How to Use Environment Tools

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<td><span style="font-size: 17px;">'''Notes:'''</span><br>
 
<td><span style="font-size: 17px;">'''Notes:'''</span><br>
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*There is no '''Save''' or '''OK''' button on the Environment Tools Window. As soon as you enter or select a setting it will be set. When finished editing simply click the window '''Off''' button '''BUT make sure you SAVE before exiting Trainz'''.
 
*There is no '''Save''' or '''OK''' button on the Environment Tools Window. As soon as you enter or select a setting it will be set. When finished editing simply click the window '''Off''' button '''BUT make sure you SAVE before exiting Trainz'''.
 
*Seasons (for those assets that show seasons - e.g. snow, leaf colours, etc) are controlled by the '''Date''' and '''World Origin''' settings. January = summer in the Southern Hemisphere and winter in the Northern Hemisphere</td>
 
*Seasons (for those assets that show seasons - e.g. snow, leaf colours, etc) are controlled by the '''Date''' and '''World Origin''' settings. January = summer in the Southern Hemisphere and winter in the Northern Hemisphere</td>

Revision as of 13:30, 31 December 2021

The information in this Wiki Page applies to TANE, TRS19 (all editions) and Trainz Plus. A video tutorial specific to setting the environmental controls in TRS19 and Trainz Plus can be found at TRS19 Environment and Lighting Tutorial

Contents


In Summary:
DotPoint.JPG The Environment Tools are used to set:-
  • the skybox - to configure the cloud cover
  • the weather - from rain to snow to clear. Weather can also be set from the Main Menu - Settings options and by using Session rules
  • the wind speed - which will affect the swaying motion of Speedtrees
  • the snowline - the altitude for assets that have a snow covered appearance option
  • the date - for assets that have different seasonal options. Used with world origin to set the season of the year
  • the lighting - the light levels and colours through a 24 hour period
  • the water colour and water surface effects (smooth, rough, etc)
  • the road traffic - enabled/disabled
  • the world origin (geographic coordinates and altitude. Used with date to set the season of the year
DotPoint.JPG The Time of Day is set using Session rules such as WikiLink.PNG Startup Option Rule and WikiLink.PNG Time and Rate Rule


NotePad.PNG Notes:
  • There is no Save or OK button on the Environment Tools Window. As soon as you enter or select a setting it will be set. When finished editing simply click the window Off button BUT make sure you SAVE before exiting Trainz.
  • Seasons (for those assets that show seasons - e.g. snow, leaf colours, etc) are controlled by the Date and World Origin settings. January = summer in the Southern Hemisphere and winter in the Northern Hemisphere
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The Environment Tool

Open the Environment Tools Editor from the Surveyor Main Menu in TANE as shown below left or from the Surveyor Edit Menu in TRS19 (various editions) and Trainz Plus as shown below right.

EnvironmentLaunch.PNG    EnvironmentEditLaunch.png    In both T:ANE and TRS19/Trainz Plus select Edit Environment

This will open the Environment Properties Window as shown below.

DotPoint.JPG The Clock Dial shown in this tool does NOT set the game time. It sets the times at which lighting conditions change
DotPoint.JPG To set the Game Time add the Startup Options Rule or the Time and Rate Rule in the Session Editor
EnvironmentControls.PNG

TRS19 (all editions) has an additional control that adjusts the lighting level, as shown below
EnvironmentControlsTS19.PNG

  Top Next Up Next Down Bottom

Lighting

DotPoint.JPG The Lighting Tools control the ambient, sun and water colours. This tool tab is opened by default whenever the Environmental Editor is opened

Light and Time

DotPoint.JPG The dial shown is a 24 hour clock that sets the lighting conditions at selected times of the day and night
EnvironmentLighting.PNG
EnvironmentCycle.PNG

The Diurnal Cycle
Steps.PNG Steps:
  • Click the Diurnal Cycle button to set the clock running through the full 24 hour cycle in just 30 seconds
  • Click it again to stop the cycle

The scene shown in Surveyor will display the lighting conditions that correspond to the time on the clock as the hand sweeps around.

The Time of Day

DotPoint.JPG You can select a specific time by dragging the clock pointer arm to the corresponding position on the clock dial.
EnvironmentSetDial.PNG The scene shown in Surveyor will display the lighting conditions that correspond to the time shown on the clock

Setting the Lighting Conditions

Colour Control Points

The ring around the dial contains a number of green dots.

DotPoint.JPG Each dot is a Control Point that sets the specific Red, Green and Blue colour values, and other lighting features, at the time shown on the clock


EnvironmentSelectPoint.PNG
Steps.PNG Steps:
  • Select, by clicking, one of the green points around the ring
  • The clock dial will immediately point to the selected dot and time

The control point will be highlighted and the RGB Wheels will display one set of Red Green and Blue values that have been set at that point

EnvironmentShowRGB.PNG


DotPoint.JPG Each colour value can be altered by dragging its needle point to a new position around the dial. Each new position will change the balance between the 3 colours and will alter the lighting displayed in the scene at that particular time.

Types of Lighting

NotePad.PNG Notes:

Each control point stores the RGB values for three different types of lighting in the scene.

  • The Ambient Colour which is the directional lighting and mostly affects the hue of buildings and other scenery objects
  • The Sun Colour which affects the colour of the sunlight and mostly affects the hue of the terrain
  • The Water Colour which affects the colours reflected by water surfaces

The 3 boxes below the colour wheels and next to the Sky box show the colour effects created for each type of lighting at the selected time.

Ambient Colour

EnvironmentAmbientColour.PNG
Steps.PNG Steps:
  • Click on the top box of the three. This is the Ambient Colour
  • The dials will show the RGB values for the Ambient Colour at the selected time
  • The Ambient color preview box will show the colour produced by the RGB settings
  • You can then change the RGB settings for the Ambient Colour

Sun Colour

EnvironmentSunColour.PNG
Steps.PNG Steps:
  • Click on the middle box of the three. This is the Sun Colour
  • The dials will show the RGB values for the Sun Colour at the selected time
  • The Sun color preview box will show the colour produced by the RGB settings
  • You can then change the RGB settings for the Sun Colour

Water Colour

EnvironmentWaterColour.PNG
Stop.PNG Water Colour values set for one control point become the values for ALL the control points
Steps.PNG Steps:
  • Click on the bottom box of the three. This is the Water Colour
  • The dials will show the RGB values for the Water Colour
  • The Water color preview box will show the colour produced by the RGB settings
  • You can then change the RGB settings for the Water Colour

Mixing Colours

NotePad.PNG Getting the "right colours" can be more of an art than a science. To set the exact colour you want means mixing the correct quantities of Red, Green and Blue. Each of these colours has 256 different values from 0 to 255 that, when combined, produce over 16 million different possible colours - but many monitors and most eyeballs will not be able to tell the differences between many of those 16 million colours.


PencilTips.PNG Setting all three colours to the same values will produce monotones from Black to White with 254 different shades of gray between those two tones.

DotPoint.JPG You can quickly set all three dials to the exact same value by holding down the Shift key as you click on a dial position on any one of the three dials.


Note that in the examples below, the "tyre" around each dial shows the exact quantity of colour that is being added.
R = 0; G = 0; B = 0 R = 128; G = 128; B = 128 R = 255; G = 255; B = 255
EnvironmentAmbientColour01.PNG EnvironmentAmbientColour02.PNG EnvironmentAmbientColour03.PNG
Black 50% Gray White
All other colours are made by mixing different quantities of the three colours.
DotPoint.JPG Setting both the Ambient and Sun colours to different shades of grey, as shown in the example below, can solve many brightness issues.
NotePad.PNG Example 1: Setting Greys Scale Values for the Ambient and Sun Colours
This is an example only
Time 06:00 07:00 10:00 12:00 18:00

Ambient

Sun		 Environment0600.png Environment0700.png Environment1000.png Environment1200.png Environment1800.png
RGB values (all dials set equally)
Ambient
Sun

128

160

192

192

224

224

255

224

128

192
Brightness (TRS19/Trainz Plus) 40% 50% 50% 50% 40%


NotePad.PNG Example 2: Setting a Water Colour
Creating a colour suitable for water (RGB values are approximate)
BlueMix01.PNG Starting with pure Blue
R = 0; G = 0; B = 255
BlueMix02.PNG Add pure Green to make the colour Cyan
R = 0; G = 255; B = 255
BlueMix03.PNG Scale back (darken) the Green
R = 0; G = 155; B = 255
BlueMix04.PNG Scale back a bit more
R = 0; G = 128; B = 255
BlueMix05.PNG Add some Red
R = 75; G = 128; B = 255


TRS19/Trainz Plus Lighting Level Control

TRS19 (all editions) and Trainz Plus users have an additional control that is placed next to the Ambient, Sun and Water colour boxes. This sets the overall brightness or lighting level for each control point.

EnvironmentControlsTS19.PNG

Steps.PNG Steps:

Select a control point, then:-

  • Move the slider to the BOTTOM to give maximum brightness level
  • Move the slider to the TOP to give minimum brightness level
  • Move the slider to a point in between these two positions for an intermediate lighting level

Repeat for each control point as required.


Resetting the Lighting Conditions

DotPoint.JPG All the lighting colour settings can be reset back to the Trainz default colours.


EnvironmentReset.PNG
Steps.PNG Steps:
  • Click the Color Reset button, then either:-
    • Click the Tick.PNG icon to accept the reset, or
    • Click the Cross.PNG icon to reject the reset


Adding a New Control Point

DotPoint.JPG New control points can be added to the clock dial
EnvironmentAddControlPoint.PNG
Steps.PNG Steps:
  1. Click the Add button EnvironmentAddPointButton.PNG
  2. Click on the ring at the place where the new control point is to be located
NotePad.PNG The Add button will remain active (selected) until it is deactivated so clicking on the ring again will add another control point. The button can be deactivated by clicking on it or by selecting another button


NotePad.PNG Notes:

During the running of a Session the lighting will "morph" or "transform" at a steady rate from the set of colour values at one control point to the set of colour values at the next control point. Click the Diurnal Cycle button for a demonstration.

  • If the control points are far apart then the transition will be gradual
  • If the control points are close together then the transition will be faster
  • If there are several control points grouped closely together then the transitions can be more dramatic

The places where you would need faster dramatic transitions would be at dawn (around 06:00) and dusk (around 18:00)


Deleting a Control point

DotPoint.JPG Existing control points can be deleted
EnvironmentDeletePoint.PNG
Steps.PNG Steps:
  1. Click the Delete button EnvironmentDeletePointButton.PNG
  2. Click on the control point to be deleted
NotePad.PNG The Delete button will remain active (selected) until it is deactivated so clicking on another control point will also delete that point. The button can be deactivated by clicking on it or by selecting another button


Moving a Control point

DotPoint.JPG Existing control points can be moved
EnvironmentMoveControlPoint.PNG
Steps.PNG Steps:
  1. Click the Move button EnvironmentMovePointButton.PNG
  2. Click on the control point to be moved and either:-
  • hold the mouse button down and drag the point to its new position around the ring, or
  • click on the ring at the spot where the point is to be placed
NotePad.PNG The Move button will remain active (selected) until it is deactivated so clicking again on the ring will move the selected control point again. The button can be deactivated by clicking on it or by selecting another button


The Skybox

DotPoint.JPG The Skybox sets the sky colours in three different regions of the sky at the selected time of day, as shown in the extreme example below
EnvironmentSkyColours.PNG
NotePad.PNG Each control point also stores the Skybox settings for that particular time.


Steps.PNG Steps:
  1. Select a control point for a specific time of day
  2. Click in a region of the Skybox (top, middle, bottom) - a while line or bar will appear across the selected region
  3. Set the RGB color wheels for the selected region
  4. Repeat for the other two regions and for other times of the day/night as needed


In the areas between the three regions the colours will be blended to create a smooth transition.

PencilTips.PNG Do you need an Overcast Sky for your scene?
  1. For each daylight control point set each Skybox region (top, middle, bottom) to shades of gray (see Mixing Colours above).
  2. In the Environment Tab (see below), set the Sky Type to No Cloud 01


Fog Control

DotPoint.JPG This controls the level of "fog" in the scene
Gears.PNG Settings:

EnvironmentFogSlider.PNG

  1. Select a control point for a specific time of day
  2. Move the slider to the required position
  3. Repeat for other times of the day/night as needed
NotePad.PNG Each control point also stores the Fog setting for that particular time.

Stop.PNG Increasing the fog level can also increase the brightness level (fog does scatter light). In TANE you may need to reduce the RGB levels to compensate. In TRS19/Trainz Plus you can reduce the brightness level to compensate
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Location

DotPoint.JPG The Location Tools control the geographic and date (season) data for the Route and Session
EnvironmentLocation.PNG

Set Date

The top section is a standard calendar selection tool that allows you to set the month and the day of the month. The only effect this has in Trainz is to set, with the geographic coordinates, the season of the year.

DotPoint.JPG The entered date can be saved in the Route, the Session or both depending on whether you are editing the Route or the Session
DotPoint.JPG You must make a change to an object in a Route Layer or a Session Layer for the date change to be recorded as part of the Route or the Session (or both)

If you:-

  • Load a Session into Surveyor. Change the date then select and edit a Session Layer (add, remove or move an object). Save. The new date will be stored in the Session.
  • Load a Route into Surveyor. Change the date then select and edit a Route Layer (add, remove or move an object). Save. The new date will be stored in the Route.
  • Load a Session into Surveyor. Change the date then select and edit a Route Layer (add, remove or move an object). Then select and edit a Session Layer (add, remove or move an object). Save. The new date will be stored in both the Route and the Session.


PencilTips.PNG Sick of Winter in Your Session During Winter? Want it to Always Be Summer or Spring?

Set the date to a Summer or a Spring month (or a Winter month if that is your "thing"). This will be saved when you save the Session.


DotPoint.JPG There is an order of priority with dates in Routes and Sessions
  1. If the Route and the Session are saved with different dates, then the Session date will decide the visible season.
  2. If a Session does not have a saved date, then the date saved in the Route will decide the visible season.
  3. If no date has been saved in the Route and the Session, then today's date will decide the visible season.

Set World Origin

The middle section is the World Origin Tool and sets the geographic location, including the altitude, of the route using a World Origin marker that is only visible in Surveyor.

DotPoint.JPG Setting the World Origin does NOT set regional features such as which side of the road the cars drive on. Use the Route Editor - Region setting for that
DotPoint.JPG The World Origin is always part of a Route, not part of a Session


EnvironmentOriginAdd.PNG
Steps.PNG Steps:
  1. Move the Surveyor view to the location where you want the marker to be placed
  2. Click on the Add world origin button
  3. Click the selected location in the layout to place the marker

Clicking a second time will simply move the marker

EnvironmentWorldOrigin.PNG
The World Origin marker

Once it has been placed, the marker can be moved by dragging or clicking with the mouse. After adding the marker it should be edited to add geographic data.

EnvironmentOriginGo.PNG Click the Go to world origin icon to move the Surveyor screen so that it is centred on the World Origin marker.
EnvironmentOriginEdit.PNG Click the Edit world origin icon to set or edit the World Origin data. See Editing the World Origin below.


Editing the World Origin

EnvironmentOriginEditData.PNG Enter the geographic data for the world origin.
  • Latitude and Longitude in degrees and minutes (with seconds added as the decimal fraction of the minutes - 10'30" would be entered as 10.50)
  • Hemispheres - North/South and East/West
  • Altitude in metres


DotPoint.JPG The Latitude determines the sun angle and, with the Date, the season of the year.
DotPoint.JPG Setting a high latitude value North or South will NOT change the times of sunrise or sunset. They are fixed at 06:00 and 18:00.


The Reset button sets all values to their defaults.
Click the Tick.PNG icon to accept the entered data
Click the Cross.PNG icon to reject the entered data


Deleting the World Origin

DotPoint.JPG There is no delete button for the World Origin marker, but you can still delete it
Steps.PNG Steps:
  1. Open the Objects Tool in the Surveyor screen
  2. Select the Delete tool
  3. Click on the World Origin marker


NotePad.PNG All routes MUST have a World Origin. If you delete the marker then the World Origin will be hidden and will take the default coordinates of latitude 52.45 N, longitude 13.3 E, altitude 0 metres - which places it in Berlin(??).


Traffic Control

DotPoint.JPG This tool simply turns the road traffic ON and OFF
NotePad.PNG Notes:

This road traffic tool:-

  • only works on roads that have been designed to use road traffic (not all roads support traffic)
  • does not set the road traffic characteristics - the number and types of vehicles, which side of the road is used. These features are set in the Route Editor - Region by assigning a Region to the route. Details on how to create and assign a Region asset can be found in WikiLink.PNG Create a Region Asset Wiki page


EnvironmentTrafficOn.PNG

EnvironmentTrafficOff.PNG
Gears.PNG Settings:
  • Click the car icon to enable and disable traffic
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Weather and Water

To set the water colour, refer to the PageLink.PNG Setting the Lighting Conditions section above.

EnvironmentEnvironment.PNG

Set the Sky

DotPoint.JPG This sets the basic sky and cloud characteristics
EnvironmentSkyType.PNG
Gears.PNG Settings:
  • Click the Sky Title (Cloud Cover) to select from a drop down list of sky types, or
  • Scroll through the list by using the Scroll icons

The box below the sky title will give a preview of the selected sky.

Set the Weather

DotPoint.JPG This sets some very basic weather conditions. The set conditions will be constant throughout the running of a Session.


Gears.PNG Settings:

EnvironmentWeatherType.PNG

Move the slider to set the weather between Rain and Snow


NotePad.PNG There are Session rules that also control the weather, including changeable weather conditions. Check the Trainz Wiki Session Rules list at WikiLink.PNG Session Rules - Weather


Wind Strength

DotPoint.JPG This setting only effects SpeedTrees
Gears.PNG Settings:

EnvironmentWindType.PNG
Move the slider to set the wind strength between zero (left) and maximum (right)


Set the Water Surface

DotPoint.JPG This sets the water surface effects
EnvironmentWaterType.PNG
Gears.PNG Settings:
  • Click the Water Surface to select from a drop down list of surface effects, or
  • Scroll through the list by using the Scroll icons


Set the Snow Altitude

DotPoint.JPG This sets the altitude at which objects with snow effects will display those effects. It has no effect on objects created without this feature
Gears.PNG Settings:

EnvironmentSnowAltitude.PNG

Enter the altitude, in metres, at which snow can appear.
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Trainz Wiki

TrainzWiki.png

More Tutorials and Guides to Using Trainz

This page was created by Trainz user pware in July 2018 and was last updated as shown below.

Retrieved from "https://online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/index.php?title=How_to_Use_Environment_Tools&oldid=31160"
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