[ATSF3751]

So reading what others have said since I started this conversation on both Train Sim and over here I have kind of broken it up into a plan on what I think should be done along with a few other ideas I have.

I firstly want to thank the Open Rails team for everything they have accomplished with there main goal of not needing MSTS anymore and making ORTS a separate program all in it's self. I am also sorry if I came in a little harsh in the beginning but I only wanted to see Open Rails move forward towards the future and try to keep up with the technology that we have at our disposal currently after working on this for so long.

Yes ORTS still needs some work and is a long ways a way from where many of us would like it to go but that being said it is a far cry from what we had in the MSTS days! ORTS may not be perfect by any means and is always going to be a work in progress but the potential is there to make it so much better for the future of Train Simulation.

I know many are just doing this coding in there spare time and I thank you for that and wish I knew how to do coding myself so I could help out more with the project. Maybe it's time I go about and start teaching myself.

Now lets get down to the nitty gritty of things and start talking business on what I have proposed.

1. We set up a donation spot on the ORTS website so when the time comes we are able hire some professional coders to help out with the project. Yes I know this is controversial but it may help ORTS succeed in the long run. This not only would give us a little bit more of an edge with the times but also speed up the process a little bit and let the hired coders work on the more complicated codes that can't just be learned or done overnight. This in turn will allow the ORTS coders can then focus on what matters to them and take some of the burden of being so overwhelmed by all of the request by others saying this needs to be done and that needs to be done.

2. I think having the Route Editor, Consist Editor, Activity Editor and Track Viewer all in one separate program like MSTS did would be ideal. Weather we use TSRE or the ORTS team build our own route, activity and consist editors.

3. Breaking up the Manuals would also be ideal considering how long one is with all of the different operations, keys, running a locomotive so on and so forth.

4. Having a separate ORTS download for beginners I think would be very beneficial as well. I know this one may be a long shot but I think it would help ORTS with getting new simmers interested in it. Now that being said my thought with this is to have it be kind of like an introduction to ORTS with it being only the Stable version of ORTS with activities on how to run the trains properly, along with showing all of the features that ORTS has to offer. This would also get updated every time a new Stable release of ORTS gets released. It also would not need all of the extra advanced features that comes with Open Rails. Kind of like what myself and others have stressed is the time is now to get younger people involved and always strive to get younger people involved no matter where we are in the games creation.

Yes I know all of this is a tall order and it will take time to complete but remember this is a game that we all should be proud of and yes MSTS IS DEAD but it still lives on with ORTS!!! Without ORTS there is no way we could be making content that is unbelievable when it comes to detail not only in sound, and physics but also 3D cabs, spectacular routes and so much more that was not even possible 10 years ago!I We can still use our old equipment that was made more then 2 decades ago because of Open Rails and that in its self is a testament to what the ORTS team has done over the years so I thank you again to the ORTS team for all you have done! Not only for me but for all of us!

Brandon

[superheatedsteam]

Good to see you have taken the lead on this project Brandon.

Cheers,

Marek.

[FS.E652 091]

It's good to read motivational responses and also know that the lead is taken on this project so i hope for right updates for the future..
In my mansion of Route Builder, i can only motivate myself with all of this!

[Eldorado.Railroad]

How can "eye candy" like this not be important to any "near" future Open Rails?:

https://jrpcloud.com...3e91e382255.png
https://jrpcloud.com...3e91dfc1a37.png
https://jrpcloud.com...3e91db46f2c.png
https://jrpcloud.com...3e91d75cfb9.png
https://jrpcloud.com...3e91d311f3a.png

Even without the graphics engine, the models are superb, IMLO.

Steve

[Jack@Elvas]

Eldorado.Railroad, on 29 October 2023 - 11:02 AM, said:

How can "eye candy" like this not be important to any "near" future Open Rails?:

https://jrpcloud.com...3e91e382255.png
https://jrpcloud.com...3e91dfc1a37.png
https://jrpcloud.com...3e91db46f2c.png
https://jrpcloud.com...3e91d75cfb9.png
https://jrpcloud.com...3e91d311f3a.png

Even without the graphics engine, the models are superb, IMLO.

Steve

Run8 is hugely popular and its graphics are amongst the worst in the industry.
I think everyone's got a niche, and Run8 and OpenRails both carved out niches where graphics are less important than other features.
There's no need to worry about graphics updates, there are other things holding OpenRails back.

[Weter]

I feel sympathy to such point of view.
Being not a golden coin, other things wouldn't and shouldn't delight everyone.

[ATSF3751]

Now I am not a coder myself but I would like to try and get more people involved with Open Rails. Specifically the younger generations. Yes those screenshots are outstanding and it would be nice to try and get Open Rails up to par with what Trainz and TS20xx eventually but it is going to take time, effort by ones who are committed and possibly some money as well. It is close but in my eyes it still has that MSTS feel from over 20 years ago! I know it will take some time and some know how on coding but with the people we have and possibly some new blood into the Open Rails community it may be possible to eventually get there.

I think the first step is to get the ORMT involved and see what there thoughts are first. I do not want to step over anyone's toes here or at Trainsim so I am trying to be cautious on how I approach these ideas. Yes right now they are just ideas and no one is committed to anything quite yet.

With winter setting in I feel it would be a good time to get things started and try and get a few committed to this project. Myself included and see what comes about it. I am very proud of what the ORTS Team has done so far with physics and I do not think that should be stopped. We have a great team for that and thinking more about it we need to keep that team the way it is and come up with another team that would be committed to other aspects of the ORTS development so we do not have just one person working on this and one person working on that and so on and so forth.

My question to all of you is first off who is willing to commit and help out with this project and two what would you like to see come out of these ideas if they do come to fruition?

I know for me the number one thing on my list is better graphics all around but that will take a ton of work and would need many people involved in that side of things and I am also aware that dynamic weather is also another huge one on the list for many of us. I do see that coming together though as time goes on but we all need to take ORTS with a grain of salt as I have come to learn over the years.

Every train simulator game has there short comings and there will never be that PERFECT Train Simulator game that everyone agrees with. We first need to be happy with what the ORTS team has already accomplished and thank them for all that they have done over the years.

I just hope we can get more involved in the future and keep Open Rails alive, keep making improvements and for everyone to have fun because after all this is a GAME for all of us to enjoy and it should not be stressful for anyone. There are no deadlines, no one is getting paid for any of this and it is something that we have all enjoyed playing, sharing our content, knowledge and time to help one another out when we have someone new come into the forums.

Brandon

[Traindude]

We all have plenty of ideas on what can be added to ORTS, but the problem is finding anyone willing to spend their time to code these additions into the game. For most of us, this is a hobby that we do in our spare time, and not all of us (me included) are proficient in coding. However, if we can provide anyone who is code-proficient with "pseudo-code" (plain words that explain what the game engine has to do in order to make these functions work) then that's an ideal solution.

I agree with you, Brandon, hiring pro coders and setting up a funding drive to advance the project faster is an ideal solution. We just need to make it all happen--I certainly don't like plans that are all talk and no action, and I'm assuming the rest of you don't either!

[FS.E652 091]

I agree with what has been said... I think that the incentive to improve Open Rails is something that is deserved, because up to now the team has done a wise job and great applause goes to all the developers.
Improving a product not only serves to impact its popularity, but also to ensure that it can be used by associations and companies if the simulator above all provides a realistic system of conduct.
Nowadays, where technology and the multiverse advance, I think it is essential not to be left behind..

As far as I can say, my development skills have always been focused on the creation of routes, to date I have several projects in the pipeline, and each of them is characterized not only by the great graphic quality, but also by the realism given by the safety and signals, each of them reflects reality and all this was done thanks to the work of the open rails team..

Clearly, speaking of ideas, it is clear that I can suggest ideas from the graphic and technical side.

An example starting from the graphic side is the implementation of dynamic weather... how many of you during a simulation would prefer the weather to turn from sunny to cloudy like in reality? or maybe that dynamics can happen based on real data like in Flight Simulator? today the internet is number 1 for correlating PCs and Data.. and in my opinion, it is fundamental for realism..

Still talking about graphics... my thoughts can only go to atmospheric phenomena... from the simple lightning storm, to storm cells, to rain, storms... the wind that impacts the dynamics of physics, and why not... How many of you actually see overflowing rivers or rough seas during storms?
Also correlate a better shader for rain particles, and above all implement rain on the windows... which is very important since the windshield wipers can now be animated!
still talking about the sea.. we definitely need to change the water shader.. especially on the coastal lines, a great emotional and physical impact is given by the characteristics of the water.. and this is fundamental.. together with the dynamics of the skies, having some dynamic clouds and skydomes that correlate from dawn to dusk like in Euro Truck Simulator would be a nice option.

From a technical point of view however... I think that first of all we need to think about having a Scenario Editor that can mainly be free of Bugs and as stable as possible...
The current editor remained incomplete, and along with this, also the many bugs that many route builders have to deal with..

Not to mention the bugs in the activity editor.. traffics that don't appear.. etc...

Particular attention should be given to the conduct of the train...
realistic safety systems such as TCS scripts modified for various nations, here in Italy the SCMT or ERTMS system implemented by Carlo Santucci deserves to be developed even further..

just as the physics of driving such as braking forces, correlations based on the braked weight, etc. deserve development.

And above all... a well-made simulator must have faults!

In reality, no convoy faces happy "journeys"... there are journeys that face breakdowns or malfunctions, technical problems caused by level crossings or ground faults caused by the safety system...

in relation to the faults, it is urgent to also correlate the relative operations to unlock the guide or repair the fault.
this would be a great coup..

[Weter]

Speaking about weather, it's possible already to pre-define exact or random weather changes in activities (including explore route in activity mode), and to define variable weather for the whole 24-hours timetable "day", through special JSON-formatted text files. Try it, when will have a time.