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| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 22/03/2014 at 18:54 #57587 | |
Cedric
46 posts |
I've been watching this string with some amusement and interest. I've been using Simsig for quite a few years now, and my attraction to it is that is is SO like the real thing it is almost like being back in the industry I worked in full-time for 36 years, much of it on patches now covered by simulations. I really want it to be like the real thing, not amended to make it easy or dumbed down for people to pump through as many trains as they can in as short a time as possible. Yes, if you take your eye off the ball on the Brighton SIM (and in some of the other areas)the whole thing quickly collapses - but that is the real world guys! I DO think the "stickies" could be improved and made more realistic. They should start to curl if left on the panel for more than two hours. They should fall off the panel and disappear randomly without warning, and once stuck on the panel any crossings out or changes should be only half-legible (like when you write something vertically and gravity pulls the ink away from the ballpoint). I for one am looking for realism not gimmicks. On a wider subject, been having great fun with the two Victoria SIMs but haven't yet had time for Motherwell or the latest West Mids releases. We are having a real feast at present. Keep it up! Best wishes Cedric Log in to reply The following users said thank you: y10g9, dwelham313, John, officer dibble, JamesN, delticfan, TimTamToe, Noisynoel |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 22/03/2014 at 20:25 #57590 | |
Steamer
3986 posts |
" said:It's slowly dawning on me that the current IECC interface was designed by sadists for masochists.There's a few things to remember: 1. Signalling installations have to work 24/7, 365 days a year for a considerable number of years. Therefore, reliability is paramount. While the very latest gadgets have flashy interfaces, how long do they last? A few years at most, then the next latest thing comes along. And if tablets etc. crash from time to time, no-one really cares. Swear, switch off and on again, problem solved. Signalling systems don't have this luxury. They have to work reliably and safely at all times, therefore the time and money goes in to getting that right. Also, signallers who work a box every day will know the timetable, so their need for sticky notes etc. is much reduced. 2. A lot of the signal boxes simulated are fairly old. When they were made, computer processing power was far, far lower, less reliable and more costly. Creating nice interfaces, without using software, is very difficult. 3. The older a design is, the more experience people have with it. For example, Integrated Circuits designed years ago are sometimes preferred over later designs, because all the quirks of the IC have been well documented, and people know how to work around them. If you're designing a safety-critical system, do you go with the established system that does the job and is understood thoroughly, or the shiny new thing that's a relative unknown? Road-test new things on products that don't have to be that reliable, then bring it into things which must work. While the computer scientists can come up with idealised systems that work perfectly on paper, engineers have to design and build things that work, and work properly, in the real world- which is often very different to the paper/simulation world. Quote: Then of course there are macro languages that make the most of the keyboard assignments provided by developers. However, I can't see them ever allowed on IECC panels because of the gremlin of standardization. Remember, it took the banks a long time to evolve from using Windows NT as their operating system.Or perhaps because adding flashy features opens the door to unreliability and other problems? Wouldn't a full analysis of the additional code have to be made, to ensure it can't cause unsafe states? Is it worth it? "Don't stress/ relax/ let life roll off your backs./ Except for death and paying taxes/ everything in life.../ is only for now." (Avenue Q) Log in to reply |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 00:39 #57594 | |
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maxand
1637 posts |
Thanks to all the responders who took the trouble (as I try to do) to see things from both sides and consider where we differ. Unlike Cedric (thanks for your post), I have never worked in this industry so am not privy to those years of experience that bring back memories for him. SimSig is obviously a halfway house; a necessary simplification for those who are/were professionals, an ergonomic mess for the rest of us who expected a smoother interface and don't realize why it ended up that way. Unfortunately this ties the hands of the developers who would like to make it more enjoyable for tyros but have decided, not unreasonably, to side with reality, where not only is the core interface as duplicative and inefficient as the dinosaurs but each sim is replete with exceptions to the rule. What no one has commented on much here is the fact that many of SimSig's sims are actually multipanel. Brighton fits nicely into this category, with a clear demarcation between Panel #5 (Haywards Heath and Keymer LC) and Panel #6 (Hove and Brighton). I can handle either at normal (1:1) speed quite happily, but switching between them is not something I expect would bring back fond memories to professionals, since I doubt they would have been expected to perform this except in exceptional circumstances. I have tried reducing playing speed to 1/2 or 3/4 normal speed, but not only is this unrealistic, it adds greatly to the time needed to play a sim. I remember one forum member saying he always plays at 1:1 speed and I prefer to revert to earlier saved sims (before everything banked up) than slow everything down while trying to sort out the mess. When all trains are running considerably behind schedule it completely messes up joins, platform slots, etc. requiring more workarounds than ever. Danny252 said: Quote: Another factor in all these requests is that many others do not want them - a large amount of the Simsig fanbase enjoy it precisely because it is so realistic, and would likely be less interested if it were turned into an arcade game where all the interesting bits were removed just to make it easy to run busy stations.To answer the second first, I did refer to the Manual earlier, so have read it, but my point was that Brighton, unlike other sims I'd played, actually requires a lot more interposing to the exit signal, and GeoffM nicely answered that query with his diagram. I'm not averse to keeping the "interesting bits" in, even better if the reasons for them are given in the manual, but I am averse to the extra workload when expected to play a multipanel layout as a solo player, and I bet others feel the same way. If it wasn't for this I'd be happy to ring extra bells and do whatever it takes to manage my own little patch just as in real life. Then I probably wouldn't have to ask for so many interface improvements and develop my own workarounds. Maybe we've lost our way a bit and need to redesign our sims and timetables. I'm serious here. Taking Brighton as an example, it's fine as a two-player sim but can be hectic for the solo player unused to all the extra interposing and the primitive siding calls. On the other hand, Lancing is a simple little panel with lots of antiquated signalling included but manageable by a solo player. Why not take multipanel sims and break them down into single-panel sections which can be chained together, as well as retaining the original multipanel version? Then the original TT could also be divided into single-panel sections. I suppose an alternative might be to write more timetables for individual panels in the multipanel version that require minimal or no activity in any other panels. This has been discussed in the forum recently and I gained the impression that unless ARS were available, these would be difficult to implement, not to mention unrealistic. So this is not as good a solution. The third solution, and possibly the best one, is for sim developers or those who write their TTs to write additional timetables with less frequent trains, specifically to help the solo player manage multipanel sims. Better the developer who knows the real timetables than someone coming in from the cold, but crazy as this idea might seem to Danny252, NoisyNoel and their ilk, there is a lot to be said for it. It doesn't require the not inconsiderable time and effort necessary to develop single-panel versions of multipanel sims, nice as this would be, and is something any interested party can achieve without needing to join the inner circle. Heck, if I knew anything about writing timetables, I reckon I could produce one for my novice friends, given a spare week with nothing better to do. Returning to Brighton, I think many of us would enjoy learning panel #5 on its own, then #6, then trying out the full scrolly. Again, I don't consider it spoon feeding, since in real life this is exactly how professional signallers would have learned it. Last edited: 23/03/2014 at 03:37 by maxand Log in to reply |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 01:50 #57595 | |
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sloppyjag
480 posts |
" said:Really? Brighton is very easily manageable as a solo player, it just takes practice. With practice, taking the time to learn the panels, even the larger sims can become manageable to the solo player. Personally, I find Lancing a little boring so maybe the developer could make it a little more exciting for me. [/joke] Planotransitophobic! Log in to reply |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 03:58 #57598 | |
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maxand
1637 posts |
sloppyjag opined: Quote: Personally, I find Lancing a little boring so maybe the developer could make it a little more exciting for me. [/joke]No joke really. I too find the path between boredom and panic can be a narrow one. The best timetables avoid both extremes. I too get a little bored with Lancing occasionally - the trick is not to play any sim for too long at a stretch. What a boring sim needs might be a great deal more variety in traffic, dialogue between signallers and other people, but not necessarily closer-spaced trains all the time. Queuing theory shows us how slack periods alternate with busy periods. Randomicity built into SimSig should ensure this, as official timetables have evenly-spaced services. We also have the F (Fast) key to spice things up. Have you tried that in Lancing? Maybe after I've written a less hectic TT for Brighton, I'll write one for Lancing packed with superfreightliners just for you. 
Last edited: 23/03/2014 at 04:02 by maxand Log in to reply |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 04:55 #57599 | |
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Hawk777
386 posts |
" said:Thanks to all the responders who took the trouble (as I try to do) to see things from both sides and consider where we differ.Hello. Let me introduce myself: when I started playing SimSig, I was about as far from an expert in UK signalling practices as one can possibly get. My forum registration date is 2012-10-04, so I have been playing for a year and a bit, on and off—I certainly don’t get a lot of time to play. I’ve played a few days of Exeter (my first sim), a day or two of Carlisle, a day or two of North Wales Coast, and a day or two of Worksop (I don’t think I’m forgetting anything). I have never worked at any job related to a railway. I have never lived in the UK. I have so much as ridden on full-size (not counting mass-transit) trains perhaps a few dozen times in my life. I have been inside a lever-frame signal box once, maybe twice. I have never set foot inside a miniature lever-frame box, an NX panel box, or an IECC. When I need to set a route for a train, I click on the descriptor to open the train’s timetable every single time, because I don’t know anything about the UK, so I have no idea where trains should even be going! (Also, the logic of whether a particular train is going to stop in e.g. Taunton 2 vs 3, or 4 vs 5, or Exeter Saint David’s 5 vs the occasional wrong-direction 4, completely eludes me, so checking the timetable is just easier and more accurate) Yet, for all that, I really don’t understand where your posts are coming from most of the time. SimSig’s sims are multipanel? Of course they are. Exeter has something like six panels in it. For timezone reasons, I normally play single-player, which means I control all of them. Remember too that Exeter has no ARS, nor even ACI, and lots of its level crossings are manual-lower CCTV. I always play at 1:1 time or faster. During the busy times of day, I feel like I’m having an enjoyable time; occasionally I forget a crossing or a route, and a train is a minute or two late—big deal, it makes up the time at the next station or two. The times when I feel like I screw up worst are when the trains are really sparse, which means I get bored and press F. Then someone ends up forgotten and stuck for a long time. I almost never feel overwhelmed, and even if that happens, I know that if I just keep pushing, some trains will be late, but they’ll get to their destinations eventually, and maybe even make up some time. Do I pause the game? Yes, and here are a list of the sorts of things that might lead me to pause the game:
So, really, as far as I can tell, mostly things that a real-world signaller probably doesn’t face anyway. During most of my play, I don’t pause at all. Do I just move superhumanly fast or something? I don’t think I do—I know plenty of people with much better reflexes than me. And yet, when a train is rolling towards Exeter Saint David’s, I always seem to have plenty of time to click on the descriptor with my right hand on the mouse, glance at the timetable to see which platform it’s going into, press Escape with my left hand to close the timetable, glance at the layout to see that the platform is occupied, click the descriptor of the occupying train, see when and in which direction it leaves, close it, reopen the descriptor of the original train, see when it arrives and when and in what direction it departs, and decide whether it makes sense to give the arriving train a call-on, have it wait until the occupying train leaves, or give it a different platform—this is just a few clicks and keystrokes, and takes no more than 10 or 15 seconds. Similarly, if a driver calls me up saying a train will be late departing, if it’s only a few minutes later than timetable, I do nothing at all. If it’s significantly late, I right-click, start a sticky note, type the descriptor, the word “dep”, and the time in 24-hour format with no colon, and press Alt-O. Again, this all takes just a few seconds before sending a response to the phone call. When the train is ready to depart, it takes another second or two to right-click the sticky note, swing over to the editing window, and click the delete button, after setting a route. It really just doesn’t seem like a big deal. According to your profile, you joined nearly a year before I did. Maybe you’re just busier than I am and haven’t had the opportunity to play as much? I haven’t done all that much SimSigging, or so I feel, but it really has made a big difference to my skills now compared to when I first joined. Practising some more might be all you need; maybe you’ll find yourself speeding up, leaving enough time to deal with things more comfortably! Log in to reply The following users said thank you: John, TimTamToe, AndyG, maxand, Forest Pines, DriverCurran, Noisynoel, larsht, Josie |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 07:51 #57604 | |
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Forest Pines
525 posts |
" said:official timetables have evenly-spaced services.As a side note: I'm currently working on an October 2013 timetable for Sheffield and was intrigued to note just how unevenly-spaced the Sheffield-London train frequency is. For most of the day there are 2 trains per hour - but they leave Sheffield 10 minutes apart! (the reason is that the second of each pair stops more frequently. The same pair of tracks is shared by a host of other more evenly-spaced services anyway, about 8tph in total) I think I've mentioned in passing before that on sims that include more traditional signalling, if you operated a sim with the same number of staff as real life it would get very dull for some people. For example on South Humberside the Oxmarsh Jn box sees a train in each direction every 2 hours; a couple of the freight-only boxes on Worksop have an even less frequent service. I'm not a railway professional, but I am a railway amateur. At the first signalbox I worked, the modus operandi went something like this: Train arrives. Signalman does half the run round, collecting the train staff. Clear the signals, take the train staff to the driver, watch the train depart, then sit down with a good book for about an hour and it's time to clear the signals for the return service. Now that can be quite an enjoyable way to spend a day, as long as you have remembered to bring a book, but I wouldn't recommend it for SimSig. The preserved railway signalbox I'm currently training to work is a lot busier that that, but even on its summer weekend timetable most of the day is "sit reading for 10 minutes, answer a bell signal (and book it), sit back down for 10 minutes". Log in to reply The following user said thank you: maxand |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 08:07 #57606 | |
DriverCurran
688 posts |
" said:" said:Just to quote from the manual for Lancing... "The current Lancing simulation allows you to control the area controlled by one of three signallers in Lancing signal box. This version of the sim controls from between East Worthing and Lancing to just to the east of Portslade".Really? Brighton is very easily manageable as a solo player, it just takes practice. With practice, taking the time to learn the panels, even the larger sims can become manageable to the solo player. All I will say is that in the normal usual timeframes (I.e ready when it is ready as I have other projects on the go) be careful what you wish for :evil: :evil: Paul
You have to get a red before you can get any other colour Log in to reply |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 09:04 #57607 | |
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TimTamToe
664 posts |
" said:Yes I know if you reduce to below 1:1 it is unrealistic....but if at the first time of trouble you revert back to a save before it goes wrong, you're not really helping yourself. You're never going to learn how to solve issues and get things back on track. If you slow it down the first few times you have trouble and solve it the next time something occurs you will know what to do, and get quicker and quicker and gain the satisfaction of getting things back on schedule. Keep playing and practicing and you will be amazed how quickly you can pick things up. The more we do something the better we get at doing it not just referring to SimSig but many real life situations riding a bike, driving a car. I do not know how often you have things backing up and need to reload a previous save but in the long run by doing this, is it taking longer than if you reduced the speed slightly below 1:1. Yes slowing is unrealistic but so is time travel by going back and reloading. Quote: try a multiplayer game, there are lots of people hosting all during the day and night (regardless of what side of the world you are on) where you can take on just one panel and they will help you along. Quote: Personally I can manage Brighton fine on my own with failures on (but I do have an advantage of living further up the line so have local knowledge) but I understand there will be those that find it a little daunting at first. The primitive siding calls; well they have no berths as they don't in reality and the extra interposing; persevere, the more you enter them the quicker you will get at doing it and it will become second nature. Just like the first time you ever saw a keyboard and thought how can I use all of these keys, most people start will one finger on each hand and then you get faster and faster and using lots of fingers typing. Quote: I think this maybe harder than you imagine to do. Quote: yes in ARS sims you are able to turn off individual ARS sub areas (not panels) but you would still need to be aware of the other areas in the sim. Quote: As a fledging timetable writer I would suggest that if you would like TTs with less frequent trains then actually perhaps it is better if it is someone as you put from the cold and not the developer to do. Obviously developers are busy busy people developing and the like and have all the required info for accurate real life TTs and I feel it is better they keep doing that as they do a great job at it. I also say this as how many trains do you cut out, which ones, do you make them join or not? Having all the accurate info myself for the TTs I'm currently writing I wouldn't know which to take out to help in these cases. I feel it would be better for someone like yourself to think about a completely fictional TT with a simpler timetabling pattern. I'm not trying to pass the buck back to you, but have a read of the wiki and play about in the timetable editor - its not a tricky as you may think (the hard bit is getting the info to start with - not an issue with a fictional TT). I have a few large TTs on the go at the mo including an update of Brighton 2012 for the Loader so I can't guarantee anything but maybe somewhere in the distant future if no one else has and if I have time perhaps you can suggest how you would like a TT done for Brighton and see if I can knock up one with less services etc like a training TT or something Gareth Log in to reply The following user said thank you: maxand |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 09:17 #57609 | |
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AndyG
1842 posts |
Personally, I've found what suits me is easy; right hand on mouse, left hand(index finger) to do the odd keyboard press. Right hand is usually on the wheel, scrolling most of the time with occasional input from the left finger on the shift to scroll up/down on deeper sims, to scan the panel (I'm always scanning the panel when not doing anything specific). To interpose, right hand opens the window, left finger pecks the TD in, right hand inserts. Occasionally the left hand gets busy and uses 2 fingers at once to <ctrl>C/V a TD from one box to another, but that's about it. Same goes for stickies. Hands hardly move, I let the fingers do the walking. Rarely use the overview/view keys, and F2/F4/F8 windows tend only to be used to analyse hiccups etc. Edit: As always, practice makes perfect, I can manage KX 1985 TT solo without too many failures, also works well when testing when the attention to detail is essential (not to say nothing gets missed though). Key is getting a methodical system of scanning the area, and dealing with problems according to impact on other trains. I can only help one person a day. Today's not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look too good either. Last edited: 23/03/2014 at 09:37 by AndyG Log in to reply |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 09:30 #57612 | |
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welshdragon
315 posts |
As a suggestion, Timetable writers should look at writing timetables for a Sunday on busier sims, as they are much quieter (and more often than not you'll get a possession somewhere), therefore satisfying the needs of the new players by letting them get familiar with the TT The King's Cross 4 day TT is good for this, as you start with the mains blocked and everything diverting via Hertford. Log in to reply |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 09:40 #57613 | |
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John
884 posts |
" said:Why not take multipanel sims and break them down into single-panel sections which can be chained together [...] Then the original TT could also be divided into single-panel sections. I think the developers and timetable writers time would be invested far more productively working on new sims for the enjoyment of the majority, instead of pulling apart their work to cater for you. " said: The third solution, and possibly the best one, is for sim developers or those who write their TTs to write additional timetables with less frequent trains, specifically to help the solo player manage multipanel sims. A fourth solution is for you to just get on with it. Pick a sim and learn the area. Figure out the train service pattern, and with practise you'll find you'll get faster and more accurate - just as the rest of us have done. It doesn't require a change to the format of Simsig, it doesn't require the sims being broken up, and it doesn't require timetables to be rewritten. " said: if I knew anything about writing timetables, I reckon I could produce one The fifth and most expedient solution! It's all there in the Wiki. In fact, writing a very basic clockface timetable is actually pretty simple. You can create the train service from scratch, with as many or as few trains to suit your skill level. Last edited: 23/03/2014 at 09:43 by John Log in to reply The following users said thank you: Forest Pines, TimTamToe, DriverCurran, sloppyjag |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 10:24 #57615 | |
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Noisynoel
989 posts |
" said:Randomicity built into SimSig should ensure this, as official timetables have evenly-spaced services.That's because, like the sim, they are based on reality, ie the actual timetable that ran on a particular date. Now excuse me if I'm being thick (Something I have mastered over the years), but on one hand your saying both panels on Brighton are too much so you want a simplified timetable. (Surely with the off peak service being in a standard hourly repeating pattern it should only take a short while to pick it up!) yet on the other hand your saying Lancing is too simple and you want a more intense timetable! Surely after Lancing's relative ease and simplicity, then next is to do Brighton! As a timetable writer I'm now thinking how do I do a busier timetable for Lancing, a quieter one for Brighton but make it so that those that like to run BOTH sims can still do so.... Noisynoel Log in to reply |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 10:31 #57616 | |
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Noisynoel
989 posts |
" said:Personally, I've found what suits me is easy; right hand on mouse, left hand(index finger) to do the odd keyboard press.Sorry Andy, I thought you used the right hand to hold your beer! 
Noisynoel Log in to reply |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 11:17 #57617 | |
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Steamer
3986 posts |
To be fair, the developers make things easier where they can- several simulations have been fitted with ARS which isn't there in real life and TORR is available on all simulations*. The Three Bridges area was split up so solo players could play it- Brighton covers Three Bridges panels 5 & 6. There's also plenty of smaller simulations- Aston, Coventry and Wolverhampton have just been released alongside Fenchurch, Peterborough (with ARS), Worksop, Lime Street, Wembley Suburban, Cowlairs, Lancing, Oxted, Drain, Llangollen and Victoria LUL. Liverpool Street, Waterloo and Marylebone are fairly easy with ARS. Then there's slightly harder simulations in the form of North Wales Coast, Southampton, Exeter, Westbury, Gloucester and Swindon A&B. In terms of timetables, quite a few simulations have some form of 'Engineering Work' timetable. Saltley, CScot, King's Cross and Exeter have Sunday timetables. So all in all, I think there's a good selection available, with simulations to suit all abilities, without chopping up the bigger simulations. *Excepting the Semaphore areas of CScot and NEScot "Don't stress/ relax/ let life roll off your backs./ Except for death and paying taxes/ everything in life.../ is only for now." (Avenue Q) Log in to reply |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 11:25 #57618 | |
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AndyG
1842 posts |
" said:" said:Nah, drip feed straight into the vein! :silly:Personally, I've found what suits me is easy; right hand on mouse, left hand(index finger) to do the odd keyboard press.Sorry Andy, I thought you used the right hand to hold your beer! :P I can only help one person a day. Today's not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look too good either. Log in to reply |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 13:53 #57624 | |
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kbarber
1743 posts |
" said:<snip> I think the whole point is that Simsig is not a halfway house. It is a simulation of an actual installation, with all the quirks and idiosyncracies the real installation has (or had, in some cases). The only difference is that it uses a BR standard VDU display (admittedly with mouse input rather than BR standard tracker ball) rather than the NX panel interface that many of the simulated areas had/have in real life. So it's as real as it can be got within the constraints of something anyone would be able to afford or have space for. " said: <snip> You think this is needlessly complicated? I'd love to be able to show you the delights of a big and really busy mechanical box, short sections imposing lots of work on the block bells and lots of point-to-point locking adding to the work of setting up routes, let alone such delights as (the old) Regulation 5 (Simsig only asks you to choose the yellow triangle, Reg 5 demanded extra steps in the sequence of bell codes, use of a lever collar and the giving of a green handsignal as the train approached/passed). All on top of keeping the book! That's real signalling! Log in to reply The following users said thank you: DriverCurran, Josie, Cedric, Signalhunter |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 15:04 #57627 | |
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sloppyjag
480 posts |
" said:No thanks. I nearly always run a sim 1:1, the exceptions being if I'm testing a timetable or I know for definite that there will no trains for hours. (Even then you have things like slow traffic at crossings to deal with.) As for a more intensive timetable for Lancing? Go ahead but I probably won't bother with it unless it was realistic. Lancing is what it is - a small, perfectly formed sim that accurately depicts a signalling area. Sims like Lancing, Royston, Wembley Sub, Aston and Oxted (if/when it's re-released) are perfect for users still wetting their feet in the SimSig world. The more I've used SimSig the better able I have become to handling large sims. Some I still struggle with (e.g. Trent - I'm a bit level-crossing-phobic so tend to miss trains approaching them) but most I can manage pretty well, even with failures on. On some sims I have written Sunday timetables (I may even upload them one day) to allow easier solo play. Perhaps, as has been suggested several times in this and other threads, you should spend more time playing and learning SimSig than continually asking everyone else to change it! Planotransitophobic! Last edited: 23/03/2014 at 15:05 by sloppyjag Log in to reply The following users said thank you: DriverCurran, robert, larsht, delticfan |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 16:32 #57629 | |
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larsht
12 posts |
I am considerably baffled by this thread. Playing a SIM that mirrors the real world, it seems odd to me write a post like the one here to complain about how it works. Sometimes the real world isn't easy, nor is it user-friendly. I started playing Simsig some 10ish years ago - Stafford was my first. My performance in that - and in other sims - have improved by trail and error - and first and foremost PRACTISING. It took some time to master some of the more tricky sims - and I haven't played them all yet. But with Brighton as well - my performance improved by practising - even to the point of joining in multiplays having great fun in that. And hey, even of I had to use sticky's and interposing some headcodes here and there. So I'd really say that one will improve from a little less nagging and a little more practising  Have fun practising all :) Lars (larsht) Log in to reply The following users said thank you: delticfan, sloppyjag, Cedric, robert |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 17:34 #57633 | |
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Late Turn
699 posts |
" said:Actually that's an IECC keyboard, which I referred to in my paragraph "the IECC equivalent". Perhaps overtaken slightly by the deluge of posts since, but here's a photo of the TD keyboard in one of our boxes...  ...and a general overview of the layout of the equipment: TD keyboard at the bottom, panel in the middle and the train describer itself up on top. The other panel (both operated by the same signalman) is off to the right, along with the train register and the computer used for train running info, admin and so on. Not only can you not copy and paste headcodes from one to the other, you have to walk a few paces between the two!  Edit: photos sorted! Last edited: 24/03/2014 at 04:03 by Late Turn Log in to reply The following user said thank you: maxand |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 23/03/2014 at 23:04 #57639 | |
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maxand
1637 posts |
Thank you to all for your encouragement. As far as attaching photos is concerned, for a while I've used TinyPic. Browse to the folder containing the image, select it, click upload and then when it's uploaded, select the second link from the top named IMG Code for Forums & Message Boards and paste it in. I know this isn't the same as including a file attachment in the actual post as you've tried to do, but it's been hassle-free for me, doesn't bulk up the forum server and displays the (linked) image immediately. If you're concerned about copyright, copy the address of the original image from your browser's address bar and use that as an internet link. Apologies if this is all too familiar. (Added) Just for the heck of it, I tried adding a small pic to this post that I'd previously uploaded elsewhere using TinyPic. It seems to display OK. All I did was click Add File at the bottom, select the file, then click Insert. The Preview shows but after Submitted, the actual picture is visible in the post (although on the second preview, the actual image appeared - maybe it just took longer). Might try this more often now instead of using a 3rd party program. Possible reasons for your lack of success include (1) maybe the format of the image (e.g., .png) was deemed unsuitable by forum software, or (2) the image was located elsewhere than on your hard drive? Not sure why yours didn't work. 
Post has attachments. Log in to view them. Last edited: 23/03/2014 at 23:20 by maxand Log in to reply |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 24/03/2014 at 04:01 #57644 | |
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Late Turn
699 posts |
Thanks Max - the photos were both .jpg, somewhere around 300kB each, so fairly standard. I've gone for the TinyPic option anyway!
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| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 24/03/2014 at 17:41 #57682 | |
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Sacro
1171 posts |
" said:Thanks Max - the photos were both .jpg, somewhere around 300kB each, so fairly standard.You should use PNG for SimSig screenshots, lower filesize and higher quality Log in to reply |
| Self-clearing Sticky Notes and other wishes 24/03/2014 at 19:43 #57691 | |
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Late Turn
699 posts |
See above - unless Simsig is now providing a very realistic and tactile NX simulator, they're definitely not screenshots .
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