Friday 31 January 2014

WCML Over Shap - Scenario Pack Released

I am pleased to announce the release of an all new scenario pack for the new 'WCML Over Shap' route. With four scenarios and an additional bonus scenario, this pack covers Virgin loco hauled passenger operations during the late 1990's and the scenarios utilise the newer advanced versions of both the Class 47 & Class 87 provided with the route along with the Class 90 and offer around four hours of additional driving.

Created using real timetables, this scenario pack features prototypical consists for the era, prototypical passing AI, adverse signals, AI interaction and much more...

This scenario pack is priced at only £1.99, a price point which has been chosen to offer excellent value for money in order to help subsidise site costs at the ever expanding DPSimulation. The pack can be viewed and purchased by following this link, which contains screenshots, a full list of requirements and a full description of each scenario in order to provide you with all the information needed before making a purchase.

 


Thursday 30 January 2014

ACM Paintworks - Railfreight Distribution Pack

I have now uploaded the latest pack from ACM Paintworks which contains three high quality repaints of the Class 47 locomotive in Railfreight Trainload Distribution livery.

You can obtain this pack by following clicking here.


Sunday 26 January 2014

ACM Paintworks - FGW Class 158

I have now uploaded the latest high quality reskin from ACM Paintworks, a FGW Class 158. This reskin has been painstakingly recreated to be as accurate as possible, with the removal of the running numbers from the original position, and replaced with an all new child object.


The reskin can be downloaded by following this link.


Friday 24 January 2014

[DPS] Portsmouth Direct Line – Troubleshooting

If for any reason the route crashes when trying to load elements such as Quick Drive, please try the following. This usually fixes any issue in the majority of cases and is normally down to a corrupt download.

1, Unsubscribe from the route in the Train Simulator 2014 Steam Workshop.

2, Navigate to Program FilesSteam\steamapps\common\railworks\Content\Routes and if the route folder has not already been removed, remove it manually. The folder to delete is: 0f090cba-2f1e-4110-a0c2-2ac143b943d3

3, Go back to the DPSimulation workshop and re-subscribe to the route.

4, Once downloaded, start Train Simulator 2014 and clear the cache via the settings>tools menu.

5, Restart Train Simulator 2014 and the issue should now be resolved.

[DPS] Portsmouth Direct Line - Released

I am pleased to announce that [DPS] Portsmouth Direct Line is now available to download from the Steam Workshop. This route requires both the original Portsmouth Direct Line and London Faversham High Speed. The link to the workshop page is here and after subscribing, the route will be listed near the bottom with a [DPS] prefix.

To make something clear from the outset, this upgrade of the Portsmouth Direct Line is not intended to extend or place any scenery in areas that people regard as 'missing'. The aim of the project was to simply use the tools available in order to bring the route up to the higher standard we see in routes released today. Although PDL has always been one of my favourite Train Simulator routes, certain aspects had started to remove the enjoyment when placed alongside newer routes. The following changes have been implemented:

  • Full track swap for the Kent High Speed variant.
  • Removal of light ballast texture throughout the route.
  • Full bridge and tunnel occlusions.
  • Full swap of near tree and bramble variants.
  • Super-elevation implemented where possible. Only restrictions are where curves contained junctions/pointwork.
  • Replacement fencing, where possible at stations.
  • Addition of clutter and safety signage at stations.
  • Addition of missing platform numbers at stations.
  • Addition of stop boards, where possible at stations.

Because the route has specifically been modified without touching any of the track network, scenarios from the original route, both freeware and payware can potentially be moved over to this updated version. However, early tests have shown this doesn't seem to work for everyone, with some achieving success and some not. As this route will be made final at the earliest opportunity, it is hoped that a new batch of scenarios will be uploaded to the Workshop by myself and other users.



Wednesday 22 January 2014

WCML Over Shap - Virgin Class 87 Update

I have now uploaded a new version of the WCML2 Virgin Class 87 reskin which should fix some outstanding issues...

When placing a locomotive, it will now automatically have the correct number and nameplate. (Thanks Ron) The errant BR logo on the cab side has also been removed and all new roof mounted fire suppression tanks have been added as a child object.


The reskin can be downloaded by following this link.


Tuesday 21 January 2014

WCML Over Shap - Virgin Class 47

A 'WCML Over Shap' Virgin Class 47 reskin is now available from the DPSimulation website and can be downloaded by following this link: http://www.dpsimulation.org.uk/reskins.html

Because of the way the default reskin is laid out, I have had to number this reskin individually and have therefore added the relevant nameplate. Time permitting, I will release other numbered versions, along with unbranded variations.



ACM Paintworks - New Reskins

The two new reskins from ACM Paintworks, both in 'One' and Civil Engineers livery have now been uploaded to the DPSimulation website. They can be downloaded by clicking here.



Friday 17 January 2014

Virgin Class 87 - Released

The 'WCML Over Shap' Virgin Class 87 reskin is now available from the DPSimulation website and can be downloaded by following this link.

The reskin also includes 35 custom nameplates carried by the class whilst in this livery, and all can be selected from within the scenario editor. A file called 'Class87_Nameplates' is included in the package with the list of naming conventions.




WCML Over Shap - Virgin Class 87 Update

With the release of the fantastic WCML Over Shap it was only right that I would move all of the files from my original Virgin Class 87 reskin so those who own the new route can also use the reskin on the newly scripted version.

Obviously as the new version is in BR Blue, the nameplate has been moved so for the Virgin livery, this isnow in the wrong place, there isn't really anything I can do about that. However, this version will still have all 35 custom nameplates like the original version.

This should be uploaded later today barring any unforeseen problems. There should also be a new addition to the website from ACM Paintworks later today as well.


Wednesday 15 January 2014

Portsmouth Direct Line Upgrade - Steam Workshop

I have now uploaded an evaluation version of [DPS] Portsmouth Direct Line to the Steam Workshop for those with early access. Although the original route was always a favourite of mine, I always felt the track was far too bright and was overall starting to fall behind since the advent of occlusion and super-elevation. By no means an extension, the idea is to bring the route a bit more up to date and implement the newer features. The route requires the original PDL and London to Faversham.

One thing I have been unable to do is a complete texture swap but to compensate, I have completely removed the glaringly bright gravel texture which was under the equally bright track. The following changes have been implemented:

Full track swap for the Kent High Speed (LF) variant.

Removal of light ballast texture throughout the route.

Full bridge and tunnel occlusions.

Full swap of near tree and bramble variants.

Super-elevation implemented where possible. Only restrictions are where curves contained junctions/pointwork.

I have specifically left all track and signalling alone. This should allow any scenario previously created for PDL to be copied over to the new route folder.


Saturday 11 January 2014

New Reskins - ACM Paintworks

I am very pleased to announce that DPSimulation will host some all new reskins from ACM Paintworks. 'ACM' comes from the initials of Anton Courtney-May, a prolific and well respected member of the MSTS community who created hundreds of high quality reskins and has now decided to start producing for Train Simulator which is fantastic news for us all.

The first two reskins are already uploaded and available for download, and they represent the same high quality that he always provided with his MSTS releases. ACM Paintworks have been given a dedicated download page which can be found by clicking here.  




Friday 10 January 2014

East Coast Main Line: North East - Development & Public Release

The latest development version of East Coast Main Line: North East has now been uploaded to the workshop for those with early access.

This version includes the latest track update as far as Middlesbrough, along with scenery between Thornaby and Darlington. This amounts to just under 12 miles, which on a stopping service amounts to a further 20-25 minutes driving time on top of the original Newcastle to York route.

Further to this, the release version will also be updated later this evening and will include scenery and track as far as Eaglescliffe. This is likely to be the final public release before the Darlington to Saltburn line is completed.




Wednesday 8 January 2014

Victory Works

Some of you may be aware that for quite some time now, I have been hosting the work of my good friend Pete Gillam (Karma99) on the DPSimulation website. Some of you may also know that he then went on to create the fantastic 56xx locomotive add on. Some may also then know that a new masterpiece is in the works, the Steam Railmotor and will be arriving soon for Train Simulator.

Now known as 'Victory Works', Pete has set up a new page in order to post progress. Why not head over there, take a look and offer some encouragement.




Friday 3 January 2014

The Saltburn Line Comes Alive..

As part of the East Coast Main Line: North East project, I am finally incorporating one of the lines I have wanted to build for many years now, the Darlington to Saltburn line.

This extension will eventually be uploaded to the Steam Workshop as an update to the existing route which is already freely available on there now. Until then, the Darlington to Saltburn extension is only available exclusively to those with early access whilst the line is in development.

More information on early access can be found here.