Battling the exporter

I managed to get an early draft of the 86 Class into Trainz for testing, and so that I could see what needed to be done to tweak the textures. This picture has a very rough texture on it for the moment.

So I started tweaking and moving things around, re-exported the model, and now it wont show up in any of Surveyor, Railyard, or Driver, in TS2009, despite showing up fine in Asset-X, Pev's Mesh Viewer, and even in CCP. There are no errors in CCP or even in the export process, and this has me stumped. All I can do is keep tweaking the textures and hope that the exporter begins to co-operate. I was even able to drive the one pictured here, but now - nothing.

Each time I've exported a model I've found the exporter to be very picky, especially about materials. At one stage it would just crash Max to the desktop if I renamed one particular texture to the standard .m.onetex naming convention. It exported just fine without that extension. Other times, it has crashed to desktop for no apparent reason, but every time it has been related to the materials.

These exporters have been around for over three years. One would think that Auran (N3V) would, from time to time, update the exporters - patching bugs such as these, but unfortunately Auran seem to be of the impression that you can release a piece of software once, then just forget about it. Not so with their flagship product though - they've released 3 or 4 versions of Trainz since the exporters were last updated. They seem to understand the concept of software development only when its directly connected to making them money, but without the exporters, where do they think the content would come from? Without content, JET is just an engine. It does nothing on its own.

Still, I press on. I keep tweaking the textures on the 86 Class, hoping that I'll hit that elusive magical combination that will cause the exported model to show up in Trainz - after all that's what its all about. In the mean-time, Im fiddling with a few side projects that are still in the modelling phase. I don't need to export them just yet so I can model happily without any problems.

Here is a shot from inside the cab. This is the low-res cab that is a part of the body mesh. You will see it through the windows in DCC mode. I tricked the camera to place it inside the cab on a multiple unit set. I've been trying to get the shiny stainless steel effect the way I want it, and I think its getting pretty close. The first thing that struck me about the real cab was how shiny it was. As you can see, there are still parts of the cab, and body that are untextured at this stage.

I've put the 86 Class aside for now and as I mentioned have been working on other things.  One of those things is a route. I want a route that is a) Unmistakably NSW, and b) appropriate for the 86 Class and the Tangara, so I've started putting something together. Ive always been impressed by the detail in the Wadalbavale line, and the sheer size of Pine Ridge, and Razorback, and I'm hoping to eventually come up with something inspired by all three.

I've started with the mountains - inspired by Lithgow being the former home of the 86 Class locomotives. At the highest point the rail is 600m above sea level, and Im gradually working my way down to sea level with some 2 and 3% grades to give a bit of a challenge, and to make good use of the dynamic regenerative braking in the 86 Class. This will be a coal run, down to the port at sea level.   I havnt started on any other sections but there will be other areas to explore as well, and of course commuter trains, which is where the Tangara comes in.

One major thing Im missing is decent Cityrail stations, so Im currently building one that I can throw in there for the time being. I'd like to expand on that and make a series of stations, but that is for the future.  I'd like to build something generic and have options available through scripting, similar to Andi06's station kit.

The Tangara is waiting to be converted to Max. I figure since TRS2006 is no longer supported there is no reason to keep it in Gmax.  The conversion process is a bit bumpy so I've been putting it off, but I hope to have an update on the Tangara in the next post (and some pics).

I'm not going to bother right now with the poly counts that I used to add to my posts, suffice to say the 86 Class in the pictures is about 18,000 polys and will use LOD by the time its ready for the final export.

Updated Buffers on DLS

I've uploaded new versions of the NSW Wooden Buffers to the DLS, and they should be available soon. The good news is the flicker is Totally Gone!... the bad news is I couldn't get my new arrangement of the lamp working the way I wanted, so I went back to the old way (Two separate models).  I'd eventually like to script it and have just a single model portray both versions, with the lamp activated or hidden by a script, but that's a low priority right now.


I had a look at the NSW Train Stop (and the UK one I also did) but cant see whats wrong with it. In TS2009, the script seems like it isnt running at all. Weird.  I noticed that someone else has "fixed" the Train Stops as there is a new version on the DLS, unfortunately I cant download anything due to the servers being busy.  Its so annoying to not be able to retrieve a copy of your own content.


Anyway, when I get the updated Train Stop, I'll first see if I can fix its Trainz Build. These were intended for TRS2006, but someone has set it up for TC or above. Then I'll see if I can figure out why the script isn't running. Strangely enough, the object I modelled the script from, still runs fine with its original script.


I don't have any pics right now, but Ive spent some time texturing the 86 Class.   Its *so* close to being ready for export, but there is a lot of work to be done after that (scripting) so dont think that means its due for release any time soon.   I have the body about 70% textured, with just the small fiddly bits left to map.   Once its in Trainz, I can concentrate on the Tangara while I start putting the scripts together.


The 86 Class and Tangara will share much of the script (They're both Electric Multiple Units, so share similar functions) so both models will benefit. I expect the 86 Class will be on my test track for some time, while it gets all its scripting and other planned goodies. I anticipate the Tangara will be ready before it.


With the Tangara, Ive been thinking its time to upgrade it to 3DS Max. It was originally intended for TRS2006, but here we are at TS12.   I still have to catch up on my Trainz versions but I will get TS12 as soon as I can and probably aim the Tangara at TS2009 now.  At this stage, I havent started to convert it, but I have a fairly good process for exporting from Gmax to 3DS Max, so when I get started that part of it shouldnt take long.


I'll see if I can have some pictures of the latest work ready for next time.

Slow Progress

Well, its been some time since my last update. The last couple of years have taken me in different directions, but all the while, this project has been in the back of my mind.  I know I have (or had) a lot of people watching, and by now some of them may have given up, and I dont blame them, but the wheel has turned and I've found myself back here again.


For many years I've wanted to build a model railway, but never had the space for it. It occurred to me recently that these days, with the various rail simulators available, younger people would probably just build a virtual railway than use up an entire room for their hobby. Virtual railways have a big advantage when it comes to space. you can easily create a layout that is much bigger than anything you could build in a room, and a lot more interactive. I still plan on filling a room with trains one day, but recently I've started building my own virtual railway in Traiinz TS2009.

There are a couple of existing routes that I like. They're big. They're Australian, specifically New South Wales. They're full of NSWGR and SRA content, and they look and feel quite good, but they all have similar problems.  I considered updating one of them with better content, replacing thousands of signals with the NSW ones available on the DLS, replacing all the stations with better ones, etc, etc. About the only thing I didnt have to change was the scenery.

Add to that the problem of older content not working properly, or failing to load entirely, I came to the conclusion that I would have to build much of it myself, from scratch, right down to the 3D models, since a lot of the classic NSW content are progressive meshes which are no longer supported.

So I've decided to make this a long term project, like a physical model railway, that I work on when I have the time. Anything I produce will be available in some form or other, and I may even consider making them available for other rail simulators as well.

The first thing I need to do is fix my own content. The buffers have always flickered, and I have a new version without any flicker that I am putting some final touches on. I changed it a little and now attach the lamp to the buffer, and then the corona to the lamp, but Im having a little trouble getting the corona to attach to the right point. I'm not even sure at this stage that its possible. I'll figure it out eventually.


The Train Stop will be next. I only just realised that stopped working, and even worse, causes other signals on the route to fail.  Its a scripting problem, and I'll have that sorted out, and updated on the DLS as soon as I can.


Then its back to the Tangara and the 86 Class.  I really miss the real 86 Class and finishing off the model will at least let me see it running again.  I have another side project as well, but I cant talk about that. Im updating someone elses content, and will have to waiit until its done and I contact them again before I can announce it. Its not a big job, just a little time consuming.


Finally theres my route. That will be put together over time. Since the 86 Class were built for hauling coal and container trains through the mountains, naturally it features mountains. At the highest point the rail is 600m above sea level, and I plan to have a port at sea level too, so it's going to be big, with lots of gradients, and will have a city area for the Tangara and other commuter trains.

It sounds like Im taking a lot on, when its already taken me a long time to produce what I've already started, but I'm hoping that by combining it all together, and adding a route that I'll have the full package and that will motivate me to work on some part of it or other. One of the problems of just working on the 3D models is that when I get stuck, or need a break from modelling, I just stop. This way I'll have other things, like the route to go on with.

So thats the plan.  As soon as I have the buffer and Train Stops fixed, I'll add an update on my progress here. I also have some Tangara and 86 Class updates to write as well.

Heavy Duty High Speed Panto

Yes, I know Ive been away for far too long. It happens. The truth is that Im not really good with textures. The texture mapping is tedious and often needs to be done several times until you get a map layout which you're happy with - moving things around means moving where the images will be, so you have to change the image template as well as the UVW unwrapping. Im also not very artistic, so even with a good map, the final textures probably wont be as good as many out there (though they will be better than some Ive seen) but Im not comfortable giving my source models to someone else to texture for me.

After a while I get bored and frustrated with it, and leave it for a while, and thats when other things come along which take my time, and sometimes I dont get back to this as soon as I would like - there is also the dread of knowing that when I do start on it again, I will be faced with whatever problem caused me to put it aside in the first place.

Having said that, I do think about it a lot, and I do try to get some work done occasionally. Ive always said Im doing this for me, primarily, so unfortunately its going to have to be at my pace. You may not realise it, but I too am dying to see these models in Trainz! I have big plans for them, script-wise and that will take time itself, so the sooner the models are ready, the better.

Over the last few days, Ive been playing with the 86 Class. At first (as always happens) it took me a few hours to get familiar with the process, and with the model again. I tweaked some of the conversion I did previously (I had recently converted the 86 Class from Gmax to Max, to take advantage of the new TRS2009 features). After that, I started finishing up the external parts - pantographs and bogies. I still have about half of the bogie to texture map, and I also want to add a little more mesh to give it some more detail.

I converted my Heavy Duty Cross-Arm panto to Max and textured it. That was fairly easy since the texturing is very simple on such a small model, then I took a copy of the Tangara's light weight High Speed panto, and started converting it to the Heavy Duty version used on the 86 Class. The base is done - it hasnt changed much - and I just finished the contact assembly (photo). All thats left for it is the arm, and adjusting the piston and animation (also easy), and then a simple texture and test fitting it to the loco.

Ive set out to create a standard for Pantographs. There has always been confusion about this, and its not easy to determine exactly how high the wire should be. Briefly, the Panto base sits at 4M above the rail, the wire is 1.6M higher (at 5.6M) and the base mounts on a 2m x 2m area on the roof of the train. Using standard measurements like this seems to work well, and allows any of my pantographs to be interchanged with the others, and they all fit as they should on the train. This will make it easy to create both a cross arm, and a high speed version of the 86 Class (for example) since at times, both types have been used.


File Version: 03
Poly Count: 816

Note: The poly count shown here is for the Gmax model in progress. The count will generally be higher than that of the finished in-game model since it includes duplication, tools, jigs, and other pieces which may not be part of the final model. It may also include parts which are generally counted separately, such as pantographs, interiors, or bogies. LOD modelling will be used to further reduce in-game polygons.

Trainz 2009. Decisions Decisions!

I finally managed to get myself a copy of the new version of Trainz! The focus of this version is on high quality models, and the old polygon limits that I was so worried about, are gone! That isn't to say that I can add as many as I like - Im still keeping count, but it allows me to do things like add a few poly's here and there to improve the sharpness of the texture :)

I wasn't aware, until yesterday, that Auran have dropped support for Gmax, and have released new exporters for 3DS Max. I know that you can still use Gmax, but the old exporters do not support a lot of the new features that allow you to increase the resolution (quality) of the model without decreasing the perfomance of Trainz. I have always intended for my models to be high quality, so I have been wrestling with the decision to either leave things the way they are and release the items that Im currenly working on as TRS2006 assets, or to convert them to 3DS Max and take advantage of the new exporters to make them look even better in the game.

Converting to Max would take time, as there is no direct conversion process, and every conversion tool I have tried always seems to corrupt the model in some way. Fixing the corruption is time consuming, for example, in one model that I converted recently, several vertices (just a few here and there) were out by 16mm and had to be nudged back into place - it took about 2 hours find and fix them all, and that was just a simple building.

I know a lot of you have been waiting for my models to be finished and available for Trainz, so I don't want to delay them even further by putting them through a long and tedious conversion (and repairing) process this late in the day, but at the same time, I want to take advantage of the latest features in TS2009.

I'm already using the old 3DS Max exporters in Gmax, so there was originally no advantage to using Max - I can do normal maps and specular lighting in Gmax just the same. The only real difference was not being able to render a high quality image of the model in Gmax. No big deal, and certainly not required for Trainz! Now, with the extra features of TS2009 being enabled by the way the new exporters work, it's a much bigger deal.

After thinking about it for some time, and having converted the building mentioned above, Im leaning towards conversion. The Tangara is more complex than the 86 class, and already has a lot of textures in place, as well as several areas where the mesh is very fine. It would easily be corrupted and require a lot of time to fix before I could finish it off, so I have decided to continue working on the Tangara in Gmax, and release it as a TRS2006 asset.

The 86 Class on the other hand, is close to my heart. Its sad to see these locomotives go into forced retirement, and in a way, Im trying to do my part to preserve what made them special. There are some parts of the 86 Class that I had always planned to make in 3DS Max from the start, but at the time, there didn't seem to be any reason to build the rest of it there too. The model is almost complete but the mesh is simpler and it only has a few textures applied so far, so I'm going to take the risk to convert it, and export it as a TS2009 asset.

I may release an update to the Tangara in the future, making it a native TS2009 model, but for the moment, at least I will have one item that I can finish off, while I am rebuilding the other.

Leave me a comment and tell me what you think.

86 Class Update

Ive spent most of the last couple of weeks working on the 86 Class. This is the one that has been tearing at me to be finished, so I needed to make some progress on it. I've done a lot, and now that it’s ready to be texture mapped, I can leave it for a while and catch up on the Tangara too.

I finished off the body detail, headlights, marker lights, side mirrors, windows etc, and cleaned up the roof, then mirrored the body and base to create the other end of the loco. I started on the low res interior next. This is the one that will be seen in DCC mode, from outside the train (through the doors or windows). Technically, its part of the body, but I'm keeping it separate for now. I isolated parts of it that would have detailed textures, and then used a micro texture to map out the general colouring on the rest.

A micro texture is a 32x32 bitmap with 16 colour squares on it (4x4 each). Using detailed textures only where they are needed and micro textures for everything else greatly reduces the amount of memory required by the graphics card to hold all of the textures.

I added all the under-frame gear - compressors, motor-alternator, main reservoir, etc and joined the body and base together, then hand optimised it to get it ready for texturing. I also added the Comeng builder's plates and will texture them separately later. At this point, I built the bogies and moved them off to their own file, ready to be imported into Trainz. The pantograph has also been finished and is ready to import.

The horns had been on my hit list for a while now. They started as a single horn from the Art Source CD, which I used to create a basic set of 5 horns for the 86 Class, but they are very high poly. I finally got around to fixing them and mounting them properly. I took over 1800 polys out of the horns alone!! (900 each end)

I did some fine tuning of the low res interior texture mapping, and then went back to the high res one (for Cab Mode) and cut holes in the drivers desk for the gauges and indicators. I had been leaving that until last since the boolean (cutting) tool always tries to optimise the mesh but usually ends up doing more damage than good. To avoid that, I detached the face of the panel before I cut, limiting the damage just to that area, and then hand optimised and repaired it before re-attaching it to the interior.

As a final touch, I added the Auran Fire Extinguisher in the appropriate place. I’m going to make that a trade mark - each of my cabs will have an Auran fire extinguisher somewhere :)

Now that I’ve mirrored the two halves of the loco and added al the asymmetric detail, the poly count has doubled, as expected. My previous post deals with that. Also check out my Flickr sets by clicking on the slide show to the right… I’m uploading screenshots there as I go.

Overall, there was quite a lot of work in this update, and now that its done, I’m ready for a change, so its back to the Tangara for a while. I’ve learnt a lot while doing the 86 Class, and have used different techniques in places, and these will be transferred to the Tangara so that both models will benefit.

File Version: 150
Poly Count: 22,900

Note: The poly count shown here is for the Gmax model in progress. The count will generally be higher than that of the finished in-game model since it includes duplication, tools, jigs, and other pieces which may not be part of the final model. It may also include parts which are generally counted separately, such as pantographs, interiors, or bogies. LOD modelling will be used to further reduce in-game polygons.

86 Class Update

Ive been busy over the past couple of weeks. I spent most of that time getting used to Gmax again and remembering how to do all of the tricky stuff. I started on the Tangara first, but will post that later so that it appears above this post.

The 86 Class is by far my favourite locomotive, and Ive been itching to get back to this. Looking at it again after so long, I noticed a lot of little problems that I didnt see before, and I have fixed most of those. I also found some short-cuts that I took earlier to save a few polys, have come back to bite me. I left a few edges disconnected, so that I wouldnt have to add a vertex to the other edge (adding polys), but now I can see some tiny annoying gaps, so Ive fixed that, even though it adds a few extra faces.

I corrected some problems with the front of the base, aligning it better, and improving the corners. These fixes saved a few polys. While I was doing that, I figured out a cheat to save even more polys, and took out around 200 or so, without affecting the look of the model. This was mostly underneath. The foot holes through the front plate, and other things were mirrored on the back of the plate. I realised that with backfacing polys being invisible, that I could remove the detail at the back, which is rarely seen, without changing how the front looks, so underneath is now just a simple flat wall, saving all the faces which made up the corners of the holes which didnt really need to be there. Unfortunately all those saved polys came back, and brought friends, when I started on the interior detail.

Previously I had a couple of Auran brake levers temporarily in place, and the brake stand from one of the models on the the Art Source CD, which is almost a perfect match, but not quite. The independent brake is mounted quite low, and on the 86 class, has a bent handle to raise it up to where the driver can reach it. The train brake handle also has a slight bend in it, and the mount to the brake stand allows it to be removed. I quickly knocked up a mount and attached it to the top of the brake stand, then tweaked the Auran levers to be more like the real thing. Im quite pleased with the result, which you can see in the enlarged picture (or check my flickr pages for the latest screen shots).

I finally found a picture of the reverser handle (I had it all along) and realised that the reverser lever was not quite right, so I made it a bit shorter and stubbier. I added the small rails around the horn and wiper controls (added those controls too) and also the drivers and observers switch panel above the side windows. All of these will operate, and the attachment points are all in place. The speedo was floating in mid air (the cyan thing on the left) so I finished it off by adding the mount, and mounting it to the wall. To save on polys, Im not going to model the cables that extend down into the dashboard from it. You can pretend that they disappear into the wall through the mount :p Finally, I added the doors and cut out the windows in them. they're set up to be animated later.

I created some industrial push buttons and mounted them on the dash. I plan to reuse these later in the Tangara too. On the 86, these control the pantographs, and there are a couple of fault ack/reset buttons in that cluster too. I also made one (slightly different) for the backwards transition button, which can almost be seen on top of the master controller between the throttle and regen handles.

One thing that Trainz doesnt do well are push buttons. You can set toggle switches up as levers, and they work fine, but there is no built-in push button function, and nothing close (like a lever is to a toggle) that will easily do the job. I have a couple of solutions in mind, and Im sure other creators have used both methods in the past. One is to make each button a lever with a very long radius and a tiny amount of movement. By placing the pivot several metres away, you wont notice the slight arc in the buttons travel, but it will be very sensitive and possibly difficult to operate. The other is to borrow a steam engine trick and make them animated, with a collision mesh to trigger the animation. This is the method Im leaning towards, as it seems a lot simpler and more reliable. It seems that all modern cabs have push buttons now, so I hope that Auran have a better solution with Trainz 2009.

File Version: 123
Poly Count: 11434

Note: The poly count shown here is for the Gmax model in progress. The count will generally be higher than that of the finished in-game model since it includes duplication, tools, jigs, and other pieces which may not be part of the final model. It may also include parts which are generally counted separately, such as pantographs, interiors, or bogies. LOD modelling will be used to further reduce in-game polygons.

Me Again

*Sneaks in hoping no-one notices*

Wow... Its been a while.

I could lie and say I spent the last couple of years in Japan, but where's the fun in that? The truth is, having some time off, away from my computers got me thinking about other things, and my priorities kind of changed for a while.

This project has always been in the back of my mind, but several factors stopped me from getting back to it. The 'priorities' mentioned before, troubles with my job - hearing that Auran went bankrupt didn't help either - for a long time, I thought, "Well.. thats the end of Trainz". I was also wrestling with texturing the Tangara Control trailer, and in the end, it became too hard, and I put it off for a while. With everything else in combination, that "while" got longer and longer.

In the last couple of years several things have changed for me. I still love electric trains, that much hasn't changed (especially the Tangara and the 86 Class of New South Wales, but increasingly also the Shinkansen (Bullet Trains) of Japan, as I got to know them more) but there are a few issues that are still keeping me away from this project.

In recent months Ive been yearning to do some more work on the 86 Class locomotive, and see it running in Trainz, as I envisioned it (Did I mention it would be fully operational, including the awkward way its driven? (ie: 1-2-3-2-3-2.. etc, for those that know). I'd even like to finish the Tangara, which isnt really that far away from loading up and running - the motor car, and variations (G Sets) wont take a lot of work, although the scripting I had planned for it will take some time).

The issues keeping me away right now, are firstly that my PC died (along with all of the Gmax files on it) and has been out of comission for probably over 18 months now. In fact, since it died, 5 other computers have died as well (I have a lot of computers on a big network). All of these are still dead, and right now, I'm on the oldest, slowest machine I have (excluding the unix systems, which run web services and other work for clients) and it just wont handle Gmax.

Originally, the problem that caused the demise of my PC was hard to diagnose. It was a hardware failure, but I didnt want to replace working components, and I didnt have any good way of figuring out which part was broken, so I just used another computer for a while. Finally (just recently as it happens) that other computer also died, and I had a chance to swap components. The good news is I narrowed the problem (on both machines) down to the motherboard. The bad news is, with 2 dead motherboards, I still cant make one working good machine.

The other big issue thats affecting me right now is that I left my job mid last year (it was long overdue), and so far, havnt found another. I dont have the money to repair the machines at the moment, so Im stuck on this slow one for now.

I heard about Trainz 2009 being released, and that gave me some hope that all this work wasnt wasted. Its re-kindled my interest in finishing what Ive started, as it seems that there is a future. The other good news is, as partial payment for building and maintaining a web site for my wife's business, she has agreed to pay for repairs to all of the dead computers, though that will depend on when she can afford to do that, and is conditional on me getting a job again.

So, the upshot is that things are slowly coming full circle, and I'm beginning to think more and more about this project. I said to myself at the beginning of this post, that I wouldnt apologise for being away so long, and I hope that you understand that we (content creators) do this because we want to, and have the resources. We are not obligated to do it. For a while I wasnt able to spend the time, or didnt have the resources (or both), but in the near future, that should be changing, so consider this post the first buds of spring :p

Another thing that helped keep me away, was the disapointment I felt about the way Railcorp approaches heritage issues in New South Wales. I touched apon it in previous posts, but since then time has shown that the token gesutres made thus far have had little real benefit (if any). They seem to have no interest in "Heritage", other than generating goodwill with a few well composed press releases. Unfortunately that goodwill on the part of the public, doesnt seem to be balanced by any real advances in rail heritage. Despite their words I can cite many examples where Railcorp's own actions could be viewed as having little concern for rail heritage. Private groups are doing far more, but its Railcorp's bat and ball (its even their ballpark), and they dont seem to want to play - they just leave the lights on so that it looks like they're interested, and when someone else kicks the ball around, they can say that by leaving the lights on they enabled them to do that! Perhaps in future posts, I'll give a few examples.

Even more future posts will probably also talk about the N Scale layout I'm planning to build in a spare room (Another thing that has got me thinking about this project). I'm hoping to capture aspects of Japan's rail system, including Shinkansen, regular passenger, freight end even metro systems.

As you can see, I have a lot to write about. I guess in a way this post is designed to put leverage on myself. Much of what I want to do, requires me to get a job, and with you lot knowing that Im still here, its even more pressure on me to get on with it, rebuild my systems, and get these models finished and uploaded to the DLS!

Update: 9 Feb 2009 - Ive just spent several hours tweaking this blog, adding tags, gadgets etc. I cant access Gmax for a while so I do what I can. I also replied to a lot of old comments, so that the answers are on the same archive page. Its been tough going because this old machine is so slow. Something is chewing up all the CPU, but it isnt as simple as a worm or spyware or anything obvious like that. Im a geek, but so far, its eluded me. Im still working on it.

Looking back over old posts I realised how much I have forgotten about Gmax, but Im sure it will come back to me when I get started again, and I have lots of notes. The hard drives in my machine are still ok, and mirrored just in case, so once its fixed, everything will be right where I left it.

It goes up, It goes down

A quick update to show some more of the pantograph. Ive added the cross-arms and animated it. There is still a little more to do on the details and animating other bits such as the pistons which operate the pantograph. So far the entire pantograph, including the base, weighs in at about 980 polys, which I reckon is pretty good, considering whats in it. I need to add a few more though.

I also discovered a small miss-match between the interior and exterior around the small side windows, so that has been fixed as well.

While I'm here, Im going to play around with the blog template a bit. It seems that I cant do much about the width without changing all of the background images. Eventually I'd like to redo the whole thing with a proper Redfern Workshopz header and a variable width template. Perhaps one day.

You can actually see that Im only working on half a loco in the screen shot above.

Update: 31 Jan - The pistons are now animated. Im not going to animate the springs. Still some polys to add on the contact. The pant is now 1020 polys. I removed some jigs that I had hidden - the model is now 8703 polys. File version is 108.

File Version: 106
Poly Count: 9031

Note: The poly count shown here is for the gmax model in progress. The count will generally be higher than that of the finished in-game model since it includes various tools, jigs, and other pieces which may not be part of the final model. LOD modelling will further reduce in-game polygons.

Pants!

My head hurts.

I've done a bit more on the 86 Class. I added the last of the hand holds (at the front) and have started on the first pantograph. All that concentration has given me a headache.

Im making a heavy duty version of a cross-arm pantograph, as was originally fitted to the 86 Class (Like the ones you see on the S sets, but tougher). I also plan to build a heavy duty version of a high speed panto, which were used on the 86 Class in later years. (Like the ones on the Tangara). While the loco itself is going to be payware, the pantographs will be free, and available on the DLS. I will also eventually be building a light duty version of each, and have already started on the high speed version for the Tangara. These will also be on the DLS, and having all four versions used by Railcorp / Cityrail will allow me to use them on other locos in the future. If you like them, you could even use them on locos make by other creators.

I've finished the base and the contacts, and added the pistons and springs. I need to tweak those some more. I havnt built the cross-arms yet, but they will be next. You can just see the pivot bar for the arms in the base, if you squint :)

Somehow, I managed to freeze the ditch lights, so they havnt been appearing on recent screenshots. They're back now, and integrated into the base so that they wont go missing again. I havnt started on the headlights yet.

I also did a bit more work on the catenary, and have the first model almost ready for testing in Trainz.

Im off to Japan at the end of this week, so if I dont post anything for a couple of weeks, you know why.

The poly count has crept up a bit - remembering that the number below represents half of the loco. Im not sure if you can use LOD modelling on pantographs, but I guess I will find out. Im building this one with a lot of detail, but I can make it a bit simpler if I have to. I plan to animate it, and besides the usual up and down motion, you should also be able to see the pistons and springs expand and contract. I want the workings to be apparent. The panto itself isnt really using a lot of polys. The number below includes a lot of things that will be separated into different files, so individually, it should be fine.

File Version: 102
Poly Count: 8931

Note: The poly count shown here is for the gmax model in progress. The count will generally be higher than that of the finished in-game model since it includes various tools, jigs, and other pieces which may not be part of the final model. LOD modelling will further reduce in-game polygons.

Latest 86 Class Progress

Here is a screen shot, as of tonight. Apologies if its a bit big, I will get Picassa installed on Minotaur soon, and that should shrink the screen shots down a little.

I know everyone is waiting for a Tangara update, and I will try to get one posted before I go to Japan in 2 weeks. Im still working out the UVW mapping.

Ive been working on the 86 Class recently. Ive found that once you've been away from it for a while, it takes a little time to get everything organised in your head again, but I also found, that this gives you the opportunity to look at the model with a fresh perspective.

One of the things I noticed was that the interior floor was too low. The photographs I have show it as being level with the bottom of the door surround, which sits a few inches above the yellow base. The door surround was too low, and so was the floor. Ive raised them to where they should be.

I also added the foot and hand holds on the side, and have started on the last of the hand rails. There are just two more small grab handles at the front that I havnt started on yet. The cut outs for the hand holds on the side caused a few problems. The boolean tool did its usual damage, but it wasnt too hard to fix. Ive tried other methods of hole punching, but even with its problems, boolean is still a lot easier to use.

For the most part, I think the body is just about finished. There is just a little detail to do on the roof, and a bit more on the front. The interior is just about done too, but will still need more work to dumb it down for the exterior view, and separate the high detail interior into its own file where I can finish off all the levers etc for CAB mode.

One of the most annoying things about building these models is that I have a lot of ideas for features that I want to build into them, but not having a finished locomotive yet, I have nowhere to test those ideas, so I find that I have to keep remembering them until Im up to that point. Ive been making notes. One thing that I wont forget (because I'm looking forward to it myself) is that the 86 Class will operate like the real thing (as much as possible). The annoying part is that I can't start writing the cab script for that until I have the loco in Trainz so that I can test it, and there is quite a bit to do before it gets to that stage.

The next update (in a few days) will be all about the Tangara, which is progressing slowly, but still progressing. (Yes, I do work on it - I just don't have a lot to show right now - its all been tweaking and struggling with textures - but more on that later).

File Version: 95
Poly Count: 6999

Note: The poly count shown here is for the gmax model in progress. The count will generally be higher than that of the finished in-game model since it includes various tools, jigs, and other pieces which may not be part of the final model. LOD modelling will further reduce in-game polygons.

86 Class Update

A few months back, before I disappeared I mentioned that I had done some more work on the 86 Class but didnt post any pictures of it at the time. Here are the latest shots, as of today.

After installing Gmax and other tools on the new graphics machine (I call it Minotaur - its easier to call it by name in future) the first thing I did was finish off the basic structure of the 86 Class cab. When I left it, there were a few problems with the front windows and I had not created any of the window sills (front or side) that join the interior and the body together. Thats all been done, so now I just have a few more details to finish off, such as the gauges on the drivers console etc.

As mentioned before, all of the attachment points for the levers and dials that have been added so far are there - I just have them turned off in the pictures so that they show the model better.

Basically I removed the interior's front windows completely and replaced them with a copy of the body's front windows, but moved back a little, so that they would be in alignment with the body. Then I just had to move a few vertices around and weld everything together. I created the sills and realigned the console so that it joined with the new front wall, and that was about it for this session. The interior and body now fit together perfectly.

My web server died - the one whose disks I am upgrading. It keeps resetting every few minutes for no apparent reason and no amount of reseating cards, replacing cables, or cleaning away the dust seems to make any difference. I have one more thing to try, but the next step will be to borrow the HTPC's motherboard and use that temporarily. The poor HTPC is starting to look like an empty shell as I continue to borrow parts from it. My wife (who helped pay for it) is starting to wonder when she will be able to use it. Doh! Did I mention I hate computers?

File Version: 86
Poly Count: 6601

Note: The poly count shown here is for the gmax model in progress. The count will generally be higher than that of the finished in-game model since it includes various tools and other pieces which may not be part of the final model. LOD modelling will further reduce in-game polygons.

Quick 86 Class update

While the Tangara is my favourite EMU, the 86 Class is my favourite locomotive, and I just cant keep away from it - no matter how I try to finish the Tangara... besides I need a break every now and again from one model, so I work on the other for a while.

Ive gone back to the outside, and left the fridge and interior back wall for later. Ive detailed around the doors and added a few hand rails, which still need to be tweaked a little - especially the one at the front, which needs a few polys removed - I figure I can get rid of about 80 polys without making it look any different, but its a painstaking process of eliminating verticies one by one. Does anyone know an easy way of removing redundant verts without deforming the mesh - kind of like a reverse "Mesh Smooth" ? I certainly havnt found it in Gmax yet.

Ive finally decided that the 86 will be payware, which means I have to finish off the web site that I have been playing around with so far - at least theres no rush, it will be a while before the 86 is finished. I havnt decided on the price yet, but it will be no more than five bucks. Just so as you know.

File Version: 72

86 Class Progress

Ive been busy this week with real work, and so have not had as much time to spend with Gmax as I would like. This will probably continue for the next few weeks. If you're interested, Im building a mainframe Linux-390 system on my PC (using an emulator) to be uploaded and run on a real S/390 mainframe hopefully in the near future.

I did manage to do a bit of work in Gmax, and it was mainly on the 86 Class, with a little tweaking of the Tangara. Ive been peaking into Tangara cabs lately and have noticed a couple of things that I didnt see before, so these have been added. I'll get to skinning it soon, and will post a Tangara update when I have something new to report.

On the 86 Class, I have continued to work on the cab, and have detailed the left and right walls. There has also been a bit of tweaking of the dash / console area and the master controller, and the floor has been raised. If you're familiar with an 86 Class cab, you should recognise the picture above, thanks to the excellent photos that I have been working from.

The back wall will be next and shouldnt take long as there is not much detail there - just the AC controls, a fridge, an extinguisher, and a door handle. The rest can be done on the textures. I threw the plans out the window for a while, and just worked from photos, but as I began to figure out how everything fits, I realised that the plan was pretty close, and it was my floor that was wrong. Once I raised the floor, everything started to align properly again. (This is a different alignment problem from the one I mentioned earlier).

I recieved the back issues of Under The Wires that I had ordered, and these have some helpfull articles. Unfortunately one of the operating manuals that I ordered was out of stock, and I already have a PDF version of the one which did arrive. I had been looking forward to the missing one, as I was hoping that it might give me a bit more detail on the master controller. Hopefully I can get what I need from other sources. (I'll try the Railpage forums when I need to).

I deleted some duplicated parts, which dropped the poly count a bit. The count below is half of the loco, so double it for the whole thing.

File Version: 69
Poly count: 4300

86 Class Progress

Ok, I know most of you are eagerly awaiting the Tangara, but Ive done a bit more work on the 86 Class instead. One of the reasons Im posting this early (on Sunday afternoon) is that I plan to work on the Tangara this evening, and I can post another update later.

Ive been inspired recently by a collection of photographs that were sent to me. These show the 86 Class cab in great detail. First there was the one from Robbo, which helped enormously, and probably started the whole thing off. It was much better than anything that I already had, and got me started on detailing the drivers side of the cab.

Recently Chris from HET sent me several photos, and asked what else I needed, so I gave him a list and he sent me several more. Many thanks to both of you. Together with photos from magazine back issues, I now have the cab covered from every possible angle, and I have been working on it whenever I get the chance.

At the moment Im a little stuck because the interior does not match up with the exterior as well as I would like. Both are true to the plans, but sometimes when you are modelling you have to throw out the plan and just build it so that it looks right. Im currently in the process of matching the two sections together. The problem is basically that there is too much distance between them, making the window sills and door trim look too wide. I need to move the interior walls closer to the outside, which is complicated at the front by the angle of the front windows. Im making slow progress.

In the picture you can see the drivers side of the master controller, showing the recess where the reverser handle will be, and also the observers controls, where the park brake and pressure gauge will be. There is also a cutout for the hotplate which will be added later.

As I mentioned before, I have been considering whether the finished 86 Class will be payware or freeware, and I have realised that until it is complete, I cant easily weigh up what has gone into it. I have a lot planned, but it all depends on how well the script comes together, and I cant even start on that until I have the model built, textured, and imported into Trainz. I will make the final decision once I have a better idea of how it is all coming together, but you should know that I am leaning towards payware for this one, especially if my plans all work out. Even so, it will be well worth the low cost.

File version: 62
Poly count: 6125 

86 Class Update

Im still thinking about a few Tangara issues, and Im having problems with the buffers, so I have done a little more on the 86 Class.

To answer Ben's question in a previous comment, you will find that the features and versions of the Tangara have been discussed earlier in this blog. (check the archives). I dont really expect people to be familiar with every word I write here, but I also dont want to repeat myself too often. You will also find a clue in my project list to the right.

To address Allans concern at my not having updated the blog in two weeks, sometimes it happens. Im finding modelling a little tough at the moment, slogging through strange problems that really shouldnt happen. For example, I have two buffer models, the only difference between them is the presence of a light on one of them (shown in the last post). One buffer model displays its textures correctly in Trainz (the one with the light) but the other doesnt. Im also still thinking about some Tangara issues, which I would like to have resolved in my mind before I continue, and then there is real life. For example, this weekend was basically a write off - a HET Workday on Saturday (I generally go once per month), and a family BBQ on the Sunday left little time for modelling, but I did manage to squeeze in an hour or two here and there.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been very slowly piecing together the interior of the 86 Class from a couple of photos. Thanks to Robbo for one of those. The interior is still a bit blocky, but I am refining the detail and merging seperate objects together as I go. I really need some shots of the observers side of the cab, though I can fake it from the plans I have. I'd also like a shot of the Master Controller (preferrably with the reverser handle present) looking from the drivers perspective (from the seat or through the drivers side window).

Im still gathering resources, and have just obtained 5 selected backissues of Motive Power, with around 10 or so back issues of Under The Wires still to come, as well as the actual 86 Class operating manuals, which I ordered today. Im also expecting some photos from another HET member who I met on Saturday, so hopefully I will have the cab covered soon.

I cut out the cab doors from the exterior, and then spent some time cleaning up the mess made by the boolean cutting tool. I just about have the exterior back the way it was, but still have to tweak the door and window cut outs a little.

Ive spent some time thinking about the cab script. If you know the 86 Class, you will know that the throttle is not as simple as the standard 8-notches of varying speed as found in many Trainz models. The 86 Class has 5 notches and a complex procedure that must be followed using just 3 of those notches to "notch-in" and "notch-out" resistances which control the amount of power delivered to the DC motors. I believe I can write a script to emulate that, for a realistic driving experience.

I realised recently that I have not yet decided if this will be freeware or payware. I will make that decision soon. Given that extra attention will be paid to the details, since it is my favourite loco, plus the additional scripting to make it drive like an 86 Class, and the cost of research material so far, it is likely that it will be payware, but I will keep everyone posted here.

File Version: 58
Poly count: 5824

Comments on Comments

There hasnt been much progress on the Tangara this week, but I have been working on a few smaller items, and one or two pieces that will end up in the Tangara later.

Thanks for all the comments on the last post. I wanted to respond to some of them here.

Features

Nathan asked if the cab would be animated. It sure will!. How much is animated wlll depend on how long it all takes, how well I can communicate between the cab script and the exterior one. (That should be easy). Essential things like the driver will obviously go in first, while less-essential items like blinds will be added later, as time and skilz permit. Pretty much everything suggested was already on my list for considereation. (plus a few more ideas too). I'll keep you posted here, as it all progresses.

Alex mentioned the Cityrail Driver by Davido. I have seen it, and his Freightcorp drivers, but I would like to make my own for several reasons. (Some of which will become apparent when you get to see the Tangara). No offence to Davido, his models are excellent, and indeed I have been very impressed with everything so far from Cardiff Workshops, but I have some ideas in mind and making my own driver mesh would allow me some extra flexibility. This is one of the several smaller things that Ive been working on this week.

Payware

Payware is an issue that can polarise people. Some people "get it" and dont mind parting with a few bucks, others expect that everything should be handed to them for free, and most are somewhere in between.

Over recent months, a few people, (ky most recently) have commented at various times that the Tangara should be (or could be) payware. I take that as a very big compliment. Thank you. These comments generally mean that people appreciate the work that has been put in to the model, and I gratefully accept that.

Ive said from day one that the Tangara (and all its variants) will be FREE, and will be uploaded, unencrypted to the DLS to be looked at and learned from, however I am not promising the same for any future models that I might build. Each will be decided on its merits when its started. At present, I currently have no payware items planned.

Here is my take on payware:

Over the last 4 months, since starting on the Tangara, Ive spent quite a bit of time at my computer. Im a geek, so my wife is quite used to that, but recently it has been a lot more time that it used to be, and it has caused some friction on occasion.

Without even considering the number of hours spent working on the Tangara, I do feel that it would be nice to recieve a little appreciation for the time spent away from my family, but at the same time I also understand that its my choice to do that.

Its not about money - Im never going to get rich making 3D models. Its simply about people appreciating the effort that went in to it. Im hoping that Auran might select the Tangara to be included in future versions of Trainz, if its considered good enough, and that is one form of appreciation.

Money is obviously another form, and is merely a token. If I ever do release payware, it wont be more than a few bucks per download - definately under $5 (probably with a couple of dollars to spare) because accumulaing vast amounts of money is not the point. Its simply about saying Thank You.

Having said that, I am working on a Redfern Workshopz website to be released at some time in the future, and one of the required features will be an online store, to allow me to make payware models available, if I choose to do so. This is just one of many features that I require for the new site, and its no more, or no less important than the other required features, such as project management or forums.

Now, if only drupal would play nice.

86 Class Progress

Because Ive been stuck on the Tangara, Ive done a little more on the 86 Class. Not much different really. Ive recently added the interior and last night I cut out the windows. The doors will be next, and then I can go around fixing a few things that the boolean subtract messed up.

Now that it has a few window holes its starting to look more like the real thing, but there are a few more pieces yet to be added.

File Version: 49
Poly count: 5500 

86 Class Progress

Well, I had planned to build this later, but since I have started it, I guess I should post progress reports.

Sometimes you just have to do certain things. Building the 86 class is kind of like that. I know I have other things that people are waiting on, such as the V Sets, but I cant just build things for other people - sometimes I just have to build things for me too, and this is one of those things. The V Sets should be the next to be started.

As I said before, im building half of the 86 class, and will be mirroring the other half. There are a couple of small differences between the ends, which I will tweak after mirroring, so as to retain the seperate No. 1 End and No. 2 End look and feel.

I have been concentrating on the yellow base and the end plate, and have just finished the Multiple Unit receptacles on this side. I still have to build the one on the other side which takes the cable from the other unit. I will be adding the cable later when I do the air hoses.

It took me a little while to get the "Roo Scoop" right, and properly integrated into the plate. (Hey, Im not an civil engineer, so I'll call the parts what I like :). The problem was that due to the foot-holes already being cut out there were a lot of verticies and faces to deal with... but its done now.

As you can see, my drawing has a lot of detail, especially for the bogies (which is unusual), but the one thing it doesnt have are dimensions. Luckily, I know the overall dimensions, and have a pocket calculator handy to work out the rest. The pantograph on the drawing, isnt very detailed but we have a few spares of the same type of pantograph at the HET workshops, so if I need some up close and personal detail, I have it covered, The 86 class also used another type of panto, similar to that on the Tangara model, so I guess I'll be borrowing from that one as well. I think these alternate pantos were field repacements.

The next moves from here will be to finish the end plate detail, and then think about cutting out the interior and windows / doors etc.

File Version: 41
Poly Count: 4200

Quick Update

Just a quick update for now. For various reasons I havnt done much on the Tangara over the last week or so. I did do a little bit of structural reorganisation, but nothing that can be seen. I have realised that to redo the door animation the way I wanted, I will have to lower the ceiling in the vestibule, so that will be the next thing to be done. Other than that, I would say that the interior is complete and just needs texturing. After the doors will come the missing exterior detail, windows, and textures.

My interest in the 86 class has been increasing recently, so I tried to set up a basic environment in Gmax for it, but I have been having trouble getting the scalebox texture to map properly. Textures are not my favourite part of Gmax, and it makes me wonder if I wont also have similar problems with the Tangara textures. No matter what I try, my crisp clear scale drawing comes out blocky and blurred. I know Im missing something.

The Auran forums are frustrating me. I make one comment, which people react to without thinking about, and all hell breaks loose. I explain what I mean (requiring a much longer post) and they go.. "oh, now I understand" but then start picking on one small point in the explanation. Then while Im trying to clarify that, Auran come along and close the thread. That is what is frustrating me the most.

So much for free speech, or valuing the diversity of others opinions. Auran just take their bat and ball and go home if they dont like where a thread is going. Ive felt the same about an earlier thread which they closed, which I did not even participate in.

Peoples reactions and Aurans childish thread closing, make me wonder if I will ever bother to post there again. For the most part, Ive tried to be helpful, and most people are friendly, but there are a few that really just dont get it.