You have gauges for braking and power and the throttle/brake handle(s) also has notches...why would you need that on the hud? that literally defeats the whole purpose of driving hudless... Need to know how much brake youre applying? ...look at the appropriate brake gauge Need to know how much power youre applying with the throttle, again..look at the correct gauge This comes with time and practice. But hint, those same brake gauges are on the speedometer hud, will allow you to quickly learn how to read the proper gauges in the cab And lastly, you do not NEED a keyboard. I drive hudless no problem with a controller (and on console, we dont get the option to remove the speedometer only, for example, so there is NO HUD at all)
Most locos and MUs do have gauges saying how much brake force / pressure is applied, but don't know many that say which notch the power lever is in, rather giving the engine revs or ampage being taken from the drive motors. This might be confusing to some In DMUs locos I've stopped looking at the drive position and started looking at the amps on the gauge myself, looking at where the yellow line is and only moving the lever to the next notch when that power draw starts to drop out of the yellow In EMUs there's no indication in cab that I know of so knowing where the lever is would be helpful
The problem with the brake gauges is that those are lagging behind, IRL using actual handles you can set the brakes and throttle whatever you want, using a controller or keyboard, while even I can instictively set controls and throttle to do what I want it's not precise enough, and I am still struggling to set the brakes between Release, 1A and 1B on german trains, again the brake pressure gauge cannot be used because it's lagging behind the control. AFB has a similar problem, while I can instinctively set the AFB to the speed I want from time to time losing the instant feedback on the right of AFB - xxx km/h can be challenging and lead to mistakes, note that the yellow needle on the speedometer is lagging quite a bit behind (setting the AFB from 0 to 160 the yellow needle reaches 160 some seconds after the lever is set at 160 km/h, and the system is tied to the lever, not the needle. But I admit the tractive effort/dynamic gauge on the german trains is really helpful. Anyway operating the controls should be something instinctive, you don't look at the controller before pressing a button, no driver would look at the power handle to see if it is in position 3 or 4, because we can't use RD on console a compromise has to be made and a little description on the HUD is IMO the best option. Yes, the keyboard is required if you want to drive without the HUD (no central dot to click on things), how do you release from PZB, how can you switch between brake modes without the feedback of the HUD? For germans trains, just before stopping you should release the train brakes (stop on a rising pipe) and immediately after apply the loco brake, the only way to do that is releasing the train brakes using the L bumper and then press the "+" key to set the loco brake, using the controller you would have to tap "X" twice to switch from train to dynamic to loco brake, and then the L trigger to apply it, even harder and cumbersome without the feedback of the HUD telling you what brake you are operating with the L bumper and trigger.
The problem is all here. Because, unfortunately, from the speedometer you can see the maximum speed allowed in that stretch (there is the dot). And it is to all intents and purposes a concrete help. Still on Console, unless you put an artificial viewfinder in the center of the screen like I did, if you deactivate the HUD, you no longer have references (mouse pointer) to, for example, release the PZB/LZB after a 1000hz magnet or an ENDE (or again, switch ON/OFF AFB). I put some adhesive tape in the center of the screen to simulate the reference pointer/dot. Not exactly an optimal solution, I would say.
The case looks like this: a modular configurable HUD would not bother anyone. I don't understand the concept - some people try to prove that it's not necessary. PS It's about improving aesthetics without losing realism. ... It is about improving existing solutions. Nobody suggests compulsion to use them \o/
That is why many of us are clamoring for TrackIR support. Such systems give you that capability. I can not imagine trying to fly in any flight simulator that does not support such technology because of the need to be able to quickly scan gauges, determine position in the pattern and seemingly a hundred other demands for my attention when landing. Driving a train is a bit less demanding, but being able to quickly glance at the brake gauges and then to observe the progress down the platform easily WITHOUT having to resort to the mouse or keyboard would be a breath of fresh air for this simulation.
Eg You can't turn top-left this way off. Yep - I will take... the draw (chess). Hope everyone is happy now
Looking at the BC pressure will not tell you whether you have the auto brake, independent brake, or both applied. If on a US loco you have baled off, it will read 0 and tell you nothing at all. And I have yet to see any locomotive with a tachometer; the ammeter tells you the motors' power draw, which is entirely different. And then there's the BR 143....!
Spoiler: SPAM This one is about the loco brake pressure. Train brake has another indicator PS Even deeper off-top = 3.5 hours left ! ! ! \o/ \o/ \o/
That's exactly what I would hope for. A minimalistic design which can be configured to personal needs. I have thought of a similar thing, only that it would sit at the bottom of the screen and would take the bottom 30ish Pixels. So it would be even less harmful to the immersion. For me, I'd like to show only things which I have a hard time recognizing, e.g. mileposts on UK routes. While it's easy on German routes to see where you are currently at, i really cant read the tiny numbers on British mileposts. For German routes i have created simple images (which looks a bit like an Ebula screen) on my iPad. So that is also part of my experience with HUD-less driving, on German routes I can go without HUD, on UK routes I need the next stop and the next speed limit. If we had a way to see a virtual milepost in a mini-hud, i wouldn't need that.
"This one is about the loco brake pressure. Train brake has another indicator " To my knowledge, the only other indicator you have for the train brake is on the EOTD system- if equipped. The BC gauge tells you what the brake cylinder on the loco is doing, without regard to which system actuated it.
Spoiler: SPAM Nope. Yep. One arrow is for ER one for BP one for EQ and one for BC Bailing = zeroing BC = nothing to do with BP
Correct. So, again, once you have zeroed the loco BC, there is no way to tell how much braking the rest of the train has on (without the EOTD). BP pressure at your end is NOT what the BP pressure is a mile behind you!
Spoiler: SPAM Another arrow is for BP so you always know. Coming back to the topic - US locos are ready to drive without HUD in the context of brakes
Again, the BP indicator is telling you the measurement under your feet- which can be very, very different from that at the rear of the train. Air pressure can take a long time to propagate!
Spoiler: SPAM You are not right. One arrow shows BC pressure - shows ZERO when bailed off. Another arrow shows the whole train brake pressure = BP pressure. Bailing means zeroing only loco brake (BC)!
I get that, I understand entirely. What I am trying to say is that the brake pipe does NOT have one consistent pressure from end to end! The BP gauge is reading the sensor at the locomotive, but the pressure at the other end of the pipe (which can be almost a mile away on some US freights) can very well not be the same at all (in fact, I guarantee it is not the same if you have just applied or released the train brake).
meh Coming back to the topic again The biggest problem for me when I turn off the HUD is the lack of notifications. BR o7 PS Sometimes I wonder if I held the button down long enough (the keyboard). Having the right volume of the buttons helps. The last DLC sounds loud enough.
I dont use immersion controls. Classic controls have always been superior in my opinion. Precisely because you get the precision dot, which acts in the same function as a mouse cursor (and also because the exterior camera controls are better/more features in classic) I agree, you can't drive hudless with immersion controls with a controller (thus the third reason I stuck with classic!)
Maybe you could make 2 different cases: -if the objective doesn't have a specific location name, show distance -if it has a name (station+platform or track number), it could just show that and the route knowledge would come into play "Stop at this point in 3 km" vs. "Stop at Aix-en-Provence track 3"
That's a pretty good idea I like that Yes that's the point, we should not use the gauges to see the position of the lever. I agree, if I didn't have a keyboard I might have carried on using the classic controls, but the zoom and door open functions are pretty useful, although I have thought about going back to classic now that I can open the doors with Y and U, but it's too much muscle memory to unlearn lol. Just a little OT while talking about controls, hopefully we will be able to acknowledge SIFA and PZB using two different buttons, see my suggestion here
I drive almost entirely HUDless. In some ways, though, it is more difficult than on the real thing. However well made a route is on a simulator, locations are still not as distinctive as in the real world. It’s the tiny details which stand out and help remind you of braking points etc. On my company we once had 3 station overruns at the same station, in the same direction, in one morning. When we asked the Drivers what happened, it turned out that, on a rather featureless section of line, everyone was using an upturned tin of paint by the lineside, which had been there for years, as the braking point. Overnight some tidy-minded person had come along and removed it. There are no upturned tins of paint in TSW. Having said that, it has to be kept in mind that in real life Drivers have to be able to drive the route punctually and safely in complete darkness, and thick fog. To do that they make a lot of use of the sound and movement of the train, as much as what they can see. That’s not really possible with a simulator. My HUDless driving is mostly in daylight and reasonable visibility. I do find though, that a layer of snow on the ground helps in picking things out at night (as in real life).
