[Csantucci]

Reading how modern North American locomotives are equipped, I see that they rely quite much on DMIs based on one or more displays, each capable to show many screen pages. This is at the moment hardly implementable in a general way with the OR features currently available for 2D and 3D cabs.
So I'm thinking at a way to enable such possibility, and write here to get some feedback about the interest this feature can generate and about ideas on the implementation.

Here below a possible implementationm, which I think would require a not so high development effort (at least for 2D cabs), is shortly described.
In the cabview control blocks following further fields may be optionally present:
ORTSDisplay ( numeric ), indicating the display ID number to which the control is linked;
ORTSScreenPage ( alphanumeric-string ) indicating the screen ID string to which the control is linked; that means that the control is displayed/may be operated only if its screen is active in that moment; a missing entry indicates that the control is displayed, independently from the selected screen page; at game start such controls are enabled, plus the ones with line ORTSScreenPage ( "default" ); more ORTSScreenPage() entries in a single control are possible.

A new on/off control, called ORTS_SCREEN_SELECT is available, which, in addition to the usual fields and to the optional fields ORTSDisplay and ORTSScreenPage, contains one or more of following fields
ORTSNewScreenPage ( alphanumeric-string numeric ): when the control is clicked, the controls with field ORTSScreenPage equal to the string of this field and with field ORTSDisplay equal to the numeric will be displayed on such display in place of the ones displayed up to that moment. if the numeric is missing within ORTSNewScreenPage, the involved display is the one referenced in field ORTSDisplay of ORTS_SCREEN_SELECT.

A second control has been added, which is specially devoted to load the background of screen pages (their static part). It is ORTS_STATIC_DISPLAY.
Here is an example of usage of it:

		MultiStateDisplay (
			Type ( ORTS_STATIC_DISPLAY MULTI_STATE_DISPLAY )
			Position ( 246 151 105 16 )
			Graphic ( semproniostatic.ace )
			States ( 1 1 1
				State (
					Style ( 0 )
					SwitchVal ( 0 )
				)
			)
			ORTSScreenPage ( "sempronio" )
		)

With this block, the static part of the "sempronio" screen page is loaded when such screen becomes the active one.


Existing .cvf files will continue working as usual, with no changes needed.

This allows to display and to navigate among the various screens available in modern locomotives, although of course using the actually available cabview controls.

Blueprint https://blueprints.l...le-screen-pages .

[ATW]

I support this goal very much as there are many multiple screens an styles to choose from an what options to look at.

May be hard to implement but I also would suggest some of these screens being opptional for design an function purposes to be a thing for Web Server displays. Web Server already has links by design so why not new layout links depending on designer an what function links to what as if ORTS had its own web or 2d cvf building functions? Only complicated thing I would see a challenge is needle guages an speedo in web server so I am not trying to complicate that unless CVF files can one day link to web with correct justification an orientation of the needles.

So a web server like screen file by name an shape dimension can attach to 3D cabs if someday possible to make it simple for hard copy an not too many shapes involved.

[akioyamamura]

That would be fantastic. I support it too.

[Hamza97]

Lovely Idea ... :good2: Would love to see this implemented .. Good luck .. :sign_rockon:

[Borislav]

This is an interesting idea indeed!

[Eldorado.Railroad]

In this case, a picture or several pictures would be worth a thousand words!

I think I grasp the proposed concept. But I will be sure once I see an actually implementation.

However, with the work/experiments I have done over the 3-4 years, there is a gap that I hope this proposal can fill:

1) In my experiments with 3D cabs, the idea for using screen captures of 3D cabs came to mind to use with 2D cabs. The reason for this was the realization that a high quality 3D cab could provide the basis for 2D cabs. I discovered some years back that OR 2D cabs supports multiple views, way beyond MSTS.

2) For 3D cabs, the camera view in the cab can be moved anywhere in/outside the cab. For 2D cabs we are limited to the overlays for any given view that was created. The simple MSTS layout was front (with active/interactive controls), and two other views, namely the modellers choice. In the OR 2D cab these extra views could be anything and as many as desired by the model maker.

3) Given 1) and 2) above, I hit a brick wall! IMHO, very, as to not offend those who believe otherwise, I have often looked at 2D cabs that are mostly a compromise. For high definition controls the view is rather restricted, it often has to be, as the animations of things like needles etc are set for an exact viewing angle. I realize that this fact is not something that can be changed for 2D cabs. What is a huge problem is that active/interactive controls are only possible in a 2D cab for exactly one and only one overlay screen! There is no choice to move these active/interactive controls to multiple views. Allowing active/interactive controls in multiple views would allow the model maker to focus on certain controls in a given view. This would also allow for high quality views created/captured from 3D models.

So how would this work in practice (I will use a "classic" North American example here):

Forward First view, looking out the from window, no controls or maybe a simple control dial for speed (yes animated of course)

Forward Second view, looking at brake pressures etc

Forward Third view, looking at ammeter/dynamic brake etc

etc

In a passing comment what I proposed above, the view angle at which these controls are viewed could be anything the model maker desires. This would alleviate the headaches of trying to "stuff" all working controls into a single view, or severely limiting what controls will be used.

This should give you an idea as to what I am aiming at. A 3D cab would give the basis for 2D views, and as such the modeller can "cheat" a little with the views and what active/interactive controls are visible or not. I have done that, but of course at present only one view in a 2D cab allows for active/interactive controls to be functional. I hope that the proposed changes in the OP can bring active/interactive controls to be functional in any view that the modeller desires for a 2D cab.

Thanks,

Steve

[Paolo]

Hi Carlo! This idea is very interesting!
Many times monitors pages contain instruments such as voltmeters, ammeters, etc. concerning various aspects of the loco. It would be interesting to create a sort of Two_State command that can activate or deactivate the display of a sort of folder containing all the views of the page and the various instruments.
I hope I have explained it quite clearly, if you like to hear better my idea, we can talk privately.

Paolo

[Weter]

Hello.
First, would be it explained for me a little more verbose, please:

Quote

I discovered some years back that OR 2D cabs supports multiple views, way beyond MSTS.
...
In the OR 2D cab these extra views could be anything and as many as desired by the model maker.

What did you mean?

Then, second:
As I think: 20 years back 3d graphics were weaker, MSTS was newer, so we've got simplified 2d cabs with one main and two auxiliary viewports. (animated stuff is present only at main one)
Today, 3d cabs are normal, so:
(as I think, again) pure-ORTS model doesn't need to have 2d cab at all (as an Australian locomotive's model does)
Here is the time for "but"
2d cab has (for me) one benefit: say, that three (would be more, but not very many!) FIXED / pre defined viewpoints, that can be easily cycled in game, while 3d view have, in good case, just one default viewpoint, so we can jump back to it. All other evolutions of 3d cab's camera demand a good amount of time and efforts, hence, distract the player's attention focus from the gameplay itself.
This way, you can guess about my proposal: would we have some preset viewpoints for 3d cabs, all the need in 2d (for me) would be limited by compatibility with that old MSTS models, which don't have 3d cabs yet.

SEPARATE thing: I dream about (let it be simplified) mirrors to watch the consist and platform. Avia-simulators offered that even 20years back!

[Csantucci]

I have now a first working local implementation for 2D cabs. I have added details in the first post and have generated a blueprint https://blueprints.l...le-screen-pages . I will now check if this may be also simply transposed to 3D cabs.

Blueprint https://blueprints.l...le-screen-pages .

[Serana]

I had something even more ambitious in mind: https://blueprints.l...js-cab-controls

Basically, you would define a place on the 2D or 3D cab as a screen which will display the content of an HTML page with JavaScript (to make it interactive with the simulator).
That way, you can really customize what you want to display on the screen.

That's basically how screens work in Microsoft Flight Simulator.