TrainSimulations - Sandpatch Development

[scottb613]

Hi Folks,

Just curious - has there been any updates on TrainSimulations Sandpatch ? I've searched a bit and all I can find are two images and a comment that the grade needed to be rebuilt. Is it still in production ?

Thanks.

Regards,
Scott

[tarrant75]

It's definitely still a go. At this stage, the plan is for me to finish the La Grande Sub, and then get stuck into Sandpatch. I'm still working on rebuilding the track with Scale Rail, so it is definitely not dead!!!

[scottb613]

It's definitely still a go. At this stage, the plan is for me to finish the La Grande Sub, and then get stuck into Sandpatch. I'm still working on rebuilding the track with Scale Rail, so it is definitely not dead!!!

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the update - as someone mentioned in the other TrainSimulations thread - I'm ready for ANY US Route that is not west of the Mississippi and given our collective history with MSTS - Sandpatch holds a special place in many of our hearts.

Best of luck with your projects.

Regards,
Scott

[Curt C]

Great news! I'll definitely look forward to re-installing when completed.

[rrdiesel87]

Awsome! I still run the MLT Sandpatch to this day but it shows it age. Chris what era are you guys planning?

[scottb613]

Hi Folks,

I'm hoping they stick with the colorful classics era - we need dirt and grit back in our sim.

They also previously mentioned the route would run from Cumberland to Connellsville.





Regards,
Scott

[dcarleton]

That's why we love that era - Colorful and gritty at the same time!

[tarrant75]

The plan for the era at this stage is very late 80's/very early 90's (lets call it 1990 for giggles purposes). The reason for this will be that the Blue Lick Industrial, the Garrett to Berlin line, and the coal line to Salisbury, as well as the possibility of adding the line between Rockwood and Somerset.

Now, the line to Berlin and the Blue Lick line are set in stone, as is the line to Salisbury.... the Somerset is in the air at the moment.

[rrdiesel87]

The late 80s in to the 90s sounds fantastic. It was such an interesting time in those days. How extensive are the plans for Cumberland? Around that time period, In addition to the B&O main, CSX was still utilizing the ex WM Knobmount yard and Maryland Jct as well as a small section of the WM east to access Brocks Salvage Yard, and of course there is the WMSR to Frostburg

[tarrant75]

The late 80s in to the 90s sounds fantastic. It was such an interesting time in those days. How extensive are the plans for Cumberland? Around that time period, In addition to the B&O main, CSX was still utilizing the ex WM Knobmount yard and Maryland Jct as well as a small section of the WM east to access Brocks Salvage Yard, and of course there is the WMSR to Frostburg

At this stage, I'm looking to do AT LEAST the extent that MLT went up to, how far I go beyond that will be based on how detailed I want to make the town and yard vs. framerates. No point making it look fantastic and 100% of the yard if we're only going to pull 5 fps consistently. That being said, Sean did a great job with Mullan and making the town look great, but Missoula is a MUCH smaller yard than Cumberland is, so we'll see.

[scottb613]

At this stage, I'm looking to do AT LEAST the extent that MLT went up to, how far I go beyond that will be based on how detailed I want to make the town and yard vs. framerates. No point making it look fantastic and 100% of the yard if we're only going to pull 5 fps consistently. That being said, Sean did a great job with Mullan and making the town look great, but Missoula is a MUCH smaller yard than Cumberland is, so we'll see.

Hi Folks,

Yeah - I'm a fan of selective compression - what's the point of having a veritable sea of yard tracks - if the FPS is low - and we can never populate them with a realistic amount of cars ? Even if we could populate them - I've never seen an image in MSTS/ORTS where anyone has done more than place half a dozen loose consists in a big yard - nobody has the kind of patience needed to fully populate large yards. Vast empty yards are a real immersion killer. Rick did a nice job with big yards on his Monon - many of the yard tracks were merely scenery populated with strings of super low poly models freight car models (a single shape making a massive string of cars with a common texture = 1 shape and 1 draw call) - which is the best compromise we could have in our sim.

Thanks - Chris - for the continued discussion on your plans/intentions...

Regards,
Scott

[Vince]

Hi Scott,

All very true for those still running MSTS.
Running Open Rails I was able to just about fill all yards with rail cars from New Jersey to Washington DC without impacting frame rates AND being able to run any of those parked consists.
I did try running with MSTS but it instantly crashed when loading up.

regards,

[rrdiesel87]

Sounds good, I’ve spent countless hours rail fanning the keystone sub. I’m excited to see this come to fruition