Folder structure of LOTUS

  • The manual where to put which file.

    1 LOTUS folder

    The main folder of LOTUS contains several subfolders:

    • [Addons]: All addons you subscribed in Steam are installed in this folder. Also you can add Container manually into this folder. The content from the Workshop are installed as usual into the separate Workshop folder
    • [Base]: This folder contains the standard content and the main files of LOTUS.
    • [BaseAddons] This folder contains the additional content, which comes with the installatio of LOTUS.
    • [Cache]: Any non persistent data used by the LOTUS Tools is storaged in this folder.
    • [Config] All configurations are saved into this folder.
    • [Logs]: The logfiles of LOTUS can be found in this folder. If you restart any of the LOTUS programs, a new logfile will be created. The old one is still in place as a backup.
    • [MyContent]: The Content Tool and the Map Editor will save your own work in this folder. In case there is a double of your work in the Addons folder, the content in the Addons folder will be ignored.
    • [OpenSource] In this folder you can find the current English language file to be used for your own translation. In addition, the scripts of the GT6N and the source folder of our Diorama map can be found and copied to the working directory of your Map Editor.
    • [Plugins] The plugin DLLs with its configuration files are saved in here.
    • [Screenshots]: All screenshots made with the LOTUS Screencapture function will be saved in this folder, no matter if it's a simple 2D-screenshot or a 360°-screenshot.
    • [Tools]: The Content Tool and the Map Editor with all of their files are installed in this folder.

    2 Map Editor folder

    The Map Editor stores the raw data of your map in an additional folder. Every map has its own folder, which is created by the map editor. The main directory is set after the first start of the LOTUS Map Editor and can be changed afterwards in the options menu of the Map Editor.


    Keep in mind: You need the data in this directory to edit your map. So the container of the map in the MyContent folder does not allow you to edit the map.

    3 Content Tool folder

    The Content Tool also has its own folder, where you put your own 3d-models and textures. After importing the 3d-model into LOTUS the Content Tool creates a *.lob-file and a folder for export files, which only LOTUS can interprete.


    Also the Content Tool uses this folder to pack a Container with all the *.lob-files from this folder. The name of the Container is the same as the name of this folder.


    It's recommended to use one folder for several *.lob-files. So it's possible to pack all of your Sceneryobjects in one folder and afterwards in one Container. Only in this case the textures like roof textures can be used more than one time.


    It's forbidden to place this folder within the installation directory of LOTUS or its subfolders.


    A possible structure of the folders could look like this:

    • ["Your folder"]
      • [Sceneryobjects]
        • [Houses_Berlin]
        • [Lamps_Berlin]
      • [Splines]
        • [Sidewalk_and_Streets_Berlin]
      • [Vehicles]
        • [Busses]
          • [SD200]
          • [SD200_Sounds]
          • [SD202]
          • [SD202_Sounds]
        • [Trams]
          • KT4D

    This example is considered to ensure a good usability for creators. This isn't a restriction to all creators, but it helps a lot to keep an eye on all of your content.


    In this case folders, which will lead to a Container when packed, are "Houses_Berlin", "Lamps_Berlin", "Sidewalk_and_Streets_Berlin", "SD200", "SD200_Sounds", "SD202", "SD202_Sounds" and "KT4D".


    Folders, that won't lead to a Container are "Your folder", "Sceneryobjects", "Splines", "Vehicles", "Busses" and "Trams".


    So if you work on your own bus, e.g. "SD200" ([SD200]) the Content Tool will create a new *lct-file in the "MyContent"-folder, which has the same name. In this case it would be SD200.lct.


    Please note: Every creator can define his own structure in his "MyContent"-folder. For this LOTUS expects a similar *.lct-file also somewhere in a subfolder of the "MyContent"-folder. For this LOTUS compares the name, the Content-UserID and the Content-SubID. LOTUS will overwrite these attributes with the next packing of the Container. So please don't use the "MyContent"-folder to store backups or other copies of your content to prevent data loss.


    Please note: The export-folder, which the Content Tool creates automatically, is required for the *.lob-files and should not be deleted on any occasion.


    The directory like [SD200] can be moved to an other directory inside the given structure, as long as the name and the whole content of this directory doesn't change. When the folder gets renamed, the name of the Container changes too, when the Container gets packed again. The old Container should be removed afterwards to prevent two Containers with the same content in it. However renaming a Container is not that problematic.


    Every saving process causes LOTUS to create a new backup of the Precontainer in the export folder till a maximum of ten.