BigVern

Yes it’s a masterpiece and the Class 86 and 87 are on a par with the EU07 etc of SimRail when it comes to driving pleasure. And, back to SimRail, hopefully we will be getting the new route/Lodz extension in few weeks to explore and enjoy.

Indeed. I am also enjoying the just released free remaster of Paddington to Reading in TSW, but it’s only 36 miles. A non stop run with a HST only takes 25 minutes.

…from Warsaw to Katowice over the course of several evenings. The save game isn’t yet perfect but worked well enough to finally let me play a scenario through to conclusion. Looking forward to exploring more of the single player stuff and doing some substitutions, particularly with the steam loco. My only caveat is that running the three and a half hour scenario only gave something like 1300 XP. So for those into levelling up etc., running SP is not going to advance you very quickly. So thanks again to SimRail S.A. and SimKol for finally enabling those of us who don’t have the time to do a whole section in MP, the chance to see a whole run in SP. Now all SP needs is a TSW style all day timetable and the ability to play as signaller.

Will have to respectfully disagree. Hearing the natural sound in the cab is one thing, having a synthesised version pumped out your speakers and headphones as white noise akin to a MI5 or Stasi torture session is something else entirely. It’s not fun and it’s not entertaining and regardless of the realism, the home version of SimRail is meant to be for entertainment. At least give us an option to reduce or cull the thyristor without affecting the sound level of the remaining traction etc. effects. As a game developer, SimRail/Simkol should be awake to the adverse effects such implementation can cause.

Warsaw to Katowice continues to load okay, apart from the previously mentioned issues, though last time the cab gauges restored okay. Also I’ve not (yet) experienced the HUD going back to showing the previous timing point or station.

The PMI workaround is fine for lightweight trains but anything over 1000 tonnes and you are struggling. It also takes away most of the traction sounds you do want to hear in the cab, so ends up being like driving the Class 802 or 805 in TSW!

Further update for the developers if they are following… Save game is now working on the OG Warsaw to Katowice route. However a couple of issues remain with the EU07 loading back in. Power is off so you need to reclose the main switch and put the overload trips back in. Dials and gauges load black so I had to toggle instrument lighting off and on to get the textures to reappear. But otherwise looking great and finally able to do the regional express service over the next few evenings and see the whole route, not just 40 minute sections in multiplayer.

Opinions seem very divided with regard to this loco. Personally I feel the developers should have exercised a bit of flexibility, realised the discomfort these sounds might cause some people in a home entertainment environment and modify, i.e. reduce,the sound level accordingly. Out of interest, the developers have remained tight lipped on here regarding the issue but have they mentioned over on Discord or any other channel whether there are plans to tweak the thyristor sounds? I find myself just not using the loco which is a shame as it’s otherwise a nice model.

Yay! Take a bow guys and have the Pink Cat Headphones train simming award for excellence. I was finally able to finish a SP scenario in the game thanks to the save game now working more or less as it should. Out of six saves on the 90 minute run, only one fell down with the unable to create route error. Was able to revert to an earlier save and repeat that section, saved again which successfully loaded and completed the run. I now need to test how it is working on the original route and the 1980’s steam train run. My advice at this point though would be to save regularly, every 10 or 15 minutes, so if you do get one that doesn’t load you don’t have to go back too far.

I can’t speak for Poland but in the UK all freight trains are required to have a schedule whether predefined in the Working Timetable, or bid for through short term VSTP (Control) planning. On a busy railway it is absolutely essential that a slow moving freight has a validated path so as to avoid delaying other services or avoid running up against overnight engineering possessions etc. When I worked in the Control there was some flexibility and freight was occasionally allowed to run early, but with a careful eye on it not disrupting other services. Freight trains likely to start significantly later than their booked time were normally retimed with a fresh schedule, particularly if the inward working was late arriving in order to avoid accruing more delay minutes under the Trust Delay Attribution system.

Would love to see a couple of main line diesels, though preferably something older not based on the UK Class 66 or similar. Yes you can use the E125 on diesel mode but the sounds aren’t great, a bit tinny and subdued, suspect synthesised rather than mastered from actual recordings. Nearly as quiet as the TSW Class 802/805!

Hopefully they can fix this without undoing the rest of the process. Anyhow I can confirm loading a second save on the mentioned scenario worked, just the same issue with the flashlight being on when it first resumes.

H'mmm. Let's see if today's little patch has addressed the issue. Okie dokie. First the bad news… it looks like any saves from before the latest update still won’t load. Now the better news. I just successfully saved and loaded SK2 32804 on the Krakow route. I got a spurious ready for departure message and it resumed with the driver’s torch switched on (turn off with N), but fingers crossed they’ve got it.

Fair enough... Just thought it would be a good way to produce an almost infinite number of possible scenarios to run in SP. Hopefully at some point we will get a full TSW style all day timetable for SP, not just hand crafted scenarios.

Well that would be for the developer to focus on solutions, not problems. For starters, any trains behind the player which would never be seen again, needn't be spawned. So if you were (say) 25 miles on the approach to Katowice or Lodz then that would probably remove 80% of the trains anyway. The dispatcher presumably has the same code base whether running in MP or SP mode - if in doubt it gives the player train priority when it switches to SP. And as I said, no new trains would necessarily spawn, the main idea is for the player to finish their own run.