[scottb613]

ebnertra000, on 16 April 2023 - 01:31 PM, said:

The animation speed has to be a negative number. I usually run between -0.02 for fast flashers and -0.04 for really slow stuff (normally I don't go beyond -0.0333). TSRE is just fine with that, but the MSTS RE is not a fan, and has to be tricked into taking a negative number

Hi Travis,

Thanks for your insights - I'll give this another go.
:)

Regards,
Scott

[pwillard]

I consider it to be roughly the time between 1939 and 1960, personally

[Jovet]

scottb613, on 16 April 2023 - 06:13 AM, said:

Hmm - I had tried both Travis and Joseph’s signals - I’m probably doing something wrong - I’ll look again when I get some time.

Hi Scott. I hope you got it to work.
My signals do come with instructions that explain how to make them work the way you want. They can be static models, always-animated models, or interactive models.
The animation length you set is the negated inverse of the desired frame rate. My non-wigwag signal shapes are designed for 30 frames per second, so 1/30 × -1 = -0.0333 ≕ 1 flash cycle per second. Tweak the frame rate accordingly, to your liking.
It's also very important (to me) that you place all the signals on the track & road at the same spot. This allows all the lights to be sure to stay in sync no matter how fast the train approaches.

[Jonatan]

Thanks for this clarification Joseph. I've been working on making my own flashing lights and animated objects and never figured out the reason for the negative number or what it affected. I'll write this down so I can remember!

[Jovet]

Jonatan, on 18 November 2023 - 07:03 PM, said:

Thanks for this clarification Joseph. I've been working on making my own flashing lights and animated objects and never figured out the reason for the negative number or what it affected. I'll write this down so I can remember!

Sounds good.
Don't spare the photos, either!

[steved]

This is just a quick test but these are what I've collected over the years.

https://i.imgur.com/KOJN5lo.jpg
Here's a video.
https://youtu.be/4cH5QfaJq4M

Randy

[Jovet]

Jonatan, on 18 November 2023 - 07:03 PM, said:

Thanks for this clarification Joseph. I've been working on making my own flashing lights and animated objects and never figured out the reason for the negative number or what it affected.

I kind-of glossed over this question, but the reason is that the Animation Length parameter of LevelCr objects is designed to control how long the crossing gate takes to open or close. Such "one-shot" LevelCr objects are supposed to have just two frames of animation (frame #0 and frame #1) and the value determines the number of seconds to make the transition.

It was eventually discovered that, if the number were negative, it would change the entire animation mode into a continuous animation mode. This allowed any number of animation frames to be replayed start to finish, over and over, for as long as the LevelCr object was triggered. I'll credit myself with figuring out the framerate formula for the negative Animation Length numbers.

Signals look very good there! I love wigwags, though I never made as many as I intended. Thanks for posting!

[ErickC]

Can the negative frame count be set at the part level so that, for example, a gate can animate up or down but the lights on the gate can flash continuously? I noticed that the signals on the newer TS routes do this (they all appear to be one shape) and was wondering what method was employed.

[ebnertra000]

ErickC, on 06 December 2023 - 01:36 AM, said:

Can the negative frame count be set at the part level so that, for example, a gate can animate up or down but the lights on the gate can flash continuously? I noticed that the signals on the newer TS routes do this (they all appear to be one shape) and was wondering what method was employed.

As it stands, no. The TS signals are almost certainly two shapes that just blend together really well

[Jovet]

ErickC, on 06 December 2023 - 01:36 AM, said:

Can the negative frame count be set at the part level so that, for example, a gate can animate up or down but the lights on the gate can flash continuously? I noticed that the signals on the newer TS routes do this (they all appear to be one shape) and was wondering what method was employed.

As Travis wrote, no. There just isn't that level of modularity in MSTS or OR. All shapes can have multiple animations, but just one frame rate per shape.

I find "lit" gate lights in the vertical position pretty annoying. It isn't possible to make them flash, but I made mine turn off and on with the gate lowering as a separate, child animation placing a "lit" mesh over the unlit light mesh. The exact placement and subsequent animation timing took a long time to get how I wanted it, but I'm happy with how it turned out.

On a side note... properly flashing gate lights would re-introduce an old conundrum. Because the signal lights are supposed to flash like this, to properly have the gate lights in synchronization would require separate shapes for each side of the crossing. [The tip lights don't flash, but notice that when the middle lamp is lit on one gate, the near lamp is lit on the other. When viewed in front of the crossing, all of the "left" or "right" lamps should be lit at the same time, any direction.] This is the same conundrum I had when designing flashing light crossing signal shapes... whether to include the peep holes in the sides. Including the peepholes would mean that the opposite flashing of the light shapes' fronts and backs would be obvious, which would then also require separate shapes for each side of the crossing. I decided that would be more hassle than most users of my shapes would want to deal with or appreciate, so I decided to keep it simple with no peepholes.