1. Viewing errors

To view errors in an item select the item and right click. In the context menu you will see the entry "View Errors" select it and the "Results" window will appear showing all errors in the asset. If the entry is not selectable then there are no errors in the content.

2. Editing and Committing

In order to "repair" an item we need to open it in explorer or CCP or both. To edit an asset using either method we need to right click on the asset and expand the "Edit" entry and then select either "Edit in Explorer" or "Edit in Content Creator Plus". If you select "Edit in Content Creator Plus" and the item is a pre TRS2006 item (builds less than 2.5) then CCP will ask to upgrade the config file. Select "Yes" and CCP will open the assets config. NOTE: By clicking "Yes" you may actually break the asset even further and you may need to edit the assets config in a text editor.

Once we are finished editing an asset and we want to see if any changes have fixed the asset without starting TRS2006 right click on the asset and expand the "Edit" entry and then select either "Commit" this adds the asset to the database and allows the error checking to be reset.

Figure 2 Editing options

Figure 3 Upgrade config message

Back to chapter list

3. What are tags

In this tutorial there will be numerous references to a "tag". What is a tag? Tag is the term given to a config entry and value. In figure 4 you will see a screen shot of several tags. The first tag is called the "mesh" which states the path to the mesh for this effect. The second tag specifies that the effect has animation associated with it. By right clicking on the parent container you will be able to see what tags are available for addition. In figure 4 I have opened the config in a text editor and you will see the comparison between the two systems.

4. What are containers

In this tutorial there will be numerous references to a "container". What is a container? Container is the term given to a config group that in turn can contain either more containers or tags. In figure 8 you will see a screen shot of several containers. The first container is called the "mesh-table" which in turn has another container called "default" within. Inside the "default" container is yet another container called "effects" and with the effects container are several more containers. Each container may or may not have individual tags included. By right clicking on the parent container you will be able to see what containers and tags are available for addition. In figure 7 and 9 I have opened the config in a text editor and you will see the comparison between the two systems. In figure 7 you will notice the opening { and closing } these are what defines a container.

Figure 6 Single container

Figure 7 Text view of single container shown in figure 4

Figure 8 Container sample

Figure 9 Text view of containers shown in figure 6

Back to chapter list

5. Adding containers and or tags

In this tutorial there will be numerous times where a new container or new tag needs to be added to correct content. To add a container right click on the parent container and select a suitable container from the list above the separator line in the context menu . Some containers are re nameable and some are not. To add a config the process is the same however the tags are located below the separator line. Generally tags are not re namable with the exception of tags placed within the extensions container. NOTE: Not all tags have an effect on the item.

6. Deleting containers and or tags

The procedure to remove a container or tag is very simple. For containers right click on the container and select "Remove" from the context menu. For tags simply click on the "delete" button and the tag will be removed.

Figure 14 Removing a container

Figure 15 Tag delete button

Back to chapter list

7. Types of errors

There are many errors that can be reported back in by CMP. Listed here are some of the more common ones and as more are found and reported to me I will expand the list.

Text in Blue is for display purposes only and will be different in each individual error message.

Yellow warning type errors

Compulsory tag 'tag-name' was missing and has been set to default

'Value' is not a valid value for tag 'tag-name'. This tag is now empty and a new value must be selected

Texture 'path-and-texture-name' is missing or could not be loaded for mesh 'mesh-name'. Make sure the file is present in the working directory.

The kuid '<kuid:####:#####>' is not in the database, ensure that this is a valid asset.

Tag 'tag-name' has been obsoleted in TRS2006.

Red X type errors

The tag 'tag-name' in not permitted within this container (Container type 'asset-type')

Attachment point 'att-point-name' must be found in mesh 'mesh-name'

Could not load texture 'path-and-texture-name'

No selection for tag 'tag-name' in 'asset-type'

The primary and alpha textures are not the same size for 'path-and-texture-name'

The texture 'path-and-texture-name' is not a power of 2, please resize it.

The folder of your config file contains a binary version of the texture 'path-and-texture-name', which is no longer supported. Please delete the .texture and keep the .texture.txt present.

MeshData::Init() Unable to load indexed mesh 'mesh-name'

The texture 'path-and-texture-name' failed to load.

The tag 'tag-name' in 'container-name' must have a mesh file extension

Unable to load animation file 'file-name' (no resource)

The asset specified in 'container-name' is not of the correct type.

MeshData::DatabaseLoad - cannot load mesh 'mesh-name'

Progressive meshes are no longer supported by CCP. Though these meshes may work in Trainz, it is recommended that you switch to a LOD mesh.

The selected attachment point must belong to the parent mesh of the effect.

Yellow warning type errors

Compulsory tag 'tag-name' was missing and has been set to default

This error refers to a tag that is required for the asset to function correctly that is either not present or not in the correct location. To correct the error the tag needs to have a value set in CCP or in a text editor. If the tag is already present but in the wrong location then it will need to be moved to the correct location.

'Value' is not a valid value for tag 'tag-name'. This tag is now empty and a new value must be selected

This error is caused by an invalid value. For example using USA as a category-region when the correct value is US. There are many values that can be incorrectly entered that will give this error.

Texture 'path-and-texture-name' is missing or could not be loaded for mesh 'mesh-name'. Make sure the file is present in the working directory.

This error refers to a texture that is referenced by the mesh but is not present in the directory. It may not be possible to fix this error if the textures referenced cannot be sourced anywhere. It may be possible to create dummy textures to substitute for the original but this may not look correct in TRS2006.

The kuid '<kuid:####:#####>' is not in the database, ensure that this is a valid asset.

This error refers to a dependency that is not in the CMP database of available kuids. This error can be caused by incorrectly entered kuids in the config or it can be caused by content that is downloadable from alternate sources aside from the DLS. To fix this error you either need to find the missing content or change the kuid entry in the config.

Tag 'tag-name' has been obsoleted in TRS2006.

This error refers to a tag that was available for use in previous versions of Trainz but is no longer valid in TRS2006. This is a rare type of error and usually refers to pre TRS2004 type content. The tag can usually be deleted without any side effects.

Red X type errors

The tag 'tag-name' in not permitted within this container (Container type 'asset-type')

This error refers to tags that are not recognized by CMP or tags that are in the wrong location. This error will sometimes be associated with 6a. If the asset uses a custom tag that is referenced by a script then it must not be changed or moved in any way as it will cause the script to fail. If the error refers to a "recognized" tag that is in the wrong location then simply moving it to the correct location will fix the error. To find out where the correct location is try right clicking on a container in CCP and see if the tag is listed in the available tags.

Attachment point 'att-point-name' must be found in mesh 'mesh-name'

This error refers to an effect that is set to appear at an attachment point that does not exist. There are two things that can cause this error. The first is the attachment point does not exist in the mesh and the second is a spelling error in the att tag.

Could not load texture 'path-and-texture-name'

This error refers to a texture that is either not present, corrupt or un useable in some way. To correct these type of errors, try moving the .texture.txt file that references the missing texture to another directory. If this corrects the error but causes the asset to be completely or partially white when viewed in TRS2006 then the texture is actually required. Move the texture.txt file back and check the referenced texture is actually present and not saved as a compressed image.

No selection for tag 'tag-name' in 'asset-type'

This error could be caused by a tag that has been added automatically by CMP or it could be caused by an invalid value that was deleted by CMP. To fix this error you need to enter or select a valid value for the specific tag. For this type of error a predefined list of values will usually be available for the specific tag.

The primary and alpha textures are not the same size for 'path-and-texture-name'

This error can be deceiving in that if a texture.txt references an alpha channel in an image and the image can not be found then it will report that the primary and alpha textures are not the same size when in actuality they do not exist. However sometimes this will also be a valid error if a separate texture is used for an alpha channel and they are not the same size or if an image lacks a specified alpha channel. To fix this error will depend on what textures are present. If there are none present then simply deleting the texture.txt file may fix the error. If there is a texture present that is named in the texture.txt file then check that the referenced alpha channel texture is present and is the same size as the main texture. If the texture.txt file references the same texture for both the "primary" and "alpha" textures then it may not contain the alpha channel. Try removing the reference to the alpha channel in the texture.txt file.

The texture 'path-and-texture-name' is not a power of 2, please resize it.

This error is in reference to the pixel dimensions of the texture. If it is not a value that is a power of 2 such as 512 x 512 or 512 x 1024 then it will not load in TRS2006 and the asset will appear white. For more information about powers of 2 click here If the image does not match the correct dimensions then it will need to be resized to an appropriate size.

The folder of your config file contains a binary version of the texture 'path-and-texture-name', which is no longer supported. Please delete the .texture and keep the .texture.txt present.

This error refers to a method used in early Trainz versions to protect a texture from being viewed outside of Trainz. Basically the texture was converted or encrypted into a format that is unreadable by anything except Trainz. Although the error message says to delete the .texture file and keep the .texture.txt, the actual solution to this error is to delete the texture.txt file and keep the .texture file.

MeshData::Init() Unable to load indexed mesh 'mesh-name'

This error refers to a problem with a mesh file mentioned in an LOD setup. The mesh could be corrupted or have different attachment points in the mesh. It may also have the attachment points located in a different location in each mesh. The only way to fix this problem properly is for the original creator to repair the meshes or change/add the attachment points. A workaround is to change the reference to the lm.txt to the name of one of the meshes. NOTE; If the main mesh is extremely high polygon then it may cause reduced frame rates.

The texture 'path-and-texture-name' failed to load.

This error can be caused by either a corrupted texture or a texture that is saved in an incorrect format. Tga files for example must be saved as uncompressed. To correct this error you need to either convert the texture to an uncompressed format or supply an uncorrupted texture. Sometimes a corrupted texture will load in a paint program and can be re saved from there.

The tag 'tag-name' in 'container-name' must have a mesh file extension

This error is caused by a file path having an incorrect file extension. For example a mesh file must have an .im extension and if CCP is used to navigate to a .lm.txt file then the error will occur. As CCP does not allow hand typing of some config entries the only way to correct this error is to open the config in a text editor and change or remove the offending extension.

Unable to load animation file 'file-name' (no resource)

This error can occur in two different scenarios. The first is an animation is specified in an effect but cannot be found and the second is an effect requires an animation file by default. If the animation is present but the path or filename for it is incorrect then it can be corrected using CCP however if the mesh is required by default but has been omitted entirely then only the original creator can correct this error. It may be possible to delete the entry however this may still cause further errors in CCP/CMP.

The asset specified in 'container-name' is not of the correct type.

This error can be caused by the use of an incorrect kind for an attachment or the wrong type of product for a queue. For example an interior asset specified in a loco config as a bogey. To correct the error you need to either delete the entry altogether or change the reference to the correct kind/type of asset/product.

MeshData::DatabaseLoad - cannot load mesh 'mesh-name'

This error refers to "illegal" characters in a mesh name. Unfortunately as CMP does not recognize illegal characters in a file name it simply deletes the file. The only methods to fix these errors is to a) download the asset to TRS2004 and repair the error there and then import into TRS2006 or b)wait for the original creator to update the item.

Back to chapter list

Was this tutorial helpful? Not enough or too much detail? Points not explained properly? Suggest any improvements? Please use the Tutorial Enquiry Form

>

Trainz and Trainz Railroad Simulator are trademarks of Auran

Best viewed at 1024 x 768 or higher

Pages best viewed with Cooper and Cooper Black font installed.