Russian Route?

[dforrestc]

Is there a Russian route available for all the Russian stock we are seeing as available for download?

[rdayt]

There are a lot of Russian routes available from Russian train sim sites.
Some look really good but they use an .exe installer which is a no go for me.

Randy

[slipperman]

Hi Randy,
Probably a silly question! Why is a .exe installer a no go for you?
There are many addons with .exe installers and I've never had any problems with them.
Maybe it's because you can't open it and see the folders and files which are to be installed? If so, just point it to a temporary folder. If it requires a 'proper' MSTS folder (with Registry entry), just rename your existing MSTS folder and create a new (temporary) one with its original name and install into that. You can then rename the temporary MSTS folder as you require and restore the original name to the 'proper' MSTS folder. It's the sort of thing I've done for years!!

Cheers,
Ged

[rdayt]

With all of the hacking and attacks on computer networks in the news today I'm leery of running .exes from unknown sources.
Unfortunately Russia is at the top of the list.

Randy

[gammaray84]

There is one really good on Elvas Tower webpage.
Suojärvi route. Version 2 - Elvas Tower

[TrainSimJack]

With all of the hacking and attacks on computer networks in the news today I'm leery of running .exes from unknown sources.
Unfortunately Russia is at the top of the list.

Randy

I agree, It took me several years to build up the courage to install openrails, and I don't feel great about running unsigned installers from companies like trainsimulations.net

[TrainSimJack]

Hi Randy,
Probably a silly question! Why is a .exe installer a no go for you?
There are many addons with .exe installers and I've never had any problems with them.
Maybe it's because you can't open it and see the folders and files which are to be installed? If so, just point it to a temporary folder. If it requires a 'proper' MSTS folder (with Registry entry), just rename your existing MSTS folder and create a new (temporary) one with its original name and install into that. You can then rename the temporary MSTS folder as you require and restore the original name to the 'proper' MSTS folder. It's the sort of thing I've done for years!!

Cheers,
Ged

Ged, because an .exe is a program that can do a number of things - it may /look/ like an installer, but there is no easy way for a user to confirm that it doesn't also do something else.

This is the same reason to avoid downloading pirated installers for commercial software - it's very common for bad guys to package up malware in an installer for popular programs.

[rdayt]

I had an old computer, up until about a year ago, that I used to run .exes on just to extract the files. Then I could copy them over without worrying about it.
I may have to revisit that method.
I still don't understand why they package them that way. Makes no sense.

Randy

[slipperman]

Hi Randy and Jack,
Apologies ! I hadn't considered the malware aspect, probably because I've always downloaded from reputable sites. I take your point about Russian sites.

Cheers,
Ged

[eric]

If you are really concerned about executables, considering using a Sandbox or a VM to extract them.

[ftldave]

If you are really concerned about executables, considering using a Sandbox or a VM to extract them.

That may be a stretch as advice for many people who will have no idea. It's not uncommon on here to see folks who don't know how to use search to find files on their computers or how to manage their file directories, not without guidance. When people ask me about the trainsim hobby, I always preface with the need to have computer skills. The ones who might as well say they believe that magic genies make computers work, it's probably not a good hobby for them, at least not the MSTS\ORTS world.

Before installing major software or packages that I know might cause unwanted changes, I make a full disk-image backup of the pc's hard drive(s) using free Clonezilla Live on a thumb drive and either an external hard drive or a shared network directory to store the backup. Then I can roll the entire computer back to its original state if things go wrong. I think I used this technique to roll back to ORTS 1.4 when v1.5 proved problematic on my rig. And with SSD drives, gigabit Ethernet and USB 3 tech, it does not take that much time to do. And if you don't know how to boot your pc from a thumb drive, ignore my advice, maybe just better to trust nothing and avoid .exe installers.

[dforrestc]

Back to the originak question in this thread. So all of this marvelous stock cannot be used on any particular route. Am I correct?

[oper190]

Per say, it's your Train Sim World, so you can run anything anywhere you like. Nothing is stopping you from using them on other routes if you want to.

[dforrestc]

oper190, your post does not address my question. Of course I can run them wherever I want but I want to run them on an authentic Russian route. Surely that author of the stock had a route in mind when he prepared the stock!

[eric]

I suspect the uploader is trying to lifeboat some stock from a defunct website. Let's see if a route materializes.

If anyone has a Soviet or Russian route to share, by all means feel free to do so.