The Unofficial Manual - Riwer

THE UNOFFICIAL
MANUAL
for Eisenbahn Exe Professional
How to become an EEP-Pro
in 11 Chapters
written by
Roman Iwer (RI1)
Preface
The original - official - manual of Eisenbahn Exe Professional (short: EEP) is a story by itself. Many
newcomers find it difficult to use and hard to relate the things learned to the practical use of the
program.
But here is the help you have all been waiting for!
The unofficial manual has been written especially for beginners und explains the basic concepts in an
easy and short way. It comes with a lot of screenshots that make it easy to apply what you are
learning into your own program. All these screenshots have been taken from the German version of
EEP 10.
The pictures are kept small in order to keep the file size of this manual within practical limits.
Therefore every screen is not always represented in its totality. But if you run your own EEP-version
open in parallel with the reading of this manual it will be much easier to understand and to progress.
About the author
The author is an enthusiastic EEP user since many years. He began with EEEC and ran through all the
EEP versions, acquiring by experience a thorough knowledge about this unique simulation program
and the way it has evolved. In addition he is working at the Deutsche Bahn (German railways) so he
has the advantage to be able to combine his knowledge from the original and from the simulation.
He became very well known through several EEP layouts like Rostock Main Station (EEP6), Karlsruhe
Main Station (EEP6), Airport Knuffingen (EEP6), Frankfurt am Main Main Station (EEP10), switchyard
Hamburg-Maschen (EEP10) and switchyard Seddin (EEP10). Last but certainly not least he manages a
successful EEP-channel on YouTube and publishes new videos on regular basis.
The author is also an approved official designer of models and layouts that are published under the
initials RI1.
2
Index
Preface..................................................................................................................................................... 2
About the author ..................................................................................................................................... 2
1.
2.
2.
Installation ....................................................................................................................................... 5
1.1
System requirements .............................................................................................................. 5
1.2
Launch of the program ............................................................................................................ 6
1.3
Uninstall the program ............................................................................................................. 6
1.4
Program settings (programmeinstellungen) ........................................................................... 7
Program structure ......................................................................................................................... 11
2.1
To make a new layout ........................................................................................................... 12
2.2
The 2-D program surface ....................................................................................................... 13
2.3
The Track editor..................................................................................................................... 15
To design a layout.......................................................................................................................... 16
2.1
The context menu ................................................................................................................. 16
2.2
Track connections.................................................................................................................. 17
2.3
Curved tracks ......................................................................................................................... 18
2.4
Switches................................................................................................................................. 19
2.5
Track combinations ............................................................................................................... 21
2.6
Block settings ......................................................................................................................... 23
2.7
Track associated objects (Track objects) ............................................................................... 25
1.7.1
2.
5.
The 3D-view. .................................................................................................................................. 28
4.1
To move in the 3D-view......................................................................................................... 28
4.2
Position and save 3D-Cameras .............................................................................................. 29
Immoveables and Landscape elements ........................................................................................ 30
5.1
6.
Aid tracks. ...................................................................................................................... 27
Insert and move immoveables and landscape elements ...................................................... 31
5.1.1
Radar window ................................................................................................................ 32
5.1.2
The block tool ................................................................................................................ 33
5.1.3
The block tool ................................................................................................................ 35
The 3D-editor ................................................................................................................................ 37
6.1
To insert rolling stock. ........................................................................................................... 39
6.2
Movement of the rolling stock. ............................................................................................. 41
6.3
The control dialogue.............................................................................................................. 41
6.4
Animated figures ................................................................................................................... 43
3
7.
Surface design ............................................................................................................................... 44
7.1
7.1.1
Terrain ground texture .................................................................................................. 44
7.1.2
Building mountains ........................................................................................................ 44
7.1.3
Building ramps ............................................................................................................... 45
7.2
8.
The 2D-terrain editor............................................................................................................. 44
The 3D-terrain editor............................................................................................................. 45
7.2.1
Surface texturing ........................................................................................................... 46
7.2.2
To make mountains... .................................................................................................... 46
7.2.3
To make ramps... ........................................................................................................... 46
7.2.4
Scaling of the texture. ................................................................................................... 46
The signaling system...................................................................................................................... 47
8.1
The signal programming ........................................................................................................ 48
8.1.1
The signal contact point. ............................................................................................... 49
8.1.2
Conditional execution.................................................................................................... 51
8.1.3
Changing of signals and switches in manual mode ....................................................... 52
8.2
The contact point for switches .............................................................................................. 52
8.3
The sound contact point........................................................................................................ 52
8.4
The vehicle contact point. ..................................................................................................... 53
8.4.1
The remote control........................................................................................................ 54
8.4.2
The control of axes ........................................................................................................ 54
8.4.3
Couplings control........................................................................................................... 55
8.4.4
Huckepack-operations ................................................................................................... 55
8.4.5
Speed control ................................................................................................................ 55
8.5
The Camera Contact point..................................................................................................... 56
8.6
The Immovable's contact point ............................................................................................. 56
8.7
The Group contact point ....................................................................................................... 57
8.8
The Omega contact point ...................................................................................................... 57
8.9
LUA-Programming ................................................................................................................. 57
9.
The Weather system ..................................................................................................................... 58
10.
The setup of the layout ............................................................................................................. 59
11.
Helpful Links und Tools.............................................................................................................. 60
11.1
Links ....................................................................................................................................... 60
11.2
Tools ...................................................................................................................................... 60
4
1. Installation
The installation of EEP is done starting from the DVD or from the Download. In both cases it is
essential to make sure you run the Setup program as administrator so that it runs with administrator
privileges. In order to do so, go to the
Directory where the Setup program is
located and right-click on the „Setup.exe“
and make the selection „run as
administrator“.
!
This is very important because the
registration as well as the program
settings of EEP will be written directly in
the so-called registry (an internal data
base of Windows), and in order to be able
to do so the program needs the correct
privileges.
1.1 System requirements
Both the Trend-Website and the official EEP manual indicate the following minimum System
Requirements for a correct running of the EEP program as follows:






Operating System Windows XP / Vista / 7 / 8 (32 or 64 bit)
Processor Dual-Core 2,5 GHz
Video Card 1GB memory with Pixelshader 3.0
Memory 2GB RAM
DirectX 10 or higher
Internet access
However it is very difficult to run EEP with such a minimum configuration, larger layouts will be
difficult to enjoy as the frame rate will be strongly reduced. From our experience we know that the
recommended configuration should be as follows:






Operation system Windows 7 / 8 (64bit)
Processor Quad-Core 3 GHz
Video Card with 2 GB memory with Pixelshader 3.0
Memory 8 GB RAM
DirectX 11
Internet access (preferably an ADSL connection as the files containing the models to be
downloaded over the internet are often quite big.
!
Every single object that is used in EEP will use resources and therefore increase the load on your
system. For this reason there is no "optimum" configuration. Everybody has to individually consider
what kind of layout he will build and what type of configuration he needs in order to be able to run
such a layout in good conditions. However the values above indicate a good average.
5
1.2 Launch of the program
It is important to launch the EEP program each time with administrator privileges because the
program will store its settings directly in the Windows Registry. In order to avoid to have to make this
choice each and every time the program is launched your can mark the application to always run as
administrator. To do this go to the Start menu, locate the
EEP program logo and right-click on the application
shortcut, and then click "Properties". In the Properties
dialog box, click the "Compatibility" tab. Select the "Run
this program as an administrator" check box, and then click
OK. Once you have done this you will not have to worry
about this anymore.
If more than one user use the PC it is advisable to apply
the setting for all users and regardless of which shorcut is
used to start the application. In order to enable this click
"Change setting for all users" on the bottom of the dialog
box on the "Compatibility" tab, and select again the same
check box "Run the program as an administrator".
! In the Expert-version of the program EEP10 the program
design can be changed as well. However in my opinion this
offers a less attractive design and we do not recommend to use this feature.
1.3 Uninstall the program
Once you have been infected by the EEP-virus you will definitely not need this facility. That is why we
prefer to skip this chapter here.
6
1.4 Program settings (programmeinstellungen)
Like many, or in fact all programs also EEP has a good
number of settings. You can find these in the Menu list under
Datei -> Programmeinstellungen or directly in the toolbar the
second symbol from right to left (represented by some
tools).
Every setting is a science on itself and this is why we give a
detailed review in what follows.
! In order to maintain the settings for the next sessions EEP
must be started with administrator privileges each time.
Qualität des Rauches - Quality of the smoke
The higher the value of the ruler the more detailed the smoke will be represented for steam engines,
diesel engines and buildings. However the middle position should be sufficient for all.
Gleisdetaillevel - Level of detail for the tracks
The higher the ruler the smoother the track will be represented. We suggest to put this ruler well
over the middle position, after all this is a Railway simulator.
Qualität der Funken - Quality of the sparks
EEP offers the so called "flying sparks" function. This looks good with skidding wheels and frozen
catenary. However more often than not the sparks fly in an uncontrolled manner and in totally
inappropriate circumstances so we advise to bring the ruler in the outmost left position in order to
deactivate this function.
Farbton - Hue
With this setting we can adapt the hue to the 3D-view. The recommended position is 0° .
Sättigung - Saturation
With this setting we can adapt the saturation to the 3D-view. The ruler can easily be positioned a
little to the right side in order to give more strength to the colors.
Helligkeit - Brightness
With this setting we can adapt the brightness to the 3D-view. The recommended position is 1.00.
Kontrast - Contrast
With this setting we can adapt the contrast to the 3D-view. The recommended position is 1.00.
Antialiasing
The higher the value, the smoother the curves in EEP. We want to recommend a value of 8 times for
the more performing systems.
Grafikkartenfilter - Video card filter
The higher the value, the longer the textures will remain sharp. We can recommend a value of 16
times for the more performing systems.
7
Rendering-Größe - Rendering size.
The higher this value the better the objects will be rendered (read computed). This value should be
always be set at 100%.
Qualität des Schattens - Quality of the shadows
With this setting we can define the quality of the shadows in steps. The higher the setting the higher
the quality of the shadows, but also the higher the load on the PC performance. If you do not need
shadows you can chose to switch them off by setting "Kein Schatten".
Anaglyph 3D
This is the setting for the 3D-option in the 3D-view. If you still want to keep your eyes healthy for
some time you might consider to keep the option switched off.
True Colors
Color improvement when using Anaglyph 3D as explained above.
Bildaktualisierungsrate bis 30 begrenzen - limitation of the frame rate to 30
By selecting this option the number of computed images will be limited to 30 per second. We
recommend to activate this option in order to save PC capacity. Our eyes will see about 24 images
per second (also called Frames per second or FPS in short) as smooth video, in EEP as low as about 18
FPS is still acceptable in most cases.
Verdopplung der Sichtweite - Doubling of the range of vision
Selecting this option doubles the line of sight. This is something for the more performing PC's, but if it
does not put too much stress on the frame rate a good overview of the layout is always an
advantage.
Bloom-Anfang - Bloom-Effect start point
This option sets the position of start point for the Bloom-Effect. The recommended setting is 1.00.
Bloom-Stärke - Strength of the Bloom-Effect
The setting for the strength of the Bloom-Effect. If you can work without a Bloom-Effect just leave
the value at 0.10.
Lautstärke - Sound volume
This setting defines the internal program sound volume. However it is better to use the Windows
volume setting.
Auto-Sicherung - Auto-save
This setting defines the time in between two automatic savings of the active layout.
Framerate anzeigen - Frame rate indicator
If this option is selected the number of images per second (FPS Frame rate) will be shown in the
upper left corner of the 3D view.
Uhrzeit in der 3D-Ansicht zeigen - Time indicator
When this option is selected the game time is shown in the upper right corner of the 3D view.
Anzeige der Geschw. Und Kameranamen - Indication of the speed and name of the camera
The speed of the selected rolling stock and the name of the active camera will be shown in the
bottom right and bottom left corner of the 3D view respectively.
8
Modelle bei jedem Start scannen - Scan models at every program launch
When this option is selected the model data base will be scanned at every program launch. This takes
a lot of time and is for normal use totally unnecessary.
Modelle beim nächsten Start scannen - Scan models at the next program launch
When this option is selected the model data base will be scanned and updated at the next program
launch. Again this takes a lot of time and is for normal use totally unnecessary.
Freie Bewegung der Fenster - Free movement of the window
This option lets you freely move the control dialog window and the radar window. Is certainly
worthwhile in case of use of two screens, when these windows can be placed on the second screen.
Licht an/aus automat - Lights on/off automation
The lights of rolling stock and buildings will be switched on with the change from day to night and off
when night becomes day.
Kein Rendering unter Anlagenoberfläche - No rendering under the layout surface
Any objects under the surface of the layout will not be computed when this option is selected. This
needs to be deactivated as in this case e.g. the staging yards will not be computed. This can create
problems with tunnels, as these will not be computed continuously and gaps will be created in this
way.
Kfz-Antikollisionskontrolle - motor vehicle anti-collision-control
Vehicles on roads will automatically keep a minimum distance and adapt their speed to each other.
Luftdruckwelle beim Passieren von Zügen - Air pressure wave when trains pass
The 3D-view shakes when the camera position is close to a train. Can be fun, but will get on your
nerves in the long run. Therefore we recommend to disable the option.
Dynamische Bewegung der Landsch.-Elem. - Dynamic movement of the landscape items
When the option is selected the landscape items will be pushed to the side by the air pressure of the
passing trains. It is a nice gimmick, but when looking at the trees we have the impression they will
soon be breaking away.
Kameraorientierung in X/Y-Achse invertieren - Inversion of the camera orientation over the X/Y axis
The control of the camera will be inversed over the X respectively Y axis.
Alle Objekt-Typen in 3D editierbar - All object types can be edited in 3D
All objects can be edited in the 3D-Editor and not limited to the active category.
Reale Zeit als EEP-Zeit übernehmen - Use the real time as EEP-time
If selected the real time will be taken over as EEP-time at the moment the program is launched.
Ausblenden von kameranahen Objekten - Hide objects close to the camera.
Objects close to the camera will be hidden so they will not obstruct the line of view. Although in
some cases it can be helpful, it is often disturbing in the long run.
Regenwasser aufwirbeln - Rainwater Whirled up
Vehicles whirl up water at their wheels. Good to use when it is raining on the layout, but for normal
use it has no importance.
9
EEP Ereignis Fenster - EEP event window
In the 3D-view an additional window is displayed in which the commands of the LUA programming
will be shown.
AVI (fps)
The number of images to be recorded for a movie recording. External programs will generally
perform better for this.
Länge des AVI-Films (Sek.) - Length of AVI-movies (sec)
The length of the movie to be recorded. Again, external programs will generally be better for this
feature.
10
2. Program structure
With the first launch of the program the Main Menu will appear. We
will shortly explain the different selection blocks:
 This block is to start a new, empty layout.
 At the first launch the flag "DEMO!" will be accessed here
that will load the layout "Hairpin LAUSCHA". However as soon as you
have saved at least one own layout, you can immediately start your
last layout from this block.
 This block is to load one of your earlier layouts.
 This block will load the official EEP manual.
 This block will start the official EEP trailer. However an
operational internet connection is necessary.
11
2.1 To make a new layout
Choose the "Neue Anlage" block by clicking it and a setup screen
will appear that will define the basic characteristics of the new
layout surface:
! The surface can only be made in rectangular shape (calculated in
number of squares). A "L" or "T" shape can only be made using
some tricks.
The set-up possibilities concerning the length and width are
located here. The third selection criteria is the grid density. This is a rather delicate matter as it will
have an important effect on the flexibility to work with the layout as well as the load on the
Computer. We would define the ground rule as follows: The higher the grid density the easier to
work on the layout, and the higher the load on the computer. We recommend to use values between
125 and 250 that can be considered as a healthy average.
!
Do not start from the beginning with a layout with a size of 10x10km. Not only will we have
problems to fill such a surface, but moreover it results in a maximum grid density of 89 Nods per km
what is too low a value. Rather start with a small layout (e.g. 2x2km), you can always increase the
size when the needs arises.
In the landscape generator we will have to define the first preferences of the layout surface. The
surface back ground can be chosen in the Bodentextur-Motiv. To start we suggest to chose any motif
that starts with "EEP7_". This will be spread over the surface and gives a healthy image. We would
recommend for your first layout to use "EEP7_Sommerwiese1" as this defines a green summer grass
surface and therefore fits many design situations.
Hereunder is a ruler for the mountains that will be provided as standard. However the use of this
setting is so imprecise that we do not recommend to use this. We will discuss better possibilities later
on.
If you are happy with the settings just click the OK block.
12
2.2 The 2-D program surface
So far so good! You have made your first layout surface. Now the basic tools are waiting for you in a
very well-designed 2 dimensional menu:
On the you will find the menu bar. We will explain the individual tabs later, for the moment we just
note where they are. Under the menu bar we find the tool bar. This becomes a lot more interesting
for us.
From left to right:
- Start a new layout
- Open a saved layout
- Save the open layout
- Save open layout under a new name
- Open a block (grayed)
- Save a block (grayed)
- Mark a block (grayed)
- Copy a block (grayed)
- Insert the selected block (grayed)
- Undo one step (grayed)
- Redo one step (grayed)
- Zoom-in the 3D camera
- Zoom-out the 3D camera
- Center the 3D camera in the 2D view
- Fix the camera on a rolling stock
- Place a camera
- Save the active camera
- Selection of the saved camera
- Weather set up
- Program set up
- Define a LUA script (if available)
13
In the bottom left corner there is a small continuation of this toolbar:
From left to right:
- Change to 3D view
- Spline function (grayed)
- Show/ hide the gridlines
- Show/ hide the ruler
- Blend is or out the texture colors
- Zoom in the 2D view
- Zoom out in the 2D view
Directly underneath this we find the status bar, although the information contained herein is not
interesting for the user.
Now to the more interesting part, the vertical tool bar:
2D Overview
Track editor (Railways)
!
Track objects (Railways)
Street editor
Street track objects
Rail editor (trams)
Rail track objects
Omegas
Immoveables
Landscape elements
Surface design
Signaling systems
Goods
Waterways
Waterways track objects
Steering tracks + GBS
14
With a right-click on the
separation line between the
2D surface and the vertical
tool bar, the tool bar can be
minimized on the left side, and
from there it can be restored
again.
2.3 The Track editor
Let's now activate the Track editor block. Also here there are of course a number of blocks that we
definitely need to know. Fortunately these blocks are the same in all editors!
Choice of Track design.
Lay a single track.
Lay a three way switch.
Lay a two switch.
Lay an end track.
Delete the selected track
Electrify the track
Absolute height (as from 0.00m)
Relative height (as from layout
surface)
Height at the start of the track /
Height at the end of the track /
Adapt to underground
Any value in the "Ausgleich"
field will increase the adapted
height with the value indicated.
Multiply tracks:
to the left / forward / to the
right / inverse the copied track /
keep the track design identical
(or alternatively use the one
chosen above) / distance
between the track and the copy
15
2. To design a layout
2.1
The context menu
Let us start with developing our layout surface, this will be the easiest way to learn the different
symbols and their function. Therefore we will chose the function "Lay a single track" and click
somewhere in the 2D window.
Great! Our track has arrived and is positioned on the layout surface. With this track
we can do a lot. Let's start first with right-clicking on it. A context menu will appear
that will look for each individual track as follows:
Do not get confused by this many fields, many will be self-explanatory.
Pos. X – defines the position of the track to the right (+) or the left (-) from the middle position of the
layout with millimeter precision.
Pos. Y – defines the position of the track to the upwards or downwards from the middle position of
the layout with millimeter precision.
Abs. H. – defines the absolute height of the track.
Rel. H. – defines the relative height of the track in relation to the surface.
Winkel z – defines the angle of the track in relation to the horizontal line.
Skalierung – allows to scale the track
16
Right next to it is the location for the track characteristics. For the moment we do not change
anything here, the default values are satisfactory for now:
Winkel(a) – The angle of the curve of the track
Länge(l) – The length of the track, with default value 60m
! The best is to use 90 m tracks as
Biegung (z) – Gentle gradient of the track in °
they reduce the load on the
computer. E.g. for a total length of
180 m only 2 segments are needed
instead of 3 segments of 60m.
Steigung(m) – Linear gradient of the track in m
In the next field we find the Gleisüberhöhung or cant. In contrast to the real railways this is here
expressed in Degrees (°) instead of millimeter. These values will create some headache, we will come
back on this later. For now it does not concern us yet.
Next to this we find the „Weitere Einstellungen“ or additional settings. These are limited to the
electrification of the track, in other words whether a catenary is available or not. We can still
influence this in the next Field where we can define the zigzag effect. In the real railway world the
zigzag is 40 cm to the left followed by 40 cm to the right.
The special settings for switches are located underneath. However we do not need these for the
moment and anyway they are grayed.
2.2
Track connections
Now we have arrived to the essential EEP matter: the connection of tracks. Fortunately EEP offers us
an optimal assistance - the so-called magnet function. However this does not work always. It is
therefore necessary to know the distinction between both ends of a Track. EEP uses two different
symbols as follows::
The green arrow on the left side indicates the beginning of the track, and shows the direction of the
track. The green point indicates the end of the track.
In order to use the magnetic function we have to be careful to always use beginning of track on
beginning of track, or beginning of track on end of track. From the end of track out the magnetic
effect will be inactive.
17
If everything has been done right the new track will be automatically docked on the original track.
This will look as follows:
Tracks that are correctly connected will be represented within EEP in blue color. Hmmm, and why are
both tracks still yellow? Well simply because one side is still unconnected. The tracks turn blue only if
and when both sides of the track have been correctly docked. Let's add a third track:
Yep, now it makes sense. Congratulations, this was the first step in the making of functional layouts.
Probably by now you will be plagued by the question: "I
do not want to always drive in a straight line. How can I
make curves?"
The question is more than justified and therefore we go
straight to the next chapter:
2.3
! If your tracks remain yellow the serial
number has been wrongly entered at
the moment of installation where O
(Oscar) and 0 (Zero) and/or I (capital
India) and l (small lima) were
interchanged.
Curved tracks
EEP presents us with two possibilities to make curved tracks.
The difference is in the accuracy.
One option has already been discussed, the Winkel(a) or the
angle of the curve in de context menu.
When you enter the number "90" as value of that field you will
obtain an exact 90°-angle curved track:
Of course there is an easier way. Remember the end of track and beginning of track? Both these
symbols are useable even if at first sight they do not work like this. Bring the cursor over the green
point of the track ending. The cursor will change into a rounded double arrow. Isn't this an open
invitation? Keep the left mouse button pressed and drag the mouse in any direction you want: the
track will follow your direction. You don't have to do
anything more than this to curve the track in the
direction you want:
! The same is valid for the beginning
of the track. But you have to realize
that in this case more changes are
made to the track than just the
curve angle (a).
18
2.4
Switches
As we can now curve our tracks in any direction we want there would be no objection to get to the
constructions of switches, right? So let's just do this!
Select the symbol for the two way switches and click again in the 2D window.
The result is a track that looks quite normal, if it was not for a black square
connected to the end of the track.
In order to make a switch in the correct way we always need to install the straight part before the
curved part. If not enough importance is given to this in the beginning problems will arise when
automating the layout later. So let's dock a straight track to the switch and you will see that the black
square is the sign for us something is still missing. Now we dock the second track to the switch and
curve this track in the intended direction, otherwise both tracks will interconnect one on top of the
other. This can be useful in some cases, but not in this case or this moment. The switch should now
look like this:
Notice the change at the start of the switch: we see a greenish arrow and a number with 4 digits. The
number (0001) indicated the internal ID of this switch, in this case the ID number "1" as there is
nothing else that can play a role in the automation of the layout. The arrow indicates the actual
position of the switch, in this example to the left in order to take the curve. Now right-click on the
arrow on your screen. When the position of the switch now shows "Direction: branch out" you made
everything correctly. If not you probably interchanged the straight and curved track. As mentioned
before it is not important for the start, but can be quite confusing later. So the best is to do it right
from the start.
From both these two track segments we can continue to build as we want. But hold it, did we not
mention another type of switch?
Right, you can also make a three way switch. The way to use this feature is entirely the same
principle as the two way switch, only that we need to define a third segment. This is called the "Codiverging". Such a type of switch does has been forgotten in the real world. They exist in small
numbers, and are limited to secondary lines and loading areas, but even there they become
increasingly rare.
19
The principle of a three way switch in EEP - without going into details of the exact construction, looks
as follows:
But wasn't there something else? Did we not leave out an item from the context menu? Correct! The
switch settings can now be defined. So let's open the context menu of the switch we just made:
Let's start on the left side. In this field we can
change the position of the (in EEP so-called)
switch lantern. The default setting is "automatic".
However it can happen that the lantern should be
positioned on the other side. Therefore you can
chose the lantern on the right side "laterne
rechts" or the lantern on the left side "laterne
links" and the lantern will be positioned
accordingly. When you chose the position hidden
"versteckt" the lantern will be invisible in the 3D
view (but still visible in 2D view).
On the right side of this field we can link this
switch to another switch or a signal, the so-called
cascading. We will come back on this later.
The grayed area at the bottom is to list the
contact point related to this switch. We will come
back on this later as well.
But do you really want to make every switch by hand? Any possible configuration? Of course not. EEP
offers us preconceived switches. And this introduces the next chapter:
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2.5
Track combinations
Track combinations are extremely useful for an easy start and give a first look at the complexity of
switch assemblies.
In the beginning of this manual we left the Menu
dropdown lists aside. However now is the right time to use
them. Let's open the "Bearbeiten" tab:
Isn't it wonderful how many awesome things
we can do here? A dream...
We shouldn't get too much involved for the
start in this huge selection. Just go with the
mouse over "Gleiskombinationen" (do not
click). A second drop-down menu opens:
Now several track combinations can be chosen. We will learn the meaning of the different terms
later, as soon as we use them.
! Try not to become too dependent of these combinations. Indeed they will tempt you to build layouts
that are too straightforward, something that will look too artificial.
21
Now click on the point „Abzweig“ to make a diverging track. A setup menu will appear:
Do you feel the tingling in the fingers? Finally setups about setups.
Winkel(a) – the angle of the diverging track
Radius(b) – the radius of the diverging track
Abstand(c) – the distance between the straight track and the diverging track
Anzahl – the number of diverging tracks (does not have any effect in the „Abzweig“ definition)
On the right side we can select whether the diverging track will be on the right or left side.
Pfff... all these settings that we have never heard from. Is it not possible to do it more simple? Sure,
EEP helps us further...
Open the dropdown menu on top of these setup fields.
Here you will find a number of predefined settings that are also available in the real world. Just help
yourself, it will not come easier!
22
As soon as you have decided on what kind of switch you want to use make your selection accordingly
and confirm your choice by clicking OK. You will now see a so-called block in the 2D-window:
At the moment this block is colored purple, as it has not yet been activated. We will not activate at
this moment. Make a right-click in the inactive block. Yesss... finally... more settings!
2.6
Block settings
These are the so-called block settings.
Verbindungen berichtigen – Repair the connection between the individual track segments.
Gleis elektrifizieren – All tracks show power lines (checked), no power lines (empty) or unchanged
(crossed)
Gelände an Gleishöhe anpassen – Adapt the height of the layout surface to the block
Pos. X – Position of the block in the horizontal axis of the layout
Pos. Y – Position of the block in the vertical axis of the layout
Pos. Z – Position of the block in the height
Drehung – rotation of the block
Agreed, we do not need all this at this moment, so we will just ignore everything first and confirm
our selection with OK. The block becomes now active and we have inserted a switch:
23
Let us now try to insert an oval based using our newly acquired know how. Of course you can chose
to do this using curves that you defined manually or by using a precise angle using the context menu.
This oval will first consist of 8 tracks:
Of course this will be sufficient to let a locomotive drive in a circle, but we are not on making a model
railway. We want to have at least one siding track and one railway station.
So we delete the top right straight track element and replace it with a switch. The siding track will
have a distance of 5 meter from the main track. Up to you whether you want to make the switch
manually or using the track combination feature. The result should look like this:
We have added a terminating track to the divergent track. This is characterized by the representation
of a buffer stop and by the fact that it has to be connected only from one side.
Now we want to make a railway station. The easiest way to do this is using track following objects or
simply track objects (Gleisobjecten).
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2.7
Track associated objects (Track objects)
In order to insert a track object, click on the corresponding
symbol on the vertical tool list (just below the track editor). A
tree menu is opened (figure 1).
Open here the folder "Gleisobjekte" or Track objects followed
by the folder „Bahnhöfe und Bahnsteige“ to get to the
stations and platforms, and finally the folder „Bahnhöfe“ to
get to the stations (figure 2).
Here you can chose a railway station. In order to familiarize
yourself with track obects we just select the station "Bhf
Susendorf". Do not get upset by the disappointing quality of
this model as this is art of the very basic models for EEP. For
our purpose now it is just what we need.
!
Given time the railway stations as track objects will rather
go to the background as they often do not offer enough
flexibility. Therefore try to build stations as soon as possible in
combination with Splines.
Click on the station to select it and after this simply click int he 2D window. We obtain a track wit a
grey box connected to it - your first track object.
25
We can use these boxes like a normal track segment - quick and easy. But do you notice something?
Right! The green triangle and point are missing. So how can we recognize the beginning or the end of
the track? Fortunately, EEP will always place the track objects with the beginning of the track at the
left. For this reason a perpendicular line is positioned at the end of the track. Now try to integrate
the station in the oval and more in particular at the position of the bottom left straight track segment
where the building will be at the inside of the oval.
As it might be a bit tricky we provide you with a step by step indication on how to do:
1. Delete the straight track segment we want to replace.
2. Dock the end of the track object to the end of the freed track segment (at the right side)
3. Insert a new track and close the open end.
Right, it all fits. Hmmm... but somehow the rail segment of the station is much too small. We should
add a platform. Therefore to in the track object menu to the folder „Bahnsteige“ and chose there the
platform „BhstgSusendorf“. Position one before and one after the railway station building (of course
you need to delete the connecting track segments in order to do this).
So far so good. But on the right platform something is wrong, it seems the platform is on the wrong
side. Of course we will need to change this. Therefore fill the remaining track openings with
additional new track segments.
26
Now it is easy to simply take out the wrongly positioned platform and dock it back again to the same
track segments, but this time track end to track end of the adjacent track.
Great! You have correctly positioned the first own railway station on the layout and at the same time
learned something new: the use of aid tracks.
1.7.1 Aid tracks.
What do we mean by aid tracks? Well, we already used the principle. Rail objects have the limitation
that they are not always in the direction that we would like them to be - you have seen a good
example with the platform. Aid tracks are track segments that will be deployed only for a short while
that have as only purpose to serve as connection point for a track object in order to, for example,
turn these with 180°. As we have already seen that we cannot use the magnetic connection with
track beginnings.
Our layout will now look like this:
Probably you have been wondering all the time what would be the purpose of the green lines in the
2D-window. These green lines indicate the line of sight of the camera in the 3D-view and this is just
where we want to go. Click therefore on the bottom left, on the colorful cube.
27
2. The 3D-view.
Now this looks more like a railway. Finally 3D-forms and something that resembles a track. But do we
have to look at this camera position all the time? Of course not!
4.1 To move in the 3D-view
There are different possibilities to move in the 3D-view. The buttons to zoom-in and zoom-out the 3D
camera represented in the toolbar are relics of times past - you can easily forget about them. In 3D
your keyboard and your mouse will be your best assistants. Therefore I have given a small overview
of the so-called hotkeys:
R
Space key
Page up
Page down
Arrow keys
Mouse wheel
Right mouse button pressed
Shift key pressed
Zoom out
Zoom in
Camera upwards
Camera downwards
Movement of camera view
Zoom in or zoom out
Free movement of the camera
Acceleration of the camera movement
With some exercise you will quickly get the feeling to travel over your layout and you will acquire the
overview of the evolution of your constructions.
It is possible that you like a given camera position and want to use this position often in future.
Therefore we have the possibility to place the camera and save its position.
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4.2 Position and save 3D-Cameras
Do you remember the symbol to be used to install a camera? No? A small tip, it was one of the
following:
Right, the second from left. Select this now and draw a camera in the 2D-view. The longer you drag
this the more you will see in the 3D-view. As soon as you release the mouse button EEP will change
into 3D-view.
! In case you do not release the left mouse button but rather end with a right click the camera will be
positioned but EEP will not automatically change the view into the 3D-view.
Try it out while you position the camera on the railway station and position the angle a little from a
high perspective. Something like this:
Perfect! This is exactly how to position cameras in EEP. Now we want to save this perspective. In
order to do this select that symbol to save camera positions (tip: the orange diskette will guide you to
the right way).
29
What do we have here? Right, finally again setups!
Kamera auswählen – Select a saved camera in order to overwrite it with the camera position used.
Name – The name of the camera position that will be saved.
Kameramodus – Select whether the camera will be static or dynamic.
To save a camera you choose a name, like for example "Susendorf railway station" and enter this in
the field "Name". If appropriate you can setup the camera as new position by clicking on "Neu". We
leave the mode as static for now, we will explain later the dynamic mode.
! Cameras are a bit difficult to delete. In case you want to change a camera position you will have to
overwrite it with the new camera position and rename the camera if needed.
In order to recall the saved camera position you simply select it from the menu drop down box in the
middle of the top. This way you can recall the camera at any time from any place when needed.
5. Immoveables and Landscape elements
But somehow the layout is quite boring like this, no? We
can solve this with some specific immoveables and
landscape elements. Let's return to the 2D-view to the
symbol of the page with the pencil at the bottom left. Now
select in the vertical tool list the symbol for immoveables
(Immobilien). Now we know the concept already. Indeed, all
selection menus of the 2D-view are built in the same way.
30
5.1 Insert and move immoveables and landscape elements
Open the main directory "Immobilien" to select the immoveables, then the subdirectory "Industry"
and there once more "Industrie (Hauptgruppe)". Select the "Lagerhaus2" building and position it with
a click in the 2D-view. A symbol in the form of a factory will be displayed:
This represents the warehouse that we have selected. Does it somehow look to simple? No worries,
also in this case we will have sufficient settings. So just make a right-click on the symbol.
We recognize the positions as well as both values for the height, and also the scaling. There are 3
new rotation values:
Drehung X – the strength of the tipping in °
Drehung Y – the strength of the slope in °
Drehung Z – the rotation of the building
In the grayed field "Steuerung der Achsen" of control of the axes we will be able to reposition the
axes of the building for as much as they are present. We will learn later what we can do with this and
what the properties of these axes are.
Let us leave the settings as they are for the moment, we can have fun with them later. Let us now
leave the context menu by cancelling the operation clicking on "Abbrechen".
31
Now we want to bring the warehouse in the required position, so we have to drag it. Bring the mouse
position over the white rectangle around the
item. The mouse pointer will change in a cross
consisting of 4 arrows. If you now keep the left
mouse button pressed and move the mouse,
the warehouse will be dragged.
And now we are at it, if you want to turn a
immoveables object you should bring the
mouse pointer to the oval in the middle, the
mouse pointer changes into a 270°-arrow.
Again keep the left mouse button pressed and move the mouse - the immoveables object is turned
accordingly.
! Double-click on the white oval and the immoveables item is turned with 90°.
Excellent. You have learned the basics in handling immoveables objects. This is exactly the same way
for the landscape objects like trees, bushes, figures, etc.
Now try to put the warehouse on the top of the end rail segment. Make sure the loading bay is also
on the right side of the track and not on the opposite side. As you cannot recognize the position in
the 2D-view you will have to use the 3D-view.
Do you think it is difficult to connect the loading bay correctly to the rail segment? There is help on
the way, and more in particular using the
5.1.1 Radar window
Change back to the 3D-view. Have you ever noticed the rather big window below right? This is the
so-called radar window. Here you can find a 2D-overview of your layout in addition to the 3D-view.
And not only this, you can move a number of objects from this window. Just try it. If you camera is
still focused on the warehouse, click on the button "center the camera", this is the third button from
left to right:
The view in the radar window will directly go to the camera view:
32
Now click on the warehouse in the radar window and drag it, in the same way we have learned
before, till the loading bays are correctly positioned on the track. The building moves in parallel in
the 3D-view. At the end it should look somewhat like this:
! If the radar window is too big or too small you can easily change the size by moving the mouse
pointer to the edge of the window and change the size by holding the left mouse button. A click with
the left mouse button minimizes the window - this can also be done with the TAB-key.
5.1.2 The block tool
At the start we already briefly mentioned blocks. Blocks are a wonderful and simple method to
delete, move or turn several immoveables or landscape elements at once. Let's try it with the
warehouse. Go back to the 2D-view and select in the top toolbar
the button for "define block":
You will now see a rectangle under the mouse pointer. Drag the mouse by keeping the left mouse
button pressed so as to draw a rectangle around the warehouse.
33
Do you remember this view? Right, when we were looking at the track combinations we did already
see this. When you now make a right click in the rectangle you get the same setups, but the fields
concerning the track options will be grayed. But we know this already. The intention is this time to
save and re-open a block. That this block is consisting of only one building is for demonstration
purpose. You will quickly observe that the selection of several building or landscape elements at the
time is the real purpose of working with blocks.
We have two possibilities to save a block. The first option is to click in the setup menu and select
"Speichere Block" (to save a block) and just save it in this way. The alternative is to go back to the
Toolbar and click on the appropriate symbol:
In order to open the block after saving it you simply click on the button right left of this. A selection
window will open where you can find the saved block. Select this block and confirm the choice by
clicking on "Open":
The block will now appear in selected format on the layout. You can change again using the setup
menu or simply move and drag as we already learned.
It is however possible that we want to copy a block without saving it. Also this has been anticipated.
Again two possibilities for this. Select once more the warehouse with the Block mask. Now you can
copy the selected block using Ctrl + C and move it as you
wish and insert back using Ctrl + V. But if you prefer not to
use the keyboard you can use the button to copy blocks in
the toolbar:
34
5.1.3 The block tool
Now we want to explore a bit more concerning the landscape
objects. Therefore let's select in the vertical tool list the button for
landscape objects "Landschaftselemente". You get the well known
selection menu. Open the main directory, then the "flora" directory
and there the "vegetation (hauptgruppe)".
In the choice you will find landscape objects that you can select as
many times as you want. Select here the „Kopfweide 6m (v7
Sommer)“.
! If you know the first letter of the object you are looking for, you
can simply key in this letter on the keyboard and the selection will
jump to this letter - this works also for full words.
Let's insert the left half of the oval with this tree.
Even with repeated clicks this will take some considerable time and looks neither nice nor real.
However also here is some help from EEP: the block tool.
To activate this we select on the menu list the heading "Bearbeiten", on the bottom of the drop
down menu you will find our wonder tool.
In the beginning it works like the block tool. Therefore draw a rectangle around the left half of the
oval. This will shown with red dots.
But careful! Do not simply click in the rectangle once it is made. Indeed, there will be some more nice
setups that are waiting for us. Just make a right click in the newly defined rectangle.
35
Minimaler Abstand – The distance
between the inserted objects and
other objects or Splines in
meters.
Kleinste Skalierung – The smallest
scaling that can be applied to the
objects.
Größte Skalierung – The largest
scaling that can be applied to the
objects.
Maximale Objektanzahl – The maximum
number of objects that can be inserted in the
rectangle.
Modellerotation von: Minimum random
rotation in °
Modellerotation bis: Maximum random
rotation in °
Define the setup in a way that we will insert
the trees with a distance of 3 meter between
each other. The scaling should be between 0.7
and 1.2. We do not want more than 40 objects
inserted, and they can be rotated from 0° up
to 350°. As soon as we have filled in the
appropriate values we confirm everything with
a click on „OK“.
Of course now we want to see the result of our efforts. Select „Kopfweide 6m (v7 Sommer)“ once
more and click once within the rectangle defined by the red dots.
Great! In 3D it should look something like this (it will not be exactly the same as the block tool works
randomly):
! The minimum distance works also
for Splines, so no trees will end up on
the tracks.
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6. The 3D-editor
After you have learned how to build a layout in 2D it is time to find out that it is all a lot easier in 3D.
For this purpose we have the 3D-editor that we can activate if we click on the button that has been
provided for this purpose:
At the position where for the moment "Rollmaterial" has been selected you can find the different
categories that are already well know, including immoveables and landscape elements. So select for
now the immoveables (Immobilien) and open this time the Directory "Stadt" (city) and "Stadt
(Hauptgruppe)". Look for the "Stadt-Mietshous 2". Select it by clicking it and after this, click in the
3D-view at the position where you want to insert the building. And... voila! Here it is.
At the left top corner you can see the most important properties of this object, being the position,
the rotation and the scaling. Yes and how to move this building now? Just try it with a normal click
with the left mouse button on the building, and the building starts flashing happily, but we cannot
move it yet. So just click on it using the right mouse button:
37
All right, this looks better. Here you have a new dropdown list. To move the building we just select
"Object editieren, verschieben" and we can now move it as we want as long as the left mouse button
is pressed. If you press the Ctrl key at the same time we can change the vertical position. To turn we
select "Object drehen" and keep the left mouse button pressed. To delete the building we select
"Object entfernen" or we just press the Delete key on the keyboard while the object is flashing.
If you are missing a few setup possibilities
you can locate the context menu under
"Objekteigenshaften".
In
the
model
properties you find the general information
of the model, including for example the
designer.
As usual all these functions also work with
the landscape objects in exactly the same
way..
But let us now finally look at the most essential features of Eisenbahn Exe Professional: the Railways.
We have already a beautiful oval with a railway station and a siding, but should we not have
something driving on this?
38
6.1 To insert rolling stock.
The 3D-editor is still open. Select on the choice menu the tab rolling stock, the one with the small
steam locomotive as symbol. Again in this case open the main directory. The selection field should
look as follows:
Although it is hard to see we can chose between the railways (Bahn), tramways (Straßenbahn), road
traffic (Straßenverkehr) , air traffic (Luftverkehr), waterborne transport (Schifffahrt) and machinery
(Maschinen). Of course we will position a train on the tracks, so open the directory for railways. At
this time we are making a layout in standard gauge, so we open the corresponding directory for
1435mm. At this point we can chose between locomotives, wagons, railcars and light rails.
At this moment we just want to insert a diesel locomotive with 2 coaches. Therefore open the
directory "Lokomotiven" followed by "Diesel" and choose any preferred locomotive. For this example
we are using the "BR232 277-4 v10". As soon as you select this he will appear in the preview window.
To this locomotive on the tracks we have two
options. One is to click on the rail segment of our
choice in the radar window, or else to click on
the rail segment of our choice in the 3D-view.
As soon as we have done this a small window
will open with the name of the rolling stock. You
can either change this now, or just leave the
original name as we normally would do.
39
Confirm your choice by clicking on "OK". The locomotive should now stand on the tracks in the 3Dview, ready for action.
Great, we can already smell the diesel exhaust! In the same way insert now 2 coaches. In order to do
this open the directory "Wagen" and find your preferred rolling stock. Coaches or wagons as you
please. For this example we have chosen the "DB AB4yg-56 EpIII".
Now this looks great, but it is still not a train, or will the locomotive pull the coaches with magical
force? This brings us to:
40
6.2 Movement of the rolling stock.
Like so many times, again 2 possible ways to couple the rolling stock. As we are still in the 3D-editor
we will use the option in this view. So make a right-click on the
locomotive. As was the case with the immoveables a window
will open, but obviously in this case we cannot rotate the
locomotive but we can influence the couplings. As they are
activated by default we will leave it like this for the moment. In
the middle of the window you will see the selection
"Rollmaterial wenden", this can be used to turn the locomotive,
or later the whole train, over 180°.
Now chose the first selection being "Objekt editieren,
verschieben". Now you can move the locomotive freely over
the rails, a bit comparable to the buildings before. So move the
locomotive to the back in order to couple it with the two
coaches. After each coupling you have to press the mouse button again in order to realize the
coupling. As soon as the whole train can be moved back and forth with the mouse we know the
coupling has been correclty made.
! The train will be known to EEP as a so-called train consist and gets the name of the first vehicle that
was moved. So in this case we get „#BR232 277-4 v10“.
And the second option? Well this will bring us to the fun of driving in EEP.
6.3 The control dialogue
For sure you have seen the window just next to the radar window where three slide controls are
available. This is your control unit or in EEP-slang the control dialogue.
In order to get this back on the screen click on the second button from the top left. In the initial view
you are in the so-called automated mode. Here you can enter a speed that the train will try to
achieve and keep constant.
41
If you prefer you can also operate the train entirely by hand. In order to do this click once more on
the same button in the control dialog. The manual control window will open that will be relating to
the active rolling stock, in this case the locomotive.
The slide controls are quite simple, the top one controls the speed (Fahrstufe), the one below the
brakes (Bremse) and the bottom one the direction: forward or backward. In the top right is a
selection field named "Tastenkürzel" where a key combination can be defined in order to locate the
locomotive very easily. Just below this is the control of the couplers. The meaning of the controls is
from top to bottom: rolling stock coupled, rolling stock uncoupled, coupling deactivated. In the
coupled status we can couple with another rolling stock, but when in deactivated status other rolling
stock will be repelled and the coupler is not active.
Just below this is another field, where at the moment the text "Fenster_H_L" is displayed. This is the
control of axes for the rolling stock. Do you remember this with the immoveables? This is also
available for rolling stock. This relates to the moving parts on rolling stock. We will come back on this
later.
Now we know how to drive a train you should make a few rounds, whether in automatic mode or
manual mode. But not faster than 50 km/h!
! Depending on how the train has been put on the rails he can move in the opposite direction. IN this
case you just enter a negative value for the speed or you drive backwards or you turn the locomotive.
However in this last case you will have to decouple the coaches first.
I guess it is a bit boring in the long run to look at the train making rounds all the time. Why did we
invest so much effort in the making of a railway station if the train does not stop there? And
shouldn't there be some passengers waiting? But of course!
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6.4 Animated figures
Just put a few people on the platform now. You have already learned how to insert landscape
elements and change the height. But wait, it is not enough just to insert them! you can also chose
between static and dynamic figures. Static figures are found with the landscape elements in the
directory "fauna" and then with "Menschen" or people. These will not move but will be fixed on the
surface.
There is something better.
One of the new features that was released with version 10, the so-called omegas - moving figures
with what we would be able to simulate masses.
However we better forget this, it would have been better have been called alphas as they are
uncontrollable, unrealistic walking figures that rather do what they want than that what you had in
mind for them.
Than we prefer the animated figures. You will find the two variants in the basic set as rolling stock.
They have been intended for the use of footpaths. In order to have these dynamic figures on your
platform you will need these figures as landscape elements. But the only way to get them is over the
Trend-shop for a certain purchase price.
Well let's pass on this. Let's just position some static figures on the platform in order to at least have
something that looks like living.
Right, now we have passengers. However as we are in a railway environment where the passengers
have long waiting times (wink wink) we better start with the surface design so that there is some
outlook in the layout.
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7. Surface design
7.1 The 2D-terrain editor
Change in the 2D-view to the terrain editor. This editor looks not so well organized but then it has
not changed since the very first editions.
At the top you will find the settings for the height of the terrain:
to make ramps and mountains. The three fields just under that
provide setting for the height, the inclination and the width of the
ramps.
The symbol in the middle allows the use of weather zones, we will
see this more in detail later.
At the bottom you will find the terrain editing. Here you will find
the settings for brush size, the activation of the brush and the
choice of terrain texture with the coloration.
7.1.1 Terrain ground texture
The texture in the 2D-view is represented in a very basic way. In
the drop down menu you will find nice ground textures well
sorted in directories. The textures displayed in red font are pure
2D textures while the textures that have a three dimensional
effect are listed in blue font.
At the end of many textures you will find the indication "LQ" or
"HQ", this refers simply to Low Quality or High Quality and the
difference is in the resolution of the texture.
! Also in this case the same principle is valid: the more HQ or 3D
textures will be used, the higher the load on the PC.
7.1.2 Building mountains
To build your own mountains just select the top right button. By doing this you activate the fields "
Höhe" or height, and " Glättung" or smoothing. To start you do not have to be concerned about the
smoothing, this will only
influence the edge of the
mountain.
Do
rather
concentrate on the height.
In this field you can enter
the desired height in
meters, up to two digits
after the comma. In order to
build the mountain in 2D
you draw the surface you would like to see - you can chose any format as long as the circumference
is closed. Doing this you have defined the top part of the plateau. Now you draw a second surface
around this. With this second drawing you define the foot of the mountain. The closer the second
circumference is to the first, the steeper the flanks and thus also the further away both drawings are
from each other, the smoother the flanks will be.
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7.1.3 Building ramps
It is however possible that you
would like to build an access
ramp to this mountain and
should go around the corner.
Therefore we need ramps.
To make ramps you chose the
left button. It will activate the
field "Rampenbreite" that
defines the width of the ramp.
So just enter the desired value
in this field. As an example we
will use 10m. After this click at
an position of your mountain and keep the left mouse button pressed. Pull this into the desired
direction and a red line will follow. This red line indicates the path along which the ramp will be
created. As soon as you release the mouse button the ramp is made. It is not necessary that the
endpoint of the ramp is at level 0, it can also start from another mountain or hill.
7.2 The 3D-terrain editor
This gives you an idea how difficult it was in the begin times of EEP to make mountains or represent
mountainous landscapes. Fortunately the 3D-terrain editor was conceived some while ago. You can
find this under the 3D-view and more in particular as the bottom left button.
Here you can see from left to right and top to button following selection choices:
Make smooth maintain tops; make peaked mountain tops; make flat mountain tops; adapt the
surface; take over the surface height; build ramps; fade or brighten the texture; Pipette tool; brush
tool; turn the texture; scale the texture; block the selection; brighten the texture; chose the texture;
make a mountainous landscape; alignment; brush size; scaling; intensity.
45
Just next to this is the location of the texture selection, that we already learned in the 2D-window.
On top of this, where at this moment "Kein Motiv" is displayed, is the location of the texture
combinations that we already discussed when we had it about the start of a new layout. You can
again apply this separately and therefore more selective.
! Please note that when a motive has been selected, the choice of texture just underneath is not more
active and any selected texture cannot be applied.
7.2.1 Surface texturing
In order to apply a texture to the layout surface in 3D-view you can simply select the texture of your
choice and spray this directly on the intended surface with the spray tool. With the ruler
"Bearbeitungsgröße" (processing size) you can define how wide the spray tool will be. The ruler "
Intensität" should be left at value 1, as otherwise darker areas will be inserted automatically. As only
one texture would be too monotonous you should mix it with other textures. Or even more simple is
to select a motif, where different textures will be mixed immediately when applying the motif.
7.2.2 To make mountains...
Also the realization of mountains is clearly more straight forward in 3D-view. In this case you select
one of the three types (round, peaked or flat) and a processing size and the mountains will simply
appear in front of your eyes by pressing the left mouse button. However do select an appropriate
intensity in this case. The smaller the intensity setting is to slower the mountain will be created, and
vice versa.
In case you do not like the outline of the maintain because it is too steep or too flat, you can use the
tool "adapt the surface". With this tool you can sharpen or flatten the surface in between mountains
and valleys (to sharpen keep the Ctrl key pressed).
7.2.3 To make ramps...
With the ramp tool you can make ramps in 3D-view in the normal way. Only one difference: you
cannot make ramps around a corner.
! The ramp with defined in the 2D editor has also effect on the 3D tool.
7.2.4 Scaling of the texture.
In order to create a realistic effect you should use the texture scaling tool. Best is to use the random
mode. In order to do so select a texture with 3D-effect and the result will be stunning and very
simple to make:
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8. The signaling system.
A signaling system, it sounds quite simple, right? But it is not. See below the view in the layout
Frankfurt, main railway station. It just represents a part of the control logic required.
In this picture you see the so-called switching circuit. Where the notion logic refers to the older times
where we really had to build the switching circuit in a circuit or closed system. This was no longer
needed once the virtual track connection replaced most of the required long switching roads.
But this is not all. For this railway station several timetables had to be conceived in order to define
what train will set what signal. This would than look something like this:
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Impressed? Rightly so! To develop such a signaling system is certainly not easy. And once you have
finally understood all aspects of it EEP will probably bring out a new version. Now in order to make it
understandable for you let's have a look at our small railway station with the train that should simply
make a stop at the station.
8.1 The signal programming
Let us start in the 2D-view and select the appropriate field by clicking on the signal system button.
This is using the same structure we already know, but not entirely. In the middle you can see three
new options: Delete the signal, insert a contact point and choose
the type of contact point.
Let's start at the top. Open the main directory "Signals" followed by
the subdirectory "Signals". Several signals become available where
we can choose the one we will use.
Basically there are two types of signals:


Single aspect signals with only 2 possible signal aspects:
"Stop" and "Go"
Multiple aspect signals that can have up to 99 signal
aspects: for example, "Stop" and "Go" but also "Go with
max speed of 40k/h"
To start we will chose the signal "HP02 Form
(mehrbegriffig)". Click the signal to select it and
then click on the position where you want it to be
installed. In our case at the end of the platform:
Mmmm... not clever. Now we have the indication of the presence of a signal, but it shows in the
wrong direction. Before we correct the situation a few words concerning the placing of signals. In the
2D-view signals are always inserted at the right side of the direction of the track. You remember the
direction of the track? Green triangle and green dot. As we have turned the platform around at this
location the track direction is in the opposite direction. Therefore we will have to turn the signal as
well. To achieve this we click on the distant signal (the orange circle) and keep the left mouse button
pressed. When you now drag the distant signal over the signal (the red-white symbol) the signal will
change sides. The longer the distance between the distant signal and the signal, the longer the brake
distance of the train.
You can also change the position of the signal. Click on the symbol, keep the mouse button pressed
and drag it to the desired position. In our case, immediately behind the platform.
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This should now look like this:
Oh, and in case you thought there would
not be any settings... just right click on the
signal symbol:
Halteabstand or stop distance: the distance between the train and the signal after the train has
stopped.
Startverzögerung or start delay: the delay between the change of the signal to a Go indication and
the effect on the train.
Signalabstand or signal distance: the distance between the signal and the track.
Auswahl des Signalbegriffs or selection of the signal aspect: the selection of the actual signal aspect.
We leave all the settings as they are and confirm the window by clicking OK. Now we can start at the
programming of signals itself.
8.1.1 The signal contact point.
We already briefly mentioned the button "Insert a contact point". This is what we need now. Click on
the signal and immediately after this on the button to insert the contact point. The mouse indicator
is now showing two opposite triangles. Click this on the track in between the distant signal and the
signal. You will see two red triangles on the track, this is the contact point.
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And how else could it be, of course some setups are waiting for us. But we are lucky, all types of
contact points are similar in basic layout. Open the contact point we just inserted with a right click on
the contact point:
Richtung eins – direction one: defines in what direction of the track the contact point will be active.
Richtung zwei – direction two: the contact point will be active in the opposite direction of above.
Zugschluss – end of train: the contact point will be activated only at the end of the train.
Lichter an/aus – lights on/off: the lights of the passing train will be switched off (empty), on (ticked)
or unchanged (cross)
Aktivierung verzögert – activation delayed: Delay the activation by x seconds
Aktivierungsdistanz – activation distance: activate only x meter after the actual position
Jeder – every: activate only every x times a train has passed. (Ist-Zustand or actual status shows the
effective x value)
Für Route – for route: only applicable for trains with the indicated routing (default is all)
Für Zug – for train: only applicable for the chosen train (default is all)
Filtername – Filter name: only for trains with starting with the indicated string in the name
Wenn Signal/Weiche –when signal/switch: conditional on the position of a signal or switch
Lua Funktion – LUA function: the LUA function that needs to be executed
Effekt – effect: effect to be executed when activated
This is a handful. Try to define the contact point in
such a way that the execution of the command is done
in the forward direction of the train (counterclockwise)
at the start of the train, but only after a delay of 20
seconds. It can be activated by all trains, well, there is
only one train. The signal should change into position
"Fahrt" or "Go". This should look like this:
50
In this case our train will switch the signal after 20 seconds before he departs. Excellent. But now we
must also switch the signal back to the "Stop" position. So insert a second contact point behind the
main signal. It has to be activated in the direction of the train, in any case only at the end of the train
and effective immediately. The signal will be placed in the "Halt" or stop position.
You can now switch to the 3D-view and see the operation of you first signal that was programmed by
you.
8.1.2 Conditional execution
When we were looking at the properties of the signal contact point we had mentioned something
about "Wenn Signal/Weiche" or a conditional setting. This is the so-called conditional execution. A
contact point will only be activated if a defined condition is met. Let's program the contact point in
such a way that it only executes if the switch at the storage facility is in the correct position, so in this
case straight and not towards the buffer stop.
The switch has the ID # 1. So we fill in the number one in the first field, and the second field we select
the position "Fahrt" or Stop.
In this case the command will only be
executed if the switch 1 is in the correct
position. Let's try it. Change the position of
the switch to the other direction and see
what happens. The train will remain in the
station because the signal remains in the
Halt position. The only recourse is to bring
back the switch in the correct position and
to change the signal manually.
Oh, right. How to change a signal by hand?
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8.1.3 Changing of signals and switches in manual mode
Of course we do not have to drive over a contact point each time we want to change the position of
a switch. An alternative, at least to change a signal as we have seen already, is to right click on the
signal and simply chose the desired position. However another easier method is to press the SHIFTkey on the keyboard and to click the signal, whether in 3D, 2D or radar window. The signal then
changes to the next available position.
The same thing is applicable to switches, with this difference that the pressing of the SHIFT-key is not
necessary in 2D-view and in the radar window.
8.2 The contact point for switches
The contact point for switches has been conceived in exactly the same way as the signal contact
point, and also operates in the same way. In order to insert the contact point we simply click on the
commanding rail segment. The only positions are "Fahrt" to go on the straight track, "Abzweig" to go
on the diverging track and eventually "Ko-Abzweig" for a second diverging track if available.
8.3 The sound contact point
The sound contact point is probably the least used contact of the family. Its only purpose is to play a
certain sounds each time the contact is activated. The basic concept is identical to the signal contact
point:
Only the bottom part has been changed. This is where we can select a sound. The sound list under
"Sound effect" however is still empty. We will have to fill it first using the button "Sound hinzufügen"
or insert sound. Once we click this a selection window is opened where you can select a sound by
clicking it and insert it by clicking on "open". If you want to listen to the sound first you can simply
click on "Abspielen" or play. In the field "Max. Lautstärke" or max. volume you can control the
volume of the sound. However until this day it is quite unclear to many what actually is influenced by
the value in this field.
! Although this contact point is seldom used it is very suitable to execute a LUA function. The yellow
color of the contact is highly visible and the contact point has a default value that will not execute any
command.
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8.4 The vehicle contact point.
The vehicle contact point is both the most complex but also
the most important contact point of the family.
It allows you to separate trains, to couple trains, to change
routings of trains, to control axes, to control the speed, to
load cars on trains and a lot more.
The basic concept of the top part is again the same.
Under this top part you find "Auf Fahrzeug/Zug anwenden:".
This is the so-called remote control. This allows to control a
vehicle, even when it is not the one activating the contact
point. This is very convenient to automate the events in a
switching circuit.
Next to this you will find "Auswahl der Route". With this
feature you can select a new route that will be assigned to
the vehicle passing the contact point or the one that was
defined in the contact point.
Just below this you will find "Steuerung von Achsen". Yes,
our axes are here again. We will come back to this more in detail in the following subchapter.
Under this is the "Kupplungskontrolle". With this feature trains can be removed or change consist.
We will find selections like " Flügeln" (divide the train in two parts), "Kopf machen" (bring a
locomotive to the other end of the train) or the operations at the gravity hump yard (decompose a
train completely and make a new consist).
The area hereunder is dedicated to the loading and unloading of vehicles. The so-called Huckepack
operations are also included. So for example the loading of cars onto wagons. Or driving trains on
which cars are loaded.
Bottom left is the most important field, the speed control:
Vormerken/Wiederherstellen - To store or recall the actual speed.
Fahrtrichtungsumkehr - Reverse direction at the actual or newly defined speed.
nicht langsamer als - drive not slower than the indicated value
nicht schneller als – drive not faster than the indicated value
festlegen - drive at the indicated value
Geschwindigkeit (km/h) - the indicated value in km/hour
In the bottom right field a number of vehicle parameters can be defined where a cross means no
change, an empty box means deactivate, a hook means activate. They are:
Hooks on/off
smoke on/off
give a warning signal
direction indicator left on/off
direction indicator right on/off
lights on/off
create dust.
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8.4.1 The remote control
In order to control a vehicle remotely we of course need a second vehicle on the layout. In the field
"Auf Fahrzeug/Zug anwenden:" we will refer to the vehicle that we want to control. The changes as
defined in the contact point will then be applied to the selected vehicle. To give just one example this
can be very useful to activate an excavator that is on the layout as rolling stock but is not moving
from itself.
8.4.2 The control of axes
We already mentioned the axes a few times. Now is a good time to explain more in detail. We want
to use as example the „Kalmar DRF450-60S5 blau“ that is available in the basic set. Place the vehicle
on your layout wherever you want, but best on a road. You have now 2 options to control the moving
parts of this vehicle.
The first one is located immediately under the control dialogue. You can select the desired axe and
can move this simply by moving the slider next to it.
The second one is located in the vehicle contact point in the control of the axes. Also here you select
the axe and control is with the slider next to it. The slider position will define how far the axe should
be moved. In addition you can define a filter that allow you to control not one axe at the time, but all
axes whose names are starting with the same character string.
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8.4.3 Couplings control
In order to describe the coupling operations and to be able to represent a given operating procedure
we could dedicate an entire book to this subject. This is why we will limit us to a description of the
fields.
The so-called radio buttons " Kupplung lösen" work together with the filed "Rollmaterial Nr."
representing the number of the rolling stock. In this case the intention is to release the coupling of
the xth rolling stock in the train consist, counted from the front to the back. So you need to know
exactly what vehicle you want to disconnect and where it is located in the train consist.
Next to this you find the single control for the couplings of a vehicle. Also in this case the cross means
no change, the hook that the coupling will be activated and no entry in the field means that the
coupling becomes inactive and will be uncoupled from the other vehicles.
In the field "Neuer Zugname" you can give a new name to the uncoupled train part. This is quite
helpful in order to continue more complex operations, like for example an ICE train with different
independent parts.
To describe how the change the locomotive to the other end of the train we recommend to look at
the detailed Video Tutorial that you can find under following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3GrfCgHMok
8.4.4 Huckepack-operations
Also for the Huckepack-operations or trucks-on-train operation we could write a whole dedicated
book. The settings however are quite clear. In order to prepare a rolling stock that can be loaded to
receive the load we have to activate the option " Rollmaterial bei nächster Gleisverbindung
anschließen" (connect rolling stock at next rail connection). In this case we have defined that the
Splines that is carried by the rolling stock will connect with a Splines (e.g. a street segment) with
what it is not yet connected. In the field hereunder you have to mention exactly how many vehicles
will be loaded or unloaded. In this field we should not consider how many single vehicles, but rather
how many vehicle consists (a single car is also a "consist").
8.4.5 Speed control
Finally a function where we can let off some steam. Unfortunately not everything is so easily
explained.
To store a speed in a vehicle is for example needed when we have to pass through very sharp curves.
In the contact point we will activate "vormerken" or preset and at the same time we define the speed
as e.g. 20km/h. Behind the curve we will position another contact point where "Wiederherstellen" or
restore is activated. In this case the vehicle will again drive with its original speed.
And specifically for terminal stations the function " Fahrtrichtungsumkehr" or change of direction is
essential. However it all sounds better than it is, because the function has its bugs. It is very
important to note that the change of direction is applied immediately independent of any applicable
signal. Those who might think "great, in this case I position the change of direction in between the
distant signal and the main signal and we're good" has not seen the problem. The rolling stock will be
55
influenced by the STOP position of the signal, will change direction as soon as it hits the contact point
and the signal will be forgotten. It is a good idea to use the inertia of the rolling stock. The change of
direction contact point is therefore position just in front of the distant signal. And by just in front we
mean just in front:
8.5 The Camera Contact point
The Camera contact point subject can be delayed till later. Also this contact point is extremely
complex and is only important if and when you want to automate the layout completely. For this
case the following is important: the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
8.6 The Immovable's contact point
With the immovable's contact point you can do a lot of dangerous thinks, so as for example to set
houses on fire. Interested? Great!
The basic structure is again the same. Also in
this case we find an area for the control of axes
like in case of the vehicle contact point. But the
functions are a bit different.
Bewegung in Richtung A – Move the axe in
direction A to the end of the range.
Bewegung in Richtung B – Move the axe in
direction B to the end of the range.
Schritt – Move the axe with x steps where x is
defined
in
the
field
„Anzahl“
Stop – Stop the ongoing movement.
Just underneath you will find the controls for
fire, smoke and light. To light a fire, activate the
contact point and position the ruler at 100%. In
combination with the smoke it looks even
better.
56
8.7 The Group contact point
The Group contact has no function on his own. It is however a big help with important switching
circuits in order to maintain an overview. Place the contact point where you have a big concentration
of contacts, and drag existing contact points into the group contact point: soon you will see order.
Rather than having 20 individual contact points you can have only one like this and all underlying
contact points are easily accessible. Just right-click on the group contact point and from this screen
you can easily work with each individual contact point like before.
8.8 The Omega contact point
With this contact point you can activate or deactivate the swelling and sinking of Omegas. What, you
do not know what the swelling and sinking of Omegas is? No problem, no need to know, it does not
work anyway.
8.9 LUA-Programming
For this you need to read a lot more than only this book.
A good start can be found here:
http://www.eepforum.de/board142-eep-x/6565-lua-rennt-ein-einsteiger-tutorial-nur-tutorial/
57
9. The Weather system
The weather System in EEP is definitely one of
the strong points of the program. It cannot be
improved. The setup is easy and self explanatory.
You can find them in the Toolbar as third symbol
from right to left (sun and moon). With the setup
screen you can define the layout arrangement,
chose a season and choose a background.
With a little exercise you will be able to create
impressive results, as you can see from the
picture below. Just try it out, impressive what
you can do with it.
58
10.
The setup of the layout
Every layout requires its own specific settings.
The setup page can be found under Datei >
Anlageninformation.
Left top you will see the name of the layout
to save on disk. Just hereunder you will find
general information as layout size, the length
of the tracks and the number of models used.
In the large field you can type a description.
This will be displayed each time the layout
will be opened. This is also useful for your
personal notes, so that you can remember
what you have done to this layout last time or
what still needs to be done.
On the right you have some additional
settings:
Vmax-Faktoren
The Factor by which vehicles will be slowed down to drive into curves, so if 0.5 is mentioned the
vehicles will be slowed down by 50%. In case the value is 0.00 no influence will be applied.
EEP6-Kamerawinkel
With this setting you can apply a wide angle view that finds its origins in an older version of the
program.
3D-Vollbildschirm-Modus
When the layout is opened it will start with full screen in the 3D-view.
Weichen aufschneiden erlaubt
Rolling stock drive on switches from the side that is not positioned, and will position the switch
automatically.
Tfz. Benötigt Elektrifizierung
Rolling stock with pantograph will only move if the track is electrified.
Linksverkehr für Automobile
Road vehicles will drive on the left side of the streets.
Terrain LOD
Mountains will be flattened from far away in order to reduce the PC load. However it does not look
so nice, so better to deactivate if not needed.
Terrainkachelung reduzieren
On a repeated ground texture the superimposed texture will be scaled a bit larger in order to reduce
the negative effect.
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11.
Helpful Links und Tools
11.1 Links
EEP-Forum
http://www.eepforum.de/index.php
Trend-Shop
https://eepshopping.de/index.php
FAQ concerning EEP
http://www.eepforum.de/board233-frequently-asked-questions-faq-for-eep-version-7-and-higher/
Download base for EEP
http://www.dbbase-eep.de/
Free model catalogue for EEP
http://baseportal.de/cgi-bin/baseportal.pl?htx=/tycoon1/Freemodelle
Video-Tutorials for EEP
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9BAA2E743F295F6E
Video-Tutorials for Eisenbahn X
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPV_dsuygAjdTea3fcvcrG5Ow7Q-eyZ6L
EEP-community on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/groups/EEP.Gemeinde/
11.2 Tools
Exchange manager
http://www.eepforum.de/board37-zusatztools-ab-eep-7/90-tauschmanager/
Model catalogue
https://eepshopping.de/eep-modellkatalog|6068.html
Contact-Explorer
https://eepshopping.de/kontakt-explorer-9-64-bit-version|5307.html
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Special thanks
I want to thank all users who supported me during the creating of this
Also to Stefan Kasch (SK3) and Thomas Becker (TB1) for having a look on mistakes.
document.
Very special thanks to nong (Andreas) for the translation of this document from German to English!
Roma
n Iwer
61
Digital unterschrieben
von Roman Iwer
DN: cn=Roman Iwer, o,
ou,
email=webmaster@riw
er-eep.de, c=DE
Datum: 2014.11.05
15:18:59 +01'00'