Strange routes in my Content folder

[Griphos]

Okay, so I'm slowly trying out my third party routes to see which work and noticed in my Scenario interface where I can filter by route that I have one icon without any label at all and five scenarios in it. So I checked in my actual folders and sure enough, it's route 00000033-0000-0000-0000-000000002012, which appears to be a route folder name like those given to default or regular RSC routes.

I've also got two other routes with nothing but a scenario folder in them and five empty scenario sub-folders. There are no files in these route folders at all. They are 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 and ffc02253-25f0-40a6-9759-2c142c8fff56.

I've checked using RW_Tools, and none of those show up there as routes at all.

Anyone know anything about these? Is it safe to just delete these three "routes"?

[mikesimpson]

In the Railworks folder there is a new utility called NameMyRoute.exe - run this and it will list all of your routes - the invalid ones are in light grey.

You can then click the + sign before each route and it lists all of the scenarios there - you will find that some routes have over 20 empty scenario folders. I have no idea what these empty folders were for, maybe disbanded experimental scenarios they never got to work and forgot to delete? Who knows.

Mike

[Griphos]

Thanks Mike. Didn't know about that. It just lists them as "Missing RouteProperties.xml" And it found one more in addition to those listed above: 00000020...etc This one has an *.ap file and opening it with WinRar and looking in the RouteProperties file inside I see this is Doncaster Works.

Clearly these others were routes I installed at one point and to which I added scenarios. I wonder if TS2014 removed them. None of the other route folders have any *.ap files. Nor do two of them have anything but empty scenario folders. This is all very strange. I don't know how to know what routes they used to be or what happened to them.

EDIT: Okay, stranger still. I thought to look in the last backup I made of TS2013 (July) and there are no such folders there. So, apparently, TS2014 update installed these three route folders with no files except empty scenario subfolders. Why would it do that?

[hertsbob]

00000033-0000-0000-0000-000000002012 is Settle to Carlisle

ffc02253-25f0-40a6-9759-2c142c8fff56 is Edinburgh to Glasgow

I don't have one with a complete set of zeros, but 000000bd-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 is a route called Hopetown

There have been Workshop extensions published for the first two, so perhaps the appearance of these folders is related? Or perhaps not!

[FoggyMorning]

This will happen if you install a scenario, or a package containing scenarios, for a route you do not have installed. It shouldn't (in theory!) have any adverse effect other than eating up a few kb of disc space

[Griphos]

Thanks for the info Bob and Foggy. I knew this would happen if one installs a scenario for a route one doesn't have. I've done that once or twice in the past. I didn't think I'd done that for any routes I don't have recently. Actually, I'm almost certain I haven't, but it's possible I guess. I've never had StoC or EtoG, so perhaps it was a case of Workshop extensions or something like that. At any rate, it seems safe to just get rid of these, although, as has been said, they don't really take up any room.

[OldProf]

Thanks to Mike for informing us of this undocumented RSC utility. One of the routes greyed out in my installation and indicated as "missing RouteProperties.xml" is Torino-Genova, which I recently removed (or so I thought) because it took up a lot of space and because at the AmiciTreni site TS2014 isn't even mentioned yet. Despite the supposed removal, which I thought had been accomplished using RW-Tools, some ghost of the route is still there; yet the route no longer appears on my collections screen (yes, it did before) and there is no folder for it in Content/Routes.

Another greyed-out route, also identified as "missing RouteProperties.xml", is a Steam Workshop route, so in this case there is a folder for it in my installation: its "name" is 00000034-c00-0000-0000-00000000213.

Does this information help or just create confusion?

[mikesimpson]

Thanks to Mike for informing us of this undocumented RSC utility. One of the routes greyed out in my installation and indicated as "missing RouteProperties.xml" is Torino-Genova, which I recently removed (or so I thought) because it took up a lot of space and because at the AmiciTreni site TS2014 isn't even mentioned yet. Despite the supposed removal, which I thought had been accomplished using RW-Tools, some ghost of the route is still there; yet the route no longer appears on my collections screen (yes, it did before) and there is no folder for it in Content/Routes.

Another greyed-out route, also identified as "missing RouteProperties.xml", is a Steam Workshop route, so in this case there is a folder for it in my installation: its "name" is 00000034-c00-0000-0000-00000000213.

Does this information help or just create confusion?

Hi Tom,

The route 00000034-c00-0000-0000-00000000213 is the London-Faversham high speed route from RSC. Such information is helpful to some and gives total confusion to the rest...

Mike

[OldProf]

Thanks, Mike -- then I have both a "normal" version of this route and a greyed-out one. How do you think these greyed-out routes should be handled? Should they simply be deleted? Do they serve any purpose?

Hope you don't mind my tacking on another topic: For some reason (or perhaps just negligence), RSC keeps the Castle Rock, Hedborough North, Horseshoe Curve, London Brighton, Munich-Augsberg, and Port Road routes locked. This is a real annoyance for scenario writers. Would you consider adding a tool for unlocking all routes to RW_Tools?

Thanks for all you do!

[Chacal]

Aren't they easily unlocked in the Railworks route editor?
STartthe game, hit Esc, choose World Editor, unlock the route (icon at bottom right).

[OldProf]

Aren't they easily unlocked in the Railworks route editor?
STartthe game, hit Esc, choose World Editor, unlock the route (icon at bottom right).

Not so elementary, my dear Chacal! Actually, the full process includes:
1) start TS
2) press ESC to escape noisy & boring opening (optional, especially if you need a bathroom break)
3) select "Drive" from Main Menu
4) select a scenario category from Drive menu
5) select correct route
6) select a scenario & open it for play
7) press ESC
8) select World Editor option
9) click padlock icon
10) click Ok
11) accept save changes
12) click on arrowhead icon to return to scenario play
13) press ESC
14) select Quit
15) select Exit
16) return to Main Menu
17) select Build menu
18) select now unlocked route
19) select desired scenario
20) click Edit Scenario
... wow! how easy!

Yes, of course I know about that, having had to go through it after every cache verify, and those tend to be frequent during the writing of an AI-heavy scenario, even though the editor does seem more stable in TS2014. That's why I asked Mike about the possibility of building route unlocking into RW_Tools.

[Chacal]

I bet there is a "locked" or "islocked" property in RouteProperties.xml