Please review and provide any last suggestions before this is "officially" sent to Nels. This iteration includes a new section describing the route specification elements. Level of Detail was changed to Level of Trackside Detail. Version and Release Date was added to the specifications. Percent of Scenery Completed was changed to Amount of Scenery Completed.Other more minor points changed.Thanks for your input. Please feel free to make comments/suggestions. Unless major objections are expressed, the below is in condition for implementation; and if there are no major objections, I will start implementation on Sunday, September 1, 2002.LawrenceProposal RC2*: Route Specification and Description ForumIntroductionNeed for ProposalMicrosoft 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, 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.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. Therefore, over the course of several weeks, discussions have occurred in the Route Design forum about how that information can be presented.This proposal is a result of those discussions.Goal of ProposalThe goal of this proposal is to provide information--factual, objective information--about a route to any and all visitors to http:\\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 Proposal Aimed atThis proposal is aimed at route developers, users, and the person(s) posting the information. For the route developers, they will provide the information about their respecive 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 http:\\www.train-sim.com file library in order to use this service.For the user, this proposal makes available factual information which can assist in determining whether or not the user would like to download the route.For the person posting the information, this proposal aims to make his/her job as low-maintenance, low time-consuming as possible; basically, cut and paste the information. The person posting has the right and task to edit the material for readibility and length.ProposalWhere Store the Route InformationWe propose that a new, locked, information-only-type forum, titled "Route Specification and Description Forum" be opened at the http:\\www.train-sim.com forums. This forum will be moderated by Macster and Nels, with one or two other people having access to posting information. Therefore, only three or four people will be able to "post" in this forum. It is desired to have persons other than Macster and Nels to post, as Macster and Nels are quite busy enough without having to take on the responsibilities of this proposal.How Route Developers Submit InformationProminently displayed in the Route Specification and Description Forum will be the e-mail address to submit entries. At least the one or two posting individuals will have access to that mailbox, with Macster and Nels optionally having access.Nature of Information Stored at New ForumThe information stored at the new forum will be factual information that is provided by the route developer of a route. No other person will be able to provide information about that route, however, the posting individuals will have the right and task to edit the material for readability and length. It is requested that the information provided be information answering the following "questions":Name of RouteVersion and Release DateDescription (~100 words or less)Installation MethodSize of DownloadSize of Installed RouteFictional or Prototypical OperationsFreight or PassengerEra or GenreLocationLenght 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 laterURL 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 are each.Size of Installed RouteAfter installation, how much space on the hard drive does the route take.Fictional or Prototypical OperationsIs this a fantasy, fictional route or a prototypical one? Is it a combination?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 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 line, 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 writeup 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?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.
ConclusionIt is the hope and desire of all the participants, be they route developers or route downloaders, that this proposed forum and program will provide the needed information that is currently lacking.End of Proposal*Release Candidate 2
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RE: RC2: Proposal, Final?, robertreedy, Aug-28-02, 08:54 PM, (1) RE: RC2: Proposal, Final?, mivone, Aug-28-02, 08:55 PM, (2) RE: RC2: Proposal, Final?, LawrenceKellie, Aug-28-02, 10:04 PM, (3) RE: RC2: Proposal, Final?, mttcrlsn, Aug-28-02, 10:57 PM, (4) RE: RC2: Proposal, Final?, Tree Frog, Aug-28-02, 11:28 PM, (5) RE: RC2: Proposal, Final?, LawrenceKellie, Sep-01-02, 04:11 PM, (6)
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