PC [app] - Tsw Route Annotations

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by Winzarten, Aug 8, 2025.

  1. The SimTrain Tube

    The SimTrain Tube Well-Known Member

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    About the time already being in the HUD. Personally I wouldn't mind at all if the game time was also added. I can't speak for anyone else, but for me, having the option to include the time in the overlay / weather data, would be very useful as I spend most of my time trainspotting with the HUD off.

    Also, an unrelated question. Now that the app shows the location for the front of the driver train, as opposed to a camera, is there a way to have it show the location where the free cam is for example? (When train spotting, I usually spawn an 08 somewhere, and then move to the location where I want to be.)
     
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  2. Winzarten

    Winzarten Well-Known Member

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    I can add the option if to use train or camera location for triggering annotations. That should be easy, so for trainspotting you can switch it to camera location.

    As for adding more things to the overlay. I think a little bit of redesign will soon be required, as it is getting too bloated imho... and having the option to have multiple panels, with different data, at different screen location will soon be a necessity.
     
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  3. Sharon E

    Sharon E Well-Known Member

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    The beauty of this app comes for how you select a route and train for a run, but the weather you get is always a surprise.
     
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  4. vodka#2734

    vodka#2734 Well-Known Member

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    And it's amazing how nasty the weather is in the UK) I play in travel mode, so the dates are fixed by the game and 90% of the time I get grey skies, light drizzle, which can stop and start again several times. Or maybe you're just looking at the sky and waiting for that stupid rain to start. And it might not. The weather is very similar to where I used to live, even though it wasn't the UK at all. And Germany, on routes deep in the continent, shows similar weather to where I live now. I still want to try mountain routes - it will be even more interesting there.
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2025
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  5. Train Sim Society

    Train Sim Society Well-Known Member

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    On second thought, I agree with you. Winzarten also made the great point of time being necessary due to weather acceleration, and that's another point I didn't think about. So, YES to all of that! :)
     
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  6. noir

    noir Well-Known Member

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    I use quite a tiny display in the end - just the weather icon and temperature in corner of the screen, set to 50% opacity. Great addition to otherwise hudless driving :)

    upload_2025-11-20_8-37-20.png

    If you plan some larger redesign, a dream feature for me would be pulling the data from in-station objective HUD if that is possible. After I stop in station, have a similarly nonintrusive text appear that just tells me what the scheduled departure time is, and some sort of departure icon appear when I can leave, simulating train's conductor - so that I don't have to open the HUD at all to see when the objective changes into "Lock Doors". Zusi does this well, there is no HUD at all, just after some time of boarding, you are shown a green Zp 9 icon in screen's corner that tells you that you are allowed to depart. :)
     
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  7. Winzarten

    Winzarten Well-Known Member

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    Possibly down the line, I would need to examine what is actually available in the TSW API in that regard, and there are still quite a few weather related improvements in the backlog ;)

    And, the first version of the weather finder just got released. There are still some improvements planned for it (i.e the ability to better specify snow cover, visbility, precipitation filters), but I think it is already quite usable in the current state. :)

    I think the usage is quite straightforward, but if anybody would struggle, there is a short page available on the wiki: https://gitlab.com/winzarten/tsw-route-annotations/-/wikis/Live-Weather/Weather-Finder
     
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  8. Train Sim Society

    Train Sim Society Well-Known Member

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    Ahh, much better!! It looks so clean now and the spacing is pleasing to the eye haha. The last little cherry on top would be a two-point background color slider so we could create a gradient. The DTG HUD has that same style, where the color starts solid on the right and fades to transparent on the left. If the weather overlay could match that gradient option, it would look perfect. Hopefully that’s something we can get one day when the UI refresh comes, but no rush at all! :)

    Screenshot 2025-11-20 145920.png
     
    Last edited: Nov 20, 2025
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  9. simulator fan

    simulator fan Active Member

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    hi, I seem to have a problem since the latest update. Playing fife circle and starting at Edinburgh Waverley the weather finder shows fog at 8am on 11/11/25 (1 hour at 3180 m). However, when I run it (setting the app to that date and time and TSW to an 8 am departure same date/ time / year I get clear skies. In fact the fog icon has disappeared completely from the overlay. I have tried 2 other times listed for fog and same result...no fog. Have you any idea why this is happening please?
     
  10. Winzarten

    Winzarten Well-Known Member

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    Please, attach the log when you have any issues, I cannot do much without it. Thanks :)

    But nothing has changed in the retrieval logic...
    Double check that you're in Historic Weather, Custom Year mode... and not something like random.
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2025
  11. GuitarMan

    GuitarMan Well-Known Member

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    I'm loving this mod. I don't get much from the annotations (I use steam remote play - so the mod and the game are running on the desktop upstairs, and I am playing on the laptop downstairs) - but the historic weather and the weather transitions are amazing.
     
  12. simulator fan

    simulator fan Active Member

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    thanks for that, I had set the year to current year as it was 2025: but setting it to custom year has brought the fog back so all good in the end.
     
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  13. Bahnkaktus

    Bahnkaktus Member

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    Thank you for this great tool, finally proper live weather like in MSFS is possible!
    However, the overlay with the weather information always disappears into the background. What do I need to configure so that these details remain permanently in the foreground while still being able to operate everything in TSW?

    I am running TSW in fullscreen mode.

    Thank you for response.
     
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  14. Train Sim Society

    Train Sim Society Well-Known Member

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    Running TSW in windowed or windowed fullscreen is one of the requirements of this tool in order for the overlay to function properly. That’s likely why you’re seeing issues with it.
     
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  15. Bahnkaktus

    Bahnkaktus Member

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    Perfect, thanks for your help. With this setting the overlay works well.
     
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  16. The SimTrain Tube

    The SimTrain Tube Well-Known Member

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    I was driving from Carlisle to Preston in a Class 20 today, but like before, I wanted snow.
    So I used the app to find the appropriate weather conditions, for about 3/4 of the way the weather was fine, just clouded.
    Except for the last part, it started with just a little rain, but by the time I reached Preston I was in a blizzard with 40 meters visibility.

    Really love this app, not going to drive without it.:love:
    [​IMG]
     
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  17. Winzarten

    Winzarten Well-Known Member

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    A small but singificant update was pushed....

    Previously, the app used the hourly weather variables (cludiness, precipiation...etc) from open-meteo... Becasue they are available for all data sources, so it made working with it easier...Stuff werre implemented quicker, when you know every data points are always spaced 1hour...

    But this update contains the support for 15minutely weather variables, where possible (live and recent historic data, looks like it covers all regions significant for TSW)... What that means is better shown:

    This how a small shower looks on the hourly data:
    upload_2025-11-23_17-28-20.png
    In-game that would mean
    16:00 - 17:00 - start and ramp-up of rain
    17:00 - 18:00 - decrase in rain intensity
    18:00 - 19:00 - rain slowly stops

    Now the same interval in 15minutes spacing
    upload_2025-11-23_17-28-43.png
    The rain doesn't start until 16:45, where it will quickly ramps up to max intensity.
    17:00 - 17:15 - it deacreases, and keeps it's intensity untily 17:30
    17:30 - 17:45 - Rain stops, no rain after 17:45...

    So much shorter spells of weather are now possible, with changing conditions... Weather codes are also adapted, so if the data is available, weather codes tranistion should now be what happens between the 15 minutes, not between the 1 hour. :)
    And this is now also possible. There is a setting now which dictates which location should the app prefer annotation showing and weather related stuff. Can be changed to 'Camera Location' there.
    upload_2025-11-23_17-35-53.png
     
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  18. simulator fan

    simulator fan Active Member

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    can you give me the exact date/ time settings please would like to see this
     
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  19. simulator fan

    simulator fan Active Member

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    i have tried to get snow on kassel wurzburg and using the weather search the best i can get is 'moderate snow'. Whilst this shows in game as what I would describe as light snow I cannot get any ground snow or piled snow to show up for the whole run. I have increased the snow settings to no avail. Can anyone suggest a date/ time where ground snow is visible as I have yet to see any. Also a 3 year search for heavy rain shows none. I find this a little hard to believe.
     
  20. champier#2613

    champier#2613 Member

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    Working on adding roads and bridges to Bremen - Oldenburg
     
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  21. Train Sim Society

    Train Sim Society Well-Known Member

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    For sure add this run to the spreadsheet! :D
     
  22. champier#2613

    champier#2613 Member

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  23. The SimTrain Tube

    The SimTrain Tube Well-Known Member

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    I started driving with the new Class 20 at 9.43AM all the way back at the yard behind Carlisle on February 19th.
    Its an 83 Mile drive that will take you 2+ hours to do, as you're limited to 60MPH.
    Set the weather in the app on historic, and the year to 2022. It started snowing at ~11.19AM

    Its not a service, so spawn on foot at the yard near Carlisle, and set a route to Preston Ribble sidings 4.

    Yard near Carlisle
    [​IMG]
    On the way there are 2 somewhat large stations, Carnforth and Lancaster.
    On those I set a go via on the siding on the left slowing you down a lot.

    I arrived at Preston Ribble Sidings 4 just before Noon.
    [​IMG]

    Sure, I will do so after dinner.

    Edit: Done.

    Train Sim Society I think you'll need to edit it a bit, as I messed up slightly.
    Could you add: Watch out for sudden speed limit drops at Carnforth and Lancaster?
     
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2025
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  24. glendathu

    glendathu Well-Known Member

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    Hello Winzarten,

    I just had a look at the Tharanther Rampe Dresden-Chemnitz route. Looks like this one is complete, so nothing to do for me.
    BUT I found some errors:
    Wild Weißeritz must be Wilde Weißeritz
    Elde Hrone (Bridge) must be Edle Krone
    Memmendord Bridge must be either Memmendorfer Brücke OR Memmendorfer Bach (River, very tiny...)
    And there are severeal Locations only with numbers, not names, these can also be on the Dresden - Leipzig route, as both routes are together: Location 52, 49, 47, 39, 37, 34 and 31
     
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  25. Winzarten

    Winzarten Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the finds, I will fix them.
    The location without names are on purpose, these just mark bridges I couldn't find name for, and are there just so the app knows there is a bridge and can increase wetness when player is on it ;)
     
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  26. glendathu

    glendathu Well-Known Member

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    Ah, I see. If I disable them, will the app still know there's a bridge and increase wetness ?
     
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2025
  27. noir

    noir Well-Known Member

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  28. Winzarten

    Winzarten Well-Known Member

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    No, but the app shouldn't show them in overlay (as their text is empty). If they are being shown, then that is a bug. I would double-check if you're running the latest version.
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2025
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  29. class2ldn2801

    class2ldn2801 Active Member

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    Can I just ask if anyone has any issues with updating this on windows 11?
    My microsoft smart app control wont let it update but you cant disable smart app without having to reinstall windows to get it back again.
    Says it need a digital signature from the author or creator?
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2025
  30. glendathu

    glendathu Well-Known Member

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    Ah, good to know, I haven't checked that yet, looks like I have to make a journey on both Dresden routes.
     
  31. glendathu

    glendathu Well-Known Member

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    I had no problems on Win 11 so far. Just had a look and I have Smart App Control activated. And TSW Route Annotations is installed on the default path "C:\Program Files\TSW Route Annotations\.

    If I had this problem, I would deinstall TSW Route Annotations and then download the current version again from Trainsimcommunity.
     
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  32. vodka#2734

    vodka#2734 Well-Known Member

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    There are no problems, at most it asks for permission to install.
     
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  33. glendathu

    glendathu Well-Known Member

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    Yes, that's not only a good source for German routes, but also British routes. Unfortunately not every route has such detailed diagrams. And it is is also useful if you check the German AND English wikipedia of one route, sometimes one is more detailed than the other.

    E.g. check the Southeastern Highspeed route. On the English page, there's no diagram, but when you switch to German, it is there.
     
  34. class2ldn2801

    class2ldn2801 Active Member

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    Yeah done that but it wont install the update, keeps blocking it.
    The app itself runs fine just blocks it updating so im stuck on 3.6.4.
    If I download the latest msi it just blocks it running.
    If i delete the app and redownload the latest it wont run the installer at all.
    It will run the older installer but not the latest.
    Its not working at all now, the test overlay works but just constantly says waiting for tsw even though its running.
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2025
  35. jeff.engle

    jeff.engle Active Member

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    I am enjoying this add-on. Is there any documentation? I am slowing figuring out how to construct/annotate a route - going through tharandter and adding yards etc. Also looking for a legend for the information presented... I can guess but not finding one place that has a list. For example this wavey icon is shown off and on during one section of the route. I understand the station icon and the yard icon. Also is there a source for additional TSW Route files?
    Thanks for a great tool!
     

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  36. class2ldn2801

    class2ldn2801 Active Member

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    All sorted now, how do I get it so the weather is displayed in the top right but the route annotations are top middle, the weather is showing twice , once with the annotation and seperately in the top right.
     
  37. glendathu

    glendathu Well-Known Member

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    You can find a wiki link on the first page of this posting. And yes, this posting is loooong, but you get many infos here, as the app is constantly updated and functions are added by Winzarten.
    You can find additional route files at Trainsimcommunity
     
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  38. bljohansson#4171

    bljohansson#4171 Active Member

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    Make a shortcut of gamelaunchhelper.exe found in XboxGames\Train Sim World- 6\Content. Place the shortcut wherever you want. Right-click the shortcut and enter properties. In the Target box add -HTTPAPI so it looks like this: "Yourdriveletteretc\XboxGames\Train Sim World- 6\Content\gamelaunchhelper.exe" -HTTPAPI
     
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  39. Winzarten

    Winzarten Well-Known Member

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    That should happen on for that annotation that was shown when you changed the settings. Next annotations should no longer shown as the temporal information.

    And, a new small update:
    • The weather finder now has an extended filter, where you can specify the ranges for visibility, precipitation and snow cover
    upload_2025-11-25_20-31-48.png
    So, finding periods where there was i.e. ground snow is now easier.​

    • Tunnels/Bridges/Viaducts will not also shown their lengths. Just note that this length is based on the distance between the annotations points, and will not be correct for curved tunnels i.e. It can be disabled in settings, where you can also change the UOM. This was propsed some time ago by Thorgred.
    • And I've added a small icon that will directly open the community weather spreadsheet by Train Sim Society. Hopefuly this brings more exposure to that place and more people will share their weather findings :) upload_2025-11-25_20-35-33.png
     
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  40. glendathu

    glendathu Well-Known Member

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    Can you please describe how you sorted it out. Win11 refuses the latest 4.2.0 here too. All other updates before worked fine.

    Winzarten: Did you change something that could cause that problem ?
    Looks like I'm stuck with 3.0.0.0
    EDIT: I managed to overwrite the app with another TSWRouteAnnotations.msi so I have now 4.1.0.0
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2025
  41. simulator fan

    simulator fan Active Member

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    that is a really good addition.
    I am sure that DTG are following this thread (if not they should be), and I feel that the time is coming for them to adopt this mod and pay for it! This has happened before, some fabulous mods have been created then DTG produce a game update that stops the mod working. In the meantime the original developer (who was not being paid) looses interest/ gets married/ starts a new job etc and the mod dies. It would be tragic to see this mod meet the same fate and I am not sure that I could go back to playing the game with DTG's dynamic weather! lol. Also DTG need to proactively separate the fog from heavy rain and provide some more cloud types, etc. You only have to look at Train Simulator Classic with the weather and cloud mods (and the vegetation packs) produced by Armstrong Powerhouse to see what can be achieved. In my opinion this is by far the best mod for TSW to date. It shows how increasing the realism of the environment massively improves the enjoyment of the game. If the world looks real you are more likely to forget you are playing a game.
     
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  42. simulator fan

    simulator fan Active Member

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    info.....version 4.2.0.0 is working here on Windows 11
     
  43. glendathu

    glendathu Well-Known Member

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    Do you have "Smart App Control" activated in the windows settings ?
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2025
  44. simulator fan

    simulator fan Active Member

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    I just checked and no its turned off. It says turning it on requires a reinstallation of windows 11 so I think I will give that a miss! It looks like a feature that creates more problems than it solves!
     
  45. glendathu

    glendathu Well-Known Member

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    that explains why you are able to update. Mine is switched on. Thanks !
     
  46. Emmy_MAN

    Emmy_MAN Well-Known Member

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    Hi simulator fan

    You can also support Winzarten yourself and donate something to him.

    In his first post, he included a link where you can do something nice for him.

    I personally support apps like this anyway, as the developers put a lot of their free time into their apps, which gives us a better gaming experience.
     
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  47. Winzarten

    Winzarten Well-Known Member

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    Honestly, I feel the mod would die the moment it would get under DTG. DTGs own features don't see much development after initial release (*cough* dynamic weather *cough*) and they currently have more essential core issues to solve.

    Having it open-source is imho a better 'doomsday' plan. As anybody with knowledge can checkout the repo and fix any issues there, should I loose interest, or get run over by a bus :) The latter is more likely scenario, as I have been playing train sims since MSTS :)

    And I would much prefer if DTG would figure a way how to enable similar API also on consoles, so they too can profit from community apps that utilize it. ;)
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2025
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  48. glendathu

    glendathu Well-Known Member

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    Just want to report that today the update to the latest Version 4.2.0.0 worked ! Hooray !
     
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  49. glendathu

    glendathu Well-Known Member

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    I think I found a bug in the app:

    Yesterday I made some additional annotations for the Austrian/German Mittenwaldbahn.

    When I was finished, I made a test run and discovered that the annotations appear much too late. First I thought I made an error when placing them but then I saw that the already built-in annotations have the same problem. I restarted the same timetable, E682 12:01 with DB BR111 and still standing in Innsbruck Main Station, on the Closest Location List, the Station was 260m in distance, so no annotation at the start.

    I tried some other timetables. But as every train starts from a different platform, I made myself a kind of reference annotation at the junction after Innsbruck Main Station at an electrical box between the tracks with only 10m radius.

    Not every service had this problem. Some worked as they should. First I thought the second locomotive at the end of the train was the problem, as the annotations were triggered when the end of the train passed the point where it should be triggered instead of the front locomotive.

    But it was something else. The BR111 on front was placed in different directions on some timetables, as seen on the TSW track map.

    In the cab, when there’s a small fuse box on the left behind the seat and you have to go to the other cab to switch SIFA and INDUSI on, the locomotive is pointing forward. But when the front points backwards, TSW Route Annotation sets the trigger to the end of the train which resulted in the described problem.

    A workaround was to set Preferred Location Source to camera location. I was curious wether the problem also occurred on older versions. I tried 3.0.0.0 and 3.5.4 and the problem was gone! So there have been some kind of change somewhere after the 3.5.4 version.
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2025
  50. PegasusLeosRailwayFanatix

    PegasusLeosRailwayFanatix Well-Known Member

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    londonmidland Does the installation for TSW Route Annotation directory need to be install to the same drive as where you put your TSW 6 Directory in, or it can be install to any drive? Thanks
     

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