Birdseye View

Ted Bremer gave me this handy tip about creating a (5) Passenger View version to elevate the Camera View by X feet which can then be rotated with the Cursor Keys in all directions, horizontally and vertically ! Similar to Ctrl-Shift-9 but at a different height.Enter this code into your Engine or leading Powercar's *.eng File. I put it just before the Sound line but suppose it could go anywhere in the file ?Inside (
PassengerCabinFile ( YourEngineName.s )
PassengerCabinHeadPos ( 0 30 0 )
RotationLimit ( 90 180 0 )
StartDirection ( 0 0 0 )
) Sound ( "YourEngine.sms" )The 30 in the line PassengerCabinHeadPos ( 0 30 0 ) stands for 100 feet. Make it 60 to elevate the view plane to 200 feet, etc. My SPECIAL Explorer Express from Kurt Kaminer at the N.&.N.J. Jersey City Terminal
JPG Image edited with IrfanView from: www.irfanview.com
Same location but now viewed from 100 feet up !
On the way to Bayonne
About to cross the river

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RE: Birdseye View, Stooopid_person, Aug-24-02, 09:08 AM, (1) RE: Birdseye View, OTTODAD, Aug-24-02, 09:15 AM, (2) RE: Birdseye View, bjrhatigan, Aug-24-02, 09:39 AM, (3) RE: Birdseye View, OTTODAD, Aug-24-02, 04:50 PM, (4) RE: Birdseye View, niknak, Aug-25-02, 02:57 AM, (5) RE: Birdseye View, Paul1953, Aug-25-02, 04:11 AM, (6) RE: Birdseye View, OTTODAD, Aug-25-02, 08:26 AM, (12) RE: Birdseye View, downside, Aug-25-02, 04:27 AM, (7) RE: Birdseye View, downside, Aug-25-02, 05:01 AM, (8) RE: Birdseye View, OTTODAD, Aug-25-02, 07:29 AM, (9) RE: Birdseye View, Stooopid_person, Aug-25-02, 07:50 AM, (10) RE: Birdseye View, downside, Aug-25-02, 08:00 AM, (11) RE: Birdseye View, Stooopid_person, Aug-25-02, 09:52 AM, (14) RE: Birdseye View, OTTODAD, Aug-25-02, 11:43 AM, (15) RE: Birdseye View, downside, Aug-25-02, 02:23 PM, (16) RE: Birdseye View, OTTODAD, Aug-25-02, 04:24 PM, (18) RE: Birdseye View, Stooopid_person, Aug-26-02, 08:33 AM, (19) RE: Birdseye View, OTTODAD, Aug-26-02, 08:55 AM, (20) RE: Birdseye View, Stooopid_person, Aug-26-02, 08:58 AM, (21) RE: Birdseye View, OTTODAD, Aug-26-02, 09:13 AM, (22) RE: Birdseye View, Stooopid_person, Aug-26-02, 09:15 AM, (23) RE: Birdseye View, downside, Aug-26-02, 09:37 AM, (24) RE: Birdseye View, Stooopid_person, Aug-26-02, 09:45 AM, (25) RE: Birdseye View, OTTODAD, Aug-26-02, 10:01 AM, (26) RE: Birdseye View, downside, Aug-26-02, 11:10 AM, (28) RE: Birdseye View, OTTODAD, Aug-26-02, 12:18 PM, (29) RE: Birdseye View, OTTODAD, Aug-27-02, 08:34 AM, (30) RE: Birdseye View, Stooopid_person, Aug-27-02, 09:22 AM, (31) RE: Birdseye View, downside, Aug-27-02, 11:35 AM, (32) RE: Birdseye View, OTTODAD, Aug-27-02, 08:04 PM, (33) RE: Birdseye View, TedB, Aug-25-02, 08:50 AM, (13) RE: Birdseye View, sniper297, Aug-25-02, 04:17 PM, (17) RE: Birdseye View, stevealex, Aug-26-02, 10:11 AM, (27)

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If you want a train with a high view, you should try the helicopters and zepplins available for you to drive in MSTS.

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You can't use any of those and drive the train at the same time, getting a "Birdseye" view of the scenery around it, especially interesting when in the mountains and particularely useful when assembling trains in yards ! I am not surprised that Ted has not bothered to post it himself, if that's the sort of response he would get !I certainly won't do it again.

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Ottodad
Thank you for the tip.
And please keep posting good stuff like that,
the majority appreciate efforts like yours,
and ignore the few.Thank you."Do not attribute conspiracy and malice to
incompetence and ignorance."

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Thanks for your support, B.J. !At my age I find it difficult sometimes to put up with some of today's youngsters !

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VERY nice addition to the various camera hacks, thanks OTTODAD. Niknak (UK) (A mere youngster of 52 ! )

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This may be of interest to those who use the control-shift-9 view. I had been using this when in #4 view. Recently I have found an interesting effect while using the #3 view. When in #3,hit ctrl-shift-9, and what you end up with, is a camera view at the max altitude of #3(you can still drop it to ground level)that, when rotated, goes out in advance of the engines(if that is your starting point)on one side and falls behind on the other. I dont know if this will work in #2 view as mine no longer functions ( the price of camhack2, which I dont mind either!), but I dont see why not.

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Apologies, Phillip, I thought you was being Sarky !Realised that what you suggested is possible, reading the latest replies just now. But as I said, Ted's option lets you scan the scenery around your cab at an elevated level, useful when you are looking for Rolling Stock in the large yard your engine is in.Can you or any of the other guys tell me and no doubt others reading this Thread how this it done and where to get the tools to do it with from ? I'd love to try that ! T H A N K S !

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That's a great tip Ottodad - printed and now off to carry it out. Thanks a lot.Bill

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Also, just in case you have not seen it, there is a further camera hack at http://members.aol.com/nectrackteam/utility.html where the cameras for 2 and 3 start off facing front and rear respectively.It works fine although the word document it comes in would not open up on my machine (Word XP) and I had to open it with wordpad.Bill

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That's what I like most about this Forum, you learn something new almost every day !Keep it coming, guys !

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Here are even higher bird's eye view.

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http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d68c3f7358f56f0.jpg

http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d68c426362ddbd1.jpg

http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d68c45536ce5899.jpg

http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d68c46d36f5ba14.jpg

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Yes, but you cannot set up an activity to use the blimp etc. as you are already using the line. The only route that gets round this is Hoogdam which has an aerial line.Bill

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>Yes, but you cannot set up an activity to use the blimp etc.
>as you are already using the line. The only route that gets
>round this is Hoogdam which has an aerial line.
>
>BillI like to crash trains on that line
Look at these.

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PHILLIP - WHERE, HOW ? For Christ' sakes, GIMME, GIMME !!!!!!

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That is the Hoogdam line available from http://home.wanadoo.nl/wjnijhof/index.htm but beware - you will need to alter the consists as trainsimulator.ch where a lot of the required stock can be downloaded from has been down for quite some while now.You need to download the version with the plane.Bill

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Thanks, Bill !

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>That is the Hoogdam line available from
>http://home.wanadoo.nl/wjnijhof/index.htm but beware - you
>will need to alter the consists as trainsimulator.ch where a
>lot of the required stock can be downloaded from has been
>down for quite some while now.
>
>You need to download the version with the plane.
>
>Bill You don't have to alter any consists. You can download the trains for the activities from www.trains-station.com and www.msts.nl

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Thanks, Phil !Better still ! Haven't downloaded the other yet. Will get your's now.

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>Thanks, Phil !
>
>Better still ! Haven't downloaded the other yet. Will get
>your's now. What is the other and what is mine?

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The "other" is from Bill's link: http://home.wanadoo.nl/wjnijhof/index.htm Your links are: www.trains-station.com and www.msts.nlAm I reading this right. Got to get the Route from Bill's link first before downloading the no longer available bits he mentions from your links ?Just back from: trains-station.com, couldn't find it. Can you give me a clue what I have to do and get from where ?

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>The "other" is from Bill's link:
>http://home.wanadoo.nl/wjnijhof/index.htm
>
>Your links are: www.trains-station.com and www.msts.nl
>
>Am I reading this right. Got to get the Route from Bill's
>link first before downloading the no longer available bits
>he mentions from your links ?
>
>Just back from: trains-station.com, couldn't find it. Can
>you give me a clue what I have to do and get from where ?Read the Readme from from the Hoogdam site.
http://home.wanadoo.nl/wjnijhof/readme.htm

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LAST EDITED ON Aug-26-02 AT 09:38 AM (EDT)

OttodadLet me know if you find them all because I couldn't!! Put a message on this forum and was told I needed the site I mentioned.One suggestion - get the supersize models of the Christrains models, which are at the sites SP mentioned, rather than the standard ones. They look much better.Bill

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>Ottodad
>
>Let me know if you find them all because I couldn't!! Put a
>message on this forum and was told I needed the site I
>mentioned.
>
>One suggestion - get the supersize models of the Christrains
>models, which are at the sites SP mentioned, rather than the
>standard ones. They look much better.
>
>BillI found them all at www.msts.nl If you want to use the superscale versions on the activities, I think you have to download an update to the consists file at the author sites.

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LAST EDITED ON Aug-26-02 AT 10:09 AM (EDT)

I let you have a go first, Bill, after this latest lead from Phil.Having been stuck in front of my machine for over 2 days now, this here Senior Citizen had better get some exercise ! B.t.W. Phil, your surname suggests a Chinese or other far-eastern background ? I am mentioning this because I have always been rather fond of the far-eastern race. Visiting Thailand, Malaysia, Hongkong, Vietnam and parts of China are an as yet unfulfilled ambition of mine.My son's wife is Chinese from Bejing and my grandchildren are the result of the best of 2 races: www.otto-wipfel.co.uk/oaw_00000a.htmIt was them who invented my handle OTTODAD

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OttodadAu contraire, mon brave, age before beauty (although I'm not far behind you).I looked and could not find and to be honest have given up for the time being as I am installing MP3 for the first time ever.I am on my third straight day in front of the screen both MSTS and FS2002 together with putting the finishing touches to the arrangements for our daughter's wedding in less than three weeks!Bill

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O.K. Bill !However get's to the Finishing Line first lets the other know ! Good luck to your daughter ! May she enjoy many years of happy marriage, a rarity these days and give you a grandchild or two !

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O.K. - So I downloaded the HOOGDAM V.4 Route from:
http://home.wanadoo.nl/wjnijhof/readme.htm
printed the readmehoogdam.txt and installed it. Another example of the masses of standard MSTS files needed by the HOOGDAM being copied / borrowed into it's new ROUTES directory, duplicating them and wasting more Disk space !!! Not surprising, with all other ADD-ONs doing the same, that some guys are running out of disk space !Tried to run the AERIAL - Plane=Lear Jet Activity. Tells me that there is no Consist "Plane" for it. Not surprising, it is not amongst the Consists which came with the Route !Had a look / search for it in the English version of: www.msts.nl , no sign of if nor any reference to a "Plane", "Chopper" or the "Blimp", nor an aerial Activity needing them. No mention in the readmehoogdam.txt where to find them, other than Trains which you will need, some are PAYWARE like the Euro Loco Pack, which I got. So you need to buy the whole pack just to use a couple of it's Trains ! Not to mention others like the Dutch ones.In any case, playing the "Aerial" activity would suggest that you follow the Activity's Train Path with the Lear instead of with a Train and that is that. Couldn't check it in the AE because of all the missing Consists and Trains. Not at all what Ted's Birdseye View does, letting you look around in all directions at your programmed Passenger View elevation, your Train being the center of the ensueing Cam View !I suppose you could apply this Activity to other Routes, but still not be driving a train with a related "Aerial View", but flying a plane or blimp along it !

So forget it ! Not worth the bother ! We already have far superior Routes to enjoy and more to come, CAJUN PASS, Version 6 of the P.O.&.N. and god knows what else, MSTS-2003 ?

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>Another example of the masses of standard MSTS files needed
>by the HOOGDAM being copied / borrowed into it's new ROUTES
>directory, duplicating them and wasting more Disk space !!!
>Not surprising, with all other ADD-ONs doing the same, that
>some guys are running out of disk space !
>You should download the updated .bat file which has been routeritered
>Tried to run the AERIAL - Plane=Lear Jet Activity.
>Tells me that there is no Consist "Plane" for it. Not
>surprising, it is not amongst the Consists which came with
>the Route !
>Did you install the plane?
>Had a look / search for it in the English version of:
>www.msts.nl , no sign of if nor any reference to a "Plane",
>"Chopper" or the "Blimp", nor an aerial Activity needing
>them. No mention in the readmehoogdam.txt where to find
>them, other than Trains which you will need, some are
>PAYWARE like the Euro Loco Pack, which I got. So you need to
>buy the whole pack just to use a couple of it's Trains ! Not
>to mention others like the Dutch ones.
>The Helicopter can be downloaded from the File Library. And you don't need the Payware pack. You don't have to install the acivities that uses them. The dutch trains, you can download the freeware versions. The Zeppelin, you can download at www.mikemad.(I forgot this part, you have to try and fit words such as com, org, net, etc)/msts The plane is included in the Hoodgam download.

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Courage mon brave.You don't follow the train path with the plane - it has an aerial 'track' for which you have to alter the detail slider to 9 to hide the tracks. On version 3 it was really effective. In version 3 during the activity (not explore mode) there were trains on the tracks beneath you. The plane takes off and lands with you controlling it like a loco i.e. use brakes.Looks like you may have downloaded the wrong file - the file you want is Hoogdamv40-withplane.zip from http://home.wanadoo.nl/wjnijhof/Downloads.htmIf you did not have a zip file in the downloads called Learjet then you have the wrong file.Bill

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LAST EDITED ON Aug-27-02 AT 08:27 PM (EDT)

Looks I got the wrong file and the right leads from both of you now.Thanks, Bill and Phil (Age before beauty )P.S. for Jim: the Blimp is at http://www.mikemad.de/zeppelin.htm
Like the guy says "Pretty useless" but should be fun surveying a Route from that altitude to give you a good view of it's extend sideways, yards, etc.Especially on complex ones like the N.&.N.J. and the P.O.&.N. ! Edit the Activities "Path" from one end of the Route to the other ?

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Saw that the display from your blimp displays the speed in Kilometers, not Miles.You can change this for any engine by going into the cabview file and changing the Speedometer display(s) to MILES_PER_HOURinstead of KM_PER_HOURThe reverse is also true.Ted

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LAST EDITED ON Aug-25-02 AT 04:22 PM (EDT)

I kinda wonder if this could be done with the number 6 coupler view instead, something I don't use at all cuz it's unrealistic. I have the following hack in the engines I use for switching:BrakeCylinderPressureForMaxBrakeBrakeForce( 70 )
Inside (
PassengerCabinFile ( gp38.s )
PassengerCabinHeadPos ( -1.8 3.6 -5.8 )
RotationLimit ( 175 175 0 )
StartDirection ( 0 180 0 )
Sound ( "GP38Cab.sms" ) ) IntakePoint ( -0.5 2.0 FuelDiesel )I forget who came up with that one, and I dunno why it's between the max brake force and fuel intake point lines, but since it was that way in the example I stole it from (I forgot which engine, musta been a download from here tho) I added it to all mine in the same place. It's actually an exterior view from the left rear catwalk, and for some reason I don't get diesel sounds like I do with the regular head out view, but it's a nice view for coupling and gives an extra head out (WAY out, being on the catwalk) view on the opposite side.
Standard head-out view, originally in physics 2.0 I think.
Number 5 view, rotatable 180 degrees plus up & down.
Standard head out view backing around a lefthand curve. I can't see, I can't see!
Number 5 view, ahh, much better.If you're into switching (or if you're British and into "shunting") it's a great hack since you can switch sides when backing a string of cars thru a yard ladder, looks very realistic to me.Hell, I almost forgot, any of you non-hackers out there want to try this, copy your \Train Simulator\Trains\Trainset\GP38\gp38.eng file to a backup folder, or rename it gp38eng.bak or something. Then click on the zip file below, unzip it, and paste it into your \GP38 folder to replace the default one.

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Sniper excerpted>> It's actually an exterior view from the left rear catwalk, and for some reason I don't get diesel sounds like I do with the regular head out view, <<Most of the internal workings of the sms file settings have activate and deactivate functions for the different views. In the engine.sms (the one in effect while outside) there is probably ((passenger view)) listed among the other conditions for the sounds deactivate section of the scalability stuff. It activates from outside, and deactivates when you go inside (where cabview.sms then kicks in with its own activate and deactivate stuff, etc.) In that manner, the various sms files switch off the responsibility of doing the correct sound stuff at the correct time for the correct views.If it literally is 'the' passenger view, move it's definition from the deactivate to the activate section, with proper positioning distance for the relative volume stuff. Since you are on the catwalks, the distance will be a low number, and the volume should be loud.Disclaimer: I haven't done any of this myself. I'm just making educated guesses based on what I've seen as I've been snooping in the sms files for other things.Stevealex

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