BuilderHelpEn

Quick Notes

The Editor is still in the process of implementation and refinement. There will be bugs, there will be odd behaviours, and there may be missing features. If you encounter any of those, please post on the Forums and we�ll see what we can do. Because the Editor is still being worked on, things can change with no warning. We�ll try to make major changes as painless as possible.

Controls

The Basics

World Camera mode	Freefly Camera mode	Recall to origin/recall point	Save new recall point
Hide GUI and helpers	Take a screenshot	Hold to select multiple objects	Delete selected object/group

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Camera Controls

In the editor there are three camera modes:

World camera mode – the camera moves around the world at a fixed height and orientation, which you can change. In this mode, the mouse has no effect on the camera.

Freefly camera mode – your typical freefly camera.

Object camera mode – only shows up when you have an object selected. The camera moves relative to the selected object. Hold down the right-click button when using your mouse.

All three camera modes use the same controls, but the behaviour is slightly different. Additionally,there is a slider at the bottom right of the screen which you can use to control your camera speed.

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Additional Keyboard Shortcuts

+

A picture of the G key

Group/Ungroup selected objects.

+

Quick save.

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Tools

General Tools

Go into select mode to select specific objects

Toggle on delete mode to quickly deleting items

Toggle snapping on/off

Toggle axis/orientation markers on/off

Toggle terrain auto-refresh on/off

Lock/unlock specific layers

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Object Tools

Sets random rotation for selected object

Rotate object by 180^o

Shows selected object within group. Can also be used to select another object

Locks an object

Move the object around freely

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Laying Tracks

Getting Started

In Train Driver 2 the main way you place tracks is with connection points. There are two different connection points: standard connection points and route connection points.

Standard Connector

Route Connector

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Standard Connectors

These connectors are used for placing all the tracks around your station. When you place them in the station, they are simply a point with a direction. The arrow indicates which direction child track pieces will go in. To place tracks, select �Place� and select what kind of track you�d like to place.

Track Piece Types

Straight Tracks

Curved Tracks

Y Switches

X Switches

Auto-Tracks

Delete Node

Edit Node

Convert to Route Connector

It�s pretty straightforward what all these types (and sub-types), but take some time to familiarise yourself with the options.

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Auto Tracks

Auto tracks are one of the most commonly used tools in the editor. They are also one of the most programmatically complex tools, and is rather experimental. Selecting auto tracks on a node will generate a new standard connector node, which is in free movement mode. You can move this new node wherever you like and the indicator will be red when the track is not valid, and will change to blue when it is. You can also connect two segments of track using this tool.

Invalid tracks

Valid Tracks

Connect two segments of track with Auto-tracks

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Route Connectors

These connectors are used to place the entry and exit points to your station. Make sure they are connected to the rest of your tracks before you go to Dispatcher Mode, otherwise someone might crash. Route connectors behave a bit differently from standard connectors.

For starters, they can generate additional scenery (currently only forest), which can�t be edited. They don�t count as standard connectors, and you must generate at least one segment in order to be able to connect the route to the rest of your station. To select the internal standard connectors, simply click on the buttons which appear under the name when you generate the first segment.

Inside the Route node, you can find options for generating the route scenery, including the number of tracks (currently max. 2), their offset and whether the route is plain or forested. If you need to change the position and orientation of the node, it must have no generated scenery. You can remove the last generated segment of the route by clicking �Remove Last�.

A plain Route Connector

A Route Connector with generated forest

A picture of a video game

Connect the Route to the rest of your station

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Advanced Tools

Still being implemented :)

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Wrangling the Catenary

Getting Started

The catenary is what powers your electric trains (like the EU07). You can find the Catenary objects here:

Catenary Objects

There are three sub categories within Catenary

Posts and Struts

an icon for catenary signs Catenary signs

an icon for misc catenary objects Misc Catenary objects

The objects you�ll be using the most are dynamic_wires2, as these will generate wires as you place the posts. Typically the wires zig-zag, but you have the option to disable them (e.g. for curved tracks). Signs and misc catenary objects will snap to the posts as long as snapping is enabled.

Dynamic_wires2 automatically generating wires

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Catenary Conventions

There are some basic rules which you should follow in order to build awesome, realistic stations:

• Catenary posts should be approximately 70m apart. On curves, they should be more bunched so that the wires are always over the tracks.
• The ruler at the bottom of the screen will tell you how far from the selected object the mouse cursor is
• The catenary wires should not zig-zag on curves
• The exact formula for how far apart they should be on curves is:

lengthOfCatenarySegment = 2 * sqrt(offset * (2radius+offset));

Below is an example of some curve radii and how far apart the catenary posts should be in that case:

Radius (m)	150	180	200	250	300	350	400	500	600	700	800	1000	1200	1500	1800	2000
Distance (m)	22	24	25	28	31	33	36	40	44	47	51	57	61	69	75	80

The catenary signs are used in specific places, and are placed as following:

Sign	Position	Meaning
We1	500m before We2	Slow to 60 km/h and prepare to lower pantographs
We2	100m before the driver should lower their pantographs	Lower your pantographs
We3	200m after the point drivers can raise their pantographs safely	Raise your pantographs
We4	Before the end of an electrified line	No entry for electric locomotives
We8	30m before the beginning of a catenary block	Draw no power
We9	200m after the point where drivers can safely begin drawing power again	Safe to resume drawing power

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Decorating your Station

Placing and Moving Objects

Simply select the object you wish to place, then click on the map where you want it. You can move objects around using the object panel on the left side of the screen. Rotation works the same way, but you can�t move an object and rotate it at the same time. You can also use the free movement tool. The object will stay on the ground and follow the cursor position.

The Object Panel

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Object Types

Standard Objects

Standard objects are pretty much like most objects in most editors. They have a single model, which you can move around, and that�s about it.

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Compound Objects

Compound objects are like standard objects, but they have additional options available that standard ones don�t. For example, a digger might have only one model or texture, a cat might have different textures available, or the rail crossing sign, might have additional arms or bells.
The first compound object you are likely to come across are the tracks themselves, where you can change the ballast, sleeper type and rail texture.

Cats are compound objects, and have different fur colours and animations

The tracks have different ballasts, sleeper type and rail texture

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Sculpting the Terrain

Terrain Editing in TD2 is the most eclectic part of the editor, and is still subject to change. The terrain is handled using TerrainPoints, which you can place and move around to raise or lower parts of the landscape. TerrainPoint are found in the Terrain tab.

Terrain tab

There are three main types of TerrainPoints in Train Driver 2:

Red TerrainPoints Automatically generated by objects when you select the Affect Terrain checkbox. These ones cannot be generated any other way, and will update when you move the object they are attached to.

Orange TerrainPoints These are the main points in the Terrain tab. You move and place them like standard objects.

Purple TerrainPoints These are special terrain points which are used in groups.

Red TerrainPoint

Red TerrainPoint

Orange TerrainPoint

Purple TerrainPoint

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Terrain Groups

You can edit whole groups of TerrainPoints at once using Terrain groups. To create a group, you need to place one of the purple TerrainPoints. This TerrainPoint is larger than the others and has a spike on top. This is the central point of your group. Moving this point will move all the points in the group at once. You can spawn the smaller points from the central one. These can be moved individually by clicking on the pencil icon next to the selected object in the group�s object list.

An example of a Terrain group

The smaller purple TerrainPoints have an arrow which initially points toward the central one. This arrow indicates the �inside� of the group. This is useful for changing the texture of the groups. The top box is the outside of the group, and the lower one is the inside.

Use the group to change a patch of ground

There are other kinds of TerrainPoint groups coming, watch this space!

Thanks for reading this manual, I hope this helps!

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