Well, as promised, My wife has started repairing all the dead computers around here, and the first to be resurrected was my development system, aka "Minotaur".
It was a real pain getting windows up, due to it having a different motherboard than the old drivers expected, but eventually I got it up far enough to install the new drivers. For anyone curious, I went with an Asus M3N78-Pro, though now I will need to upgrade the CPU and memory at some point, to take advantage of the new board. I've always been a Gigabyte guy in the past, but over the past year or so Ive had at least 3 Gigabyte boards die for no real reason, so its time to see what else is out there. So far Im impressed with the Asus board.
Minotaur is still as good as it ever was. Surprisingly the problem with my wireless mouse suddenly not working remains - it must be a problem in the driver that came with it. Looks like I'll be swapping back to the tethered mouse I was using before.
The first thing I did was to check all my Gmax models and everything else related to this project, and its all fine. Then I realised that Ive forgotten how to drive Gmax, which is kind of embarassing. Even simple things like rotating the camera around to see the model from different angles are eluding me at the moment, so its back to school, to re-learn Gmax. Ugh. It shouldn't be so bad - once I remember the basics I should be back into it in no time.
To get Windows up, I had to break the mirror that my hard drives were a part of, but now that I have the new motherboard drivers installed, I should be able to get the raid array set up again soon. I feel better when I have redundant copies of my data around.
So now Im off to re-learn Gmax, and get the system set up the way I like it again.
Showing posts with label Computers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Computers. Show all posts
Friday, February 13, 2009
Saturday, February 07, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Happy New Year
I've been meaning to post an update here for a while, but writing tends to take time, getting the thoughts down, editing, rearranging, editing some more, correcting etc... I havnt been able to bring myself to do it until now. The good news is that while I havnt been posting here, I have been making progress on some of the infrastructure that I mentioned before - the underlying base on which everything else sits.
I've cleared away a lot of the clutter - various little things which were being ignored and were nagging at me. I reorganised my blogs and migrated them to the new version of Blogger. It helped that they released the new version recently - it meant I could finally migrate a couple of blogs that needed some features that werent supported in beta until just before the release. Theres links to my other blogs in the sidebar in case you're interested, but I havnt updated them in a while either - I'll get to that soon. Some are still works in progress, so dont expect too much just yet.
I updated my web server and created 8 new web sites (4 sites and 4 development versions of them) which I am still working on - including a Redfern Workshopz site. I moved all of my web-based utilities and internal applications over to the new sites and continue to set them up. At the moment they're not accessible until I get the layout and themes right, but at least they are there, and I have been migrating content over from the old sites (which are also not currently online).
I did some maintenance on the servers, fixing a few hardware problems along the way. At least 2 of them have died in the past few months and needed parts replaced or the operating systems rebuilt (or both). One of them has been upgraded, and Im still setting up the RAID array for the new disks on that one. Ive also built two new computers - one is a Home Theatre PC (Personal Video Recorder), and the other is built specifically for 3D modelling. Im still working on the HTPC - I had to canibalise some parts from it to fix a few hardware problems, and I borrowed its power supply for the 3D Modelling machine.
I have only just finished building the new machine for 3D modelling. Its nice. It runs an AMD X2 Dual Core 4600+ CPU (basically two 2.4Ghz CPU chips in one) on an Nvidia NForce4 chipset, and has TWO Nvidia 7600GS based graphics cards. The dual graphics cards are linked together via Nvidia's SLI interface and work as one, giving around twice the graphics power of a single card. If I can remember how to display the frame rate in Trainz, I'll post it here, but Ive seen it running at 40fps while switched back to the desktop. Trainz runs really smooth with all the performance parameters set to the max, but still (even in SP1) has some flickering and the audio problems that we all put up with.
I've loaded up Gmax, and an old copy of 3DS Max, and have copied all my models over to the new machine. Last night I installed the Normals Map plugin for Gimp, and set up the Trainz Content Creation Studio, with the Max 4.2 plugins, to enable bump mapping in Gmax. Im still setting up a few other supporting utilities, but its all working and looking good so far. I've probably forgotten a bunch of other things that I've been doing recently, but suffice to say, I havnt made any further progress on the Tangara or the 86 Class since the earlier posts - Im hoping to remedy that situation very soon.
Appologies for not responding to the comments, but I have been reading (and publishing) them. I also appologise to the people that emailed me and didnt get a reply. Sometimes I just need to get away from things, especially if I've been working on them for a long period or if Im concentrating on other things. Its just how it works with me, and is pretty normal. Don't let that stop you from sending them though - I need someone to bug me every now and then to keep me focused on things. I appreciated recieving them, and each one reminded me to get back to working on the models as soon as I could.
Well, thats about enough text for now. Its late (early actually). I'll add links and things later.
I've cleared away a lot of the clutter - various little things which were being ignored and were nagging at me. I reorganised my blogs and migrated them to the new version of Blogger. It helped that they released the new version recently - it meant I could finally migrate a couple of blogs that needed some features that werent supported in beta until just before the release. Theres links to my other blogs in the sidebar in case you're interested, but I havnt updated them in a while either - I'll get to that soon. Some are still works in progress, so dont expect too much just yet.
I updated my web server and created 8 new web sites (4 sites and 4 development versions of them) which I am still working on - including a Redfern Workshopz site. I moved all of my web-based utilities and internal applications over to the new sites and continue to set them up. At the moment they're not accessible until I get the layout and themes right, but at least they are there, and I have been migrating content over from the old sites (which are also not currently online).
I did some maintenance on the servers, fixing a few hardware problems along the way. At least 2 of them have died in the past few months and needed parts replaced or the operating systems rebuilt (or both). One of them has been upgraded, and Im still setting up the RAID array for the new disks on that one. Ive also built two new computers - one is a Home Theatre PC (Personal Video Recorder), and the other is built specifically for 3D modelling. Im still working on the HTPC - I had to canibalise some parts from it to fix a few hardware problems, and I borrowed its power supply for the 3D Modelling machine.
I have only just finished building the new machine for 3D modelling. Its nice. It runs an AMD X2 Dual Core 4600+ CPU (basically two 2.4Ghz CPU chips in one) on an Nvidia NForce4 chipset, and has TWO Nvidia 7600GS based graphics cards. The dual graphics cards are linked together via Nvidia's SLI interface and work as one, giving around twice the graphics power of a single card. If I can remember how to display the frame rate in Trainz, I'll post it here, but Ive seen it running at 40fps while switched back to the desktop. Trainz runs really smooth with all the performance parameters set to the max, but still (even in SP1) has some flickering and the audio problems that we all put up with.
I've loaded up Gmax, and an old copy of 3DS Max, and have copied all my models over to the new machine. Last night I installed the Normals Map plugin for Gimp, and set up the Trainz Content Creation Studio, with the Max 4.2 plugins, to enable bump mapping in Gmax. Im still setting up a few other supporting utilities, but its all working and looking good so far. I've probably forgotten a bunch of other things that I've been doing recently, but suffice to say, I havnt made any further progress on the Tangara or the 86 Class since the earlier posts - Im hoping to remedy that situation very soon.
Appologies for not responding to the comments, but I have been reading (and publishing) them. I also appologise to the people that emailed me and didnt get a reply. Sometimes I just need to get away from things, especially if I've been working on them for a long period or if Im concentrating on other things. Its just how it works with me, and is pretty normal. Don't let that stop you from sending them though - I need someone to bug me every now and then to keep me focused on things. I appreciated recieving them, and each one reminded me to get back to working on the models as soon as I could.
Well, thats about enough text for now. Its late (early actually). I'll add links and things later.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Reorganisation
Someone once said: Life is what happens while we are busy making other plans
You will have read below that after 7 months I needed to get away from 3D modelling for a while - which I did. I started to get back into it, but a lot has been hapenning in my life recently, and on top of that, once I stopped modelling for a while, I started noticing all those other things that I had been ignoring for 7 months.
I desperately want to finish the Tangara and other Trainz related stuff that I am working on, but right now my life seems too cluttered to really get much of anything done, so I have decided to clear away the clutter by restructuring all of the various projects that I am working on - Trainz and non-Trainz related. This will make things a bit simpler for me.
Im currently reorganising my blogs so that I can move some content out of one into another, and use the first one for its original purpose. The new one can continue to accumulate all the stuff thats been going into the original one recently. This wont affect this blog, or you guys - its just something else that I have on the side. Once the blogs are reorganised, I will post links to them here, for those that may be interested.
I also run my own web server, and have around 6 computers here which are always online. A couple of them need their software updated to more recent versions, and I have been doing that over the last couple of weeks. These machines support everything that I do online in one way or another, so its important to keep them working. This is one of those things I had been ignoring.
Once that is done, I plan to set up my own Redfern Workshopz web site, as well as a couple more for other projects. Once all that is done, things should be set up a bit better, and up to date, so it wont need so much attention in the future. I really need to get those web sites online for my own sanity, as they are the key to a lot of the recent turbulence in my life.
I think about the Tangara every day - really!, and will try to get it moving again as soon as I can - I just have a lot of other things on my todo list at the moment.
I'll keep you posted.
You will have read below that after 7 months I needed to get away from 3D modelling for a while - which I did. I started to get back into it, but a lot has been hapenning in my life recently, and on top of that, once I stopped modelling for a while, I started noticing all those other things that I had been ignoring for 7 months.
I desperately want to finish the Tangara and other Trainz related stuff that I am working on, but right now my life seems too cluttered to really get much of anything done, so I have decided to clear away the clutter by restructuring all of the various projects that I am working on - Trainz and non-Trainz related. This will make things a bit simpler for me.
Im currently reorganising my blogs so that I can move some content out of one into another, and use the first one for its original purpose. The new one can continue to accumulate all the stuff thats been going into the original one recently. This wont affect this blog, or you guys - its just something else that I have on the side. Once the blogs are reorganised, I will post links to them here, for those that may be interested.
I also run my own web server, and have around 6 computers here which are always online. A couple of them need their software updated to more recent versions, and I have been doing that over the last couple of weeks. These machines support everything that I do online in one way or another, so its important to keep them working. This is one of those things I had been ignoring.
Once that is done, I plan to set up my own Redfern Workshopz web site, as well as a couple more for other projects. Once all that is done, things should be set up a bit better, and up to date, so it wont need so much attention in the future. I really need to get those web sites online for my own sanity, as they are the key to a lot of the recent turbulence in my life.
I think about the Tangara every day - really!, and will try to get it moving again as soon as I can - I just have a lot of other things on my todo list at the moment.
I'll keep you posted.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Computer Problems
1 PmUgh! Computer problems really suck. My PC is still acting weird. Meanwhile, Ive been studying all I can about textures, and have finally found a method that works for me (Many havn't worked). Ive been trying it out on one of the Buffer Stops, since being bascially four chunks of wood, its simple and quick to build. I'll post a pic, and a bit more info, once my PC is working again. Im planning a photo-trip later today for a few more research pics.
7 Pm
I finally gave up on trying to enforce my will on my Windows PC and instead adjusted my expectations to match the reality. The PC (Both its BIOS and Windows) is now doing whatever the heck it wants, with the added emphasis that it is now at least doing something. In the end, I reverted back to its old BIOS. Windows finally co-operated after several failed reboot attempts, and came up properly. The most frustrating part is that the BIOS bug (which I am now thinking is a motherboard fault) causes a 10 minute delay during each reboot (and Ive done several today). for example, Try reversing out the new bios, flashing the backup ROM as well, and then booting windows (an attempt anyway), and theres 30 minutes of waiting time right there!
As noted above, I went for a walk earlier, after being frustrated by my PC. I took a few photos at Redfern and Central, and while I was at the Sydney Terminal part of Central, I stumbled upon the historic "Cockatoo Run" pulling in to Platform 1 after a tour, and took a few snaps of 4306 and 44211.
Anyway, due to my productive PC time being limited today to only a few minutes at a time, I have been playing with Gmax Textures and finally have a method that works. Im using Multi-Materials, and also using LithUnwrap to create the texture templates which I can simply repaint later.
The picture above is the Buffer that I have been working on, with a very rough test texture applied to it. The texture is currently the raw repaint master template created by LithUnwrap with about 30 seconds of work done to it to give it the black front.
While I was at Sydney Terminal I discovered some more detail which I need to apply (It wasnt apparent in the photos I was working from), so before I start setting it up to be tested in Trainz, I will have to go back and add the missing detail, then retexture it again. There will be two versions - a simple one similar to this which is often found at the end of the line (ie: Nowra), and the Sydney Terminal style with their "feet" and lights. (You''ll understand the "feet"thing when I post a pic of one).
I finally figured out why I havnt seen a lot of my wife recently. Apparently she moved out a couple of weeks ago due to my spending so much time at the computer recently. I hadn't noticed, though it has been a bit quieter lately.
Im kidding. She's due home in an hour, so I had better make the most of the remaining time.
I should be getting back to the Tangara tomorrow. I know thats what you are really waiting for.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
A real Tangara
Here's a picture of a real Tangara. Im having some computer problems, and without boring you with all the details, Windows Software Raid really sucks when its resyncing the mirror. Thats going to take a few more hours, and while its doing that, my disk performance is pretty bad. I can access folders, but if I try to access the drive (as a whole) the system just locks up. That means I cant save any screen shots because when Gimp tries to build its list of drives and folders for me to save to, it locks up too. Compare this to my Linux boxes, and I never really even notice EVMS when its syncing multiple mirrors at the same time!!Gmax is working fine, except that periodically the whole computer freezes for a few seconds, which is driving me crazy. Hopefully all will be well again tomorrow, after the resync is finished. Then I just have to fix the Bios problem... ugh!
Im taking a break from the Tangara and have been working on the Train Stop. I wanted to upload a screenshot. The model is almost ready for texturing. There is just a little more to do first. So far its 190 polys. I should be able to finish the model fairly soon, then I just have to build the config file, write a script for it, and finally test it out in Trainz. After testing (and tweaking) I can upload it and then I will finally be a DLS contributor, and get the little flag in the forums. Yay! :)
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