The pathsetting feature is pretty nice, but it's really missing the ability to add inbetween stops. Go-via does not have the same effect, as an inbetween stop should, like on timetable services, have priority in displaying as the next task on the top left which you have to fulfill. With that you can much better simulate a special service not otherwise available in a timetable without either having to set a path to each next station every time, nor having to rely on luck or on using the live-map or track monitor to see when you'll have to stop. This suggested feature would especially be helpful if you plan to do a service that leaves out a bunch of stops to only make the train stop on 'bigger' stations, like an RE service stopping at less stations while an RB service stops at close to all stations. This could also be used to make destination displays look a bit more alive. Example below: the good old 423. The display only shows the set destination (although the destination had to be chosen manually, there are only a few trains which set it to the chosen station automatically), with the via-lines being empty. With this suggested feature, the added inbetween stops could show up on the destination displays aswell, making it look less boring and empty.
If I can just add into this. I feel all schedules should include what is known in the UK as the “Working Timetable”. It is slightly ludicrous to depart Preston on a non stop run to Carlisle and the next timing point is… Carlisle. This gives the driver no clue as to how the train is running and intermediate passing times can also indicate where any pathing or recovery time is in the schedule.
with that said, I once did a Free roam service on Antelope Valley Line with MML HST 2+8 lol... was pretty fun
I hadn't thought of this, but it would add for another sense of realism and added gameplay value. I am unsure of how this works in the US, but I'd imagine they have something similar. In Japan, JR has these posted in cabs and carried by drivers as well, telling them when the train is ideally supposed to be passing a station while enroute. It's used by rapid service, express, freight, and shinkansen services when they run through a station without a stop. This would help us keep closer to real life running patterns, as I tend to arrive early at each station. Having played a decent amount of Densha-de-go, and also hearing it on an episode of Japan Railway Journal, drivers in Japan are apparently instructed to run as close to the speed limit as possible, of course while still being safe...which is what I have been doing on passenger services. But on Metrolink and Caltrain Baby Bullet services, doing so, I tend to arrive earlier than the posted arrival time and then sit there for like 5 minutes.
Very good idea. I'd like to expand it beyond passenger stops to any "stops" or routing too. Freight pickups/drop offs. Halts. Etc. The scenario creator is not very use friendly.
