Cresston V4 - News

Hello everyone, apologies for the lack of updates of late but I shall now update you on what is happening.

Firstly, some of you may or may not have seen my blog, where I was close to abandoning all work, however, just looking at the responses on this blog and other affiliated forum threads, towards this project means it is worth continuing, especially after the work that has been done and all of the assets specifically created for the route.

So, what is the current status on the route?

About 8 weeks ago, after a virtual attack that I still attribute to being through my Steam directory, I lost a lot of work including much of the newer parts of Cresston, things you have seen in screenshots like the terminus and traincare depot etc. At the time of the "attack" everything got a bit muddled and my instant reaction was to backup the "important" work like Bristol to Exeter and then delete Steam, not thinking about the after effects this causes by removing all content from the Steamapps folder. To lose such an amount of work was a big blow, especially to lose some quite complex trackwork in and around the terminus and depot area, as well as the scenery placed and the assets themselves. Of course, the latter are all recoverable due to having the source files saved in the 3D modelling program and many of these assets such as the carriage washer are already back in game and ready to go.

Now, one of the things I did state when deciding to continue with the work was that it would be on my terms. With other commitments that obviously take priority over this one, allowances have had to be made as to the future direction of the route to let me release the project as I intend it to look after all the planning done. This could now produce a side effect for people. Originally, as many will know, the plan was to continue the original theme of no payware and little or no external downloading of freeware assets. Then, I would completely overhaul the route and release what I called a "deluxe" version which would include payware assets (GARL was chosen at the time) in order to use the new gantries, signalling and other various assets. However, as time has progressed, we were provided with the opportunity to purchase the excellent WCML route which contains those signals and multiple variations of gantry along with other new assets. For the reasons stated above, the route will now include up to 100 new custom assets specifically for the route, a small variation of freeware assets from the community with permission from the authors and [b]the requirement of the WCML payware route[/b]. The free downloadable asset pack from Steam will also be required and if any more of these asset packs appear during construction of the route, these may also be required.

In reference to the work lost, it isn't all a bad thing, I have decided to change a few elements of the original plan which I believe, will make it better. I am aiming for a release of no later than Summer 2011 with a driveable area of no less than 200 miles, something I feel is enough to sign off the final version of the route.

Regards

Darren