-- INTRO --

hello there!!! thank you from me and casey (cjane) for downloading our mod! the amount of time two two of us have put into this thing is kind of insane, so it means a lot to us that you've decided to check it out! however, like the previous Ultimate Lettering & Tenderswaps (UL&TS) mod that this fully replaces, there's *some* information you should know before diving in.

-- WARNING --

this mod requires Lego's Library of Stuff (LoS), specifically v1.4.1 or newer, available on nexusmods. it's installed via Unity Mod Mananger (UMM), also available on nexus. if you've previously installed my UL&TS, you must *delete* that mod before installing this one. don't worry, nothing will break... unless you're running a version of UL&TS v2.0.0 or v2.0.1. if you're running either of those versions, you *must must MUST* read the included "switchover.txt" document included with this mod.

compatibility with other steam locomotive livery mods is on a "creator's choice" basis. if someone has this mod installed, for example, and downloads a completely different steam locomotive livery mod, it's not guaranteed their mod will "play nice", so to speak. if you're a mod author and would like to ensure your mod is compatible with ours, reach out to us and we can help you make it so.

-- WHAT THIS MOD DOES --

if you checked the example pictures on the nexus page, you prolly already know the basics of what this mod does. however, if you've chosen to read this readme, you get some more specifics. this mod is a *complete* replacement for my previous UL&TS mod, and does exactly what that mod does, but with the added features lego's LoS has received, it can now do so much more. as a recap, the UL&TS mod added "standardized lettering and decals" to every steam locomotive and tender, and a bunch of tenderswaps. since then, lego's LoS has added the ability to turn decals and other components into "component groups" that are individually toggleable, as well as a second text box for custom text. thanks to these additions, this mod has two styles of cab number decals, three styles of cab lettering decals, three styles of tender decals, toggleable sandome number decals, changeable class and marker lamps on engines and tenders (thanks to casey), and a whopping *84* unique tenderswaps for all base-game steam locomotives. oh yeah, and each tender has capacity listings on the rear, and some tenders have updated capacity values to better reflect the real-life versions. tons of stuff to play around with!!

as mentioned earlier, all of the decals (minus the headlight/numberplate decals) and lamps are independently selectable with the customization menu, with decals listed as "MEV [decal name]". want large cab numbers with text above them? you got it! want southern-style smaller numbers with separate text above and below? go for it! want just a single text line on the cab and nothing else? it's up to you! almost any style of lettering or numbering you want on the cab is possible.

tenderswaps are once again handled by creating clones of the existing models and swapping the tender that way. unfortunately, with 128 swaps as well as the 21 base steamers existing, the menu is a *bit* long in the tooth, but this is really the best way to handle tenderswaps at the moment. some of them give the engines more fuel, some of them give them less, some of them give them a tailight, some of them take away a taillight, but really the idea was to add swaps that look good aesthetically. a lot of the deck heights don't match, nor do the water pipes, but these don't impact gameplay outside of making player character movement inside the cab a bit jerky. i hope you have fun with 'em!

-- KNOWN ISSUES --

as with the previous UL&TS mod, there *are* some issues we can't fix. color changes for active lettering decals don't apply immediately; unchecking and rechecking the lettering decals in the menu will apply the new color. the center cab lettering decal and upper cab lettering decal share the same text box in the customization menu; this is a limitation of lego's LoS and is unlikely to change. also, the A23 has a solid cab roof as modelled, and thus getting into the cab on any of its tenderswaps isn't possible; you have to go over the tender and empty the coal bin to get into the cab. other than that, smaller issues people will undoubtedly find will be fixed ASAP. contact me on discord in my mod thread in the railroader server if you find something i can fix: https://discord.com/channels/795878618697433097/1244694238290251817

-- EXPANDING YOUR CAPABILITIES --

this mod is designed to be used with two other compatible mods: my own Steam Loco Liveries mod, and casey's own Steam Loco Linings & Livery Pack. now, this mod *is* totally independent, as are those mods, but if you want to get the most out of your steam locomotives, you should download those mods too. using all three together will get you fully-customizeable steam locomotives, with colorable boilers, lining, and whitewalls, as well as all the decal options mentioned here. casey and i worked together to make sure all three mods can be installed and work together properly, and the "ultimate" goal here was to give everyone the most options possible for their steam locomotives. go wild!

-- CLOSING NOTES & THANK YOUS (AGAIN) --

as far as future plans go, i think this mod is pretty much at its final state already. if there's anything else you think we should add, be sure to let us know in my mod's thread, or you can DM me: i'm *mackenzie_ev* (minus asterisks) on discord.

of course, i have some thank-yous to dole out. of course, thank you to casey for joining me on this project and for implementing the class and marker lamp toggleability, and for being amazing enough to change parts of her own livery mod so that our mods work together. legotrainman absolutely deserves all of my thanks for making this mod possible, and for always giving me an excuse to find something in his mod that i can absolutely break and force him to fix. without them, this mod wouldn't exist as it does now.

if you want to support me (mackenzie) and my work, i do have a Ko-fi page for donations: https://ko-fi.com/mackenzie_ev. i won't ever require anyone to pay for the mods i create, but i mean it when i say the amount of man-hours i put into this mod goes way beyond what i expected it to when i started, so if you appreciate that and want to toss some dollarydoos my way, i'd really really appreciate it! thank you so much for downloading this mod and (hopefully) enjoying what i've made here.

casey is a professional railroader and one half of the team behind the Virtual Railroader Academy, where she and Nick Ozorak of The Roundhouse fame play railroader while adhering to and teaching viewers about real railway practices and customs. they also have a discord server you can join, and merchandise you can buy for their railroad, the Ashokan, Mohonk, and Western. if that's something you're interested in, be sure to visit their linktree to find out more: https://linktr.ee/VirtualRailroaderAcademy

thank you one last time for downloading our mod. we hope you have as much fun using it as we did creating it. cheers, and happy railroadering!

> mackenzie e.v. and cjane <