[ENG] RailDriver for SimRail

[RWag64]

Here is my program to use the RailDriver with SimRail.

It's not perfect, but I think it works well.

Updated on 22 April 2023 for Sand

 

*** There is a new version down this thread with the 21th, November 2023 update (with the EN57).

With real "Alert" button functional.

 

 

 

 

Raildriver Simrail 1.6.zip

Edited November 30, 2023 by RWag64

[jmluengor]

Thanks for your work! It is very interesting to be able to use this device with this simulator. I hope its manufacturer is encouraged to create an application for it.

I will follow your post carefully.

 

[Gazz292]

the SimRail dev team said that controller support will be added later,  the early access is more about getting the sim running well and bug fixes as they roll out new features later on.

[SurvivorSean]

I've downloaded.  Next time I'm running a train I'l let you know how it turns out.

Thanks

Sean

[SurvivorSean]

On 1/27/2023 at 3:55 PM, RWag78 said:

Here is a first attempt to use the RailDriver with SimRail 2021.

It's not perfect, but I think it works well.

I'm sorry, but this thread would be in "Community Made Content" instead of here. I've put it in the right place.

Raildriver SimRail 2021.zip 97.94 kB · 16 downloads

First thanks for your work on this.  I'm trying to set it up now.  I had RD support that was native for Run8 that does have a calibrator.  However I can't find the calibrate option in the PI Engineering folder mentioned in the ReadMe.  I just installed Marcroworks at that link provided in doc and that is the only application showing in that folder.

I'm going to continue to try it out anyways and perhaps even try out some of my own macroworks commands.  I'm just not sure how to calibrate other than using Run8 calibration.

Thanks

Sean

[RWag64]

I have Run8 too, and it works well with Run8 and SimRail.

[SurvivorSean]

So once you calibrate it in Run8 that is good?  I just can't find the calibration application for the folder mentioned in the docs.

Thanks

Sean

[Bulva]

 

I am also trying this solution.
Unfortunately, I have a lot of problems:

1) I don't have a calibration tool in P.I. Enginering

2) I can't get the Select_SimRail_2021_En script to work properly - I get the error: "The specified file could not be found"

In Makro Works3.1, I manually load the scripts for the respective locomotives.

They load OK, but the controls in SimRail are very bad. 

I can't control the braking option.
Beeps work fine 😉 
 

 

[Bulva]

 

Here is my personal patched .MW3 file for MacroWorks (EU07) :

__TB_SimRail___EU07.zip

 

Of course, I'm too stupid to use the axes for steering 😉

 

Edited January 30, 2023 by Bulva

[RWag64]

Your EU07 patched file is better than mine.

Thank you. Now I'll use your.

[Bulva]

I found something like "Raildriver As Joystick V1.0.1".
Another program is "joy to key".
I checked both.
You can (makeshift) use axles from RailDrive in SimRail. First, run the "RaildriverAsJoystick" application, and then make the rest of the configuration in the "JoyToKey" program (30days free $$$). Of course, the axes do not work smoothly, but you can assign appropriate commands (compatible with the control keys for SimRail)) to individual axes.
It's a bit clumsy (especially when it comes to precise control of the brakes and actuator controller), but maybe it can be fine-tuned.
Anyway, I'm counting and waiting for official support from the developer 😉

[Graczem Jestem]

The script included in your files (i've actually checked only what Bulva has sent) is not going to work with here without modifications. I hope I'll be able make this functional in couple of days. My main issue now is that the RailDriver itself is not very precise... but I am pretty sure that there is a possibility to work with dead zone for the sticks.

[Gazz292]

14 hours ago, Graczem Jestem said:

My main issue now is that the RailDriver itself is not very precise... but I am pretty sure that there is a possibility to work with dead zone for the sticks.

That's the big issue with raildrivers, 
For your ~£275 you don't exactly get quality, it feels heavy but thats from the bass speaker in it, take that out and it's featherweight,
it's long been known that there's a lot of slop in the lever connections to the cheap potentiometers, that's part of the reason for needing calibrating all the time, to set these dead zone areas up... but when you only get an inch or 2 of total lever travel, having half an inch of lever movement before the potentiometer begins turning is not helping. 

the 2 rotary 'switches' for headlights etc are really bad, there's enough movement on the actual bit you turn to have 4, 5 or even 6+ switching positions, but again, there's a lot of dead movement, so 3 positions are the most you can get out of that 180 degrees of movement. 

And that damn combined power and brake lever is a right pain in the arse, needing to set it up like 2 separate levers with a massive dead zone in the middle, that's ok if you are driving a Dash 9 american loco that the levers are based on, but for driving euro trains it's horrible.

 

Some people have taken their rail drivers apart and tightened things up, but i found they soon loosen up again... my raildriver is a shelf ornament nowadays.

 

I'm not saying plastic is bad... i 3D print a lot of things, and was working on a 'EuroRailDriver' last year (German train style levers)
but i made my levers sized more for adults (the raildriver levers are perfectly sized for children, but it's aimed at adults,  and the levers are tiny in 'man sized hands' i find) 

But i made my connections from the levers to the potentiometers using gears, so the ~150 degrees of lever movement was geared to move the potentiometer it's full 270 degrees of rotation, resulting in much more precision, all my gears were 3D printed too, and i managed to get about 1 degree of slop when changing direction of the lever before the computer showed movement (you need some slop/dead zone or the levers in the train will jitter... but you do not need the massive amounts a raildriver has)

 

[jayzhead]

It is true that the raildriver is not very well made, and the levers are pretty poor. But the big upside as far as I am concerned is that it is one relatively compact unit that can be neatly tucked away when not in use. I'd love to one day have a dedicated simming setup with proper levers but I just do not have the space in my house to set it up, nor do I have a budget for a separate machine for the job. I sim on my studio PC as that is the most powerful computer than I have, and I can't really have train levers sitting on my desk when clients come to work on their mixes, that would not look professional 😁 So the fact that I can put it on my desk when I'm playing and then tuck it away in a moment when I'm working makes it a good enough solution. The american style throttle lever is definitely the weakest link, but if the sim allows one to remap the controls (which that other sim we all know does not allow despite repeated requests going back years), one can use the pretty decent brake lever as a perfectly adequate combined controller for modern locos.

[RWag64]

Here is my Raildriver implementation working with the 21th, November 2023 update (with En57).

 

There was a little mistake in the ED250.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Raildriver Simrail 1.8.zip

Edited December 1, 2023 by RWag64