Using GeoTIFF files in TSRE

[Zephyr06]

So ... it took me until earlier this afternoon to realize that I don't need to use the "Load Heights" tool in TSRE5.

And because TSRE5 is MSTS compatible, I could create a route in TSRE5 and then add terrain using DEMEX.

I went through the same process, and now I'm realizing the tutorial I referenced didn't headline the fact that you would ultimately be using DEMEX to generate the terrain, not TSRE's "Load Heights". Fortunately, an activation key has been shared in the file library, and DEMEX's features are still extremely useful when creating and modifying route geography.

[RichardAJensen]

I went through the same process, and now I'm realizing the tutorial I referenced didn't headline the fact that you would ultimately be using DEMEX to generate the terrain, not TSRE's "Load Heights". Fortunately, an activation key has been shared in the file library, and DEMEX's features are still extremely useful when creating and modifying route geography.

I'm an inveterate tinkerer, and I honestly don't mind fiddling with stuff to get it to work.

I still joke about wanting to buy an old British car so I'll always have something to fix on the weekends.

[RichardAJensen]

Here's an update...

So, the .5M USGS geoTIFFs are embedded in a UTM grid which DEMEX does not recognize (when you load one of these geoTIFFs in DEMEX, it reads the easting & northing as longitude and latitude respectively, with problematic results).

If you convert the geoTIFFs from UTM to WGS84 or NAD83 using QGIS or another app, DEMEX can't align the geoTIFF with the route tiles properly (DEMEX apparently uses UTM as a basis, even though it reports coordinates in lat/long).

However, I was able to figure out a round-trip that works properly:

1) I stitch together the .5M geoTIFF files in QGIS
2) Open the stitched geoTIFF in VTBuilder
3) Save the geoTIFF as an XYZ file (warning: It will be enormous--possibly over 1GB)
4) Open the XYZ file in DEMEX (I find it works best to run DEMEX in compatibility mode under Windows XP SP3). It will take quite a while to import the file, but DEMEX was able to import a 2.7GB file without crashing on my 16GB laptop.
5) In my case, DEMEX places the file in the proper latitude, but the longitude is (for some unknown reason) exactly six degrees offset to the east.

I'm trying to figure out a way to generate a shapefile for the route tiles that can be imported in QGIS.

But in any case, I think it's pretty impressive that you can import terrain that is accurate down to ~20"x20" squares into an app that is over 20 years old!

Screenshot 2022-06-17 193630.jpg