Project Genesis

Asset Building

2010-02-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

As I have stated previously, Project Genesis will be packaged with lots of new assets, no extra downloads will be required to run the route. This station, Sheldon Wood shows a few of the newly built objects.

Rural Scenery

2010-02-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

A lot of my shots so far have shown mainly stations and built up areas, you wouldn't think there was anything in between! Here are a couple of shots to disprove that.

Deighton

2010-02-21T09:12:00.000-08:00

This weekend has seen more work done on Deighton and the approaches to it. A large city, the main railway station at Deighton has 10 platforms.

Recent Work

2010-01-31T11:06:00.000-08:00

Here is a brief update of work mainly done this weekend.

Evenwood Gate. Featuring one of the new assets that will be included with the route, just need to tidy the textures up first.

Feckleton Station, untouched since the old steam days, this area used to be a bustling hub of activity which included a major Royal Mail hub and now near-mothballed steelworks.

Temple Nook (Broom Cottages) station, situated alongside my fictional ECML type line and part of the Castlegate "Cross City" network.

A major station on the network, Deighton. This picture tries to capture some of the simple methods I am employing to bring the stations to life.

Castlegate Station. Situated on the fictional ECML line, this was once a grand Victorian throughfare until a German bomb landed on the roof. The rest they say, is history.

Tilhoughton & the Coastal Branch

2010-01-23T04:29:00.000-08:00

Castlegate Voyager

2010-01-18T11:45:00.000-08:00

Eldon Road

2010-01-17T12:29:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update showing one of the many new assets that will be included with the route. This location is on the approach to Eldon Road, a small intermediate station situated around 2.5 miles east of Castlegate.

Castlegate North Junction

2010-01-11T07:29:00.001-08:00

Some work that was done this weekend, showing the first main junction on the route. This location is situated around 42 miles south-east of Tilhoughton and was done primarily to give me somewhere to aim for on the coastal line.

The first shot shows Castlegate North Junction. The line sweeping in from the top is the ECML, the line to the right leads to the coast and to where some previous screenshots have been seen and the line in the middle-right is the south exit from Castlegate Yard. The electrified line above will form part of a Cross City type line which will hopefully be utilised by some kind of EMU in the future.

Seen from the opposite side of the flyover.

Looking from the south exit of the yard towards Castlegate City Centre.

Winter Has Arrived

2010-01-09T07:08:00.000-08:00

Borrowby Mine

2009-12-28T08:27:00.000-08:00

The first freight location on the route, Borrowby Mine is situated on the coast around two miles from the single line branch featured in previous shots.

Branching Out

2009-12-24T08:56:00.001-08:00

Just a quick update to show some WIP progress screenshots.

The "entrance" to the coastal branch, Manfield Junction where the line is single running until Manfield station itself.

One of the intermediate stations on the route which has yet to be named. I have given the station and area a working name of "Freshpool" due to the station itself being very loosely based on Hartlepool but that name is subject to change.

Starting Somewhere

2009-12-21T07:40:00.001-08:00

As mentioned in the previous post, I have had a couple of private messages on forums asking for some progress screenshots. As the project is not to be started quite yet, these are subject to change.

Starting at the coastal town of Tilhoughton, the terminus station features 4 platforms and is situated on the outskirts of the town. One of the platforms, platform 3, is a shortened bay platform meaning that part of platform 4 is accessible from both sides.

A shot heading out of Tilhoughton and into the valley where just out of sight is Manfield Junction.

The small village of Manfield, served by a two platform station. Being single line from Manfield Junction, this small halt allows services to pass before continuing the single line journey back towards the coast. The line is also served by freight from the Martonby Potash mine which takes the single diverging line to the left, linking it to the main line. Now known as the Hallfleet Park avoiding line, although it is primarily for freight services, in the summer, EMT run a weekly Sunday service via the avoider.

The above mentioned Hallfleet Park avoiding line.

Working On Ideas

2009-12-21T06:03:00.000-08:00

Having decided now that the route will start on the North East Coast I have done some early work on Tilhoughton, what would be the easterly terminus, the valley approach and also a single line branch with the first intermediate station Manfield.

Not intending to start the project until January 1st, these are just initial ideas and with some parts I am not happy with, they will most likely change.

If anyone is interested in seeing some shots of the early development, please leave a comment and I will happily post the on the blog, after all, one of my aims is to involve the community for comments and suggestions.

Ideas & Structure

2009-12-18T02:56:00.000-08:00

Already well into the planning stage, "Project Genesis" is a year long project from which a highly detailed fictional Railworks route will come into fruition. With no deadlines and restrictions and no intermittent beta versions to be released, there are no concrete figures of what will be achieved in terms of distance when the final route is released. Work will start on January 1st 2010 with a release of the route scheduled for Christmas of that year.

Here are some ideas of what I have planned.

Based in the North East and North West of England, despite the route being fictional, there will be many real locations modelled on various areas on the map. My idea is to scenerise and fully complete each section as the track is laid meaning there will be no rush to fill in parts close to release. I also plan to include various points of interest to accomodate all of the past, present and future releases of rolling stock. Imagine the following:-

* Both East and West Coast main line sections for things like the Pendolino to run.
* A Crosscountry section that links the two main lines.
* Something similar to Knottingley depot to house the future release of the Class 56.
* An area similar to Sellafield to enable the upcoming Class 20 to operate.
* A heritage railway to encompass the many Steam trains we now have.

All of these locations are just brief and basic ideas that will be linked by main lines, branch lines and many industrial points.

Who knows where this will lead and what new features will arise in 2010 that can help the project move on even further. The route could be of any distance, depending on time restrictions the route may be 50 miles, if I have a good year it could be 300 miles, who knows!

More importantly than the route itself, I will be looking for a dedicated team of testers to assist me throughout the 12 months, testing the route section by section to make sure the route is fully complete and working as intended at release time. If anyone has an interest in being actively involved in this then contact me via PM on any of the forums you know me from.

The Countdown Begins

2009-12-17T15:10:00.000-08:00

In 2 weeks time, on January 1st 2010 a new project will take shape for Railworks. With ambitions only restricted by imagination, the potential for the project knows no boundaries.

Updates will commence from January 1st 2010.