SRTM's

[CARex]

Marc Nelson,

(from t-s.com)...
"...You'll need to create a folder within the main RS directory called "DEM", and in that, create a folder called "SRTM". ..."

I should be struck by lightning if this phrase is written anywhere in the 15 lbs. of RS documents that I've downloaded.
(I'm sure it's there some where, but I never found it.)

[Bananarama]

I believe this is only mentioned in the Rail Simulator - Editor User Guide.pdf (page 15), but is incorrect, as it says to place the HGT files into the Rail Simulator\DEM folder, without mentioning the required SRTM folder, not to mention that the files should be placed there. Took me some time to figure this one out too (didn't help that I misspelled SRTM at one point).

[decapod]

Took me a little while to find that one too - I read it here:


http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic. ... 18&t=77230


I'm pretty sure the World editor manual is correct or has been corrected and does mention dem\srtm as the folder to use.

[CARex]

Took me a little while to find that one too - I read it here:

http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic. ... 18&t=77230

I'm pretty sure the World editor manual is correct or has been corrected and does mention dem\srtm as the folder to use.

Hi Paul,

So glad to hear from you. Yeah, I got the DEM\SRTM folders set-up, but I'm still having problems getting the 'extractor' to work. I posted the following message at T-S.com last night. No responses as yet. I mention the 'InputMapers' as being un-installed... however, I've since done that according to the readme. Still, I'm not sure they are in the right place (source folder). There are similar folders in the RS Asset folder. And the ArtPlugins zip which has no readme, I'm still clueless regarding the placement of those files/zips. I'll hunt around more today (fortunately I'm enjoying several days from work).
Meanwhile, as always, I sincerely appreciate your input.
Thanx, Bob

(BTW, I gather 3D Canvas is the software of choice? I'm going to miss SU )

-----------------------------
(from T-S.com)

OK… I’m... up to my ears in documentation with little or no success.

However, I would like to define the 'nine tiles of terrain'. Am I to understand that 'one' SRTM will generate nine tiles of terrain. That is to say the black bordered (flat) squares that I saw on one occasion . And if I require more tiles, do I need to replace the first SRTM with a second (preferably adjacent to the first (N42W72 and N42W71, etc, etc)) and repeat the extraction process. Until I have created my terrain with any number of SRTM as required for the proposed route.

There were also a couple of zip files that I was unsure about. ArtPlugins which had no Read Me or other Documentation. And InputMAppers, which I’m still a bit unsure of.

The US install is fresh out of the box. MK1 and MK2 updates installed. RSDEV tools installed (with documentation). Created DEM and SRTM folders respectively (DEM\SRTM). I initially loaded the SRTM folder with ‘nine’ SRTM files… thinking that was what they were calling for. But with no success. Later, I removed 8 SRTM files leaving only one and tried again. Still no success.

AAAARRRGGH!!! So far I’ve several 'routes' on the list with absolutely nothing in there… which now begs the question… how do I delete these empty routes??

I’ll re-read this thread and a few other nearby in the hopes something jumps out and smax me in the face.

[decapod]

Hi Bob,

For empty routes, just select the route on the main menu and press the Delete key :)

Did you create a new route template using the asset editor with the origin location set?
The SRTM data is not loaded automatically, you need to move over an area and press the T key to get it to load the HGT file for the lat/long location.

3DC is working OK-ish at the moment, still some improvements needed on the export. Once that is done I'll take a look at sketchup.

[wmalder]

My biggest problem with route creation was trying to get it where the route actually is. I found that I couldn't extract terrain unless I was where it came from (lat. and long.). To finally get the route where I wanted it I used RStools (I downloaded the Pro version) and with a careful reading of the help file there I managed to create my route where I wanted. I even recreated it when I didn't like the start point - it's fairly easy once you've done it once. One other quirk if you will, is that when you extract the terrain with the T key, you have to push the little Play button on the lower left corner of the screen. That saves the change you just made. If you don't do that each time then the next piece of terrain you place will erase the one before. It's no big problem to reenter the editing mode after each extraction but you do need to remember to do it.

[CARex]

Greetings folks,

Well, I guess I’m thicker than your average door.

For love nor money, I cannot get the Long/Lat navigator to work. As I understand it… in a just created new route (using San Bernardino / Barstow as a template), unless I’m in the southwest corner of the desired SRTM (N42W72)… I’m not going to be able to extract terrain via the ‘T’ key.

But I can’t get there from here. Here being 34/-117. Which is San Bernardino / Barstow.

With Dev tools installed, the Navigator patch installed… nothing. However, during one of dozens of ‘new route’ attempts, I somehow managed to arrive a long 42.00000, but -117.xxxxx would not change. Another dozen attempts and I could not get back to 42.00000 let alone -72.00000.

I have scoured the manuals, both Editor Use & various sections of the Developer Manuals (which IMO are loose at best) for some logical explanation but nothing is jumping out at me. Even threads at T-S.com were not helpful.

I just know the proper procedure is going to be something insanely stupid that I’m not doing. Any assist will be greatly appreciated.

[wmalder]

This is one of the tough ones to get the first time. I would suggest again to use RSTools. You need to generate a blueprint first that has your starting location defined. It's not possible to navigate more than a small distance away from that starting point and even if you do, you'll always come back to that starting point when you reenter your route. If you can be patient, I'll try to get an explanation in as much detail as I can a little bit later today. I haven't committed th procedure to memory yet and I'll have to go back through the procedure to jog it. If possible I'll even add some illustrations.

[wmalder]

All Right, I have a little time here. The first thing you need before anything else is to set up your 'Developer' folders. The easiest way to do that is copy and paste in the Source folder the Developer folder. This new set of folders will need to be renamed with a name of your choice i.e. MyFiles or something a little more creative. Under this folder will be one called Addons which you should rename something like MyRoute or something memorable and descriptive to you. This will give you the needed file structure to start with.

Now that you have these in place you need to go to http://virtualtrains.spaces.live.com and download RS_Tools_Pro v3.2.13 . Install the program and then run it. In the home screen there you will find in the menu an option for generating Easy Blueprints. Open that and then select Route Template. You then get the chance to point the program at your developer files. Select 'MyFiles" and then select 'MyRoute'. There you will see a group of folders. Select Route Templates and confirm. This will bring up Set Up Blueprint for a Route Template. Below this you will enter the name of the route. At this point I believe the name you use must have no spaces. Next it gives you the opportunity to enter your Latitude and Longitude values for your start point in the route. Pick this carefully as this is where the route will open in the program. For example for Cajon Pass the selected location puts you at the summit for free play. After you have entered these values, click on the Make Blueprint button and then exit.

Now you need to open up Rail Simulator's Asset Editor. In there you will open up your MyFiles folder and then the MyRoute folder and look for the Template Routes folder. Open that and you should see a file called 'MyRoute' . that should be your route Blueprint. Double click on that and you will see on the right a window titled MyRoute - route Blueprint. Click on the Export button and then you should be able to exit the Asset Editor.

Now you can enter the Developer Version of Rail Simulator and open the New Route. There you should find a template named MyRoute. Select that and click Create and a window comes up where you can name your route whatever you want. Create it and you can return to the route selection window, Select your route which should now be visible in the menu and select Free Play. It should open on a empty field or maybe not. It doesn't matter because you now need to exit it again before you can reenter the route in Free Play and start editing.

I believe I've caught all the important points here. If anyone sees something I've missed, tell us all and we can improve this explanation.

[CARex]

Hi Bill,

Thanx for your kwik response. I visited Mike’s site, but for reasons unknown, RS_Tools_Pro v3.2.13, is missing / turned off depending on which screen you are reading. As is the RS Kickstart utility. The last blog date was Sept ‘08 and no mention as to why the RS items are no longer available.

In any event, I recalled seeing in one RS doc or another, that the RSDEV tools installation was going to create the files you speak of in the source folder. And then automatically copy them to the Asset folder as well. However, it just calls the folders ‘Developer’ & ‘Addon’… no unique names (ie carex\VNHRR).
I presume these automatic folders should perform the same function as Develop1 & Addon1 as indicated in the RSDEV manual. Which seems to be promoting a manual creation of these files. ‘Above and beyond / instead of’ the automatically created folders remains unclear (to me). I find this documentation difficult at best.

As a matter of course… I uninstalled the works. By way of the uninstall routine and deleted the remaining RS folder from Program Files folder. Then I re-installed. Upon completion I checked both the Asset and Source folders and as expected found no evidence of RSDEV tools. I once again installed MK1 & MK2 updates. IIRC… I once again checked Source and Assets and still no change. I then installed the ‘template_route_fix’.

However, this time I happed to notice that the ‘read me’ seemed to mention that this fix was relative to the ‘San Bernardino / Barstow route template’ only (or that was the impression I got). At one point ( I think before the install) I noticed that the ‘Long / Lad’ windows on the Navigator were reversed. To say Longitude was on the left and Latitude was on the right. After the fix install (in the new route w / San Bernardino / Barstow template) the Lad/Long windows were now reversed… Lad on the left, Long on the right…? Not sure if this was the entire purpose of the fix or not. I hadn’t checked other routes to see how their navigators were set up before or after..

I checked the .KML files in Assets, and the new route (VNHRR) was there, but displayed 0.0 Lad / Long
entries. And you can’t manually modify XML file.

Additionally, I saw a RS\temp and a RS\Write Cache folders that I don’t recall seeing earlier. The Temp folder had a BlueprintSchema.XML file in it. The Write Cache folder was empty. I suspect these were generated because the system locked up when I attempted to load the Oxford / Paddington route in an attempt to release some stress. Consequently I had to 'Reset' after fifteen odd minutes of waiting for the op sys to unfreeze.

At this point I can understand were a would be ‘simmer’ could walk away from this product.

Appreciating your thought / inputs.

[wmalder]

I still think you need RS Tools to do things the way I did. I put in the link that was on the program and that may be out of date now. I just went to the site myself and now I have the proper address. Try this address http://www.routeriter.com/downloads.html . As to the Assets folder, I don't recall setting those up but I believe that you might need the equivalent folders in the Assets directory. However you should only need your Developer folder and the Addon subfolder as the rest of them are created as you need them by the program. Beyond the above two folder I don't think there's anything you need to do outside of the Source folders.

[CARex]

Bill,

I presume that you have installed all of these updates and fixes as well?? MK1, MK2, RSDEV Tools and the Navigator fix (template_route_fix). All of these from railsimulator.com. I dare say this has proven to be a rather long week-end.

Meanwhile, I’m off to this other link, once again… thanx for hanging in there with me. Very much appreciated.

EDIT: I guess I’m just not destined to get these issues resolved. I’ve visited that site and getting error messages on any of the RS items…

Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /Downloads/RS_Tools3237.zip on this server.
Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an Error Document to handle the request.

[Paddingtonbear]

hi guys,

This is a classic case of reinventing the wheel..........
Try doing a SRTM search on other forums and you will discover it was all untangled a while ago. For example have a look at
http://forums.flightsim.com/vbts/showth ... light=SRTM.
just somewhere to start. I am not going to say its simple but it is a case of being just a logic puzzle to be unraveled one step at a time, and then the same process works everytime for everybody. Yes SRTM has caused plenty of grief as has many other things in RS but theres plenty of info out there already. True theres more than one way to skin the cat(or is that re-skin the loco) but finding info on a way what already works has to be a good first step.

Ross
NZ

[CARex]

Hi Ross,

Yeah, I had already completed an SRTM search and found several threads that related. It’s not so much a case of ‘re-inventing’ as it was a case of ‘information overload’. After walking away for a day… a fresh approach helped. After re-reading the data, threads, etc… it occurred to me that most everybody was trying to say the same thing… they were just all saying it differently. However, I do have to slight the docs for not being as specific as they could be.

In any event with the use if Mike’s RS_Tools… I at least got to the correct Long/Lad (N41 W073) and with the proper set of templates (San Bern/Bars).

!*YAAA*!

However, I still haven’t been able to extract the SRTM(s). But….. I’m taking a slower more informed approach . It’ll happen eventually…… A couple days ago, I was preparing to launch the DVD across the back yard.

[rlbarr]

Hi

RS_Tools_Pro v3.2.13 is there. Just right click on it. A left click will give you the error message you mentioned.

Bob Barrows