This thread is designed to give input to TrainSim-Adam on what things need to be kept in mind when adding PIS to both preserved trains and preserved routes. These are things that have either been done incorrectly in the past, have been done correctly before and should be done this way going forward too and things that have not been relevant to the Preservation Crew yet. I hope this gives a good insight into what a large part of the community wants to see in the upcoming updates regarding PIS. Route PIS: Off-World stations: This is one of the most fundemental parts of Station PIS, and has luckily also been something the Preservation Team has been consistently implementing over the few routes they added PIS to. This entails updating the timetable file of the DLC so that all services correctly display all stations they are planned to stop at after they leave the represented area, and should include both the final destination and all the intermediate stations. It is important that this extra work is put in going forward too, as it really adds life to the PIS and makes it more believable that you are driving in a large network rather than just on one line. Line & Train Numbers: A lot of services, particularly in Germany, opperate using a line number like S1, RB 68 and RE70 or a train number like IC 2055 and ICE 16 along the entirety of their route to give the passengers a quick way of deciding whether the upcoming train is suitable for their journey, this then shows up on the PIS screens at stations. This can also be implemented in TSW by editing the TT file appropriately to add the necessary number. Similar to Off-World stations, the Preservation Crew has been adding these in on all their projects that needed them so far. Correct Artwork: Using the correct Artwork for PIS screens has shown to be problematic for DTG when crossing the Atlantic to the US. While a lot of effort has clearly gone in to making correct and good looking artwork for all European countries like the UK, France and Germany, even crossing over into different eras and styles per country, the US is stuck with a slightly modified version of the UK PIS. This is not accurate and US routes should not be stuck with this lack of attention to detail. While US PIS might initially look similar to the UK counterpart, there are a large amount of differences that include the dimensions of the screen, the colour and font of the text as well as the information that is displayed. In some cases, the real life version of the PIS isn't even a Dot-Matrix anymore but rather a modern LED display. The Preservation Crew needs to pay attention to the differences in appearance of these displays across all regions, and not only in the UK. At this point it is also worth noting that the Preservation Crew has been implementing slightly bugged versions of the small PIS style in Germany, where the whole display is distorted to fit rahter than switching between the two every 10 seconds. This should be prevented form happening again in the future Train PIS: Player Interaction: One of the benefits PIS brought into the game was additional interaction with the train as the destination could be set with an interface in the cab. With the introduction of the service dependant system however, this was no longer possible. And while the system has since been updated further to allow player intereaction while keeping the feature of it working on all routes, several new trains are still stuck with the vastly inferior system. So I really hope any trains that wll receive PIS implemenation from the Preservation Crew will receive the latest and greatest version. Dynamic based on route: This is basically an expansion on the previous point, and just means that all trains with PIS should be able to take the list of destination from the Station Directory file like all of the updated trains have been doing so I'm confident this trend will continue. Shows Intermediate Stops: This point only applies to trains which are capable of showing calling points in real life, like the Class 377 or ICE 3(M). These trains show all stations the train is due to stop at on a screen either inside or outside the train and a system to do this has been implemented in TSW with the 377 and 387 units on Brighton Mainline. This works based on the service selected and automatically removes a station from the list once the train has stopped at it. This would also be very beneficial to have in TSW on trains that have it in reality as it really adds life to the train and provides helpful information to players playing as a passenger. Even trains that do already have this system like the ICE 3 would need a revisit as it doesn't use the new system yet and doesn't work as intended with some destinations Shows line numbers: Just like the previous one, this is only required on a select number of trains. The line numbers that I mentioned in the "Route" Section of this article also appear on the trains running these services. For this to happen the train has to support the appearance of line numbers on the displays like all trains on Dresden - Riesa. This has not been done by the Pres Crew before but I hope they will make the effort to include this on all necessary trains in future, including the Talent 2 for RT which has received PIS lately. Accurate Appearance: This is a very important aspect of every train's PIS and covers everything from the font and colour of the letters and background to what style of display is used in reality. While most trains use a Dot-Matrix system, LCD and Flip Dots are still common in various countries and these differences would ideally be replicated. This is something the Preservation Crew has been struggling with, the MSB Dostos use a very oversized font and even the one on the front of the new RT Talent 2 looks a bit odd compared to the one used on Dresden - Riesa. So I hope this is something that can be improved in the future.
All of these are excellent points and also ICE 3 from SKA needs all ICE 3 DB BR403/406 destinations like Munchen & Dortmund Hbf
