Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
Tags

mollusk

9
Posts
7
Following
A member registered Jul 09, 2017

Recent community posts

Hi, I've got a question re. the summary screen. On one of my less auspicious runs my summary included: Reckless driving (5 times), Max. comfortable acceleration exceeded (12 times), and Passenger comfort exceeded (2 times). The graph confirmed I had only sped once in a 10mph area, and I had stopped twice before the appropriate marker at one station, but other than that the lines didn't look too bad. Could you briefly explain what causes each of the above demerits? Cheers.

(1 edit)

Thanks for sharing! Enjoyed reading that and seeing some of the locos featured here talked about. It explains why the engine on the 127 drops to idle for a while at 44mph, which was puzzling me, as it's changing from the torque converter to direct drive. Nice!

Also, I was growing up in the UK at that time so it's always interesting to get perspectives on what was going on.

One small thing I've noticed (and it is small and may already be taken care of in the next patch): ESC from the game opens the menu but to return to the game one has to use the mouse. Do you think it might flow better to also allow resuming the game with ESC?

I feel your pain :-)

I was really overthinking things in my confusion. What seems to be working for me is: scan the semaphores that apply to my track and if none of them are clear then stop. If one of them is clear then continue at the speed limit knowing (from the semaphore placement) which track I'm going to end up on. Simple!

I also learnt I didn't have the correct goal in mind when I was previously running routes and this was affecting my scores. It seems silly in hindsight (given I catch trains every day) but I was trying to get 'my' graph line (the red one on the end-of-run graph) as close to possible with the grey line (I can't remember the name of it currently) but in doing so I was running consistently early because I was trying to get as close to the speed limit as possible. So I decided to back right off and just try to hit the timetable times... and my score doubled!

Now I'm wrestling with the handling differences between the smaller single and 4 car trains and the 12 car ones. The acceleration and braking is so noticeably different with 12 cars: the brake air-bleed duration really draws out starting and stopping.

Loving this game, you've done a bang-up job with the whole feel: sounds, movement, palette, controls. Really impressive, and I'm really looking forward to future patches of this simulation and to experiencing the future simulations that build upon it.

(2 edits)

Ok I'll keep posting here since I don't have an account on trainsim.com. I think I understand now where my confusion is coming from. I was taking the 4 semaphore gantry in the picture above to mean only a train on the 4th (rightmost) track had the clear signal and that my train, being on the third from left, had a danger signal.

But I wasn't taking into consideration that signal poles (always?) appear to the left of the track they are relevant to. Given that, I now believe that the signal in the picture is telling me that the route I'm on is diverging to the right (the 4th track) and, given the height of the 3rd and 4th semaphores are identical, the speed limit is the same as my current one.

Which leads me to another question (sorry!). The picture below shows what I'm calling, until told otherwise, a pair of merging signals. They seem backwards... why do the semaphores not correspond to the tracks? I.e. the leftmost semaphore is mounted on the taller pole which indicates it's the faster line... but the faster line is to the right of the train.

Hah not to worry, no frustration here :-)

(2 edits)

Thanks for the reply. I'd like to say it does but after running the scenario some more times, both driving and watching (have I mentioned how useful that is?), I must still be missing something obvious. Each time I come down the line the AWS horn sounds, the distant signal is at caution,  and the stop signal is at danger. So I stop. But if I enable Show target speed while I'm sat there it shows 34mph... and if I'm watching the AI driver they reduce speed to ~34mph and sail right through. So my question this time is: how can one tell when one can pass a signal at danger? Is it something to do with it being a junction signal (assuming it is one)?

BTW would you prefer I post any future questions in the trainsim.com Diesel Railcar Simulator thread? My questions seem mainly academic rather than DRS specific and others there can probably correct any further misunderstandings I have.

P.S. I've just bought the game - the copy I got was won from RPS - after all the game's great and I've been bugging you with my questions :-)

(1 edit)

Hi again, sorry for the questions but I have another point of confusion. I was running the Empty terminus down siding 30 and stopped at signals that I believed were against me. But after waiting there until after the predicted end of the scenario, without any change, I'm now in doubt. Is this signal telling me to stop? BTW I did overrun this signal initially - stopped before the points - and then reversed back, not sure if that caused an issue...

My score did include 1 signal passed at danger but that may have been the next one that I didn't see until too late  :-/

That video is great :-D !

Many thanks for the links, they help clear things up nicely. Keen to see the helper improvement you're adding in the next update as I got a bit overwhelmed when I had them on in non-simple mode: things popping up far too frequently for a relaxing time.

I've just been using the Watch mode to see how the AI handles a route and I have some more questions:

Will there be a way to review the player's past run or runs for each service? I'm just thinking it would be nice to have access to all the end-of-run graphs and scoring breakdowns so the player can get an overview of their last run(s), areas that need improving and progress. 

I also noticed the AI's score replaced mine in the service list because it was higher (no surprise there). But will there be a way to display only the player's best score for a service? I like being able to watch the AI drive, and having a 'good' score to aim for and/or beat, but personally I would prefer to see only my scores listed (and have access to the AI's score for reference). It's sort of like inviting someone to play one of your games and they complete a perfect run and you're forever faced with their name on the highscore table.

Thanks again! mollusk.

Hi, I was lucky enough to win your game from the RPS competition and am very glad I did: it's a wonderful thing and is already promising to hold my attention longer than other train sims. I'm not overly familiar with how to drive these trains (although looking at what cab controls are being moved, and when, in simple mode is helping to fill in some gaps) and not at all familiar with signals, speed limit sign placement and when the new speed takes effect; and was wondering if you could recommend a good online source of information. If you don't have such information at hand please don't trouble yourself: don't want to needlessly divert your attention from more important work :-)

Best of luck, mollusk.