Posts by Tattoo

  • Support -> Australian trains for Locomotion

    Thanks for the heads-ups about the horn cuz I have no idea since I'm an American. I was working with a kid from Australia that is on TT-Forum and he was looking for the horn sound but never came thru with one. I sent him the VicPass to beta a month ago and he was suppose to get back to me by the weekend and he seems to have bailed on me. I tried using a sound file from the msts model but it sounded terrible. So I said screw it and I released them like they are with the default sounds. And now with the kid bailing out, the Aussie pack will not be completed. I'm not about to kiss someone's ass to make trains for when I have other stuff I want to do.

    If you can come up with a good sounding horn for them, I will update them with it.

  • Support -> Australian trains for Locomotion

    [webdisk]3398[/webdisk]Here are the B-Class engines and Victoria passenger cars. Sorry for the delay. It took me a few tries to get them perfected and I'm liking how I have them now and should be able to get the A and S class done soon to finish up this set of engines that I started on, maybe. The textures on all of these, engines and passengers cars were all redone by me. That's what took so long. I also made the SSR and Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia liveries from scratch. I believe that's all the liveries for the B-Class. I've been working with C3805 on all of these for the correct info since he is an Aussie and knows about these trains. They wouldn't be possible without his knowledge because I have a hard time finding the correct info for them.

    I ran these around and didn't see any problems so please tell me if you see something not looking right and I'll fix it and any comments good or bad are always welcome. Please let me know how they look in game and what ya think. Thanks. I hope you all like them...

    [webdisk]3396[/webdisk] [webdisk]3397[/webdisk]

  • Camera Angles for Shape Viewer

    This is a set of .s files that I created to load into Shape Viewer along with an MSTS model to create sprites for a Locomotion vehicle. Each .s file represents each of the camera angles used for each sprite. The extra camera angles for narrow guage are not included at this time but will be added at a later date.

    These came about after DJC told me that he used Shape Viewer to make some of his steam engines. I tried it and it would have taken forever to get the angles right each time to create sprites. And msts2lomo doesn't do steam engines. So I made a cross using 2 planes. I textured them using each files corresponding number and colored each end differently to know which end is in front. The yellow should be in front of the red. You also get sprites made at a very high resolution which is decided by you and by using these, you can load an .eng file that has a freight anim where you can't with msts2locomotion. For the Y offset, I didn't do anything for that but might can figure out something later. You could hold the ctrl key and move the model up and down in Shape Viewer. Or move the shape up in the .s file or the height can be adjusted using the X & Y offsets in the .xml of the vehicle.

    Now find a good location to extract these to that will be easily available thru Shape Viewer.
    The latest version of Shape Viewer made by Paul "Decapod" Gausden can be gotten from here; http://msts.steam4me.net/utilities/shape_viewer.html


    This is how to use them;

    The very first thing to do is to set the Camera Projection to Orthogonal Projection. Go to Tools, and select Orthogonal Projection or hit CTRL+P.

    Second, open the MSTS model in Shape Viewer. Then Maximize Shape Viewer. It is important to maximize the window so the model is in the exact same position every time you use this or when you need to restart Shape Viewer because you moved the model other than just rotating it. If you hold down the CTRL key and move the model at all, the center will not be correct and you will need to restart Shape Viewer to get the model back to the same exact center point.

    Next set the Viewing Distance. I have a wide monitor and use 18.0m. This number will vary from monitor to monitor. I tried it higher but when I squared the image, the engine was cut off on the ends in sprites 008 & 040 as well as the rest. So you might want to check these 2 sprites before you get too far even if you don't have a wide monitor as well. Remeber what distance you use for future reference or if you need to restart Shape Viewer while in the process of creating sprites.

    Image 1

    Now either go to File, Open Second Shape or hit F3 to load the first file - 000.s.


    Image 2

    After the file is loaded, just hit OK. You don't want to change any of these sliders unless you moved the shape in the .s file and this is what 000.s looks like.

    Image 3

    Now rotate the models to get to the first camera angle. The yellow needs to be in front of the red.

    Rotate them until the cross is as thin as you can get it like in Image 4. You can also view everything in line mode by hitting BACKSPACE to line up the camera angle. Image 5. Hit BACKSPACE again to go back to the regular view.

    Set the lighting to how you want it. You'll also want to adjust the lighting for the different camera angles so there is no dark side. What I did so far was go up or down 1:00 each time I loaded another .s file but only after the light started getting dark on the model. Just hit in the slider to do it.
    You'll have to experiment here to your liking.

    Image 4

    Image 5

    Now remove the second shape by going to File, Remove Last Shape or hit CTRL+R.

    Image 6

    Then setup the Screenshot folder by going to Tools, Set Screenshot Folder or hit CTRL+F.
    Choose a File name for your screenshots and hit Open to close the window.

    Image 7

    Now you're ready to start creating the sprites.
    Hit the Screenshot button to creat the first sprite.

    Image 8

    To create the sprites for steam engines with animated wheels and rods, Instead of hitting the screenshot button, go to Tools, 8 Frame Animated Screenshot or hit CTRL+F12. When I use CTRL+F12, Shape Viewer goes haywire and I have to restart it so I do it from the Tools menu.

    Image 9

    This will give you 8 images but you only need 4 of them. Save the first screenshot, then delete every other one. I found it easier and less of a chance to screw this part up by waiting til I got the first 64 camera angles done before I deleted them.


    Once the first sprite or set of sprites ares made, hit F3 to load the next Camera Angle file. Continue on the same way for each file until you reach file 064.s.

    For steam engines, only do the even numbered angles until number 064.s. Steamers only use 32 angles from 0 to 63.

    When you do the 064.s camera angle, you will not be able to rotate the shape to get the cross up & down and side to side perpendicular to the window. Just rotate them the same as before, they'll just be on different angles like in the next image.

    Image 10

    Shape Viewer can not rotate the model up & down from the side view. So the sprites created will need to be rotated in your graphics program. I've done them all and put the angles in a text file named Rotate Angles.txt which is included. I've also include a Photoshop action to rotate these sprite. Load the sprite into Photoshop and when you use the action, you just type the angle value into the box at the top, Red Circle, for each sprite and then hit the Check mark, Yellow Arrow to complete the rotation. The box that the red arrow points to is the box that allows you to be able to fill in the angle before it moves on to the next command. The action is set to save and close the image so I don't have to do it manually for each image. If you want to check the file before closing it, you can change it so it doesn't close the image by unchacking the box next to the Close command which the Blue arrow is pointing to.

    Image 11

    Depending on your monitor and how you line up the Camera Angles in Shape Viewer, the values I have for each angle might differ slightly from what you do so you might need to adjust these some. I think the values I came up with should work for most of you but if you need to adjust them, the next image shows how I came up with each angle value. I first put the background over the vehicle and moved it down to where the 2 lines crosed each other. I then put it behind the vehicle before I rotated it. Place your mouse outside the box to rotate the layer with your mouse, Red Circle. Once you get it close, put your cursor in the box at the top, Blue Circle, and use your mouse wheel to get a finer adjustment.

    Image 12

    For each Camera Angle you have to rotate, just look up the number in the included text file and use the values for the corresponding Camera Angle. For steam engines, you would use the same angle on the 4 sprites from that Camera Angle.


    And that is how to use these Camera Angles that I've created. There are various ways to shrink down the sprites to the proper size. You could use K.Y. Chung's action to do this. If his is used, the image should be 1920 x 980 or 980 x 980. I've tried his action on these and they do work but the vehicle looks wider than it should be. I haven't messed with it much to come up with a better action yet but will post it if I do. If anyone else can make an even better action for this, I would appreciate it if that person posted it for everyone else to use.

    Please feel free to comment on these whether you like the idea or not or to tell your use of these. I think I made the use of Shape Viewer to create vehicles easier by using the files I created. The images created from using this method are of a much higher resolution and therfore can create a better looking vehicle because of them and an .eng file with a freight anim can be used. Even tho shape Viewer doesn't create screenshots using anti-alias just like msts2locomotion, the higher resolution is an added plus. And now steam engines can be created without too much trouble. This is not a fast operation like msts2locomption, but because of the higher resolution, I think it was worth taking the time in creating all these files for this. I hope someone will find these useful and post about what they did with them.

    I've done a default msts steam engine named scotsman to test this out. I kept the light at 12:00 & 0N to see how it looked. The model doesn't have any shine to it except for the coal in the tender so it looks a lil dull but it was only for testing. The engine is in a folder called Scotsman.
    Enjoy...

    [webdisk]3381[/webdisk]

  • Support -> Monorail for Locomotion

    At last.

    It's a TTO-styled monorail for Locomotion, completed with tube bridge, new tunnel, and new monorail station. The tag [Beta] is there, mostly because there are no proper trains for it, although i've made 3 new trains for testing purpose. Hopefully the community will add new trains later.

    Anyways, enjoy!

    Authors:
    Damage - track, tunnel, trains
    Tattoo - track rework, bridge
    Strongbow - station

    Thanks to everyone who supported the project!
    Special thanks to Plastikman, Oleg and the TTDRussia.net community!

    Information for modders: any trains can use monorail as a track. Just replace "trackst" with "monorail" in the xml.
    Improvements are welcome, but don't forget to credit the authors.

    [webdisk]3339[/webdisk]

  • Support -> Default Bridges w/ New Slopes added

    I finally got around to doing all of these. freepokie had this idea after I made the new slopes but never did them all so now here they are. Instead of deciding what slope to put on what bridge, I added each slope to all 4 of the default bridges that didn't have slopes. Everyone has different tastes so I did it this way so everyone can choose which bridge with which slope they want to use. It might seem a little confusing for some but I think I covered everyones liking this way.

    I named the bridges as follows;

    BRDGGIRD-grass.dat - Steel Girder Bridge Grass
    BRDGGIRD-grass2.dat - Steel Girder Bridge Grass2
    BRDGGIRD-rock1.dat - Steel Girder Bridge Rock1
    BRDGGIRD-rock2.dat - Steel Girder Bridge Rock2
    BRDGGIRD-sand.dat - Steel Girder Bridge Sand
    BRDGGIRD-snow.dat - Steel Girder Bridge Snow
    BRDGGIRD-snow2.dat - Steel Girder Bridge Snow2

    BRDGSTAR-grass.dat - Steel Arch Bridge Grass
    BRDGSTAR-grass2.dat - Steel Arch Bridge Grass2
    BRDGSTAR-rock1.dat - Steel Arch Bridge Rock1
    BRDGSTAR-rock2.dat - Steel Arch Bridge Rock2
    BRDGSTAR-sand.dat - Steel Arch Bridge Sand
    BRDGSTAR-snow.dat - Steel Arch Bridge Snow
    BRDGSTAR-snow2.dat - Steel Arch Bridge Snow2

    BRDGSUSP-grass.dat - Suspension Bridge Grass
    BRDGSUSP-grass2.dat - Suspension Bridge Grass2
    BRDGSUSP-rock1.dat - Suspension Bridge Rock1
    BRDGSUSP-rock2.dat - Suspension Bridge Rock2
    BRDGSUSP-sand.dat - Suspension Bridge Sand
    BRDGSUSP-snow.dat - Suspension Bridge Snow
    BRDGSUSP-snow2.dat - Suspension Bridge Snow2

    BRDGWOOD-grass.dat - Wooden Bridge Grass
    BRDGWOOD-grass2.dat - Wooden Bridge Grass2
    BRDGWOOD-rock1.dat - Wooden Bridge Rock1
    BRDGWOOD-rock2.dat - Wooden Bridge Rock2
    BRDGWOOD-sand.dat - Wooden Bridge Sand
    BRDGWOOD-snow.dat - Wooden Bridge Snow
    BRDGWOOD-snow2.dat - Wooden Bridge Snow2

    I named the filenames like this so the original doesn't need to be overwritten. Just copy which bridge you want to use to the objdata folder. The internal names were not changed and Locomotion will use these bridges instead of the default bridge. If you would rather overwrite the default bridge, just delete the name of the slope after the default bridge filename.

    I also did not change any speeds or heights. When using the slopes to go 2 or more high, because some bridges have a roof, the second height and up will show the roof so ya won't wanna be trying to go more than one high with these just as the original earth slopes were like. You'll see what I mean if ya try it.

    Anyway, they're done and I hope ya'll get some use out of these and thank you freepokie for the idea.

    UPDATE: I was thinking about these and noticed that the suspension bridge had an 80 mph speed limit and if these are going to be used like the original earth slope, there shouldn't be any speed limit on them. So I changed the suspension bridges to unlimited speed and posted an updated file. The wooden bridge is still 15 mph.

    [webdisk]3325[/webdisk] [webdisk]3326[/webdisk]

  • Support -> AU QR EDI Bombadier IMU/SMU Trainset - Updated

    [webdisk]3183[/webdisk]AU QR EDI Bombadier IMU/SMU Trainset

    Supplied by EDI Rail's joint venture with Bombardier at EDI Rail's Maryborough facilities
    in Queensland. The value of the contract is approximately $212 million.

    These vehicles are the latest generation of narrow gauge trains in Australia,
    and have been developed from a service proven portfolio of vehicles now in
    service in both Perth and Brisbane. "The vehicles are stainless steel, air
    conditioned and run on 25 kV propulsion. They are supplied as three-car sets,
    and can be coupled to form six-car sets.

    In Service: 2008
    Obsolete: Never
    Passengers: 450
    Max Speed: 81 mph
    Weight: 220 t
    Power: 1,850 hp

    Original MSTS model made By: Russell Beer

    NOTE: I ran these in Lomo to look for errors but hadn't noticed any, but, I may not have run them thru
    every possibility so if someone sees anything wrong with them, please inform me and I'll fix it. Thanks

    EDIT: I've updated this today. This looked a little too bland to me and I wanted to do something about it but wasn't sure what I COULD do. So I searched the forum and again, Strongbow had the answer. Thanks again Strongbow. I raised the contrast on them and I think they look better now. And noofnoof said I had the release date wrong so I changed that too. Please let me know what ya'll think. Thanks...

    EDIT2: I switched out the updated file because I found out that I had the wrong release date. Sorry to the person who downloaded it. It's corrected now..

    [webdisk]3179[/webdisk] [webdisk]3189[/webdisk]

  • Support -> AU NSW 86 Class Electric Locomotive

    [webdisk]3165[/webdisk]AU NSW 86 Class Electric Locomotive

    The New South Wales 86 class is a class of 50 mainline electric locomotives introduced
    from 1982 in the state of New South Wales by the State Rail Authority. The locomotives
    were built by Commonwealth Engineering of Granville, New South Wales, with electrical
    equipment supplied by Mitsubishi. They were also based at Lithgow for predominately
    freight operation, and were lighter than the preceding 85 class.

    In Service: 1983
    Obsolete: 2020
    Max Speed: 130 km/h - 81 mph
    Weight: 120 t
    Power: 2,700 kW - 3,620 hp

    Original MSTS model made By: Phillip N.G. Chorusch

    NOTE: I ran these in Lomo to look for errors but hadn't noticed any, but, I may not have run them thru every possibility
    so if someone sees anything wrong with them, please inform me and I'll fix it. Thanks

    [webdisk]3169[/webdisk] [webdisk]3168[/webdisk]

  • Support -> 2 New Earth Slopes

    [webdisk]3143[/webdisk]I've been noticing in some screenshots that the Earth Slopes just don't look very good in the sand or snow. I was thinking that it would be nice to have 2 more earth slopes for these landscapes. So I made them and here they are. I hope you'll like them and want to use them. Let me know what ya think.

    I'm also thinking of doing a couple more made of the 2 rock colors, black and brown. Let me know if you'd be interested in them as well.

    [webdisk]3141[/webdisk] [webdisk]3142[/webdisk]