Unpacking .apk's in OR?

[Komachi]

Is it possible to unpackage the .apk files in Open Rails at all, or, am I screwed?

[OTTODAD]

Is it possible to unpackage the .apk files in Open Rails at all, or, am I screwed?

APK files require TSUnpack, an installed into the computer's Registry MSTS which has the route the APK activities are for in its Train Simulator\Routes folder, but the latter can be faked !

If it came in a ZIP's Routes folder, containing the Route folder they are for, the Activities, Paths, Services and if any AIs Traffic in their folders, as well as a Trains folder with Consists and Trainsets if supplied with them, then ORTS could use them if that route is present for ORTS to run !

I have in the past supplied them like that for some who had problems installing them with TSUnpack and there are many of my How-To threads on that subject in this forum going back to 2003 !

[R. Steele]

Is it possible to unpackage the .apk files in Open Rails at all, or, am I screwed?

Short answer yes, if the apk files run and install using MSTS, they will also work with an ORTS installation, providing you have the correctly named route in place inside the ROUTES folder .... and.... a CONSISTS folder in place inside the TRAINS folder.

My understanding is that apk files are looking for the name of the route on a folder inside the ROUTES folder, also for the correct .trk and .tdb files for that route. Then the apk installs files to ACTIVITIES, PATHS, SERVICES, and TRAFFIC folders and .con files to the CONSISTS folder inside the TRAINS folder.

BUT are you asking if you can run apk's without MSTS being present in any form?

[Komachi]

Looks for more than that, Gerry. My OR Folder is set up with MSTS infrastructure; yet when trying to unpackage a activity it told me no MSTS installation was found.

[R. Steele]

Looks for more than that, Gerry. My OR Folder is set up with MSTS infrastructure; yet when trying to unpackage a activity it told me no MSTS installation was found.

Well... so you have the MSTS folder hierarchy made up correctly but no Train.exe because the MSTS simulator is NOT installed? - IF the answer to this is yes than I would expect it is indeed looking for something else. Good first guess would be the TRAIN.exe.

Edit: Nope not looking for train.exe, (results of an experiment I just tried) so the only other thing it is looking for is "tsunpack.exe" - Do you have that installed?
See Otto's post#2 where he says that must be installed. I don't really know of other programs that will unpack .apk files.
I thought I read of a work around if you don't have tsunpack.exe installed, but I cannot remember where I saw it.

See Screenshotbandicam 2015-01-23 21-55-26-070.jpg

[apco25]

Just a minor correction, but you don't use APK's with OR. All APK's do is extract themselves to a specific directory that OR then loads the routes from. APK's function the same way .zip files do....a bunch of files aggregated together into one.

[R. Steele]

Just a minor correction, but you don't use APK's with OR. All APK's do is extract themselves to a specific directory that OR then loads the routes from. APK's function the same way .zip files do....a bunch of files aggregated together into one.

... yep get that... but how is one supposed to use activites that are presented as .apk files with ORTS

The "crux of the biscuit" seems to be that without the tsunpack.exe which can only be obtained from the original MSTS CD's, .apk files cannot be used for a stand alone* ORTS because they cannot be unpacked. Unless there is another program that will open apk files, or a crafty workaround.

*stand alone: nothing installed from MSTS CD's

[kraus]

I am working on a program to unpack .apk files and to also create them. The format has been documented, https://www.trainsim.com/vbts/showth...81#post1724081

It should be included with Open Rails and will be a part of Route Riter to replace the use of .zip files for packing activities.

The version included with Route Riter will have an option to include stock files as part of the package. The current tsunpack.exe program will extract and copy these files to the correct folders in TRAINS.

[crstagg]

If the ZIP or RAR was setup using the "MSTS or OR" folder as the Root folder of the compression with Routes and Trains sub-folders, then the User wouldn't even need a Windows 101 completion certificate.

[Komachi]

While true, the problem remains I have, which none of you understand, so I will try and explain... Again..

I have downloaded the BLW Southern Crescent Activity for the Birmingham V2 route. Which I have. I dl'd the required stock, and everything. I moved teh 1970SouCrescEast.apk file to the Documents/Train Sim/Train Simulator/UTILS folder, and yes have MSTS Hierarchy in the folders, but no MSTS installion in the registry.

I drag 1970SouCrescEast.apk into tsunpack.exe, and it throws the following error: Microsoft Train Simulator installation not found.

A ton of awesome activities present for MSTS, which I would love to run on OR, are packaged in .apk; and without having MSTS itself installed it seems one cannot even unpackage them.. I agree that someone should make a utility to unpack .apk's WITHOUT having to have a MSTS Installation installed.

[crstagg]

Is this Documents/Train Sim/Train Simulator/UTILS folder in C:\USERS folder?

[crstagg]

Second question: Was MSTS installed any where on this PC?
If Yes then: Third Question: What is the MSTS current path in the registry?

If No then: Third Question: Have you used some program such as RR or MSTS manager or any other method to establish the MSTS path to the path ...................../Documents/Train Sim/Train Simulator?

[R. Steele]

Is it possible to unpackage the .apk files in Open Rails at all, or, am I screwed?

I don't want to belabor this point but people keep doing it so... the above is your first post - not exactly a barrage of detailed information.
In fact I did answer your question (and so did Otto) by saying "Yes" it is possible to unpackage the apk files in Open Rails.
But, in fact, that is not what you were really asking as evidenced by your post #11
Then in your post #11:

"While true, the problem remains I have, which none of you understand, so I will try and explain... Again..
I have downloaded the BLW Southern Crescent Activity for the Birmingham V2 route. Which I have. I dl'd the required stock, and everything. I moved teh 1970SouCrescEast.apk file to the Documents/Train Sim/Train Simulator/UTILS folder, and yes have MSTS Hierarchy in the folders, but no MSTS installion in the registry.
I drag 1970SouCrescEast.apk into tsunpack.exe, and it throws the following error: Microsoft Train Simulator installation not found.
A ton of awesome activities present for MSTS, which I would love to run on OR, are packaged in .apk; and without having MSTS itself installed it seems one cannot even unpackage them.. I agree that someone should make a utility to unpack .apk's WITHOUT having to have a MSTS Installation installed. "

By providing details revelant to your problem in the beginning you will help people understand what you are having problems with .. please understand this.

You have yet to answer that you do have tsunpack.exe installed and if so, where it is installed.
Also answers to posts #12 and #13 would be advisable.

Help is a two way conversation (not mind reading) .... I can see why people get frustrated on both sides of the conversation, surely you must see that also.

[R. Steele]

None of this is necessary if new MSTS / ORTS activities are packaged into ZIP or RAR archives.

While in agreement with this statement with regards to FUTURE activities made for MSTS and ORTS.
What about PAST activites made and uploaded in the apk format .... I think this feature will be very useful for those.

But all this is off-topic for Komachi and really deserves a separate discussion thread.

[baldwin]

While true, the problem remains I have, which none of you understand, so I will try and explain... Again..

I have downloaded the BLW Southern Crescent Activity for the Birmingham V2 route. Which I have. I dl'd the required stock, and everything. I moved teh 1970SouCrescEast.apk file to the Documents/Train Sim/Train Simulator/UTILS folder, and yes have MSTS Hierarchy in the folders, but no MSTS installion in the registry.

I drag 1970SouCrescEast.apk into tsunpack.exe, and it throws the following error: Microsoft Train Simulator installation not found.

A ton of awesome activities present for MSTS, which I would love to run on OR, are packaged in .apk; and without having MSTS itself installed it seems one cannot even unpackage them.. I agree that someone should make a utility to unpack .apk's WITHOUT having to have a MSTS Installation installed.

Tsunpak will install an activity to any route in any MSTS/OR installation on any disc. There are two provisos with Win7. Tsunpak must reside in a folder in the target installation and there MUST be a registry entry that points to the target installation that includes the targeted route.

As you have tsunpack.exe, one must ask, where is the rest of the msts installation?.