[Hamblin]

I started this topic to focus questions/answers about the (hopefully soon) upcoming Cruise control feature in Open Rails.

Cruise control (sometimes known as speed control or autocruise, or tempomat in some countries) is a system that automatically controls the speed of a vehicle. The system takes over the throttle of the car (train) to maintain a steady speed as set by the driver.

So here we go: Will we see Cruise control in Open Rails 1.0 ? :lol:

[markus_GE]

 Hamblin, on 18 May 2015 - 05:27 AM, said:

[...]
So here we go: Will we see Cruise control in Open Rails 1.0 ? :lol:

Almost certainly not. V1.0 is focused on providing MSTS compatibility and only those extra features, that have already been added (autopilot, super-elevation, timetable mode - did I miss anything?). New features, like the one you are suggesting, are not allowable to be added any more by internal policy, in order to concentrate on fixing existing bugs, so V1.0 can finally be published soon.

Cheers, Markus

[R H Steele]

 Hamblin, on 18 May 2015 - 05:27 AM, said:

I started this topic to focus questions/answers about the (hopefully soon) upcoming Cruise control feature in Open Rails.

Cruise control (sometimes known as speed control or autocruise, or tempomat in some countries) is a system that automatically controls the speed of a vehicle. The system takes over the throttle of the car (train) to maintain a steady speed as set by the driver.

So here we go: Will we see Cruise control in Open Rails 1.0 ? :lol:

Until cruise control happens you can always use Autopilot (Options > check the Autopilot ticbox, then use Control+A) , while it was implemented as a tool for development of Activity content it can be used as a sort of cruise control. The controls do not display normally - (rapid and irregular movements being the norm). Looks like some sort of crazy invisible robot is running loose in the cab...some entertaining moments but it does function well.

[Hamblin]

I have tried Autopilot: Too bad that there is no way for the player to set up the desired speed manually (it is always set by the Route). And: After turning Autopilot off again, i am not able to release my train brakes anymore, because of the big brake pipe pressure used by the Autopilot (?) But still better than nothing :)

Back to topic:
Is Matej making progress with his cruise control? :)

[Csantucci]

 Hamblin, on 04 June 2015 - 12:32 AM, said:

I have tried Autopilot: Too bad that there is no way for the player to set up the desired speed manually (it is always set by the Route). And: After turning Autopilot off again, i am not able to release my train brakes anymore, because of the big brake pipe pressure used by the Autopilot (?) But still better than nothing :)

Back to topic:
Is Matej making progress with his cruise control? :)

You can release the brakes. Bring brakes to 0% and then press the command for brake initialization.

Maybe I will try to solve this problem better.

[Hamblin]

Any News about Cruise control / Tempomat so far? :)

 Csantucci, on 04 June 2015 - 01:31 AM, said:

You can release the brakes. Bring brakes to 0% and then press the command for brake initialization.

Thanks, this works

[timothyskinner]

I found I could set a diesel railcar up to run close to a speed limit by adjusting Gear 1 speed max and using a high throttle opening. There is a slight delay in slowing before responing to a higher gradient. Pressing E for Gear 2 gives a higher speed on a straight stretch. In practice, this works nicely for cruising through Copper Canyon writing down future tile work with lat/lon.

[Hamblin]

Hmm ... what about giving Open Rails some kind of a new / better OverspeedMonitor as a first step for cruise control / tempomat?
Something like:

"MonitoringDeviceAppliesCutsPowerOn:0-250km/h" (speed as set by the player) "+0,2km/h"
"MonitoringDeviceResetOn:0-250km/h" (speed as set by the player) "-0,2km/h"

So the train will maintain a steady speed (+/-0,4 km/h) and the controls will display normally ... or not? Ok, i have to admit: i have absolutely no idea of coding ... or how to change this value ingame :blush2:

[kjp115]

The speed issue would have to nullify the train dynamics. What some are asking for is a speed control device. What this does it control the speed on fairly level track. Passenger outfits use this but running a freight train would not allow this kind of operation. Even the Amtrak cruise control does not work well in heavier graded territories. Autopilot is great for this kind of operation and it keeps to the speed limit of the route section. I love the autopilot feature because it allows me to do other things while not having to pause the trip.

[Hamblin]

 kjp115, on 09 October 2015 - 08:11 AM, said:

(...)
Autopilot is great for this kind of operation and it keeps to the speed limit of the route section. I love the autopilot feature because it allows me to do other things while not having to pause the trip.

And i would love to see a autopilot feature which allows me to set up any speed i want during the trip, too. Not just the route section given speed.