[Gary54]

Along the lines of the discussion related to the handling of "Defective Signals," can OR recognize and record on the Track Monitor the presence of a segment of track along which slow (or restricted speed) orders were issued via Activity Editor? I have run a few activities that included such features. Though a pop-up appeared warning the crew of the looming slow order zone, the Track Monitor showed no evidence (red track segment or reduced speed) of the slow order zone.

Thanks very much for all of the efforts of the development team. It's gratifying to see how rapidly this is evolving.

Gary

[cjakeman]

Gary54, on 10 September 2013 - 06:52 AM, said:

Along the lines of the discussion related to the handling of "Defective Signals," can OR recognize and record on the Track Monitor the presence of a segment of track along which slow (or restricted speed) orders were issued via Activity Editor? I have run a few activities that included such features. Though a pop-up appeared warning the crew of the looming slow order zone, the Track Monitor showed no evidence (red track segment or reduced speed) of the slow order zone.

But are you sure that the Track Monitor should show this exceptional order?

In real life you don't have a Track Monitor and you rely on your memory of the route and keeping a good lookout for signals and speed limits. When you receive a slow order in real life, you have to remember it or make a note of it and apply it at the appropriate place. Is it the role of the Track Monitor to remember this for you?

Just asking . . .

[markus_GE]

Butting in here, I have asked me the same question once some time ago: Do they work or not?

To your questions, Chris, I would say: Yes, trackmonitor should Show them, because if you want to do all driving prototypically, you´ll have to turn it off anyway (you also don´t have the projected Speed indication in real life).

I myself would be glad just to know if the Feature is already supported anyway.

Cheers, markus

[Falcus]

I could also add, that when we have an activity editor that makes it easy to add trackside objects (Like color coded flags for slow speed zones?), then I'll agree theres some merit to trying to make the track monitor have the ability to be as fully prototypical as possible.

Though along that line of thought, why not have a series of "Realism" or "Prototypical" options available in the options menu? I don't know if this is something that could solve this particular issue unilaterally, but the ability to turn on Track Monitor Display of work order instructions of any level or not would be a feature that could be very useful to everyone from Veteran players running new routes, to newbies just trying to figure out where the heck the heck they are. Not all routes are created equal (IE, not all are well labeled, either with Track Labels or visible Mile posts etc).

I'd love to see a track monitor that could actually work as a mini-GPS, clearly demonstrating which turn outs to take to get you where you need to go. I think one of the bigger reasons we don't see more switching activities published is because unless a person is VERY familiar with a route (And which sidings are where, regardless of how well labeled they are or not), its very easy to miss a car or two and there by spend hours at something that ultimately becomes an exercise in frustration because you can't find those 2-3 pesky cars that happen to be hidden from view between warehouses on the 5th siding from the start, not the 4th that the instructions mentioned (assuming the instructions gave you anything beyond the Car ID Numbers anyway).... But this would be a complicated feature that I'm not holding my breath for and may or may not be worth just adding to the Wish List.

Falcus

[copperpen]

For the purposes of MSTS compatability, the track monitor does have to show that information because it is built in to the activity.

[markus_GE]

Falcus, on 10 September 2013 - 12:15 PM, said:

I'd love to see a track monitor that could actually work as a mini-GPS, clearly demonstrating which turn outs to take to get you where you need to go. I think one of the bigger reasons we don't see more switching activities published is because unless a person is VERY familiar with a route (And which sidings are where, regardless of how well labeled they are or not), its very easy to miss a car or two and there by spend hours at something that ultimately becomes an exercise in frustration because you can't find those 2-3 pesky cars that happen to be hidden from view between warehouses on the 5th siding from the start, not the 4th that the instructions mentioned (assuming the instructions gave you anything beyond the Car ID Numbers anyway).... But this would be a complicated feature that I'm not holding my breath for and may or may not be worth just adding to the Wish List.

Well, you could use the already available Dispatcher view for this. Works only in windowed mode, however (which could be improved by making the Dispatcher window something like the map view available in the Trainz series.

BTW, you´re right with the things about switching activities - I fully can feel what you described ;)

Cheers, Markus

[James Ross]

cjakeman, on 10 September 2013 - 11:21 AM, said:

But are you sure that the Track Monitor should show this exceptional order?

In real life you don't have a Track Monitor and you rely on your memory of the route and keeping a good lookout for signals and speed limits. When you receive a slow order in real life, you have to remember it or make a note of it and apply it at the appropriate place. Is it the role of the Track Monitor to remember this for you?

Just asking . . .

This is part of my upcoming GUI redesign, where the answer to both your questions is "maybe". ;)

[PA1930]

In my opinion it should show the failed signalls on the track monitor.
Yeah, in real life you don't actually have a track monitor telling you where's a defective signal, but you also don't have a "track monitor" either. ;) Closest things to a track monitor in real life driving are the ETCS or LZB systems that not even all trains have. As for a defective signal, I guess it would depend on how the systems would react to it. Speaking of "own experience", I've seen a failed signal but what it was doing was changing aspects randomly, including showing the red light... what happens is that the on-board system we use here in Portugal (we call it "Convel" but its known as Ebicab700, which is also used in Sweeden for example), it acknowledged there was something wrong so it applied the brakes until the train was stopped (I guess you could say its something like an emergency brake use). I'm going to guess this reaction shouldn't be the most apropriate reaction to a failed signal so as for the simulation... I guess it should be one of those situations that the driver has to stop the train and ask for permission to proceed.

[roeter]

Let's stick to slow order zones in this thread.
There is another thread on signal failures :Handling of defective signals.

As for slow order zones - there's more to it than just the track monitor.
AI trains should, ofcourse, also adhere to slow order zones which means a link is required between activity events and AI control - and that link presently is just about as available as a link between north and south pole. Any new GUI would not cover that either.
I can add it to the list of things to do - but it's a long list so it may take a while ...

Regards,

Rob Roeterdink

[Gary54]

Thanks for the discussion regarding this. My initial question had more to do with whether or not it was presently supported. While it appears not to be supported (and may not be for some time to come), it is true that pop-up messages can alert the crew to slow orders. That has worked fine for me and activities that I have worked with. I am intrigued by the point raised Falcus regarding the placement of trackside objects such as work limit signs used to alert crews. Perhaps something for the future.

As pointed out above, there are clearly more pressing issues.