Chiltern Route (BETA)

[docmartin]

I am glad you like it, Daniel. I obviously have been building the route for my own enjoyment and I decided to share it in case there were others who could enjoy it as well. If there are some who don't like it, well that's fine too. So, Ged, don't worry about the negative comments, they won't put me off the virtual navvying. In fact I am pushing on with the scenery and have nearly reached Beaconsfield from High Wycombe....

Martin

[Coonskin]

Martin:

Good on 'ya! Bravo for sharing!

As a route builder, I'm of the opinion that the troops OUGHT to be glad they're receiving ANYTHING for an MSTS-based, OR compatible route.

Whereas there's a some scattered hobby routes being worked on by a few "legacy" users (I'm in that camp), there's almost NOTHING (route wise) being released in the big picture. (Mullens Pass was the first commercial route in how long? Oh, and the revived long-time Siskyou project is again re-re-released.)

SO... perhaps as a community we should rejoice that SOMETHING is being shared!

[seagoon]

.....the troops OUGHT to be glad they're receiving ANYTHING for an MSTS-based, OR compatible route.
..........
SO... perhaps as a community we should rejoice that SOMETHING is being shared!

You can get down off your soap-box now, Andre.

[haverfordwest]

This place is turning into uktwonksim.

[latimers]

C'mon guys.

Those of you that know me know that I have no love for UKTS. But I don't let that lead me to criticize Martin's route building efforts. And having read the readme (unlike some other people, eh Mike) I know that it's BETA and that there are some areas without scenery. The parts with scenery are excellent.

Illegitimum non carborundum, Martin.

[Coonskin]

Nah, not a soapbox... just looking at how stuff trickles through for MSTS/OR. (Unless one enjoys India content, where there's been quite an influx of Indian content over the past couple years.)

Seems we're in a dearth of sorts for North American/UK/European content, and have been for a spell now. I guess that's to be expected for such an aging sim.

Hate to admit it, but I reckon I'm somewhat a dinosaur in that I still use MSTS and RE. I'm very familiar with it, comfortable with it, and can fix anything that may crop up on a project route. (Which is seldom, almost never. RE is amazingly stable IF you obey the rules.) By continuing with MSTS, I know my stuff will be compatible with my friend's computers as well as be okay to run in OR.

As for routes in the makes:

On my hard drive(s), I do have lots of routes, some mothballed, others being worked on as mood/energy incline. Unfortunately, quite a few years ago I dropped back to "hobbyist" and am no longer a (commercial) "developer"... so I can make no predictions as to whether any of my ongoing routes will ever see the light of day for general consumption. I suspect of the remaining MSTS/OR enthusiasts, I'm not the only one in such a "hobbyist" mode.

However, we all can hope, right?

[lateagain]

C'mon guys.

Those of you that know me know that I have no love for UKTS. But I don't let that lead me to criticize Martin's route building efforts. And having read the readme (unlike some other people, eh Mike) I know that it's BETA and that there are some areas without scenery. The parts with scenery are excellent.

Illegitimum non carborundum, Martin.

Bob there's nothing wrong with criticism and ANYONE who ever presented their creative efforts in ANY medium to the wide world must expect to receive it. That is going to include the whole spectrum from Gushing Praise to Damning fault finding. Anyone who went to Art School will be familiar with the "Crit System" where your work is criticised by your fellow students and your lecturers. It's pretty brutal but it makes you look harder at your work and helps you improve on it. Once the rough edges of your ego have been knocked off you come to realise that it's about improving your work and not an attack on you?

One simple way to make this criticism less subjective and opinionated is to SHOW the work. With any simulation this is easily achieved by using screenshots?

If you're looking to buy a new car you wouldn't do so based purely on other folks subjective written opinion would you. You'd want to see images, specifications, statistics etc.

If everyone who's downloaded it put up some screenshots of the best bits and the weak bits folk could decide whether to brave the UKTS download system. Of course they could pay for premium membership (see my earlier post in this thread) OR the route could be uploaded here?

It has to be said that the standard of long distance MSTS routes had gone up and up BUT that's been achieved by years of development work and the ability of better hardware to run the patched MSTS and the arrival of OR. It's not helped by the fact that there is a definite split, within the rail sim community, between those that crave miles and miles of detailed trackage and care little about scenery and those who'd settle for shorter routes but prefer high density detailed scenery.

If Martins route is a WIP that's obviously not going to be finished but it would be far more useful to those with an open mind if there were more pictures to support opinions of the current state of development and it was available for download on other sites? They may not want to download it now but if they like the potential they may want to revisit it as the project progresses?

Martin perhaps you can show some screens of the bits you're happiest with and the bits that still need more work? You don't have to of course but it might help the wider audience?

[haverfordwest]

C'mon guys.

Those of you that know me know that I have no love for UKTS. But I don't let that lead me to criticize Martin's route building efforts. And having read the readme (unlike some other people, eh Mike) I know that it's BETA and that there are some areas without scenery. The parts with scenery are excellent.

Illegitimum non carborundum, Martin.

I did read the info buddy. I started from Maidenhead, because that is the part of the route that interests me most.

Being a retired WR London Division fitter. I wanted to see how accurate the route was in an area i know well.

There was nothing there, just the station. Then track running across a green wilderness towards Bourne End and Wycombe.

What i saw is what i commented on.

I was banned for three seperete life times on uktwaddlesim. Where the thought police are in complete control and it has become just a mouthpiece for DTG supporters.

If this forum goes the same way after me being here since the end of 2001. It will be a very sad day indeed.

Beta route or not. I said nothing in my original post that was not true from MY perspective.

Bloody world going to pot around us and all most of you are worried about is a few remarks about a train game route.

Get a grip and get some perspective.

[seagoon]

......Bloody world going to pot around us .....

WHAT?! Where?
I can't see any pot where I am, Mike.

[ragtimer]

Andre,I am with you,also the other remarks about constructive criticism.I have no aspirations to build models or routes,lacking the skill and confidence to do either,so applaud everyone who makes their creations available free or as payware, but I cannot get on with Openrails for reasons that I have posted elsewhere,including the fact that the creators do not seem to be open to constructive criticism.I keep quoting the KISS principle,but no one seems to understand or like that.I get very acceptable frame rates with MSTS,remember anything over about 25fps is actually wasted,and am happy to stay with that.Pity about Mullan Pass too.BTW,seeing vids of the real thing,trains do not seem to exceed about 100 cars but I am sure someone will say 230 is common although the former have to have seven or so locos including 4 SD70Ace,so how many do 230 need?Dons tin hat and retires to Anderson shelter.

[Coonskin]

WHAT?! Where?
I can't see any pot where I am, Mike.

That's because it's all going to Colorado, Arkansas, Oklahoma... and all the other US states that have made it legal!! LOL!

Once it was legalized here in OK, small "dispensaries" seemingly sprung up overnight on almost every corner!

[haverfordwest]

WHAT?! Where?
I can't see any pot where I am, Mike.

I'll put you in contact with someone in Yamba, Bruce.

By the way your local street grid is very Romanesque

Mike.

[latimers]

@Geoff,

I agree, there's nothing wrong with criticism as long as it's contructive criticism. In my view, "It's not very good" and "Complete waste of time" don't fall into that category.

@Mike,

So you read the readme that told you where the completed parts of the route are, went to one of the uncompleted locations and complained that the scenery there wasn't complete, using the above wording and giving the impression that the whole route is like that. That's pretty petty and misleading. Geoff said "That makes it a waste of anyone's time in my book" so you had him fooled!

So you're saying that since the world as a whole is in a mess, we should give up on our hobbies? That's just plain wrong. It's our hobbies that should be keeping us sane in these strange times.

[seagoon]

.... It's our hobbies that should be keeping us sane in these strange times.

That's exactly what the psychologists and psychiatrists are pushing.

[seagoon]

I'll put you in contact with someone in Yamba, Bruce.

The closest crops are just up the road in Nimbin, Mike.
Medicinal hemp.
Nimbin, NSW.

By the way your local street grid is very Romanesque.

I think Oyster Cove was designed by Nero!