Attempt To Make Sense Of The Slope Indicator

The TSW2 HUD slope indicator has, to judge from numerous forum posts, confused a lot of people. Here's how I've been reading it all along:





As I hope you can see, the slope indicator must be read in combination with the reverser setting indicator. Although these images obviously come from Sand Patch Grade, the same applies to all routes.

I hope this helps!

 

This is on-map-orientation dependent. The driving direction has no input

PS If you open a 2D map, you will notice that the locomotive is always pointing in some direction. The game shows "grade" in relation to the "front" of the locomotive, no matter which way you are moving.

 

It worked fine in TSW2020 with the gradient following the way you were travelling so they went with a new system in TSW2 for reasons beyond most sane people. Add in a backwards pointing or backwards thinking train (I’m looking at you, TVL) and you have no idea what’s up and what’s down.

A simple checklist...

Is the train icon pointing downhill?
Is the train pointing forwards?
Is your train on TVL?

If you answered ‘yes’ to all of these questions then your train is probably going uphill. Or not.
If you answered ‘yes‘ to two of these questions then your train is probably going downhill. We think.
If you answered ‘yes’ to one of these questions then your train is either going uphill or downhill. We just don’t know.

 

just brilliant
someone finally figured it
ahahahahahahahahaha

 

I'm kind of shocked people have trouble with this. The icon of the train for the slope has a pretty clear front nose showing the direction the front of the train is facing.

 

Except it doesn't. If you reverse your train, it still shows gradients as if you're going forwards.

On TVL, the locos are in reverse, meaning all the gradients are backwards.

It's not so simple as you put it...

 

Agreed. Tvl is backward.
The icon is clunky and the accelerometer unfit for use.

 

This works exactly as I described
Ain't No magic
BR

 

Best of all it's loco centric and relates to the front of the loco.
Works especially well with two class20s....

 

May I ask, what is TVL?

 

Tees Valley Line

 

Thanks Breblimator

 

Despite other theories, I still think that I've figured it out (see OP).

 

Yes you have figured it out. What nobody can figure out is why they did it like that. It looks to me that the addition of the train icon has led to them changing how it was done in TSW2020 just so that the pointy end of the train icon must always mean the front of the train. There was no reason to change it from TSW2020 where the only problem was that it was too small on the screen. If they lose the train icon and go back to just the gradient, they can then have the gradient follow the direction of travel and be correct in every single way. They’ve broken something that didn’t need fixing.

It’s a little bit like the ridiculously placed major divisions in the speedometer. Art decisions determining functionality where it should always be the other way round.

 

Perhaps they let the intern design it, and it just happened that the intern didn't play train sim?

 

I hope that DTG change it back, I will never get used to it showing that I'm going up hill when I'm really gown down hill

 

I explained the "what", but I wouldn't speculate about the "why"!

 

On Main Spessart Bahn, the gradient sensor work (work correctly) only if we are inside the 1st cab (or inside the cabcar, in case we got only 1 cab).

Cab 1 (gradient sensor work here only)


Cab 2 (wrong or gradient sensor not included)


Probably the same happen in the other preserved routes too. The gradient sensor system dont recognize the 2nd cab. (but recognize correctly the cab car).

Again, Cab 1 (banking service at Laufach)


Like above but Cab 2 (wrong or not recognized sensor)


Note: The result dont change if i try to uncouple the loco from the train or if I run inside the banking loco on the rear of the train (and/or uncouple this one too).
Gradient sensor will continue to work correctly only if we are inside Cab 1.

 

Yes. This can be judged by the orientation of the locomotive on the 2D map as well. But the colleague LastTrainToClarksville defends himself against the truth

 

I talking exclusively about Preserved Collection, cause on Sand Patch (or TSW2 new content) the gradient sensor work correctly, and has a sense.

On DB BR185.2 in both cabs you'll see only the Cab 1 gradient sensor, because in Cab 2 there is no sensor (like in the example above).

That happen because some locomotives has 2 cabs. Yes, the logical follow always cab 1 as front (right side of the screen) and cab 2 as rear (left side of the screen) but if you start a timetable service directly from cab 2 (I dont know if it is possible) It would be too easy to get confused. And in these cases , the loco icon dont help us.

 

It is important that THEY will fix it one day maybe / someday / for sure? hahaha
Besides, it can be useful in the first few passes of the route. But, yeah, annoying.

 

I suppose they already "fixed" the problem. (or at least in part fixed)

All MSB services are driven or by cab 1 or (in opposite direction) by the cab-car. And both has the correct sensor (left to right).
All freight services too are driven by the cab 1.

The only situation where we can get in confusion happen if we try to drive from cab 2 (in locomotives with double cab like 185.2, 146, etc.)

 

I stopped noticing it a long time ago, but for the sake of discussion, I took a screenshot driving 155 from cabin 2 (RSN). So it happens.
PS Maybe they started paying attention to it when designing scenarios and timetables. Hope so
Or some fixes. Possible, possible.