[NickonWheels]

For a long time I noticed the maps you can activate in TSRE5 are out of alignment. For example rectangular houses are often rhomboid-shaped, curves have the wrong angle ect. Also what about getting height data for routes, TSRE uses File types which are practically impossible to obtain and there is no guarantee they even work. Any ideas?

[pwillard]

The height maps are not really that hard to find and retrieve as much as they are a constantly moving target. (It seems to be so that they can make sure that you "login" first before slurping a ton of data from the website)

The USGS.GOV-related websites have regularly revised their website, access methods, and data retrieval methods, making any hard links in documents and web pages turn into "dead links".

So, you won't get anywhere with GOKU's online documentation... This is one of the reasons I started the PDF TSRE document.

I think the data is nearly always a bit skewed... a lot of people seem to blame this on projection methods. (making flat 2D images from 3D data might always have this issue to some degree)

You can still get the DEM data needed for height information pretty easily:

For example, you can get DEM data from here: My link

/!\ IMPORTANT: while this web page will let you *find* the DEM (Height) data that you want... and allow you to have the DOWNLOAD link for the data you want, you still need to have a (free) account with HTTP://urs.earthdata.nasa.gov to actually download them. So... first things first... get your free account at https://urs.earthdat...a.gov/users/new

This works, as of 2-11-2022... no guarantees how long any of these links will stay working.

Note: If I had to come up with a pet peeve about how the internet works... this is it... Just like fish, web-based resources for data have a shelf life. (HTTP://Archive.org helps... but not always)

Get the TSRE PDF: My link




NOTE: There is also a Java-based tool for utilizing OPEN STREET MAPS data called JOSM. I'm still figuring out how to make this useful for OPEN RAILS MAP data but if you like this stuff... it's a fun tool.

[NickonWheels]

I just registered and downloaded two hgt files and now I got a nice hilly terrain, but the maps are still weird.
 39.JPG (172.16K)
Number of downloads: 1  40.JPG (34.79K)
Number of downloads: 1
Looks just as with no correct terrain and also not like in Google Maps or GPSVisualizer, I wonder why TSRE uses this instead of OpenRailwaysMap as there are more details, as well as closed lines long gone. One missing option?

[Genma Saotome]

Gentlemen, the answer is probably called Goode-Homosolone. This is the projection method of MSTS. It is inherently skewed, moreso the further north you go. The visual effect of Goode-Homosoline is everything at right angles in a map will not be at right angles in the route. The reason is G-H places a diamond on the map to select everything and then skews that data into a square tile.

It was, and remains, a very lousy choice and it's integral to almost every route that's every been released.

[pwillard]

Yeah, this always bugged me.

[NickonWheels]

Genma Saotome, on 11 February 2022 - 10:34 AM, said:

It was, and remains, a very lousy choice and it's integral to almost every route that's every been released.

You mean every route made for ORTS is based on this? I guess not as most are quite accurate compared to maps, how is this possible?

[Goku]

Instead if MSTS prijection, you can use TSRE geo projection for perfecf angles. There is howto somewhere.

[BillC]

Goku, on 17 February 2022 - 12:51 AM, said:

Instead if MSTS prijection, you can use TSRE geo projection for perfecf angles. There is howto somewhere.

Here is the link Goku is reffering: New TSRE Map projection.

[NickonWheels]

Now I've read this and I`m more confused than before. I just copied an example of TsreGeoProjection (with change to the lat/lon values but the others unchanged as I still have noo idea what they mean) and than tried to load a map as underlay.

Choosing Z17 or Z18 still has no results and using OSM just crashes. Nothing like when looking at Google Maps. Is there a reasonably understandable explanation how to get there?

[coldutch42]

Maybe this may be of use: on UKTS there is a file that gives, in pdf, a solution that might work for you.
UKTS40268_NewRoute1