PC [app] - Thirdrails Live Multiplayer Radar

Yes, there is a minimum threshold.

Rides need to be at least 2 miles long to be logged and published to WhistleBoard. This helps filter out very short test runs, setup movements, or accidental starts.

If your shunting operations were around 3–4 miles total they should normally qualify, but if they were just under 2 miles they won’t be published.

 

Yes, you’re right, apparently the world decided it was a good idea to reuse station names across continents

There is a temporary workaround:
Since stations are harvested directly from the timetable’s “Calling At” entries, the system treats the station name exactly as written there. So if you manually rename it in your timetable to something like:

Chatham (US)
Dover (US)

The Station Network will treat those as separate entries and they will register correctly.
It’s not ideal, and I don’t expect everyone to modify their timetables, but it does work as a short-term solution.

I’m currently refactoring the radar engine as part of RadarX to support upcoming features like the timetable layer, which will also enable a more location-based approach to station matching.

 

3.57 according to the log, but in spite of my attempts to upload it, no dice..

 

Oh yeah, you are right about that.

I looked into it a bit deeper.

Rides under 2 miles are not logged at all, neither locally nor on WhistleBoard.
However, the WhistleBoard server only accepts uploads for rides over 5 miles.

So your 3.57 mile shunting run was logged locally, but it doesn’t meet the 5 mile threshold required for publication.
Why 5 miles? Please don’t ask… it’s one of those “historic design decisions” that stuck

 

Cool, good to know.

 

Hey BeenTrain , the option to follow trains on the map is no longer available, at least the way it was before. Was this intentional?

 

Hey! Yes, this is intentional

In older versions of ThirdRails there were actually two ways of following your ride:
1. the HUD radar panel, and
2. the main form browser radar. (or local map)

This evolved over time and meant that the browser view and the HUD sometimes ended up doing the same thing and competing with each other.

With ThirdRails X (Radar First) this was simplified. The HUD radar panel is now the central place for tracking and following your ride.

When you press Track, the HUD radar will automatically start following your train.
In Radar First mode it opens automatically.
In Classic mode (not recommended) you’ll need to open it manually using the Open HUD button.

The main form browser is no longer meant for following your train and will evolve into a network overview map, showing things like driven routes and activity from other players.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

 

You might have misunderstood

You can still follow your ride on any computer, tablet or iPad using a web browser, anywhere.
That’s what ThirdRails is all about!

The only change is that tracking now starts from the HUD in the app. Once tracking is running, you can simply click yourself (or another player) on the map to follow.

You can try it here:
https://rentor.nl

 

Thank you for the breakdown, however I don't think I've completely understood how to follow someone through the app itself. I can do so through rentor.nl, but I don't see the option on the app itself. When I used it on streams, this was how I would utilise it; start the tracking on the PC running TSW, minimise it so it's not in the way of the game, and then open the app on my streaming PC, find myself on the map and click follow. The app open on my streaming PC would be the one visible to my viewers

 

Thanks, that explains how you are using it on your stream
In the older versions the main form radar in the app could also follow trains, which made setups like yours possible. (basically the same follow functionality as in the web browser)

With ThirdRails X, following was moved to the HUD radar, which now handles the tracking and follow logic. The main form radar in the app no longer has a follow function.

For streaming in your setup, you now have two options:
1. Use a web browser on your streaming PC via https://rentor.nl
You can simply click yourself (or another train) to follow.

2. Capture the HUD radar overlay from the game PC.
The HUD is movable and scalable, so you can place it anywhere on top of the sim.

Hope this helps!

 

Thanks, I'll do the first option as I want the game to be clear of as many things as possible. There's a way to have the track monitor decoupled from the game and displayed elsewhere, Matt mentioned it on stream as he does it, but I'm not sure how.

 

You can try it here:
https://rentor.nl[/QUOTE]

Yes it works as advertised, I must have done something wrong the last time I tried.

Dank!

 

What's with the satellite view since the latest update having a wobbly effect akin to the old PS1 texture warble? It's making me slightly queasy. It gets more noticeable at the levels of zoom I am used to, which I can only guess is why the overlay now defaults to being futher zoomed out than it used to?

 

Thanks for pointing that out. The radar now uses smooth interpolation between position updates, and with satellite imagery that can sometimes create a slight “wobble” effect at certain zoom levels when following.

I will take a look and see if I can smooth it out a bit further.

 

Unfortunately smoothing it out further is technically not really possible. The smooth interpolated movement can, at certain zoom levels, especially with satellite imagery, cause a slight wobble effect as map tiles are resampled while the map is moving.

For most users this will not be noticeable and smooth tracking generally provides the most natural radar experience. However, if it makes you feel queasy there is now an option to switch from smooth tracking to classic tracking. In classic tracking the followed player will simply “hop” to its new position each second, similar to how the original Radar v1 behaved.

You can toggle this using the Route Trail button in the rider info panel that appears after following a player. If you are using the HUD, you can open the same panel via the ellipsis menu using “Open followed ride info.” (See screenshot.)

Hope this helps!

 

That's ideal, thanks.