Trying to create a moving train that slows and stops at stations

[_Aka_]

Firstly thank you for such a great and robust asset!

Thank you.

From the looks of it there is not a way to provide an existing model and have Curvy use that.

This is not the case. If you take a look at scene 12_Train, and search for the game object named Create GO (Sleepers), you can see how this module is used in the Curvy Generator to replicate an existing model along a path.

I have been picking apart the example scene with the train but this still confuses me.

The tracks in the example scenes are made of both an extruded mesh, and objects placed along that mesh. 

How can I create a track that is old west themed graphically?  Do I need a new material that is Lathe-able?

You can use whatever material you want. You can use the Meta CG Options module to precisely control the materials and UV coordinates on each control point of your section. This is done in scene 26_CGExtrusionExtendedUV.

2.) I found the controls for the speed of the train and for creating and attaching new train cars but I cannot seem to find a way to create a "speed system".  Obviously we would like the train to start out moving at full speed, then when it approaches a station play the sounds, slow the train and its animations and eventually stop at the station, wait, then start back up again.  Is this sort of thing possible?  How would I go about doing that?

The Spline Controller component has two properties that you can use: Speed and Position. So you can either set the position at each frame, or set the speed and let Curvy update the position. Position can be either a relative value (from 0 to 1) or an absolute one (in world units) depending on Position Mode. Same thing with Speed and Move Mode.


Hope this helps. Please keep in mind that for each component, you have an question mark at the top right corner of the inspector that will open a help page about that component.