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| Exeter Summer Timetables 1980/1985 05/05/2014 at 18:46 #60095 | |
lazzer
634 posts |
" said:Have approved one (N Wales Coast) where I added the Sim v-number myself, the rest was completed quite well.Maybe that person will never learn unless you give them a kick up the backside? Log in to reply |
| Exeter Summer Timetables 1980/1985 05/05/2014 at 18:50 #60096 | |
Danny252
1461 posts |
" said:" said:Well, sucks to be them then - if they've gone to the trouble of making five timetables, but can't be bothered follow the official instructions on posting them, that's a fair waste of time on their part!Have approved one (N Wales Coast) where I added the Sim v-number myself, the rest was completed quite well.Maybe that person will never learn unless you give them a kick up the backside? Log in to reply |
| Exeter Summer Timetables 1980/1985 06/05/2014 at 01:20 #60107 | |
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Muzer
718 posts |
I find a good description very important. It should describe any oddities of the timetable caused by bugs in the sim (which most of them do where such bugs exist), but it should also on a more basic level give some description about the timetable. The number of times I've seen a timetable named "27th January 2010" or something along those lines with little or no additional description is irritating. Before I download it, I want to know: * Is it a real timetable or a fictional one? If it's "semi-fictional", what exactly do you mean by that? * What was going on on that day? Was it pretty much a normal service, or were there interesting diversions or extras? * What day of the week is it (at least, weekday, Saturday or Sunday?) When I play a sim for the first time especially when vaguely familiar with the area or some of its services I tend to like to download as modern a timetable as possible for an ordinary weekday so I'm more likely to get a feel for what the area is like to signal in real life on an average weekday, and be able to recognise services that I know and so have a better understanding of how the area fits into the national network. Some timetable writers make this rather difficult when it really doesn't need to be ;) Sorry if this is a bit of a rant, and I'm of course ever thankful to all of the wonderful timetable writers who work rather hard and tend to produce very high quality results (I'm considering trying a bit of timetable writing myself when I get a bit more time on my hands). Log in to reply The following user said thank you: maxand |
| Exeter Summer Timetables 1980/1985 06/05/2014 at 05:26 #60110 | |
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maxand
1637 posts |
postal wrote: Quote: maxand wrote:Earlier in my same post I also said: Quote: I also think it important that a TT developer should clearly state exactly where notes for his TT are foundI also used the term "developer" elsewhere in the post in the same context, so it should have been clear that when I used the word "developer" I was referring to the person creating the TT, not the person creating the sim. There now appears to be a convention that sim creators are termed "developers" and TT creators "writers". Well, from now on I'll adopt that distinction, sorry if my post caused any confusion. Peter Bennet also observed: Quote: On the matter of timetable notes, for some Sims on the Wiki there is a link to a timetable page with short descriptions of the timetable and where any specific operational notes can be added. However as others have noted, largely the operational notes are how to operate the Sim features which are in the Sim notes. I do agree that there does not seem to be any particular format for doing timetable notes and I'm sometimes a little unsure how to best do this when do it.Now that loader versions require only a .wtt file and not a .wtr file there is in theory no need to enclose it within a .zip file. However, not all forum uploads and not all antivirus programs permit files with unusual file extensions to be downloaded. Thus, bundling everything within a .zip file is a good idea and IMO should be obligatory. Any TT downloaded should IMO contain instructions on how to install it. This could be a standard block of text and/or a link to the relevant stickie or Wiki page (ensuring advice is always up to date). Obviously, this has to be viewable before the TT is installed (can't be included in its Description window). Therefore I support the obligatory inclusion of a plain text file, named readme.txt, notes.txt or anything else with a meaningful, standardized title. Since "Notes" could be a heading within the file, I prefer readme.txt as a coverall filename. The date of publication/update of the notes should be included within the readme.txt file, below the title, e.g., "Published 20th May 2014" OR "Updated 16th June 2014". This gets around the need for yet another version number for Notes. Version control is important. In readme.txt The TT writer should specify the version(s) of: 1)the loader; 2)the sim under which his TT will run; 3)the TT and accompanying Notes (aka Description). To make searching easier, the titles of the .wtt and .txt files should contain matching descriptions and version numbers, e.g.: exeter_2017_tsunami_v1.1.wttIt is suggested the notes file contain headings for Installation, Description and Notes, along with a link to the Wiki manual for that sim. There is no need for a separate text file on installation. IMO only the Description section need appear in the Description window in the introduction and in the Timetables list. IMO a Description is simply that. People tend to take things literally. Detailed notes on the TT belong elsewhere; by default, the reader does not expect to find playing notes in the same text, but would like to be told where to find them, such as "For further details see Notes section in readme.txt file". It is probably also a good idea to make the readme.txt file read-only, to prevent inadvertent editing. Last edited: 06/05/2014 at 06:50 by maxand Log in to reply |
| Exeter Summer Timetables 1980/1985 06/05/2014 at 13:01 #60127 | |
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TimTamToe
664 posts |
" said:There now appears to be a convention that sim creators are termed "developers" and TT creators "writers". Well, from now on I'll adopt that distinction, sorry if my post caused any confusion.This has always been the case. Quote: The date of publication/update of the notes should be included within the readme.txt file, below the title, e.g., "Published 20th May 2014" OR "Updated 16th June 2014". This gets around the need for yet another version number for Notes.Personally I would have thought a version number would be more appropriate than a date because the version number of the notes would surely correspond directly to the version number of the timetable it is noting about. Perhaps a date in brackets after the version number to cover all bases? Quote: Detailed notes on the TT belong elsewhere; by default, the reader does not expect to find playing notes in the same text, but would like to be told where to find them, such as "For further details see Notes section in readme.txt file".It is again down to personal preference; there are many people (myself included) who find being able to press F4 and have the notes for the timetable readily available within the sim (less clicks?) very useful, if you need to check one particular detail quickly while running the sim rather than faffing around opening other files. Having the notes there causes no harm to anyone and I would think the majority of people if they see a scroll bar alongside the text would scroll down to read all the information that has been given. The timetables I'm writing will have the notes available through the F4 window in the sim and also on a thread in the relevant section of the forum. Last edited: 06/05/2014 at 15:26 by TimTamToe Log in to reply |
| Exeter Summer Timetables 1980/1985 06/05/2014 at 14:43 #60130 | |
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Muzer
718 posts |
" said:It is suggested the notes file contain headings for Installation, Description and Notes, along with a link to the Wiki manual for that sim. There is no need for a separate text file on installation. IMO only the Description section need appear in the Description window in the introduction and in the Timetables list. IMO a Description is simply that. People tend to take things literally. Detailed notes on the TT belong elsewhere; by default, the reader does not expect to find playing notes in the same text, but would like to be told where to find them, such as "For further details see Notes section in readme.txt file".Strongly disagree. The ingame description field is the best place for timetable-specific playing notes, to make them easily accessible ingame where they're actually needed. Log in to reply The following user said thank you: TimTamToe |
| Exeter Summer Timetables 1980/1985 06/05/2014 at 15:19 #60131 | |
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Danny252
1461 posts |
As a small potential bonus, it also stops things from going missing should the TT ever have to be reuploaded, as quite a number in the downloads section were after switching over from the old website. After all, we had enough trouble with people losing .wtr files before they were merged with .wtts - why repeat the process with a .txt file? Additionally, I really don't feel inclined to dig down four or five levels of folders every time I open a game just to find the notes I need to play it. I'm also not sure what you would need to examine a TTs description for before downloading it - the titles are generally pretty explanatory of what to expect. Log in to reply |
| Exeter Summer Timetables 1980/1985 06/05/2014 at 16:14 #60133 | |
Steamer
3985 posts |
" said:Any TT downloaded should IMO contain instructions on how to install it. This could be a standard block of text and/or a link to the relevant stickie or Wiki page (ensuring advice is always up to date). Obviously, this has to be viewable before the TT is installed (can't be included in its Description window). Therefore I support the obligatory inclusion of a plain text file, named readme.txt, notes.txt or anything else with a meaningful, standardized title. Since "Notes" could be a heading within the file, I prefer readme.txt as a coverall filename.I added instructions on how to add timetables are to the Installing SimSig page fairly recently. Note that this page is designed to cover default installations only- you need to read the Loader page if you've done a custom install. Quote: The date of publication/update of the notes should be included within the readme.txt file, below the title, e.g.,A 'file uploaded' date is given on the Download page, which would cover this. In my opinion, Version number versus Date Published is a six of one and half a dozen of the other argument. Quote: Version control is important. In readme.txt The TT writer should specify the version(s) of: It's already a requirement when uploading to include Simulation version 2)the sim under which his TT will run; 3)the TT and accompanying Notes (aka Description).[/quote] The uploaded file must contain timetable version and simulation version before it can be uploaded. Quote: It is suggested the notes file contain headings for Installation, Description and Notes, along with a link to the Wiki manual for that sim. There is no need for a separate text file on installation. IMO only the Description section need appear in the Description window in the introduction and in the Timetables list. IMO a Description is simply that. People tend to take things literally. Detailed notes on the TT belong elsewhere; by default, the reader does not expect to find playing notes in the same text, but would like to be told where to find them, such as "For further details see Notes section in readme.txt file".That's all personal preference. Others have expressed a preference to keep everything in the Description window, for ease of access. As I said above, I can see your point about keeping them separate, therefore I will duplicate the description in a separate text file. Whether other writers do so (some might already) is up to them. Quote: It is probably also a good idea to make the readme.txt file read-only, to prevent inadvertent editing.It's the users responsibility to press 'Save' or 'Don't Save' when exiting notepad. If it all goes drastically wrong, they can download the .zip again. "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 |
| Exeter Summer Timetables 1980/1985 06/05/2014 at 16:29 #60138 | |
headshot119
4869 posts |
I've created a new topic here discussing things not related to the Exeter 1985 timetable.
"Passengers for New Lane, should be seated in the rear coach of the train " - Opinions are my own and not those of my employer Log in to reply The following user said thank you: TimTamToe |
| Exeter Summer Timetables 1980/1985 06/05/2014 at 18:06 #60145 | |
Peter Bennet
5402 posts |
" said:Problem with all that is policing it. I can easily check the basics of how the upload is titled and whether there is a "description" but the actual contents can only be checked once it's "authorised". I'm not going to faff around with authorising and then dissecting the contents only to decide it's not properly packaged then deleting and maybe or maybe not then contacting the author. TT uploads are done without any warranty from SimSig as to fitness of purpose; we can delete if there are complaints but that's it. Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply The following user said thank you: postal |