[Hendrik]

Hi All,

We are looking for routes that can be added to the OpenRails.org Download Content webpage. Current routes on the download page are located in the UK and Australia, so it would be great to have more routes from other countries.

One requirement is that they are stand-alone routes that are easy to install for people new to Open Rails, without requiring MSTS, X-Tracks, and other installs.

Thank you!
Hank

[Hendrik]

Aldarion, on 16 May 2023 - 02:53 AM, said:

Sounds, great. I'd like to have my Portuguese Route mentioned on that section as well. It's hosted on Github. I already have quite some shots on 4k.

[Hendrik]

Hi Aldarion, can the Portugal route be installed stand-alone, without the need to have MSTS installed or further add-ons like X-tracks, etc.?
Hank

[eric from trainsim]

Hendrik, on 16 May 2023 - 07:58 AM, said:

One requirement is that they are stand-alone routes that are easy to install for people new to Open Rails, without requiring MSTS, X-Tracks, and other installs.

Well....... That's pretty much an unattainable requirement.

Has someone built a new default track system I don't know about?

How do you install a route without using the original Kuju shapes that come with MSTS, and without installing either X-Tracks, UKFS, or Scalerail?

[Laci1959]

Quote

How do you install a route without using the original Kuju shapes that come with MSTS, and without installing either X-Tracks, UKFS, or Scalerail?

It's simple. Create your own track element with your own TSection.dat file. The German Ruebelandbahn track used to be available. perfectly met this condition. It had its own fleet of vehicles, a complete package, which could be played immediately after installation.
What I really liked was that there were 3D track elements. It consisted of highly variable curved elements, despite the fact that TSection.dat consisted of only 1600 entries.
If I could start over, I would use that principle.

[Weter]

Hi, Eric.
May I know, what's the problem?
Xtracks and NewRoads is strictly prohibited for inclusion in any route download packages?
SLI, MT and ctn vendors, already present on OR.ord site did deal with that somehow, or I'm not catching the sence?

[eric from trainsim]

There's no problem, Weter. It's just having the artificial requirement to not use one of the standalone track systems will limit what you get for North American content.

Some route developers have agreements with 3DTrains for Scalerail to be included. It's possible TrainSimulations has an agreement with Okrasa for XTracks.

[eric from trainsim]

Laci1959, on 16 May 2023 - 09:54 AM, said:

It's simple. Create your own track element with your own TSection.dat file.

Easy to say, but it's really not that simple in practice.

I'm fortunate to have licensed Dynatrax before Tim Booth passed away, but it doesn't work for turnouts with animated points or junctions, and those pieces aren't all that simple even for people with 3D modeling experience.

Still... good luck with the endeavor.

[cjakeman]

eolesen, on 16 May 2023 - 11:18 AM, said:

Easy to say, but it's really not that simple in practice.

Still... good luck with the endeavor.

The website page for downloading content is intended to introduce newcomers to Open Rails to some routes which they will find easy to use straight away. This is why Hank and I are trying to limit this page to routes which are ready to run.

The website already points users to the vendors, forums and download libraries for routes that require more complex installation.

Perhaps this leads on to a different question:
The website does not try to list every route that is publicly available, so is there a need for a list of routes that are not already available in TrainSim.com?

[charland]

I've never figured out what the difference is between a "Route" and an "OR Only Route". Normally an OR Only item is a piece of rolling stock that uses textures greater then 512 x 512, that would prevent them from opening in MSTS. Older MSTS routes use a different algorithm for trees and some might end up on track and roads, so you just go into the route and move the forest regions away from the track or make sure they are clear when building the route.

So what makes a route OR only, keep hearing this from people who don't build routes but never figured out the difference.

Paul :-)