New to Transdem

[malikrthr]

Just to get a start in the right direction, can someone please tell me how I can get a DEM that will cover NYC. Right now I would mainly like Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx. I would like a DEM for NYC first before any other area because that is where the Metro North, LIRR, and NJT originate. Later on, after I have NYC I would like to get DEM's for upstate New York and Connecticut, and after that, maybe certain parts of NJ. To be honest, I am clueless about all of this. I am not sure what all the different meanings and terms such as vector data, tigers, hog, etc... All I know is that this program will give me the topogaphy or digital elevations for the area that I want. What are the different colored lines in the DEM for. If anyone can help me, that would be great. Later on when I get the chance, I'll take a look at the Transdem forum for support also. I am so happy I finally got this program. Now I just need to learn how to use it. One thing I would definitely like to know is, how can I get a detailed google earth image in my DEM. On one of the thread around the forum, I saw someone had a detailed google earth image put on the DEM, similar to the baseboards.

[geophil]

For the general functionality of TransDEM, I suggest to follow the manuals, particularly the Quick Start Guide to lead you through the tutorials. Once you are familiar with the general process, have a look at stemaboateng's tutorials here in the forum for obtaining US DEM data. For the map overlay I recommend one of the WMS sources for the US, either Microsoft Research Maps or the rather new USGS WMS, and go for 1:24k raster maps. Those are perfect as a ground texture for the 5m grid in Trainz.

The "coloured lines" were specific to TIGER and the MicroDEM/HOG process. Scale is rather low, only 1:160k, not particularly suitable for accurate route design. When using TransDEM, you can safely forget about MicroDEM/HOG and TIGER.

[malikrthr]

Thank you so much Geophil. Those tutorials at first where somewhat confusing, but after a couple of tries dealing with USGS seamless server, I have a DEM for New York City in the surveyor. Now here is where we go downhill. I took a look at a couple of the trainz forums and it seems that there are a couple of way to put references such as roads, rails, maps on the DEM. I would really like to know how I can get google earth onto the DEM in surveyor so I know where to place everything. I know there are basemaps but I dislike them because they always disappear when you zoom in or out at a certain angle. If there is a way to get a google earth image on the DEM, that would be awesome . Thank you so much for your support so far Geophil.

[geophil]

The most important tutorial for TransDEM and Trainz is the one in the TransDEM Trainz manual, the "Muengsten" tutorial. It illustrates how to transfer the data.

• DEM (elevation data) and medium cartographic map shape the Trainz terrain and paint it with a ground texture.
• Large cartographic map (or aerial photography) go to UTM tiles (concept similar to basemaps)
• Vector data (polylines) become track spline objects in Trainz

This tutorial starts on page 45 in the current edition of the TransDEM Trainz manual.

BTW, the objects used for UTM tiles in TransDEM do not disappear when viewed under extreme angles. I have changed the Trainz object type for those some time ago.

[malikrthr]

I was following the 2nd part of the video tutorial, since I can't really seem to find the manual. I successfully got completed the first video tutorial. I thought this would be good so I can somewhat understand the whole process with getting DEM's and dealing with Transdem. On the 2nd part of the video tutorial (Handling Vectors). I got stuck at opening the rail vectors in the Merged Canada DEM. What I did was open up the DEM, then go to route, and then select open route which brought me to a box with all the files. I opened up all the ESRI shape files and then from the canvec folder, I tried to open up the rail vector file and then I got an error message saying that there is an error reading the file, so now I can't view the blue rail lines. Do you know how to correctly open this.

Going a bit off topic. When I opened up the New York City DEM in surveyor, I noticed while I was using the DEM in surveyor, there was a drop in fps. There was no scenery or anything. Could it be because of all the baseboards that have to be loaded? This is all running on my laptop. I wonder if there is a way to configure the DEM so there will be no lag. One thing I can think of is to delete the baseboards that I don't need. I plan only using baseboards that are near the train tracks.

[geophil]

...since I can't really seem to find the manual.

TransDEM manuals:

• From TransDEM itself: via main window:
  • Help and Trainz menus,
  • or toolbar icons with question mark,
  • or keyboard shortcuts [F1] and [Shift]+[F1]
• From the windows Start menu (use "All Programs" with Win 7): Ziegler-Tools | Documentation
• From Windows Explorer: C:\Program Files\Ziegler-Tools\Dokumentation\*.pdf

I really recommend reading some of the stuff written there.

...I tried to open up the rail vector file and then I got an error message saying that there is an error reading the file,

Just downloaded a CanVec package (083G01), no problems opening and displaying the railroad layer here.

When I opened up the New York City DEM in surveyor, I noticed while I was using the DEM in surveyor, there was a drop in fps.

Trainz terrain with ground texture alone should not cause high CPU & GPU load / low fps on a reasonably dimensioned machine, including laptops. It's the scenery/rolling stock that brings fps down.

[Jerker]

G'day geophil & Malikrthr,

Roland, could "Malikrthr" be 'seeing' that which I see sometimes (especially on my laptop) where a 'Bare Bones' route gives the appearance of jerkiness (when moving through the route), which I understand is a consequence of the large amount of GPU memory needed to display the Trainz 5 meter grid (if that has been 'turned on' during export)? The effect is similar to low frame rates...

...if this were the case, this would be the result of a relatively low amount of GPU memory installed in the machine (my laptop, for example, which is some years old now, only has 128 Mega Bytes of video memory available to it. My Home computer (equipped with a GTX 580 - 1,530 Mega Bytes - video card), on the other hand, has never suffered from this issue...

Jerker {:)}

[malikrthr]

My laptop has integrated graphics. It has 64MB of video memory. Throughout the exporting process, do you know if there is a way to stop this from happening.

[malikrthr]

I just found the manual. It sure is alot of reading. I'll take a look at it when I get the chance. So far, I have been using my own method for building the route. On top of the DEM, I set the baseboards to wireframe view and from there, I place my basemap from google earth and build off of that. I did not finish with my first basemap yet, but when I finish, I will get another one from google earth. For me, this method should only be temporary until I finish reading the manual and understanding everything. Of course, route building will take alot longer because I don't have the whole DEM as a google earth texture, but as long as these basemaps get the job done, then I guess they are ok for now. . The route looks good so far. One thing I definitely enjoy is that the hills and mountains are already made for me.

[malikrthr]

There is just one problem I am having now. When I am working on the DEM in surveyor, after about 30 minutes or so, I save the DEM. Once it is finished saving, all of the hills and mountains disappear. Since that happens, I exit to the main menu and load up the route again. Do you know why the mountains and hills disappear after I save my work in surveyor.