rickloader, on 25 October 2019 - 04:33 AM, said:
I don`t like to disagree with a respected developer, but I think the goal of a HUD is not " to reduce the information in the train HUD to types of controls and gauges the driver would have available to him". Rather it should be to provide essential information that the sim otherwise fails to provide. As the Ai fireman cheats, a simplified steam balance display maybe ok for the majority of users in AI firing mode.
It is ok to "disagree", as this generates discussion and if done in a respectful fashion hopefully leads to improvement.
As can be seen by this thread there are a variety of opinions as to what information should be in the HUDs. Therefore as suggested earlier in this post I think that it is important to have a
big picture view (see my suggestions) as this helps set a goal for the outcome we want to achieve, and then we can work out what goes into each individual HUD. To clarify a point, I am not suggesting that information be dropped completely but merely questioning which HUD it should be located in.
To assist the developers, and ensure community agreement I think that it would be good to capture the outcomes desired, and then what data is proposed to be placed in each of the HUDs. This should be done in a single summary document that all can read and "agree" to rather then spread through a thread with various divergences of opinion. (Scott is this something that you can do at the correct time?)
It might also be good to confirm that there is a developer who is willing to take on this task so that a lot of effort is not expended only to find that it doesn't go anywhere.
rickloader, on 25 October 2019 - 04:33 AM, said:
Manual firing is a different matter, and at a minimum the present CTRL F HUD needs to be retained ; even supplemented.. Perhaps steam production + consumption would help. But even driving in the full HUD and monitoring Boiler heat can`t avoid the soaring and plunging boiler pressure cycle
Manual firing cannot easily be adapted to changing steam demand on the road. This is because of lack of information, and some dubious loco physics. 2 examples.........
Just to make a quick minor point, OR will always only be a representation of real life and some "liberties" will always need to be incorporated into OR. For example, it takes a number of hours for a boiler to heat and cool, how many users of OR would be willing to wait for these time periods? Thus some variations to real life are inevitable, the question will always be what is acceptable, and what is not (again various opinions will be generated)?
Can a new thread be started on this rather then side tracking this one?
rickloader, on 25 October 2019 - 04:33 AM, said:
It is very difficult for non- programmers to contribute, because much of steam physics is hard coded, and we have no access or idea what the sim is even intended to do. The original programmer is long gone, and probably intended to develop the steam model further. I don`t mean to be negative, but am just promoting an admittedly minority view
I disagree with the sentiment that only people with coding expertise can contribute. Non-coders can contribute a lot of help including the detailed research required to understand the real thing (essential if we are trying to model it), documentation of features and settings, as well as testing. Also they can assist with the type of work that this thread is generating.
So whilst I agree that having a programmer involved is important, it shouldn't just fall on their shoulders alone, otherwise it won't happen, as there is already more work then programmers.
rickloader, on 25 October 2019 - 04:33 AM, said:
Crossed post with Scott. Yes I would like to help if I can. I`m not a physics expert, nor a real loco expert, and certainly not a coder. But I would like to contribute, because I know that manual firing can be very rewarding.
Thanks for that send me a PM with your email address to establish contact.
We would then need to set up a test environment (test stock, etc), and then run scenarios and check them against real life situations.