[mapindo]

I've got a problem creating a path with Track Viewer.
When I have to pass the second time on a switch and I want to change the exit direction compared to the one used the first time, the first part of the path is deleted.
The change of exit direction of the switch is assigned only to the first time I pass on the switch.
See you soon
Davide

[Goku]

Yes. I have the same problem with TV. :)

[mapindo]

Hi Goku,
do you know if someone is still working on Track Viewer project?
I wanted to create an activity with TSRE5 and TV but because of this problem I had to struggle a little to open it with MSTS AE and edit the path. It is not very practical to continue moving from TSRE5 to MSTS AE.
I take this opportunity to thank you for all your work.
See you soon
Davide

[Goku]

I don't know.
Path editing in TSRE will allow changing junction direction with complex paths.

[mapindo]

OK, I will try to arrange myself while waiting for you to finish your work.
Thank you again and see you soon
Davide

[mbm_OR]

mapindo, on 27 December 2017 - 07:55 AM, said:

When I have to pass the second time on a switch and I want to change the exit direction compared to the one used the first time, the first part of the path is deleted.

When similar things happens to me, I usually use Ctrl-Z to undo or Ctrl-Y to redo.

An example with some complex switch paths is attached.
 Switch-test.zip (62.7K)
Number of downloads: 11
Regards,
Mauricio

[mapindo]

Thank you Mauricio,
I've just tried your suggestion.
Sometimes it works, sometimes doesn't (maybe from the third pass and more), but it's better than nothing.
See you soon
Davide

[JeroenP]

Dear Davide,
One of the perhaps less intuitive parts of TrackViewer is that is has the concept of not always drawing the complete path. So with PageUp and PageDown you can draw more or less of the path (see also Help-> shortcuts). For a simple path that is not yet complete drawing more of the path will add nodes. This is different from MSTS where the path basically will be drawn and perhaps even defined as far as possible (I think). For complex paths the problem is that you cannot easily see until where the path is drawn.
The issue is now that the action like Take Other Exit on a switch is linked to the last-drawn crossing of that switch. Not the last crossing of that switch of the total path. So if your Take Other Exit is not working in the correct crossing of the switch, you probably did not have TrackViewer draw the path far enough.

The whole idea of this limited drawing of the path is that this is how it is possible to add a wait point on say the first pass of the path over some track, instead of only being able to add a wait point on the last pass. I have to admit, I have no idea how MSTS handles this.

I do admit that it is tricky to figure out till were the path is drawn if it goes over the same track over and over again. There are almost no visual clues. The only thing that would help is seen more or less reversal points being placed (if they are in the visual range). For instance, there is no different color for the last-drawn point.

Obviously, my description above is how it is intended to be. I was not able to reproduce your issue when drawing enough of the path. But obviously it is possible there is a bug lurking.

Best regards.
Jeroen (writer of TrackViewer, but currently not really active).

[mapindo]

Hi Jeroen,
I understand the complexity of the issue and if you can console even MSTS AE is not foolproof: I think it only reaches one more step than your TV. Finding a solution to this problem will certainly be a great challenge for anyone who wants to try.
Thank you for the explenation and especially for the work you've done with TV.
See you soon
Davide

[mapindo]

In a next path editor, wouldn't it be possible to create complex paths by joining many smaller simple paths?
Last thought of the year unpretentious.
I wish you all a happy new year.
See you soon
Davide

[JeroenP]

Dear all,
I have thought about this issue some more. The problem that was noted was that 'take other exit' was not working on the proper node, but on an earlier node (at the same junction). As a result a large part of the path was discarded.

There is actually two possible reasons for what is happening.

• As mentioned before, it is possible that the path is not drawn far enough. In that case the junction that is selected is not the intended one but an earlier one. Do note that if the path is drawn exactly until the junction of interest, then 'take other exit' should not be available on that node.
• But possibly, TrackViewer is not properly selecting the proper path node (in case multiple path nodes are on top of each other on the same junction node). TrackViewer is supposed to use the last (drawn) node. But perhaps, due to numerical issues, it is selecting the wrong. I now do have an idea where in the code this might be happening. But as was already noted, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This makes it difficult to actually verify that the issue is solved. Does anyone have an example where the issue really happens often?

I did consider the idea that it should not be allowed to have 'take other exit' (one where a large part of the path is removed) should not be allowed on path nodes that have a reversal point later in the path. This is similar to not allowing 'take other exit' when there is already an end point.

Regarding point 1. Part of the issue is that when the path folds back on itself, it is not very clear until where the path is drawn. So I considered a few options to make it clearer until where the path was drawn.

The first possibility would be to draw a bigger disc on the last-drawn node:
 greenshot000020.jpg (53.62K)
Number of downloads: 1

A second possibility is to draw a disc with a different color on the last-drawn node (in this case red):
 greenshot000021.jpg (53.94K)
Number of downloads: 1

I can imagine that there are other options as well. Please let me know what you think.

Quote

In a next path editor, wouldn't it be possible to create complex paths by joining many smaller simple paths?

As last point. I am indeed considering the possibility to merge paths. This would then mean that the path you are working on would be extended with another existing path.

Best regards.
Jeroen.

[Csantucci]

To this aim in MSTS AE I use the "highlight" feature; it allows to understand well the sequence of the path nodes.

[Genma Saotome]

Jeroen, so nice to see you active on the board again. :cool3:

Any interest in expanding the feature set of your track viewer?

[JeroenP]

Dear Carlos and all.
Initially I had no idea what you were talking about, this highlight feature. And I did not have any working MSTS installation anymore. So I found my 10-year old laptop, re-installed Vista and MSTS and tried it. So if I get it right, the highlight feature just highlights the last drawn track, doesn't it? So that would be something like
 greenshot000052.jpg (133.45K)
Number of downloads: 1

Ok. I can imagine that is a good way (or perhaps the best. I would need to

Quote

Any interest in expanding the feature set of your track viewer?

Well, I am currently doing some (overdue?) maintenance stuff. I already worked on the documentation. And I would like to focus first on improving stability and usability of the existing features. This post was about both. And then perhaps take it from there.
Best regards. Jeroen.

[rickloader]

Hi Jeroen, it is great to see you are developing track viewer. I think the proposed highlighting of the last path segment would be very helpful.
Can I also suggest highlighting the associated text when you mouse over a platform marker? In a crowded scene it is often hard to see the platform name, and you need this for timetables.
Thank you for trackviewer. It was one of the missing links in OR achieving independence from MSTS, and it is much appreciated.
rick