CSX posistion signals… updated

LAST EDITED ON Sep-23-02 AT 03:59 AM (EDT)

I found the CSX\B&O style signals I want by Sundermeyer, but they were meant for new route creation. Anyone know of a way to replace exsisting signals in existing routes?

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Depends on how good you are at hacking.
Two options;
1. Most foolproof, open the route in the route editor, and starting at one end of the track and going all the way to the other, delete every signal on the route. Replace the sigcfg.dat and sigscr.dat with the new ones, open the RE, place and link new signals.
2. Never been tried succesfully, replace the sigcfg.dat and sigscr.dat files. Open \World\*.w, RouteName.tdb, and RouteName.tit in wordpad, do the find replace thing in all, and don't make any mis\*.*takes/.Tough part would be figuring out what the equivelants were for each signal type, for that you would have to look at all the documentation available. Clues may be found in the sigcfg.dat and sigscr.dat files, you'll have to look in those anyway for the names, like "BNSF3LightA" or "SL3ColorA".Looking in the .tdb and .tit files, we find;SignalItem (
TrItemId ( 8 )
TrItemSData ( 276.931 00000002 )
TrItemRData ( -94.1182 23.1467 -611.901 -12350 14862 )
TrSignalType ( 00000000 0 0.69796 BNSF3LightA )
)So for that, once you find out which is the equivelant type signal, take the name from the other signal set's sigcfg.dat file, do a global find-replace, "find BNSF3LightA, replace with SL3ColorA". You'll have to do that for each different signal type in both the .tit and .tdb files.Next comes the \World\*.w files, same thing there except all the shape files have to be replaced:Signal (
UiD ( 2169 )
FileName ( US2BSignal3.s )
Position ( -932.316 30.8164 -385.479 )
QDirection ( 0 0 0 1 )
VDbId ( 4294967295 )
SignalSubObj ( 00000001 )
SignalUnits ( 1
SignalUnit ( 0
TrItemId ( 0 545 )
)
)
)Tricky part to that, would require a lot of research, which shape file goes with which signal type? I looked for a few minutes, and it's not in the .s or .sd files, and if it's in the signal dat files it isn't real obvious. Once you find out, tho, do the find-replace thing again, "find US2BSignal3.s, replace with SL3absgan.S" for each signal type.My suggestion would be to download my route, PO&Nver5.zip from the file library. It's a small route, only 24 tiles, with a self extracting winzip executable, you unzip the file, double click on PO&Nver5.exe, and redirect the path if your MSTS isn't in the default folder. Once you have the route installed use it for your mad scientist experimental laboratory, and when (not if, but when) it explodes in your face, double click on PO&Nver5.exe, this time uncheck the box to automatically run the batch file. You already have the shape & texture files from the first install so it's not necessary to run the bat the second time, and all the files altered by your hacking will be replaced with the originals, so you're ready to try again a couple minutes after crashing.
If you succeed in replacing all the BNSF signals in PO&N5 with the B&O style, try to remember how you did it (shoulda been taking notes!), and duplicate the process on the bigger route.

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Option 2 is not a good idea Sniper.You would need to know which signal heads exist on which signal shapes. Assuming the old and new would have one for one equivelents, you could do search and replaces. But if you went from some other type of signal to CSX position signals, the changes of that happening are very, very slim.Also, in the .tdb file, each of the items, like the signalitem you cliped above, is also listed in another entry by the track item ID. You have to delete the item from that entry and adjust the count that goes with it. There are soooo many places to screw this up that it just isn't worth trying.Option 1, on the other hand, will work just fine as long as you are absolutely sure you got all of the old signals off of the route before you change the sigcfg and sigscr files. If you miss just one, the route will crash or not load.BTW, which heads are associated with which signal shapes is defined in the sigcfg file in the SignalShapes entry towards the end.Bob Siederer
Co-author of Marias Pass 3.0

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Boy, I'll tell you what. This is AGGRIVATING!!! Comuters are supposed to do just about anything, but to simply replace a signal configuration takes the job of a friken hacker? makes me wanna sell this bitch of electronics to someone else. But I aint. I can see my ONLY option, the most relivent option is to just create my own RR route. Ok, ok. Well, is there a simple, average brain capacity version of RE I can turn to?? Ya know, In the game Trainz, designing a route is so easy, why does this game, MSTS require a Microsoft Computer Programmer to acheive? Or the likes of anyway?! This is what Im tryin to avoid. The creator of the signals himself, Hank sundermeyer (forgive the massive misspelling Hank) said for me to just copy and paste the sigcfr.dat file and "cfg.dat file of the new CSX signal to the bottom of the original cfr and cfg file (speaking about the content of each) He offered to merge them for me if I sent the files to him. The first time he said the files werent attached, so I sent them again, and I havent heard from him in 2 days. I figured he gave up on me. My only hope isnt replying and the forum is all thats left. I want these signals in my ORRR! Theres got to be an easier way. One of you boys have got to have an answer!!! CSXbound
Zac-WC-OH

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

No, Zac, I haven't forgotten. Just not enough time. I have, though, redrawn the graphics for these signals and will send the set edited into the scripts

Attachments

http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d931b2b5b83cb1e.jpg

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

I guess I didnt misspell your last name! Those signals look pretty good. I thought maybe you were doin other things. I wasnt sure if you got the files the second time around. I guess you did. Thanks.

Alert | IP

[ Home | MSTS Forum | MSTS FAQ | File Library ] Copyright © 2002 by Nels Anderson. All Rights Reserved.