TS13 - frustration. Please help

[garybb]

Hi all - this is my first post and I apologize for the rant, but I need your help. I've written to TS tech support but they don't reply...ever. So I am turning to this forum.

I have logged more than 500 hours with TS12 and TS13. I absolutely love this sim but also am constantly frustrated with (what I understand are) the numerous memory leaks, poorly written/designed code, incessant crashes, disappearing consists or locos, etc. On a fresh install -- with not one single add on, loading sometimes takes up to 6 minutes. My PC is new, fast, has plenty of ram, fast graphics card, latest drivers, etc. By contrast, Flightsim X, which, if I understand correctly, has a far more complex code than TS13, loads in less than 60 secs with a huge number of addons and scenery.

Why, when Steam validates the files, why does all scenery disappear from the route(s)? It is so aggravating to lose all that work...I have yet to find which files to back up as the designers didn't make it user-friendly to find where the scenarios are stored, so the only way I've found to save is to back up the entire "contents" folder. I know that in the "contents" folder are the routes, but all of them are simply a string of numbers...why couldn't Kuji name the dern folders by the routes? Has anyone noticed that backing up the contents folder takes like 15 to 20 minutes or more? I'm guessing, looking at the files, that the majority have to be compressed/uncompressed, etc. and it is very process intensive.

Can some of you, who are far more knowledgeable and experienced in TS, please tell me what steps I might be able to take to cut back on the aggravation? I am extremely impressed with TS13 and get a great deal of pleasure from this sim...but the issues make me (almost but not quite) want to go back to Trainz...which, even heavily modded, loads 90% faster and rarely crashes. If only Trainz had the graphic splendor that TS has!

I hope someone will be able to help and I would really appreciate any suggestions or comments you can offer.

[artimrj]

First off this is your first post, I editted the title for you. When you come looking for helping there is no need to start slamming the sim you say you love so much right off the bat, that is going to turn people off real quick. We try to stay positive here even though everything is not perfect.

Tech Support does answer people all the time. But if you are slamming them in your plea for help, they most likely could be ignoring you. I would. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. I have no idea what you said to support.

About Steam, it sucks. Everyone knows that. It does everything you say it does, but we have no control over that and neither does RSC. It is the nature of the beast and we are stuck with it.

You really did not tell what problems you are having in your rant, you just basically touched on a few things, slow loading, unamed route folders and where are the scenarios and Steam.

TS checks all your files when you start it. The more you have installed the longer it takes. When you go to run a scenario from a particluar route, files are checked again, the engines and rolling stock are checked for problems or just existance, the scenario itself is also checked. I use FSX also, it does not load in 60 seconds. I use Justin Tymes meshes and it can take 4 or 5 minutes to load that all in. I also have all the other major scenery application for better ground details, sky details and weather. That all has to load in, much like a complicated route for TS.

The scenarios are in the folder of the route called "scenarios". They are however named with the numbering system like the routes are. If you run the TS Utilities program and click on the PACKAGER tab and refresh it, you will get a list of all your routes with real names and in the scenario folder of each route the scenarios will actually have names as well. Depending on how much you have installed will depend on how long it takes to refresh. I have 84 gig of stuff installed and it takes a good 10 minutes or more to refresh. Also there is a third party utility called RW Tools that will help you to sort your TS out, it will show you real names of routes ands scenarios. I consider it as must have utility as do many others here.

More on slow loading - what kind of computor do you have? You say it is new and fast, but what is it? What are your specs? That informatiuon can help other here pinpoint possible problems. Is it a laptop, desktop, what kind if cpu and how fast, what kind of gpu, how much memory do you have, what OS are you using. Have you defrragged the hard drive with TS on it lately? If you can still do a clean install with no addons, then that means you have no DLC. Am I correct? If you do have DLC you purchased, then you can't get a clean install as all your DLC gets reinstalled with TS also. The more you have, the slower it gets.

For anyone to help you, you need to be a little more specific on what your problems are. Many of us here will gladly help you if you can help us help you.

[Chacal]

Why, when Steam validates the files, why does all scenery disappear from the route(s)? It is so aggravating to lose all that work...

Not sure what you mean here. What is "that work"? Are you building your own route?
I have never had this problem. However, on the rare occasions I have done a validation in Steam, I had to do it a few times until no more files were missing. This is a known problem with Steam.

I have yet to find which files to back up as the designers didn't make it user-friendly to find where the scenarios are stored, so the only way I've found to save is to back up the entire "contents" folder. I know that in the "contents" folder are the routes, but all of them are simply a string of numbers...why couldn't Kuji name the dern folders by the routes? Has anyone noticed that backing up the contents folder takes like 15 to 20 minutes or more? I'm guessing, looking at the files, that the majority have to be compressed/uncompressed, etc. and it is very process intensive.

As a software developer I can tell you many reasons for using GUIDs instead of human-readable names. But as Bob told you, there are excellent utilities available for managing route and scenarios. If you are building your own route, you should take a regular backup of it (using versioning) using those tools. If you install a lot of 3rd-party DLC and you like to tinker with data files, you should take a backup of your entire Railworks folder once in a while. Otherwise, there is no need to take a backup.

15 to 20 minutes for backing up the contents folder does not seem a long time for me. I have 6GB in that folder.
They don't have to be decompressed, the limitation is caused by the Windows file copy process, your computer's data channel between the two disks, and the disks themselves.

[garybb]

Hi and thank you for the prompt replies and suggestions. First, I apologize for ranting, but it has been a constant battle to get TS13 working properly. After I posted this morning, I decided to verify that what I wrote was, in fact, exactly the case.....so I uninstalled TS13 via Steam and did a complete reinstall. I did not add any content via the package manager. Just left everything "stock". I opened up the Victorville free roam scenario, went to world editor, added about 20 scenery items...trees, buildings, etc., then closed. I then validated thru Steam and it said there was one invalid file and it would be reinstalled. I have no idea why anything should have been corrupted. Anyway, I then went back to the free roam scenario and ALL of the scenery that I had added was gone. This is what consistently happens and that is what I meant by losing all of my work. I have spent many hours adding to the scenery and it gets very old to lose it because (and I'm guessing here) Steam apparently writes over the scenarios and puts them back to their original content.

To clarify two of your questions/comments, I have not been building a route, but simply adding scenery to the existing route. I have sent multiple emails to TS tech support asking why the above happens. My emails were polite and I did not make any disparaging comment(s) about their product. Quite the opposite. I have mentioned to them that I have the highest regard for their efforts and artistry and I have only praised TS12/13.
I have not, to date, received any reply to my questions about disappearing scenery.

[buzz456]

I may be in error here but I think if you clone the route and give it a new name then when you verify steam will leave your route alone since it is now not part of what steam looks at.

[hertsbob]

Hi

That's absolutely right. When you verify Steam is checking your file versions against the default ones, so it seems perfectly reasonable that the one tile that came back as being invalid was that scenery tile that you changed.

As Buzz456 says, create a clone of the original route and work on that.

Have fun.

Bob

[peterhayes]

Garyb

I then validated thru Steam and it said there was one invalid file and it would be reinstalled. I have no idea why anything should have been corrupted

.
You may be missing the point on cache verification - it does not search for "corrupt" files as such but it uses a "checksum" to see which files are different ie changed to the default Steam database and if a file has changed it will reinstall the default file. Any scenario whether yours or third party or from anywhere can mean that cache verfication will want to replace a file(s) eg route, asset, etc that it "sees" has changed.
As Buzz says you need to clone and rename the file before cache verification will leave it alone.
Cache verication (Thanks Buzz) will not alter or replace a file that is not part of the default set.
Regards
pH

[buzz456]

"Usually cache verication will not alter or replace a file that is not part of the default set."

Not only usually. All the time. What you need to understand is items that come from RSC will be checked by cache verification. All other items will not.

[Scott_AUS]

yep - +1 to the route thing - you are changing a route, ie adding scenery, then asking steam to check it - it's doing exactly what it's meant to do, undo your work.

Clone is the answer - trainsim site, there is a guy who thrives on doing this - clones the world, then dabbles with it.

[garybb]

I want to thank each of you for clarifying why I have been losing my scenery. I appreciate that you made the time to post. Now that I realize what has been happening....it certainly seems logical that this is what Steam would, in fact, do.

For now I have just one off-topic question...does anyone know if there might be repaints of SD-40s or Dash 9s where a build of of a "snow" effect on the loco has been added (or if that is even possible)? It would sure add atmosphere for winter scenarios.

It's great that there are people so willing to help with problems!

Gary

[buzz456]

Donner Pass route has these. Mad Mike has done some re-paints with the snow effect. I believe they were F-units. Look in the RWA library for them. You do need some payware for some of his stuff.
Buzz