LAST EDITED ON Sep-08-02 AT 07:06 PM (EDT)
Route Specification ForumIntroductionNeed for Route Specification ForumMicrosoft Train Simulator (MSTS) was released a little over a year ago, and several route-building pioneers emerged to create routes. The early pioneers, as the pioneers of any country/land, found this new "land" to be fraught with challenges--the Route Editor (RE) being the greatest. How could routes be built with such a tool?Notwithstanding such a tool, routes were built and released. Now there are well over 100 items listed under the Routes section of the www.train-sim.com file library (as of September 4, 2002), and many more routes are available in locations around the world. Even a cursory perusal of the Route forum will show that more are in the works.At the time of the early, route-building pioneers, the routes were few, and releases were infrequent. Keeping up on what was available and its specifications was easy.Today, however, that is not the case. Because the route downloads are significantly larger than non-route downloads, it has become apparent that more factual information is required than either the short description in the file library or the "promotions" by the route builder. Thus, the need for this forum.The concept of having a new forum was discussed in the Route Forum for several weeks, and can be found in the unarchived threads:http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/DCForumID6/6202.html
http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/DCForumID6/6248.html
http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/DCForumID6/6278.htmlGoal of Route Specification ForumThe goal of the Route Specification Forum is to provide information--factual, objective information--about a route available for downloading to any and all visitors to www.train-sim.com , so that the visitor can make a better determination about the route he/she would like to download. Further, it is the goal of this proposal to NOT be a rating tool, and all attempts at making it a rating tool will be thwarted.Who Route Specification Forum Aimed AtThe Route Specification Forum is aimed at route developers, users, and the forum moderators. For the route developers, they will provide the information about their respective routes. Route developers' participation is strictly and totally voluntary, and no judgment will be made on those route developers who choose not to participate. Route developers can also request that the information about their route be modified or removed from the listing, again, without fear of reprisal. Route developers do NOT have to have their route in the www.train-sim.com file library in order to use this service. Further, ANY train simulator's routes' specifications can be added to this forum. Notice, that the forum title is NOT MSTS Route Specification Forum, but Route Specification Forum.For the user, this forum makes available factual information which can assist in determining whether or not the user would like to download the route.For the forum moderators, this forum aims to make his/her job as low-maintenance, low time-consuming as possible. The moderator has the right and task to edit the material for readability and length.How Route Developers Submit InformationRoute Developers can submit information about their route that is available for download just like any other post. We would hope, however, that the route developer would use an itemized format as shown in the next section.Their post will then be examined by one of the moderators, who will edit if necessary, and then make the post public.The purpose of this forum is NOT discussion! It is for storage of route specifications and descriptions only of routes that are available for download. Any and all discussion must occur in another forum. Any post that is NOT a route developer's specifications and description will NOT be made public, but will be deleted.Nature of Information Stored at New ForumThe following is requested from each Route Developer about his/her route:Name of RouteVersion and Release DateDescription (~100 words or less)Installation MethodSize of DownloadSize of Installed RouteFantasy, Prototypical, or Freelance OperationsFreight or PassengerEra or GenreLocationLength of MainlineLength of BranchesNumber of BranchesNumber of SidingsNumber of YardsMixture of Dual and Single TrackLevel of Trackside DetailAmount of Scenery CompletedFPS Specs, with qualifiersActivities ProvidedNon-Default Consists or Rolling Stock Required in ActivitiesAdd-In Track Sets: Xtracks required, compatible with v3.2 or laterTsection.dat file used: Standardized Tsection.dat, release 00008 or laterPayware or FreewareURL for More Information and ScreenshotsKnown ProblemsWhere it can be downloadedRoute developers are not REQUIRED to provide any information; however, all information provided will be put into the above format.Nature of Information ExplainedThis section explains what is meant by each specification listed above. This is to help both the user and route developer better understand what each category means.Name of RouteThe name of the route. Please include both the name as seen in MSTS and the name of the directory under which the route resides.Version and Release DateWhat version is this and what was the release date.Description (~100 words or less)This could be the same as the description in the file library. Otherwise just a description of the route. The ~100-word limit is a guideline to keep the description size manageable.Installation MethodIs the user downloading a zip or exe file? Is the method of installation with a custom installer program (clickwise, etc.) or with a batch file (ezstuff, routeriter, etc.)? Are there multiple steps required to successfully install the route.Size of DownloadHow many files in the file library should the user be looking for and how large is each file.Size of Installed RouteAfter installation, how much space on the hard drive does the route take.Fantasy, Prototypical, or Freelance OperationsFantasy -- A route which has no resemblance to a real world railroad either in area, timeframe, and/or operational style. An example would be to set a steam only motive power into the modern era and run it like a real railroad.Prototypical -- As faithful an emulation of either a historical or a modern real world railroad - as much as possible.Freelance -- This blends the two above. It uses enough real world operational and location details to make its existence operationally plausible, although the railroad's name is purely fictional. This is seen a lot with model railroaders, examples of which you will find in nearly every issue of Model Railroader. This is a "what if..." kind of railroad...like in "what if ATSF did not succeed in its hostile takeover of the BN"...or UP with the SP.Freight or PassengerIs the route designed for freight, passenger, or both?Era or GenreIs the route in the steam age? Early diesel? Traction?LocationDoes the route have a real world location, or is the location totally made up?Length of MainlineEstimate (or actual) on the length of the mainline.Length of BranchesEstimate (or actual) on the length of the branches.Number of BranchesEstimate (or actual) on the number of branches.Number of SidingsEstimate (or actual) on the number of sidings.Number of YardsEstimate (or actual) on the number of yards.Mixture of Dual and Single TrackEstimate (or actual) of the mixture of dual/single trackage.Level of Trackside DetailThis points to the "trackside" components--signals, mileposts, platforms, siding markers, sounds, etc.Amount of Scenery CompletedDoes the route have scenery? or is it bare terrain and tracks? If it has scenery, is the scenery throughout the route or just in certain locations? Can be expressed in numbers (75%) or words (most, some, not very much).FPS Specs, with qualifiersWhat range of FPS does the route developer get? Please include not only a broad range (10-30 as opposed to 10-11) along with the computer specifications, for example, PIII, 667 mHz, 128 RAM, 32MB video card. Also include if the route developer's detail sliders are unusually low or high. This is not, nor can it ever be, a definitive benchmark. That is just not possible. It is just a guideline, some indicator of what the user may be able to expect. However, if you see an FPS range of 10-30 on a computer which is clearly more robust than yours, expect to get the lower end of that range--maybe even lower.Activities ProvidedGive a short write-up of any activities included with the route.Non-Default Consists or Rolling Stock Required in ActivitiesConcisely provide details, including where to download them, of nondefault rolling stock required for the activities.Add-In Track Sets: Xtracks required, compatible with v3.2 or laterDoes the route require add-in track sets? For example, XTracks. If so, what version is required.Tsection.dat file used: Standardized Tsection.dat, release 00008 or laterDoes the route use the default tsection.dat file? Is the Standardized one being used? If the Standardized one, what release is it?Payware or FreewareDoes it cost or is it free?URL for More Information and ScreenshotsWhere can more information and screenshots be found?Known ProblemsWhat known problems are there? This can include known installation problems, FPS problems, the "white tile" syndrome, etc.Where it can be downloadedWhere is this route available for download? Please provide URL.
Graphics
Please no graphics. You can post all the graphics you want in the Route Forum.ConclusionIt is the hope and desire of all the participants, be they route developers, route downloaders, or the moderators, that this forum will provide the needed information that was lacking.Moderators
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