pschlik

Sorry to burst your bubble…but try pressing Ctrl + 0 after walking outside of the cab. Now I will admit, that’s less well known and harder to use than just pressing 1 to teleport to the cab (heck, you can’t even use it on consoles, and consoles are big for TSW), so it’s more a debug command than strictly intended feature. Still, there’s a time and a place for being able to teleport, even TSW recognizes that, but nobody should force you to use it. Do whatever you like, tbf.

I, for one, will say that I do not appreciate seeing a completely valid feature request shot down as 'gamification like TSW'. Seems to happen far too often on this forum and I'm tired of seeing it! Nothing in the OP said mentions anything about making walking around a scavenger hunt, or pulling emergency cords, hell, there's no mention of multiplayer in there either (this suggestion could be for a single player mode-considered that?)...yet here we are where some people feel the need to twist the story into something it's not in an attempt to discredit the OP's opinion. That's frankly not civil (I'd even say it's gaslighting), doesn't add to the discussion, and could be replaced by saying 'Personally I don't feel the need for this.' or better yet just saying nothing at all and not interfering. After all, this whole subforum is called Suggestions for Improvements, so please don't treat it as if it is "Suggestions Against TSW". As for walking, right now the whole first-person element does feel under-utilized to me. There's a whole world to see, but with limits imposed both on camera movement and on on-foot movement, it's not so easy to get an up-close appreciation of the world. Best you can do is kill time waiting at a red signal by walking around, which is honestly a decent way to kill said time. This strategy is just too limited and definitely leaves me wishing I could take some walks without having that railroad obligation to run back to when a signal clears up or a train enters my section. It would also be funny to stalk a friend's train and get lots of pictures of it.

I noticed the exact same thing, to move the map around after pressing a server button you can set the map to full screen, but once you exit full screen it will become unresponsive again.

I never use the orbiting camera in TSW (for largely the same reasons as my OP), I much prefer the flying camera (camera 3 in TSW) to any style of 'orbiting' camera. The 'drone' has collision that makes sense, gives more freedom for movement, and makes it generally easier to get the camera where you want it to be. Now I've never been able to get the orbiting camera to stick to anything other than the locomotive-is there actually a way to change what it's attached to?

Something that's been bugging me for a while is the awkward way in which the orbiting camera collides with surrounding objects. As far as I can tell, the camera seems to calculate collision in a line that extends from the center of the locomotive to the actual camera location. If it decides anything along this line should have collision, then the camera suddenly zooms in to "avoid" colliding with that object...even if the camera itself was actually zoomed out far enough to not directly collide with said object. This is most obvious on freight trains, where the camera 'line' processes collisions with the freight wagons, resulting in this happening at many camera angles: If it's not clear what's going on there, the camera has zoomed in very very close to the locomotive to avoid colliding with the freight wagons. Previously I was zoomed out the maximum distance and just panning the camera around. This happens all the time and is both jarring and obnoxious. Similar things happen for some (but not all) scenery objects, resulting in the camera jumping around when (for example) light poles pass between the train and the camera. The camera will be at the intended zoom level, then when the light pole crosses between the camera and the locomotive, the camera suddenly moves in front of the light pole, then suddenly returns to the previous zoom level once the light pole has passed. (The 'jumping' effect is so fast I worry this could trigger epilepsy in sensitive people). To make the orbiting camera more enjoyable to use, I think it would help to change collision detection to only work at the camera location (as opposed to checking collision anywhere in between the locomotive and the camera) or to just turn off the camera collision on everything except the ground. I understand the desire to have collision detection on the camera, but what we have now is over zealous.

While dispatching at Wloszczowa Polnoc, a lull in the schedule led me to take a stroll down the line toward Czarnca. When the next train approached, I pressed '1' to teleport to the cabin but I simply did not teleport. As the train was a bot and had a long layover, I didn't worry about that too much and simply walked back. However, even upon walking back to the dispatcher building, I could still not use the '1' key to teleport to the building. I was guessing it might have a limited distance, but no matter how close I was to the building, I could no longer teleport inside for the rest of the session. The furthest I walked from the building was about 4 km, I am unsure if the distance actually matters, but I never saw this problem until walking that far away from the building. This wasn't the only weird behavior I saw, I also became unable to send messages (neither using the chat boxes nor the phone worked) to the adjacent dispatchers after my walk. Luckily, the doors still worked so I did have one way to enter and exit the building. Exiting to the main menu and returning to Wloszczowa Polnoc restored normal functionality.

Another thing I'd like to see private servers for is the opportunity to practice driving and dispatching. I haven't done a whole lot of dispatching since there's no great way to practice. The only way to get any experience is to go into a server which is no doubt full of random people I don't know who would rather not have their journey interrupted by beginner dispatching errors. But if the server was my private one, I could practice dispatching with people I know (or hypothetically, start up the server but not invite anyone, allowing me to play 'single player' in the server) who I could easily communicate to about any mistakes, and I would also have the admin powers needed to quickly clean up any messes. Not to mention other possibilities like custom timetables specifically designed to practice working the signal box, which wouldn't be possible in an official server. It would be a great place to learn new things without having that constant fear that 'if you did this wrong, the experience of a real person will be ruined'. Of course, you could also practice if there was a single player version of the timetable, but it seems to me that single player will just be missions and will not have the timetable mode. That's a shame.

The map for multiplayer servers is a very nice tool to have, but I'm still left wanting a map for singleplayer runs too. Driving down the coal mine branch on the E186 mission left me wondering where I was in relation to the route we've been driving in multiplayer. Since I don't know the area, without a map showing where I was I had to search around a bit on the maps we do have, using context to guess where I had been driving. I think I identified the mine this mission starts at, but this would be so much easier with a moving map like we have for multiplayer! I guess the current solution for a map, where online information is shown in a web browser, wouldn't be so useful for singleplayer, so maybe an in-game map would serve this purpose better?

After playing the E186 mission in singleplayer, I'm left wanting the ability to drive a train that heavy (just over 2,000 tons) on multiplayer too. It's so much more interesting to run a cargo train that's actually loaded!

(This happens using the E186 in singleplayer or multiplayer, posting here to avoid clogging up multiplayer-specific issues.) Every time I drive the E186, I notice that pressing the travel direction selector (forward)/(reverse) keybind doesn't actually change the selected direction of travel. The only way to set any direction (or neutral) is to use the mouse to click the direction buttons in the cab. It would be appreciated if the direction could be changed without the need to use the mouse. I understand the E186 is a bit unusual with the direction buttons used in place of a direction lever, so custom behavior might be required. I would prefer a set up such that pressing the forwards keybind while in reverse would set the direction to neutral, then pressing again would set from neutral to forward. Then with the direction set forwards, pressing the reverse keybind could set the direction to neutral, and pressing reverse again would set the direction from neutral to reverse. That way, all 3 settings could be accessed from the two keybinds, and there is no need to add a third 'neutral' keybind.

Made a bug report for this but it hasn't been approved, but I'll add my 2 cents here as well. I had the idle message going off on me when I was waiting to load passengers at a station. Which is super annoying-why should the AI be taking over for me when I'm stopped at a station like I should be? It serves no purpose as the AI will do exactly the same thing I was doing: sit there and wait for the departure time. As it stands, the system punishes all forms of idle-ness, even in situations where being idle is not disruptive or is exactly what you should be doing. Something needs to be changed so that the game only checks if you are idle when you aren't doing what you should be doing. Like if someone goes idle with their train stopped at a green light, it makes sense to have the AI take over so the line doesn't get blocked. But stuff like having the AI take over for someone idling at a red light? Pointless and annoying.

The new player idle detection in today's update sounds like a good idea to combat someone griefing/trolling by going AFK, but I've experienced multiple false positives with the system, where I am detected as being AFK even though I am sitting at my computer and (perhaps more importantly) I am not partaking in any griefing/trolling. Here's what I noticed: Coasting at 120 kph with a constant throttle setting caused the system to think I was an idle player. However, as I was obeying the speed limit and signal indications, I certainly was not causing trouble. Yes, I was not pressing buttons, but there's more to idle trolling than not pressing buttons for 60 seconds, and I do not think this situation should count as idling. (Also, it was very annoying that the idle detection acts like a vigilance system even though I have the vigilance system turned off. I can't write bug reports like this if the game demands me to press the driver safety device button every minute!) More egregiously, sitting still at a station while loading passengers and a red signal ahead also triggered idle detection. This one was very frustrating, as I am doing exactly what I'm supposed to by sitting still while passengers load! It's very unfair to annoy me with popup messages for doing something that is distinctly not trolling or griefing. If the intent of this idle detection is to prevent people from leaving their computer, then blocking the line/derailing/passing red signals, some changes could be made to allow it to better prevent disruptive idling without becoming a babysitter who won't leave you alone for a minute. I think it could also be a great tool to prevent someone getting a game over because their train derailed while they were taking a bathroom break. There's no way to pause in multiplayer, so having the AI there to save you is the next best thing! Anyway, here's what I was thinking: Pause idle checking when the train is stopped and the next signal is red. Resume idle checking when the signal ahead changes. Idling at a red signal should not take control away from the player because you should be idling at a red light! Don't punish the player for doing what they should. Ignore idling when the train is at a scheduled stop and it's not departure time. Start counting down the idle timer only when departure time has passed (and the signal ahead is not red, of course). Just like stopping at a red light, making a scheduled stop is the sort of thing where idling is intended and is not disruptive, so there's no need to take control away from the player in this case. Don't check for idle players when the train is moving. If I'm going 110 kph in a 120 kph limit, I'm probably not being a disruptive player even if I haven't pressed a control in a minute. Some Caveats to this: Driving above the speed limit probably should check for idling. If someone manages to exceed the speed limit to the point where the speedometer turns red, then fails to interact with the game for 60 seconds, it seems justified to let the AI take over to avoid the train derailing. (Note: I am NOT suggesting that speeding should always force the AI to take over, only AFK speeding. If someone is speeding attentively, the consequences are on them.) If the train is nearing a red light or scheduled stop and isn't slowing down, then idle checking should resume. Someone screaming at 120 kph towards a red light that's 1 km away without pressing any buttons for 60 seconds probably means they are AFK, and likely to cause trouble by running a red light. The AI should take over to prevent that. (Again, I am NOT saying the AI should take over every time a SPAD is anticipated, if someone SPADs on purpose, they deserve that game over screen.) One can imagine someone trolling by remaining active, but by going just 5 kph. This system isn't really equipped to handle that and trying to solve that problem could be a slippery slope (Will you now punish the player for going 5 kph on a track with a 5 kph limit? What if the train is so underpowered 5 kph is all it can muster, will that be punished? That's for the devs to decide.) Sorry, this got long winded. It's evidently not that simple of a problem to solve (at least, it's not as simple as saying "no key presses in 60 seconds? well you must be a troll")! Just wanted to get some ideas out there. To summarize what I think: there is no reason to make the AI take over for an idle player if the idle player is doing what they should be doing. Being stopped at a station just to have the AI take over...and remain stopped at the station is very frustrating and fails to serve the goal of preventing disruption due to an AFK player. Now, if the player is stopped but the AI wants to haul it up to 120 kph, then yeah, there's probably something wrong there!

Noticed in today's patch notes that the E07 brakes were improved and I'm glad to report that they now behave exactly as I would expect. When initial braking is set, holding the brake apply button will now gradually increase the brake setting rather than jumping right to full service. Same is true for the locomotive brake, gradual application and release is now a breeze on keyboard. I guess someone was listening to this topic ramble on.

This reminds me of a moment where I was in the orbiting camera and underneath the camera I saw the shadow of a floating person, as if my character was attached to the camera. Never been able to reproduce it, but it does seem to imply the game assumes your character is located where your camera is. So if you aren't in the cab camera, then no driver. And AI trains have no player in the cab camera, thus AI trains have no driver. Doesn't seem very well thought out to me.

When using the orbiting camera, I've noticed that the audio system doesn't seem to use the position of the camera to determine what sounds are audible or how loud sounds are. It always sounds as if I'm right next to the locomotive, even when zoomed out very far. This is simple to reproduce-enter the orbiting camera, zoom in all the way, and start honking the horn. While honking the horn, zoom out all the way. The horn sounds the same all the way zoomed in as it does all the way zoomed out. I expect the horn to get quieter as the camera zooms further from the locomotive but it does not. Other examples include moving the orbiting camera near the wagons, but you only end up hearing locomotive sounds, no wagon sounds. Again, the audio is processed as if the camera is right next to the locomotive, ignoring the actual position of the camera.

A few times now when I'm driving freight trains, I've had an objective complete just to get a message telling me I lost 1000 points for not stopping. I don't know what I'm supposed to do here as unlike passenger trains, there's notification like 'approaching stop' or 'you can stop now', really there's nothing sending the message to me that I'm supposed to stop at all, so it's very confusing. Not to mention...why would a freight train need to stop at these random locations anyway? One time this happened while I was on the mainline going 80-was I supposed to stop on the mainline and hold up everyone else?

While playing today, I had a little meet up with some friends who happened to get stuck at Lazy. With a bunch of us jumping around, it was the first time the player avatar was on any of our minds, and everyone realized we had no clue what our avatar was without someone else there to take a picture of ourselves. Turns out, two of us were identical ladies and the rest were different models of dude. (What still isn't clear is if the avatar is entirely random on every playthrough, of if each one of us is always the same avatar.) Subsequently, the question came up if there were any way to manually choose an avatar, and it seems like there isn't. There's certainly interest in having that as a feature, and I think it would be good to have that choice.

Ran into a bit of waiting... By which I mean a lot of waiting.

Multiple times today, I experienced a crash when opening the doors on the EN76 multiple unit. I would set the door switch to the correct platform side, then press the open doors button, and the game would crash shortly after. Log file attached for one of the crashes-all I did in this session was starting the game, connecting to EN2 to attempt to try again after a previous crash, and crashed after opening the doors. Log_2022-12-10_19-10-31_part1.txt

Worth noting that "just use the mouse" is not an acceptable solution to this, as this screws over anyone who is in a situation where they can't use a mouse (consider someone playing on Steam Deck or other consoles, someone with limited motor skills who simply lacks the precision to use a mouse, stuff like that). It's frankly absurd to force those people to have no fine control over the brakes, especially when the change is as simple as making the button inputs just not skip the entire graduated self lapping portion of the brake. All the other sims do it, and those are perfectly controllable.

Here's the log from that session and my computer diagnostics. I took those two screenshots at 18:12 and 18:14, so check around those times in the log. Log_2022-12-09_18-06-23_part1.zip

As someone who hails from MSTS, the default control scheme in SimRail doesn't really vibe with me, and when changing things to match what I'm familiar with, I was disappointed to find I couldn't rebind a control to use a combination of keys. Even if multiple keys are pressed, the game will take the first key it detects and use that as the binding. This prevents me from eg setting the master switch binding to Ctrl + W; if I attempt to do that the binding is assigned as just Ctrl (and it can't be W as I use that to set reverser forwards, and you aren't allowed to have one key on multiple binds.) Gaining the ability to have combinations of key presses drive keybinds would make control on keyboard so much more flexible and is practically a requirement for things with more controls to manipulate (particularly steam locomotives). Considering every function has to be given a unique key, I'm pretty sure I'd run out of regular keys and start using F7-F12, Pg Up/Pg Down, and other utility keys if I had to make a steam locomotive control layout in the current system.

While driving today, I came across a few situations like this: As these two shots show, I saw the railroad sleepers near to the camera position turn green, as if they were loading the wrong texture. I also noticed situations where the rails would change color, and it wasn't always green (red color was particularly common). This also wasn't always the case, randomly the correct texture could reappear with no discernable cause. Unfortunately, that makes this a very inconsistent issue and one that's practically impossible to reproduce consistently. I suspect a graphics issue like this could depend on hardware. If it helps, I'm running an RTX 3080ti, recently updated the drivers to Nvidia official version 527.37. I play at 4K with max settings, though I am using DLSS in ultra quality. As is, the sim does heavily load my GPU in both computing power and VRAM.

Howdy, When driving the EP07 using keyboard, I'm struggling to find a way to apply a moderate amount of braking. When the train brake is initial and I tap my pneumatic brake increase keybind, the brake immediately jumps to full service. Safe to say, this makes it difficult to slow down smoothly! However, when I use mouse controls, I am able to apply the brake gradually in-between initial and full service. I would not be surprised if I'm missing something-do any of you know how to make the keyboard commands not skip the service range entirely? If this is an actual issue, or a feature that could (should) be added, I can post in the appropriate section. Side note-similar is true for the locomotive brake. Just one tap of my locomotive brake keybind will immediately set the locomotive brake to 100%. I cannot control it gradually without the mouse.