This is how you can create easily a new traincar !!!

[gforce]

How can i create easily a new traincar???
- What i want do is:
just take a excisting traincar-model and changing the color or texture-map
- i can already change the texture map and so on
- i will need a unique name for my traincar (let's say my_dairy_car)
- so i need to change the name of the .kfm file
- another texture_name dds file
- the rest like wheels i don't want to change etc...

but the question is:
- There will be more references maybe to filenames i need to change
to get my additional traincar...
Wich references i need to look for???
(one i can find fe the reference to the dds texture file)

someone wants to help me??? plz
ps: i don't want to create a version v3 or something but a whole new traincar

[gforce]

it seems that the posts on trains is so dead, isn't there anyone to answer or post or is modelling on trains for the moment?

[CeeBee51]

it appears that the skinners and engine builders have left the building. One of the problems might be that so many people had trouble getting new engines to work in the game that the builders finally gave up. The only engine type mod I ever got to work was the tender mod and I finally gave up on the others due to simple frustration. I guess if no-one can use your work you eventually move on to other things and maybe thats what happened.

[dwax]

I'm hoping OzoB will be back. He was in the process of building a new Loco. and to finish the Ice train. He said he would be back, last time he said he was
not at home. I think he would say if he just gave up. he was pretty involved in skinning and changing the trains. I just hope something didn't happen to him.

[choobacca]

I'll try to point you in the right direction gforce.

First copy an existing train car's .kfm, .nif, _dummy.nif, and the 4 .dds files and rename them.
Example:
coal_car_v2.kfm -> mycar_v2.kfm
coal_car_v2.nif -> mycar_v2.nif
coal_car_dummies_v2.nif -> mycar_dummies_v2.nif
coalcar_v2_diff.dds -> mycar_v2_diff.dds
coalcar_v2_emsk.dds -> mycar_v2_emsk.dds
coalcar_v2_nrml.dds -> mycar_v2_nrml.dds
coalcar_v2_spec.dds -> mycar_v2_spec.dds

Now open the mycar_v2.nif in NifSkope and change the references to the 4 .dds files to your .dds files.
Save mycar_v2.nif.
Open mycar_v2.kfm in NifSkope and change the reference to the .nif file to your .nif file.
Save mycar_v2.kfm.

Next make any texture changes to mycar_v2_diff.dds or model changes to mycar_v2.nif.

Now copy your 7 files and change the _v2 to _v1 as the game will need both variations present as the trains before 1900 use _v1 and the trains after 1900 use _v2. You can change the model or texture of _v1 to be different if you want.

On to the XML.
Add the XML to RRT_TrainCars.xml. If I wanted mycar to haul coal, I would add:
<TrainCar>
<szName>My Coal Car</szName>
<szGood>Coal</szGood>
<szModel>mycar.kfm</szModel>
<szDummyModel>mycar_dummies.nif</szDummyModel>
<szGroundClackSound>AS3D_CLACK_PLANET_GROUND</szGroundClackSound>
<szBridgeClackSound>AS3D_CLACK_PLANET_BRIDGE</szBridgeClackSound>
<RunLength>30</RunLength>
</TrainCar>

Then add the following XML to your RRT_TrainCars_mymap.xml:
<TrainCar>
<szName>My Coal Car</szName>
</TrainCar>

And that's it!
Just make sure you don't already have a car hauling coal in your RRT_TrainCars_mymap.xml, and the game should grab your car when loading coal.

Of course, you can use any Good you want, just make sure it is already in the game (not a brand new Good as adding a new Good is another procedure).

[gforce]

thanx alot choobacca
i already did more or less the same thing but i think the remark on v1 and v2 will get me there...
i hope it will work out!
i guess, i hope, i'll give you a great map/scenario lateron
if i get it finished, i'm running too often on problems, limitations but i've got alot of new ideas and tricks in test env, a little help is welcome, thanx

[gczobel]

Maybe I wrong, but I think that the name of the nif file is present in the kfm file. In this case you need an hex editor... and filenames with the same length.
Correct me if I wrong, please.

[gforce]

OH YES AGAIN!!! After Creating the new hospital building...
A NEW TRAINCAR!!! IT WORKS!
This is great! I really want to see the different goods, not just by an icon but on track... Now I do!
See the screenshot...
Thanx again choobacca!
gczobel, yes i did use a name of the same lenght
in this case passenger replaced by passenge2 (9characters)
and i think the problem was due to v1 and v2 reference
ps: in the xml file you reference to 2 files
Passenge2_Car.kfm
Passenge2_Car_dummies.nif
i don't even have those files only those:
Passenge2_Car_v1.kfm
Passenge2_Car_dummies_v1.nif
Passenge2_Car_v2.kfm
Passenge2_Car_dummies_v2.nif

so don't worry about that, he will load your v1 or v2 files depending on the year, as chobacca explained...

(it looks nice, doesn't it)

[CeeBee51]

Looks very nice gforce Canadian Pacific used maroon passenger cars in the old days so I'm hoping those will one day be running on my BC map.

[snoopy55]

choobacca - that might be a good addition to Wiki.

[choobacca]

choobacca - that might be a good addition to Wiki.

snoopy,
Yes, I think I'll do a Wiki topic for explaining Train Cars which also gets into Tender Cars which leads to double-headed locos.

[snoopy55]

OK, and while you're at it, how do you do the full and empty icon thing. I just created the icons (edited them onto the ones used by D53642 in his Mid-East map) but have no idea how to connect them with 'I picked up my goods but that isn't the icon for that cars contents'. Jelly in my case.

[choobacca]

OK, and while you're at it, how do you do the full and empty icon thing. I just created the icons (edited them onto the ones used by D53642 in his Mid-East map) but have no idea how to connect them with 'I picked up my goods but that isn't the icon for that cars contents'. Jelly in my case.

snoopy,
In the Goods.xml file, the BitmapCar tag defines the train car Full icons.
The <szFile> tag is the TGA file where these icons live,
<uiX> is the X pixel coordinate of the icon for this good,
<uiY> is the Y pixel coordinate of the icon for this good,
<uiWidth> is the icon's width,
and <uiHeight> is the icon's height (these train car icons are always 32x16 in size).

So in the TGA file, just find the upper left corner of the icon, and this is the <uiX> and <uiY> coordinate.

Do this for the BitmapCarEmpty icon too.

[2391212]

All of this is fine for changing the skins on existing railcars, but is there a way to create new railcars? It would be great to have longer passenger (for later years) and freight cars to go with the great new engines we now have. Is anyone working on this?
Will

[choobacca]

All of this is fine for changing the skins on existing railcars, but is there a way to create new railcars? It would be great to have longer passenger (for later years) and freight cars to go with the great new engines we now have. Is anyone working on this?
Will

Will,
Have you played the Basin And Range Demo? This map introduces the Santa Fe Super Chief and Santa Fe passenger and mail cars which are about 1.5X longer than the game's passenger and mail cars, and the Double Stack Well cars and Box cars are also longer than the game's cars.
The Basin And Range v1.0 release map coming soon will have more "stretched" freight cars.
So to answer your question, yes I am working on this.