The MSTS pop-up messages.

[seagoon]

A question for the OR development team:-

Is it possible that the program may be tweaked so that the messages appear but the action continues rather than pauses?
(In a similar manner to the system used in TS2013/14).

Thanks,
Bruce

[cjakeman]

A question for the OR development team:-
Is it possible that the program may be tweaked so that the messages appear but the action continues rather than pauses?

We mostly follow MSTS but could add that as an optional behaviour. In the meantime, you can always acknowledge the message and resume the action leaving the message visible.

Chris
OR Dev

[seagoon]

We mostly follow MSTS but could add that as an optional behaviour. In the meantime, you can always acknowledge the message and resume the action leaving the message visible.

Chris
OR Dev

Yes, I understand and of course do that very thing....acknowledge and continue.
But the reason I asked is that if the action continues behind the pop-up, it more correctly reflects reality and removes the pauses if there are a few messages in a sequence.

The reason for asking arose as I was creating an Activity centred on the Amtrak #572 service of 3rd. July 2005, on the Pacific Surfliner route from LA terminal to SD and using the original cab-ride DVD from Facing Point as the reference.
There are many crew acknowledgements of signals and divergences from one track to another and trying to incorporate them into the Activity results in too many pauses of action.

Anyway, if it can be done at some point in the future it would be a handy effect, in my opinion.

Thanks for the reply - most appreciated.

Regards,
Bruce

[twpol]

I might be mis-remembering, but doesn't MSTS pause the game? If it does, we simply can't keep going as it'll cause actual problems running activities. What we can do (and certainly will with our own activity formats) is provide control over whether a message should pause the game.

[seagoon]

I might be mis-remembering, but doesn't MSTS pause the game? ....

Yes, exactly.
And that's what also happens when the message pops up in Open Rails; the game pauses.

Maybe I should have suggested a new pop-up that could be thought of as an "information message" rather than an "instructional message", and which then wouldn't require any pausing of the action.
Perhaps the format could take the shape of a "speech balloon", as seen in comic strips, if you follow me?

Then the ability for the Activity creator to include in-cab conversation pieces or despatcher-to-crew messages without interrupting the flow of the action would be possible, yet when an instruction pop-up appeared, the game would pause.

Just a thought on an idle Boxing Day afternoon.

Bruce