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One of the most enjoyable facets of the train simulator hobby - at least for us here at 3DTrains - is experimenting with what’s possible. Our personal enjoyment comes from modeling and tinkering with the Train Simulator files, and most of our discoveries have been truly eye opening.
One item that has been overlooked is the use of the "FreightAnim" tag within the ENG and WAG files. Past discussions on the various message boards leaves us to believe that FreightAnim, designed to show the different levels of coal in a tender and the freight load of an open car, is possibly incomplete code-wise. It animates fine for tenders, but doesn't appear to operate on freight cars - at least we've never seen anyone getting it to work.
While the FreightAnim tag doesn’t do anything for freight loads, it still allows you to add one additional non-animated S-file to the main loco or car shape. This can be in any form - even an entire locomotive is possible (less bogies, wheels and other animated parts). You can create user-customizable objects such as handrails, vents, etc., and then link them in the WAG or ENG file using the FreightAnim tag. If not needed, a simple comment entry hides the file from MSTS.
FreightAnim objects can contain a traditional model hierarchy, which makes collapsed nodes for alpha sorting possible - exactly the method we used to create the car sides and interiors used in this SDK (Sim Development Kit). The user can now go beyond a simple reskin - creating prototypical models that hadn’t been available before - until now. |
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Note: The concepts and terminology used in these documents are advanced
in nature, and although written with
Gmax in mind, the basic principles should
apply to users of 3DS Max and 3D
Canvas.
TSM users however, will have an
almost impossible task duplicating these procedures, as TSM lacks the basic
functions to sort alphas - a vital element required for this SDK to function.
This guide is not designed to teach you how to model, but instead how to model and
assemble a set of passenger cars using the sdk as a base.
For basic questions and help regarding 3D modeling, you can visit one of the 3D modeling forums from the links provided. There are plenty of folks willing help - provided you ask nice and polite manner.
Updates to this guide will be posted on a regular basis as time allows. |
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