Portals, Route Markers, Sidings ??

[ooga22000]

Hi There


Iam a bit confused about all the different destination markers.

Iam busy creating new scenario's for the Cajon Pass.

I now have 5 pieces of Traffic that all move to destination without problems
so far.
But 2 use portals at Majove and the rest are Sidings

But if i where to give a Traffic Multiple Stops along the line it does'nt seem to want to
work do i there also need to use a portal or somthing ??

But are portals apart of the route Scenery ??
If they are i would not be able to Share it with you all cause somone else would not have that portal. RIGHT or am i looking to deep into my glass ???

Or are the apart of a Scenario ??

Please help

Thanks in Advance
Kind Regards Kev

[RSDLadam]

Hi,

There are various needs to designate different places on a route as having different functionality. Due to this, Rail Simulator supplies a handful of useful marker types to accurately specify what the functionality of the location is.

Area Markers are used to highlight regions - much akin to applying a group of houses a name.

Platform Markers are used to specify a Platform. They should be applied along the length of track that is next to any platform. These are used by the Scenario system to create passenger stop instructions.

Siding Markers are used to specify storage tracks. They should be used to name each track in a yard or anywhere that you wish to undertake shunting or pick up and drop of of rolling stock. These can also be found at fueling and freight loading tracks.

Destination Markers are used to specify other things apart from the above. My personal use of them is to specify junctions in order to aid the pathing of trains around a complex section of a route. Each track passing through the junction would be assigned its own destination marker so that during scenario creation authors have greater power in determining which track they wish a particular train to pass through. Alternatively they can leave this decision to the Dispatchers own calculations.

Portals are used to designate tracks that continue to other areas that may have not specifically been built into the route. Their purpose being to 'simulate' a train heading out to the specified destination and then returning again in a timely (also specifed) manner. In order to achieve this you must task an AI train to a portal marker and then task it to visist somewhere else.

Portals are also useful for getting rid of AI trains during a scenario so that they dont pile up and block areas of track. Unlike MSTS, trains in Rail Simulator do not vanish into thin air when they have completed their tasks. They are present during the entire scenario. Portals provide a convenient 'off track' location to send trains once they have passsed the player. To achieve this, simply set the final destination of the AI service as the Portal and do not task it to do anything else.

Hope that information helps :)

[OwainGlyndwr]

Except that Destination Markers and Portals do not work properly.

[OTTODAD]

Except that Destination Markers and Portals do not work properly.

Correct !

I have found that a proper standard scenarios Marker Destination object, having been placed on the tracks to be set in that option of an AI train, disappears when changing back to apply it to the AI which is supposed to use it ! :(

O t t o

[OwainGlyndwr]

Wow heavy stuff Otto, can you explain that a bit more clearly please. :D

Mike.

[RSDLadam]

Except that Destination Markers and Portals do not work properly.

How exactly do they not work properly? Im not aware of any issues. Default and newly downloadable scenarios use them all over the place without any issues.

[OwainGlyndwr]

Try sending more than 10 AI from or too a Portal and see how you get on.

Try using all the destination markers on Cajon, to maintain left hand running and see the results i posted piccies of that you ignored.

RSDL have a great knack of answering the easy questions, but never the hard ones.

[RSDLadam]

Hiya,

Well I can only say that there is certainly no limit on how many trains you can have using portals or markers.

I will however look into the action of trying to keep a train on one track along the entire length of the Cajon route. Im pretty sure several of the default scenarios already feature trains doing this.

You are right that I dont answer all questions. Sometimes I choose to answer 20 small questions in the time I have, rather than 2 large ones. Sorry about that.

[OwainGlyndwr]

Ok Adam,

fair enough, but i did point out the problems with the Portals a while back.

With a scenario i was creating for the ECML, using Portal Sunderland - Portal Grantham ( just south of York station ).

In regards to the Cajon.........here..........

http://forums.flightsim.com/vbts/showthread.php?t=270104

The timings are crazy and just do not make sense.

[OTTODAD]

Wow heavy stuff Otto, can you explain that a bit more clearly please. :D

O.K., you are in a standard scenario editor and have placed a player loco/service on the tracks.

Before you can give it a destination marker to path it to you have to change to the HOUSE Icon Objects Tools section option, select the Destination Marker and place it on the tracks where you want the player path to end.

Changing back to the LOCO Icon Scenarios Tools section you would then click on the blue icon in the player loco's pull-out and then fly to where you have placed it, which can be a pain if it is far away and click on it so that it shows in the box below the blue icon in the loco's pull-out, but it has disappeared from the tracks and is nowhere to be found.

I am using Portals as destination markers and if there are others along the path, setting their speed to 1.mph makes them and the destination portal "Drive Through" so that the player can then set it's path from there on, providing that switches ahead are MANUAL !

If the player service has no destination set then it can be driven like a Free Roam service but can not throw AUTOMATIC switches, some being set unpredictably to diverge when their default setting should be straight !

Having added some tracks and MANUAL switches to the SLOW CLIMB SOUTH scenario's yard and driving the player from the new MANUAL switches tracks onto the main line, the player finished up facing an AI traveling towards it which however had stopped, even though there are no signals there facing it !

http://forums.flightsim.com/vbts/attachment.php?attachmentid=3348&stc=1&d=1208557792

Weird, to say the least and so is the weather changing by itself when switching between scenarios, as is the #8 view rotate-camera-up option dying frequently, having to press the right mouse button to restore it ! ;)

Much of the above also applies to setting up AI services, the only difference being that you do not click in the box next to the loco icon, which would make it a Player Consist.

B.t.w., having created a scenario and later wanting to check what type it is, it does not show in it's time and weather pull-out, the only clue being the services pull-out to check whether it has a "Player Consist" box ! :o

O t t o

[OwainGlyndwr]

Yup got all that thanks, didn't realise you were talking about adding your own Destination Markers to routes.

I tend to do all my testing with what is default, then it`s easier to scream at RSDL, when it doesn't work. :D

On the flying to Destination Markers Otto, to enter a destination for a service. No longer necessary, just use the 2D Map, to find and also enter the required destination. :)

Mike.

[OTTODAD]

On the flying to Destination Markers Otto, to enter a destination for a service. No longer necessary, just use the 2D Map, to find and also enter the required destination. :)

The problem is that after having placed a Destination Marker, it then disappears when going back to the service it is for ! :(

But you have given me an idea !

Planting a Portal for use as a destination marker a long distance away, I now zoom in and note it's Compass co-ordinates.

Changing back to the service screen then pin the service's fly-out and click on the blue icon.

Next I pull down the compass and after entering the portal's co-ordinates then fly to it and clicking on it is then being entered.

Still have a problem joining the mainline track via an Automatic trailing switch, derailing the player, the path not having been plotted through it to the end destination portal. :mad:

But if I do not give the player a portal at all then it sails through the trailing diverging AUTOMATIC switch joining the main line without any problems, something having set it to diverge by default, like in a previous test. What sort of logic is that ?

Free Roam scenarios are the best for letting services drivers do what they want, as Jim has taught us in MSTS and now in RS ! :D

O t t o

[OwainGlyndwr]

Destination Markers are added in the Route Editor, not the Scenario Editor.

Mod the route save the changes and then open the scenario for editing.

Or am i missing something here ? ;)

I am not much interested in Free Roam Scenarios myself.

Much prefer to create and run a structured task.

Mike.

[OTTODAD]

Destination Markers are added in the Route Editor, not the Scenario Editor.

There is only one editor in RS for creating routes and creating and modifying scenarios, but it has various sub-sections.

Here is a pictorial presentation of what is involved in creating a Standard Scenario Player service, the player service loco ready to be assigned a destination:

http://forums.flightsim.com/vbts/attachment.php?attachmentid=3368&stc=1&d=1208641744

Next you have to click on the HOUSE icon to change to the sub-section which will let you place a destination marker onto the track where you want that service to terminate:

http://forums.flightsim.com/vbts/attachment.php?attachmentid=3369&stc=1&d=1208641744

Having placed it and returning to the player service by clicking on the Train icon, you will be asked to SAVE the changes:

http://forums.flightsim.com/vbts/attachment.php?attachmentid=3370&stc=1&d=1208641744

But back at the player service sub-section to select this destination marker into the player loco's pull-out as shown in the first picture, it has disappeared ! :mad:

http://forums.flightsim.com/vbts/attachment.php?attachmentid=3371&stc=1&d=1208641744

Using a Portal instead works, in a limited sort of way in Standard Scenarios.

O t t o

[OwainGlyndwr]

I know how to mod routes Otto, i have removed all the birds, overheads and advertising hoardings from the Paddington route. What i am saying is the Editor has two distinct functions............route building and scenario creation.

You CANNOT add Destination Markers within the Scenario Creation Tab of the World Editor.

I ALWAYS open the route for modding, make the changes. Save ( F2 ), come out of the route completely. Reselect the route and scenario from the main menu screen and then re-enter the scenario from there to make any scenario adjustments.

That way changes usually get saved properly.

Also without causing offence, why the hell would anyone want a Portal in the middle of the mainline. The sole purpose of Portals is to be an "off route" destination, to get rid of AI from the route. ;)

I would find it very strange if i was driving up that section of track, with an AI coming towards me and the bastard suddendly disappeared into thin air. :)

Portals are a Trainz Concept in trainsims and they work very well in Trainz and have a lot more functionality than the RS ones do.

Mike.

[OTTODAD]

You CANNOT add Destination Markers within the Scenario Creation Tab of the World Editor.

I think that I have mentioned that you have to click on the Objects Tools House icon to move into that part of the scenario editors where you can place markers !

And having placed a destination marker it will disappear one way or the other and F2 saving, exiting and re-loading and moving into the Scenario Tools section make no difference. Try it !

Also without causing offense, why the hell would anyone want a Portal in the middle of the mainline. The sole purpose of Portals is to be an "off route" destination, to get rid of AI from the route. ;)

I use Portals to force the path plotter to set the path to where I want it to go and making them "Drive Through" with 1.mph achieves that most of the time with player as well as AI services.

Using one of them as a "Destination Marker" allows the player to carry on driving freestyle ! ;)

O t t o

[OwainGlyndwr]

Yup i know how to use the various editors Otto. ;)

I added extra Destination Markers, the way i do it and they were saved no problem, in the York - Newcastle route. Also added extra Portal to the Paddington route on the Windsor Branch at Slough and that was saved and functions ok. :)

Mike.