[Release] Dekosoft trains UP super set in Locomotion?!

[Plastikman]

err.. it is just a food plant, not a new industry. I used the names of the real servies.

[lobster]

oi, plastikman, this stuff looks rather awesome!

anyway, i think it's more than fair to do this pack. there's few communities of developers that actually have this kind of mutual respect towards one another, i'd say we grab every opportunity to show them our gratitude and support.

i'll be looking forward to this, surely! perhaps indeed an entire new "climate" and suchlike... t'would be awesome.

[Plastikman]

Err.. I need help. Would it be better if the set sorted by road name (Union Pacific in this case) or by type of item it is (grain/goods/coal/etc)?

Keeping in mind one day there might be other sets that match this, Like a BNSF set. What is better?

I am not sure if people want to find the items easy or find the road name easy.

[Strategia]

I vote railway company names. It's more likely that you'd want to select multiple vehicles of the same company than the same vehicle in multiple company liveries, IMO.

[Plastikman]

OK, I know I said Sunday.

I had A lot of other things come up nd I just needed to take a break. I was seeing Armor yellow no matter where i looked.

The trains are done. They look and run great. i still need a bit of bug fixing and touch ups. A few of the units ended up with a bit of a tan glow on the roofs, I'll touch those up also.

I'll admit. this was one of the hardest sets to make. i hope the detail shows when it gets released.

Here is an updated screen shot of the beta units.



Hopefully this is the last Picture off of this map. it was getting to be unplayable, it has max competitors turned on and they just ruined the landscape.

Which brings us to the Utah map. It is looking great, but I must admit, there is a huge problem with it.. It is boring. Ill try and re-work it a little and try and suck some fun out of it. I hope it can be saved.
If i cant make much progress, I'll release the trains first and make a new map. I guess i bit off too much in one bite for my first map. I defiantly made a few tactical errors, hopefully I have learned a lot about map making and what to look for early.

[lobster]

wow, that detail level DOES show off, those are some truly amazing looking b******!

Plastikman, you're an animal. a sexy one.

[demontrain]

Just one quick question.... is this set going to be like the US sets you put out that install and don't install properly?... refering to us pack 2... keeps crashing .. then seen update for it and have to install patches fixes etc for passenger trains I don't want? and defaults to a directory that I didn't intall loco to? ARRRRG!!!

[bluebeetle]

looks awesome.

i have everyone of plastics packs installed with no problems.

his alco pack is my fav so far, but this might take its place.

[Plastikman]

No clue,

You should report a bug in the right spot then.

if it is broken, that's news to me since it has been downloaded several thousand times at this point.

You can install the us pack without ever having to install a single passenger train or just the opposite, you can get only passenger trains.

as far as the directory, it runs scripts that if you install else where It will screw the set up and you will have unplayable items and other defective bits, possibly crashing LoMo itself. Unfortunately, thats was not negotiable to get it to work right when it was upgraded to 2.0 from 1x series. 3.0 set will install very differantly. we are testing serveral methods. not everyone that uses the sets speak or read english so i have to take into account thet they wont install it properly unless i give them no choice. then there are those that don't read the instructions.


PS, you can make your own sets you know .. you don't have to use mine.........

[demontrain]

Sorry I thought asking that question wasn't dumb. I will admit this one is..... Where does a person report a bug to then???? I'll try to install it again and perhaps I copied the files wrong...

[demontrain]

This pack is an upgrade! It contains patches and upgrades for the previous sets! You must install them in order! The sets before this are:

Plastikman's North American Cargo Pack 2.0 (Full Install).exe

Plastikman's North American Passenger Pack Ver 2.0 (full).exe

Plastikman's Amtrak_VIA Pack2.2.exe

Plastikman's North American Update Packs 2.1a (Updates).exe

Plastikman's North American Update Packs 2.2(Updates).exe

Plastikman's North American Update Packs 2.3(Updates).exe (This Pack)


Cut and pasted from the file clearly means one must install others in a certain order to get it right. So may I ask if I reinstalled loco to the default directory this would work and won't work because I have loco on a completely different hard drive?

[Plastikman]

Sorry I thought asking that question wasn't dumb. I will admit this one is..... Where does a person report a bug to then???? I'll try to install it again and perhaps I copied the files wrong...

umm for US pack, head over to the US thread. For Amtrak, the Amtrak pack thread .. umm look at my signature lol..

PS, the only dumb question is the one You dont ask.

This pack is an upgrade! It contains patches and upgrades for the previous sets! You must install them in order! The sets before this are:

Plastikman's North American Cargo Pack 2.0 (Full Install).exe

Plastikman's North American Passenger Pack Ver 2.0 (full).exe

Plastikman's Amtrak_VIA Pack2.2.exe

Plastikman's North American Update Packs 2.1a (Updates).exe

Plastikman's North American Update Packs 2.2(Updates).exe

Plastikman's North American Update Packs 2.3(Updates).exe (This Pack)


Cut and pasted from the file clearly means one must install others in a certain order to get it right. So may I ask if I reinstalled loco to the default directory this would work and won't work because I have loco on a completely different hard drive?

this is really the wrong spot but here goes..

the upgrades are jsut that, upgrades.

the base packs are base packs.. any base pack is optional, but if you plan to upgrade the base pack, you need it installed. if you are after only amtrak, you can do jsut the amtrak packs and the upgrades ( not that there were any). on the same note, if you are after just cargo, You can go with Just the cargo pack and choose only the Cargo upgrades.

bottom line is.. you Can pick and choose. i guess i was not really clear on that for people that are new to the sets. it has been the same way for years now.

I am aware that the set is getting out of hand with updates. the next pack was planned to be a Full install and NOT updates. especially since many of the patches are now being patched again.

I hope this helped and did not confuse you more.

[demontrain]

The original question was about the deko-soft set and if it was going to go as the cargo/pass set(s). Forgive me for relateing a topic to another and mentioning the problem all in one topic (wrong topic at that) just seemed logical to me to mention sense the question pertained to problem with other pack. YES obviously I am new to loco. bought a old worn out CD at a garage sale installed it... worked for 2 days and CD became unreadable so bought and downloaded a copy directly from Atari amd installed to a different drive and t appears this game can be as addictive as Roller Coaster 2 is and every bit as much of a harddrive eater.
Anyways I got it installed. Not use to seeing an update(patch and fix) file larger than the original and presumed it was entire pack file with the updates...

[Plastikman]

The original question was about the deko-soft set ......

Well then welcome to the forums and this addicting game.

many sets use the Base plus patch method.. the US set is one of the worst.. (the worst was the BR set until it was updated recently). that is because there is a new update pretty regularly.

The deko set is going to be a completely separate entity and is not affiliated with the the US set at all. it will however be completely compatible and interchangeable with the US sets once installed. It should be a straight forward install for the trains portion. It is Freight only.. Union Pacific to be precise.

however, the Scenario portion is going be a bit of a challenge on my part to code the install. I am including many new items attached to the map and i need to be careful that I don't erase anyones favorite track configurations.. I could probably install a vanilla version. but, I Want the set to be experienced in a certain way. The way I have it.

[klbond]

I Want the set to be experienced in a certain way. The way I have it.

omg cant wait.

[Plastikman]

I Want the set to be experienced in a certain way. The way I have it.

omg cant wait.

Don't get to excited.... the map may be my first huge flop.

Fortunatly, the gem of the pack are the trains and those are going well. after all, this is a "Dekosoft UP Superset" pack.. not a Utah map pack.

[Plastikman]

I finished up the map today, I Dropped the Deko pack into it. it not as bad as i feared.

I had to move GCS from where they they really are. but not to far that a local citizen would be offended (I hope). Everything on the map is real and google-able....

I changed the goal.. dead center of my map Is Geneva Steel. It went Bankrupt in 2001, so... the new goal is to save Geneva Steel. You will have about Years (map starts in 1969 as of beta). To supply it with local ore and coal AND remove and deliver its steel before it goes Bankrupt causing a Domino effect where the Rail line is abandoned and Ore and Coal mines close down from the lack of demand.

Can You save Geneva Steel?

Can you save Utah From Economic Turmoil?

[Plastikman]

OK, i got some time in to play.

Even though i only give you a few dollars to start. Money is outrageously easy on this map. (perhaps I'll kick the loan interest up a few notches.)

I would downgrade this to "easy". But.... If you look at my screen shots, I cant get the stuff moved fast enough! Everything is exploding on me! I am not where close to my goal, i Got 20 years left, i need to find some creative ways to move the goods.

These shot are of the Deko Beta on the Utah map beta. What you see is what You get, the scenery "accessories" will be in the map.
I am a bit tempted to make a few more items like US stile grain mill and Coal loading docks. don't hold Your breath.

There is still a bit of bare landscape i will fill in before release, I am still testing playability. getting the track laid on this map seems easy because i knew were i wanted to lay it when i made it. maybe you will have a harder time. although, most valleys and short cut are brown grass which sort of point out easy ways through.


My Coal Yard up in the mountain, I can't keep up. .. eer and yes, the tracks that go under the bridge go right off the map. Those would be UP's mainlines. I am sure if I did not make pointless tracks, I would not need the bridge. I guess I could just make a crossover, there is no traffic there.




A random shot of 2 coal trains passing.


Provo and the mouth to the Geneva Steel Mill.


The Rex Pit, Part of Iron Bull Mining.


A coal train snaking down the mountain side.


Iron Mountain just south of Cedar City Utah. There is a lot of ore here..... and on my platforms.


The farming region. I cant keep up... Not that I am honestly trying. It was easy money in the beginning. I could just as easily abandon it at this point.


The GSC factory. This is probably the only thing the is really out of place on this map, It should be IN Salt Lake City. It is one of those sacrifices you have to make for playability.


Salt Lake City

[Plastikman]

More in the engineers seat...

OK maybe this map is a bit more challenging then i thought, Even though I only use about a 1/3 of the map. the 1/3 i use is at the furthest points of the map.

I am really battling efficiency and faster loading times.

It is a race to finish the goal, it will be close. I decided to tap into the other set of coal mines....



I'll start the new route up into the mountains.



It is a battle to get the track laid but it can be done.. just a bit of bulldozing.. Hey i got to the top!



Finally! I am at the mines.... uhh?!?!


IDIOT!!!! Whoever made this map Forgot to place the coal mines!!! The sad part is, I know I placed them. i must have gone back to an earlier version. I wonder what else is missing now?

That's ok, I ran into a Terrible bug. Somehow in coding the new buildings, one of the houses is making and accepting Helicopters?!? there is no helicopter commodity! The game crashes when i click on the building... lovely... I guess thats why we beta stuff....

the trains are getting minor tweaks. all is fun with them.. I am going dump all the extra engine numbers though. It is just eating up space in the dat folder.


also, to the 2 beta testers that said you wont be able to run long trains on it, you can. you just need to keep the locals a bit shorter. i have a mix of both. my "long" hopper unit trains can go longer. This map plays fine with normal length, maybe better, due to the long load times.

[bluebeetle]

this is going to be a blast to play.