The beauty is in the detail

Something which makes the best MSTS routes stand out is an enhanced level of detail. Examples which stand out are the group of 'the railway children' waving at the level crossing in the Steyning route; platform markers in Dorset Coast; AWS ramps in Great Eastern; and the plethora of flora in the GWR/Toddington route. Though I'm less familiar with non-UK routes, some of those I've looked at are outstanding in this respect.

Details like this - and I've picked only a tiny selection - set a benchmark for other routes in terms of quality, and of course they also enhance the player experience. Subconsciously I've been striving to attain a similar level in at least two ways: (i) by creating custom objects based on the prototypes which per se look more realistic, and (ii) by adding extra objects which are not essential to the driving experience. An example of each can be found in the Oxford stabling sidings: (i) a custom set of floodlights based on the originals, rather than freeware stock items I've downloaded; and (ii) a set of bins used for cleaning out the Turbos stabled there (I'm not sure what their official name is - drop me a line if you know!). Using Mosaic to create custom textures to blend the ballast with the surrounding grass terrain is in my opinion critical to improving the look.

So in this post I've provided a couple of shots of the yard. At the top is 66504 powering south with a Freightliner service, with a handful of First Group rolling stock stabled in the sidings. And just below is a ground-level shot taken a couple of seconds later, with the shunters' cabin in the left foreground.

By contrast, Oxford station itself (below) - although almost complete structurally, is lacking in the sort of detail which will make it come alive. There's a solitary passenger on the footbridge but no nameplates and minimal station clutter. I sense that adding this could be a never-ending project, so the trick will be to work out when to stop...

Locomotion in motion picture

Good news with which to kick off 2008: the route is continuing, despite silence on the blog for nearly two months. Responsibilities of life (that's family and work) have prevented me from reporting very much, but now and again I've had an opportunity to add a little bit here and there to the route.

Notable among the projects completed or on which progress has been made:

• the rebuilding of Appleford station following a site visit on a wet and windy Saturday morning.
• the rebuilding of Oxford station from platform level up. I've used Google Earth to scale the buildings correctly, and have also improved textures and added features to bring the model into line with more recently-built stations, to give a level of consistency.
• realignment of trackwork at Oxford station to enable signals to be placed correctly.
• addition of an assortment of other custom objects. Well over 150 custom objects have been created so far, from entire stations to bridges and speed restriction signs.
  

Just to prove that the route is very much alive and kicking, I've been playing around with Fraps tonight to create a 'movie' showing off parts of the route. It seems to be fashionable at the moment to create videos of your sim activities - I've seen some very impressive ones and, if done well, they are useful for providing demos of routes and rolling stock. I'm not sure that this video is particularly impressive but it's not designed as a work of art - more a means of demonstrating a few parts of the route and showing how it mirrors the real-life route. Click on the link immediately below to see the finished piece. Feedback welcome, of course - but do bear in mind that the route is still very much work in progress.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/O7MsQ0_u7U4nvLeTGNHsqw