Hello Martin

We recently got the authors to release the source code of Route Riter and TSUtil for development targeting Open Rails with new features. However, I ran into some problems in TGATools2. There is a version 4.00.35 that doesn't work well at all, but it has some nice features. Do you plan to develop this further? Otherwise I kindly ask you to release the source code of TGATool2 to the community, we would really like to work on it.

Hope you have a nice day

Fran

Hi Fran

TgaTool2 was always a very specialised tool aimed at the original MS Trainsim.
As such it hasn't seen any development for even longer than my Flightsim stuff.

To be honest most of the functionality of the program is actually contained in the library dlls of my mwgfx system (mwgfx.dll, mwace.dll, mwdds.dll etc) and the code is mainly a series of api calls to various library functions. Not a lot of use on its own

As a general rule I don't release any of my actual code. I do offer a development kit (on request) that provides info on using the library functions in your own programs.

cheers

Martin

That's fine, but we still maintain compatibility with MSTS.

Here is the link to my Github repository where I host Route Riter source code:
https://github.com/FrannDzs/Route-Riter

TSUtils is awaiting licensing, but the code has already been licensed to me and will be available to everyone soon.

I found that Route Riter from Digital Rails provides different versions of his programs that are distributed on this website, with a different file size. Where do I get the latest versions of his tools, were those versions modified with his permission, or is that size because of the digital signature that Mr. Kraus added?

The TGATool2 download link here is beta version 4.00.35
http://www.mwgfx.co.uk/download/tgatl2.exe
which works more or less fine.
The link that says it downloads an earlier version
http://www.mwgfx.co.uk/download/tgatool2.ZIP
should be 4.00.34, but instead it is 4.00.23.
Can you please fix this?
Personally I would like to download version 4.00.34 from your site. I know it's floating around the web, but I don't trust it.

I understand you have your rule of thumb not to share your code. But we are talking about MSTS which is almost obsolete, you yourself already abandoned it more than 10 years ago. What is the reason behind why you won't share your code? Think that it will help a lot of people. That should be reason enough to be prouder than you are right now.

Thank you for your reply. Please consider releasing the TGATool code. Help to complete this mission.

Regards

Fran

Hi Fran

With regard to the downloads. I'm afraid what is linked on the website is what I have. I don't have any other versions hidden away anywhere. I moved the whole site to a new server about 10 years ago and most of it hasn't changed since. If there are other versions floating around later than 4.00.23 then they must be earlier beta versions.

I didn't do any special custom versions for anyone so any differences in the ones you are finding are down to either them simply being from a different period or perhaps, as you suggest, the post-processing involved in creating elevated or signed executables.

sorry I can't help you any more...

Martin

Hello Martin

Thank you very much.

I have one last question.

In TGATool2 in About>DLLs it says that mwtwack.dll is missing but I couldn't find it in the latest version which brings mwgfxdll.exe. What about this file?

Its a sign of the age of the program

In the early days of mwgfx some things were initially provided by extra dlls that were later incorporated into the main dll set

mwtwack is actually an interface to the windows Twain system which controls imaging devices such as scanners and cameras. It provides functions to select and operate twain devices and import images from them. The strange name is actually from windows which calls an object accessing Twain functions a Twacker.

The twain code was long ago incorporated in to mwgfx24.dll so mwtwack.dll is no longer needed.

Martin