AP Sky Accurate Time of Day

Thanks for the very kind comment, hope you enjoy it!

Fantastic, thank you!

Thanks Shamus!

Funnily enough I think that was one of the scenarios I tested an early version of this on a couple of months ago! It's amazing how many scenarios we drive in daylight when realistically it should be dark. On the other hand though, if you're driving a summer scenario in Scotland without this program, it gets dark up to an hour and a half too early, but that's all rectified with this. Glad you're finding it useful!

Also apologies if you got notified for my reply to Shamus just now. TSC doesn't allow you to reply to replies, so I had to add another reply under your original comment (like he did).

ChiefJack, It's okay, I don't get notifications anyway, thanks again! And do I understand correctly that this program is not suitable for German routes? The program gives me an early dawn at 12:00 with my IKB4 route (update of IKB3) in quick drive

It is suitable for any route. However it won't work in Quick Drive because Quick Drive scenarios do not show up in the scenario list like Career, Standard and Free Roam scenarios do. They are made by the simulator when you click to load into them, so it's not possible to select them beforehand. Are you also getting that issue when trying a Standard scenario on that route?

Ohh, sorry, I mean Free Room scenario, not quick drive, mistake

It should work fine for a Free Roam. Do you have a link to the route at all?

I'm sorry to mess with your head a little, I'm working on improving the IKB3 route, the route was copied a little crookedly, as it turned out, and the coordinates flew off. They were 0/100. I set the coordinates of the original route and everything worked perfectly.

Ah glad you got it sorted. Was gonna say it seemed like the coordinates for the route were set to something extreme that didn't match reality!

Yes you can. This program won't affect the weather component of the AP EP in any way, it just edits the sky component for the selected scenario. Those are two separate components of the AP EP so weather and weather extensions will still work as normal.

What about Quick Drive scenarios?

Tarik, as stated clearly in the description above:
Please note that because Quick Drive scenarios do not show up in the scenario list like Career, Standard and Free Roam scenarios do, they are NOT SUPPORTED by this program. They are made by the simulator when you click to load into them, so it's not possible to select them beforehand.

Cheers Sam, hopefully you can get some good use out of it!

Cheers Ash!

Cheers for the very kind words Mark, glad you're finding it useful!

Thanks!

Cheers!

Do any error messages appear when you open the program or select a route?

Es gibt keine Fehlermeldungen.

thank you lots my pc mess up over this weather like freeze wont go up load scenarios game please how delete files please
i cant find files delete

The program finds every file named RouteProperties.xml that's within your RailWorks/Content/Routes folder and lists them in the route section. Similarly, once you select a route, it finds every ScenarioProperties.xml file within that route folder and lists them. This includes files that are within ap files. I don't really own any German content but the filenames should be the same in English and German otherwise the game wouldn't work. Do all the routes/scenarios show up in other third party tools like TS Tools and LocoSwap?

Paul, I think that is quite an extreme comment. Given that hundreds of people have used this and not had it freeze their PC, it suggests you have done something wrong when using the program.

Anyhow, to remove the program, delete this folder: RailWorks/plugins/AP Sky Accurate Time of Day
Then, reinstall the AP SWEP 2.0

i did delete this folder: RailWorks/plugins/AP Sky Accurate Time of Day and reinshall ap weather still no work same scenario freeze all over restore and start up everything back make me sad

Paul, if you're still having it freeze after removing the program, it's clearly nothing to do with using this program because all files related to it have been deleted. If it's just one specific scenario, then it's an issue with the scenario (or perhaps some of the trains used in the scenario).

i got good news remove RailWorks/plugins/AP Sky Accurate Time of Day gone all scanarios work thank god i m sorry and not use download again thank you help about remove it

The program should work with all routes, including clones. It finds every file named RouteProperties.xml that's within your RailWorks/Content/Routes folder and lists them in the route section. This includes files that are within ap files. Do all the routes show up in other third party tools like TS Tools and LocoSwap?

To remove the program, delete this folder: RailWorks/plugins/AP Sky Accurate Time of Day
Then, reinstall the AP SWEP 2.0

That error means that the RouteProperties.xml files for those specific routes aren't valid xml files, usually because they're corrupt or have invalid xml characters. The program will still run fine if you dismiss the error, you just won't be able to use it on scenarios for those routes. If you want to clear the errors, you'll have to find those files and correct the issues in them.

Would you be able to send me the RouteProperties.xml files for a couple of routes that aren't showing up? My Discord is chiefjack__ if you have Discord. If you don't, please could you fill out the contact form here: https://forms.gle/BCR6sTEeknYxfmJs8
And include an email I can contact you on, then we can share file via email. Thanks

@ChiefJack: I have the same problem. Many routes are missing in your programe, but in Locoswap and TS Tools they are listed up. If you find a solution for this problem, perhaps you can share this here. So that we all can use your fantastic mod with all our routes. Thank you for your help.

Johmathema, would you be able to do the same thing and send me some of the RouteProperties.xml files that aren't showing up for you please using one of the methods I mentioned above?

I know I've spoken to both of you directly about this, but for anyone else having this issue, an update has now been released to rectify it, along with a bunch of other fixes and improvements.

Hi Noah, did you run the update scripts option the first time you used the program?

Hi Stephen, if you'd have commented 12 hours earlier, I could have added that to the v1.1.0 release! Whilst it's a good suggestion that I'd also like to see, as it stands I'm not going to release a new version just for this one small feature so that people don't have to redownload again. Obviously if there are further features or fixes I need to make in the future, I can include this in such an update. Thanks for your feedback :)

No worries at all. Whenever the opportunity arises is absolutely fine with me. It's a very cool tool regardless. Thanks again.

Thanks for the kind words!

Thanks Denis!

Hi Stephen, that was a bug I fixed before release, but it appears that when I moved development from my desktop to my laptop I forgot to install an updated code library which is why the issue has resurfaced. It has been fixed for an update (along with your auto close suggestion) which will be released very soon once I have fixes in for a couple of support tickets. Apologies for this issue.

That's fabulous. Thanks very much.

Sorry that you're having an issue. I have sent you an email with the next steps.

As I said on Discord:
Delete this folder: RailWorks/plugins/AP Sky Accurate Time of Day
Then, reinstall the AP SWEP 2.0

The program doesn’t support Quick Drive (if you’re doing a Quick Drive, just make sure you have no scenario selected in the program), so that might be why you’re having issues?

Hi, when you select a scenario, it will put the AP sky on any route, even if it's not listed/supported by the AP SWEP by default. Then when you deselect the scenario after driving it, it will revert the sky back to whatever it was before. So back to the default AP sky if on a supported route, or the default DTG/Kuju/other devs sky if on an unsupported route.

So yes, in summary, this program will work with any route, even if it's not one that's supported by AP.

wow thanks, that is reason enough to load it anyway I am really warming to this mod!

Hi, I don't own that route, but I've just downloaded your patch and had a look at the files. It appears that you're re-distributing the RouteProperties.xml file for the route in your ShastaRouteEnhancementsScenarios.ap file which goes in the route folder. Hence the program will be picking up the RouteProperties.xml from the main route ap file, and then also from your ap file.

If you're wanting to redistribute that file so that the route uses AP skies, you should include it as a file in the route folder itself. That way the program will only detect that version, and it also removes any chance of the sim getting confused with which version to pick as well (the sim is likely to randomly pick either the default or your updated one when they're both in an ap file, but if it's outside any ap file, it will always pick your updated one).

Thank you, that fixes the problem! And I did not know about that random selection. Wanted to keep things clean, but it looks like it leads to some potential problems. And thanks again for the explanation.

BTW how do you get information about some route position on Earth surface (or just getting information about its location relative to the equator)?

Glad to hear that fixed your problem. The program gets the location information by reading the ScenarioProperties.xml and seeing where the scenario marker has been placed for that specific scenario.

Hi, it looks like your TS install isn't set properly in the registry. A proper error message has been added for the next update to the program, but for now you can fix it by setting your install path in the registry using this tool: https://support.justflight.com/support/solutions/articles/17000064787--railworks-registry-entry-was-not-detected-or-railworks-was-not-found-

Yep, that did the trick. Thx man!

Oh, and srry to ask, but does the program even work with quick drive?

As stated in the product description on this page, and in the manual, the program does not work in Quick Drive, and explains why it doesn't.

This mod doesn't change the sky colours from the original SWEP from AP - it just adjusts the timings for things like sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset, and then the sky colours match the date of the scenario rather than the season, but all using the original colours.

Hi, thanks for the kind words! What was the exact error message you received?

Yes, this can be applied to any route from anywhere around the world.

Hi, sorry that you’re encountering this issue. It’ll likely be easier to provide support via Discord or email. If you have Discord, please message me: chiefjack_
Otherwise, fill out the support form where you can leave your email and I’ll get back to you. I’m sure we’ll get it fixed. Thanks!

Hi Miguel, sorry to hear this. It seems that for some people, their AV is persistently blocking the program whilst it is fine for others with the same AV, which is very odd. Have you checked also to see whether Windows Defender is quarantining it? In Norton, can you restore the program files from the quarantine area to fix it? I used to have Norton installed but found it to be more of a nuisance than an aid so removed it myself - I just stick with the basic Defender offering these days.

I'm having the same issue with McAfee. ATS and AP downloads are being tagged as viruses. It's probably the Antivirus suites giving false positives, rather than a real issue. I emailed AP and they said that it's undoubtedly the case. With McAfee, I can restore the quarantined files and mark them as safe, so that I can run the installers.

Dunworkin2, indeed that’ll be the case. Sadly, unless people pay several hundred quid a year for a certificate, AV software will generally block programs even when there are no issues with it at all. For individuals releasing free software like myself, it’s unjustifiable to pay that unfortunately, meaning some users run into issues with their AV software reporting a false positive. Thanks for your understanding though.

HI, No I get a "whoops" error this file cannot be restored message every time I try to restore and create exception. I don't understand how it doesn't pick up error when downloading, or even installing. It's only when I start to load TSC it pops up and moves it to quarantine asking me to restart PC. If I close the message, the game loads and plays but I cannot use this add on.

Hi Miguel, that suggests it might be trying to quarantine the launcher.exe file which is located in the Config folder for the program. Have you made an exception in Norton for that file, as well as the main program exe?

I'm at a loss tbh mate. I've created an exception for the launcher.exe in the config folder but it still insists on placing it in quarantine every time I run TSC. Like I say it's strange it doesn't pick it up when initially downloading it or the initial install, just opening the game. Even tried disabling aspects of Norton but it's the same result.

I’m at a loss too unfortunately. It seems very weird that it’s removing an excluded file, I can’t even see anything on Google about others having the same issue. Final thought, have you tried excluding the whole folder?

Hi Miguel, this is very odd. Could you try filling out this form from the Norton website to tell them that they're wrongly reporting the exe as a false positive: https://submissions.norton.com/reportfalsepositive#pc
I doubt they'll doing anything but it's worth a go.
I'm also sure you've already done all this, but I asked ChatGPT for ideas and it suggested that you need to make a couple of different types of exceptions for the program: https://chatgpt.com/share/68813b1d-ac44-800c-b91d-549e97a9c360

Hi mate. I don't know how or what has happened but it is now working without any issues. I'm not aware of any updates to either my PC or Norton. I tried many things myself and each time started TSC. The last thing I tried was a reset of Norton which seemed to do the trick. So I'm now happy. Thanks for taking the time to help mate, much appreciated. Great work, it adds so much more realism.

Pleased to hear you managed to get it working, enjoy!

Hiya, yes this should work fine with any route in TS, including North American ones.

Cheers, hope you enjoy it!

Hi Jamie, yes this is indeed a false positive. You should be able to restore it and set an exception.

Hi, this is a known issue with the template route file that is included with SWEXR. I have previously notified Just Trains of the issue and am awaiting a fix to be released from them. In the meantime though, you can drop in this file to fix the issue: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18lXJIjv2L49mo0KCQYyZ6KErPG5HHGoP/view?usp=sharing

You sir are an absolute star! dropped the new file in and loaded up a scenario with no problems. I have been replaying some old scenarios and with your add on they feel completely different, Seeing the sun rise on an early morning scenario is something else. Thank you so much for making this wonderful add on!

Thank you for the kind words, I’m glad you’re enjoying it so much!

Hi, can I ask what the weather type is for the scenario which can be found in the editor?

It was Fair Cloud with wind

Have you tried reinstalling the AP SWEP 2.0 to rule out any issue there?

Not yet but I'll give it a try

I reinstalled it and its still dark. It also looks like the sun is missing

Please could you fill out the support form linked in the description above and leave your email address so I can continue assisting you. Thanks

Cheers again!

Hi, this just means that one of the scenarios that you have installed for the route has some corruption, meaning the program can't read its data properly. This means that it won't be displayed in the list of scenarios to select. All other scenarios for the route will be fine and can be selected as normal - it's just one specific scenario that won't be available to select. Hope that make sense!

Hi Jack it must be one of the default scenarios as i took these out of the folder and the error has now gone, thanks for all your help as always :)

The program was designed to be kept open whilst you're driving a scenario, but in theory it should still work fine if you select a scenario, close the program, and then drive the scenario. Closing the program won't deselect the scenario so you will still see the correct TOD updates. When the program is next opened, it will effectively deselect the scenario and revert the files back to normal. So yes, you should be able to select and then close the program for each scenario you drive. Hope that helps!

Thanks Jack! Only reason I brought it up was because I've found sometimes when I try to record a clip in the game with another window open, it sometimes records that instead, so I was hoping to avoid that while using it. I'll let you know if anything happens when I try it out.

Hi Matty, please could you confirm whether this is the original SWEX route, or the newer extended SWEXR (SWEX to Reading).

Oh, it's the newer one to Reading, sorry, should've mentioned that. I checked Midland Main Line too, that's unaffected, so doesn't seem like a Common Library issue.

I've just tested my end and all is working fine. May I ask if you're seeing the fully black route with or without a scenario selected in the program? Please could you enable logging in the program settings and then try to select a scenario on the route. Then could you DM me the log on Discord (chiefjack_). If you don't have Discord, please could you fill out the support form and provide me some other means of contacting you.

I can absolutely do that, I'll find you on Discord and let you know the results, thanks!

Thanks Stephen! Tom is the one who makes the OTS scenario packs so it’s up to him really if he wants to help promote it. I’ll pass the comment on though :)

For the Birmingham 2010 route, it looks like the scenario markers have for some reason been placed many 1000s of miles away from where the route actually is. So much so that the latitude for them is 103.625... - latitude only ranges from 0-90. Therefore, even if it didn't have that error message, the timings used would be completely inaccurate. It's a scenario issue, not a program issue.

For the Marston Vale one, I'm going to need more information. It's likely a scenario issue, but that scenario doesn't appear to come with the route, and I can't find it online anywhere.

marston vale route from UkTS 36624 ok i try fix birmingham 2010 later i love this weather thx mate

I know what the route is, as I downloaded it to check if the scenario you’re trying to select is included in the route, but it doesn’t appear to be. The information I was asking for is where the scenario is from. Thanks.

ok i wonder inside sceanrios on marston vale route on content on zip folder ????

Hi Paul, sorry but I have no idea what you mean here. As I've said already, I've checked to see if the scenario is one that comes with the route, which it isn't, and you don't seem to know where it is from either, which means I can't really be of much help to you. If you can give me a link to download the scenario I can have a look at this further, but otherwise there's nothing I can do sadly.

thank anyway mate

Glad you like it!

https://www.mcafee.com/support/s/article/000001661?language=en_US

Hi Ryan, apologies for the late reply. This was caused by the recent update to the SWEP, and could only be fixed by AP. I’m pleased to say that AP have updated the SWEP today, so if you redownload that, and then reinstall this plugin, it should hopefully work again. I haven’t been able to test this though, so if you could let me know how it goes, that’d be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi Jack this seems to have fixed it.

Hi Ryan, that’s great, thanks for letting me know

Hi Ryan, that looks like an internal issue with the code whilst it’s trying to calculate the timings for that specific scenario. If you fill out the support form linked in the description with some more details about the scenario, and leave me a contact method (email, Discord etc), I can get you to send over a copy of the scenario for me to debug. Thanks.

Hi Jack. The sky conditions aren’t too dissimilar from the in game template so I won’t submit this one. I’ll fill out the form if it happens again. Thank you for all your help!

No problem Ryan!