[longiron]

The Open Rails team is proud to offer a small Holiday surprise to the train sim community. The latest public download of v0.7 is now available on the Open Rails site.

View a YouTube video of What's New at
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=kG__2A2h-Jg

We've also done a YouTube video of the Advanced Adhesion model at
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=Cx1dgaCUMVg


Download the new Open Rails software at http://openrails.org/release.html You'll find there the OR "Ready to Run" version, the OR source code for those interested, and the OR "Installation and Startup Guide" and "Operations Manual" and "Keyboard Shortcut Guide".

What's new with Open Rails v0.7:

· Freight Activity Work Orders including Car Description (name) in addition to Activity numbering

· Activity success monitoring including completion of each step with "Done" indications

· Activity Events full functioning: Location, Time, Action events with Pop up message windows, Activation levels, reverse Activation levels

· Microtex texture visible for route textures

· F6 Train siding, Platform and F7 train car number display

· ESD Alternative Texture improved for MSTS compatibility and extended features

· Gantry items now display in compressed, binary World tiles

· Numerous Diesel, steam and electric cabview display improvements: gauges, dials, controls

· New F5/HUD diesel, steam and electric physics information

· Enhanced diesel smoke effects, linked to ENG physics parameters

· Diesel engine fuel consumption based on MSTS ENG file parameters

· Changes in behavior of F5/HUD behavior to make it easier to use

· Enhanced diesel physics, better comparison to real world performance

· Electric engines now receive power with pantograph in ONLY up position

· Extended RailDriver support for new Diesel Cab controls, like Alerter, etc

· Added Reverse - Neutral -Forward reverser positions to controls for all engine types

· Fixed Adhesion bug with low game FPS

· Fixed Adhesion bug on game Save/Restore

· Implemented OpenAL sound system to replace irrKlang with full doppler effects

· Enhanced legibility of on-screen type for all Driver aids

· Added overhead wires for Dynamic track profiles

· Driver aid window positions now "remembered" by Open Rails, so user preferences are retained

· New embedded screenshot capability using "screen print" button

· Numerous camera fixes, enhancements and adjustments

· Support for multiple custom track profiles based on profile + procedural extrusion

A couple of important notes.

The behavior of the F5 HUD display has been dramatically changed. Pressing F5 once will bring up the basic text driver aid, and pressing F5 twice will close the HUD display. To access the advanced driver aid information, please use the key combination SHIFT + F5 to cycle through the various screens.

A new folder is included with the v0.7 "ready to run" download called "Add Ons". This folder contains two .ace file: overheadwire ( greenish color like weathered copper) and overheadwire1 (32/32/32 RGB which is dark black). They are supplied to allow the community to customize the texture display of the power wire for overhead gantries. Just place the overheadwire.ace file in your Routes\routename\Textures folder for EACH route that uses overhead wires. The file must be named overheadwire.ace for Open Rails software to use that texture file. If the file is not present in that location, Open Rails will use the dieselsmoke.ace to texture the power wire and display a WARNING when loading the route.

Finally, there are two new keyboard commands designed to address the runaway slipping due to instability of the adhesion calculations on systems with lower frame rates (under 40 FPS).

· Pressing a combination of "Ctrl + X" will reset the adhesion calculations, stop wheelslip and reset the Throttle to "0%" for all Engines in the consist

· Pressing Ctrl+Alt+X toggles UseAdvancedAdhesion parameter which switches all locomotives between Open Rails new advanced adhesion model and a simpler model.

We hope you enjoy this latest development release of Open Rails. See you after the new year with lots more surprises!

[captain_bazza]

To ALL the Open Rails team, well done, and thank you for your hard work .

Cheers Bazza

[thegrindre]

Fantastic job, guys! :sign_thanks:

Many thanks for getting this, this far. :drinks:

B)

[cjakeman]

longiron, on 11 December 2011 - 06:36 PM, said:

We've also done a YouTube video of the Advanced Adhesion model at
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=Cx1dgaCUMVg

Not been following the Advanced Adhesion work, so this came as a nice surprise. Loving the video.

Is the rail always assumed to be dry or is it related to the weather and slips and skids more in wet and icy conditions?

[longiron]

cjakeman, on 12 December 2011 - 11:58 AM, said:

Is the rail always assumed to be dry or is it related to the weather and slips and skids more in wet and icy conditions?

Definitely takes weather into account.

[cjakeman]

longiron, on 12 December 2011 - 12:10 PM, said:

Definitely takes weather into account.

Could this be linked to Activities and Evaluations? If the Evaluation reports the amount of overspeed, should it also report the amount of slipping and skidding?

And could there be an activity which triggers a rain storm? (Or in the UK, perhaps it would be a autumn wind that puts leaves on the line :-)

What do you think?