Speeding And The Penalties Of…

Because they're trying to make both gamers and simmers happy.....

 

I’ve no objection to a SPAD cancelling a game.. it’s a PITA but you learn… near sidings watch for those 15mph ones.. got hit with one yesterday having spent over an hour on a scenario…

I think though that there could be three levels of play..

Jump in and drive anything.. accelerator and brakes.. that’s it.
Set up the train when taking over from another driver.. as I understand it this is how most timetable routes are based
Set up the train from absolute scratch.. a kind of expert level. All those buttons and switches must have a purpose or why are they there?

Moving on…..

Did DGT consult with operators, constructors and drivers whilst putting this product together to be as realistic as possible or just produce a game with some working ‘things’?

Lately I’ve had a lot of snow and rain on my routes.. does TSW model for increased braking distances in these conditions or do trains behave the same in all conditions? I can’t say I’ve noticed a difference although the braking systems in trains do differ.. but then that’s not quite the same thing. Eg… deceleration seems almost instantaneous when applying minimal brakes.. IRL how long does it take to slow a 5 or 10 car train from 80/90/100 to a stop when doing a normal approach to a station? Are you braking at 1 mile, half a mile or what?

This is where some input from actual drivers would be a real help.

I’ve obviously never driven a train so have no idea how they really behave but with 600 solo flights I do know that aircraft do behave differently in various weather conditions and you’re always having to consider what’s happening around you… X-plane and PDMG in FS use actual dynamics to model .. it’s no good having these as part of a sim if they don’t reflect the behaviour of the trains in that situation.

 

I’m not an IRL driver but most trains in the game seem to perform identically regardless of the weather conditions or seasonal challenges like autumn leaf fall. Exception to that might be the steam locos which slip maddeningly easy anyway but worse on wet or icy rails. But then the steam physics are bat poop crazy anyway so can’t be taken as a reliable benchmark.

 

Mmmmm.. I’ve not tried any steam rides yet.. are any of these steam trains placed on any current lines running these trains, like, Buckfastleigh? I expect not but thought I’d ask.

 

There is a layer for the 4F on WSR. But there are no other heritage railways in TSW.

 

There is a tantalising bit of scope to have more of them though e.g. the Riviera line has at least tiny spurs of the SDR and Dartmouth heritage lines and it'd be cool if someone ever took the plunge to add them in full.

 

The 323 has a re-creation of a WSP system which extends braking distances considerably in low railhead conditions. I’m not sure it’s all that realistic, but it’s an attempt.

Better is the 150, which slides quite realistically (no WSP) in low rail adhesion. When the speedometer needle dives to zero you need to get the brake released to get the wheels turning, and if you haven’t left yourself enough space to do that, you’re in trouble.

The 101 suffers from wheel slip if you use too much power in first gear on a slippery rail.

The best is probably the 87, which has a good recreation of the notorious difficulty which the tap-changer AC electric locos have in getting the power down on a wet or greasy rail. Often you can’t get to full power until you’re well over 70mph.

 

That's not at all true. They do have quite a bit of differences.
Let me ask this on a hunch... do you do a lot of heavy freight on hills?
You can really tell the difference there where ever bit of traction makes a difference.
In commuter stuff where there's very light trains and lots of power to spare, it's not really that noticeable.
Weather conditions are modeled.
Like you I've never driven an actual train so I can't say how well, but there ARE differences in performance based on conditions.

 

Ok, how about ending the game in the event of a serious over speed the same as a spad, this should also include temporary speed restrictions.

 

I noticed it quite clearly with an HST on MML.

But with a Class 350 on WCMLS, whether it's under a bright sun or in the middle of a snowstorm, I feel like it makes no difference...

So it seems to depend on the physics of the train, whether it was accurately reproduced or not... as in TSC...

 

When you do a SPAD, the session ends... it also prevents ending up with YouTube videos like "Watch this terrible train disaster with an authentic LNER train" for example...

But as already said, it's a game after all.
You have hardcore simmers who won't sleep a wink because they have exceeded the speed limit by an inch.
And on the other hand, you'll have casual gamers who will find it boring and pass their turn on this game...

 

Personally I reckon both should be a user config setting. For SPADs I remember doing a lengthy shunting exercise with my lad on the Thomas DLC and a SPAD was accidentally done many minutes into it and it was a bit of a kick in the ghoulies.

Also its occasionally fun to go 'I know the speed limit says this but lets see what is genuinely a bit much', which you wouldn't be able to do if a speed infraction was treated the same way a SPAD is. And regarding temporary restrictions, i'd swear there has been the odd occasion where one has been randomly added and its not given you much time at all to react to it.

 

As a point of order, TSC does allow you to continue after a SPAD if you select the relevant option in settings. Of course at that point it becomes caveat emptor whether you have fudged up the rest of the signalling sequence or end up in a collision with an AI train. I also found it essential on a couple of freeware routes where you could get a SPAD at invisible signals placed as spacers even though previously running on clear signals.

 

I can think of some routes on TSC that would absolutely make a mandatory 'end game if speed limit exceeded' rule an absolute nightmare due to un-signposted speed changes!

 

Which one you have in mind ?
Never seen that...
Or maybe it's scenario related ?

 

Honestly, I don't know about TSC but TSW with instant gameover on speeding would absolutely be a nightmare.
With the way that the track monitor works (it doesn't) and yeah, the hundreds of unposted speed changes...

I think there's even an entrance into Essen Hauptbahnhof where a speed reduction not only isn't posted, but isn't programmed either, and so you just take a switch clearly way over the correct speed and the game is completely okay with it (poor passengers!).

 

ECML Merge has (or had a few years ago) short, random sections between Edinburgh and Newcastle where the speed limit drops to 15, unsigned as it's not meant to.

 

For me: in wet weather, the train slips way more often and putting on full brakes/acceleratkon is literally not possible to make a substantial change in speed

 

Oh yes, I now remember that.
That was one of the numerous problems with this merge, along missing OHLE, red signal @ PBO, etc, etc.
The main advantage was that... it was a merge, and not a small one at that.

 

Reading the foregoing, I will have to play around a bit more!

 

I'd have to revisit old scenarios i'd done to give names but I definitely remember odd occasions of it happening where the dreaded 'speeding' came up with no sign warning of a change (but you'd sometimes see it in the HUD).