Generally BVE v4 is not as smooth or stutter free as BVE v2 was, particularly when a large amount of detail is visible, higher resolution textures are used, or lots of 3D objects are placed. Therefore you may notice some stuttering while using the high detail routes under BVE v4 - as far as I'm aware there is little I can do about this. When using the High Detail routes, there is just a possibility that BVE will appear to freeze at some point along the route - just wait a few seconds and BVE will continue as before (often with smoother performance after such a freeze has occured!). Important! For optimal performance, I recommend restarting Windows prior to loading the Cross-City South routes in BVE v4, particularly the High and Medium Detail routes. If you open a few seperate routes one after the other, or reload a route a few times with BVE 4's Developer Mode, BVE performance may well degrade each time you do this.

• High Detail - For 2GHz machines and above running either Windows XP, 2000 or 98/Me, with 3D graphics cards designed for gaming, such as those in the nVIDIA GeForce or ATi Radeon ranges; the more recent the card the better. You should also install up-to-date drivers from your graphics card manufacturer's website. The High Detail routes use all the features mentioned below but require a fast, modern PC - framerates may not be high at all times, particularly during rainfall or in the New Street area.
  
  
• Medum Detail - For 1GHz machines and above running either Windows XP, 2000 or 98/Me, with 3D graphics cards designed for gaming, such as those in the nVIDIA GeForce or ATi Radeon ranges; older cards may well offer reasonable results too. You should also install up-to-date drivers from your graphics card manufacturer's website. The Medium Detail routes use all the features mentioned below, but don't feature falling rain 3D objects (relying on windscreen raindrop effects alone), and use highly detailed but non-photo realistic catenary. This detail level is roughly the equivalent of the old 'High Detail XP' variant from Cross-City South v1.2.
  
  
• Low Detail - For PII 400 machines and above. These routes are included in case the higher detailed routes just won't run well enough. If you have an older PC and just want to be able to use the Cross-City, try these Low Detail routes as a last resort. The Low Detail routes look rather more basic; they're essentially similar to the higher detail routes but with very simple scenery, and very few trees. The catenary is still quite detailed however.

• High Detail XP - For 1GHz machines and above, with Windows XP or 2000 (not Windows 95/98/Me)with good 3D accelerators such as 32-64MB GeForce3, ATi Radeon, or Voodoo5 cards. This detail level includes every feature listed in the feature lists below, and is the most demanding detail level. These routes will pause and stutter if used with BVE under Windows 95/98 or Me.
  
• High Detail 9x - For 1GHz machines and above, with good 3D accelerators such as 32-64MB GeForce3, ATi Radeon, or Voodoo5 cards. Includes all features outlined earlier on this page, namely the new realistic catenary system, permanent way infrastructure detail, high tree density, high detail station structures, etc.
  
• Medium Detail - For 800MHz machines and above, with good 3D accelerators such as 32-64MB GeForce3, ATi Radeon, or Voodoo5. Retains all of the detail featured within the High Detail route, except for the new catenary details introduced with the Cross-City South High Detail route, namely the "point to point", "zig-zagging" and sagging overhead wires, and catenary overlaps.
  
• Standard Detail - For PII 500 machines and above. Simple catenary is used, and tree density is lower, however the scenery as a whole retains much of the detail of the High Detail route. Smooth curves and infrastructure detail remain.
  
• Low Detail - For PII 266 machines and above. Simple catenary is used, very few trees are featured in the terrain, and some objects such as station buildings are simplified to reduce pausing. Smooth curves and infrastructure detail remains however.

Known Issues

1. Approach Controlled Signals: When passing an approach controlled signal (for further information on approach controlled signals, see the Signalling page of the Driver's Guide for BVE), you may see BVE display the warning 'Passed the station which should stop', in the upper-left 'BVE Instructor' text display.
   
   This warning occurs simply due to the way BVE works, and on the Cross-City South you can and should ignore this warning in relation to signals - the message only applies on the Cross-City South if you have overshot a station platform!
   
   
2. Unusually long station stops: Occasionally when stopped at a station, the guard won't close the doors for an unusually long period of time, maybe a minute or two longer than expected. This occurs when the signal following the station is held at red, even if the signal is out of sight and some distance away. This behaviour is not prototypically accurate for UK routes, but it's how BVE seems to work. You have two options; firstly you can imagine there's a delay on the platform such as a passenger having difficulty getting on or off the train; or secondly you can enable BVE 4's Developer Mode and close the doors yourself manually, using the [F6] key. See the Setting Options section of the BVE Help Guide for details on enabling 'Developer Mode'.
   
   
3. Falling rain effects and signalling stops: Some route files use 3D 'sheet' objects to represent falling rain, in addition to the windscreen raindrop effects. This does look quite realistic when the train is moving, but if you get stopped at a signal within a falling rain area, the effect no longer works. If you find this detracts from the realism, simply use the rainfall route files/activities with filenames ending in '_NO_3D_RAIN.csv' - these route files have the falling rain sheets disabled, relying solely on the windscreen raindrop effects to represent rainfall.
   
   
4. Sound effects at signal stops: The Cross-City South features many sound effects recorded on the real life Cross-City route, and these sounds are played back at specific locations to increase the atmosphere and authenticity of the Cross-City 'experience'. For example, when rounding certain curves, a rumbling sound is played, just as you would hear on the real line. This however doesn't always sound it's best if you are travelling slower than the expected line speed at that location, e.g. because of an adverse signal. As the signalling is randomised there is little I can do about this, but I felt removing the sounds would spoil the overall effect for the more frequent occasions where you are travelling at the expected line speed, so I've left the sounds in. You can always remove them if you'd prefer not to hear them!

For openBVE users:

1. Non-textured surfaces on some objects: openBVE doesn't fully support all the features of .X format objects yet, which are used extensively in the non-daytime routes, and a handful of these objects appear in the daytime routes as well. This issue will be resolved with future openBVE releases, or Cross-City South updates if necessary.
   
   
2. Flange Sounds: Excessive flange squealing will be heard throughout the route. openBVE implements Flange sound playback in a different way to BVE v2 and v4; an updated class 323 which takes advantage of the new sound functionality will be released once openBVE development is at a more advanced stage.
   
   
3. Class 323 cab: There may be some issues with the 323's cab panel; please check for updates on www.trainsimcentral.co.uk, or download the temporary patch named "cl323_unrefurb_tmp_update_openbve.zip", available via the Cross-City South v1.31 release announcement at www.railsimroutes.co.uk/news.html (which also adds objects for the external view). Warning messages relating to the parsing of train files appear because openBVE v0.6 doesn't fully support plugin DLLs yet, but you can ignore the warnings and drive the route. Also, the cab panel may not be centred correctly; you can just use the pan controls to adjust the view for now.
   
   
4. Class 158 Low Detail Routes: These two low detail route files (available as part of a seperate route pack add-on) are not yet compatible with openBVE--I've yet to find the cause of the problem. This will be fixed as soon as possible; in the mean time, the High Detail versions can be used instead.

• 
• Bug fixes concerning coding errors, and incorrectly specified transparent colours in some objects
• Removal of most legacy "MultiObj" 3D objects in BVE 4 routes (fixes object alignment issues in openBVE)
• Removal of copyright restrictions on many files (excluding Ditra Systems Ltd's/Phil Sayer's station announcement audio files as well as objects/textures by other authors, all of which remain copyright material)

Features introduced with Cross-City South v1.3 - (August 2005):


Cross-City South v1.3 is primarily a BVE v4 update, although two new 'High Detail' Spring 2005 routes are provided for BVE v2.x users. The BVE v4 updates make full use of the new BVE's features, and include new Autumn 2004 and Spring 2005 routes, along with several new enhancements and ideas. New features include:

• 
• Full BVE v4.2 compatibility when used in conjunction with the updated BVE v4 class 323 EMU by Steve Green, Simon Gathercole and myself, or indeed the updated Class 323 Passenger Views for BVE 4.
• Route modifications to allow the use of the class 323's fully working Automatic Warning System (AWS) and Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS), plus new raindrop effects. The 323 also includes other features such as a fully functional Vigilance Device, Driver's Reminder Appliance (DRA), and Power, Brake and Door Interlocks. These features are possible thanks to BVE v4's new method of handling signalling and train safety systems, together with Simon Gathercole's superb plugin for UK multiple units, UKMUt.DLL.
• New Dawn, Sunset and Night* routes, using realistic time of day lighting effects thanks to BVE 4's new Directional and Ambient Lighting features. Many objects in these routes also use the emissive colour properties of DirectX objects, which allow faces to be illuminated independently of the ambient lighting conditions, which in turn allows glowing lamp posts, street lights and headlights. Many thanks once again to Simon Gathercole for his assistance with pointing out and explaning the emissive colour and specular properties of DirectX objects.
  
• New Autumn 2004 and Spring 2005 routes. The Autumn 2004 routes use a pair of class 323 units on a busy morning rush hour service from Redditch to Birmingham New Street, with the special Cross-City 'leaf fall' timetable. Visibility is reduced, and the 323's new raindrop effects and wipers can be seen. The Spring 2005 routes feature a late morning run into New Street. These routes offer a choice feature a late morning run into New Street, in either cloudy but dry conditions, or wet and thundery conditions. Birmingham New Street's new bay platform 4c is also modelled, along with small differences at the lineside, and the new pointwork installed at Longbridge and Kings Norton is represented.
• The MkI and MkIII catenary systems are now photo-realistic, with registration arms, support tubes and insulators all derived from photographs. Masts, headspans and portal structures are now modelled in true 3D, with additional details such as new mast ID plates, and other mast mounted signs and labels. New prototypical cantilevers are also installed in certain tunnels on the approach to New Street. The new enhanced catenary draws upon work done while developing the Watford Junction to Rugby project.
• Additional lineside signs have been added, such as Sandite markers, and other lineside details are more accurate.
• All platforms have been upgraded with new higher resolution and photo-realistic textures, along with additional refinements such as smoothly curved platforms at Barnt Green and University.
• New track textures have been added, improving the appearance of the route.
• All routes have randomised signalling.
• A new set of flange sounds is included in the updated BVE v4 class 323 (the new Cross-City compatible version), and the updated Class 323 Passenger Views for BVE 4, along with route file support for the new sounds **
• The BVE v4.2 compatible routes are available in either 'High Detail', 'Medium Detail' or 'Low Detail' varieties, and can be found in the following folders (assuming you installed the route in it's default location):

  "<System Drive>:\Program Files\BVE\Railway\Route\Birmingham_Cross-City_South_BVE4\HighDetail\" "<System Drive>:\Program Files\BVE\Railway\Route\Birmingham_Cross-City_South_BVE4\MediumDetail\" "<System Drive>:\Program Files\BVE\Railway\Route\Birmingham_Cross-City_South_BVE4\LowDetail\"

• The High Detail routes use all the features mentioned above but require a fast, modern PC - framerates may not be high at all times, particularly during rainfall or in the New Street area.
• The Medium Detail routes use all the features mentioned above, but don't feature falling rain 3D objects, and use detailed but non-photo realistic catenary (this detail level is roughly the equivalent of the old 'High Detail XP' variant from Cross-City South v1.2).
• The Low Detail routes look rather more basic; they're essentially similar to the higher detail routes but with very simple scenery. The catenary is still quite detailed however.

• 
• For BVE v2.x users, two new Spring 2005 routes are provided, minus some of the BVE v4 specific features. These new route files benefit from the new photo-realistic platform textures, the new photo-realisitic 3D catenary system, and updated lineside signs, scenery and renewed trackwork at Longbridge and Kings Norton.
• The other original BVE v2.x compatible routes from Cross-City South v1.2 are left unotuched (see the Cross-City South v1.2 section below for more details about these BVE v2.x compatible routes). These can still be found in the following folders, assuming you installed the route in it's default location:

  "<System Drive>:\Program Files\BVE\Railway\Route\Bham_X-City_South\HighDetail\" "<System Drive>:\Program Files\BVE\Railway\Route\Bham_X-City_South\HighDetailXP\" "<System Drive>:\Program Files\BVE\Railway\Route\Bham_X-City_South\StandardDetail\" "<System Drive>:\Program Files\BVE\Railway\Route\Bham_X-City_South\LowDetail\"

Features introduced with Cross-City South v1.2 (May 2004 - information still current for BVE v2.x users):

• Semi-functional Automatic Warning System (AWS), custom built AWS mask objects.
• New fully authentic track, flange, "curve rumbling" and loose rail joint sounds, within the route itself and also as part of v2.0 of the class 323 EMU.
• New meteorological conditions and seasonal variations, including new Autumn and updated Winter routes (tree textures courtesy of Simon Gathercole), along with new photo-realistic sky textures, including overcast, sunset and sunrise backdrops. More precipitation effects are now inlcuded, with the introduction of rain. This is a development of the original falling rain technique developed by Paul Woozley [http://bve_fan.tripod.com/bvefan/index.html], and incorporates translucent raindrops. New thunder samples recorded by myself can also be heard during rain fall. Look for the new route files named as follows, where xxxxxxx represents the detail level:

  "xxxxxxx_323_[Sum/Aut]_Cloudy.csv" "xxxxxxx_323_[Sum/Aut]_Sunset.csv" "xxxxxxx_323_[Sum/Aut]_Rain.csv"

• New wheel slip sound effects and tweaked adhesion settings in areas of poor rail adhesion - frequent travellers of the real Cross-City will instantly recognise this!
• Some backdrops now include some buildings seen on the skyline as you approach Birmingham through the suburbs.
• Summer scenery textures have been adjusted to make the colours more realistic.
• Catenary masts updated with 3D effect textures, improving the visual appearance of the routes.
• The experimental Barnt Green anti-flange squeal sprinkler system is modelled, along with the very loud flange squeal and curve rumbling typical at this location in real life.
• New track objects, textures and hi-res ballast. Typical UK style concrete and wooden sleepers are represented (along with steel sleepered track in the High Detail routes), and railheads are fully textured.
• Additional signs, such as Whistle boards, Poor Adhesion signs, digital wheelslip indicators, and AWS signs are inlcuded.
• Foot crossings and associated signs have been added.
• Some buildings have been updated, such as the Cadburys buildings, Birmingham City Centre and Bull Ring Development buildings, and New Street signal box.
• More houses are now inlcuded, especially between Longbridge and Northfield. The housing development between these two stations is also modelled, along with previously missing allotments.
• Some bridges have been updated to use photo-realistic textures, such as at Redditch, Kings Norton and Birmingham New Street.
• Platforms are now more accurate and realistic, with adjusted heights and photo-based textures.
• Track spacing has been adjusted to the correct 6 feet.
• Ambient sounds have been added to quieter stations.
• Extra passing train sounds have been added for idle locos and multiple units, using Doppler effects. New class 323 and 170 "departing" sounds are also included.
• Some extra station details have been added, including Centro timetables, advertisments, and details such as trees and cars.
• Updated Barnt Green station and area now includes correct track and more realistic scenery, along with updated footbridge.
• Northfield station now has photo-based island platform textures.
• Bournville station has been updated to it's present day "Cadburys" design, with photo-realistic textures, and a photo-realistic Cadburys building.
• Updated Selly Oak station now includes the new car parking facilities, along with cars.
• New night-time ground coach lighting effects, based on Robert Glass' evolution of my own "train shadow" technique.
• My "alpha bridge shadow" technique has been applied to overbridges along the route.

• Designed for BVE v2.5.
• Updated and significantly more realistic Mk I and Mk III catenary systems introduced. New features include 3D effect textured masts, mast identification plates, concrete bases, a wider variety of cantilevers and OLE supports, a sophisticated and flexible return conductor system allowing return conductors to be held clear of obstacles, anchor spans, and cable interconnects between booster transformers, catenary wires and return conductors. All wires are now of a finer scale and look more realistic, with an additional sagging wire effect at the clamps where registration arms hold the contact wire in place. More section insulators are also included.
• Catenary outside Redditch is now more prototypically accurate.
• New custom built pointwork developed fully "in-house", designed to fit the unique track geometry of the Cross-City South - pointwork is adapted to the track layout, not the other way around. Detailed pointwork includes frogs, guard rails, correctly set point blades, electric and "clamp lock" point machines, plus the tie bars are represented. Proper catch points are also included. Birmingham New Street features amongst the most complex individual track objects in any BVE route that I'm aware of, and includes standard turnouts, single slips, two types of double slip, catch points and a three-way point, with rails all placed in accordance with the actual track layout at New Street station.
• More trees have been added at locations between Redditch and Barnt Green, and other parts of scenery have been enhanced.
• Power lines are now modelled, including pylons and transmission wires, as well as two styles of lower voltage power lines in the countryside.
• Barnt Green has fully prototypical placement of concrete sleepered track and experimental sprinkler pipes.
• Longbridge station includes more houses at the lineside.
• Northfield station is now far more realistic, and includes the wooden carvings present in real life, along with additonal lamposts and extra weeds! Photo-realistic tower blocks, houses and factory buildings have also been added in the vicinity.
• Kings Norton updated with more trees and bushes, additional catenary, extra houses and photo-realistic bridges.
• The Bournville area has more buildings and some extra station details.
• The Selly Oak car park is more detailed in the XP routes.
• The area around University has been updated, and includes the Queen Elizabeth hospital and factory chimney before the station, along with Medical Centre buildings, car park and retaining wall after the station.
• Birmingham New Street station includes additional signals on the platforms.
• 2000m radius curves added in places.
• High Detail XP routes can be found in the following folder:

  "BVE\Railway\Route\Bham_X-City_South\HighDetailXP\"

• New night time cab added, complete with prototypical night-lit gauges highlighted in blue, using photos supplied by Steve Green. The appropriate day or night panel is called by the route files themselves at the expense of a slightly larger download, so no user intervention is required to switch between the cabs.
• Five new passenger views added - daylight standing, seated (left) and seated (right), night-lit standing, and night-lit seated (right). All cab annunciataions and indicators are presented, along with a digital power controller setting indicator and Door Open/Close visual indicators.
• A revamped sound set, including fully authentic jointed rail and continuous welded rail sounds, with the rail joint sounds calibrated to occur every 60 feet within BVE. In the cab view, you only hear the leading bogie as it passes over rail joints as in real life, and in the passenger view you are located near the end of the first coach, so you can hear the familiar "clickety-clack" of the traiing bogie of the leading vehicle followed by the leading bogie of the second vehicle. Both cab view and passenger view feature two styles of flange sound, one for slower speeds, and one for higher speed curves. New door sounds and warning beeps are also included, and new horn samples appropriate for the cab and passenger view are added, along with appropriate point sounds. Motor sounds have also been updated, and the 3 phase motor sounds while accelerating more accurately reflect the pitch changes on the real units. The air hissing and AC hum are now realistic, and the initial motor sound merges with the the starting sounds better.
• Brake gauge operation has been enhanced and made very realistic, thanks to Steve Green's expertise.
• Users still using the older BVE 2.3.0011 can see working headlight indicator lights, and a functional battery charger indicator.