Railworks America

After months of laying track for my Coast Route I still don't grasp the circumstances that allow or disallow the ability to delete a gradient marker (yellow arrow) at various locations. In some cases they may be deleted, in others they simply wont go away, but I have not been able to discover why. I try not to have any more than necessary to make a smooth transition.

Any insight?

By the way, I'm new here to the forum and appreciate all the work you all have done thus far. I've been around off and on since the first release of MSTS but left it alone for years after becoming frustrated with it. RW has me interested again. After nearly a year of experimenting with it I decided to tackle my Coast Route Project again. Much better experience this time around.

Hi, perhaps the yellow marker is at the end of a ribbon? (A ribbon is the stretch of track you lay with each click.)

When placing the yellow markers, avoid putting them at the end of the ribbon.

Thanks for that tip.

It would seem that in some cases the gradient markers are automatically placed when laying track, also showing the red triangle. In other cases when snapping multiple sections in sequence the track continues with no indication of a joint or gradient marker. Any idea what circumstances cause this?

Daylighter wrote:In other cases when snapping multiple sections in sequence the track continues with no indication of a joint or gradient marker. Any idea what circumstances cause this?

This is supposed to happen.

Daylighter wrote:Thanks for that tip.

It would seem that in some cases the gradient markers are automatically placed when laying track, also showing the red triangle. In other cases when snapping multiple sections in sequence the track continues with no indication of a joint or gradient marker. Any idea what circumstances cause this?

When laying long sections of track, gradient points are set at weld lines of maximum track section length and one other point in between that's not a weld line. Those two gradient markers can't be deleted from the network, but usually more gradient markers are desirable anyway. If you place a marker accidentally right next to one that you're trying to click on (I do this ALL the time), immediately hit delete while the new marker is highlighted, then try again.

Ahhh... a subject near and dear to my heart. In building mountain track I feel like I spend my life adjusting these things!

Until recently, these markers (I call them pins) that hold the track in place were not a problem if they were managed right. Yes, there has always been the occasional rougue pin that came out of nowhere and won't go away, but removing the two track ends at the offending join and splicing in a short piece eliminated any problem pins. Until this 116 update, I could run 10kms of track without a single pin in it! Doing this is part of my methodology for finding the grade on inaccurate terrain. Open Bar-SanBa in World Editor and look for pins out there in the desert. Have a nice long flight; they're miles apart. It's always been that way.

Now, since this 116 update, I have scores of pins showing up every few hundred feet. And in the mountains, where the curve changes every 100 yards, do you know how many joins and [now] pins that creates?!?!! I'm stumped. Like you guys, I've tried deleting them, but there are a lot of what I call "one-siders" that cannot be deleted. Those always have been a problem. Used to be, I could adjust the "one-sider" end of the track a touch up or down, then hovering over the junction another pin would appear on the other track end. Click, click again and the two pins merge, click Gradient tool again, and they are one pin. Highlight it and delete it. Gone. Track springs into place just like I want.

But no more. I've written support about this TWICE now (are you listening, Adam?) with no response. I'm afraid that because 95% of all RW track gets laid on flat terrain, I am the only one griping about this. I know what they were trying to do... they're trying to prevent "sprung track", which occurs from mishandling the gradient pins. But this cannot work for me.

I haven't laid track in a week. I made the mistake of trusting RW on these last two updates and didn't do a full RW backup beforehand. My mistake. I would love to be back on version 114 right now.

Tori

I don't know why you want to get rid of the "pins" they allow you to control the gradient, I actually prefer them.

Trainguy76 wrote:I don't know why you want to get rid of the "pins" they allow you to control the gradient, I actually prefer them.

No no... I should clarify... I need the pins, too, but I need to control where they are. It's these new automatic things that I can't delete that are giving me the headaches.

Tori

I have spent the last couple of weeks overcoming my fear of these gradient markers, because of the messed up track I kept making and having to re-lay. I must have started my route after the 114 level because I always had the many pins on level track.

My approach to the one-sider problem is to set the end of the ribbon with the one-sider pin down to terrain, then fly to the next pin along the adjacent ribbon that still is not at terrain or at grade. Click once on the pin there, and the far end that I just flew from snaps to the pin of the ribbon that I previously dropped to terrain. It seems to remember that it's joined to the next ribbon at the other end, but it doesn't snap down until I click on that intermediate pin.

Tori's term "pins" is much better than "gradient markers"... we have enough things called markers already! I vote we adopt that term.

Red

RedWhistle wrote:I have spent the last couple of weeks overcoming my fear of these gradient markers, because of the messed up track I kept making and having to re-lay. I must have started my route after the 114 level because I always had the many pins on level track.

My approach to the one-sider problem is to set the end of the ribbon with the one-sider pin down to terrain, then fly to the next pin along the adjacent ribbon that still is not at terrain or at grade. Click once on the pin there, and the far end that I just flew from snaps to the pin of the ribbon that I previously dropped to terrain. It seems to remember that it's joined to the next ribbon at the other end, but it doesn't snap down until I click on that intermediate pin.

Tori's term "pins" is much better than "gradient markers"... we have enough things called markers already! I vote we adopt that term.

Red

Right, Red.... I forgot that I use that method sometimes, too. It works for snapping them down, but then, frequently, if my goal was to delete that pin, it either won't delete or when it does delete, that join goes to 0 elevation. Then I have to "go down" and highlight that pin to snap it back up again. Then, I end up deleting the two ends..... (my previous method)....

"Pins" are what we call the things that hold our model RR's to the terrain.... this is a virtual model RR.... it made sense to me. No need to always reinvent the wheel.

Tori

Toripony wrote: It works for snapping them down, but then, frequently, if my goal was to delete that pin, it either won't delete or when it does delete, that join goes to 0 elevation. Then I have to "go down" and highlight that pin to snap it back up again. Then, I end up deleting the two ends..... (my previous method)....

Hi Tori, I find that this only occurs if you place a pin on a track join (red triangle) not including junctions though.

Toripony wrote:Right, Red.... I forgot that I use that method sometimes, too. It works for snapping them down, but then, frequently, if my goal was to delete that pin, it either won't delete or when it does delete, that join goes to 0 elevation. Then I have to "go down" and highlight that pin to snap it back up again. Then, I end up deleting the two ends..... (my previous method)....

Ah, right. Yeah, that can especially be "fun" with elevations at thousands of feet. Hrm, hope that they can fix this. That reminds me, earlier tonight I hit "t" by accident. That was a nice hole down to 0 elevation, kinda felt like I had just jumped out of an airplane or something.

Red

I never "place" pins any more; that causes the sprung track disasters. Where ever you want a pin, cut (Split) the track there. A pin is placed automatically and as soon as you click on it, it becomes a permanent pin. If you don't click on it at all and re-weld that cut, that pin will disappear. At least, they USED to.... not now.

Simply plopping down a pin on an open stretch of track is what creates those pins that the programming "forgets" (<<<RSC's word) and then causes the sprung track because that whole "string" (<<<in the program code sense) of pins is destroyed the next time the route is saved.

I am in discussion with RSC about this now (funny how they always show up as soon as I post their names in a forum thread, ). Their initial reaction was what I expected from those UK flatlanders... "why is this a problem?" (no offense to all you millions of flatlanders out there; that's just us mountain folk having our fun back at ya! ).

They wanted me to send screenshots. I subsequently discovered that I my PrtSc key no longer works in World Editor mode. I went into a v.114 installation I still have and it works fine, but not in v.116. Anyone else? I just get grabs of my desktop when I try it.

Tori

Tori, FRAPS should work fine for screen shots in game. You need to upload them to a photo sharing site afterwards, tho.

Normally Control+S should make a screenshot in RW Tori.