[slipperman]

http://www.elvastowe...eenshot&id=3065
File Name: MSTS - ORTS Utility - ActivityTimesChanger
File Submitter: slipperman
File Submitted: 19 Dec 2021
File Updated: 17 Feb 2022
File Category: Computer Utilities

A utility to modify Season, Weather, Start Time
and/or Player Arrival and Departure times of an
Activity file.

v2.0 adds a facility to modify the Start Time of a selected Traffic (AI) Service. Station arrival and departure
times will be adjusted appropriately.

Unpack the .zip file to a temporary folder. Run the installer, after reading the short installation readme.
Thanks & Acknowledgements
Thanks to Alan Turk and David Forrest for their help in testing this program.
Also, to Torben Spiegler, the author of ActivityChanger, for giving me the idea for this utility.
The icon is from IconArchive.com - Judge-Iphone-Clock.ico

Created and uploaded by Ged Saunders.
16 February 2022 (v2.0)

Click here to download this file

[slipperman]

 Weter, on 18 December 2021 - 11:08 AM, said:

Nice fonts.
I like that GUI

Thank you, sir :)

I hope you find it useful - if you have any problems, please send me a PM.

Cheers,
Ged

[Weter]

Thank you too.
I always inspired with programs, looking beautiful.
That's very strong move.

[conductorchris]

This is terrific, Ged! Thank you.

Can I make a couple of feature requests for the next edition?
- The ability to add (or replace) static consists from another activity file.
- The ability to add (or replace) service from another activity file.
- The ability to swap player or service consists with other consists in your CONSIST folder.
Yes, I know . . . these are not about activity times.

Christopher

[Weter]

But that would be helpful for those, who doesn't have original rolling stock ready.

[slipperman]

Hi Gentlemen,
I have to apologise that v1.0 contains a bug which prevented it from updating the service times in activity files and service, arrival and departure times in traffic files.
v1.1 is now available, which (hopefully) fixes that problem.

@Christopher : By "another activity file", I assume you mean within the same route? The idea of being able to swap consists sounds interesting, and useful, but a couple of problems which come to mind are that if the newly selected consist is longer than the original, placing it might cause an error to be displayed and if the new consist is of a different weight to the original, running of the train may be affected.

As far as I am aware, the consist file doesn't contain details of its length and weight, so it would require obtaining that information from each vehicle which makes up each consist. This would not be possible if, as Weter suggested, the user didn't have the original stock in their TRAINSET folder.

Cheers,
Ged

[Weter]

Yes.
Calculating of length and weight of the train is done by consist editing software, as TSRE consist editor, but information is not currently stored in *.con-files.
BTW, it may be added as a Comment () if current *.con-file format parser allows it.

[slipperman]

Hi Weter,
You are quite correct but if the user doesn't have the stock in their TRAINSET folder, which is why they might wish to substitute the consist, there's no way to determine the length and weight of the original consist.

Your idea of a specifically formatted comment is good, but we have 20 years worth of consists which don't have that information!!

The MSTS parser allows for a Comment entry within the TrainCfg section.

Cheers,
Ged

[Weter]

Hello, Ged.

Quote

MSTS parser allows for a Comment entry within the TrainCfg section.

BTW, is it possible to teach your utility make such calculations and display that?

Quote

if the user doesn't have the stock in their TRAINSET folder, which is why they might wish to substitute the consist, there's no way to determine the length and weight of the original consist.

I did it once, but it was quite simply: I just substituted cars and engines by RS of the same type, but those ones, that I had installed.
We have a benefit:

Spoiler

our community-mate established the server with rolling-stock database, where users can find and download RS, needed for running activities, and developers can pick RS, belonging to railroad in question for composing authentic activity. You can check it out here. Users can edit database entries, if they are not correct, or if there is some RS to add to the database. Server stores RS from dead sites.
As well, there was an attempt to establish the Activity database following similar principles. Where users can search an activities with desired conditions for download and play.

[slipperman]

Hi Weter,
Well, anything is possible, but it's so far away from the designed purpose of ActivityTimesChanger, and requires a totally different, consist-based, approach, that I think it'd be better to create a new utility. I've already got some ideas, but there's still the problem with stock that the user doesn't have, or doesn't have installed.

Cheers,
Ged