[steamer_ctn]

I am looking at updating some work that I started on coupler slack.

As a result of earlier work, I noted that at extreme values of slack (well within prototypical values) the cars in OR appear to have uncoupled. This is due to the current fixed nature of the couplers.

In collaboration with one of the other developers, I am thinking of the possibility of adding a dynamic (animated) coupler which would move with tension and compression in the train.

To start on this piece of work I am in need of a knuckle coupler model and textures to use.

Is there a model builder who could contribute a freeware (it may or may not be distributed as part of OR) coupler to assist this piece of work?

Thanks

[ATW]

 steamer_ctn, on 22 January 2020 - 06:44 PM, said:

I am looking at updating some work that I started on coupler slack.

As a result of earlier work, I noted that at extreme values of slack (well within prototypical values) the cars in OR appear to have uncoupled. This is due to the current fixed nature of the couplers.

In collaboration with one of the other developers, I am thinking of the possibility of adding a dynamic (animated) coupler which would move with tension and compression in the train.

To start on this piece of work I am in need of a knuckle coupler model and textures to use.

Is there a model builder who could contribute a freeware (it may or may not be distributed as part of OR) coupler to assist this piece of work?

Thanks

I can help with that. You still have my Autoracks with the slack couplers? If so we can use that an I can convert them to stay on one model.

Your Advanced coupler sections tend to remove that uncoupled looking appearance but as in others even with good displacement values they can randomly can appear uncoupled due to spawn distance.

[steamer_ctn]

 ATW, on 22 January 2020 - 10:44 PM, said:

I can help with that.

Thanks for that.

I was thinking about just the coupler, so that it could be added by OR to any model by default, and would move in and out of the car. This approach may need to be varied when different types of couplers are used. At the moment I am just interested in doing a proof of concept.

So could you provide the coupler model so that it has its reference point (zero point) aligning with the knuckle? (this may need to change depending upon how it is implemented).

Thanks

[ATW]

 steamer_ctn, on 22 January 2020 - 11:20 PM, said:

Thanks for that.

So could you provide the coupler model so that it has its reference point (zero point) aligning with the knuckle? (this may need to change depending upon how it is implemented).

Thanks

Reference point as in reference part name? Knuckle as in coupler or open close knuckle aligned with a coupler draft?

[steamer_ctn]

 ATW, on 22 January 2020 - 11:26 PM, said:

Reference point as in reference part name? Knuckle as in coupler or open close knuckle aligned with a coupler draft?

The coupler would be a "stand alone" model that could be added to a car model.

Reference point would be the reference axis so that it can be placed in the game.

I suspect that a closed knuckle would be more realistic.

[darwins]

If the idea works, then it will be a bit different with a three-link chain, which would presumably need to animate the links rather than move in and out of the wagons, and different again with buffers and screw coupling - where the idea of animation might need to apply to the side buffers which move more noticeably than the central link.

[espee]

How about Tim Muir's et al coupler from the download section ?

http://www.elvastowe...coupler-source/

[longiron]

 steamer_ctn, on 23 January 2020 - 01:31 AM, said:

The coupler would be a "stand alone" model that could be added to a car model.

Reference point would be the reference axis so that it can be placed in the game.

If you get this done, I'm sure Dave Nelson will give you a big kiss! He has been advocating exactly this for some time now.

[Genma Saotome]

 longiron, on 23 January 2020 - 05:51 AM, said:

If you get this done, I'm sure Dave Nelson will give you a big kiss! He has been advocating exactly this for some time now.

Yes I will!!

With slack present train management becomes a real (and very realistic) challenge because there will often be situations in somewhere in the train where the couplers are slack between two or more cars. This is called the node (at least here in the US), and it moves. Depending on the terrain you can have more than one node. The challenge is to avoid doing anything that causes a sudden, hard snap out of that slack state because that's very often when couplers break. It will require players to exercise a bit more care on the throttle and to help them (at least at first) it would be very kind to include its location(s) in one of the displays.

Also, if the game can actually calculate a coupler break, would someone also add the code to decouple the train at that location? Train goes into emergency and the player will have to figure out how to put it together again.

[ATW]

 steamer_ctn, on 23 January 2020 - 01:31 AM, said:

The coupler would be a "stand alone" model that could be added to a car model.

Reference point would be the reference axis so that it can be placed in the game.

I suspect that a closed knuckle would be more realistic.

Yes but what shall the name of the part be aka like "Bogie1" "Bogie2" "Wheels11" you know for orts to read the animation part by name?

7 month old video on my system but the project from scratch involved. https://youtu.be/W0BpbufDhO0