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| Brighton map pack 31/05/2013 at 14:53 #45333 | |
maxand
1637 posts |
One of the most daunting things I find about playing a sim for the first time is having to switch back and forth between the sim and a signal map (or the Overview) when the Train List tells me that such-and-such a train is hidden behind a particular shunt signal or, more likely, stuck at some obscure red. With this in mind I divided the signal map gif (thanks whoever created it) into a set of smaller regional maps using Jing, a free screen capture program. These maps can now be viewed in a single window without scrolling, infinitely faster than dragging or scrolling from one end of a wide map to the other. I labelled them with a "w" suffix (for White), then opened each in Paint.NET and inverted their colours, saving them with a "b" (Black) suffix. White for printing, Black for viewing. I now load up the black folder in FastStone Image Viewer (a free viewer), adjust thumbnail size and preview panes, and press a keyboard shortcut to this app to bring up its window whenever I encounter a mystifying signal number. Check out the way I've done it here and you will get the idea better than any explanation. To make the regional maps easier to follow I also erased overlaps with other regions (covered by other maps) where necessary. One of the advantages of FastStone Image Viewer is that clicking on a displayed image zooms it to a user-preselectable magnification, so one can explore magnified regions of even a large image without needing to scroll or losing one's place in SimSig. Alternatively one could print out how many of the white maps one needs, to put into a reference folder. I've uploaded the map pack here rather than store it on Wiki's server, as it is 9.5 Mb and a trial at that. If enough interest is shown I will ask Geoff's permission to store it on the server alongside the official inverse-video GIF and think about creating similar map packs for other sims. But they're quite easy to create and many sims already include a black-background signal map that can be subdivided as I've described. Log in to reply |
| Brighton map pack 01/06/2013 at 14:50 #45361 | |
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Aurora
183 posts |
You could disable the 'right click cancels route' preference so you can quickly check signal numbers just by right clicking them. Then if necessary at one time, use the signal map but I know I start developing an instinctive understanding of where many of the numbers are after a while. It's just a matter of some time and experience.
Nil. Log in to reply The following user said thank you: maxand |
| Brighton map pack 02/06/2013 at 10:46 #45388 | |
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maxand
1637 posts |
Thanks Aurora. I'd kept the 'right click cancels route' preference so long I forgot that disabling it displays the signal number. It's a pity that two so useful commands should be forced to share the same hotkey. If for example right-clicking cancelled the route (most useful) while shift-right-clicking (or even shift-left-clicking) displayed the signal number, this would be far more helpful. Last edited: 02/06/2013 at 10:47 by maxand Log in to reply |
| Brighton map pack 02/06/2013 at 13:40 #45393 | |
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kbarber
1742 posts |
" said:Thanks Aurora. I'd kept the 'right click cancels route' preference so long I forgot that disabling it displays the signal number. If that could be done I think it would be a very useful feature. Mods: any possibility of dropping a copy of this into 'Feature Requests'? Log in to reply The following user said thank you: maxand |
| Brighton map pack 02/06/2013 at 15:44 #45394 | |
GeoffM
6376 posts |
Done, Mantis 8935 for those with access (devs and testers mostly).
SimSig Boss Log in to reply |
| Brighton map pack 03/06/2013 at 01:17 #45410 | |
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maxand
1637 posts |
Thanks Keith and Geoff for supporting this feature request.
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