What I appreciate about Open Rails

[R. Steele]

(list is much longer... you add to it) and please only appreciation for OR, start your own thread for criticisms. Thanks in advance.
Open Rails ....
Has quicker start times
Is very easy to install and use
Is built to manage multiple installations
Uses modern video resources
Looks really great on modern monitors
Is actually coded logically and with regard to real world physics
Has the BEST CAMERA/SCREENSHOT options of any simulator now in production
Is totally compatible with Raildriver
Is compatible with all windows operating systems currently supported, even the one not supported - XP
Can support the use of LAA
Is compatible with 99% of legacy content
Is Open Source software - "a continuing fine tradition of the digital age of the two legged critter"
Does not have a "call bill" screen
Is a resilient, robust, and efficient train simulator
European train sim community really developing multiplayer
Is a worldwide effort among like minded individuals. (if ants get wind of this they will take over the world)
Has intelligent AI traffic
IS FREE
Did I say IT IS FREE

[neyland]

I like everything about OR, except the totally unrealistic implementation of UK Semaphore signalling.

Every home starter set to "ON", at station stops is completely non prototypical.

Which is the one and only reason i have stopped using the software.

[ftldave]

Singing OR praises over and over again with no mention of its shortcomings is only half the story. Let us know when OR 1.0 arrives. And good luck to the OR team.

[baldwin]

Far as I am aware, the Home Starter being ON is only applied if there is interlocking ahead. The signal being ON, truncates the player track authority at that point and allows for AI movements if there are any. The signal is not ON if there is no interlocking ahead.

[smiljacc18]

In addition to all of the above ,they actually listen to requests and suggestions,and often will try to implement them;for example at first track viewer was only available in multiplayer,several of us requested it for single player mode in this forum,and later that week it was announced in the same thread that it was now available in both modes!

[neyland]

Far as I am aware, the Home Starter being ON is only applied if there is interlocking ahead. The signal being ON, truncates the player track authority at that point and allows for AI movements if there are any. The signal is not ON if there is no interlocking ahead.

I haven't seen that behaviour, although i haven't had OR installed for about 4 months.

Every station stop included in a timetable, always presented the Home Starter at those stops as "On".

In the on screen Track Monitor window.

Even with the simplest of track diagrams at those stations.

[R. Steele]

Singing OR praises over and over again with no mention of its shortcomings is only half the story. Let us know when OR 1.0 arrives. And good luck to the OR team.

Reasonable debate is a wonderful thing in my view.
Reasonable debate of the facts and proposed solutions are always welcome. I only wanted to deter the quibble, squabbling, and oft repeated opinions from popping up again.

So that being said....please list improvements you'd like to see. Negative comments for the sake of themselves does not help anything,

Better yet submit real coding that you be tested for implementation. I'm have not expertise in that area - but those who do are encouraged to come forward. This will only benefit the community at large.

I'm encouraged you wished good luck to the team. Now how about at least helping out and start learning to use Open Rails, at least some of the time, so you can stay current with the changes, and begin to grasp what the simulator is really capable. Perhaps, in doing so you will be able to provide some useful suggestions that have not occurred to anyone else. I'm sure there's no prohibition or impediment to having more than one simulator on your system.

[baldwin]

There have been many changes in the last 4 months.

[mikeebb]

Appreciate: it's a work in progress, but there's constant progress. As another noted, if a problem is found it's addressed, not just "prioritized" or "acknowledged" with no further indication of attention. If that (some payware people never even acknowledge).

[neyland]

There have been many changes in the last 4 months.

I always look at the list of updates for the X versions every friday.

Haven't seen any improvements mentioned for UK signalling.

Or for that matter being able to use UK Finescale track with the super elevation option.

Last time i had it installed, the SE sections reverted to default track textures.

[eric]

Or for that matter being able to use UK Finescale track with the super elevation option.

Last time i had it installed, the SE sections reverted to default track textures.

Isn't the issue with that the lack of a profile for Finescale? I wouldn't expect the ORTS team to be creating track system profiles for all the various add-ons, but if someone's done it for Dynatrax, certainly that could be mapped over for use in ORTS.

[neyland]

Isn't the issue with that the lack of a profile for Finescale? I wouldn't expect the ORTS team to be creating track system profiles for all the various add-ons, but if someone's done it for Dynatrax, certainly that could be mapped over for use in ORTS.

I don't know sorry buddy, no idea how the track profiles work.

[baldwin]

Haven't seen any improvements mentioned for UK signalling.

.

There should be no improvements for specific signal systems, but an overall improvement in general signal operations will usually benefit all systems. The main difficulty in sorting out "bugs" in any signalling system lies in ensuring that the sigcfg.dat and the sigscr.dat do not have any errors. Unfortunately many do because they are based on an original from somewhere that has the error, or they contain some code that someone thought would be a good idea. MSTS will gladly display whatever it can and show no error. Open Rails does not offer that "luxury".

[baldwin]

I am not 100% on how track profiles work, but I do know that there are some things in OR that do not work the same as MSTS because nobody has access to the precompiled code for MSTS. What you see as OR now has taken many years of hard work in guessing how MSTS applies things.

Personally I do not use super elevation or cab sway because for me they do not look right, but that does not prevent me from using OR as a very able substitute for MSTS. Minor flaws like not quite correct operation of signals I can live with.

[neyland]

I like using the SE but cab sway needs a lot of refinement. Mind it is no worse than the "jelly wobble" cab sway in TS2014.

Correct signal operation is a huge requirement for me. Intelligent AI and correct block signalling operation, are to me what all these train games fall down on.