Derailments in OpenRails

[Snowman]

I did not know that people actually did crash competitions on MSTS. I respect Open Rails's decision to not do "over the top" train crashes.

Kids did them seven, or eight years ago. Not to mention roller coaster train crash videos are not realistic and not taken seriously and are immature and why most people over the age of 13 dont watch them. Im for the pop ups myself. Once again, I dont know how asking for some type of notification of derailment, either visual, or popup is immature. Derailments because of improper handling, or random track failures, fatigue is not immature. No one said anything about cars, people, cows ect.

[scottb613]

Derailments in OpenRails

Hi Folks,

While I don't really subscribe to the moral high ground reasoning to not include crashes - as I've been known to enjoy putting an AIM-7 Sparrow up the tailpipe of many an adversary - or - a Mk-48 ADCAP on some unsuspecting Akula - simulating activities where many have died - - - I don't think ORTS really needs them as they would be wasting time that could be better spent improving the overall simulation... I do think that a train derailment message or something might be appropriate when you exceed plausible performance for a given piece of track - but again - I can think of so many more important things to include...

Regards,
Scott

[ftldave]

I recall that MSTS 2 was to have "more realistic" train derailments. I confess I'd never really considered the risk of how railroad companies might react, but Microsoft and its army of lawyers must not have had such concerns back when. The idea that some former railroader would suffer unbearable mental anguish at the sight is, well, a real stretch of the imagination. What next then? Maybe hard-coded speed limits so trains won't look like they are running dangerously fast on our screens and might scare someone? Of course, there are more important goals than realistic derailments for ORTS to become a better train sim.

But I ask you: What would Gomez do?

[seagoon]

If we must have the depiction of a catastrophic derailment, then do it the same way as is done in Train Master 4.....a siren sounds, a pop-up message appears and the player has to restart the scenario/activity.

[R. Steele]

But I ask you: What would Gomez do?

To veer off into sublime lunacy...Gomez would certainly want all sorts of mayhem and gleeful gore! But he's gotta be an exception to any rule.

[motormaster532]

This topic is like beating a dead horse because the developers have definitively stated that there will be no derailments incorporated.The reasoning we may argue with,but it will not make it happen.Companies whose logos are used do not want to see their copyrighted images displayed in such a manner.The only thing,as I have said before is that derailments are a fact of life on the railroad and if they cannot or will not be depicted then we have a shortfall of "realism".The notion that collisions and derailments will traumatize real railroad engineers or drivers for our international members is a bit far fetched when we consider that several random carspawns will have cars crossing the tracks right in front of your locomotive. I have been involved with several incidents that have resulted in gruesome injury and fatality and it has not caused me to freak out if I experience in a Sim,or for that matter in real life railroading.I,for one,and this is just personal opinion would not mind derailments because it would add another dimension such as re-routes,holding back traffic,dispatching the wreck train and so on.However,as stated at the outset,it aint' goin' to happen.Brian

[NW 2156]

Yes and no. The ORTS code is open source, So derailments can be added if someone fluent with coding wanted to work on it. Now whether or not the code would be incorporated is a whole other ball game.

Robert

[seagoon]

....Companies whose logos are used do not want to see their copyrighted images displayed in such a manner....

Rubbish!
If that were true then there would be nothing but fictional aircraft in each and every flight sim since the dawn of time!

[EricF]

MSTS "spectacular" derailments were just the result of the physics engine using numbers that went wildly out of range. At any rational speed and train-handling method, MSTS was supposed to effectively halt after a short delay with a derailment message. Open Rails does a better job of that by suspending the sim immediately to give the derailment message.

This has been discussed before ad nauseum; the general consensus is that right now, just ending the activity is sufficient. If it were to be carried forward into any sort of realistic derailment portrayal, it would be no more than simply allowing wheels to go on the ground to support real-world traffic situations like fouled lines or yard obstructions.

In practical terms, any sort of derailment scenario carries the potential for the sim engine to have to handle more complex collision detection between train objects and the terrain or other objects, and then run that through a physics engine for reasonable/realistic behavior. That can turn into a whole lot of additional programming problems to solve. OR will be just fine the way it is for quite some time.

[peaches461999]

Thank you for answering, this has been an interesting thread. I did not know that people actually did crash competitions on MSTS. I respect Open Rails's decision to not do "over the top" train crashes. Also, how do you make Random AI traffic, as I am on Windows 8 and my Activity Editor is kind of screwy?

Look into OpenRails timetable mode. You can program a 24 hour period of trains to run on any route. And you can choose to operate any of them. It is much better than using the AE.

[conductorchris]

Also consider activity generator from skyline computing ($15). Without using the activity editor, you can use templates to randomize what cars and switch lists are generated.
Christopher

[Vince]

Bottom line is if you children want spectacular derailments no problem! Open Rails is open source code so go program it yourself.
If you don't know how then learn!

[ftldave]

Bottom line is if you children want spectacular derailments no problem!

"Why else would a grown man play with trains?"
- Gomez Addams

[Snowman]

Bottom line is if you children want spectacular derailments no problem! Open Rails is open source code so go program it yourself.
If you don't know how then learn!

May I ask why you chimed in on this conversation if it has no interest to you? Slow day? Also, someone wanting to see a feature implemented that you object to doesnt make them a child, or immature? How is a popup box telling you that your train would have derailed due to the stresses you put on your train childish, or immature? It makes no sense to me how that kind of talk, which is basically name calling and flamming is allowed here and is in and of itself childish and immature.

[eric]

Enough.