Trainz Asset Creation Studio

Help with modelling 3D content for Trainz.
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Class172
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Trainz Asset Creation Studio

Post by Class172 »

I was trying to install this into my installation of GMAX, so I could start to have a fiddle with it, but after installing I get the following messages.

Image Image

Any ideas?
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Re: Trainz Asset Creation Studio

Post by bird_d00 »

A little bit more info might have been nice, I'm guessing here that you already had Gmax installed and tried to install TACS, and that you are now trying to run Gmax through the TACS icon - correct ?

Did gmax work before installing TACS ? My first thought is that you didn't use the same install path for TACS as for Gmax. Does Gmax run up OK through it's own icon ? Is the mtlgen.dlt really there ? (It should be in ....\gmax\stdplugs)

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Re: Trainz Asset Creation Studio

Post by Class172 »

Dave, GMAX was already installed beforehand - you have guessed exactly right - I installed TACS and tried to run it through the icon.

GMAX worked before the installation (and also after if you use the gmax's own icon). I checked the installation directory and it was okay, and I've also checked the \stdplugs folder, and mtlgen.dlt is present.
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Re: Trainz Asset Creation Studio

Post by bird_d00 »

OK, so I THINK that TACS has installed itself somewhere else as if it was in right place it would find mtlgen.dlt which you've just shown is present. Other possibilty is a corrupt instalation somehow. I'm having trouble here as my 6 year old is hogging my PC playing video games, and I'm relegated to a netbook with a teeny tiny screen, and it's soooo slow.

In the gmax directory is the subdirectory .....\gmax\gamepacks\Trainz present ? Where does the shortcut for TACS point to (under properties)

To be honest it might be easier to just uninstall TACS, the re-install it. This is beginning to look horribly familiar - there was someone on my converting sketchup thread who had similar problems (trouble installing TACS), and he claimed it suddenly solved itself after an hour or so ? Possibly problems with later versions of Windows not playing nicely with Gmax - there were certainly big, big problems when Vista first came out.

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Re: Trainz Asset Creation Studio

Post by Class172 »

The shortcut for TACS gives this as the target:

Code: Select all

%GMAXLOC%gmax.exe -a gamepacks\trainz\trainzedsplash.bmp -i gamepacks\trainz\gmax.ini -p  gamepacks\trainz\plugin.ini
- (the bit in % looks a bit odd to me).

Meanwhile the gamepacks folder looks like this:

Image

I have already tried to reinstalls but to no avail.
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Re: Trainz Asset Creation Studio

Post by bird_d00 »

Sorry for not getting back sooner - been to ASDA shopping. That looks OK to me. The %GMAXLOC% bit is fine - it is an environment variable set to the location of Gmax (in the registry).

To be honest as you've already re-installed TACS, I'm a bit stumped here (you did install as administrator didn't you ?). It might be worth having a look in the gmax.ini file (the top file you have on your listing there), to check the paths are set to using the D: drive I see you are using. Anybody else here succesfully installed on drive D: ?

The only other suggestions I can think of are turning off UAC, or to try re-installing both Gmax and TACS on the C: drive, and not to use the "Program Files (x86)" directory which is I believe "protected" on newer versions of windows. Where did anyone else not using XP install to ?

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Re: Trainz Asset Creation Studio

Post by clam1952 »

I have it installed to Drive E on one PC and Drive F on the other, one Win7 HP one Win7 Pro. I also enabled the Large Address Aware flag on both installs, very stable since I did that. However I wouldn't recommend doing that unless you know what you are doing!
Also am using the Specular Exporters from Max 4 / 5 not the Tacs ones. I have got 3ds Max as well but got a lot of Gmax stuff I have to update so am still using it.
Cheers

Malc

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Re: Trainz Asset Creation Studio

Post by bird_d00 »

Malc, was that in the protected Program files directory or just a standard directory - I'm running out of ideas what could be causing this. The file is obviously there, The same executable is being called, just the options are different.

The other thing you could try is copying the files from the ....\gmax\gamespacks\Trainz\plugins directory into ....\gmax\plugins directory, then run from the standard gmax icon (not the TACS one) and see if it will give you the option to export in Trainz im format.

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Re: Trainz Asset Creation Studio

Post by clam1952 »

Standard directory as in E:\Gmax
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Re: Trainz Asset Creation Studio

Post by bird_d00 »

In that case it may well be worth trying to re-install gmax and TACS into D:\gmax rather than D:\Program Files (x86)\gmax.

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Re: Trainz Asset Creation Studio

Post by Nexusdj »

I have Gmax plus TACS in : C:\gmax\gamepacks\Trainz
High visibility pixels must be worn when on or about the line !!
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Re: Trainz Asset Creation Studio

Post by clam1952 »

May be an idea to Install as Administrator as right click run this program as administrator.
Cheers

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Re: Trainz Asset Creation Studio

Post by Class172 »

I have tried admin so perhaps the problem boils down to where the original installation is located. I shall have to reinstall gmax next weekend (workload permitting) - I realise you need a code to verify the installation, but I can't remember where I put mine; is there anywhere I can find it out again?
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Re: Trainz Asset Creation Studio

Post by bird_d00 »

I don't think so, I kept the original email from turbosquid for mine. Tried searching the registry for my code, but it isn't in there (or at least not in the clear).

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Re: Trainz Asset Creation Studio

Post by Domsarto »

Make sure that all previous versions of the trainz gamepack are removed before trying to re-install.
You might have it deleted from programsx64 and it could still be in a another gmax folder.

Drove me mad a few weeks ago.(well really drove to drink)
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