Hi guys I've decided to try and create some scenarios after reading Crankybots awesome guide, im using the liverpool-manchester revamped route. So basically after I've left Manchester road I've got 2 ai services due to go to oxford road plat 5 after I've left. There's no portal in platform 5 as its a dead end so how do i get the train to disappear so the next one can go in? I know I could in theory make it do the return service but it will be after me so I wont see it anyway? Basically I cant figure out how to get the trains to disappear once they've reached their final destination if there's no portal. I've put a final destination marker on it but it wont allow the next service to be routed into that platform as obviously the first ai train is in there. How do you make the ai disappear once its gone past you and out of sight further down the track without a portal is what I need to figure out. Also if im starting more then 1 train out of the same platform do you just stack them in the platform, obviously the first one to leave at the front or can you start them from the portal to spawn in at the correct time? Any help would be great.
If there's no portal just send them to a platform or siding. It doesn't really matter if they disappear, as soon as they are out of sight and stopped they're not using much resources. Just make sure the following trains have a clear path. Avoid stacking trains at one platform, spawn them from a portal or from consecutive signal blocks - where they would be at that moment in time in reality. I have seen scenarios on short routes where the oncoming AI trains all start in the same block (East Midlands Coal, the Class 47 shunting scenario), so that's possible but I'm not sure it's working on every route / with every signalling system.
Yeah well the issue is that ive got 2 trains due to go into the same platform but the 1 in front wont have disappeared allowing the 2nd one to go in, anyway around that? Il be long past there anyway so i guess i could just route them somewhere else once im past them, doesnt really matter i guess. Ive got 3 ai services due to leave plat 8 at liverpool before I get there, is it better just to start some of them further down the line towards me?
Think of something else. How is a train supposed to be disappearing from a dead end other that reversing out (can be quite difficult to manage in a scenario and will require lots of performance percentage adjustments to get the timings right). Why not send the second train somewhere else? And... if the player has moved on anyway and would not see it why bother?
Well yeah thats what im asking lol, ive heard you can put in portals etc but they cant be uploaded obviously. I wasnt sure if once a train got to a destination and the end time if it just despawned but I take it that doesnt happen?
No. Only if the Final Destination is a portal. So don't set a dead end as a final destination twice unless you find a way to path the first train out there safely without messing up the timetable by blocking paths. And remember, it's only important what the player gets to see.
Ok thanks and for the 3 ai services just start them at different times along the route rather then in the same spot?
Yes, just place them in three consecutive signal blocks. Play with the starting times if the editor is complaining. Btw, there is a possibility to place a portal in your scenario without editing the route - so you can distribute it. You have to edit the Portal asset to do that, doing so you will be able to place it like any marker. https://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic.php?f=367&t=153389
Thanks for your help much appreciated, like I say totally new to creating scenarios so wasn't sure of the limitations.
Best thing is to watch YT tutorials, open existing scenarios to see how things are done and to experiment and learn by trial and error. And of course asking on the forums.
Ok so I added loads of ai ,all was well until the last ai service, it came up with errors and crashed and now I cant get back into the scenario without it crashing each time, anything I can do? It was a test scenario anyway but be nice to use it lol
Best to have the folder opened in the background, after saving alt-tab and copy the scenario files as a backup. (scenario.bin -> scenario.bak1,2 etc) And use the disk icon or F2 to save, not the Play button - that makes sure the scenario structure is saved properly. If you press Play before saving, chances are the files get corrupted if it should crash.
Well I decided to try making a scenario on wcml shap from Preston- windermere, seems to be pretty spot on, only issue i encountered was the red flag waypoint instruction, seems it won't let you leave a platform with it as the last command. I basically pull into Oxenholme and as I'm in platform 3 a 390 stops on 2 towards Glasgow but it doesn't pull off again, I put the next way point as a portal a bit further up for it to disappear so instead I changed it to a stop at order for the portal and it seems to work. Getting my head round it a bit more now.
You must have an “end point” as the final instruction. The end point is the blue block. A way point must be followed with another instruction as it is “ on the way” to somewhere else and it is not in itself a destination.
This was for the ai, I didn't think they needed an end point? So if I put in a waypoint and then an end instruction it should work?
Awesome il try that,always looked very daunting the editor but I'm quite enjoying it and getting used to the quirks of it all. I'm a driver day to day so be nice to get some proper realistic scenarios going based around my actual shifts .
You can put in scenario specific portals, just remember to upload them with the scenario when you publish it. To create a placeable portal, just copy and rename Portal Marker from Assets\Kuju\RailSimulatorCore\RailNetwork\Markers then edit it to be placeable in scenarios
Best just to focus on what you can see and interact with. For example I created a scenario on the Chiltern Mainline where a service left Marylebone before me, and a stopper service was out in front a couple of stops down the line. In reality the stopper service gets stopped in a platform at West Ruislip whilst the fast overtakes on the through lines, and roars off into the sunset. In the sim, it caused issues and used unnecessary resources, so I sent the fast into a Portal as I would never see it after it left Marylebone a couple of minutes before my own departure. Then I held the slow at the platform for 5 mins at West Ruislip anyway, but with no fast train overtaking as it went into a portal prior to this point. Then my own player train got slowed at yellows behind the stopper. You can also add your own markers for pathing purposes which can help in terms of routing services out of termini or through stations that have both platforms and through-lines. The editor takes a while to get used to but you have a lot of tools at your disposal to make things work
Yeah I'm having quite a bit of fun with it, some of its trial and error but we'll see how we get on. I've seen about the way you can route trains down certain tracks etc so thats quite handy.
