Another New Route in the making… and a question also
Started by Macster5 posts6 min read
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Morning all,As most of the staff here at Evergreen Tracks gets ready for the Fall and Winter months, most of us have now decided it may be a bit better to have a couple people, if they decided to work on what route they would like. Bret and Brian A. has takin' over the work on the Milwaukee Road Route, which makes it a good thing, because they would know the surroundings alot better. I have started a small, demo route from University Place/Days Island (Tacoma Area) to North Seattle, towards Carkeek Park. It "shouldn't" take me much longer to finish the trackwork, the covered route barely has any sort of grade and is basicly a straight route. This route will be June 1998 based, but it will not have any of the new Overpass, Sounder or FAST Corridor projects currently started at that time, however, it will feature the new Talgo Speed limits, which will confuse some at first, but it is easy to pick up. No new locomotives will be released, only because they are already in the File Library (SD40-2s, Dash 9s, Dash 8s, GP38-2s...etc) I gotta talk to a couple others about the BNSF/UP/MRL route also... but for now, that route has been pushed back to third. Dan will be starting on an NP branch line in Snoqualmie, I don't know the full details of that yet, but I'm quite sure it will be very nice.Updates of all the new changes will be posted tomorrow, including my updated gallery on the Evergreen Tracks website.Now for the question...... I am considering buying 3D Canvas Pro (TSM gave me a headache) and TSTools Pro but I really haven't heard much about it.. can somebody enlighten me on what it does and what it can/can't do. Thanks well.. that is enough gibberish from me, we will be opening a Yahoo Groups in a couple of weeks, and no, that doesn't mean were gonna vanish from the forums, just another way to keep people updated.Current Routes in Progress, as time permits.BNSF Tacoma to Seattle Route MILW Tacoma/Seattle to Othello NP Branch Line, Unknown Area Covered.
Brian E. Bundridge Founder - Evergreen Tracks Seattle, Washington
RE: Another New Route in the making...and a question al
Brian,I'm too biased, of course, to comment on TsTools, but if you have any specific questions on functionality you can email me at dave@ts-tools.com . Alternatively, for a more balanced overview from users of the program, you might like to try a posting at the ts-tools forum at http://www.uktrainsim.com/RegardsDave C
RE: Another New Route in the making...and a question al
I'm no 3D modeling expert so I can't speak in detail about the minutia or esoterica involved in 3D modelling, but I have purchased the registered version of "3D Canvas Pro" (3DCPro) and seen some of the work of people who know what they're doing with it. After having tried a few freeware 3D programs (none of which were compatible with MSTS with the exception of GMAX which I've never used) I'm absolutely thrilled with the wealth of features found in such an inexpensive yet powerful package. As an amateur, I thinks its an absolutely great cad program. I've started a simple locomotive and built a wagon and some landscape objects, but nothing coming near what the pro's and experienced users here produce on this site. You have to be a registered user to browse the MSTS related development topics but the general discussion forums have good information about using the program as well.Someone I think who's much more qualified to talk about the merits of this program (and any faults if you can find them) is "Fozzy" in the LOCOMOTIVE forum. He wrote an excellent evaluation a while back covering several 3D programs which work with MSTS. I think it was general consensus at the time (and now) that 3DCPro is definitely the best in terms of price/performance/ease-of-use/support for MSTS. I'd definitely recommended 3DCPro for both hobby and professional level design work. Look at Fozzy's K-36 just recently released. I think there's another great 3D modeller that uses 3DCPro (and wrote some tutorials as well for it) "Ian Morgan". I'm not sure of his username here but he does/did post on the Amabilis web site.The Amabilis web site, (www.amabilis.com) should have additional information as well as news of an even better update on the horizon. I believe it will be version 6.0. I can't wait for it.The other really "big" selling point about this package is the customer support. Richard, the creator of 3DCPro, at Amabilis answers your questions right away and helps you with tough problems. When I first got the program I had an issue (user ignorance related) which Richard cleared up in a heart-beat. He's always friendly and prompt, and let me not forget, oh so knowledgeable. The man must live online or something. All I can say is that if you're thinking of doing professional quality work, go with the pro version. It's one of the best investments you'll ever make.Let add this disclaimer, I'm not being paid or compensated in any way either by Amabilis or Train-Sim for my comments. I'm just a very happy and enthusiastic user who wants to see a great product in the hands of the people who have the talent and know-how to make the dreams of the regular people a reality.
BurlingtonNorthernMember since Jul-13-02 · 23 posts
RE: Another New Route in the making...and a question al
The Snoqualmie route will be put off for a while, because i've got plans for a better route. The Snoqualmie route will still be done becuase i love that line. Watch for more news in the next couple months about my new route for Train-Sim by Evergreen Tracks. ( unless i keep working long.... days at the Northwest Railway Museum... ) Dan Calhoun Co-Founder Evergreen Tracks http://www.cascadenscale.org/Evergreen/ Seattle,WANorthwest Railway Museum, Snoqualmie to North Bend,WA. www.trainmuseum.org
