| G-TraX Products | |
| Can I upload modifications to a G-TraX product. It depends on the type of modification. If it's a repaint, there's no problem as long as you observe certain rules and procedures. For more information see this Tutorial: Repainting G-TraX Products. All other proposed modifications to G-TraX products require prior review and approval by G-TraX. Approval will only be granted if the proposed modification contains no copyrighted material and there is a demonstrable need for the modification. If the "demonstrable need" is due to a valid, documented mistake by G-TraX, then G-TraX itself will issue the modification. Contact G-TraX for further information. |
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| OK, then will G-TraX make the modification I want? I think your _____ is too _____. If I get a lot of complaints about some aspect of a product or if someone points out an obvious flaw, I'll fix it if I can. Otherwise I probably won't do anything. Occasionally people complain about highly subjective things like audio "realism" or quality, shades of color, physical performance and so on. If something of that nature bothers you, I recommend you learn how to change it yourself to your satisfaction. There's no black magic involved. The necessary tools are readily available and modestly priced, if not free. |
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| Will G-TraX release a ______ some day? It's one of my favorites. Maybe, but probably not. There are many possible projects, but only a few of them are under any serious consideration, and only a few those may ever be released. G-TraX products, whether they're freeware, donationware or commercial are chosen by me because I want to make them and no other reason. |
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| Will G-TraX products work in Kuju Rail Simulator. Yes and no. On the disclosure page of this web site (which you carefully read before you ordered—didn't you!) it states, "The product was designed specifically for RailWorks. It may not work properly in Kuju Rail Simulator." Generally what this means is you can load the product into Rail Simulator, but you won't have access to the additional functionality that has become available since the transition to RailWorks. If you have not upgraded to RailWorks, please contact G-TraX first before you order. |
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| I recognize the out-of-box routes in your screen shots, but where can I get those other routes you show? You can't. They're not real routes. Unless otherwise noted, they're just dioramas used for display purposes. | |
| Will any G-TraX products be updated for Train Simulator 2012? Yes! Please read this news item for more information. | |
| RailWorks | |
| Will my RailWorks content work in RailWorks 2? RailWorks 2 is a re-branding of RailWorks with some additional features. Other than that, there's very little difference. Owners of RailWorks were automatically upgraded, at no cost, to RailWorks 2 in October, 2010. |
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| Does RailWorks ship with (insert favorite locomotive here) and (insert favorite route here)? Maybe, but more than likely it doesn't. The mission of Railsimulator.com is to provide an accurate, entertaining railroad simulation in a framework that third-party developers like G-TraX can build upon. And rest assured those developers will be doing just that. So try not to take the attitude, "I'm not going to buy RailWorks because it won't have ___________." Please be patient. |
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| What is Steam? I've heard some negative things about it. Steam is an Internet-based distribution network for video games. It's an alternative to the traditional retail, boxed DVD method of delivery. Steam allows developers like Railsimulator.com to provide periodic fixes and upgrades to their products. It's an automatic process and you only have to be connected to the Internet. The only down side is that you will occasionally see messages from Steam about upgrades to your game(s) and about all the other wonderful games they'd like you to buy! |
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| But don't I have to be connected to the Internet and running Steam to use RailWorks? No. You can run in "offline" mode. Click on this link for a complete explanation. |
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| Can't I just buy a DVD version of RailWorks and avoid the whole Steam thing? The DVD version of RailWorks is only available in the UK and you still need a connection to Steam in order to use it. |
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| I have Kuju Rail Simulator. Why should I bother with RailWorks? Kuju Rail Simulator (or KRS) is no longer supported by Kuju or by Railsimulator.com. In a sense, it's a dead end just like MSTS. RailWorks is constantly being updated with new features that will never be implemented in KRS. If you like KRS, fine. Have a great time. However, RailWorks is the only path forward. |
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| Can I transfer Rail Simulator assets and routes to RailWorks? Yes. But don't try to copy and paste the files, as there are some format differences between the two versions of the sim. In simple terms, use the Rail Simulator Package Manager to make installation packages of your assets and routes (RPK files), then use the RailWorks Package Manager to install them in RailWorks. The RailWorks Package Manager takes care of any conversions that are necessary between the two formats. RailWorks now includes a utility for importing RailSimulator download content add-ons to RailWorks. |
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| My Computer | |
| Will I need a new computer? You might. RailWorks, with the performance sliders maxed, will test the capability of just about any computer. If you can, plan on acquiring a high-end system sometime this year or next. If that's not an option for you, you can still run RailWorks, but you may have to back off on the sliders and run the program in a window (i.e. not full screen) at a smaller pixel resolution. But don't let that scare you away. Join the fun! If you're like the rest of us, sooner or later you'll be upgrading your system. If this isn't going to be the year for you, maybe next year will be. In any case you'll probably catch up to the technology eventually. |
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| What kind of system should I get? There are better places than here to find the answer to that question. And anyway, it seems like every time we turn around the technology has advanced a few more notches. As a minimum you should at least be using the dual core generation of processors and you'll want a high-performance graphics card. You definitely should consider getting a good flat-panel monitor - as big as you can afford. Newer monitors seem to be trending away from the traditional 3:4 aspect ratio in favor of the wider 5:8 look. Currently the best available pixel resolution is 2560x1600. That's over five times as many pixels as 1024x768! In the future, even higher resolution displays may become commonplace. |
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| Will I need Vista? I hear bad things about it. RailWorks will work on XP systems as well as with Vista. Most users experience no problems with Vista now that it has been "service packed" and sufficient time has passed for the device drivers to be brought up to date. Vista pretty much a non-issue, though, now that it has been superceded by Windows 7. |
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| Does RailWorks work in Windows 7? Yes. If you're upgrading from 32-bit Vista or Windows XP to 32-bit Windows 7, you should have no problem running RailWorks after the upgrade. If you're upgrading from a 32-bit OS to 64-bit Windows 7, you'll have to reinstall everything including RailWorks. Visit the Microsoft web site for a step-by-step tutorial on this subject. |
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| Model Building | |
| Will my MSTS models and routes work in RailWorks? No. The two sims are not compatible. Some developers, both payware and freeware, may upgrade their MSTS products to be RailWorks compatible. Hopefully those upgrades will take advantage of the great new features and capabilities that will be available in RailWorks. Routes will not be directly upgradable, but it's probably better to start afresh. |
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| Will I be able to convert someone else's MSTS models myself? No. Only the original author will be able to do that. And depending on which modeling program the author used, that may have to wait until someone writes a conversion utility for it. |
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| What modeling programs will be supported by RailWorks? 3ds Max for sure, but only a handful of developers will be willing to pay the $3500 cost of that program. Luckily, a RailWorks plug-in has been developed for 3DCrafter. Some modelers have also been able to export models using Blender. It requires a custom script file—use a search engine to find a suitable one. |
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| What about those of us who model in gmax or TSM? It's highly unlikely that a gmax gamepack will ever be available for RailWorks, but your gmax models can be converted for use in 3ds Max or 3DCrafter. Click here to learn more. Don't get your hopes up for a RailWorks-compatible version of Train Sim Modeler. Fortunately, however, 3DCrafter includes a utility for converting MSTS models created in TSM to 3DCrafter's native format. |
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| What paint program will I need? Almost any of them will do. Some are more capable than others of course. Two decent paint programs are available for free: Paint.NET and GIMP. If you're going to be making normal maps (see Tutorials), you'll need to use the free plug-in supplied by NVIDIA, or a suitable substitute. At this time, it looks like the NVIDIA plug-in only supports GIMP, Adobe Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro prior to version 9. |
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| Will Tgatools2 and AceIt work in RailWorks? No. These programs are used to make texture files for MSTS in Kuju's proprietary ACE format, but the format has been changed for RailWorks. Railsimulator.com recommends you use the Photoshop plug-in or a standalone utility called RWAceTool, both of which are available by clicking here. |
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