Scenarios And Now For Something A Little Bit Different. - New Mod Now Out.

Pleased to announce that the first version of this mod has now been released. You can find it here.
Loose Consists EXTRA Formations

The mod will enable you to full up sidings with various freight wagons (achieved through the use of an invisible CL08 locomotive which is supplied with this mod). It will also enable you to put spaces in formations giving the impression that more than one rake of wagons are on the same siding. A bit more complicated to use than my other mods but essential if you want to improve immersion in TSW.

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What you can see below is just one formation (photographed from either end).



Still more testing to do but, as a proof of concept, results are looking promising.

 

The same formation placed by Scenario Editor on TVL (also demonstrating that Community liveries can be applied).



Obviously this type of formation is not practical for a player service but it is very useful, in scenarios, for giving the impression of there being more than one formation on either a siding or at a platform.

At this point I'd like to thank CFTFC for his help in getting this process up and running

 

Here is a view that shows 13 different locos and 5 loose rakes of wagons.
These 18 'things' have been placed in-game using just 9 formations, all of which can be selected in Scenario Editor.
(In fact the 13 locos have been placed using only 4 formations).

You can actually create a busy scene quite quickly.....especially if you have access to more sidings, or platforms, on a route (which my other mods will give when they are completed).

 

Sounds most intriguing

 

DMU Carriage sidings anyone?

Here you Can see 7 Class 101 sets placed using just 3 formations.


And here you can see 11 Class 101 DMUs and 7 locos placed with just 5 formations.


Everything at the moment seems to be working OK although there are a few issues with wagon loads and couplings. However, the biggest challenge will be that the number of possible formations is growing exponentially so knowing when to stop will be hard

 

Does packing the sidings with assets affect the quality of the gameplay or drawing ability in those areas?

 

TBH I'm not sure yet. At the moment these are really just test screenshots so I can see if the formations are recreated in-game correctly. I do have a couple of scenarios nearly ready to go on TVL however, if I want to make Thornaby Depot look good I will probably have to make some unique formations that when placed in the middle of a depot line (ie in the building) have long enough 'gaps' in them that the stock items appear outside the building. (That will be fun......not).

It is not my intention to absolutely pack out sidings with loads of stock but being able to place a few more formations along a route has got to be a good things for scenario creation. (I'm thinking of Darlington station / Tees Yard and Thornaby Depot here).

Dave if you have some photos of these areas packed out with stock in real life then that would be very handy. (I can never remember where anywhere is.....especially in Tees Yard......when try to place stock).

Here are a couple of scenario screenshots below with a CL20/31 combo being the player service.

 

I will dig out what I have. I don't remember Darlington ever being busy!

 

What happens if you try to actually try to drive these "formations"?

 

This happens........



Although, by the time the mod gets released, these formations won't be driveable.

 

Well this is just beautiful tbh. DTG should add fence sitting as a feature

 

I am playing about with a few different things at the moment as you can see from the two screenshots below. (Apologies for the poor lighting it's just that my scenario is based in the early evening).

The first screenshot shows a more conventional new formation (ie everything is coupled up and visible). I literally took a random on-line photo of Thornaby depot and roughly recreated a couple of muddled formations that I could see. I then placed these using my paths mod on the Thornaby Loco Holding sidings. In the background you can just about see a few locos on the Depot Sidings (and can see that, at the moment, I haven't tackled the majority of the depot and wagon sidings yet) and, over to the right you can see some PGA wagons and some Dutch Seacows. (The latter is the Player Service as this screenshot is NOT Free Roam but is Scenario).



The second screenshot shows Tees Yard looking back from my Player Service. Everything you can see is AI. There is a CL45 'overtaking' on the main lines (far RHS) with 2 CL37 formations standing in sidings to the left. (This is what you could, perhaps, achieve without the formation mod.....assuming you could access the sidings). Then, further to the left of the screenshot, you can see some 'new' formations featuring wagons (HEAs, Minerals and PGAs) without any locos (ie loose consists).

As before this screenshot has been taken in a scenario that has been created in the normal in-game Scenario Designer.



So if you look at the 2 screenshots together then you can see that it is possible to create a much busier world in Scenario Designer.

 

Here is a screenshot of Tees Yard at the start of my test scenario. (The scenario being created with the 'normal' in-game editor).
You can easily see from this what the combination of the extra paths mod and the extra formations mod can give you re creating much more detailed scenarios.

For me "No". Things seem to run quite smoothly actually. However that doesn't necessarily mean that it will do the same on everyone else's system. (Hopefully we will get some pointers about that when I send the scenario out for testing ).

You will see that I still haven't tackled the Thornaby shed bit but I will attempt to do that over the weekend. The paths are in-place I just need to make some very specific formations for this area (with a big gap in the middle).

 

Crikey trying to fill up Thornaby depot is proving far more difficult than I thought it would be.

Every siding is a different length and acts differently to its neighbour. As there is only one placement point per siding then the trick is to try and make a formation that displays correctly both sides of the depot building. However adding and taking away a vehicle changes things dramatically, as the 'new' formation self-centres and never acts in the way you predict

Here is my first attempt at doing the DMU / Wagon repair end of the building. This is the west side of the building where DMUs were stabled. Here are 4 DMU rakes in the depot west sidings plus a pair of Pacers parked alongside.



This the east side of the same building showing the same 4 depot sidings and the other end of the same 4 formations as the screenshot above. This represents the wagon works side of the building



Still a few hours work to do here I'm afraid as I try to work out exactly what can be displayed on each siding without a stock item displaying 'through' the doors.

(As always all formations have been placed using the in-game Scenario Designer and are displaying from a test scenario. In fact you can just about see my player service right at the back of the first screenshot......Class08 + vans).

 

Finally getting somewhere now with Thornaby Depot / DMU sidings and Wagon works.

Here is a shot of the DMU sidings taken in a proper scenario.



And here, from within the same scenario, are a couple of shots of the wagon works sidings with some locos parked in the distance.



Just the bit in the middle of the depot to do now.

 

This is really coming together now, excellent work

 

I agree with dave55007 in saying good work, you are getting through this quite quickly to be fair so fair play on keeping with the project following the mishap with the TVL/EDN path mods (which I hope have been recovered to the best of your ability) .

 

Thanks guys. Your support is appreciated.

At the moment I have recovered all the 'lost' TVL and EDN paths and formations. So I am concentrating on these two routes first. I then got a bit distracted trying to make the loose consists work but, TBH, these are needed to make any scenarios more believable when using Scenario Designer. I am pleased with where we have ended up with this.

At present I have 3 formation mods. "BR Blue" (although things like the CL37s aren't technically blue in their default guise), "Class 66" and "Loose consist" formations. Splitting things up in to 3 made life a bit easier although you could argue that even though the locos are separated by era the wagons aren't. The formations currently number 829 (BRB), 342 (CL66) and 287 (Loose) giving a total of 1458 new formations.....all of which will take community liveries

Both the TVL and the EDN paths mods each have over 100 extra paths in them. Some of these are AI only (to fill sidings or to use portals) but over 50% can be driven and bring new sidings and platforms in to play for scenario creation. (My test scenario for TVL currently has 70 services in it in just a 40 minute run from Middlesborough to Darlington via Tees Yard ).

TVL really only needs the central bit of Thornaby depot done now and it is then finished bar making some more scenarios. I would hope to now have something playable within 7 days.

EDN just needs some loose consists and, perhaps, some trickery at Haymarket to try and bring that to life. (The depot there is really badly thought out in-game). There are also some unique formations for EDN in the paths mod too (ie 6-car CL385's loaded & empty). I already have 10 scenarios 95% completed for this route and would hope to have this one playable in 14 days. (At present this does NOT use the new CL158 and I will probably keep it that way).

The route that has lost out a little bit is GOBLIN however I still have the extra paths file and that is the bulk of the work as the formations now exist separately. However I do want to do quite a bit of extra work at Ripple Lane (like Thornaby) to make the place look busy and that might take time. Plus it is very tempting to interact in some way with the lines that criss-cross this route and that always takes time in the editor to get things to line up properly. It might, therefore, be another month after the other 2 before this one is complete.

So for now its back to Thornaby.

 

Thornaby Depot, DMU sidings & Wagon Works from a scenario looking rather full

 

Tees Yard looking a bit fuller. (Apologies for the 'ONE' containers that wallop you between the eyes).

 

And here is what a busier Thornaby and Tees Yard look like at the start of my 'proper' scenario.

Thornaby



Tees Yard



Still some work to do. (I now need to see if I can make a few rakes of wagons at Thornaby that don't have DMUs at the other end.....but that will still centre on the sidings as if they did).

Also am now trying to see if anything can be done with the Pacers which don't appear to couple to anything else. I'm sure that there will be a way around that. We just have to find what that is

 

Have got the Pacers in now.....but am having trouble with a Pacer spacer as they will only couple to themselves.
Still at least you can now see 2 units on the same siding in a Scenario
(Well, technically, there are 3 units in the screenshot below).

 

This is an interesting screenshot. It originates from the fact that the Pacers won't couple to anything else other than themselves. As a result this leaves longer gaps between units than I would like (especially as half a Pacer won't couple to anything). So, to get around this, I wondered if I could place 2 formations on the same bit of track.....one on top of the other? And the answer is.......in a scenario you can

In the screenshot below the blue Pacers at each end are in one formation whilst the 4-car Skipper in the middle is in another separate formation. As a result the 'gaps' between the 3 different trains is much smaller (approx 1 coach). Call it the "Book End Approach"

 

Variations on a theme................Or another rabbit hole to disappear down



Tornado was a snug fit

 

Seeing whether it was possible to get 2 different services on the same piece of track and have one of them move?
A bit trickier than I hoped......but it is possible
(There are spacing issues which, with the Pacers, might be hard to improve).

A Pacer loads it passengers at Darlington PL3 whilst another one sits behind it. (The Player service is in PL2).


You can see this Pacer has a green light and is routed "M".


And off it goes (Note the other Pacer in PL3 is still stationary in the platform).


If you're quick you can even get a screenshot of it travelling down the ECML

 

A few minutes later and it is time for the Player service to load its passengers.


And then depart for Middlesborough.


This time, of course, heading off down the Tees Valley line.


It is possible to put other units in to the "picture" however these won't move, at the moment, due to the way TSW sees formations in game. (Couplings, pipes and the way formations centre in sidings & platforms are proving to be the biggest challenges with trying to make these last tweaks work).


So the CL170 will load passengers (you can see the doors open) and the service triggers a green light (you can see that too) but the unit won't move due to the fact that the formation it is in is shorter than the formation that the Pacer behind it is in. However a CL101 should work. though, due to the fact it will couple to most other wagons. I'll give that a go next time I fire up my system.

 

Hmmm. The CL101 loads correctly in my scenario and the spacing with the Pacer is quite good for a first attempt. It even departs on time.


But, sadly, there is a problem


If it isn't pipes or drivers, it's blooming lights !!!

 

I have been asked for a progress update on this thread.

The answer is that I am still beavering away with formations but have spent the last few weeks tidying up more 'normal' formations with a view to actually getting a mod out. So here are a few of my more recent formations that will, hopefully, be coming to a new mod very soon. (Formations will be provided for all BR Diesel locos which have been mixed and matched with nearly all UK wagons in various train lengths). They will all work in Scenario Editor and Free Roam and will take Community liveries.

Enjoy

 

And a few more

 

Here is a little bit different. It has only just occurred to me that you can manipulate multiple versions of the same item of stock to get more varied formations. For instance there are 3 versions of the 16t Mineral wagon. (Trans-Pennine, Peak Forest and Training Centre). That got me wondering if I could get all 3 versions in the same formation (I can). Could I then get 3 different liveries on them (I can). If I number them differently on each side would that give me the impression of 6 different wagons (It does).

Below is the proof. (6 differently numbered wagons / 3 different community liveries (mine) and a community liveried loco (also mine) all present in a scenario and placed by the standard editor). Mind you I probably should've put them up empty. (Coal in Iron Ore tipplers???).


Think how many different Class 66's I could run together (especially if they were double numbered)

 

A bit more success with running different versions of the same unit together in scenarios. This time using the CL101 DMU (Although I also had to make a couple of new liveries to get this to hang together correctly).

In the screenshots below you can see the TVL 2-car DMU, the TVL 3-car DMU and the GWE 3-car DMU running together in a combined consist. They seem to work together so long as you don't stick a BG on the end. (Incompatible brakes.......Does anyone know what models might work with these?).

So you can now have an 8-car rake of individually numbered and individually liveried DMU's running together.


All of the above units are formed of correctly numbered liveries however, I suppose, you could make even longer rakes if you had dual numbered units and flipped one of each pair. (16 car rake anyone?).

 

Some more screenshots of me 'messing about' with some earlier versions of my DMUs.

 

Messing about with my Mark 1 formations (now using all 3 different models from the game to give longer, separately numbered rakes). Chugging along nicely so far.

 

And a few more. Now off to sort out the longer formations

 

Maybe we can have a freeware CL47 and MK1s scenario on the ECML

 

Have now worked my way through all BR locomotives and created formations using a variety of Mk1 coaches. Started with the Westerns and ended up with the CL08 shunters. (Some examples below). This now means that the BR Blue formations mod is complete for the time being and I will now look at getting it out for people to play with.

Now I need to work back through my separate formations mods that (1) involve the CL66's and (2) utilise my invisible loco to create loose consists and fills up sidings. These are already 90% finished so shouldn't take anywhere near as long to finalise (hopefully).

Anyway, here are some more photos of testing new Mk1 formations.

 

Ooh, I've seen a MK2 mini buffet, but not a MK1. Is that based on an actual prototype?

 

Yes it is based on a Scottish BSOT. (See link below). There are a couple of types and I have modelled both. The trouble is remembering what's what when scenario editor asks you to choose a livery to apply.
ScotRail Mk1 BSOT | Flickr

 

Nice one. Always a joy to model something unusual.

 

Right these will be the last screenshots of me testing formations as I have now decided to draw the line with what has already been built.

Now I need to double check my extra paths mods before then seeing if the scenarios that were originally made still work as intended. Once those two things have been done we can get the whole lot released and people can start to enjoy the increased gameplay.

Probably the most interesting thing is the 'odd' 3-car CL101 that you can see in one of the screenshots below. Enjoy

 

Great stuff there, David

 

Thank you for your kind words Jamie. Hopefully everything will be ready soon and we'll then be able to make some far more interesting scenarios.

Funnily enough, I'm testing one below (Hybrid player service, ballast works at Saltburn, 4-car CL101, something in the loop at Redcar, statics in Lackenby sidings and a few other 'extras').



As always, it goes wrong at the end but that is one of the joys of scenario creation

 

And some more screenshots


Driving into Boro carriage sidings is proving more difficult than I thought. Attempt 1 had me hitting the buffers whilst running at 20mph in reverse. Attempt 2 wouldn't even give me the route. So think a bit of investigation is needed here

 

Only just realised that I haven't made any DMU drags
(Also have now corrected a set of CL20 formations where both locos were facing in the same direction).



So now you can drag a variety of CL101 formations with nearly every BR loco available

 

Class 47 WSR and Class 33 DMU drags.

 

You can even drag some TSL trailers too. (Amongst other things)

 

Pleased to announce that the first version of this mod has now been released. You can find it here.
Loose Consists EXTRA Formations

The mod will enable you to fill up sidings with various freight wagons (achieved through the use of an invisible CL08 locomotive which is supplied with this mod). It will also enable you to put spaces in formations giving the impression that more than one rake of wagons are on the same siding. A bit more complicated to use than my other mods but essential if you want to improve immersion in TSW.

Why not give it a go and let me know how you get on. Any feedback will be greatly received and will enable me to make improvements to the mod moving forwards. Hopefully you will soon be adding things in your scenarios as per the screenshots below.

 

I am so looking forward to this mod, David. I'll let you know how I get on. I'm currently investigating your Tees Valley extra paths and will give you feedback presently.
Dave.