June is MSTS month...

Copy of a post I've made over at UKTS. Despite my recent issues with UKTS, I am putting forth an idea to try and get some new content uploaded to the main site. If you want to take part but don't wish to upload there, why not upload something elsewhere and let us know.

Given the creative talent who post here, I hope many of you take part.

June is now going to be called MSTS Month!

The aim is to prove there's still life in the old dog and have a splurge of new (or updated) content for MSTS.

Please get involved and contribute something. It can be one item or it can be 20, it's down to you. All I ask is that you get it uploaded during the month of June. One month to get as much content for MSTS as possible.

It doesn't matter what you do, whether it's an activity, a new or re-skinned model (train, scenery etc), sounds, cabs or even a route. It doesn't matter what era it is, the more the better and the wider the variety, the more likely it will appeal to someone.

There's 16 days until June and then another 30 days in June to get something done.

Even if you're a newbie or never tried any content creation before, we still want you to have a go. There's so much searchable information on how to do stuff in the forums and if you can't find any info, just post on the forums and someone will reply with advice.

So come on, please get involved and prove that MSTS is still a sim worth persisting with.

Niall

Hi Niall,
I have already begun my first proper ever Project (Being a newbie) and I have posted here in the Workshop section. Not sure it will be finished by June though!....
Cheers
Andy

I just went and took a look, nice work so far!

That's a good idea Niall, and I'll endeavour to upload some of my revised FG DMUs - this could prove to be the fillip I need to take them forward.
I'll also see about completing some more RD entries as well as HFL entries.
Alec

Cheers Alec, some more FG DMUs would be most welcomed, I'm sure of it.

Indeed - count me in Niall.

Gives me a bit of an incentive to actually complete an activity or 2.

I've got one in the works at present for Briscard & will then hopefully revisit something I'd started on with NWC2 (possibly involving an element of pseudo-randomness )

Thanks Geoffrey.

I've got a couple of acts I've been meaning to finish for so long and I'm tempted to try and do a re-skin or two as well.

No promises, but this is a re-skin I'm going to try and do for June.



In 2006, one class 456 (006) received this white undercoat livery and it stayed that way for almost a year until it received new vinyls. It seemed everytime I was at Clapham Junction during this time, this unit would turn up.

As you can see I've only just started work but as it's only a 2-car unit, I'm hoping I can get it done in time!

Niall

Niall,

I like this idea, I'll try and kick a few things out of the workshop for it.
The idea has my full backing and I have made this topic an official anouncement.

Justin

Cut and paste my name in future, Justin!

Thanks for making it a sticky at top of the forum. Really pleased with the response so far and have just finished my first contribution, an act for MT's LSE route. http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic.php?f=239&t=132269

Opps, I'm so sorry about that Niall. (All fixed now, I have spelt my own name wrong in the past).
I have spent the last 47 (over 6 days) doing stocktake at my job, my brain isn't quite with it ATM.

Justin.

Looking at the response on UKTS "June will definitely bursting out all over" for MSTS - line borrowed from the musical Carousel.

Alec

And even MEP to be released in record time! (The final files have just been provided.)

Bob.

The question is will we be able to cope with all this excitement!

Alec

PS Hopefully we'll be able to replicate the "sofa" sellers, and extend June MSTS into July!

I have just posted a thread on the Trainsim forums adding links to here and UKTS, just in case we can excite them - well you never know!

Alec

rufuskins wrote:I have just posted a thread on the Trainsim forums adding links to here and UKTS, just in case we can excite them - well you never know!

Alec

You know, I did think about posting over there but they seem to have a better turnover of MSTS content than we do. However, I don't see why an idea can't be spread far and wide and hopefully some of them will take part, even if it ends up only on Trainsim.com.

Niall
I would agree with you, but posting there reminds US simmers that MSTS is still alive over here and that there is still original content that will be available.
In an ideal world it would be nice to spread the word even further to areas such as Europe and the Far East.
Alec

I posted this on UKTS but thought i'd repeat it here.
A few of you may have noticed that i've been firing out uploads to UKTS over the last couple of weeks. I've just uploaded another activity and hopefully i've time for one more.

This isn't an attempt to pre-empt Niall's excellent idea, but a necessity as June will be a busy month for me.

We are moving back to the UK in the middle of June, so soon i will have to organise getting the telephone/internet dis-connected, and doing the final packing ready for the drive back.

When we moved here, 6 years ago, we flew the dogs over. Now they are 9 and I decided that the stress of flying would be too much for them, so its a 5 day drive across Turkey, Greece, Italy and France to get to the Eurotunnel. It would have been nice to take longer but UK laws about bringing the dogs back in from outside the EU makes the timing tight.

Good luck, Niall, and hopefully towards the end of June I will be settled in Cornwall and the opportunity to download loads of goodies.
Cheers
Clive

Clive
Good luck with the move and I very much hope that the road trip with the dogs is enjoyable. You've certainly chosen a grand county to come back to.
Alec

Thanks Clive. As I've posted over on UKTS it's perfectly fine.

I'm sure that if this June idea initiates traffic to the site/forums, anyone who downloads then will no doubt look back and see what else has been uploaded recently and that hopefully means more downloads of your wonderful creations. While Thames-Trent is before my era, I get so much enjoyment out of the route with my peaks (you can say 'peaks' on here!) and I'm also still grateful for the two models you gave me for Glas-Car V3.

I wish you all the best with your move, hope it goes smoothly and look forward to seeing you back on the forums.

Niall

Well I think it is time for me to start overwhelming people:
I have just sent off (about time) the 47’s and the Royal Mail & RES vans for testing and evaluations, once the all clear is given I will (finally) piece together the last exEB add on pack: Mail By Rail (I have decided to postpone the 128’s for the time being).

I do currently have a rather large long term project in the workshops, but I do hope to be able to kick out a few more smaller projects during MSTS June.

One that I would like to get finished (but I do need some help with) is Doug Kightley’s Snowdon Mountain Railway. If anybody has some experience with the Route Editor and some free time (about 2-3 hours), could they please PM me. The route only needs final touches before release (namely adding in some sheep). Ideally I would like this route to be able to kick off MSTS June.

Justin

Seeing as I'm going to be working all weekend, thought I'd get in now and wish everyone who is taking park good luck for June, and thanks for getting involved.

It seems there will be something for everyone; Modern and retro locos/rolling stock, the promise of a route or two, scenery items and a fair few activities. My subscription is up to date and will need to be if I'm to download what I've seen on the various threads!

For those uploading, how you do it is up to you. You can either upload all in go or maybe spread them out over the four weeks, it really doesn't matter. There's no need to rush something and if you can't get it finished in June, then I'm sure we won't mind it in July or beyond.

I haven't set an upload target, but for statistical purposes, there have been 183 MSTS uploads in 2013 and the best month was January with 63. Let's just see how many we have come the end of June. I hope it's way more than 63! Because there's not always someone around to approve uploads, we'll be including today and 1st July when we come to count the uploads, so if you want to start uploading now, go for it!

I've got 2 uploads definitely to go up over the weekend and a 3rd on the way when I can sign off on the 303s.

Good luck everyone!

Niall

MSTS June 2013 is looking good based on the first set of UKTS uploads, and as for Mid East Plus - well words almost fail me!

Alec

One word sums up my emotions today and that word is 'wow!!!!'

Looking at the UKTS download screen and just inside a week we have 57 uploads for MSTS and it's completely dominating the download section over there.

So many people have taken part and if the pictures across the various threads on here and over there are anything to go by, it's going to be a very special month.

It's really heart-warming to see this level of interest still in the sim and if this idea helps spark more interest over the coming months then it will have all been worthwhile. I haven't downloaded so many items in a very long time!

All I can say once again is a big thanks to everyone taking part.

Niall

NiallGray wrote:One word sums up my emotions today and that word is 'wow!!!!'

Looking at the UKTS download screen and just inside a week we have 57 uploads for MSTS and it's completely dominating the download section over there.

So many people have taken part and if the pictures across the various threads on here and over there are anything to go by, it's going to be a very special month.

It's really heart-warming to see this level of interest still in the sim and if this idea helps spark more interest over the coming months then it will have all been worthwhile. I haven't downloaded so many items in a very long time!

All I can say once again is a big thanks to everyone taking part.

Niall

All 16 of the downloads on the first page, at this time, are MSTS.

David

This has (hoping not to sound soppy ) given me the boost to keep plugging away with the old girl,even though I am incapable of making any actual contribution to MSTS on the practical side,it proves we're still as good if not better than the Young Pretenders out there- My thanks to you all that contribute to MSTS, highest regards, Roger

rogersmith wrote: . . . even though I am incapable of making any actual contribution to MSTS on the practical side . . .

Ah, but you contribute by engaging with others here and on UKTS. Whilst you may not contribute directly you do indirectly by downloading and using the efforts of others, and hence encouraging those oak trees to grow from those little acorns!

Alec

dforrest wrote:[quote="All 16 of the downloads on the first page, at this time, are MSTS.

David

And again today (new downloads).

An idea I had, and one I've acted on this afternoon. I'm writing it here as the majority of us are MSTS veterans.

I've spent the last hour or so going through my contacts list on UKTS, sending PMs to people I've interacted with in the past, either via PM or those who replied in say my route, rolling stock or activities threads. In particular, I'm reaching out to those whose profile shows have not logged onto UKTS for a while. I wrote a message about what we're doing this month and if they still have any interest in MSTS to pop over to UKTS and take a look.

Now I know a lot of those PM's may go unread or even just be deleted, but if it ends interesting any of them and they go back and see what's happening, they may stick around to see what other goodies are coming their way in June. And I would consider even one or two people interested a success.

This is a copy of the PM in question.

Hi,

If you've no longer any interest in MSTS, please feel free to delete this message, I won't be PM'ing again!

But if you still do, we're currently running an initiative called 'June is MSTS month'.

http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic.php?f=238&t=132211

Naturally with a sim that's over 10 years old, there's been a decline but a number of us have come together to make June a month where the community pitch in and reverse that trend. Already in the first week we're enjoying the best month of the year in terms of uploaded content, which includes rolling stock, scenery and hopefully routes before month's end. Every day more people are joining in.

Just thought I'd contact anyone I'd not seen online for a while to see if you'd be interested in taking a look and see if anything you'd want to download.

If not, sorry for having taken up your time!

Regards,

Niall

If you know anyone who has not been around in a while, feel free to cut and paste (edit the name!) and send to them. It may go unanswered, but if any old faces do re-appear or get in touch then you can always fill them in on what's new and of course, this place!

Just an idea, feel free to get involved if you want to.

Niall

Hi guys (from a voice in the wilderness).

I can't post over at UKTS as most of you know, but I want to thank all of you that read these forums and have contributed (and will be contributing) to the MSTS month theme and especially to Niall who thought of the idea.

I still have my Premium membership (until I decide whether to renew it later this year) so I'm downloading everything you're making available.

Warm regards,

Bob Latimer.

Cheers Bob, that's appreciated.

Comming soon:



UKTS file id: 31244
(I have just finished uploading it now.)

Justin

Nice. Look forward to those!

Seeing as Shieldmuir Royal Mail is in my route, I hope it inspires someone to do some acts when V4 is out.

Niall

Those units look the real deal Justin, and they are of course welcome additions to the still expanding stock data base for MSTS.

Alec

Hi

I have been testing these sets for Justin and I can assure you that you will not be disappointed with them,the other good thing with Cl 47's the cabview and sounds aren't aliased to any pay ware items.

Mike

Well who saw the 1930s conversion for Thames/Mersey V4.0 coming - that was definitely out of left field!

Alec

Looks like I'm going to have to dig out my Thames-Mersey disc,not sure yet as there is a lot of stock to down load.
Mike

I have just uploaded some FG DMUs, namely 2 car and 3 car Class 118 sets, to UKTS as part of my contribution to this superb event.

Alec

Hi Alec,

Well done and thank you

Mike

OK - I've now upload a Version 3 of some Class 125 train sets this evening.

I am also in the process of revising my Class 126 repaints following a review by Ged (Slipperman12) - erm Still one or two items to tweak.

Here's a 3 car TFK set dozing quietly in Glasgow Central.



Alec

I've just uploaded the Class 126 repaints as two separate uploads, one for the TFK sets and the second for the TCK sets. They are complete with driving, AI and DIT consists, and the TFK sets contains the 6 car consists combining TFK and TCK sets.
My contributions came late, but of course better late than never.
This whole event has been wonderful and I suspect has exceeded most people's expectations, but just goes to show what is happening in computer rooms across the land that we are never aware of!
We must keep up the good work; perhaps not at the June 2013 level but slow and steady should do the trick. I have many more FG DMU sets to upload once I have revisited them to amend and update lights and sound.
I propose a chorus of three cheers for Niall,

I just want to say a big thanks to everyone who has taken part this month.

When I suggested this idea, I never imagined the response it would get. Not just in the number of uploads, but the sheer variety of them. I challenge any forum member not to have seen something worth downloading during this time.

The idea came about because I wanted to do something to show there was still life in the old dog, and that despite there being other newer sims, MSTS still has a lot to offer. I got fed up with posts about MSTS being dead, the lack of new uploads, and I wanted to challenge that way of thinking.

Thankfully, a lot of you must have felt the same way and the results have been amazing. The upload numbers were far higher than I dared hope for.

What I hope now are that those uploads help generate new content creation. Perhaps the new route additions and/or stock encourage you to write an act, or maybe the new scenery additions inspire you to try route building. Some of our members, new and old, are trying out various forms of content creation at the moment and that can only be a good thing.

To those of you who wanted to take part, but were unable to contribute in time, keep plugging away and upload when you're ready. We look forward to them.

Finally, I ask a favour of you. If you've downloaded something that you've really enjoyed, please take the time to drop the contributor a quick 'thank you' note. You can post on a thread, PM them or even leave comments on their uploads. It's the efforts of the community as a whole who made this idea work and a quick thanks to the authors will mean a lot. It doesn't have to be something uploaded in June, it can be anything you download.

Thanks again to you all, it's been great.

Niall

NiallGray wrote:I just want to say a big thanks to everyone who has taken part this month.

When I suggested this idea, I never imagined the response it would get. Not just in the number of uploads, but the sheer variety of them. I challenge any forum member not to have seen something worth downloading during this time.

The idea came about because I wanted to do something to show there was still life in the old dog, and that despite there being other newer sims, MSTS still has a lot to offer. I got fed up with posts about MSTS being dead, the lack of new uploads, and I wanted to challenge that way of thinking.

Thankfully, a lot of you must have felt the same way and the results have been amazing. The upload numbers were far higher than I dared hope for.

What I hope now are that those uploads help generate new content creation. Perhaps the new route additions and/or stock encourage you to write an act, or maybe the new scenery additions inspire you to try route building. Some of our members, new and old, are trying out various forms of content creation at the moment and that can only be a good thing.

To those of you who wanted to take part, but were unable to contribute in time, keep plugging away and upload when you're ready. We look forward to them.

Finally, I ask a favour of you. If you've downloaded something that you've really enjoyed, please take the time to drop the contributor a quick 'thank you' note. You can post on a thread, PM them or even leave comments on their uploads. It's the efforts of the community as a whole who made this idea work and a quick thanks to the authors will mean a lot. It doesn't have to be something uploaded in June, it can be anything you download.

Thanks again to you all, it's been great.

Niall

Niall,

Firstly Your most welcome. I managed to catch up with my work as I got my old pre-started Activities finished and uploaded all be it one was uploaded yesterday but released for download this morning. I also joined in for me and for my old activity helpers (LAD491) Laurie and Doug Lee. They helped me along a great deal. So for me MSTS month was for them.

Secondly.

It would be nice to have comments on work to say people like what you did. It helps you to know people like what work you do.
Even if it's just a thank you

I would also like to give my thanks to ALL the people that give us the variety of Stock,Activities and Routes that make MSTS the super sim it is and I've got a sneaky feeling that it may well not be all the doom and gloom a lot of us thought it was becoming.Unlike many I admit to not having any success when it comes to downloading from UKTS (they never seem to work for me) but I do buy all the Cd's from them,and these would not exist but for the time and effort people like yourselves put into what you do.So thank you very much.Roger

Firstly; apologies for the omission of the Class_126_Sound folder. I uploaded that yesterday. However in checking the actual class 126 sets I came across some minor sound and cab reference lines that were in error. I have corrected them and re-uploaded them this afternoon complete with the relevant common.sound folder.
Secondly it has been pointed out that the class 118 models are "missing" the view of the unit floor from inside. I have reviewed the models and that is unfortunately the case; for some reason I didn't pick that up during the checking process. I will look at this further and report back when I know something.