used don’t line up with real world. I wanted to get a feel for value add for purchasing the Christrain product since they are loose rolling stock not assigned to any Route. It would appear that the V-IRM loco has more scenarios where you are the driver. For clarity some of these downloads come from Dutchsim as well.
Respectfully

 

What routes have you analyzed in coming up with these totals? I know you may be looking at scenario downloads as well as scenarios that come with the routes, but just want to get an idea what the data set is for this comparison.

 

Here is SNG as an example:
https://sites.google.com/view/trainsimulatorcontent/europe-trains/sng

 

VIRM posted as well
https://sites.google.com/view/trainsimulatorcontent/europe-trains/virm

 

Ah, so you list the route or scenario pack that the scenario in question comes from and list them that way.

I have been poking around and it doesn't seem the Retro Canvas Route is available any longer. So I'm going to presume you have no intention to count those. It's in my externalk drive already, so thank goodness for that. I believe the V-IRM made an appearance there, as well.

 

I have the Retro Canvas. It can be bought at SimTogether.nl
https://simtogether.com/store/product/82-retro-canvas-route-nl/ for E24.95 or just get starter pack with it included for E39.95.

Out of interest the V100 loco has a CAT Engine in it. I work in the foundry where this block was poured (3508).

 

I think my purchase location for it is no longer available. I have yet to play with it, so I better not lose it as I might not be able to reclaim it from a different site. LOL

Also, the route cannot be purchased at that link. It's out of stock. Which I can't understand being a digital product. Maybe they just stopped selling it?

What is the second fictional route that someone came up with? The 50 km one? (EDIT: Appears to be the Grenzlandbahn.)

 

There is a freeware Dutch test route from Wilbur Graphics - https://www.wilburgraphics.com/en/dlc_route_setr.html

 

From information from the Dutch Sims Forum it was on on this page http://treinpunt.treinenwereld.eu/RW/ but now seems to have been removed

 

Freeware route withdrawals usually happen due to one or more of the following reasons:

1. A commercial product is planned (in the case of ATS, having workshop routes withdrawn to sell them, I happen to still have the GEML Norwich extension)
2. Internal quarrels between devs about assets used, or using modified assets of another dev that hasn't given his OK
3. Touchy developers not handling criticism well (ever so often in the german freeware Loksim3D ("that's it I'm taking down all my stuff now")

 

A pity since IJssellijn it is sort of a secondary main line with slightly more relaxed schedules where older rolling stock usually was assigned to earn it's final keep.

It also fills a gap between the north and middle of the Netherlands on the eastern side of the country.

There are still some significant gaps to fill in most other route projects, so most devs still have a goal to work for.

Slowly collecting all the routes and their requirements.

 

My chimney check shows zero milk bottles on all routes now . (I had to repair something on a route, which was showing an asset I had as missing. Turned out in the Scenery tile, the asset xml was given but Provider/Product fields were empty, which was quickly recoverable, after a while you just know where each asset is from. This can be the result of an editor crash during development. I went the extra mile - you certainly won't notice that milk bottle but the chimney reveals everything.)

 

From what was said on the Dutch Sims Forum by Rob Jansen - hopefully he does not mind me quoting him here
"This version of the route only existed on TreinPunt itself and explicitly did not want to transfer it to SimTogether or other sites.
The creator (nljur at the time) has also not been active in the Dutch TrainSim Community for a long time unfortunately.

This route has also not been available since the old Treinpunt went offline, if you still have it yourself, take good care of it since there is no official download available anymore."

 

For those searching, wondering, admiring the modeled Nederlands network, here is a map with the available routes:
https://www.dutchsims.nl/ts-map-nl
there is a Google Translate button in the gray bar above the map to get the information in English or another language of choice.
Notable sections still missing:
Amsterdam CS/Muiderpoort/Amstel/Zuid to Breukelen/Utrecht CS
Den Haag HS/CS via Delft, Schiedam to Rotterdam CS
Gouda - Den Haag CS/Rotterdam CS
the whole of Rotterdam's extensive harbour network
Zwolle - Leeuwarden
Nijmegen - Oss - 's Hertogenbosch - Tilburg - Breda
Eindhoven - Sittard
some secondary lines:
Dordrecht - Geldermalsen - Tiel - Elst
Nijmegen - Venlo - Roermond

otherwise it seems the network is very well covered and most routes are of a high standard and still constantly improved
I am most impressed by the overall quality of both trains and routes

 

Enough of triaging assets... more space is needed.



Who would have thought fifteen years ago...

 

2TB is enough still?

 

When are you going to get Australia done Mr 21c?

 

I did run into a small problem with assets using foreign letters in their paths.
Even though the asset is present in its folder, it is reported missing and a tall pink chimney stands in its place.

apparently the à character from the French alphabet gets interpreted differently by TSC and TS_Tools?
how to solve this problem?

 

Oh. This shouldn't happen. Being an advocate for 7-bit ASCII characters in filenames only, I have not had issues with french characters though (you just cannot pack them into an .ap).

Or the packer used has changed the filenames? Archive was packed on MacOS?

Try these, they are working on my end (link expires after 3 days). 7zip HIGHLY recommended. Clear cache

https://workupload.com/file/4TevFHJTmUH

 

Are you on standard NTFS filesystems? Have you checked my link to these assets?

Serz uses UTF-8, that standard was set by Kuju. If you edit an xml in ISO or Windows-1252 you might get this which still doesn't explain the filename conversion error. I never edit files with TSTools - always using Notepad++.

You may have downloaded a corrupt version of these files.

 

Note - there may also be an issue in the tile xml - place the assets on a quickly made new route to see if they load. Note some routes have "ghosts" left that will show a milk bottle but aren't supposed to be there - in that case only the asset path is left in the tile but no Provider/Product - if I know the route and tile I can check. (That's why I recommend always taking meaningful screenshots from the editor)

Which route does this happen on (+ location xx,yy)?

I've placed the assets on a route.

 

Your link's contents shows the same filenames as in my Assets folder.
It is some NLS interpretation on my PC as when I try to substitute the asset in the tile with the one in the folder it shows:

which is still different from the filename, which is shown correctly with a 'à' in Explorer, since I can type the character using the US International keyboard.
I remember there is a command line or system variable that shows the system locale, user locale and such, which influence the display of non Latin characters since I can type the a accent grave (à) without problems.

edit: After the substitution using TS_Tools the a accent grave is maimed even more.
Then I've edited the tile in TS_Tools with the correct character and the tile's xml got completely destroyed.
After this, I've deserialised the tile, edited the .xml in Notepad++ and serialised it again. TS_Tools still shows a faulty character, but dropping the .bin file on ordinary Notepad shows the correct à.
Loading the route into the TSC editor now shows no change, TSC still interpret the à as another character I cannot even type.

However, this particular PC went through some 'identity changes' so perhaps there lies the root of the problem as some settings got mixed up?

 

Try à in the .xml markup

https://www.princexml.com/doc/characters/

 

I don't think editing a tile is the real problem. There is something wrong with the language settings on this particular PC, since the accented characters do not pose Spikee a problem. But are somehow interpreted as belonging to a different character set on this PC's particular programs like TSC and TS_Tools, which were never really meant for internationalisation.

 

It might not be the root cause of the problem, but what have you to lose by trying?

 

I now have my database updated with all of these maps and scenarios:
https://sites.google.com/view/trainsimulatorcontent/europe-routes

Zoom in, click on the route and the URL/link will show. Click on the link for more details

Enjoy!

 

It turns out I cannot even place those Engins de chantier in any route. The asset just won't display.
Since serz.exe is used to deserialise/serialise any .bin file, whether it is a route tile or asset, the problem somehow seems to be with TSC and its components?

Is serz.exe self contained or does it use another .dll for its workings?

 

I think this is a specialised issue on your end and might attract more knowledgeable folks if you make it a separate Technical Reports thread. Serz.exe does use some MS dlls as well as zlibwapi.dll. It is used when editing, but not when playing as TS reads the .bin files (it would be damn slow if it had to parse xml at runtime.)

My game is full of assets with foreign characters in their filenames, without any problems. Asking again, is your drive formatted with NTFS?

 

Yes, it is formatted NTFS, the system locale is now set back to English (United States) nls #409.
Perhaps a re-install is due since the bulldozers, diggers, bobcats and shovels in the Engins de chantier pack display OK on my older TSC computer.

Spikee, do you know whether Railworks stores any language and/or transliteration settings somewhere for a final check before a TSC re-install?

 

Language selection is stored in the appmanifest only and can be changed anytime using Steam only (which does not change anything in the game files, other than recompiling the SDBCache.bin using the local "DisplayNames")

TS is not using the Registry apart from giving its installation path for other installers, nor does it use AppData or Documents. It's very much self contained.

 

Got all of the NL downloaded. Now working on the Belgium route

 

Once you enter french territory, it's getting complicated. They don't document their requirements that well. The dutch community is outstanding in that respect.

I have managed to find everything needed for the large LGV Nord Pas de Calais from Paris to Calais, but that route suffers from bad track laying with sudden gradient changes, missing easements and superelevation. Almost unplayable unless you edit the vehicle's cabcams to be rigid non-swaying. It's as horrible as Ruhr-Sieg Line, but looks great though.

My RW installation takes up 1.3 TB now.

 

Thanks already, Spikee. I've gathered TSC doesn't store codepages etc anywhere, since the only place besides .ini files in the TSC directory it could possibly use is PlayerProfiles.bin , which has no such specific information.

I've let Steam install a fresh copy of a minimal TSC install on another drive.
It has the same symptoms of it being impossible to put down such an asset, despite the files and their contents having the proper names in Explorer and when manually deserialised.

I don't seem to have any other Steam game which uses French or other foreign characters to check because I still think it is a codepage issue.

I'll buy me one of those PCIe-M2 adapters and a new 2TB SSD to be able to install parallel a fresh Windows 11, Steam and minimal TSC in this particular PC.
And proceed from there to restore the complete Europe, UK, USA and other stuff.

 

Make a minimal installation, copy the "Dominique" assets, create a new route based on Academy template and place the assets.

 

The Belgian route and 3 scenario packs look to be well put together. Just requires purchasing more rolling stock! Quite a large route though.

 

Don't know if these help




Some of the scenarios on LDSO just end as you are driving instead of stopping at a station or a signal.
One even finishes part the way down a siding as you enter the station

https://www.beluxtrains.net/trainsim/