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Post by Dan on Jan 19, 2008 7:24:47 GMT -5
It's Incredible!!  Installed MSTS last night and for the past 7 or so hours I've had an absolutely mesmerizing time! Besides re-learning old forgotten tricks, new commands, new ways of doing things, and general 'what do I do now' types of hick-ups, it installed on Drive E just fine and runs like clock work. Now that all being said, I've already lost my engineering license, been thrown out of every town I've speed through, woke up every ranch house in Montana - love the horns  - and generally burned and/or blown up every engine I've run, not to mention de-coupling the rest of the train and not knowing or caring why - and that's just in 'Simple' mode. Besides that, the Redhead looks like soot, doesn't like railroad food, hates the bell, and generally speaking - wants a divorce.  But I did stay in a Holiday Inn, so was able to manage the installation of one add-on ('extract to' doesn't work in MSTS either)  and took a couple of screenshots . . . I love this locomotive - Big, Loud, and Fast  88 MPH - thought I was going 'Back to the Future' . . .        I've got a lot more to learn, add-on, and figure out, but the fun just got started. Thanks to everyone for the advice, help, and good ol' Old Hanger Roundhouse' enthusiasm! ;D Dan …it’s great being a kid again – without the glue! ;D |
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Post by bhk on Jan 19, 2008 7:46:43 GMT -5
Good on yer, Dan!  Nice to see that Big Boy running. Did you forget to hit 'C' to turn off the drain-cocks to the cylinders once you got under-way, or does it normally push out that much steam? Bruce |
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Post by Dan on Jan 19, 2008 8:59:37 GMT -5
. . . what are cylinder drain-cocks  Dan …it’s great being a kid again – without the glue! ;D |
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Post by sgtmajor on Jan 19, 2008 10:13:58 GMT -5
GREAT DAN!!!! Glad to see your up and rolling and all. I say kick the redhead out at the first crossing and let her hoof it a while..... she'll change her tune about rail travel. (smile)
BTW..... I'm planning a trip later this spring to my parents home in Kansas. Told the wife I think I'll take the train for once. Haven't stopped thinking about that since "The Old Roundhouse" got started.
I'm starting to get scared...... I think I may be an addict. (smile)
Cheers,
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Post by bhk on Jan 19, 2008 15:33:20 GMT -5
. . . what are cylinder drain-cocks Dan …it’s great being a kid again – without the glue! ;D So as not to create an hydraulic lock in the cylinders, they have a valve, operated from the cab, that allows any condensation build-up that may have happened whilst the engine has been standing still to be exhausted by the piston stroke. After a few cycles, the cocks are closed. In MSTS, you do this by pressing 'C' after a few cycles of the pistons and that cloud of escaping steam will stop. This also keeps the pressure in the steam chest up more than if you leave the drain-cocks open.  Bruce |
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Post by kbr on Jan 19, 2008 17:18:03 GMT -5
Glad to hear you got it up and running. MSTS can be a real time stealer. ;D
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Post by Dan on Jan 20, 2008 16:10:57 GMT -5
. . . what are cylinder drain-cocks Dan …it’s great being a kid again – without the glue! ;D So as not to create an hydraulic lock in the cylinders, they have a valve, operated from the cab, that allows any condensation build-up that may have happened whilst the engine has been standing still to be exhausted by the piston stroke. After a few cycles, the cocks are closed. In MSTS, you do this by pressing 'C' after a few cycles of the pistons and that cloud of escaping steam will stop. This also keeps the pressure in the steam chest up more than if you leave the drain-cocks open. Bruce You were right, Bruce. They were open. Ran the Big Boy again last night and did what you suggested and sure enough the steam stopped escaping. Oh, have I got a lot to learn . . . Dan …it’s great being a kid again – without the glue! ;D |
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Post by Dan on Jan 20, 2008 16:34:56 GMT -5
Oh, have I got a lot to learn . . . Dan . . . and that is an under statement! Spent most of last night downloading trains, stock, sounds, etc. and looking. Managed to install a couple of steam locomotives - a D&RGW Baldwin M-86, SP&S 700 (Spokane, Portland and Seattle) and a ATSF C40-8W diesel. While the SP&S 700 showed up three times, the D&RGW (based on the SP&S 700) and the ATSF C40 did not. Tried to figure out why, re-installed again, messed around with the files, read the install instructions a 100 times again, and finally went to bed . . . totally exhausted! Seems the tricks and know-how of flight sim, in some cases, do not apply to MSTS. So, that all being said, does anyone know of a good 'How To' for MSTS. I've looked at some 'How To's' at Train-Sim.com, but there not all-inclusive, as I found out last night. Any suggestions would be great! Dan …it’s great being a kid again – without the glue! ;D |
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Post by Wrongway on Jan 20, 2008 22:21:53 GMT -5
Only one thing to do Dan....drag for pink slips. I'll use a 1973 'Hugger Orange' AMC Gremlin, you can use the #5 Black Big Boy with 35 loaded coal cars attached. Hope you win!!! Rgds: Jeff |
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Post by bhk on Jan 21, 2008 0:56:15 GMT -5
...... Any suggestions would be great!.... Dan, Download Route Riter and then use it to check the Consist(s) that you are trying to create. Also, for some odd reason many steam engines have their tenders in the Passenger grouping, so when trying to assemble a consist, unless you know where to look, sourcing the tender can be a pain! If you have not even reached the point of being able to create a consist, bear in mind that when Cabs and Sounds are aliased to a Locomotive, edits have to be made to the .eng file. Also, where one Class of locomotive has several different road numbers that you can use, the common Shape file (xxxxx.s) may have to be copied into the new folder and renamed for the new locomotive (zzzzzz.s). Installing new 'stock can be a bloody pain. Give me the file-names (the .ZIP names) and I'll have a look. Bruce |
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Post by Dan on Jan 21, 2008 1:54:00 GMT -5
Bruce, I just downloaded Route-Riter v7.0.25. I haven't got to creating Consists yet - just using defaults for now. But, this looks excellent to use. Here are the two file names I was having problems with last night - drgwm86.zip (uses sps_700a.zip) & atsf880.zip - both at Train-Sim.com. As noted, the SP&S 700 loaded and runs fine, but shows up '3' times in the initial engine select menu and D&RGW (uses the SP&S 700) does not show at all. I did not alias the sounds nor the cabview files - pasted both directly into the D&RGW folder from the 700. Regarding the ATSF C40: the author states "These cars are ready to use. To install it do the following: 1. Unzip the contents of ATSF943 into Trainsim/trains/trainset folder. That's it create a consist and go." . . . but, I believe they are based on another file "NALW's C40-8W" which I don't have and haven't found yet. So, not knowing, there in is the dilemma. No rush . . . I've got plenty to do!  Thanks Dan …it’s great being a kid again – without the glue! ;D |
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Post by bhk on Jan 21, 2008 4:01:33 GMT -5
Dan, Okay....here's some info. I downloaded the drgwm86.zip and installed it. I did NOT download the sps_700a.zip as it is about 22Mb and is only used as a source for the Cab and Sounds. But the Cab and Sounds can be sourced from anything....even a diesel. So what I did was to open the folder of the D&RGW loco and copied across the Cab and Sound files from the 380 steamer. Then I opened the .ENG file for the D&RGW loco and edited the lines referring to Cabview, cab sound and engine sound, like so........... Sound ( "380eng.sms" ) CabView ( 380.cvf ) Sound ( "380cab.sms" ) These lines appear as you scroll down the .ENG file but are separated by lots of other stuff. But they are the entires that you edit to suit whatever the Cab and Sounds are that you've used. I also edited the .WAG file for the tender to refer to the sound of the 380 tender. I then created a new consist of nothing more than the loco and tender, using the Activity editor, saved it with an appropriate name (D&RGW_loco+tender), exited the editor and then fired up Train Sim, chose a route to explore, chose the D&RGW 1800 from the list of locos, and here's the result..........  The only reason that I can guess as to why you are not seeing the D&RGW unit is that you have not created a consist. Even tho' you might have everything in the correct locations, unless you create a consist you will never see the 'stock when you go into Train Sim. Regards, Bruce |
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Post by Dan on Jan 21, 2008 23:09:21 GMT -5
Smok'en ;D Just finished a test run and it's running like a cat on a hot steel rail!! Followed your instructions, Bruce (took awhile to figure out the Activity/Consist Editor), but once their logic was understood or not understood , it worked just fine. Your right, it can be a pain, since they want all that other information to include with a new consist (I'll probably understand the rest of it as I progress). Anyway, now I've got to find some old cars of that era and start configuring. Thanks for your help - very much appreciated!! Dan …it’s great being a kid again – without the glue! ;D
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Post by bhk on Jan 22, 2008 1:29:16 GMT -5
Smok'en ;D......... Thanks for your help - very much appreciated!! Dan …it’s great being a kid again – without the glue! ;D No worries, Dan. I'm pleased to see that you're getting it together. Once you've done a few of these installations and edits and consist-creations it just becomes second nature. Bruce |
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- and generally burned and/or blown up every engine I've run, not to mention de-coupling the rest of the train and not knowing or caring why - and that's just in 'Simple' mode.
But I did stay in a Holiday Inn, so was able to manage the installation of one add-on ('extract to' doesn't work in MSTS either) 
and took a couple of screenshots . . . 
