Hello, I currently have TS, although TSW seems to be the new must-have, but my primary interest is steam. I say mine, it's actually my dog that's the train enthusiast, with weekly visits to see steam trains run. It's off season now and I picked up a copy of TS to supplement the train videos in the hope that she can also play (see videos of dogs driving cars). She's already fascinated by the levers she sees in the cabs and on her times on the footplate. However, she's not going to be able to use a keyboard. Trying to use a dance mat wasn't successful, nor was trying to use a MIDI trigger. It's a bit better with a roll up drum pad and some Python as that can send key messages, but still lacks haptic feedback and paws are not drumsticks. So I've tried to get my flight sim throttle quadrant to work, but so far only joy2key seems to work, and the position of the regulator can't be made to match the lever position this way as far as I can tell. Any hints? Yes, I know it sounds mad.
P. S. It was accidental - we took her on a steam train as a puppy to get her used to forms of transport rather than a mainline train first, not expecting her to become obsessed. I'm not really much interested in trains myself but indulge the dog.
You need this for TSW: https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/ts-world-raildriver-and-joystick-interface.61440/ CobraOne also did a similar interface for TS, I think a link to that is further down in that same thread. woof, woof!
Thanks for that. I'll give it a go tonight. Hopefully it will work with TS or TSW. I'll then have to glue some sticks to the spare saitek throttle quadrant knobs to make it more friendly for the paws of a German Shepherd. Hopefully, it will keep her entertained until Spring and the new steam train season.
When the end of year forum awards are being decided, can I nominate this one for being the most unusual award please? I hope your dog doesn't get triggered by cats as if they do, please be aware there's numerous cats on Birmingham Cross City line. Wouldn't want them launching themselves at your monitor
She lives with a cat so is absolutely fine with them. I know the post may have sounded a bit nuts, but the dog being a train enthusiast is all her idea. When we go to see them she yelps for joy in the same way as meeting a long-lost friend much to the amusement of everyone else. She loves all the steam, smoke, when engines couple to carriages and so on. I'm as baffled by the joy she seems to get from it as anyone else. So in the dark winter months, and having seen the driving dogs, I thought why not give it a go if it keeps her occupied and happy. I'll have to see if she does actually enjoy it and engage with it.
I have plenty of her enjoying the real thing. So far, though, all we've done is Train Sim orientation now I've got the throttle quadrant working and added dowels to make it more dog-friendly. She's watched the virtual trains run. The next issues I forsee is that the adjustments required to control the train and maintain the right pressure and speed requires very small adjustments (1% changes) that without thumbs to grip things with are going to be difficult. She's paw-oriented on the whole, so using her mouth on the dowels might work better, but I doubt she'll do it. Bear in mind I barely have a clue what I'm doing, but I want to get the hang of it myself first. I might need to look look for something simpler to start with for me as well as the dog. In theory using joy2key so a value increases 1% per second when at one end, reduces the same amount at the other, works better with gross motor skills with feet, but then she'd lack feedback and have an even bigger control lag.
By enjoying real steam trains, I mean being on them or looking at them. She's only been on thr footplate once, and a stationary one at that, but she shook with excitement. She's not been allowed to drive several tons of locomotive quite yet
I was able to teach my cat how to use the RailDriver. She operates it with her tail, like a monkey would. I suggest you try that with your dog before you waste time and effort fumbling around with other hardware. Of course, it may be easier for her than for your dog, as she already has experience driving trucks. (I taught her by playing ATS, then moving over to real life.) It's a great way to earn extra money, and you don't need to share any of the money nor pay taxes. Give a few extra treats and she's happy. Like your dog, my cat is also fond of steam engine footplates. She got to try them out at one of the train museums. She's Deeply Offended™ that cats aren't represented in SoS. (I can only imagine that similar sentiments are shared by your dog.)
Being a cynic I would say get your Dog a RailDriver as it works poorly on some routes but maybe a Dog would have better luck? I'd love to see your dog enjoying the Trains and playing the game also. My dog would just go for the screen if she saw a c*t! Mind you she goes for any animal, she just wants to play well except for those evil c*ts that is.
So it's all working, and she has requested train sim play now. So far it's been Train Sim Classic on my laptop which rather limits graphics performance but my desktop isn't in the living room. I'm not sure I can pass the throttle quadrant to that via WiFi and stream graphics at a higher quality. She's poked the controls a little but is mostly happy to watch me rather than try it. I'm still learning. I think better graphics would engage her more, ditto sound. I'm not sure Train Sim World would offer this, plus steam. It has to he steam for her. TSW will work from Geforce Now, but again control becomes an issue. The other thought I had is that electric trains are easier to control, if only I could make the sounds chuffing, she might deign to try them. She barely considers diesels worthy of note and doesn't consider electrics to be trains at all.
