Here Come the Trainzes!

FAQ

Whence the name "Here Come the Trainzes!"?

Essentially the thought behind the name is threefold:

1. "Here Come the Trains!" is intended to convey enthusiasm about watching multiple trains.
2. Changing the spelling to "Here Come the Trainz!" makes it clear that this is made for the program called "Trainz".
3. Finally, while the "z" in "Trainz" suggests more than one single train, every single existing Trainz session we could find was about driving one single train. Thus, apparently, in the vendor's mind, "Trainz" is singular. To convey that our sessions are all about multiple trains, we needed a plural of "Trainz". If "Trainz" is singular, than the plural must be "Trainzes". Hence "Here Come the Trainzes" ;)

Why do you call this automation instead of "AI"?

Because this isn't AI. This is just a computer applying logic. The only intelligence involved is the human intelligence that came up with the logic and implementation thereof.

I've never heard of "Super Sessions" before. What do you mean with that?

To clearly indicate that these are unlike any other Trainz session, we coin the term "Super Session". Our definition of a Super Session is a Trainz session that includes at least all of the following:

• as many trains as is reasonably possible
• as many different scenarios as is reasonably possible
• as much variation between different trains (locomotives, carriages/wagons and how those are combined into consists) as is reasonably possible
• perhaps most importantly, as much randomisation as is reasonably possible, in order to guarantee as much inpredictability, and thus surprise and wonder, as possible
• all shown through trackside cameras that take all potential activity into account

Why do you advice to install this into a dedicated data folder?

For several reasons:

• For this to work, you need older versions of certain assets. (This applies mainly to certain MissionCode assets. Not pguy's fault - this is due to bugs in Trainz itself.) If you have any other routes or sessions installed in the same data folder, there would be the risk that one or more of those requires a newer version of those same assets. (Although you can have multipe versions of the same asset installed, Trainz will always use the newest one.) Thus, there'd be both the risk that our session will not work properly, and that something else you have installed would not work properly.
• Trainz allows any asset to overwrite another. For example, when you install both the "Schwaninger Land" and "Niddertalbahn TRS19" routes, certain ground textures on the Niddertalbahn will be overwritten by ones from Schwanginger Land, resulting in Trainz drawing Niddertal's cows as grazing on golf courses, instead of pastures. Not crucial, but fugly. Given the many thousands of assets used by our sessions, and the many more that you might have installed, the risk at such conflicts is big. Feel free to take the risk – we're merely pointing out how you can avoid it.

Why does the view sometimes change from lineside to cabine and back?

Mainly because in Trainz you cannot place cameras in tunnels, and its cameras have a limited range. The longer the tunnel and the shorter the train, the sooner the train will simply get out of reach of any cameras. Even when trains do remain within reach, you're likely to end up with a view of the terrain instead of the train. Changing to cabine view simply looks better.

Another reason is that route authors tend to place the odd camera here and there without considering that someone else might build a session for their route. Although you can change other people's routes, the vendor does not allow you to then distribute the result. Thus, the only way to mute cameras that are built into a route is to either place another camera closer to the train, or place a trigger to switch to cabine view. (Our advice to route authors is to simply place any cameras in a dedicated layer, which avoids such unnecessary problems.)