How to make timetables more fun/varied? Let's start with some randomised faults on a train we could have brakes that are slow doors that need a couple of attempts to close or even just faulty lights in a carriage or two. Then let weather cause some issues whether it's rain messing your schedule due to station flooding or the hot weather causing temporary speed restrictions where the pressure is on for you to make up time. Signal failures. Approaching a signal that is red and you have to contact the signaller who tells you to wait or tells you to proceed slowly until the next signal or even tells you to walk to the next signal to do a line inspection. Works on the line... this could be randomised through timetables we could see night workers on the tracks with speed restrictions or even special freight runs to help Special services not just seasonal. This could be done as a scenario or in timetable mode have services that end early due to different situations whether as I said before the weather a faulty train signal failures or even just to enable you to be an extra service. This is just a few of my ideas out of the notebook. What would you like to see to improve or add variation to timetables
Really like your idea Ant! Love it and to add it be great but I am pretty sure Matt did go through it on a threat related to yours saying it would be very difficult as their is more to it and not simple as it seems
I think the issue is if you build in too much perturbation it will wreck the service flow, unlike the real railway where you have controllers who will start amending the service (run fast, turn round short, cancel a round trip etc.) to recover it. However a few minor random events would be interesting, maybe a stuck door you need to close, a signal failure (though you will be surprised how quickly a queue of trains builds up behind). The Bovine incursions scenario on SoS was quite good, apart from the fact the narrative kept referring to the Up Line when in fact the cows were stood by the Down Line, but even though all scripted you got the feeling of something more than just a routine A to B run.
I'm totally with you here. I understand that there is a level of control needed but some scripting could be used especially if you have a turn around time where you may have to be a quicker. I just want to see a bit more to make it a bit more varied
I understand myself some events are very complicated. I wouldn't mind signal failures or trespassers where you have to wait for real time and also Speed restrictions during certain weather. I would love that.
Random temporary speed restrictions would be a good idea, the old Train Driver 3 used to throw these at you according to chosen difficulty level. If the timetable is set up correctly then there should be recovery time built in, according to rules of the plan, to allow for this. TD3 also used to throw in random signal checks or even stopping you to advise of a problem ahead, this that your 5 hour run from Euston to Glasgow could end up 90’ late! Of course it was all done with no other actual trains on a very simple Amiga graphics screen so the effect was confined to your own run. I have often hoped that if/when DTG fix the save game so subsequent runs restore correctly, it would be jolly good fun to take a route like BCC and deliberately run slow and late to see if you can banjax the timetable over the course of several hours.
I like your idea but one thing it might end up with having a tone of bugs. But we don't know until dtg tries.
they could make it a DLC so we can uninstall it if we have too many bugs, oh no wait, they'd sell it for a lot of money anyways, nevermind
