New amazing Consist Editor for OR and MSTS for FREE

[muskokaandtahoe]

Otto,

Goku doesn't write documentation, help files, or anything at all like that. You have to poke around and fiddle with everything to see what works, what doesn't, and what's not done.

As for <BROKEN> consists don't expect any explanation for why the software has marked it that way.

[GokuMK]

As for <BROKEN> consists don't expect any explanation for why the software has marked it that way.

Broken consists = missing rolling stock. Open Con Units View and see.

[OTTODAD]

Goku doesn't write documentation, help files, or anything at all like that. You have to poke around and fiddle with everything to see what works, what doesn't, and what's not done.

Yes Dave, I have been doing that and much of what it shows is an improvement of what the Conbuilder does.

But having been using the CB for many years, helping its team with my suggestions to improve some of what id does, I am used to what it can do, editing some *.CON files manually, done in minutes !

[GokuMK]

New version: http://koniec.org/tsre5/TSRE5_v0.6128.zip

- bug fixes and small features,
- change Shape/Con View background color. It can be set permanently in settings.txt
- copy image from Shape View to Clipboard (example):

[woodfyr]

Goku,

Editing consists within activities using CB has been limited to Player and A1 trains. Is there a method to edit "loose consists", or am I just dreaming again?

[GokuMK]

Is there a method to edit "loose consists", or am I just dreaming again?

Editing loose consists would require adding whole new feature to my engine (ACT files). Is it really worth it?

[woodfyr]

Goku,

Re: loose consists.

Only if a large portion of users(like myself) who have a terrible time working with the existing AE.

[OTTODAD]

Re: loose consists. Only if a large portion of users (like myself) who have a terrible time working with the existing AE.

The MSTS Activity Editor can use existing consists, usually created by the ConBuilder or Route Riter.

What problems do you have using them for Loose Consists in the AE ?

[OTTODAD]

Editing loose consists would require adding whole new feature to my engine (ACT files). Is it really worth it?

A Loose Consist is just another standard *.CON one and can be edited by the utilities which have created them or manually with Notepad or similar.

This at ET explains what is missing in this thread:

http://www.elvastower.com/forums/index.php?/topic/28623-new-consist-editor-for-open-rails/page__view__findpost__p__203028

[crstagg]

A Loose Consist is just another standard *.CON one and can be edited by the utilities which have created them or manually with Notepad or similar.

? ? ? ? ?

The Conbuilder and Route Riter make no mistakes when creating Consists ! So why should they create errors in Activity files ?

Otto,
A "Loose Consist" is a regular consist that has been places into an activity and it is defined by a section of Text in an Activity ACT file. Although the exact same items can be found in a CON file in the Trains\Consist, BOTH of the SIMs use the Loose Consist section(s) in the ACT file to display the non-player and non-traffic consists that are a part of the Activity. When ConBuilder's Loose Consist editor is used to edit the loose consist(s) it is editing the selected ACT file in the selected route not the CON files in the Consist folder. Another point is that when a regular consist is used as a Loose Consist and is place into an activity file it loose its identification by that I mean the filename and the TrainCfg data. Look at a Loose Consist in an ACT file and you will find:

ActivityObject (
ObjectType ( WagonsList )
Train_Config (
TrainCfg ( ""
Name ( "Loose consist." )
Serial ( 18 )

In a regular CON file the TrainCfg line data will be exactly the same as the CON filename. So one a CON file is used as a Loose Consist the link to the CON file is broken.

What I think Eric is referring to about creating problems refers to a situation like this: a loose consist of 20 40ft Boxcars is placed on a 950 ft siding. If one replaced all those cars with 50ft boxcars the loose consist would stick out onto the Main. The old versions of ConBuilder did not issue warnings when the replacement stock cause the consist to exceed the original length like the current version does. I used the term "old versions of ConBuilder" because I know it was not one of the features that was introduces when it became Payware so some of the earlier Payware versions lacked this current feature also.

[GokuMK]

I want my Consist Editor be the best editor ever, so I will do these loose consists too. I would have to make ACT files support for Activity Editor in the future anyway.

[woodfyr]

Thank you Charles,

Couldn't have explained better. Changing loose consists or even adding them to a route or an activity (without using MAST AE) would be a nice feature. BTW, I ONLY run in OR.

Go for it Goku !

[conductorchris]

Yardmaster (free, in the file library here) can also edit the loose consists in activity files. Goku, it might provide some inspiration for you. I have used it to swap out missing wagons.

There is a point where too many bells and whistles reduce usability, but I think you could probably manage to edit loose consists in an activity file without compromising usability.

The other program worth checking out for inspiration is skyline computing's activity generator. It could shape the direction you might take if you are thinking about an activity editor.

When you think about it, there are two haves to the activity editor - what the player train does, and what loose consists are around for eye candy and for shunting. If you could create a database, in the manner of skyline computing's activity generator that would have both a list of cars appropriate for each siding combined with a randomizer that would determine how many cars the siding might hold or if it always had the same consist.

Christopher

[GokuMK]

Activity editor and generator sounds great, buf if I'm working on Route Editor, Consist Editor, Shape Viewer etc, I have a dilemma which functionality to do next.

[conductorchris]

My two cents: Route editor is most important. Especially because you have done much of it and it just needs some issues corrected for an early version to be "ready".

But I also know inspiration does not necessarily follow importance or logic . . .

Christopher