Does OpenRails make any changes to the MSTS installations it uses?

[eldomtom2]

Can I safely point it to my MSTS installations that I also want to run vanilla MSTS through?

[R. Steele]

Yes. Use Option/Content tab on front panel of OR and point to any MSTS installation that has GLOBAL - SOUND - ROUTES - TRAINS folders and the subfolders. OR is a separate executable -- nothing to do with MSTS. Any changes to your rolling stock or routes to bring it up to OR standards & physics must be accomplished by yourself.

[eldomtom2]

Yes.

That's a "yes" to "Can I safely point it to my MSTS installations that I also want to run vanilla MSTS through?" then?

[R. Steele]

From the manual:

4.1 Overview
4.1.1 Your MSTS Installation and Custom Installations for Open Rails
Open Rails reads only the content folders in each of the MSTS installations you choose to identify for it and will do so without modifying any of those files.
None of the MSTS program folders are used and no changes to the MSTS directory tree are required.

YES

[eldomtom2]

Thanks!

[crstagg]

One IMPORTANT point. DO NOT install ORTS into the same folder as your MSTS content. Put ORTS in a separate folder. Because when ORTS updates it WILL destroy your MSTS Content.

[geepster775]

Then come to terms that Open Rails and MSTS don't "use" each other or are in any way reliant upon each other. There is no such thing as "running one app through the other". They are completely separate apps where Open Rails can simply reads your stale, old, MSTS content and allows one to play with it. MSTS is not the center of any universe.

Going the other way, not so much, as new content for Open Rails uses new physics and file formats that MSTS cannot read or understand. So Open Rails exclusive content can only be enjoyed via the the extended features of the Open Rails app.

[oper190]

Can I safely point it to my MSTS installations that I also want to run vanilla MSTS through?

I suppose you could, BUT, why take the chance of things getting corrupted. It is far better to create your own OR folders then all you need to run the program is copy and paste your MSTS <Global> and <Sound> folders into these new folders. This way any updating or changes are done there and not in MSTS. You only need a <Routes> folder and <Trains> folder ( with sub folders same as MSTS ) to run OR, and these you can either copy over or fill in as your go. You are then ready to run OR.

Like many others I am running with several OR Install/Folders, and have copied the needed folders into each. As mentioned put any OR specific Routes into a sperate install. All then all should run fine.

[eldomtom2]

Then come to terms that Open Rails and MSTS don't "use" each other or are in any way reliant upon each other.

If you're pointing it to your MSTS installation, by definition it is using that MSTS installation.

[dcarleton]

Open Rails does not use or interact with any portion of the MSTS game engine. It only reads the end user content.