I was running an activity, and had dekosoft BNSF 6902ai,and 7038ai on a siding,along came the player train and the 6902 caused it to derail.Rerunning the scenario I had the ctrl and+ on showing the bounding box thing and it showed that both Dekosoft models were flared out accross the opposing track,causing the derailment.

If you need information on setting a bounding box, try here:

http://www.train-sim.com/howto/boundbox.htm

John

Thanks for the feedback, I'm looking into this issue.

I'd like to add that this author has passed away but this info is the standard for all MSTS 'trains' of today. It's a wonderfull tutorial and easy to follow and highly recomended AND even has pics for better detail of instructions. Click that above link and all your bounding problems will go away.

I have a felling it was Cyndi Richards.

yep, it was... But her work lives on!

Chip,

I sent you an email the sd40_sbd8115 has the same problem with some kind of binding box coming out of the side of the locomotive that when it approaches anything it derails. This looks like it come from the left front set of wheels. This is not exactly a binding box problem but something else. Using BBoxedit you can not get rid of this as it has nothing to do with width, length and hight. Hopefully Chip can figure this out. It could be affecting all sd40 and others. Will have to use Conbuilder to see.

Dave

Dave,

What does this loco look like in Shape File Viewer? You can "turn on" the values in the .sd file by pressing CTRL-D while the loco shape is displayed in SFV. Does the problem show in SFV? Is there a freight animation shape in the .eng file? If so, does this added shape have it's own .sd file with a bounding box in it? Either there is another shape which has a bounding box that sticks out, or the .sd file for this locomotive has what is called a "complex" bounding box. If there is not a freight animation shape loaded by the .eng file, then post the contents of the .sd file for the locomotive. I am very curious to see what is in that. If there is a freight animation shape that has it's own .sd file, you may have to manually check and edit the bounding box belonging to the "second" shape loaded by the .eng file. I don't have these locos, so I am only guessing here, but I am very curious about this.

Dave,

try these values in the .sd file:

ESD_Bounding_Box ( -1.4865 0.295 -10.0682 1.4865 4.59257 10.0918 )

the lower Y-axis value is set at zero in the original file.

Tim B

Thanks Everyone,

I finally got the proper setting in the sd File but I will use Tim's. I used Cindy's Tutorial. I was really dumb on this and learned a lot in the mean time. That is why I did not answer sooner. Next time I will know. Again Thanks.

Dave

One more thing for all. The sd40_sbd.eng file has this
Size ( 10ft 15ft+10in 20.76m) so to used BBoxedit it must be in meters. I thought it was strange since most everything else I looked at had meters for measurements. Except for the ones that Benny talked about above.

Dave

Joe,

I went to a back up copy of the sd40_sbd8115 and using SView I do not see the binding box coming out of the side. You can see it in MSTS by using the Control Plus Key. It is strange because some of Dekosoft Engines are fine and others are not. It all has to do with what numbers that are in the SD File. If I have problems I will use Cindi's Tutorial. Her calculations are different tham Tim's on the Height of the bottom of the Binding Box. She uses 0.9m as a standard and Tim doesn't. Her data seems to work though and it is fairly easy to understand. Another point is that some of the SD40's have all measurements in meters and others do not. You would think that things would have some convention standards.

Dave

The value I use for the lower value of the Y-axis was an arbitrary decision on my part, reached independently, as I felt that a value of zero (or a negative) in the vertical axis might be the cause of some derailments. I may try the 0.9 value in regard to a couple of problems I've encountered with the trucks when coupling to certain freight cars using the front coupler.

There is a bit of inconsistency in the .eng and .wag files of most long term content providers for MSTS, both freeware and payware, reflecting the additional knowledge that has been gained over the years. The sd40_sbd8115 is part of the earlier pro series which was released quite a while back - I'd guess 3 years or so. Through the efforts of Cindy, Joe, Bob Boudoin, Yuri, and many others, we know a lot more now than we knew back then, yet still the front coupler mystery continues to haunt us.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few 'standards' in the MSTS world, and getting rolling stock from various sources to 'play nice' together, especially in switching activities, can require a lot of editing. Fortunately, it's something I enjoy doing.

Good luck,
Tim (not Jim)

Sorry about using the wrong name but Joe Morris was in the discussion also. Thanks for your reply and appreciate your and all the other's hard work. Yes I know about meeting challenges of MSTS as I have been Beta Testing Activities for quite a few years.

Dave

Dave, et al:

I think one of the most important things being overlooked is that YOU have to have consistency with all your stock. You have to set your standards as to what works for YOU and apply them to all stock.

My "standards" are;
Physics by Bob Boudoinn, latest available.
Couplers by Joe Morris, front & rear.
Bounding boxes by Cyndi.
Friction by Joe Realmuto.

Everything runs great and front coupling/uncoupling is 99% successful.

John