DTG Matt is there a fix for the tail lamps on the Mk1s? As it appears to be two on the back of the stock instead of one
Glad to know manual firing and AI loco sounds are still being looked into, these need to be part of the next big run at steam. Can we get some more details/specifics about the physics changes? Still hope to see more as SoS still has issues like lack of B&C coaches, blower lowering/holding pressure instead of building, rain through liverpool limestreet roof to name a few.
I would like to say thanks to JD-DTG and dovetail team for they're hard to work into Train Sim World.
This really bothers me: manual firing is still in the process to be scoped out ... Does this mean you are still in the decision process to find out what it should do? Men, you are taking your time for this. How many years will it take then to complete this feature?
Any chance Rivet could fix the sound on the 150 it's been nearly a year since the route was released and it still hasn't been addressed
Edit: I am wrong Details from Matt: https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...-wcl-patch-next-week.69672/page-2#post-645205
The new physics updates for UK steam locomotives will also have an effect on future steam locomotive projects, I guess. So if the BR52 appears, you should have the best possible steam locomotive experience available in TSW! In the end, a steam locomotive always has to be controlled in a unique way. In any case, the Peak Forest route has more branch line charm than SOS and perhaps also feels as cozy as WSR.
With respect,this thread is about Spirit Of Steam not WCL, should be a separate topic. Edit: (Please ignore my drivel above as pointed out, the patch also refers to WCL).
Exactly why myself and RedRev were pondering it could be a link dropped through from the line crossing over the Down Independent line but this has been dismissed by Matt with the cause stated to be AI SPADs at Edge Hill. However that still begs the question why the AI is passing a signal at danger in the first place if they are not just scenery (as you say) and why the heck should it cause the player to be told they have SPADed and terminate the run? Well I guess we will see once the fix goes live.
Spirit Of Steam (+ Wcl) Patch Next Week (emphasis mine) Yes, it's about patching the WCL steam addon, but WCL is still included in this, and we rarely see a patch for anything that layers into a route that doesn't have further implications for the regular base route, let's be real.
I did drive the 150 after someone said they had done the sound for it it does seem like they have done something with it does seem to sound like a 150 now especially when accelerating away
Signals are not scenery, they are linked and work a lot more closely to the real things - however - there is a clear issue with this specific setup. The Spad is not at Edge Hill, it's at Lime Street on the exit road of the Turntable. What I think is happening - but have no science to prove it, as people are on holiday: When the loco is on the turntable, it cannot "see" the signal, and gets moving. If the signal is red, as soon as it is on "real" track (which might be only when the rear is on - by which point it's about 2 ft away from the signal) it can see it, puts the brakes on and spads. The 08:26 example, there is a loco that comes in and turns on the turntable. As it comes off the turntable the line out is blocked by an incoming passenger train so the departure ground signal is ON. Just at the moment the loco runs it, the "spad" error comes up ending the session. This is why I, and many forum users, are 100% convinced this is the cause of the issue. It's a bug, it needs sorting. I don't know why, or how our implementation has led to this - simple fact is, it is an issue. We had a test fix for it which resolved it - but broke other things so we had to remove it. My fix, which i've proved works and is in QA as a result potentially to come out in the patch, is to put a forced stop in front of the signal, and then have it re-request the path out of the siding at that point. Doing this, the train naturally comes to a stop and then waits for the signal to go green. I've pushed this fix across the other 7 services that do this same move, and in my testing I've not had a single AI Spad at all, so I remain hopeful - but need wider feedback from beta and QA - that this at least is a workaround to get things playable again until the engineering team can track down the actual underlying cause. Spads have to end the session, because the minute any train crosses into non permitted territory, the session is essentially unrecoverable. Simple fact is that an AI train should never ever Spad - unless there's a code bug as in this case. Anyway hope this goes someway to help explain it and give some news that it's got a temporary fix at least coming soon. Matt.
Oh no, the ultimate penalty is the all stations Dosto 766 run from Chemnitz to Dresden - about 100 minutes! 25 to life is preferable, maybe even the Chair.
To update this thread, hot off the press: We believe we have a confirmed fix for the AI SPAD issue on Spirit of Steam. Have updated the original post with a couple of others we've confirmed fixed today.
Why do people want manual firing? People want realism in the game but that would not be realistic. If you are driving the train, you wouldn’t be fireman as well. It’s hard enough driving the chuffing thing (pun intended).
Well tsc has it so many people want to do manual firing and have manual control over their locomotive. It's like the guard panel for other routes. Since there is no actual guard mode in game, it's an option for the player if they want to do it.
No. That would require AI capable of running Simugraph-simulated trains, which are not in-game currently and are not planned according to the discussions back when SoS was released.
In real life the fireman does not do whatever they want with no ability for the driver to talk to them or control their actions.
IRL the fireman would also be looking out for signals too. IMHO the Bossman arrangement in TSC is pretty good, where you can set the AI fireman to shovel coal (but not excessively) while the player manages the water - though the trim valves are maybe a complexity too far.
Because driving a steam loco. is a 2 person job. The fireman generates steam & the driver consumes it. So as long as you don't have control over what your fireman is doing, half of your loco. is not in your control.
It’s not hard enough, that is the problem. At the moment you essentially have a diesel with chuffing noises. The skill comes from balancing the pressure to make sure you are not wasting steam and fuel whilst ensuring you have sufficient power to make it up the hills. If you are currently stuggling to get up hills or maintain pressure, manual control would also help with that as you could build up the fire before an ascent, not during it which is too late.
I agree with you, but obviously some people want to be KIrk and Scotty at the same time. Myself I'm not very chuffed <hah!> about manual firing, but I definitely want them to get AI firing sorted.
I'm all for manual firing as long as you get to play as either the role of the fireman or driver, not both at the same time.
This is where i'm at with it. The manual option should be there for those who want it, but i'd like to see the AI firing prioritized.
There is manual firing to a point but it can lead to random service failures a lot as it doesn't show the water coal and other information on screen so you are left with having the firebox door open throughout the service with the dampers open
That would take a lot of work and could very well screw the player over if it misjudges the need for fuel. I don't understand why so many here are against manual firing.
Perfect scenario for me would be a choice of either being the driver or being the fireman. If I played the fireman I'd only be interested in keeping that fire alive whilst enjoying the ride If I played the driver I'd only be interested in driving the thing and not shoveling coal. Of course there are those that would like to do both so it would be good for them to have that option too.
Would it be that hard to just implement a temporary hard maximum on the boiler pressure so the safety valves don't go off, until the manual firing situation is sorted? Eg. if the valves lift at 205psi, then put in a hard maximum at 204.9psi. This could then be easily removed once we've got a better way to control the pressure prototypically. I'd be interested in hearing other user's feedback on such a simple temporary solution to the incessant valve noise and blowing off every time the loco comes to a stop.
You'll find with the new volumes etc it's a lot less annoying - there is something to be said for managing to keep your safeties off even just through driving practice so I was reluctant to remove the safeties entirely tbh. We are still planning on the better AI fireman and the manual firing - but before we get there we need the new firing component in and working and that's taken a longer time than planned (and it's now back on the drawing board for review and rethink). Matt.
Hoping to see a traditional foot plate fry-up added to the early morning runs. (I'll get my coat) Kind regards, Dave
What happened to the Patches for Linke Rheinstrecke and Bremen-Oldenburg that were announced in the April roadmap, will they also come next Week or do we have to wait longer?
With regards to the AI fireman, how about the ability to modify the AI behaviour of the fireman according to the steam demand at any given time? This could be done by alternating between say three different instruction settings, such as: 1. Minimum 2. Intermediate 3. Maximum ("Give it all you've got")
If you read much about footplate crews in the steam era you'll find that the Driver/Fireman relationship was very symbiotic and I'm not sure a games AI fireman would ever be able to recreate this. A driver was an ex-fireman, usually of 10+ years experience, so the driver would know what a fireman was about to do even before he did. The logistics of writing code to know the road ahead including the timetable and know the drivers style (from Sterling Moss to slow and steady) is almost impossible to think about. I would go with what they did with TSC - manual firing for those who want it, automatic firing as full power constantly with the max boiler pressure set at 0.1psi below the safety valves.
It would be a lot more simple if when a driver needs a lot of steam it is available and when not much steam is needed it isn‘t produced as much. In effect the cart will be before the horse but it simulates a fireman doing a good job. As for manual firing, just don’t bother with it. In the unlikely event it can be simulated well for both manual and AI firing, how many people are actually going to drive and fire at the same time? It makes more sense to have a simplified ‘magic fireman’ to me. That way we could enjoy steam trains now and they will be easier to develop in the future. I can hear people saying that would be dumbing it down and turning a simulator into a game but the people I hear saying that in my mind are those who already think that way about TSW.
Must admit when I’ve attempted manual firing in TSC or even MSTS/OR it can get distracting to the point where you are not observing signals or speed limits. Even on the Bossman locos with the AI shovelling the coal, trying to sort out the injectors including the trim valves while watching the water level in the boiler get lower and lower, was a complete distraction. So I think best all round if the AI fireman is made more competent.
