Neue Test Build 81682 - FBX Importer / Multiplayer Surveyor

Zitat von WindWalker/chris N3V

Hi all,

A new Windows test build is available by patch. The ongoing server work has been completed so your accounts should all be authorised for this build and hopefully this marks the restart of regular build updates. Before installing this test build, please read the following carefully:

* As with all internal test builds, this is very much a work-in-progress. It will crash. It will lose data. It will perform poorly. It will give incorrect results. Do not use this build for anything serious. Do not expect that assets created in this build will work in retail builds, now or in the future. Use this build for your own testing and experimentation, not as a development platform.

* This build includes a work-in-progress FBX importer. It does not currently support animation. It does not currently support attachment points. The workflow is not finalised. It has had minimal testing. It should support most other Trainz features, however it's entirely likely that there are major flaws. Feel free to run non-animated scenery models through it and let us know how you fare. I will start a separate thread providing more details.

* This build includes a very, very early technology preview of the Multiplayer Surveyor concept. The workflow is not even remotely close to final. Most major systems are incomplete. This is only a prototype for testing some of the core systems. The servers are likely to be offline more often than not. They will go offline without prior notice. When this happens, they may come back online after five minutes, or they may stay offline for two days. They may erase your work without prior notice. Please feel free to play around and see if you can break it, but don't get attached to anything you build in this prototype. I will start a separate thread providing more details.

Please leave general questions or comments here. Exporter or MPS questions should be directed to the appropriate threads.

81682 - Multiplayer Surveyor
81682 - FBX Importer

kind regards,

chris

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Zitat von WindWalker/chris N3V

Hi all,

Please read this post first: Internal test build 81682

This thread is for discussion relating to the new FBX Importer capability. The importer is very much a work-in-progress. It is not substantially tested, and it does not support a lot of necessary features. The techniques for using it with Trainz have not been finalised. It is provided as a work-in-progress sample for technical feedback.

We've selected FBX as an import format because we believe it should be easy to export from both Max and Blender, it should be workable on both Mac and Windows, it's commonly used by other game engines and modelling packages, and it removes the demand for us to build a new exporter every time a third party updates their software. We will be taking the opportunity to modernise some of our modelling practices, so the required Max configuration for exporting to IM is not necessarily identical to the configuration for exporting to FBX (but they should be very similar.)

At the current time, the following features are known to be missing:

* Support for animated meshes is missing.
* Support for attachment points is missing.
* The workflow is not finalised.
* Trainzmesh file format is not finalised.

Please don't report any issues that you find which relate to these items. Anything else is fair game.

The current technique for using the importer is as follows:

1. Create an asset as normal. It must be trainz-build 4.4.
2. Instead of referencing "my-mesh.im" in the config file, use "my-mesh.trainzmesh".
3. Place the FBX in the asset as "my-mesh.fbx"
4. When you commit the asset, the importer will read the "fbx" file and will create/overwrite the equivalent "trainzmesh" file.
5. At the current time, the FBX files are kept. You may optionally
remove them manually after the trainzmesh has been created (by opening
the asset for edit, etc.)

Let me know how you fare,

chris

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Zitat von WindWalker/chris N3V

Hi all,

Please read this post first: Internal test build 81682

Multiplayer Surveyor was announced recently on the main forums. While we're a long way off that being a reality, certain key technologies are getting to the stage where we're ready to expose them to a limitednumber of external users. I must stress that they're not polished, not remotely close to finished, and exist in isolation from a lot of the features that will make them practical in the long run. Their inclusion in the test build is purely to provide an early stress test for these technologies before we start to build the MPS concept on top.

For MPS testing purposes, I would ask that you always follow these steps:

1. Load into the game launcher and click the "Start Trainz" button.
2. At the "Select Route" menu, click the "MPS Test Route" route. It may
take a few seconds to show up after you reach the menu. If it doesn't
show up after that, the server is offline and you'll need to wait until
the next time the server is online. (You'll need to close and reopen the
routes menu to refresh this.)
3. Click "Edit Route".
4. You should see the loading screen briefly, and then a blank
baseboard. After a while longer, the blank baseboard will blink out and
will be replaced from the server version of the test route.
5. The route will stream in slowly as you move around. You may load into
a fairly blank area of the route, so zoom out a bit and navigate around
until you find something more interesting.

If you make it this far, you should be able to use the normal Surveyor tools. There are a number of gotchas here:

* Undo isn't supported. It will continue to operate locally, and the changes will be sent to the server, but this will introduce conflicts with other users working in the same area. If you're working near somebody else, and your changes keep getting rolled back, politely ask them to stop using Undo, or move to different baseboards.

* Several bulk operation tools are not supported (asset replace, etc.) For the most part, these are hidden from the UI, but there are probably still a few ways to get to them. Don't use them.

* Copy and Paste works to a limited degree only. Only use this for small edits.

* The servers are running in a very extensive debug test mode. There are lots of things that you can do which will trip the debug checks and cause the server to pause. When this happens, all users will be disconnected roughly a minute later, and the servers will remain "offline" until somebody at N3V has had the opportunity to review the issue. Depending on the time of day and how busy we are with other things, this could be quite a long time. Apologies in advance, as I'm sure this will be frustrating.

* Only built-in content can be used. DLS or downloaded payware content cannot be used at this time.

* There are no permission systems. You cannot prevent other people from damaging work that you've done. Please be courteous to other users you meet in-game and also to any work that they may have left behind, no matter how trivial it may be. Feel free to improve things, but don't just destroy existing edits for no benefit. Let's get this off to a friendly start.

* Server outages or bugs may result in data loss. We have not yet tested the systems extensively to ensure data integrity. Don't get too attached to your work.

* Neither game nor network performance has been optimised.

* When the server pauses or shuts down, it will take at least a minute for your client to realise that it's been disconnected from the server. Sometimes you'll get a notification, sometimes you won't. If you receive a disconnection notification, don't assume that it's because of something that you've done, an especially don't assume that it's because of something you've done in the last few seconds. Typically it will have been caused by somebody else about a minute ago. If your latency is over 60 seconds, you've been disconnected even if your client hasn't realised that.

* I'm sure you'll find plenty of other gotchas.

Good luck!

chris

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