In TSW routes, services end where the route ends, even if the real train keeps on going. Sometimes the RL train does indeed stop at the last modeled station, especially commuter and regional stopping services, but in many cases expresses and freights roll on through. DTG's current method in these cases is to introduce an artificial stop at the end, like having freights stop at Reading's passenger platforms(!), or having all ICEs stop at Augsburg, even those which in real life blow straight by. But why is a "Stop" marker necessary to trigger a service end? Why wouldn't a "Go Via" marker serve just as well? Run through the marker at line speed, and, well, that's all for our simulation and the train will just go on without you... but without stopping where IRL that train doesn't stop.
Well I think a go via thing would be cool but to have your service just end out of nowhere without stopping would probably cause some to complain. It would be better if dtg could just make the full line of that service or route extensions but were are a while away from that happening.
Sorry to be a spoilsport solicitr, but I really don't like this idea. What I'm about to say may seem stupid to you, but I like to immerse myself as a driver and like to imagine a crew change happening wherever it is that I'm stopping. The thought of my character (for lack of a better term) going on without me just sort of kills the immersion for me.
Fair point. I suppose that the only area where this really bugs me (and breaks immersion) is pulling a freight train up to a passenger platform; not such a big deal if it ends in a freight yard, or a pass train stops at a platform.
A go via command could work for scenarios, but if a service ended with a go via command how the hell would you get off the train? Half the appeal of the timetable is you can explore around before and after a run. They could allow you to disembark the train while it's moving I suppose, but jumping off a train at 70 MPH is a way bigger immersion killer than stopping the train at a platform.
That's actually a common event in reality too. There's a Reading Freightliner depot that often relieves on a platform.
I'm not quite sure about this mechanic. On one hand it would allow for more service types, like ICEs on MSB. On the other it would create some problems. DTG should consider it, and they'll probably choose what works and what doesn't.
Agreed. I'd also prefer a stop at the end of the service. Just stopping the service while the train is still moving doesn't feel right.
A “Go Via” at the end would make no sense to the player as it gives the impression there is something to follow. It would be perceived as a bug by new players. It’s just better to include a fictional station stop or be held at a red signal, with the stopping point at the signal. There is no perfect solution to this issue to include those services that don’t stop. A worse version of the issue would occur in the opposite direction, where you would have to be stood at a red signal or fictional station stop to start up your train at the start of a service. A “Go Via” would definitely not be possible for the start of a service at a non-stopping station.
The trouble is, at the end of such services, when you stop and the AI takes over, the AI's only instruction is "drive to the end of the track and leave the game world" - I imagine in gaming terms the train will go to the end of the modelled track and then get destroyed. Later, an identical one is created for the return journey. While having the last instruction as a go-via would allow these trains to go straight through where they should, a player driving them would soon receive a "You've reached the end of the represented area" game over screen, unless you're also proposing these services be AI-only.
I think the stopping at the last station idea is for a crew change, another driver will take it onwards from [station].