TSRE GenX - MAX OVERHAUL

[scottb613]

scottb613

Here was about 4 minutes worth of work with it..

Hi Josh,

Thanks for posting - really glad it works and easy to use - I think this is the first confirmation I’ve seen that proves this feature actually works for others. For me - easy to use wires are a game changer. You can manually move the poles around or even have the poles crossover the tracks - and the wires will dutifully follow when added. I plan to add new wire types like barbed wire and to Auto Place objects on a ruler - to make easy fence lines. The possibilities seem endless.

I absolutely love the wobble feature I added for Auto Place and while probably thicker than scale - I set the wire thickness to 0.22 - as it just looks good. I am working on improvements now along with patches for the few GenX bugs people reported - which I hope to release soon.

Regards,
Scott

[scottb613]

TSRE GenX v0.19 Released

Hi Folks,

A new GenX release is available, with improvements to terrain textures, PolyVeg, fence placement and wires, plus fixes following the reports here.

Highlights

• Terrain Textures: Selecting a preset now loads it immediately—no Apply button required. Added brush scale, optional saved mipmaps and native RGB24 DDS output. Painting and saving preserve the original TERRTEX dimensions.

• Save Progress: The progress bar now covers the complete operation, including PolyVeg and wire baking, texture encoding, saving and cleanup. Large save batches also use temporary disk staging to reduce retained save-buffer memory.

• Ruler (ap): A new cyan ruler for placing objects along a drawn line—particularly useful for fences. Includes spacing, editable points, corner preservation and automatic post rotation for smoother joins. Available under F1 > TSRE Tools and F5 Auto Place. Successful placement clears the guide; clicking the latched ruler button again also clears it.

• Barbed Wire: Added straight brown-steel barbed wire alongside the existing plain wire. Uses lightweight crossed alpha strips, short blunt barbs and adjustable thickness. Compatible SNAP poles placed along a ruler can now be wired without a nearby track or road.

• PolyVeg: Revised controls, optional OSM for local planting, click-to-plant Full Tile, and expanded Auto Place corridor controls.

Fixes and follow-ups from this thread

• German Characters: Corrected the ASCII-only filtering in Activity path metadata and standalone path cloning. German umlauts and ß are preserved rather than rejected or substituted. Thanks, Franz, for reporting this.

• PolyVeg Planting: Local ruler, area and full-tile planting can now work with Use OSM switched off. Clearer zero-result reports distinguish missing coverage, actual baked-tile checks and rejected planting positions. A zero result should no longer leave you guessing which condition stopped planting. Thanks, Chris, and everyone who supplied reports.

• glTF/GLB Previews: Improved locomotive, wagon and freight-model previews, including standard 4K textures, simplified transparency, readable lettering, direction/Flip handling and complete roster redraws.

• Additional Corrections: Improved Snow/WinterSnow vegetation lookup, seasonal DDS preference, rectangular texture painting/cropping and distant-terrain reset fallback.

Final Production TERRTEX Compression

Terrain HACKS now includes full-route ACE/DDS conversion to opaque DXT1, including seasonal textures and progress reporting.

DXT1 introduces permanent quality loss, discards alpha and should only be run once. No TERRTEX originals or backups are retained. Use this on a separate final upload copy after editing is complete.

Both clean compiler builds passed all 32 automated tests, and final manual editor checks were accepted.

Download TSRE GenX v0.19

Download tsre-scomod-v0.19.zip under Assets, extract the complete package, run AddShortcutDesktop.cmd, and launch through the generated TSRE GenX shortcut.

Updated User Guides

As always, back up your routes before updating. Thanks for the testing and feedback—please keep the reports coming.

Regards,
Scott

[rrdiesel87]

Scott,

Thanks for your continued work on this project. A few weeks ago the was discussion about incorporating the file management features into TSRE Gen-X to remove all the unnecessary shapes and textures from a completed route. Is there any update on this feature?

Thanks!

[scottb613]

Scott,

Thanks for your continued work on this project. A few weeks ago the was discussion about incorporating the file management features into TSRE Gen-X to remove all the unnecessary shapes and textures from a completed route. Is there any update on this feature?

Thanks!

Hi Andrew,

Oh shoot - I forgot - I’ll work on that tomorrow - it should go quick…

I’ll have something for you pretty quick.

Also

Should have made it more clear - PolyVeg should now work without running LIDEX and pulling OSM Data. I also added the ability to auto place PolyVeg along ROW. As per Chris’s issue - there is a new button to delete and reset bakes per tile.

Regards,
Scott

[scottb613]

Scott,

Thanks for your continued work on this project. A few weeks ago the was discussion about incorporating the file management features into TSRE Gen-X to remove all the unnecessary shapes and textures from a completed route. Is there any update on this feature?

Thanks!

TSRE GenX v0.20 — Route Distribution and Object Copy

TSRE GenX v0.20 is available! This release adds reviewed route-distribution cleanup and Copy To for route modders, including working-folder exports for editing objects.

Download v0.20, release notes and checksum

Recommended workflow before publishing a route

Use a separate production copy and retain your editable original. Complete pending object/wire/PolyVeg baking and save all changes before cleanup.

1. Press F11 — Errors & Messages. Choose Load/Scan World Tiles to scan the complete route. Review track errors, stacked/orphan track, standalone pieces and TrackDB joint gaps. Inspect findings and resolve genuine problems. This scan does not automatically repair track.
2. Save corrections, then choose Route > Create Route Health Report. Review missing shapes/textures, content usage and reported UID/track-section issues. Resolve missing requirements or identify external content the recipient must install.
3. Move to Route > Pack for Distro... Choose Scan Full Route, then review proposed removals and warnings before selecting files.
4. Remove unwanted editing data. The default-on Include unreferenced maps, overlays and editing geodata option covers terrain_maps imagery and osm_data files. Use the Editing maps / overlays and editing geodata/cache categories to select unwanted files.
5. Review and choose Delete Selected. Runtime/catalog references and uncertain dependencies can retain files; this does not blindly delete whole folders. Keep catalog preservation enabled if recipients should retain assets for editing.
6. Reopen and test the cleaned route in Open Rails. Check appearance and operation, then create your distribution archive and upload it. Pack for Distro prepares the folder; it does not create a ZIP or upload the route.

Delete Selected is permanent: no backup is created, and Undo cannot restore deleted files. Keep the editable original outside the production cleanup copy.

Pack for Distro highlights

• Scans full-route dependencies, protecting required shapes, SD files, textures, seasonal/night variants, ACE/DDS fallbacks and glTF resources.
• Offers unused assets, backups, source artwork, temporary files, geodata and map overlays. All three scan options default on; deletion rows start unchecked.
• Offers regenerable _e.raw/_n.raw buffers while protecting elevation _y.raw, terrain flags _f.raw, other RAW data and RAW backups.
• Optionally consolidates complete byte-identical TERRTEX families, including seasonal/format variants. Verified terrain-reference updates precede removal; images are not recompressed.
• Adds category selection, numeric size sorting, grouped warnings, UTF-8 reports and measured whole-route before/after sizes.
• Reports total cleanup progress through revalidation, checks, reference updates, deletion and measurement. Interrupted operations report actual partial results. Missing-content warnings allow unrelated cleanup; uncertain dependencies protect affected assets.

Copy To — designed for Route Modders

Copy To is designed for route modders who need to transfer scenery between routes or gather an object's files for retexturing and model edits. It collects the resources for a selected Static Object and, when copying to another route, creates its receiving catalog entry—avoiding the need to hunt down textures and SD files manually.

1. Open the source route and choose Route > Copy To.... Leave Choose Working Folder (no REF entry) unchecked.
2. Select the receiving route folder containing its .trk file. TSRE validates it; choose Use Destination.
3. Select a placed Static Object and right-click. Copy To... appears in its own Copy To section when an eligible object and destination are available.
4. Review the resources and enter only Name and Category. Name starts with the shape filename without its path or extension: StoneWall.s starts as StoneWall. Edit it if desired. Choose an existing category or type a new one.
5. Choose Copy Object. Open the receiving route, or reload its REF, to use the new entry. Keep that route closed during copying so an older open catalog cannot overwrite the update.

Copied resources include the original model, available SD companion, referenced textures, seasonal/night variants and ACE/DDS counterparts. Static glTF/GLB objects include external images/buffers with relative folders preserved.

Matching REF alternatives, alignment, selection method and random placement settings are retained automatically. GenX also records static flags, detail and collision settings for new placements. You do not need to enter these settings manually.

Name and Category describe the new catalog entry. Coordinates, orientation and scale are not cloned into the receiving world; place the object normally in that route.

Identical destination files are reused. Conflicting filenames or missing resources stop copying instead of overwriting content. Staging and verification precede the final atomic REF update. Failed transfers remove newly copied resources where safe and report retained partial files. Existing REF bytes/encoding are preserved; new catalogs use UTF-16LE.

Working Folder mode — collect an object for editing

Choose Route > Copy To..., enable Choose Working Folder (no REF entry), select an ordinary writable folder and choose Use Destination.

Select an object and use its right-click Copy To... command. Copying starts directly: no Name/Category form appears, and no REF is created or changed. A new folder named after the selected model receives its resources, retaining SHAPES/TEXTURES and relative subfolders. Repeated exports get numbered folders, preserving previous exports.

Both folder choices and the selected mode are remembered between sessions. Revalidation is silent unless there is an error. Copy To has no progress bars; completion and error messages report the result.

Other corrections and verification

• Stronger truncated-Unicode and surrogate validation, while retaining valid supplementary characters.
• REF/route fields ignore lookalike text inside comments or descriptions.
• Bounded dependency reads, shared copy/cleanup destination locks and corrected report filename/overwrite handling.
• Redundant standalone Select Tool removed from right-click menus; E and control-panel selection remain available.
• Both clean Release compiler builds passed 34/34 registered tests. The release is tagged v0.20 and promoted to master.

Established GenX features remain available: terrain and seasonal texture tools, immediate presets, save progress including baking, PolyVeg, Water Tools, Ruler (ap), Plain/Barbed wires, Dynamic Track, Activity Builder and Consist Builder. Existing production DXT1 compression is lossy, removes alpha and retains no TERRTEX originals/backups; run it only once on a final production copy.

Installation

1. Download tsre-scomod-v0.20.zip and its .sha256 companion from the release page. GitHub's automatic source archives are not the runnable application.
2. Verify the checksum and extract the complete archive into a permanent writable folder.
3. Run AddShortcutDesktop.cmd from that folder.
4. Launch through the generated TSRE GenX shortcut. Move the shortcut afterward if desired; leave the extracted application folder intact.
5. Keep the executable, matched libraries, plugins, assets and documents together. Do not update an old installation by copying only TSRE5.exe.

Requires 64-bit Windows 10 version 1809 or later, or Windows 11. Windows 7 is unsupported. Back up routes before terrain conforming, water processing, route-wide saves or PolyVeg baking.

Documentation
Pack for Distro User Guide
Static Object Copy To User Guide
Complete guides and test matrix

TSRE GenX is distributed under the GNU GPL v3 or later; third-party components retain their respective licenses.

[rrdiesel87]

Scott,

Fantastic! Looks like I have some work to do this evening. Thanks again.

[scottb613]

Scott,

Fantastic! Looks like I have some work to do this evening. Thanks again.

Hi Andrew,

Good luck...

BACKUP FIRST
😉

Regards,
Scott

[rrdiesel87]

Scott,

Regarding the .ACE to .DDS conversion hack, I received this error message when attempting to convert .ace files in the terrtex folder that had not originated in TSRE. This error ends the conversion process and will not allow movement past that point. Secondly, all the final converted .dds files now have "ace_dxt1" added to the filename which conflicts with the expected name in the world file and causes missing textures.

The file cleanup feature worked great on the California Western 2.0 Route however did not work at all for Horseshoe 2.0. is there anything I should look for within the TSRE log that can point to the potential issue?

Thanks

[scottb613]

Scott,

Regarding the .ACE to .DDS conversion hack, I received this error message when attempting to convert .ace files in the terrtex folder that had not originated in TSRE. This error ends the conversion process and will not allow movement past that point. Secondly, all the final converted .dds files now have "ace_dxt1" added to the filename which conflicts with the expected name in the world file and causes missing textures.

The file cleanup feature worked great on the California Western 2.0 Route however did not work at all for Horseshoe 2.0. is there anything I should look for within the TSRE log that can point to the potential issue?

Thanks

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the report and screenshot. I found a bug on my side that can explain that error.

Valid compressed ACE files can be decompressed correctly, then rejected by a validation check that doesn’t account for the header left by our own file reader. I reproduced that mismatch here, so this isn’t simply a case of your textures not originating in TSRE.

The “_ace_dxt1.dds” filenames are intentional, but the conversion should update the terrain references to match. Missing textures afterward aren’t the expected result, and I need to investigate that separately. Please don’t manually rename the converted files yet.

Could you send me:
- The original AC_GRASS_TALL_ALT_0DEG.ace from your backup.
- One affected terrain .t file and the name of a texture now reported missing.
- The report from Pack for Distro on Horseshoe 2.0—use Export Report after the scan, including the Dependency Problems section.

Please keep the original route backup intact and hold off on further conversion or cleanup on the affected copy until we sort this out.

Glad the cleanup worked well on California Western. Thanks for testing both routes and reporting what happened.

Regards,
Scott

[pwillard]

Direct ACE 2 DDS conversions are now part of texture workshop https://github.com/pwillard/TextureWorkshop/releases

[rrdiesel87]

Scott,

Thanks, PM sent

Pete,
Yes, I have used the DDS workshop for quite a few things already. Unfortunately, the process only provides 2 mipmap levels which still gives off sprites when rendering the 1024x1024 terrtex in OR. I have tested different mipmap levels 1-9 with the same result using the PS Nvidia Texture Tools .dds conversion. Seems 10 or more eliminate the sprites and shimmer but the texture looks very muddy and loses most of its definition at ground level. There doesn't seem to be a happy medium.

[scottb613]

Scott,

Thanks, PM sent

Pete,
Yes, I have used the DDS workshop for quite a few things already. Unfortunately, the process only provides 2 mipmap levels which still gives off sprites when rendering the 1024x1024 terrtex in OR. I have tested different mipmap levels 1-9 with the same result using the PS Nvidia Texture Tools .dds conversion. Seems 10 or more eliminate the sprites and shimmer but the texture looks very muddy and loses most of its definition at ground level. There doesn't seem to be a happy medium.

Hi Andrew,

I had drafted and posted a proposal to improve MipMaps on Terrtex - among several others - sadly - they just go into the void.

terrTextORTS.txt

This is my recipe for vegetation - while you use double the resolution - my current set of 1024x1024 are the best I've ever made and look pretty darn good.

# DDS SOURCE REQUIREMENTS
# -----------------------
# Resolution:       1024 x 1024
# Format:           RGBA PNG
# Alpha:            Preserve source alpha exactly
# Cutout threshold: 127 (one-bit alpha)
# Transparent RGB:  Extend nearby visible RGB 8 pixels beneath transparent
#                   edges; fill remaining transparent area with compatible RGB.
#                   Do not use transparent black or chroma-key colors.
#
# DDS OUTPUT
# ----------
# Compression:      BC1A / DXT1
# Resolution:       1024 x 1024
# Mip levels:       11 (complete chain through 1 x 1)
# Expected size:    699,192 bytes
# FourCC:           DXT1
#
# NVIDIA TEXTURE TOOLS SETTINGS
# -----------------------------
# -f 16                 BC1A / DXT1 with one-bit alpha
# -q 3                  Highest compressor quality
# --mips                Generate complete mip chain
# --mip-filter 1        Kaiser mip filter
# --mip-gamma-correct   Gamma-correct mip generation
# --mip-pre-alpha       Premultiplied-alpha mip processing
# --cutout-alpha        Treat alpha as a cutout
# --scale-alpha         Preserve alpha coverage through mip levels
# --alpha-threshold 127 One-bit alpha cutoff

$nvtt = 'C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\NVIDIA Texture Tools Exporter\nvtt_export.exe'
$inputPng = 'Y:\DEVCODE\VegExp\SCOname.png'
$outputDds = 'Y:\DEVCODE\VegExp\Textures\SCOname.dds'

& $nvtt `
  -f 16 `
  -q 3 `
  --mips `
  --mip-filter 1 `
  --mip-gamma-correct `
  --mip-pre-alpha `
  --cutout-alpha `
  --scale-alpha `
  --alpha-threshold 127 `
  -o $outputDds `
  $inputPng

# Run exports serially. Do not launch multiple nvtt_export processes together.
# Verify: 1024 x 1024, DXT1, 11 mip levels, normally 699,192 bytes.

I'll look at your PM.

Thanks.

Regards,
Scott

[pwillard]

Honestly, mipmaps are where I have little to no experience so I'm not sure what I need to do to improve the workshop tool. I'll see what I can figure out.

[scottb613]

Honestly, mipmaps are where I have little to no experience so I'm not sure what I need to do to improve the workshop tool. I'll see what I can figure out.

Hi Pete,

The biggest reason to use mipmaps is to reduce texture aliasing artifacts, particularly sparkle, shimmer, and moiré patterns on both terrain and object textures. As a bonus, mipmaps also improve texture sampling efficiency and rendering performance.

Regards,
Scott

[pwillard]

Ok, I will update my code. Others will need to help fully test it and give feedback. https://github.com/pwillard/TextureWorkshop/releases