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| A Co-Host feature / Client Functionality 22/06/2011 at 20:31 #16891 | |
ralphjwchadkirk
275 posts |
AndyG said:But clients can authorise trains past R without hosts involvement already. I was using it as a generic example for anything in F2. Log in to reply |
| A Co-Host feature / Client Functionality 23/06/2011 at 00:54 #16900 | |
BarryM
2158 posts |
afro09 said:barry, Thanks Alan. Seriously, I was wondering what Andy uses for reminders at work. To stop you "cheating" in Simsig you can always put a full stop after the headcode number. Originally, "sticky notes" did not have the additional feature, Cheers Barry Barry, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Log in to reply |
| A Co-Host feature / Client Functionality 25/06/2011 at 00:20 #16970 | |
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Stephen Fulcher
2084 posts 
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ralphjwchadkirk said:Perhaps the signallers have access to the F2 panels, but a host has to "approve" a request through the mplayer control panel? Perhaps something like:Personally I do not think there should be an option to SPAD on F2 at all - players should wait until the driver phones up like in real life. In any case, authority to pass a signal at danger is down to the Signaller anyway. Peter Bennet said: As someone who has not hosted a M/P for years do I take it that the current practice is for the host to purely host? In my day the host had a panel and the hosting function was a secondary irritation!Peter, with the current larger sims, the host has his hands full! I was hosting Trent the other day and found having to work the Robin Hood Line due to a lack of Signalmen available a bit of a nuisance. From what I have seen lately, it is very rare for a host to take a panel unless there is nobody else available, they tend to be too busy. afro09 said: Yes it would be better if clients had access to the F2 function.I agree, even if it was only an ability to view it, not actually do anything. After all a lot of requests to hosts are for stupid things like "Is xxxx moving?" or "What direction is yyyy facing?". These require no action other than to check, so it does not do any harm for clients to do it themselves, The same goes for the Platform Occupancy screen in the newer sims. I do not however believe that everyone should have the power to edit timetables, although a co-host could act as a sort of Train Running Controller who would do that job on the real railway anyway. It would be done by him in a control centre rather than a Box Manager, who is effectively the host in a multiplayer game. The decision whether or not to appoint a co-host would be down to the host anyway, so if a host didn't want one he wouldn't have to. I do not see what the worry is about taking work off the host, after all a lot of the things a host does are not realistic in any case, and can lead to extended periods where the game ends up paused whilst hosts chase round after trivial requests that could be avoided. Peter says rightly that in the early days of multiplayer games, the host used to man a panel and deal with timetable issues as a secondary concern. This way, that could be the case again. Log in to reply |
| A Co-Host feature / Client Functionality 25/06/2011 at 00:40 #16971 | |
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UKTrainMan
1803 posts |
Stephen Fulcher said:ralphjwchadkirk said:Do correct me if I'm wrong but in real life signallers (or signalmen, if they prefer) are able to place calls to the Signal Post Telephones as needed, and so doing it (that is, PSADing the train, etc) via F2 really isn't much different. Of course it is probably possible to add all the signal numbers to the Place Call window as part of F6 Telephone Calls window but the amount of signals that'd end up being listed....Perhaps the signallers have access to the F2 panels, but a host has to "approve" a request through the mplayer control panel? Perhaps something like:Personally I do not think there should be an option to SPAD on F2 at all - players should wait until the driver phones up like in real life. Stephen Fulcher said: afro09 said:Also agree, something like this should be useful.Yes it would be better if clients had access to the F2 function.I agree, even if it was only an ability to view it, not actually do anything. After all a lot of requests to hosts are for stupid things like "Is xxxx moving?" or "What direction is yyyy facing?". These require no action other than to check, so it does not do any harm for clients to do it themselves Any views and / or opinions expressed by myself are from me personally and do not represent those of any company I either work for or am a consultant for. Log in to reply |
| A Co-Host feature / Client Functionality 25/06/2011 at 03:34 #16972 | |
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Late Turn
699 posts |
UKTrainMan said:Do correct me if I'm wrong but in real life signallers (or signalmen, if they prefer) are able to place calls to the Signal Post Telephones as needed, and so doing it (that is, PSADing the train, etc) via F2 really isn't much different. Of course it is probably possible to add all the signal numbers to the Place Call window as part of F6 Telephone Calls window but the amount of signals that'd end up being listed.... It certainly is possible to place calls to SPTs in many cases (not sure if all boxes have that facility?), but you're unlikely to get an answer from the Driver. I'm vaguely aware of the occasional provision of a flashing light to make the Driver aware that the Signalman wishes to speak with him (do they still exist??), but generally you're relying on him hearing the phone ringing, which he won't generally do from his cab! Log in to reply |
| A Co-Host feature / Client Functionality 25/06/2011 at 04:30 #16973 | |
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UKTrainMan
1803 posts |
Late Turn said:UKTrainMan said:Indeed, I was thinking about recounting a story from a few years ago now of my first (and so far only :O) trip to Doncaster station with some fellow enthusiasts when a Hull Trains Class 180 had come to a stop on Platform 3a and had to be terminated there for some reason. Train sat there for quite a while, driver had already strolled down to the SPT but either didn't get an answer from the signaller / signalman or wasn't able to speak to them for some unknown reason. He returned to his cab and then a short while later the SPT started ringing. Someone shouted down the platform for someone else to let the driver know and as I was so close to the train I attempted to do so but neither the driver or the member of train crew in the cab with him were interested. :rolleyes: Thankfully, this game of 'prank call each other' didn't continue...Do correct me if I'm wrong but in real life signallers (or signalmen, if they prefer) are able to place calls to the Signal Post Telephones as needed, and so doing it (that is, PSADing the train, etc) via F2 really isn't much different. Of course it is probably possible to add all the signal numbers to the Place Call window as part of F6 Telephone Calls window but the amount of signals that'd end up being listed.... Any views and / or opinions expressed by myself are from me personally and do not represent those of any company I either work for or am a consultant for. Log in to reply |
| A Co-Host feature / Client Functionality 25/06/2011 at 04:34 #16974 | |
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leigh
51 posts |
I see no issue in giving clients access to F2 / F4 features. Essentially it is the host who decides how they operate their game. Each host will be different, and can simply advise clients what things they have the authority to decide by themselves, and what things need permission from the host. The bigger issue will be how the game reacts to edits in F2. Currently the game pauses when trains are being edited, which may not be ideal when multiple players have the ability to use this menu. Log in to reply |
| A Co-Host feature / Client Functionality 25/06/2011 at 04:48 #16976 | |
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UKTrainMan
1803 posts |
leigh said:The bigger issue will be how the game reacts to edits in F2. Currently the game pauses when trains are being edited, which may not be ideal when multiple players have the ability to use this menu.So, with that in mind, then surely F2 access should only be either; - Viewing only or - Viewing with limited functionality leigh said: I see no issue in giving clients access to F2 / F4 features.Personally I don't see a valid need for F4 access. I think Platform Occupancy (F8) already allows clients to see trains for the selected location for next 2 hours(?) after the entered time which is surely the only reason clients would need access to F4 anyway - or am I missing something? Any views and / or opinions expressed by myself are from me personally and do not represent those of any company I either work for or am a consultant for. Log in to reply |
| A Co-Host feature / Client Functionality 25/06/2011 at 09:05 #16978 | |
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TimB2010
77 posts |
I think the only thing you might be missing UKTM is that older versions of the sims don't all include F8...
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| A Co-Host feature / Client Functionality 25/06/2011 at 17:43 #16983 | |
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Jan
906 posts |
Stephen Fulcher said:Personally I do not think there should be an option to SPAD on F2 at all - players should wait until the driver phones up like in real life.What about CSR, or nowadays GSM-R, though? While availability of those of course depends on the geographic and historic setting of the sim, they do exist. Two million people attempt to use Birmingham's magnificent rail network every year, with just over a million of them managing to get further than Smethwick. Log in to reply |
| A Co-Host feature / Client Functionality 25/06/2011 at 21:47 #16985 | |
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UKTrainMan
1803 posts |
TimB2010 said:I think the only thing you might be missing UKTM is that older versions of the sims don't all include F8...Indeed, I am aware of this, however when simulations are 'refreshed' and any new features added I believe other features are also added, which would include F8. Any views and / or opinions expressed by myself are from me personally and do not represent those of any company I either work for or am a consultant for. Log in to reply |
| A Co-Host feature / Client Functionality 26/06/2011 at 00:24 #16989 | |
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leigh
51 posts |
F4 is simply a timetable, which would be available to the signaller in real life, so it should be made available, at the very least in view mode, to all players.
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| A Co-Host feature / Client Functionality 26/06/2011 at 10:01 #16996 | |
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Late Turn
699 posts |
One point that was touched upon earlier was the fact that the sim pauses when timetables are being edited via F2. I appreciate that there might be a technical reason why this needs to be so, but it does cause a bit of a nuisance where the host is busily rejigging timetables to try and keep a disrupted service running. If the sim were able to keep running whilst the host was doing so, any problems with clients continually pausing the game by accessing F2 would also be avoided...?
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| A Co-Host feature / Client Functionality 30/06/2011 at 13:24 #17076 | |
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kbarber
1743 posts |
BarryM said:AndyG said:Also, sticky notes do more than they do in real life or shouldn't I be mis-using them to show TDs? At many AB boxes the bobby was hardly interested at all in the train description. When I used to visit Finchley Road a 4-beat on the down always went fast line, a 2-2-1-5 or a 2-2-1-3 was always for the slow as were most of the 3-1s (and we knew the exceptions). The train recorder was the only one who bothered with descriptions unless anyone needed to talk to Control, the only thing the bobby noticed was the bell code & that would just be held in memory for the time it was needed. Log in to reply |
| A Co-Host feature / Client Functionality 30/06/2011 at 19:04 #17091 | |
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zerofire
21 posts |
The ability to assign a co-host would be beneficial if the Sim is a 24hr one. I can't imagine someone being able to withstand 24hr without sleep just to run host duties.
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