New version of WorldFileHacker available

[eric]

It's been a couple years since I updated WFH, but there's now a new version available at DigitalRails.com for a $10 donation.

Updates in Version 3 include:

* Automatic removal of ViewDB's
* Ability to select alternate content locations as opposed to only the MSTS folder located in the registry
* Support for multiple placement files (e.g. one for berms, one for stations, one for power lines, etc...)
* Ability to remove all companion objects referenced in a placement file

Used in conjunction with TSRE, it's no longer necessary to use the MSTS-RE to perform a TDB rebuild after removing interactives, as the AutoFix function in TSRE will clean up TDB entries that no longer have a corresponding W file entry.

[jonpd]

What is a "viewDB"?

[eric]

It was a way for MSTS to load some areas of a tile before the rest of the tile back in the days of Windows XP with Pentium and lower chipsets.

Neither OpenRails or TSRE need it, nor do MSTS users on modern CPU's.

[GokuMK]

Used in conjunction with TSRE, it's no longer necessary to use the MSTS-RE to perform a TDB rebuild after removing interactives, as the AutoFix function in TSRE will clean up TDB entries that no longer have a corresponding W file entry.

I don't know if you know, but you can remove objects using TSRE too.
You can define a set of objects to remove from a route in settings.txt, for example:
objectsToRemove = signal:speedpost
And with loadAllWFiles and autoFix it will remove all specified objects from the route.

[scottb613]

New version of WorldFileHacker available

I don't know if you know, but you can remove objects using TSRE too.
You can define a set of objects to remove from a route in settings.txt, for example:
objectsToRemove = signal:speedpost
And with loadAllWFiles and autoFix it will remove all specified objects from the route.

Hi Goku,

Good to know as well - thank you !

If I want to delete a large number of populated tiles from a route - will AutoFix do the cleanup removing all the associated objects on said tile ?

Regards,
Scott


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[eric]

Hi Goku,
If I want to delete a large number of populated tiles from a route - will AutoFix do the cleanup removing all the associated objects on said tile ?

My experience has that TSRE leaves vectors in the TDB even if the track section isn't present, but I'm curious to see Goku's response.

AutoFix seems to go after TrItems when the corresponding declaration in the W file is missing. I've had vectors remain without track present, so my guess is that you'd wind up with a bunch of yellow lines and no way to delete them short of a manual update.

[GokuMK]

AutoFix won't remove not referenced vectors, because sometimes they are useful and intended to be this way.

But you can easily remove huge amounts of objects. Select terrain patches -> right click -> select objects -> delete.

[scottb613]

My experience has that TSRE leaves vectors in the TDB even if the track section isn't present, but I'm curious to see Goku's response.

AutoFix seems to go after TrItems when the corresponding declaration in the W file is missing. I've had vectors remain without track present, so my guess is that you'd wind up with a bunch of yellow lines and no way to delete them short of a manual update.

Hi Eric,

Thanks.

Regards,
Scott

[scottb613]

AutoFix won't remove not referenced vectors, because sometimes they are useful and intended to be this way.

But you can easily remove huge amounts of objects. Select terrain patches -> right click -> select objects -> delete.

Hi Eric/Goku,

Thank you both. Yeah - someone had mentioned it should be possible with RouteRiter - they said sever all road and track connections crossing tile boundaries in the block of tiles you want to delete - remove the tiles - then use RR/TSUTILS CLRDB to clean up the track and road database. I haven't tried it yet - but it's nice to know there are options.

Appreciate the responses...

Regards,
Scott

[eric]

Are you looking to do a tile or two at a time? I've been working on a nuclear option to remove track and/or roads...

[scottb613]

Are you looking to do a tile or two at a time? I've been working on a nuclear option to remove track and/or roads...

Hi Eric,

Actually - FAR more than that - Doug was gracious enough to share his absolutely massive TriState route with me - it has to be on par with the largest routes we've ever seen in MSTS/ORTS like the Monon or PRR Eastern. While Doug's worked on it for years - for me - it's way too large to be manageable. One plan I had envisioned was cutting out the LHR - which is a very small portion of his route - and working it so it's fully operational with signals, interactives, painted TERRTEX, and detailed scenery - stuff that seems unlikely of being completed due to the scale of his full route. We're talking deleting hundreds of tiles that would probably require a "nuclear" option. While I started laying my own track with Scale Rail - I'm still chewing on my options - I'd be glad to test something if you need it.

Regards,
Scott

[GokuMK]

Thank you both. Yeah - someone had mentioned it should be possible with RouteRiter - they said sever all road and track connections crossing tile boundaries in the block of tiles you want to delete - remove the tiles - then use RR/TSUTILS CLRDB to clean up the track and road database. I haven't tried it yet - but it's nice to know there are options.

Stop with this old nonsense. Just try the method mentioned in my previous post. Unless you want to remove more than dozens of tiles, it will be the fastest and easiest solution. + proper route editing instead of hacking.

[eric]

"Proper route editing" has no clear cut definition in this community. TSRE is an incredible tool for what it does, but it doesn't currently handle every task a route developer might need to do.

I have hundreds of tools in my workshop, and some of them may only see use once every five to ten years. Just because I have an adjustable wrench for every-day projects doesn't mean I throw out my specialty spanners for doing plumbing work...

What Scott is looking at isn't practical to do one terrain patch at a time. He's talking hundreds of W files. Doing that thru a UI would be ridiculously painful and slow.

[scottb613]

Hi Folks,

Goku - yep - I was merely passing along what someone suggested to me a while back when I broached the subject before. I haven't tried any methods yet. The scope of the deletes seem pretty large and I may just stick with doing the route from scratch with ScaleRail - which I've already started. I just wanted to know what options were available if I decided to choose a different path.

Thanks Eric - yep - it seems like a pretty large task - here's Doug's route and the path highlighted in "yellow" is the part I'm interested in. More of the route would be pruned than would remain.

TriState - LHR by Scott B, on Flickr

Regards,
Scott

[eric]

We're talking deleting hundreds of tiles that would probably require a "nuclear" option.

Yep, your situation sounds like what I was thinking of. The use case for Going Nuclear is a route like the Tri-State, Packerland, or my CNW Chicago.... Both Packerland and the CNW Chicago were originally planned to be several different subdivisions, and they started to overlap into the monstrosities that they've become ten years later.


Nuking would entail creating a copy of the route, and identifying which tiles to keep. The batch process would eradicate everything else, including related TDB vectors. There'd be no need to sever track or roads if I can get the last couple steps to work...

The test route I'm working with keeps 700 tiles out of 4500. You can't possibly use TSRE to remove 3800 tiles...