Simulation Networking

[arizonachris]

It sounds interesting but the thing that puts me off is the time commitment. I simply don't have 2-3 hours to sit down in a block and play games.

Yes, same issue here. I can do an hour here or there but that's about it. The concept of this virtual rail is really interesting, tho.

[Shortliner]

It sounds interesting but the thing that puts me off is the time commitment. I simply don't have 2-3 hours to sit down in a block and play games.

Agreed, which is why a pre-scheduled Op Session where everyone knows their role ahead of time is a much better way to go with the Multilayer aspect.

Or if we're really committed to the idea of a vast rail network in a persistent world (similar to MMORPGS), a train movement could always be broken up into an hour, or two hour shifts. I drive the train for an hour or two down the line, then I park it and leave it for the next guy to pick it up and take it further down the line.

[TrainMaster1]

Hello again:

Okay Let me explain what we actually do:

1) To start you go through two classes of two hours each. You know the dates far in advance as we only hold these classes once a month and they are generally limited to 16 people at one time.

2) You run in two small mini sessions. Again dates announced well in advance. Runs are generally in the 2 to 4 hour range as we want to get a feel for where you skill levels are and if you are ready to run in a session with upwards of 24-30 trains, multiple dispatchers, yardmasters, maintenance of way and more.

3) If you clear two mini sessions you become an Extra Board engineer and can bid on any train in any session where you own the simulator and the route. We have engineers that own MSTS, TRS and RW. They can run in any session. Once you are qualified the sim running does not matter as your skills as an engineer are what is important.

4) We research every session thoroughly. We run operating sessions in eras from 1960 to modern day. We create a call board listing all of the trains for that day's session. We run two types of sessions. Minis last about 4-5 hours start to finish and feature runs from 1-5 hours for crews. Main sessions run 8-12 hours and feature runs from 1-6 hours for crews. You bid on the train of your choice on a first come first served basis. The trainmaster for the session confirms all winning bids and you build your train to specifications that we send to you including number and type of engines and cars. All sessions are scheduled well in advance and you know when we are running. Only thing you do not see until 10 days before the session is the Call Board. Also should let you know that we only do real class one roads and no fictional routes or short lines ever as these cannot be researched properly and built into an operating session.

5) Each session we supply you with signal charts, track charts, operating notes and rules just like a real Class One railroad. We call each and every signal during a run, and some routes also require written track warrants depending on era we are running (we supply those too).

6) Each session starts with 30 minutes of operating notes such as tracks out of service, broken crossing protection, MOW crews on the line, etc. Basically anything you need to know in order to run safely over the line. We also do Q&A about the session at that time too. First trains are generally underway at 1300 hours eastern time and in a main session we run until the last train is home safely at their terminal.

7) This Saturday (9/17) we are running on the Clovis Sub of BNSF. This session runs from 1 pm to 11 pm eastern time. There are 24 trains , two dispatchers and a chief yardmaster in the session. 10 of the 24 trains will work along the way or in yards at each end of the route. If you would like to listen in to the session please contact me at vrmasto at aol dot com and I will give you the information you need. You can stay as little or as much as you like. Spaces are limited.

8) I see several posts spoke about time commitment. We made a decision early on the run a railroad not a simulator. This requires a larger time commitment. We know and understand that people have lives, school, family, jobs. That is why our crews run when they can and if they can't they skip a session. Also just like a real railroad we have a finite number of crews we will train for each simulator. Once those jobs are filled like a real railroad we will close to new members. Our intention is not to be a huge forum group because there are a limited number of sessions and trains within those sessions that can be run correctly. Prototype operations is what drives us. If you want to run on a "real" railroad then you will enjoy what we do. Also, active engineers at VORA will have access to new equipment, routes, activities that will not be made available anywhere else on the planet. We have done it in MSTS already, already lined up to do it TRS and already have RW owners running with us now who can provide us what we need for our file libraries. (Yes that is a shameless commercial plus to get you to join in the action.)

9) Last, I see some references to multiplayer in this thread. What we do is light years beyond multiplayer. Please do not get hung up on the I can see the other train. In our busiest session we ran 29 trains recently on a Surfliner session. The average amount of time you had a train passing you was just under 8% of your total run. 92% of the time it was you, the radio and possibly your conductor if you were in local or yard service in the session. The elements we add with live trained railroad personnel is far beyond anything you will ever have with multiplayer. If that 8% is critically important to you, then yes you will need to wait until someone actually perfects that technology. It is very server dependent and requires a major cash investment for development. When "I can see you" becomes available we will add that element to the sessions but remember in our sessions, every switch, signal and inch of track is under dispatcher control and you run according to his/her instructions. Our goal always will be a prototype class one railroad running as it does in 1:1 scale.

Hope this helps explain a little about what we do for you. I understand that we are not for everyone and that's okay. But if you want a chance to run just like a prototype class one engineer, I hope you check out what we do. Sorry for getting long winded. I now return you to your life already in progress.

Nick

[Shortliner]

Nick, I think this is a really good video that showcase what y'all do.

Link

[arizonachris]

This sounds amazing! OK, you got me hooked. I'm gonna have to give this a try. Maybe Friday or Saturday if I get enough time. Work (in real life) is brutal this week.

[Machinist]

It sounds interesting but the thing that puts me off is the time commitment. I simply don't have 2-3 hours to sit down in a block and play games.

What (and why) do week-ends and holydays exist for?

Since I had to change model train hobby by train simulator in 2001, all I am waiting is driving (like a real driver) a 6 hours long saturday afternoon-night's multiplayer session, with real people.

It's always a question of preference, I left trivial TV programs (like novels, series, football, talk shows, movies) in order to have more time for train simulation.

[TrainMaster1]

In terms of sessions, we only run a few sessions each month. We are not set up to handle spur of the moment sessions. Our senior staff is scheduled months in advance so that we know a session if fully staffed and ready to go. We schedule session far enough in advance for you to check your calendar and to know if you can make it.

Just as when we started MSTS, the schedule for RW sessions will be one Main Session per month and several mini sessions. Then as we build enough people to handle all the in-house jobs as well as move up to senior roles like Dispatcher, Yard Master, Road Foreman of Engines, etc then we will add additional sessions.

The reason that sessions are not available on a daily or spur of the moment basis as there is just a lot of work to do to get it right. Currently MSTS sessions run every other Saturday and two minis in the month.

So if you are interested in learning more....here is what I would recommend. Plan to listen in to either the 9/17 or 10/1 operating sessions just to see if this is something you would like to do. Next, if you are interested in getting involved in running in a session, you need to sign up at our forum:

http://vrma.proboards.com

You will get a new member questionnaire that takes less than two minutes to complete. At that time you also should reserve your space in our October Intro Event. This is where we cover paperwork (track charts, signal charts, track warrants, call boards, Consist reports). Also we cover using the radio, train handling, brake systems and more. This done in two classes of two hours each. All new members start here.

At that point you can run in two minis operating sessions. These can be for any sim that you own. So you can run on whatever mini session comes first and then run in RW sessions later once you are qualified. All new members follow this same path to earn their way into the cab. We do this to ease you into the action rather than throwing you in the deep end of the pool with a set of complementary lead weights around your ankles.

So please let me know if you want one of the remaining listeners spots in either the 9/17 or 10/1 session. Just send me a PM here and I will get you the information you need.

That is it for now....If enough people ask I will host a live Q&A session where you can ask me anything you want to know about how to get involved and what we do in a typical session. I hope some of you will get a chance to listen in on either 9/17 or 10/1.

Thanks for reading,

Nick

[Heavy Chevy]

Hi guys:

I just thought I might add my 2 cents worth to this topic. The subject of “multiplayer” has been coming up for a long time in the train simulation community. No matter what sim you use, MSTS, Trainz or Railworks everyone seems to want to interact with others. What an outstanding idea, human beings working together at something to make it better and that much more enjoyable. I must say that I am an RW guy for sure. The advances in graphics and physics get better and better, a lot better in just over a week. Having said that, I don’t think that Nick is trying to get folks to go back to MSTS and forget about RW. I know that he and his group would like to move into RW but need more people to do it. The quality of operations by his organization is second to none. What he teaches folks to do could easily be adapted to Railworks. As he said “the I can see you” feature will be nice when available but for now he has come up with a fantastic way to enjoy running trains with others in the community. When I think of “multiplayer” I think of Call Of Duty or World of War craft or other shoot em up type games. I feel that what we do is not playing a game but operating a simulator. I get a bit upset when people say to me “playing video games are you”. I think we should get away from calling it “multiplayer” and call it organized operations with multiple people or something to that effect. Drop by his site, take a look around. If you get a chance listen in to one of his sessions. If you see a video about it just close your eyes and listen. Forget that fact that it may be MSTS on the screen and just listen to the guys on the radio. Insert your own mental image of RW as you listen, ah that’s better.

As always, have fun.

[TrainMaster1]

Hello all:

If anyone would like to listen in to this Saturday's session on the Clovis Sub, just send me a PM and I will get you all of the info you need to listen in.

The session runs from 1 pm to 11 pm eastern time and you can drop by for as much or as little as you like. I will be happy to send everything you need to know to enjoy all of the action and follow along with the 24 trains as they make their way from Clovis to Belen (or vice versa).

We are seriously considering adding RW sessions to our calendar and hope you will stop by to listen. Once you do you we know you will be hooked on running a railroad just like dozens of engineers in ranks already.

Thanks for reading,

Nick

[TrainMaster1]

Thanks to all of the RW people who came in and listened to our operating session yesterday. I hope you enjoyed you time there and learned how this system can turn playing the sim into operating a sim/railroad. We ran for 10 hours and moved 23 trains across the line. Longest single run right around 5 hours on a 15,000+ ton coal train. Shortest run just about 1 hour on an Intermodal hot shot.

Next session coming on 10/1 if you want to listen in and next Intro Event coming on 10/6 and 10/9 where we explain everything you need to know to run as an engineer in one of our prototype operating sessions. If you have any questions or want to listen in on 10/1, just shoot me a PM.

Thanks,

Nick

[Machinist]

I was there, and can say was aweome despite of just listening!

I dare not imagine if I were running a simulator and driving a train also.

It would be nice if Railworks owners would adhere to their team, because then we would have sessions with the RW3/TS2012 too.

Come on people, it's worth a listen, at least! I can sum up my experience in two words: professionalism and realism. OK, there is not an online multiplayer session, you do not see other consists running, but I think they go beyond.

Thanks to Nick, his Staff and VORA members, for the wonderful Saturday afternoon (almost till moon 10 hours long including briefing ).

Machinist.

[TrainMaster1]

Next session is coming up on 10/1 for our operating group. I am making an open invitation for anyone who is interested in learning how we will be creating RW prototype operating sessions in the near future to listen in to a live operating session. Also if enough people are interested I will host a live Q&A session to answer your questions about how we do what we do.

So if you want to listen in or if you have any questions on actual railroad operations fell free to send me a PM and I will do my best to get you the information that you need.

Nick

[eyein12]

nick can you send me a pm. id like more info on this.

[TrainMaster1]

Info has been sent to you. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help you.

Nick

[Shortliner]

Info has been sent to you. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help you.

Nick

So, any word of doing a session on Horseshoe Curve anytime soon? I ask because well...because RSC.com will release Horseshoe Curve for RW either tonight or tomorrow.