Color effect layer

The Color Effect Layer is an Effect Layer type which is used to add colour tinting to areas of ground texture. The Color Effect Layer is only available to Trainz Plus subscribers.

Surveyor Configuration

In Surveyor, effect layers are added and configured using the Effect Layers dialog. Once added to the Route, the effect itself is "painted" onto the world using the Brush tool. Below is a detailed breakdown of the editable fields for a color effect layer.

name

The name of this effect layer. This is used for display and identification purposes only, and has no effect on use or visuals.

default value

The values for the Red, Green and Blue components of the default colour tint for the layer. Each is a value from 0.000 (off) to 1.000 (full on). Grey scale tints are created by entering the same value (e.g. 0.500) for all three colours.

The tint produced by these values is shown in the colour display box on the right.

Use in Surveyor

You can only have a single Color Effect Layer in a route but, through the Tool Options Palette, it can be given different colours in different locations.

Create a Color Effect Layer

If you don't already have a color effect layer then you can create one by using any one of three different methods:-

• the Layers Palette, or
• the Surveyor main Edit Menu or
• the Brush Tool target box

Layers Palette	Click on the  +  icon next to the label Effect Layers
Surveyor Edit Menu	Click on the  Edit Effect Layers...  option
Brush Tool Target	Click on the  Edit Effect Layers...  option

Each method will open and display the New Effect Layer dialogue

Enter a name in the Effect Name text box. This allows it to be easily identified in the various tools and palettes. Click on the Effect Type drop down box and select the option Color. If the option Color is greyed out then a color effect layer has already been created. Click the icon to create the new effect layer. If required configure the settings for the color effect layer as described in the section Surveyor Configuration above. In the majority of cases you will probably leave these settings at their default values.

Use the Color Effect Layer

You can select the Color Effect Layer by one of two methods:-

• From the Layers Palette
  1. select the color effect layer name. This will also select the Brush tool and set it to paint with the selected effect layer.

• From the Tools Palette
  1. select the Brush Tool
  2. from the brush target dropdown box select the color effect layer name.