Subject:
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Re: Train Set Design (Help?)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Sun, 28 Nov 2004 16:22:11 GMT
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Viewed:
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1396 times
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In lugnet.trains, Mike Walsh wrote:
>
> Regarding Cary's choice of implementing TrackDraw with .Net which limits its
> portability, that discussion has been rehashed several times. I will
> concede that TrackDesigner may work better under WINE on Linux. TrackDraw
> wouldn't be the first application which only ran on Windows nor will it be
> the last.
>
> What I do find somewhat surprising is how tightly many people continue to
> hold on to TrackDesigner when there is virtually ZERO chance of it ever
> being updated. I would think the Train Community would be working
> feverishly to make sure TrackDraw does everything we need it to but that
> doesn't seem to be the case.
I love TrackDraw. Every time I get a new copy of it, I marvel at how it's gotten
even better. I play with it I marvel at how great it is and at the plethora of
great features and gadgets it has. It never ceases to amaze me. Yet I still used
TrackDesigner to design the latest MichLTC layout I am straw boss for... Novi
Toy & Hobby, December 3-5 (info here: http://michlug.org/events/ )
Why? Inertia.
I keep saying "Next layout, I switch, really!". Then I get to crunch time with
the show 3 weeks away and everyone asking "where's the plan?" and I need to get
designing, and I find I want this loop from that layout and this yard from that
other layout and before I know it, the whole thing is designed in TrackDesigner,
mostly by copying and pasting smidgens of track from older layouts and then
rearranging like mad.
Cary has said he is not going to do a TrackDesigner convertor. His perogative.
But if you ask why people haven't converted, perhaps that is one reason why.
Inertia.
I would love it if some clever person did a convertor. Even a partial,
imperfect, compromise riddled one that only worked 90% of the time. (that's the
sort of thing Cary would not do, I expect, he's someone that I believe wants
everything to be perfect if it's associated with him... but he has said someone
else is very welcome to try as the data format specs for TrackDraw are open.)
Also I am not sure that people think the formats are finalised enough to where
older layouts that they do now will work next year. Are they? Is all the XML now
finalised? Or at least going to be forward compatible going forward?
If you ask why people haven't converted, perhaps that is one reason why.
Uncertainty.
Cary has implied he doesn't really care how many people adopt TrackDraw, he
wrote it for his own reasons. Again his perogative. I'm glad he did what he did,
it's a gift of love and we can't ask volunteers to do what WE want, we can only
be glad when they do what they want and it's useful to us.
But again, if you ask why people haven't converted, perhaps that is one reason
why. Lack of awareness.
It needs better PR. It needs people singing its praises and giving clinics and
making sample layouts available and lots of splash and pizazz. That's not Cary's
style. He is so self effacing, it's not funny. (some of the best programmers are
that way, you know). He needs a PR agent to say how wonderful he is. (and he is
wonderful you know!).
I'll probably get a note from Cary saying he's not happy with this post. :-)
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Train Set Design (Help?)
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| In lugnet.trains, Larry Pieniazek wrote: ... (...) I don't recall saying this -- I probably did though, I just don't remember -- but what I meant to say was "I don't know how to do a Track Designer converter". I've tried a few times to get in touch (...) (19 years ago, 29-Nov-04, to lugnet.trains)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Train Set Design (Help?)
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| "Jan-Albert van Ree" <javanree@vanree.net> wrote in message news:I7w9Iu.wuF@lugnet.com... (...) [ ... snipped ... ] (...) [ ... snipped ... ] I'd argue that what TrackDesigner provides is not really a zoom. It is simply a choice of 4 scales of (...) (19 years ago, 28-Nov-04, to lugnet.trains)
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