[R H Steele]

After a year and a half I have discovered that I am using the keyboard more than the raildriver for controls. Mainly because the keyboard offers smaller incremental input in the throttle and brake than the raildriver. This is most noticeable with the train brake. The keyboard can input in 1% brake increments, extremely useful in all sorts of situations. The analog (resistive type?)controls of the raildriver just do not allow for such fine control.

Which brings me to the point. Sometimes I do like the experience of using the raildriver, actual throttle and lever controls enhance the experience. However when the raildriver is engaged the keyboard train brake controls no longer hold. You can temporarily apply the train brake but it soon releases back to zero and nothing is gained. The raildriver control is very much hopeless in situations where you would like to increase or decrease the brakes by a small percentage ... as you move the lever nothing happens until all of sudden you got 6 or 10% brakes, when you only wanted 1 or 2%.

Nothing the OR team can do about this, I know. BUT, could the OR dev team code it so that the keyboard is always available to affect the train brakes, being able to use it to increase or decrease the train brakes a percentage at a time would be of great benefit. That way, for instance, when the raildriver is engaged and using dynamic brakes you could use the keyboard to fine tune the train brake. Sometimes when switching I use the train brake in small amounts to control the acceleration and deceleration - this is easy with the keyboard, impossible with the raildriver. (IS this lapping the brakes??)

Can anything be done about keeping the keyboard train brake control keys active when the raildriver is engaged? Remember, now the keyboard controls [ :; & "'] will engage the train brake but it does not hold, just automatically releases back to zero.

.....Would be nice to hear from other raildriver users about this issue......

[James Ross]

I think the issue here will be that the RailDriver levers are "continuous" inputs, i.e. they always have a value and, like holding a joystick in the same place, won't necessarily give us the exact same value each time we look even when you're not moving it.

[R H Steele]

James Ross, on 24 June 2014 - 12:58 AM, said:

I think the issue here will be that the RailDriver levers are "continuous" inputs, i.e. they always have a value and, like holding a joystick in the same place, won't necessarily give us the exact same value each time we look even when you're not moving it.

James, I think I understand. But would the value returned have a range- if the raildriver train brake was set to 10% and not moved, checked again it would present a value within the range of 8% to 12%, for example. These controls can't be that precise they have to have a variance, a parameter. Could that small variance be exploited by the keyboard control to give a bit of fine tuning? Have I got it all screwed up?

[James Ross]

R H Steele, on 24 June 2014 - 09:45 PM, said:

James, I think I understand. But would the value returned have a range- if the raildriver train brake was set to 10% and not moved, checked again it would present a value within the range of 8% to 12%, for example. These controls can't be that precise they have to have a variance, a parameter. Could that small variance be exploited by the keyboard control to give a bit of fine tuning? Have I got it all screwed up?

That is one option but you do risk losing some fine control with the RailDriver when you do that... I don't know how accurately you can position its inputs or how accurately it reports on them. If it reports (and is accurate enough) to 1% or less, I'd say we set the limit to that - if it changes by 1%, it's moved, otherwise it hasn't. Might need some input reworking though (I have a plan, as ever, but no time).

[R H Steele]

James Ross, on 25 June 2014 - 12:47 AM, said:

That is one option but you do risk losing some fine control with the RailDriver when you do that... I don't know how accurately you can position its inputs or how accurately it reports on them. If it reports (and is accurate enough) to 1% or less, I'd say we set the limit to that - if it changes by 1%, it's moved, otherwise it hasn't. Might need some input reworking though (I have a plan, as ever, but no time).

I don't think there is much fine control to loose with the raildriver, that's precisely why I have gradually migrated to the keyboard, in search of more fine control. But as I said, sometimes it's pleasant to preserve the illusion of running a train by moving levers instead of pressing keys. Put your plan on the farbackburner, please keep it in mind. Maybe it will take seed and sprout into a glorious code symphony. This is not a big issue. As I wrote in another thread..... "much ado about nothing" :)