No news is bad news. Tips for the editor

Microsoft () still has yet to own up to the bugs in their editor. It has been my conclusion that of all the people who have used the editor are somewhat dissapointed AGAIN with Microsoft. Here are some tips for NOT screwing up your game, although none are true cures for the numerous problems embedded in the editor:1) If you ABSOLUTELY have to make a new track, to use objects from other tracks, you will first have to copy that track's folder. Rename it to "Sample" and THEN proceed to copy the NEW .ref file to your own track's folder. Rename the origional .ref to "whatever.old" You should now be able to copy the texture and shape files for the track. When finished, delete the "Sample" track, and if you delete the origional, just rename the folder to the origional folder's name. Failure to do this results in the game's inability to play the origional track, if you copy it's .ref file directly
2) NEVER copy shapes and textures to the Pallett file, unless you enjoy crashes and screw-ups. A re-installation could be the result.
3) When all else fails, GIVE UP ON EDITING OR CREATING UNTIL MICROSOFT RELEASES A PATCH!!! A safe editor is better than a faulty one that can screw up your game. If Microsoft fails to release a patch, there will be a lot of angry people out there... myself included.I hope this helps, and if it doesn't, don't worry. The editor was pretty helpless anyway.MrE

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No news is bad news. Tips for the editor. [View All], MrE, 00:14 AM, Jun-21-01, (0) RE: No news is bad news. Tips for the editor., chrsgolfer, Jun-21-01, 00:42 AM, (1) RE: No news is bad news. Tips for the editor., Short1ESK, Jun-21-01, 09:47 AM, (2) RE: No news is bad news. Tips for the editor., Tempest, Jun-21-01, 09:54 AM, (3) RE: No news is bad news. Tips for the editor., Short1ESK, Jun-21-01, 12:07 PM, (5) RE: No news is bad news. Tips for the editor., MrE, Jun-22-01, 00:41 AM, (7) RE: No news is bad news. Tips for the editor., MrE, Jun-22-01, 00:33 AM, (6) RE: No news is bad news. Tips for the editor., Tempest, Jun-21-01, 09:56 AM, (4) RE: No news is bad news. Tips for the editor., romerails, Jun-22-01, 03:40 AM, (8) RE: No news is bad news. Tips for the editor., mxkill, Jun-23-01, 12:42 PM, (9)

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I would have to disagree. I was very frustrated in the beginning but now it just keeps getting easier and easier. Everything is going so much quicker now. It honestly just takes a lot of practice. I also don't have anymore crashes in the editor. I used enditall before I use the editor and that has been the key. I also back up my track everytime after I have worked on it. Good luck to everyone.

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Can you please help me or teach me the editor!? I am not even able to see the track I am TRYING to lay. I am using the help section. I did all the stuff it said to in the Route Geography thing, so now I am up to the step about laying track. I opened up the Route Editor and opened up my track. The place where the future route will be is totally white. Is this normal? Then I went to the button to put the track down, selected the track, and clicked on the white area to lay the track. Is this correct? Please help me!!! Thank you for your time!

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If you are seeing all white you missed a step in the Extractor, possibly not selecting a quad tree and saving it, or perhaps not
selecting tiles for the quad tree. I would suggest reselecting your tiles in the geometry extractor, and follow the steps slowly and closely.

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OK, I am starting over with a smaller route in mind. Hopefully I will get the right thing, not all white! I was told the same thing by many other people! Thank you so much!

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To ShortESK form MrE,About teaching you the editor, there is not much I can say. Here are some more tips:-When placing track, look at the names of the prefabricated sections. Look for things such as crv (curve), rgt (right), Tun (tunnel), etc.
-To tell the truth, this editor is not too good for making tracks. With this editor, it is absolutely impossible to even try to remotley recreate routes in the game. Just hope that Microsoft comes out with a patch
-About seeing white, make sure that you save your Quad-Tree and also make sure you have right-clicked on one to make it your start-tile. Believe it or not, the RGE help file is a good source of info when EXTRACTING routes, but the Route Editor doesn't help all that muchI hope I was able to help you somewhat. Good luck!MrE

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LAST EDITED ON Jun-22-01 AT 00:36 AM (EST)To chrsgolfer from MrE,I do agree that the BASIC features of the editor are very easy to use, but there are still some problems I should point out:1) I have saved a quad-tree and implemented the starting tile. I never saw as you said, "all white (unless you count those little white lines that flash on my screen while I am in this program)"
2) Annoyingly, after you wait an hour or so while your computer generates the tiles, so you can make your dream of a large freight-route through the Rocky Mts., you find when you open your route, there isn't even an anthill, just an infinitely large space, where tiles don't have much to do with anything (I had my railroad statr at the VERY edge, and I could still place track outside the boundaries)
3) You can see through things. Am I the only person that is annoyed by this?I am sure there are some more things I may have missed. I am not unexperienced when it comes to computers, but I do know when Microsoft needs to fix their merchandise.MrE

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I would have to disagree. This editor is actually that bad. Sure, there are a few things that could've been better organized, but after making 2 routes now, it has just gotten easier and easier. When first learning the editor a lot of patience is required. It is actually a pretty powerful tool.
Happy route building!

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I agree with both of you. The route editor is full of bugs and is certainly faulty to say the least. AND, the more I use it the easier it gets and it is a very powerful tool. Certainly if MS expects users to be spewing forth new free routes for their simulator, they are going to have to own up to the bugs in this one and make one with an easier interface for those not so computer abled. Not too many are going to have the desire or patience needed to complete a route. I hope to see more HELP posted here to let everyone learn from each other.

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The second clue that the Route Editor should be treated as a “technology preview” is the fragmented documentation. The first is the “unsupported” disclaimer, which is appropriate for pre-release betas (of which, in my opinion, the Route Editor qualifies). So far I find it to be usable so long as I keep things simple, but a coherent user’s manual is an obligation for such an ambitious tool. Would an improved, well-documented version of the Route Editor before the end of the year be too much to hope for?

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