Don't use the undo button to delete a spline, chances are TRS will crash
Where possible, lay your track in the direction the trains will be travelling. This helps the AI as it "prefers" track which is laid in the direction of travel. For the same reason, do not use double track as a) it makes the AI think it's travelling the wrong way and b) it makes curves very difficult to build (and for certain countries it's the wrong spacing anyway)
Leave the signalling till last, as laying a signal and then laying more track ahead of it can cause problems with the AI.
Trackmarks. If you have a long stretch of track or you find the AI constantly takes the wrong route at a certain location, lay a trackmark down on the path you want the AI to take and then tell your trains to "Drive Via". I find that placing a trackmark a full braking distance before a signal and telling a train to "Drive Via" prevents the AI from trying to take control of points which are beyond the signal and it will instead wait for the signal to clear.
Choice of track. Experiment! There are thousands of different types of track available in TRS and on the DLS. It's sad to always see people putting so much effort into the rolling stock, scenery and buildings used on a route and then to have the visual effect of all that ruined by using the default tracks which were built-in to the original Trainz.
When you make Bridges note that grass does not grow under a bridge so use a dark colour such as "Dock Surface" or Ballast if its trackside.When you are making Fields note that a field is rarely ploughed right up to the fence.Try to orientate you fields so you can paint a rough grass texture to follow the line of the fence and paint the rest of the field your required colour.Always include a "Farm Gate" or "Open Farm Gate" in your field and paint a Mud texture round it , suggestive of Tractors or animals going through it.
I've had to lay out a few small forests on my "Real Life" route so most of these have been learned the hard way - I have had to delete my original efforts! When laying out large numbers of trees always use the "Randomly rotate new objects" function in Surveyor options AND vary the height of the trees by using the Height button. When laying out Tree Splines , don't lay them in straight lines - lay short stretches in criss cross lines so as to make them look less uniform. Always paint the forest floor a darker colour (e.g. Ger Forest) than the surrounding area. For good measure use a sound file such as "Crows".
there is nothing worse then driving your train over "floating track" that has a space between the track and the ground. When you are done laying all the track for your route, use the ground elevation tool to bring the ground up to your track. Don't bring your track down to the ground or you will lose the gradient you set for the track. Select the "ground up" button in the topography menu and gently tap your left mouse button to bring the ground up to your track. Keep doing it until the ground just starts to cover the edge of the track, then hit the undo button once to lower the ground one "mouse tap". Do this for your entire route. It is time consuming but the result is no more ugly space between your track and the ground.
Sick of planting trees and texturing. Build up a random clump of trees and add the texture beneath in a square somewhere out of sight on a baseboard. Name one of the trees 'Trees' so that you can do a 'find' if you forget where you put them. Now copy and paste where they need to be. Stagger the paste in a brickwork fashion and rotate each time to avoid repetition.
Planted trees/objects and now don't want them. Copy and paste a blank area of board onto the trees/objects and now they're gone.
If you are using a very small variety of trees and it's all looking a bit similar, try pulling a few into the ground to resemble less mature trees and also shrubs. You can do this with the ones you are going to copy and paste and they will retain the heights above ground. Do this with grass as well and then it won't look like a harvester/mower has been through it. by escafeld
Where possible, lay your track in the direction the trains will be travelling. This helps the AI as it "prefers" track which is laid in the direction of travel. For the same reason, do not use double track as a) it makes the AI think it's travelling the wrong way and b) it makes curves very difficult to build (and for certain countries it's the wrong spacing anyway)
Leave the signalling till last, as laying a signal and then laying more track ahead of it can cause problems with the AI.
Trackmarks. If you have a long stretch of track or you find the AI constantly takes the wrong route at a certain location, lay a trackmark down on the path you want the AI to take and then tell your trains to "Drive Via". I find that placing a trackmark a full braking distance before a signal and telling a train to "Drive Via" prevents the AI from trying to take control of points which are beyond the signal and it will instead wait for the signal to clear.
Choice of track. Experiment! There are thousands of different types of track available in TRS and on the DLS. It's sad to always see people putting so much effort into the rolling stock, scenery and buildings used on a route and then to have the visual effect of all that ruined by using the default tracks which were built-in to the original Trainz.
When you make Bridges note that grass does not grow under a bridge so use a dark colour such as "Dock Surface" or Ballast if its trackside.When you are making Fields note that a field is rarely ploughed right up to the fence.Try to orientate you fields so you can paint a rough grass texture to follow the line of the fence and paint the rest of the field your required colour.Always include a "Farm Gate" or "Open Farm Gate" in your field and paint a Mud texture round it , suggestive of Tractors or animals going through it.
I've had to lay out a few small forests on my "Real Life" route so most of these have been learned the hard way - I have had to delete my original efforts! When laying out large numbers of trees always use the "Randomly rotate new objects" function in Surveyor options AND vary the height of the trees by using the Height button. When laying out Tree Splines , don't lay them in straight lines - lay short stretches in criss cross lines so as to make them look less uniform. Always paint the forest floor a darker colour (e.g. Ger Forest) than the surrounding area. For good measure use a sound file such as "Crows".
there is nothing worse then driving your train over "floating track" that has a space between the track and the ground. When you are done laying all the track for your route, use the ground elevation tool to bring the ground up to your track. Don't bring your track down to the ground or you will lose the gradient you set for the track. Select the "ground up" button in the topography menu and gently tap your left mouse button to bring the ground up to your track. Keep doing it until the ground just starts to cover the edge of the track, then hit the undo button once to lower the ground one "mouse tap". Do this for your entire route. It is time consuming but the result is no more ugly space between your track and the ground.
Sick of planting trees and texturing. Build up a random clump of trees and add the texture beneath in a square somewhere out of sight on a baseboard. Name one of the trees 'Trees' so that you can do a 'find' if you forget where you put them. Now copy and paste where they need to be. Stagger the paste in a brickwork fashion and rotate each time to avoid repetition.
Planted trees/objects and now don't want them. Copy and paste a blank area of board onto the trees/objects and now they're gone.
If you are using a very small variety of trees and it's all looking a bit similar, try pulling a few into the ground to resemble less mature trees and also shrubs. You can do this with the ones you are going to copy and paste and they will retain the heights above ground. Do this with grass as well and then it won't look like a harvester/mower has been through it. by escafeld
