[SP 0-6-0]

Hi Csantucci, I am personally so happy you have been able to get working turntables in ORTS based on your own personal ideas and fragments left behind by Kuju in MSTS. The turntables not working in MSTS came as a complete disappointment the first night I installed MSTS. I almost uninstalled and took the program back to the store because of the over sized rails and crappy rollingstock and none functioning turntables. (I am glad I didn't now) 15 years down the road and just now I am able to realize my dreams of operating a steam locomotive and turning it on a old fashioned turntable like was done everyday in the past. Open Rails really has kept MSTS alive much longer than it would be without it even with all the short comings of ORTS.

Now that turntables are realized I would like to know if the Trello map is correct in that working transfer tables are planned for a future ORTS release? If so, Can your work on the turntables in the Tsection.dat be adapted to having working transfer tables that do not require any modifications that would lose MSTS compatibility while allowing the function to exist in ORTS?

Working Transfer Tables do exist in Trainz and Railworks/TS215/2017. So examples do exist of them working in game and interacting with the world and operations of the simulation.

Robert

[James Ross]

SP 0-6-0, on 03 January 2017 - 07:12 PM, said:

Now that turntables are realized I would like to know if the Trello map is correct in that working transfer tables are planned for a future ORTS release? If so, Can your work on the turntables in the Tsection.dat be adapted to having working transfer tables that do not require any modifications that would lose MSTS compatibility while allowing the function to exist in ORTS?

They're an important realism item for certain railroads, so I think we should be aiming to do them - that's why they're on the roadmap - but it might be a while before we are able to, as they could require a fair bit of fiddling with MSTS file formats and/or new OR formats to be possible. I wouldn't want to stop someone trying, though!

[Jovet]

SP 0-6-0, on 03 January 2017 - 07:12 PM, said:

Working Transfer Tables do exist in Trainz and Railworks/TS215/2017. So examples do exist of them working in game and interacting with the world and operations of the simulation.

The fact that they exist in other games doesn't make their addition and implementation into MSTS/OR (which has had zero provision for them) any easier.

The main issue is deciding how exactly to implement them so that it's done correctly versus half-hazardly and that it doesn't break anything else in the process.

[Csantucci]

I found that inserting transfer table operation was not so time-consuming, as I could use much of the turntable code.
Here is the state of the art:
https://youtu.be/B3r_DrQgdw8
I modified a standard a1t27mturntable.s into an a1t27mtransfertable.s, so forgive me the graphics. Some message must still be customised.
The operation however is there. It's a bit late for OR 1.2...

[thegrindre]

Excellent!!! Nice job, Csantucci. http://www.elvastower.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/sign_rockon.gif

http://www.elvastower.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/oldstry.gif

[timothyskinner]

Carlos - Congratulations on another discovery !!

I have recently been looking at train ferries. One across the White River near the Uintah (pic below) could have carried a railroad wagon.
In 1991 I returned east to Copenhagen in Denmark from Odense across the Great Belt by train which was divided in 2 then the 2 parts pushed on a ferry and the process reversed on the other side and the journey continued with a different locomotive.
Then again there is the cross-Channel train ferry from Dover to Calais. I am sure ET members will add their own favorite, New Zealand comes to mind.
If it is possible to have X to X direction by traverser, what about a Z to Z direction ferry?

[DRelyea]

HI,

I'll second thegrindre's posthttp://www.elvastower.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/sign_thank_you.gifhttp://www.elvastower.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/thumbup3.gif

Doug Relyea

[keystoneaholic]

timothyskinner, on 09 January 2017 - 03:54 PM, said:

Then again there is the cross-Channel train ferry from Dover to Calais.

Just to be picky, the train ferry ran from Dover to Dunkerque. I did have a trip on the overnight sleeper from London to Paris which went that way, I can tell you that from the deck up to the bottom step of the sleeper was a very big stretch!

There was another train ferry which ran from Harwich to Zeebrugge, which was freight only. I have been on that too, as a foot passenger, there were 8 double cabins and a passenger certificate for 12 people. I got single occupancy as I was working for British Rail's Shipping & International Services Division at the time (it's always who you know....). It was interesting to see the tide in your coffee as they rolled a rake of wagons on or off the ferry!

Both of those services were shut down when the Channel Tunnel opened.

Scandenavia had a number of train ferries, Rodby to Puttgarten (Denmark to Germany), the Great Belt which you mentioned and from Hellsingor to Helsingborg (Denmark to Sweden). The Great Belt service has been replaced by a Bridge/Tunnel, as has Helsingor to Helsingborg.

The 'Train Ferry' picture you posted is strictly speaking a 'Floating Bridge', because it has a fixed guidance system. It's an important distinction as under maritime law Ferries have priority over other shipping but Floating Bridges have to give way to other shipping.

It looks like the kind of thing which Rick might be tempted to have a go at!

[Nicolò]

Amazing Carlo!

[Csantucci]

Thank you! I have now an internal beta version available, and it shows no errors. I even found an error in turntable operation testing with it. I've opened a blueprint https://blueprints.l.../transfertables and I envisage to prepare a demo environment if I have time.

[Csantucci]

Here is a demo route plus additional files needed to test the feature and to see how the relevant files are structured:
 Transfertablekit.zip (2.76MB)
Number of downloads: 622
The kit must be unpacked in your standard Train Simulator installation, and does not modify existing files.
Here are the .exe and .dll files to replace in version x.3746


The demo route uses standard trainsets.
The transfertable is moved with keys Alt+C and Ctrl+C, like the turntable, and the loco must be in manual or explorer state, at zero speed, zero throttle and reverser in neutral.
Note that with the path included, when running in activity mode, the loco will activate the reversal point when it stops in the Transfer Table. The path can also built in other ways of course.
You can also activate the static locos with the TrainListWindow and move them on the Transfer Table or use them to put wagons on the Transfer Table.

Relevant files are:
- (within the route's Openrails subfolder) turntables.dat. This file contains a block for each transfertable, in a very analogous way as it does for each turntable. In effect the file can contain both turntable blocks and transfertable blocks
- (within the route's Openrails subfolder) tsection.dat. This additional tsection.dat file contains the TrackShape block for the Transfer Table. Open Rails will directly access such file for the transfer table, without need to copy the TrackShape block into the Global tsection.dat. However copying the file is necessary if you want to use MSTS RE or AE on this route.
- (within Global\Shapes) a1t27mtransfertable.s , which is a derived from its sister turntable, replacing the rotating animation with a translating one and making the static part transparent. Note that the 3600 that you find in the animation part may be also other numbers (buth they must be the same), because the number of frames should be proportional to the width of the Transfer Table (about 60 frames per meter)
- (within the route's Textures subfolder) a1t27mtransfertable.ace: the modified texture file.
The Transfer Table uses the sound of the turntables.

26/1/17: modified .exe and .dll files deleted because now feature committed

[Jovet]

Very nice, Carlo! You're a hero and a gentleman.

[lineman]

Csantucci, on 11 January 2017 - 05:34 AM, said:

Here is a demo route plus additional files needed to test the feature and to see how the relevant files are structured:
Transfertablekit.zip
The kit must be unpacked in your standard Train Simulator installation, and does not modify existing files.
Here are the .exe and .dll files to replace in version x.3746
OR_Transfertable.zip

The demo route uses standard trainsets.
The transfertable is moved with keys Alt+C and Ctrl+C, like the turntable, and the loco must be in manual or explorer state, at zero speed, zero throttle and reverser in neutral.
Note that with the path included, when running in activity mode, the loco will activate the reversal point when it stops in the Transfer Table. The path can also built in other ways of course.
You can also activate the static locos with the TrainListWindow and move them on the Transfer Table or use them to put wagons on the Transfer Table.

Relevant files are:
- (within the route's Openrails subfolder) turntables.dat. This file contains a block for each transfertable, in a very analogous way as it does for each turntable. In effect the file can contain both turntable blocks and transfertable blocks
- (within the route's Openrails subfolder) tsection.dat. This additional tsection.dat file contains the TrackShape block for the Transfer Table. Open Rails will directly access such file for the transfer table, without need to copy the TrackShape block into the Global tsection.dat. However copying the file is necessary if you want to use MSTS RE or AE on this route.
- (within Global\Shapes) a1t27mtransfertable.s , which is a derived from its sister turntable, replacing the rotating animation with a translating one and making the static part transparent. Note that the 3600 that you find in the animation part may be also other numbers (buth they must be the same), because the number of frames should be proportional to the width of the Transfer Table (about 60 frames per meter)
- (within the route's Textures subfolder) a1t27mtransfertable.ace: the modified texture file.
The Transfer Table uses the sound of the turntables.

Why when a loco rolls onto the t-table does it grow about 3 times its normal size. After the t-table is moved, the loco jumps back to the original track, and the t-table stays connected to whichever track it has been moved to?

[Csantucci]

Sorry, but I don't understand what you mean.

[lineman]

When using your test route for the new transfer table the locomotive is stretched about 3 times as high as normal and about 2 times as wide. It is also displayed above the terrain and it is had to center it on the transfer table. Once there the table will move with the correct keys in the correct direction. When the table has moved and connected to the new track as you drive the locomotive forward from its position above the transfer table, it jumps back to the original track (the first one you approach on) and becomes original size again.