Railworks America

I write scenarios and thus do a good deal of work in the scenario editor. Specifically, over the past few weeks I've been working on a complex shunting scenario for the Munich-Augsburg route. When I first open the scenario for editing, the FPS rate, as measured by FRAPS, is steady and at a satidfactory level. This remains true when I open the Timetable View. Then I choose a train and click on an instruction to edit it, and that's when it happens: FPS drops to a reading between 3 and 6 or so, sending everything into slow motion. To be fair, this does not happen all the time.

I shut down and restart TS after each editing session and verify the cache after every involuntary shut down and also after lengthy editing sessions.
I do not run other programs in the background while TS is running.
In general, FPS readings are satisfactory while running scenarios and stutters rarely occur.

Could TS be doing something in the background--such as loading or reloading Workshop Scenarios--that does not affect play but does slow particular editing operations?

Check your hard drive activity light.
If it's on steadily, something is working hard on files.

You can use an app such as WhatsMyComputerDoing for details on, well, what your computer is doing.

I have found where the scenario marker is placed makes a difference. One of mine is placed in Penn Station. For some reason it taxes the computer while I'm editing there. I then fly out to a sparse area and then reopen the timetable view.

I think that since the timetable is an overlay of what your looking at in the editor, it is best to be away from a complex scenery.

Chacal wrote:Check your hard drive activity light.
If it's on steadily, something is working hard on files.

You can use an app such as WhatsMyComputerDoing for details on, well, what your computer is doing.

Hard drive activity light not blinking, but thanks for the suggestion.

doyletom wrote:I have found where the scenario marker is placed makes a difference. One of mine is placed in Penn Station. For some reason it taxes the computer while I'm editing there. I then fly out to a sparse area and then reopen the timetable view.

I think that since the timetable is an overlay of what your looking at in the editor, it is best to be away from a complex scenery.

Marker for scenario in question not located in a scenically complex zone. However, let's note while this idea is in the air that placing a scenario's marker far away from the player engine -- and, therefore, from the scenario's start location -- is a very bad idea. When you fire up a scenario and loading scenery takes a long time (anything more than 2 or 3 seconds, which can be caused by scenic or rolling stock complexity in the area, it's because the scenario's marker is too distant from the player engine.

Another Train Simulator miracle? As of yesterday, the FPS rate has returned to normal while using the timetable editor. Go figure!