Dennis Lance's all new BVE site: News

Writers block!!

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 16:05:47 -0600

Seem to have had a severe bout of writers block on the Maplestead update; going nowhere fast (although rebuilding some objects has been started). Taking a break on this now but have decided to produce a Clarendon class 56 edition, updating textures and objects on the way and hopefully ending up unloading those MGR's. Early screenshot in the 'photo album'.

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 15:46:58 -0600

All downloads now consolidated; latest addition is a 144 diagram passing through a brief thundery shower ** uses 24bit backgounds **

142 diagram released

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 06:14:08 -0600

Zane has kindly provided a diagram for the excellent 142008, uploaded today. Hopefully, if I can complete my Christmas preparations on time, there will be a couple more to follow and perhaps even one for Clarendon. Work on the extension is also now well underway; first release should see a 'Speedlink' run - still a couple of months away though.

2 more diagrams included

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:08:48 -0600

Two more diagrams are now included within the route, object and sound downloads; unfortunately these are not available as separate addons so there are a lot of files to be overwritten! The latest diagrams cover the same track as previously but use the class 142 for a leisurely Sunday morning drive. The other diagram sees NSE Sunday morning services terminating at Willowbridge due to engineering work (I haven't finished coding the next section!!). The key to an on-time arrival is ** not ** to get held at the signal at the bottom of the hill leading up to Marybank.

Took a while...

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:59:27 -0600

A post on RailUK yesterday 'announcing' the Maplestead route seems to have resulted in this site exceeding the bandwidth allowance. Back now; should be diagrams featuring the class 142 'pacer' unit and class 50 available soon. Seems as if there is some confusion as to where to unzip the downloads - these need to end up YOUR normal BVE directories eg ..railway/objects/Maplestead for BVE4 etc.

Next scenario released; all stations 156

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 06:49:00 -0600

For the latest diagram, I have consolidated the objects, sounds and route files into single zip folders - unpack into the normal places and overwrite any existing files.

Work continues....

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:36:03 -0500

Progress has been delayed slightly by family concerns, but all is well now and development continues apace. The loop into the second station is now open for business, the station detailed and populated. A unit diagram stopping at all stations just needs a little more detil work to be completed before release. Further details have also been added along the route although in some locations, framerates are starting to drop. Time to start upgrading the next 20km of route!

The bl**dy Duff has failed!

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 15:56:22 -0500

Oh dear - after just a couple of turns on the Marton Flier, the Class 47 has failed. 37416 is called to the rescue, running light engine to buffer up with the coaching stock in Willowbridge siding. Some signalling delays might be expected given the previous train failure and delays to following services. This release has given an opportunity to modify a couple of the vegetation textures and also offer enhancements to the Mk1 and Mk2 coaching stock. The rear end of the Mk1 has been slightly modified to improve the close up appearance - it may not be prototypical; I was not able to find many decent reference images of these carriages. I have also added some of SMace's wheelsets; it's about time British BVE rolling stock had proper wheels! The NSE Mark 2's seen in Willowbridge yard a basically just a reskin of Anthony Bowden's original (think I got prior permission to use these in Clarendon - apologies if not). Again, proper wheels have been added. The tail lamps are seperate objects coded in .X format so they will glow in the dark, something which will come in useful for the planned twilight diagram. The next planned diagram will be for a 156, calling at all stations. Hopefully, detailing work on the stations will have progressed and some passengers have turned up. I would also expect to have something a bit more impressive than a helicopter performing at the airshow...Vulcan bomber anyone? Apologies for having to move the timetable and sound files around manually - seemed a little pointless creating a larger number of small zip files. Incidentally, it is quite straightforward to modify the train.dat file to simulate a light engine - I have improved the acceleration of 37416 by using BVE2000000 #ACCELERATION 0.65,0.7,2,9,1.8 0.72,0.91,6,30,1.78 1.28,1.29,15,65,1.92 1.32,1.29,20,90,1.98 1.33,1.31,26,113,1.92 1.37,1.28,39,115,1.88 1.47,1.36,48,122,1.77 These parameter were guessed rather than calculated from tractive effort curves but seem OK - I have renamed this to "Light engine BR_Class37-416_passenger" and used this in the route file rahter than the standard train.

First diagrams now released

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 12:33:09 -0500

The first couple of diagrams are now available. As explained in the release notes, the project remains work in progress. It should also be stressed that not all of the objects used are my own (conversion being ongoing). Most of the non-original objects have appered previously in 'Clarendon' and as with that route, credit remains with the original authors. Any feedback can be adressed to dennislance(at) hotmail.co.uk or by commenting on this entry. As with all routes, it is almost inevitable that some unresolved problems exist, but these can only be corrected if I know about them!

Maplestead route, latest news 15/9/07

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 17:21:57 -0500

The Maplestead BVE 4 route has evolved from an unpublished BVE 2 route, being converted to the latest standards. Originally, the route used objects copied from other routes and used with very little, if any modification. Train operation was also rather unrealistic and the update has concentrated on adding objects of my own construction and ensuring the route complies with published rules / guidelines. This should enhance the appearance and allow realistic operation. In a departure from normal BVE community practice, the route is being relaeased in what might be a semi-complete state. Object rebuilding and detailing is currently incomplete but it is my intention to progress this work concurrent with further diagram releases. By choosing this means of introducing the route into the public domain, it is possible to drive the route many months (if not years!) in advance of what would otherwise have been achieved. Any problems or improvement opportunities identified can be passed onto me by e-mail, dennislance@hotmail.co.uk or by adding a comment to the new entries. The initial release has undergone final testing and will be uploaded any day now, a preview of the early stages of convrsion may be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=Uf2ofZfKwHI