Kuju Wide Vision Caboose re-paints - Missing Number Textures

[OlPaint]

I have been taking screen-capture shots of all the DTG/RSC DLC rolling stock for a comprehensive pictorial thumbnails collection. I discovered that several Kuju Provider/RailSimulatorUS Product - 3rd-party Wide Vision Caboose re-paints have missing car number textures.

Caboose CO Wide Vis 1.jpg

Caboose RWA Wide Vision.jpg

Caboose DRGW Wide Vis 1.jpg

Caboose ATSF Wide Vis 1.jpg

The stock cabooses do not have missing number textures.

Van Caboose Yellow.jpg

Could somebody give me some advice how to restore the missing number textures?

OlPaint

[buzz456]

Are the numbers in the texture folder?

[OlPaint]

Buzz

They don't appear to be missing from the textures folders for each affected caboose (like "number_0.TgPcDx" thru "number_9.TgPcDx"). I assume that they are either White or Yellow or Black numbers sets to match the prototype lettering. Could it be that they are address-referenced in the new Kuju .AP compressed assets file which no longer contains a common numbers set?

I just noticed that each missing numbers \Railvehicles\Freight\Caboose\ folder name has "-MS1" or "-MS2" appended to the road name ( like ATSF-MS1, ATSF-MS2, CO-MS1. DRGW-MS1, DRGW-MS2, and DRGW-MS3. or RWA-MS1). And the "caboose_Digits.xml" file is missing that maybe should be twined with the "caboose_Digits.bin" file. Is that significant?

OlPaint

[buzz456]

There doesn't have to be a xml for it to work. Do you have CBQ-MS1? Most of my wide views are referring to the numbers in that one.

[OlPaint]

Buzz

I think you hit on the solution! I need the CBQ-MS1 wide vision caboose to address the missing numbers. I am downloading the file from the RWA Library now. I'll let you know if that is the fix. I really appreciate your expertise.

OlPaint

Edit 01:

Well Then, I installed the CBQ Wide Vision pack. I got the CBQ-MS1 and CBQ-MS2 folders. I can see "Caboose CBQ Wide Vis 1" and "Caboose CBQ Wide Vis 2" in TestTrak including the previously reported Wide Vision Cabooses with the missing car number problem. And the "Missing Texture" graphic for the missing car numbers is no longer visible on the car sides at each missing digit.

But I have no car numbers showing at all on the sides or on the copula front and back of all of the "RoadName-MSx" Cabooses now. I "Cleared the Cache" also with no effect.

2014-03-31_00030.jpg

Now it must be a BluePrint .BIN issue, correct?

[OlPaint]

Buzz

I am studying the Blueprint .BIN files for the the Wide Vision Cabooses with no car numbers showing. I am becoming increasingly frustrated because I am tying to understand how the car number textures are placed on the skin of the repaint. I still do not understand why the number textures are not showing. It appears that all the parts are in place.

OlPaint

[buzz456]

The numbers for the CBQ must be set up to be invisible.

[OlPaint]

Buzz

I have recently heard about "invisible" numbers in an old discussion in this forum. However, a search has not revealed to me that old discussion.

So, how is the "invisibility" controlled? Or is there an "invisible" set of number textures that can be swapped out for "visible" number textures? And where does one find these "visible" and "invisible" number textures?

I have successfully turned freight car numbers On and Off by using the right-hand flyout of "Build" screen for freight cars in "TestTrak", that also sets whether a Loadable car has a visible payload, by double clicking the car in question and checking the "LOAD" check box of the right-hand flyout. These same fright cars also have a "Number" field in the right-hand flyout that can be set to Zero "0" to make its car number to disappear. I have made car numbers for some of Jesse James' freight car repaints disappear using this discovered technique. But I have just tried that trick with the MS Wide Vision Cabooses but I can not seem to restore the visible car number by placing an actual car number like "999432" in that field. No Joy so far - Even after "Clearing the Cache"

OlPaint

[OlPaint]

Buzz

I just had a Eureka Moment.

The talk of "invisible" number textures got me thinking. If the stock Wide Vision VAN Cabooses show "visible" car numbers but the the Wide Vision MS Cabooses show "invisible" car numbers...Then, So what is the difference?

I took my 'TGPCDXViewer' utility and I viewed the \Wagon\textures\number_0.TgPcDx thru number_9.TgPcDx, one by one. The stock Van Caboose v1 thru Van Caboose v5 textures show a pair of matched digits (a Block number shape plus a matching Railroad Roman number shape) for the texture and with an alpha channel (white digit pair on black background of the matched digit shapes) for each individual "number" shapes.

But Low and Behold, the number textures (number_0.TgPcDx thru number_9.TgPcDx) for the MS Cabooses have no digit textures (just a black square containing no digit shapes) and an alpha channel with just a plain white square. WOW, an Invisible number set!!!

So, Can I swap out the set of "invisible" number textures of the MS Cabooses with the "visible" number textures set of the stock VAN Cabooses? I will try that in the morning and report my findings.

OlPaint

[buzz456]

You got me briefly looking at this. See if you can find the old PO&N caboose and try that number texture set. The numbers show up as white numbers. I didn't try them on another. I'll leave this experiment to you for now.

[OlPaint]

Buzz

Success!

I took the \textures\number_0.TgPcDx thru number_9.TgPcDx number set for the stock VAN Caboose that are showing "Visible" and over-wrote the \textures\number_0.TgPcDx thru number_9.TgPcDx number set that are showing "invisible" for the CBQ-MS1 and CBQ-MS2 Cabooses. I now am getting "visible" Car Side numbers in White Railroad Roman Digits (999475) and the Cupola Front and Back Car numbers in White Block Digits (475) on all the Wide Vision Cabooses.

My next question is how do I change the color of the car numbers to Black or Yellow to match the Railroad Artwork of the repaint. For example, the CO Blue Caboose really needs Yellow numbers, correct? and the DRGW Yellow caboose really needs Black numbers.

And finally, how do I move the car numbers around on the caboose sides to match the prototype arrangement of the numbers of the repaint artwork?

OlPaint

[harryadkins]

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=10262&p=117947&hilit=color+number#p117947

[buzz456]

That's the rub on why most of them have invisible numbers. There is no way to move the numbers around. As far as changing the colors if you have white numbers just use your painting program and change them for each one whatever color you want. The caboose_numbers.dcsv file is where it tells it which number to use. You can open it as text and just change the numbers to whatever series you want. remember the bin file has to be looking at the right number set and the caboose_Digits.bin has to have the correctly named textures to see the one you want. It's a lot of messing to get numbers on there.

[OlPaint]

Buzz

Here are some of the results of my discovers and corrections.

I show the R&WA DonationWare RWA-MS1 Caboose, and both the Santa Fe ATSF-MS1 and ATSF-MS2 Cabooses.

2014-04-01_00001.jpg

The R&WA car side number would look more prototypical if the numbers were a matching Yellow of the repaint color. Also, the R&WA car side number would look better if the numbers could be positioned a little lower below the Logo leaving a little "white space" between.

And also, the ATSF car side number for the ATSF-MS2 Caboose would look much better if the car number is moved over to the right side of the roof ladder to be just below the "ATSF" instead of the middle of the car side. The ATSF-MS1 car number appears to be perfectly aligned - needing no changes.

I suppose I can live with the White Numbers but Colored Numbers would be more appropriate, IMHO. Thank you, Harry for link to the hint to add color to the car numbers.

Does anyone know how to move the car side numbers around? It seems to me that Freight Car Re-painters must be able to set the car number in the appropriate location on the car sides and car ends to match the prototype. There has to be a tag entry in the BluePrint. BIN that can be manipulated. XDriver, do you know how...?

OlPaint