Adding a feature inside the Eng file

[dmrick]

Can you chaps look for another setting inside the Eng file and act on it?... This would really solve a problem. How about inside the Lights stuff you add a setting like Engine In Reverse.... That combined with Unit ( 3 ) ... last unit... would enable having a sphere of light and other normal light that would light things up when backing up onto consists at night.

Also, when an engine is the last unit one can have the rear light on dim when the Headlight is dim.... however, if the rear unit is facing backwards there doesn't seem to be a way of having its headlight on dim. Any answers why?

[Vince]

I did this many years ago.
Here's the relevant part of the lighting section that gives you a rear sphere (cone) of light when light switch is in the Dim position.
The positions here are for a default GP38.

	Lights	(	21
		Light	(
			comment( Sphere of light High Beam )
			Type		( 1 )
			Conditions	(
				Headlight ( 3 )
				Unit ( 2 )
				)
			Cycle	( 0 )
			FadeIn	( 0.5 )
			FadeOut	( 0.5 )
			States	(	1
				State	(
					Duration ( 0.0 )
					LightColour ( ffffffff )
					Position ( 0.0 3.5 5.0 )
					Transition ( 0 )
					Radius ( 200.0 )
					Angle ( 20.0 )
					)
				)
			)
            Light	(
			comment( Sphere of light Rear by Vince Cockeram )
			Type		( 1 )
			Conditions	(
				Headlight ( 2 )
				Unit ( 3 )
				)
			Cycle	( 0 )
			FadeIn	( 0.5 )
			FadeOut	( 0.5 )
			States	(	1
				State	(
					Duration ( 0.0 )
					LightColour ( ffffffff )
					Azimuth ( -5.0 -180.0 5.0 )
					Position ( 0.0 3.5 -5.0 )
					Transition ( 0 )
					Radius ( 88.0 )
					Angle ( 30.0 )
					)
				)
			)

I don't know the answer to your second question.

regards,

[dmrick]

I wrote the same thing myself when I created a lot of Eng files for the engines on the Siskiyou Route... The main reason that I was asking about a new separate "setting" was because I was using a set of light engines to look at and verify work that I was doing on the route and needed to see behind me. Back when I added that to a few engines I was able to see behind me when I was backing up a set of switchers. At the time the rear engine was facing the front of the train.

I recently used a set of 4 light engines where the rear engine was facing backwards. I tried to create the rear sphere of light for that engine and no matter how I sat of the variables, once that engine was turned around the light failed to come on. You know more about the code in OpenRails than I do so perhaps you know why this isn't working. If there were just one more setting for... Yes, it's the rear engine... and Yes it's facing backwards... it might have solved this.

BTW I did manage to solve this using trickery. I uncoupled from that rear engine... then brought up the engine list and changed over to the rear uncoupled engine... then re-coupled to the lead engines... and of course it no let that engines front lights work normally... but no one wants to go through all of that. Even holding down <Shift> when I moved to the uncoupled engine the lead engines would sometimes take off on their own, while at other times when I moved to the other it would take off (as if in notch 8) and run into the lead engines.

Give it some thought if you would. Perhaps you'd answer one other question for me... Back when we were using MSTS and the Bin update you could move the player to the rear engine... why wasn't that instituted in OpenRails... or is it still on a list of "to-do's" ?

Thanks much... Dale

[R. Steele]

... Back when we were using MSTS and the Bin update you could move the player to the rear engine... why wasn't that instituted in OpenRails... or is it still on a list of "to-do's" ?Thanks much... Dale

From the manual: OR does much more, it is all in the manual.

7.6.8 Change Cab
All locomotives and some passenger cars have a forward-facing cab which is configured through an entry
in the ENG file. For example, the MSTS Dash9 file TRAINSET\DASH9\dash9.eng contains the entry:
CabView ( dash9.cvf )
Where a vehicle has a cab at both ends, the ENG file may also contain an entry for a reversed cab:
CabView ( dash9_rv.cvf )
OR will recognise the suffix _rv as a rear-facing cab and make it available as follows.
When double-heading, banking or driving multiple passenger units (DMUs and EMUs), your train will
contain more than one cab and OR allows you to move between cabs to drive the train from a dierent
position. If you change to a rear-facing cab, then you will be driving the train in the opposite direction.
If there are many cabs in your train, pressing <Ctrl+E> moves you through all forward and rear-facing
cabs in order up to the last cab in the train. If you end up in a rear-facing cab, your new forward direction
will be your old backward direction. So you will now drive the train in the opposite direction.
A safety interlock prevents you from changing cabs unless the train is stationary and the direction lever
is in neutral with the throttle closed.

7.9 Changing the Train Driven by the Player
7.9.1 General
This function only works in activity mode, and allows the player to select another (existing) train from a
list and to start driving it. It requires that the Experimental Options Autopilot and Extended AI Shunting
be checked.
This function can be called more than once. A new information window has been created to support this
function: the Train List window (opened with Alt+F9). It contains a list of all of the AI trains and of the
static trains equipped with a locomotive with cab, plus the player train.
The current player train is shown in red. The star at the end of the line indicates that the cameras (cab
camera is managed differently) are currently linked to that train.
AI trains whose loco(s) have at least a cab are shown in green. They are eligible for player train switching.
Static trains with loco and cab are shown in yellow.
Other AI trains are shown in white.
By left-clicking in the list for the first time on an AI train, the cameras become linked to that train. A red
star appears at the end of the line. This is partially equivalent to clicking on <Alt+9>, but in this method
the desired train is immediately selected and may become the player train.

[scottb613]

Adding a feature inside the Eng file

Hi Folks,

Yeah - honestly - just read the manual this AM and built my very first include file - to add more than one “passenger view” to a single car...

While looking for the include file setup - found another new feature to add - rail squeal - and frog crossing sounds - to a route (the easy way)...

I swear - most of us don’t use half the features they built into this amazing piece of software...

The ORTS team - like they did with everything else - outdid themselves once again - kudos to the manual writer - it’s fantastic and so worth a read !

OBTW - anyone have a good frog crossing wav - I’m in need - LOL...

Regards,
Scott


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[R. Steele]

...
I swear - most of us don’t use half the features they built into this amazing piece of software...
The ORTS team - like they did with everything else - outdid themselves once again - kudos to the manual writer - it’s fantastic and so worth a read !
OBTW - anyone have a good frog crossing wav - I’m in need - LOL...Regards,Scott

Scott, Yep the manual is a very good resource, easily searchable, nicely laid out, (has some errors, typos, nothing too earthshaking, probably will be corrected and revised) and chock full of information, if only people would read the dang thing.

The rail squeal and frog sounds are a nice addition, I'm hoping in the future someone will refine them a bit.

[dmrick]

I appreciate pointing out that you have to search for "changing cabs"... I had searched for "changing engines" which led me the section about changing to another train. I've told several people about how much more powerful OpenRails is with this feature. I tried to get a person to make an activity more interesting by stopping the train at some businesses sidings... Changing to a pair of switchers... Grabbing some loaded cars... placing them at the end of the parked Player train... then parking the switchers and jumping back into their original engine and continuing on their way... but go no reply.