How to Use Environment Tools

The information in this Wiki Page applies to TANE, TRS19, Trainz Plus and TRS22. A video tutorial specific to setting the environmental controls in TRS19, Trainz Plus and TRS22 can be found at TRS19 Environment and Lighting Tutorial

In Summary: 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 minimum snow altitude for assets that have a snow effect layer. Used with world origin altitude setting 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 (used with date to set the season of the year) and altitude (used with snowline to set snow effects) The Time of Day is set using Session rules such as Startup Option Rule and Time and Rate Rule 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 Left 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, Snow Altitude (for snow effects) and Location (World Origin) settings The dates at which the seasons change in Trainz are:- March 1st - Southern Hemisphere Fall (Autumn), Northern Hemisphere Spring July 1st - Southern Hemisphere Winter, Northern Hemisphere Summer October 1st - Southern Hemisphere Spring, Northern Hemisphere Fall (Autumn) December 1st - Southern Hemisphere Summer, Northern Hemisphere Winter

Loading and Saving Environmental Settings

	A newly created Route will have its environmental settings set to their default values
	A newly created Session will have its environmental settings set to those of the Route
	Where the Route and Session have different saved environmental settings, those in the Session will be used

In Routes
	When you create a new Route, or load an existing Route with NO saved Environmental settings, then the settings used will be the default values.
	If you change any of the Environmental settings of a Route then you must also edit the Route (e.g. change or edit a Route asset or feature) and save it for those settings to become part of the Route.
In Sessions
	When you create a new Session, or load an existing Session with NO saved Environmental settings, then the Session will use the settings that are part of the Route. These could also be the default settings.
	When you load an existing Session with saved Environmental settings, then the settings from the Session will take priority over any settings that have been saved in the Route.
	If you change any of the Environmental settings of a Session then you must also edit the Session (e.g. change or edit a Session asset or property) and save it for those settings to become part of the Session.

Because a Session can have its own environmental settings you are able to create Sessions set in different conditions - for example:- separate summer and winter sessions or for any season - see the Set Date and Set World Origin sections below an early morning winter fog Session - see the Fog Control section below a spring rain shower Session - see the Set the Weather section below a cool overcast autumn (fall) Session - see the Set the Sky section below

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 and later versions as shown below right.

In all versions select Edit Environment

This will open the Environment Properties Window as shown below.

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

TRS19 and later Trainz versions have an additional control that adjusts the lighting level, as shown below

Lighting

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

Light and Time

The dial shown is a 24 hour clock that sets the lighting conditions at selected times of the day and night

The Diurnal Cycle Steps: Left Click on the Diurnal Cycle button to set the clock running through the full 24 hour cycle in just 30 seconds Left Click on 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 You can select a specific time by dragging the clock pointer arm to the corresponding position on the clock dial. In Trainz Plus the Time of Day can be changed in Driver using the Session Options Palette 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.

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

Steps: Left Click on 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

>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

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

Steps: Left Click on the control point for the time that you want to edit Left 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 by either:- Left Click and Drag the pointers to new positions on the coloured rims of each dial, or a Left Click on a new position on the coloured rims of each dial

Sun Colour

Steps: Left Click on the control point for the time that you want to edit Left 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 by either:- Left Click and Drag the pointers to new positions on the coloured rims of each dial, or Left Click on a new position on the coloured rims of each dial

Water Colour

This Water Colour control only affects the colour of the water created using the Add Water tools (for Classic or Legacy Water) in the Topology menu (the  F1  key in Surveyor Classic). It has no effect on the colour of water created as Water Layers used in TRS19 SP4 and later versions.

Water Colour values set for one control point become the values for ALL the control points Steps:   Left Click on any time control point   Left 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 by either:- Left Click and Drag the pointers to new positions on the coloured rims of each dial, OR Left Click on a new position on the coloured rims of each dial

Water Effect Layer

In TRS19 SP4 and later a new method of adding water to a route was introduced - as an Effect Layer. The original method, now called Legacy Water, can still be used in a route but it is NOT recommended that both water methods (Legacy and Effect Layer) are used in the same route.

TRS19 SP4
The water colour for the Water Effect Layer is set by altering the colour for the Top Skybox.

Steps: To set the Water Colour in TRS19 SP4:- select a time control point for a specific time of day Left Click in the top region of the Skybox - a while line or bar will appear across the region Set the RGB color wheels for the Top Skybox region for the selected time Repeat for each time control point as required (the Water Effect Layer can have its colour changed at different times of the day/night)

See The Skybox below for more details.

Trainz Plus and TRS22

The major changes to water introduced in these versions are:-
	multiple water layers can be added to a route
	each water layer has its own colour built into its properties (i.e. not part of the Skybox colours)

Mixing Colours

Notes: 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.

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. You can quickly set all three dials to the exact same value by a  Shift  Left 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 Black 50% Gray White All other colours are made by mixing different quantities of the three colours.

Example  1:  Setting Grey Scale Values for the Ambient and Sun Colours This is an example only Setting both the Ambient and Sun colours to different shades of grey, as shown in the example below, can solve many brightness issues. Time 06:00 07:00 10:00 12:00 18:00 Ambient Sun RGB values (all 3 RGB dials set equally) Ambient 128 192 224 255 128 Sun 160 192 224 224 192 Brightness (TRS19/Trainz Plus/TRS22) 40% 50% 50% 50% 40%

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

TRS19/Trainz Plus/TRS22 Lighting Level Control

In TRS19 and later Trainz versions 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.

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

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

Steps: Left Click on the Color Reset button, then either:- Left Click on the icon to accept the reset, or Left Click on the icon to reject the reset

Adding a New Control Point

New control points can be added to the clock dial

	Steps: Left Click on the Add button Left Click on the ring at the place where the new control point is to be located Notes: the Add button will remain active (selected) until it is deactivated so each Left Click on the ring will add another control point. The button can be deactivated by a Left Click on it again or by selecting another button.

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. Left Click on 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

Existing control points can be deleted

	Steps: Left Click on the Delete button Left Click on the control point to be deleted Notes: the Delete button will remain active (selected) until it is deactivated so each Left Click can delete another control point. The button can be deactivated by a Left Click on it again or by selecting another button.

Moving a Control point

>Existing control points can be moved

Steps: Left Click on the Move button Left Click on the control point to be moved and either:- Left Click and Drag the point to its new position around the ring, or Left Click on the ring at the spot where the point is to be placed Notes: the Move button will remain active (selected) until it is deactivated so each Left Click and Drag can move another control point. The button can be deactivated by a Left Click on it again or by selecting another button.

The Skybox

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

Note: Each control point also stores the Skybox settings for that particular time Steps: Select a control point for a specific time of day Left Click in a region of the Skybox (top, middle, bottom) - a while line or bar will appear across the selected region Set the RGB color wheels for the selected region 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. The Top Skybox region will set the colour for the Water Effect Layer which is available in TRS19 SP4 and later versions.

Do you need an Overcast Sky for your scene? Steps: To create an overcast sky:- for each daylight control point set each Skybox region (top, middle, bottom) to shades of gray (see Mixing Colours above). in the Environment Tab (see below), set the Sky Type to No Cloud 01 Note: This will not remove or hide the sun.

Fog Control

This controls the level of "fog" in the scene

Settings: Select a control point for a specific time of day Move the slider to the required position Repeat for other times of the day/night as needed

Note: Each control point also stores the Fog settings for that particular time Increasing the fog level can also increase the brightness level (real fog does scatter light causing the background to appear brighter). In TANE you may need to reduce the RGB levels to compensate. In TRS19/Trainz Plus/TRS22 you can reduce the Brightness level to compensate.

Location

The Location Tools control the geographic and date (season) data for the Route and Session. Left Click on the Location tab icon to open the Location Tool Controls

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. Settings: Set the Month by scrolling left or right through the 12 month calendar Set the Day (if required) by a Left Click on the date in the selected month Notes: It is possible to set a particular Year by scrolling through all the 12 month calendars to reach the required year BUT this will have no effect on the operation of the Route or Session. Setting the year to 1900, for example, will not recreate an early 20th Century railroad. Time periods have to be recreated by carefully selecting scenery and rolling stock assets that belong to that particular time period. The entered date can be saved in the Route, the Session or both depending on whether you are editing the Route or the Session or both 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)

Sick of it always being winter in your Session during winter? Want it to always be summer instead? Set the date to a Summer month. This will be saved when you edit and save the Session BUT make sure that you have set the World Origin to the correct hemiphere. In Trainz Plus the date and therefore the Season can also be changed in Driver using the Session Options Palette

To Set The Route Date:  Load a Route into Surveyor Change the date Edit the Route (e.g. edit a Route Layer object or the terrain) Save the Route  To Set The Session Date:  Load a Session into Surveyor Change the date Edit the Session (e.g. edit a Session Layer object, a commodity item or Session Rule) Save the Session  To Set Both The Route and Session Dates:  Load a Session into Surveyor Change the date Edit both the Route and the Session Save both the Route and the Session

Notes: There is an order of priority with dates in Routes and Sessions If the Route and the Session are saved with different dates, then the Session date will decide the visible season. If a Session does not have a saved date, then the Route date will decide the visible season. If no date has been saved in the Route and the Session, then today's date will decide the visible season. This order of priority also applies to all Environmental Settings except the World Origin which only applies to a Route.

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.

	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
	The World Origin is always part of a Route, not part of a Session

Steps: Move the Surveyor view to the location where you want the marker to be placed Left Click on the Add world origin button Left Click the selected location in the layout to place the marker Another Left Click will simply move the marker again

The World Origin marker

Once it has been placed, the marker can be moved by a Left Click and Drag or a Left Click. After adding the marker it should be edited to add geographic data.

Left Click on the Go to world origin icon to move the Surveyor screen so that it is centred on the World Origin marker.

Left Click on the Edit world origin icon to set or edit the World Origin data. See Editing the World Origin below.

Editing the World Origin

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. The North/South setting along with the Date will set the season of the year Altitude in metres. This, with the Snowline setting, will affect the appearance of assets that have a snow effect layer The Latitude determines the sun angle and, with the Date, the season of the year. 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. Left Click on the icon to accept the entered data Left Click on the icon to reject the entered data

Deleting the World Origin

There is no delete button for the World Origin marker, but you can still delete it

Steps: Open the Objects Tool in the Surveyor screen Select the Delete tool Left Click on the World Origin marker

Notes: 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

This tool simply turns the road traffic ON and OFF

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 the  Create a Region Asset Wiki page

Settings: Left Click on the car icon to enable and disable traffic

Weather and Water

	The Weather and Water Tools control the weather (sky, weather type, wind, snow) and water surface data for the Route and Session. Left Click on the Weather and Water tab icon to open the Weather and Water Tool Controls
	To set the Water Colour, refer to the Setting the Lighting Conditions section above

Set the Sky This sets the basic sky and cloud characteristics Settings: Left Click on 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 This sets some very basic weather conditions. The set conditions will be constant throughout the running of a Session. Settings: Move the slider to set the weather between Rain and Snow Notes: There are Session Rules that also control the weather, including changeable weather conditions. Check the Trainz Wiki Session Rules list at Session Rules - Weather In Trainz Plus the weather can also be changed in Driver using the Session Options Palette

Wind Strength

This setting only effects SpeedTrees

	Settings: Move the slider to set the wind strength between zero (left) and maximum (right)

Set the Water Surface

This sets the water surface effects for Legacy Water only. It does not apply to Water Effect Layers

Settings: Left Click on 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

This sets the altitude at which objects built with snow effects will display snow. It has no effect on objects created without this feature

Settings: Enter the altitude, in metres, at which snow can appear.

Notes: The snow effects will only appear if the altitude of the terrain is at or above the snow altitude Only those assets that were created with a snow layer will be affected by this setting

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Trainz Wiki

More Tutorials and Guides to Using Trainz How to Guides Driver Commands List Session Rules List (Alphabetical) with Parameters Session Rules List (Categories) With Parameters

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

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