Scenario Planner

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by Scorpion71, Aug 16, 2020.

  1. Scorpion71

    Scorpion71 Well-Known Member

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    Just wondering what people's thoughts are on this and ideas. To me, it's just 'quick drive' as Matt has confirmed we can't go back and forth, you cannot end services in portals, cannot place static AI, cannot couple/uncouple. Another worrying thing for me is the pathing and that not all routes will receive paths in all yards and sidings.

    Matt has said he's looking forward to what people create, well.... I'm just curious what can we actually create?

    I was hoping to create a busy scenario where I can be driver and passenger on a 24hr timetabled esque scenario but no portals has ruined that.

    One way around static AI is to have them move in the yard a small distance before you see them but the pathing issue could ruin this?

    Hopefully TVL and NTP get plenty of paths placed as I'd like to create a scenario where you drive to a siding, leave loco there and travel on a couple of services.

    Hopefully in future they do add in more functions for it to be an actual scenario planner.
     
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  2. LucasLCC

    LucasLCC Well-Known Member

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    To me the scenario planner does seem to be a bit of a glorified quick drive. It's a shame, because it has so much potential. I'd love to see:

    > Ability to share scenarios (this shouldn't have any of the copyright issues like sharing livery designs would have).
    > Ability to use portals to spawn and despawn services.
    > Consist creator. At the moment we are limited to whatever DTG produce. This means that we are unlikely to see proper passenger consists for the 20, 31 or 37.
    > Ability to couple and uncouple. Currently some stock (DB 204) has very limited use sadly.
    > Allowing trains to reverse. So we can have proper scenarios where you do more than just drive A-B.

    It's a shame that there couldn't have been a bit more thought outside the box.
     
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  3. bart2day

    bart2day Well-Known Member

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    Agreed. I am very concerned at the pathing considering Matt said in stream that each train had to have its own end location so if one train ends at Eastbourne, the next would have to end at Hampton Park, the next at Polgate etc. That doesn't allow for a lot of AI and how does the game know which services to prioritise signal wise? If I am leaving Lewes due to go down the Seaford branch and another train is due to come the other way on the mainline who is prioritised? In TS2020 you could mark services as passenger, freight, express passenger etc. I was excited to be able to produce scenarios with a bit of interest like red and yellow signals, or switching onto the up fast from the up slow lines on GWE. I think this might either be not possible or quite difficult now.

    I also hope they will give us all the paths into the sidings like the ones at Eastbourne and Brighton on East Coastway otherwise they will just look empty all the time like in service mode.
     
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  4. stujoy

    stujoy Well-Known Member

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    The functionality is very limited and I’m not sure that much will be achievable other than the quick drive experience. It will be useful for testing out a train’s capability and having fun but I don’t think at the moment you would be able to set up many realistic scenarios that don’t already appear in the timetable. It’s very much one of those features that’s going to need to be expanded fairly quickly as we have already identified things that need to be in it before we’ve even used it - static wagons, portals, custom paths etc. Only after several added functions will it be approaching a serious tool for making scenarios. How quickly is it going to be updated though, that’s the question.
     
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  5. Scorpion71

    Scorpion71 Well-Known Member

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    Yes, the priority of signalling is a worry for me too, infact on NTP I've seen freight given the right to go ahead of passenger services and therefore stuck behind it en-route and said freight not going into a loop for overtaking.

    I was hoping to create "scenario's" where I would overtake a freight, get to my destination and see the freight go past - wonder if this will be possible?
     
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  6. Anthony Pecoraro

    Anthony Pecoraro Well-Known Member

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    This is only Version 1 of the Scenario Planner. They want to see what we do with it, collect our feedback, then they can update it.
     
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  7. roggek

    roggek Active Member

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    Last edited: Aug 16, 2020
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  8. Scorpion71

    Scorpion71 Well-Known Member

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    That's my point, what exactly can we do with V1? There really isn't that much we can do, we may be able to do a bit of magic faking loose consists in yards but what else, if anything, can we do without the necessities?
     
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  9. LucasLCC

    LucasLCC Well-Known Member

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    As we've learnt in the past, unless we see the new features they're unlikely to come along... So I wouldn't get your hopes up that version 2 will come along in the lifetime of TSW2
     
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  10. Scorpion71

    Scorpion71 Well-Known Member

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    I was very much on your way of thinking not too long ago but after seeing their U-turn over the decision of old TSW stock into TSW2 and the inclusion of PIS screens on both train and platform, I'm more optimistic about the future, yes there is a long way to go but I'm alot hopeful about features being added/improved now than I was after the very first TSW2 Q&A.
     
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  11. paultjuhhh

    paultjuhhh New Member

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    What i want is a Path creator witch we Than can use in the planner. Make our one start points ect. Maybe They can do that in the future
     
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  12. DTG Protagonist

    DTG Protagonist Has left the building Staff Member

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    Plenty of "blue sky thinking" exists in regard to the Scenario Planner but we've opted to walk before we run. We wanted something that at-least worked as our first offering. Scenario Planner is being released as a basic version 1 to see what players most want and what they can rig up despite the limitations.
     
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  13. Rudolf

    Rudolf Well-Known Member

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    Let's try it before we judge. I think we can do more that we are aware now. If run into real limitations, we should report them. I think it is a wise strategy form DTG to start giving us something small and then find out what we we need most instead of try to create a huge number of features that makes live complicated. I am looking forward to challenges like a Diesel Day for WSR, putting Bakerloo to the max with AI trains to meet, Do some nice railfanning and more. I intend to create a Scenario Planner Guide, covering all possibilities I come across.

    I think we should appreciate that that the learning curve to start using it will not be very high. This is a huge improvement to the TS2020 scenario editor, which works cumbersome to put it mildly.
     
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  14. Medellinexpat

    Medellinexpat Well-Known Member

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    ‘Scenario Planner is being released as a basic version 1 to see what players most want‘

    So the argument is that DTG don’t know what people want from a scenario planner despite having years and years of experience with their customers using the editor in their TSxxxx franchise?

    ‘what they can rig up despite the limitations’

    That’s real commitment to excellence in a new product.
     
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  15. DTG Protagonist

    DTG Protagonist Has left the building Staff Member

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    Check the previous line as well as it's important - we want to deliver something that works. Walk first, then run.
     
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  16. Medellinexpat

    Medellinexpat Well-Known Member

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    ‘we want to deliver something that works. Walk first, then run’

    You can deliver something but you post suggests there’s no road map for what features are going to be included in the future. You also ignored the comment about why you don’t yet know what features people want.

    Many will remember with TSW1 DTG comments about not wanting to release the editor until it ‘was ready’

    If the reason to moving to a new game was because the underlying engine in the old game wouldn’t support needed features like the editor why make the switch if you don’t know what features are going to be needed? Do you guys do any planning or is any future development of the game conditional on sales?
     
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  17. DTG Protagonist

    DTG Protagonist Has left the building Staff Member

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    That's because there won't be a plan for what goes into version 2 until we have feedback from players on version 1.
     
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  18. HamioSamio098

    HamioSamio098 Well-Known Member

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    I have asked this question before but I put the thread in a silly place but will we be able to let trains in scenario planner call at stations that don't get any services in timetable mode eg: Essen Kray Süd on HRR and Broadway, Stanford, Atherton and College Park on Peninsular Corridor.
     
  19. Jannerdunk

    Jannerdunk Well-Known Member

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    Don't get me wrong, what they are releasing looks like a fun feature. Whilst the ultimate aim might be to have a full blown scenario planner with all the features people have been asking for , I do think DTG have been a bit naughty calling it a "scenario planner", when they know 90% of their existing customer base will assume it does a lot more than it appears to.

    In the new era of supposedly being open and honest ( and to be fair DTG have been very clear about what it does and does not do), it would sit much better with me, if they had given it another name, such "advanced quick drive".
     
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  20. stujoy

    stujoy Well-Known Member

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    Quick Drive is something that a lot of players won’t know about, with them not having TS. Having something named as ‘advanced’ would suggest there was a simpler version within TSW2. So you could only really call it Quick Drive because it’s the only quick drive in the game. Also it’s better to name it for what it is intended to become rather than change the name later when the functionality is expanded.

    They changed the name of Service Mode to Timetable and now the same feature is called two different things by newer and older players because once a name sticks it’s hard to change what people call it. This causes some confusion until you realise they are the same thing. Matt still calls it Service Mode in the streams when that’s not been its name for a year or so.

    I’d rather it was called Scenario Planner throughout it’s development to avoid confusion at a later date, when it develops into much more than a quick drive facility.
     
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  21. trigzd

    trigzd Active Member

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    I can't see any reason why not so long as the train fits into what the game thinks is the station. So for instance College Park on Peninsula Corridor has very short physical platforms, but if the train has to fit into that physical length of platform or if it has an invisible platform length which is much longer I do not know. Maybe someone more qualified could check this?
     
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  22. DTG Matt

    DTG Matt Executive Producer Staff Member

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    The only marker length that is checked is the first one where it spawns the train and that's to make sure it fits and is clear on where to place all the vehicles. Beyond that, the markers for stops etc are just used as routing / stopping points and there's no length check - so you can take a longer train that can start at San Jose and do a stop in College Park if you wish.

    Matt.
     
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  23. KyleL

    KyleL Well-Known Member

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    Hi Matt It's your first message since May I see
     
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  24. HamioSamio098

    HamioSamio098 Well-Known Member

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    Thank you for the reply. Now I can actually do a proper all stops service on Peninsular Corridor!
     
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  25. DTG Matt

    DTG Matt Executive Producer Staff Member

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