It's All In The Data...and Boy, Does My Brain Hurt.

There comes a time when you realize that there is just too much information to hold in your head (and in your emails). This is what we discovered, the further we went with our projects. Trying to keep track of each model was becoming increasingly difficult. Because of this, we spent considerable time getting a project tracking database implemented, to make it much easier for us to follow each project. This database lets us know, at a glance, who is working on what and its current status. Here are a few that we have in the pipeline as we speak:

Metra F40 - final model changes and textures complete, awaiting light work
Amtrak Horizon Coaches -- Model/Texture close, no lights or physics yet
E60C -- Model Beta2 complete, physics and texture done. Waiting on lights, cab and sound
MBTA F40 (single stripe) Done except for final model and skin changes
Big Boy: Model and texture complete, cab, sound and physics in Beta1
Metra BiLevels: Model, cab, sound physics in Beta2, textures in Beta1

As you can see above, there are a lot of parts that need to mesh together quite well before you can even consider releasing a new model. Just keeping track can be difficult. But as we have implemented what we feel is a good way of "tracking" what we are doing, things should go a little smoother with a lot less confusion. And with a little luck, it just might help move up some release dates. Now isn't that special?

Have fun,

Michael MacFall

 

 

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