Asset Validation - Revision history

Tonyhilliam at 00:06, 7 March 2022

2022-03-07T00:06:02Z

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 * Limited sanity checks for incorrect use of [[material sharing]] are now present.
-== Recent Additions ==
+== Recent Issues ==
-The following changes are recent additions to the config format.
+At build 119492 we processed a bug report where items were listing as "Faulty" (eg. in Content Manager) but "View Errors & Warnings" did not reveal any problems, or where the outcome of "View Errors & Warnings" would vary from run to run. (It was also possible that these items could appear in CM as "Installed" and then only show as Faulty after a db repair.)
-TBD.
+This was determined to be due to the presence of legitimately faulty mesh files in the asset, which were not referenced in the config.txt file of the asset in question. We found that this configuration caused the mesh files to bypass validation.

Windwalkr at 03:28, 6 June 2018

2018-06-06T03:28:19Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:28, 6 June 2018
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	The following changes are recent additions to the config format.		The following changes are recent additions to the config format.

	* A full list of [[TRS18]] Documentation is not yet available.		TBD.

Windwalkr at 08:08, 15 October 2017

2017-10-15T08:08:18Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:08, 15 October 2017
Line 20:		Line 20:
	The following changes are reasonably new additions that many users may not yet have experience with. They are included here to highlight the requirements and to advise users that they are legitimate problems.		The following changes are reasonably new additions that many users may not yet have experience with. They are included here to highlight the requirements and to advise users that they are legitimate problems.

	* ~~All non-v6 SpeedTrees will be considered faulty~~ by ~~[[TANE]]. The older v5 trees built in to previous Trainz editions are no longer supported~~, ~~and have been replaced with v6 equivalents.~~		* Content is now loaded by the game engine during validation, in addition to the existing practice of checking the content files for known errors. This means that some number of errors which previously only occurred at runtime will now be detected during validation.
	* Meshes with LODs that don't reduce poly counts by at least 20% are considered faulty. The purpose of [[Level of Detail\|Mesh LOD]] is to substantially reduce polygon detail in ~~order~~ to ~~benefit performance. If you are not correctly reducing polygon detail, then~~ the ~~use~~ of ~~LOD can actually worsen performance.~~		* Limited sanity checks for incorrect use of [[material sharing]] are now present.
	* Image files which are referenced from both the [[config.txt file]] and also a [[Texture file\|texture.txt]] file are considered faulty. Typically, the config.txt file should reference the texture.txt file (either directly as a ".texture" resource, or via a ".im" file.) In some cases (eg. for ~~thumbnails) it is more common to reference an image file directly rather than as a texture. It is an error, however, to use both styles of reference on a single image file.~~
	* Files with overly long path names are considered faulty. This ~~helps preserve content compatibility with~~ some ~~platforms where the overall path name length is limited.~~
	* Validation of ~~preview meshes for the old obsolete track types has been introduced. This ensures that tracks~~ which will ~~fail to load into the Surveyor asset picker 3D view will~~ be ~~considered faulty~~.
	* ~~Scenery with attached track is now validated~~ for ~~duplicated tracks. It is not possible for multiple splines to share the same pair~~ of ~~attachment points. This has never worked and can cause problems if attempted; it is now detected and flagged as an error.~~
	* The 'mandatory' keyword has been added to [[~~Scripting\|Trainz script~~]]. This specifies that inherited() must be called in overriding functions. (This keyword has been added to several built-in scripts.) Assets which attempt to override these functions and forget to call inherited() cause problems, and this is now detected by validation.
	* KUID fields are now sanity-checked to ensure that they are correctly formed. This is required to ensure that they show up in dependency checks, etc.
	* When referencing a mesh from a mesh library asset, both the latest version and the specified version are now ~~checked for the presence of the mesh~~.

	== Recent Additions ==		== Recent Additions ==
	The following changes are recent additions to the config format.		The following changes are recent additions to the config format.

	* ~~Control~~ of ~~PhysX collision data generation in the~~ [[~~"mesh-table" container~~]].		* A full list of [[TRS18]] Documentation is not yet available.
	* [[HowTo/Configure a spline for collisions\|Spline collision support]].
	* "enable-pfx-collisions" for [[KIND Mesh\|scenery objects]].
	* TBD: Procedural Track assets.
	* TBD: TANE water configuration options.

Builderbob: Add validation error message link

2016-07-11T02:07:08Z

Add validation error message link

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:07, 11 July 2016
Line 13:		Line 13:

	:: Note that it is also a myth that "today's warning is tomorrow's error". In some cases we warn people about errors prior to making the changes mandatory in future versions, but this is a guide not a rule.		:: Note that it is also a myth that "today's warning is tomorrow's error". In some cases we warn people about errors prior to making the changes mandatory in future versions, but this is a guide not a rule.

			== Validation Error Messages ==
			The list of error messages that can be created during the validation process is at [[:Category:Validation_Errors\|Validation Errors]].

	== Recent Validation Changes ==		== Recent Validation Changes ==

Tonyhilliam: /* Common Misunderstandings */

2015-04-28T07:03:41Z

Common Misunderstandings

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:03, 28 April 2015
Line 11:		Line 11:

	2. That warnings must be fixed. Warnings are generated when the game believes that there may be reason for the content creator to review their asset. It is purely a courtesy to highlight cases which are known to be frequently problematic. This does not necessarily mean that the content is faulty, or that anything needs to be changed. Modifying your own created content to resolve warnings is encouraged, but not mandatory. Modifying content created by others to resolve warnings is strongly discouraged as it is likely to introduce compatibility issues for no benefit.		2. That warnings must be fixed. Warnings are generated when the game believes that there may be reason for the content creator to review their asset. It is purely a courtesy to highlight cases which are known to be frequently problematic. This does not necessarily mean that the content is faulty, or that anything needs to be changed. Modifying your own created content to resolve warnings is encouraged, but not mandatory. Modifying content created by others to resolve warnings is strongly discouraged as it is likely to introduce compatibility issues for no benefit.

			:: Note that it is also a myth that "today's warning is tomorrow's error". In some cases we warn people about errors prior to making the changes mandatory in future versions, but this is a guide not a rule.

	== Recent Validation Changes ==		== Recent Validation Changes ==

Windwalkr at 04:24, 23 April 2015

2015-04-23T04:24:27Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:24, 23 April 2015
Line 15:		Line 15:
	The following changes are reasonably new additions that many users may not yet have experience with. They are included here to highlight the requirements and to advise users that they are legitimate problems.		The following changes are reasonably new additions that many users may not yet have experience with. They are included here to highlight the requirements and to advise users that they are legitimate problems.

	* All non-v6 SpeedTrees will be considered faulty by [[TANE]]. The older v5 trees ~~used~~ in previous Trainz editions are no longer supported.		* All non-v6 SpeedTrees will be considered faulty by [[TANE]]. The older v5 trees built in to previous Trainz editions are no longer supported, and have been replaced with v6 equivalents.
	* Meshes with LODs that don't reduce poly counts by at least 20% are considered faulty. The purpose of [[Level of Detail\|Mesh LOD]] is to substantially reduce polygon detail in order to benefit performance. If you are not correctly reducing polygon detail, then the use of LOD can actually worsen performance.		* Meshes with LODs that don't reduce poly counts by at least 20% are considered faulty. The purpose of [[Level of Detail\|Mesh LOD]] is to substantially reduce polygon detail in order to benefit performance. If you are not correctly reducing polygon detail, then the use of LOD can actually worsen performance.
	* Image files which are referenced from both the [[config.txt file]] and also a [[Texture file\|texture.txt]] file are considered faulty. Typically, the config.txt file should reference the texture.txt file (either directly as a ".texture" resource, or via a ".im" file.) In some cases (eg. for thumbnails) it is more common to reference an image file directly rather than as a texture. It is an error, however, to use both styles of reference on a single image file.		* Image files which are referenced from both the [[config.txt file]] and also a [[Texture file\|texture.txt]] file are considered faulty. Typically, the config.txt file should reference the texture.txt file (either directly as a ".texture" resource, or via a ".im" file.) In some cases (eg. for thumbnails) it is more common to reference an image file directly rather than as a texture. It is an error, however, to use both styles of reference on a single image file.
Line 24:		Line 24:
	* KUID fields are now sanity-checked to ensure that they are correctly formed. This is required to ensure that they show up in dependency checks, etc.		* KUID fields are now sanity-checked to ensure that they are correctly formed. This is required to ensure that they show up in dependency checks, etc.
	* When referencing a mesh from a mesh library asset, both the latest version and the specified version are now checked for the presence of the mesh.		* When referencing a mesh from a mesh library asset, both the latest version and the specified version are now checked for the presence of the mesh.

			== Recent Additions ==
			The following changes are recent additions to the config format.

			* Control of PhysX collision data generation in the [["mesh-table" container]].
			* [[HowTo/Configure a spline for collisions\|Spline collision support]].
			* "enable-pfx-collisions" for [[KIND Mesh\|scenery objects]].
			* TBD: Procedural Track assets.
			* TBD: TANE water configuration options.

Windwalkr at 04:16, 23 April 2015

2015-04-23T04:16:14Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:16, 23 April 2015
Line 16:		Line 16:

	* All non-v6 SpeedTrees will be considered faulty by [[TANE]]. The older v5 trees used in previous Trainz editions are no longer supported.		* All non-v6 SpeedTrees will be considered faulty by [[TANE]]. The older v5 trees used in previous Trainz editions are no longer supported.
	* Meshes with LODs that don't reduce poly counts by at least 20% are considered faulty. The purpose of Mesh LOD is to substantially reduce polygon detail in order to benefit performance. If you are not correctly reducing polygon detail, then the use of LOD can actually worsen performance.		* Meshes with LODs that don't reduce poly counts by at least 20% are considered faulty. The purpose of [[Level of Detail\|Mesh LOD]] is to substantially reduce polygon detail in order to benefit performance. If you are not correctly reducing polygon detail, then the use of LOD can actually worsen performance.
	* Image files which are referenced from both the config.txt file and also a texture.txt file are considered faulty. Typically, the config.txt file should reference the texture.txt file (either directly as a ".texture" resource, or via a ".im" file.) In some cases (eg. for thumbnails) it is more common to reference an image file directly rather than as a texture. It is an error, however, to use both styles of reference on a single image file.		* Image files which are referenced from both the [[config.txt file]] and also a [[Texture file\|texture.txt]] file are considered faulty. Typically, the config.txt file should reference the texture.txt file (either directly as a ".texture" resource, or via a ".im" file.) In some cases (eg. for thumbnails) it is more common to reference an image file directly rather than as a texture. It is an error, however, to use both styles of reference on a single image file.
	* Files with overly long path names are considered faulty. This helps preserve content compatibility with some platforms where the overall path name length is limited.		* Files with overly long path names are considered faulty. This helps preserve content compatibility with some platforms where the overall path name length is limited.
	* Validation of preview meshes for the old obsolete track types has been introduced. This ensures that tracks which will fail to load into the Surveyor asset picker 3D view will be considered faulty.		* Validation of preview meshes for the old obsolete track types has been introduced. This ensures that tracks which will fail to load into the Surveyor asset picker 3D view will be considered faulty.
	* Scenery with attached track is now validated for duplicated tracks. It is not possible for multiple splines to share the same pair of attachment points. This has never worked and can cause problems if attempted; it is now detected and flagged as an error.		* Scenery with attached track is now validated for duplicated tracks. It is not possible for multiple splines to share the same pair of attachment points. This has never worked and can cause problems if attempted; it is now detected and flagged as an error.
	* The 'mandatory' keyword has been added to Trainz script. This specifies that inherited() must be called in overriding functions. (This keyword has been added to several built-in scripts.) Assets which attempt to override these functions and forget to call inherited() cause problems, and this is now detected by validation.		* The 'mandatory' keyword has been added to [[Scripting\|Trainz script]]. This specifies that inherited() must be called in overriding functions. (This keyword has been added to several built-in scripts.) Assets which attempt to override these functions and forget to call inherited() cause problems, and this is now detected by validation.
	* KUID fields are now sanity-checked to ensure that they are correctly formed. This is required to ensure that they show up in dependency checks, etc.		* KUID fields are now sanity-checked to ensure that they are correctly formed. This is required to ensure that they show up in dependency checks, etc.
	* When referencing a mesh from a mesh library asset, both the latest version and the specified version are now checked for the presence of the mesh.		* When referencing a mesh from a mesh library asset, both the latest version and the specified version are now checked for the presence of the mesh.

Windwalkr: Created page with "All Trainz assets must be correctly formed in order to work properly across a wide range of software and hardware configurations. To aid in this process, Trainz includes asset..."

2015-04-23T04:13:23Z

Created page with "All Trainz assets must be correctly formed in order to work properly across a wide range of software and hardware configurations. To aid in this process, Trainz includes asset..."

New page

All Trainz assets must be correctly formed in order to work properly across a wide range of software and hardware configurations. To aid in this process, Trainz includes asset validation functionality which checks each item of content for a range of known flaws. This validation process is performed both on your local Trainz installation, and also as part of the [[Download Station]] Upload Process. Assets which fail validation cannot be used in-game.

This page documents recent changes to the asset validation process. It is not intended as a complete list of possible failure cases, nor does it seek to provide information on how to fix each error condition. If a fault is discovered in your own content, you should review the relevant [[Content Configuration]] documents to understand the rules and restrictions which are relevant to the asset in question.

== Common Misunderstandings ==
There are two common misunderstandings that our users often have regarding asset validation:

1. That built-in content is exempt from validation, and may be faulty. This is incorrect; all built-in content is validated at the [[N3V Games]] offices using the same tools as are available to end users. We do not perform validation of built-in content on end-user machines because (1) it is slow, and (2) the content cannot be modified and was known to be good at the time it was made built-in.

:: It is important, however, to note that built-in content does not contain source textures. This means that a user who attempts to clone or edit built-in content will be faced with a faulty result unless they provide their own source textures. This does not indicate that the built-in content was faulty, but rather that the user's manipulations have left the game with a faulty copy of the asset.

2. That warnings must be fixed. Warnings are generated when the game believes that there may be reason for the content creator to review their asset. It is purely a courtesy to highlight cases which are known to be frequently problematic. This does not necessarily mean that the content is faulty, or that anything needs to be changed. Modifying your own created content to resolve warnings is encouraged, but not mandatory. Modifying content created by others to resolve warnings is strongly discouraged as it is likely to introduce compatibility issues for no benefit.

== Recent Validation Changes ==
The following changes are reasonably new additions that many users may not yet have experience with. They are included here to highlight the requirements and to advise users that they are legitimate problems.

* All non-v6 SpeedTrees will be considered faulty by [[TANE]]. The older v5 trees used in previous Trainz editions are no longer supported.
* Meshes with LODs that don't reduce poly counts by at least 20% are considered faulty. The purpose of Mesh LOD is to substantially reduce polygon detail in order to benefit performance. If you are not correctly reducing polygon detail, then the use of LOD can actually worsen performance.
* Image files which are referenced from both the config.txt file and also a texture.txt file are considered faulty. Typically, the config.txt file should reference the texture.txt file (either directly as a ".texture" resource, or via a ".im" file.) In some cases (eg. for thumbnails) it is more common to reference an image file directly rather than as a texture. It is an error, however, to use both styles of reference on a single image file.
* Files with overly long path names are considered faulty. This helps preserve content compatibility with some platforms where the overall path name length is limited.
* Validation of preview meshes for the old obsolete track types has been introduced. This ensures that tracks which will fail to load into the Surveyor asset picker 3D view will be considered faulty.
* Scenery with attached track is now validated for duplicated tracks. It is not possible for multiple splines to share the same pair of attachment points. This has never worked and can cause problems if attempted; it is now detected and flagged as an error.
* The 'mandatory' keyword has been added to Trainz script. This specifies that inherited() must be called in overriding functions. (This keyword has been added to several built-in scripts.) Assets which attempt to override these functions and forget to call inherited() cause problems, and this is now detected by validation.
* KUID fields are now sanity-checked to ensure that they are correctly formed. This is required to ensure that they show up in dependency checks, etc.
* When referencing a mesh from a mesh library asset, both the latest version and the specified version are now checked for the presence of the mesh.