NEC Manual Switch Targets are Reversed

[OlPaint]

Hey Folks

I recently purchased the NorthEast Corridor route DLC on sale at Steam Store. I just realized that the Manual Switch Targets are reversed. Take a look for yourselves

ManualSwitchAspectsReversed.jpg

Has anyone else noticed this - the points at the junction do not jibe with the manual switch aspect? The same error was in the Donner Pass Route. But I was told of a fix for that issue and it worked for Donner Pass. Has anyone fixed the NEC reversed manual switch stand aspect error - Red for Green and Green for Red. It may be just a color swap in the texture file for the switch stand.

OlPaint

[Bananarama]

The targets were probably texture mapped incorrectly.

[OlPaint]

Hack

It was the 'MSSredgreen.tgpcdx' texture file that paints the manual switch target faces. The Red and Green color swatches were reversed and I corrected the texture graphic using PS.

2013-04-07_00001.jpg

The aspects are now displaying correctly.

But now I noticed something else that is disturbing...the yellow manual switch throw handle is behaving strangly. When the command is given to change the points from Normal to Reverse, the yellow handle rotates down into the ground, disappears under the earth, and ends up buried straight down in the soil.

2013-04-07_00002.jpg

Very unnerving...an obvious animation error by the design team.

I don't have the tools necessary to fix an animation error, So, I wrote to RailSimulator Support and complained. I have not received an answer yet.

Here is the corrected 'MSSredgreen.tgpcdx' texture file. It overwrites the the original file in \railworks\Assets\RSC\NorthEastCorridor\RailNetwork\Junctions\textures folder. Of course, made sure you save a backup of the original.

MSSredgreen.rar

OlPaint

[OlPaint]

Buzz

Is there anyone in the Community that is familiar with editing Animation files. The manual switch stand animation in NEC is screwed up and I would like to learn how animations are done. So maybe I could attempt a repair myself.

OlPaint

[buzz456]

Buzz

Is there anyone in the Community that is familiar with editing Animation files. The manual switch stand animation in NEC is screwed up and I would like to learn how animations are done. So maybe I could attempt a repair myself.

OlPaint

Papa? or Hack?

[PapaXpress]

I've never worked on a switch before so I will defer to Hack.

[Bananarama]

I believe the animation will need to be re-exported from the model source.

[OlPaint]

Hack

Is that something that I can learn to do. Or is that a proprietary RSC Design Team thing to re-export from the Model Source...like a .GeoPcDx file is kind of copyright protected?

Olpaint

[Chacal]

Only the original modeler with the source shape files (from a 3D program such as Max, Blender or 3DCrafter) can do this.

[OlPaint]

Chacal

Well then, if we have RSC's track record to depend on, this bug will probably never get fixed in our life time. Darn. I guess I can live with the bummed up animation. I did fix the Manual Switch Target reversed colors. Oh well...

OTOH, if we knew the Developer of NEC, maybe we could ask nicely...

How do you suppose a design flaw like this one got by the Beta Testers?

OlPaint

[Chacal]

Beats me. There's not a lot of switching activity happeneing on that route, maybe no one noticed. It is certainly the first time I hear about it.
Also, it is possible that the bug was inserted at a later time.

[OlPaint]

Chacal

I love "Switching Puzzles". And my Brakie spends most of his time flat-foot'n it on the ground from manual switch stand to the next, throwing the points, bending the iron. He hardly ever rides in the cab regardless of the route we are running.

I discovered the Donner Pass switch stand reversed aspects error during the first switching scenario I ever ran. Fortunately, someone smarter than me put out a fix for Donner Pass. I wish someone would put up a fix for NEC.

As for the Beta Testers, Not all the trains run up and down the "Corridor" at 100+ MPH all the time. Someone has to assemble and disassemble the consists in the passenger terminal yards, right? What about the "Locals" that must duck in and out of the sidings while the 'Express Screamers' roar on by. These less glamorous jobs, by handling freight manifests, earn their living picking up and delivering commerce to all the track side industries. In each of these examples, the lowly manual switch stand rules. And for Gawds Sake, do not ever "split a switch"...instant derailment, OH MY!

OlPaint

[OlPaint]

Chacal or Hack

I find it curious that in my short experience running RailWorks I have found just two routes so far with flumixed manual switch stands; Donner Pass and North East Corridor. I just realized that the manual switch stands used on both routes appear to be modelled after the UniTracrail Model 51A low profile with loop throw handle and rectangular paddles target.

SwitchStandModel51-A.jpg

The Donner Pass switch stand target color error was repaired with a reversal of the color swatches in the 'DP_manualjunction.TgPcDx' texture file and now it is working correctly with the proper aspects displaying on my DP route.

Now then, this is a question that struck me last night. Let me preface the question with this statement, "Of course, I have absolutely no experience with route construction or design. I am a novice, So I don't know any tricks of the trade." As a newbie, I need to know - Would it be possible to borrow the manual switch stand asset, the working Type 51A low profile manual switch stand from Donner Pass route, and install it on the NEC route as a substitute for the broken switch stand asset? Both Buzz and XDriver have shown me how to borrow "sounds" from one locomotive and install them into other locomotives. A perfect example is their mod that borrows the "Chuffing Sound" from the RSC K4Pack01 and then installed into both the G-TraX Berkshire and Northern Locos with just a simple change of referenced address in their .BIN blueprints files.

There must be hundreds of manual switch stands placed on the NEC route. I was hoping the a simple but similar change of reference address in a the NEC route's blueprint or maybe the NEC route's track rules would convert everything over to the working DP manual switch stand in one fell swoop.

OlPaint

[PapaXpress]

I don't have the files in front of me right now, but I believe you can replace just the stands. If no one else gives an explanation I will try to make some time tonight to walk through it.

[OldProf]

If you look closely enough, every route contains small yet potentially annoying errors like the one you describe. My "favorites" include water spouts that sit parallel to a track rather than at a right angle, switch stands placed in the middle of a track segment, and, above all, loading cranes or platforms that are not aligned properly (vertically, horizontally, or both). A quick examination of scenarios may explain this. The majority of them involve long runs of freight or passenger trains, during which neither beta testers nor drivers are likely to notice such errors. Only when shunting is involved do these mistakes come into close view. Given the complexity of most routes and the large number of objects involved, I can sympathize with route builders on this issue, but why not recruit a beta tester who's sole task is looking for track-side errors such as these? I would happily volunteer for such a position, especially for payware routes.