[midneguy]

Hello all :rotfl:

I'm not sure if this is a "bug" per se, but after thinking about it I decided this was as good a place as any to post this question... As I've been developing my Frisco 1522 model (and sisters) for Open Rails, I finally reached the point of attempting to have one of the engines run on an AI train within Open Rails. The engine showed up on the AI train like it should have, but with one problem I noticed. While the engine passed by, I was able to hear it's "background" sound (hissing sounds, occasional random compressor pumps, etc), but the engine produced no "chugging" sounds. At present, the AI engine was assigned the same exterior .sms file as the player engines are - which utilize Variable2 for the volume and Variable1 for the synchronization of the sounds to the driver rotation.

Since the "chug" streams were silent on the AI engine, this made me wonder how the AI sounds are being handled by OR for steam locomotives... Are Variable1 and 2 being calculated for AI engines? And if so, is there a missing link to pass this information on to the sound management system for when AI steam locomotives are in use?

In MSTS I always had to set up special .sms files for AI engines, which had no Volume2 volume control curves (the chug streams simply play at full volume all the time), and also synchronized the sounds to the driver rotation by the "SpeedControlled" variable rather than Variable1. Will this also be necessary for OR, or can the program be adjusted so that AI engines can utilize the same .sms files as the player engines with both Variable1 and Variable2?

I'll say that I definitely don't want anything to "break" the way that trailing / helper steam locomotives are being handled sound wise - because for multiple steam engines in a player consist (either double headed or with a player on the front and pusher on the rear), OR works beautifully as it is now and totally leaves MSTS in the dust :bigboss:

Thanks!

[gpz]

midneguy, on 10 August 2014 - 08:33 PM, said:

Since the "chug" streams were silent on the AI engine, this made me wonder how the AI sounds are being handled by OR for steam locomotives... Are Variable1 and 2 being calculated for AI engines? And if so, is there a missing link to pass this information on to the sound management system for when AI steam locomotives are in use?

Normally you should be able to use the same sms for AI engines too. You might take a more detailed look on what's going on by opening the sound debug form with Alt+S. By selecting a sound source (sms assigned to a particular locomotive) there, you can see what is the calculated values for different variables of it.

[midneguy]

gpz, on 10 August 2014 - 10:07 PM, said:

Normally you should be able to use the same sms for AI engines too. You might take a more detailed look on what's going on by opening the sound debug form with Alt+S. By selecting a sound source (sms assigned to a particular locomotive) there, you can see what is the calculated values for different variables of it.

I appreciate the hint on how to go about trying to debug the sounds... but I seem to be missing something here. I just tried this after starting the activity in OR, and with the sim running hitting "Alt+S" doesn't seem to make anything happen. What am I missing to get the sound debug function turned on? http://www.elvastower.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/read.gif

[gpz]

If you run OpenRails in fullscreen, the form is invisible, of course.

[midneguy]

gpz, on 11 August 2014 - 09:51 PM, said:

If you run OpenRails in fullscreen, the form is invisible, of course.

So that's what I was missing - thanks! I just tried running the activity in windowed mode, and sure enough the sound debug screen displayed like it should have. What I noticed is that for the AI steam locomotive, Variable1 is remaining at zero all the time - which would explain why it's not producing any chug sounds. For the player engine I can see Variable1 changing as I move the engine forwards and backwards.

So now the questions is, why isn't Variable1 being calculated for the engine on the AI consist?

[gpz]

That's a good question. :blush:

[midneguy]

gpz, on 12 August 2014 - 05:22 AM, said:

That's a good question. ;)

Hmmm... Well, before replying again here I made sure I updated to the latest version of OR of 2416, just to confirm if the issue with AI steam locomotives having Variable1 = 0 constantly is still there... and I've confirmed that it is. Should I submit an official bug report on this or might someone here be able to check into this?

Thanks as always to the OR team - and Peter for your previous replies helping me to figure out the sound debug option ;)

[gpz]

Are you running version prior to 2396? The wheel slip problem mentioned in an other thread here and solved in this version might also affect the Variable1 calculation of multiple locomotives using the same eng file. (You haven't mentioned if there is a problem with other Variables too, or Variable1 is the only one. If so, then:) So if you use the same eng for the AI locomotive as the player one, and running an older OpenRails version, please upgrade.

[midneguy]

[2396quote name='gpz' timestamp='1408087597' post='158678']
Are you running version prior to 2396? The wheel slip problem mentioned in an other thread here and solved in this version might also affect the Variable1 calculation of multiple locomotives using the same eng file. (You haven't mentioned if there is a problem with other Variables too, or Variable1 is the only one. If so, then:) So if you use the same eng for the AI locomotive as the player one, and running an older OpenRails version, please upgrade.
[/quote]

When I originally saw this problem with Variable1 for an AI steam locomotive, I may have been using a version prior to 2396, I'm not sure... However, the last time I tried this last night I first updated to version 2416 and saw the same problem with the AI locomotive Variable1 staying at "0". The other variables all seemed to be calculating for the AI engine just fine, with only Variable1 staying at "0" and never changing.

[James Ross]

midneguy, on 14 August 2014 - 08:01 PM, said:

Hmmm... Well, before replying again here I made sure I updated to the latest version of OR of 2416, just to confirm if the issue with AI steam locomotives having Variable1 = 0 constantly is still there... and I've confirmed that it is. Should I submit an official bug report on this or might someone here be able to check into this?

Check nobody else has reported it yet (I don't think they have) and go ahead and report it. This seems like something that should be fixed. ;)