Rambling Time

Well, after a few posts on specific topics, I figured it might as well be time to let my mind wander a little bit.  Yesterday I was working on a post, but strayed so far the post could only be considered a "senseless ramble", and I finally just closed the tab around ten at night.  I had started at around two or so that afternoon.  From about six o'clock on, I worked on a few creations for Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006.

Now mind you, since I have upgraded to Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, I haven't been able to get Trainz to run at all.  Perhaps once after each time I install it.  My copy was one of the earlier copies, and I purchased it way back when it was first released, and the Trainz Forums still were using a TRS2004 scheme.  Since riding the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad in the summer of '06, and finding a DEM (digital elevation model) based map of the C&TS for Trainz, I started working on a prototypical model of the route, even creating my own Google Sites website for it, Missouri Trainz Works.  Do feel free to visit...I have quite a few screenshots of my content for the route.  I was even building a full set of coaches, to exact specifications of the ones built by the C&TS in the 1970's, thanks to a friend who's father actually aided in the building of those coaches.

Then Windows 7 happened.  Now mind you, I love Windows 7.  It has the stability of XP, and a fresh, clean design that innovates some wonderful new features, such as self updates, automatic driver download, and other features.  However, Trainz 2006 doesn't love Windows 7.  From what I have read, some of the later versions of TRS2006 work perfectly fine, but remember how I got one of the earlier versions?  Yeah.  No more Trainzing for me, at least until I can afford TRS2010.

Add to that the fact that in Windows 7, gMax, the free cousin of 3DStudio Max, has some nasty visual artifacts with Windows 7, my modelling days were pretty well finished.  I even downloaded a trial of the $3,500 3DS Max 10...same exact problem.  After trying that, I turned to the Linux-based 3D modelling program, Blender.  It has a much steeper learning curve, especially since I was used to gMax and very proficient with it, but quite a few beautiful models for Trainz had come straight from Blender, so I decided to give it a whirl, even downloading about fifty Flash tutorial videos for it.

WOW.

I had been building things like this 9600-class gondola with gMax.  After a while in Blender, I'm now working on things such as this section of 3 foot gauge track based on track on the C&TS.  I have to say, I've come a long way with Blender, and after using it for a while, I don't think I'll ever go back to gMax.

So hopefully, as time goes on, I'll be able to afford a copy of TRS2010 and begin work on my rendition of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad again.  Perhaps someday soon I'll even be able to visit the railroad once again, and appreciate the beauty of the line in a whole new manner.

Feel free to check out some of my photos from that 2006 trip on the Cumbres & Toltec.




Until next time,

Timothy