Custom scenario markers, and why they are important

[awaken1977]

Sort of tutorial, how to make scenario runs more prototypical.
I'm struggling with realism, when design my own scenarios.
And it's very annoying, when something in the game dictate you to behave such way, which is un-prototypical and unnatural for railroad operation.

First, default track markers (destination markers, platform markers) on some routes.
They are too short, or too close to signal, or often both. Short markers may fail to trigger event in scenario, leaving scenario in "not passed" state. Example - gooddamn Browning station in Marias Pass, which always fail to trigger.
Markers located too close to signal, require you to stop in non-natural way.

I believe neither railroad in the world requires you to stop like that (beside some subway or urban commuter rail systems). It's just too unsafe. Rules in some countries require the opposite thing - stop at least 100m (or 90 yds for US friends) from red signal. That's a safety "margin" in case if train has increased stopping distance due to it's heavy weight or insufficient brakes.



Also, there is often road crossing in the station, before signal. It's quite common that train stops before the intersection, not after. Imagine, if train stops for 20 minutes, and ambulance need to go to the other side. Pretty obvious reason to stay away from level crossing.
Good option is to allow our engineer to stop where (s)he wants before the signal, but allowing a better choice.



Here is a rescue custom scenario markers.

Go to infrastructure (semaphore icon), choose "Marker - destination"



Place the marker and stretch it , using creen marks on the end.
I make it wide enough, so engineer in the game do not need driving aids (HUD) to calculate precise stop location. Just stop, using common sense, in the signal visibility.



Don't forget to rename it to some meaningful name



Another annoying thing - is when scenario requires mandatory stop, even if there is a green light.
It happens, when it was red, you reduced speed, opposite train already cleared the signal and it changed to green.
but in the scenario task list there is still mandatory stop, which needs to be triggered for success.

To make stop optional, set min speed 1 MPH .



I do this for every meet point, with exclusion of end points.

I also planning tutorial on using sound markers to trigger talking detectors in Stevens Pass (if there isn't any already)

[Chacal]

Thanks!
Now added to the learning center on the web site.

[GreatNortherner]

Thanks , this is a nice tutorial of one of the most useful set of tools for advanced scenario design. Custom markers can also be used to route player or (more crucially) AI trains along specific paths by placing custom destination markers and setting "go via" or "waypoint" instructions for them. On routes that don't have "full length" siding markers, you can also use them to define exact drop off or pick up locations for switching scenarios.

First, default track markers (destination markers, platform markers) on some routes.
They are too short, or too close to signal, or often both. Short markers may fail to trigger event in scenario, leaving scenario in "not passed" state.

Based on my experience, these are the rules to get the checkmark for tasks in your work order (please correct me if anything is wrong):

• Go via instruction: any part of the train must have hit the marker used in the instruction. If min. speed higher than 1mph is set, this must be maintained for the whole time the train is passingcoupling.
• Couple to front/back instruction: Not entirely sure if the consist must be fully o the marker
• Stop at instruction: any part of the train must be stationary on the marker for at least 20 seconds (even if you set a shorter time span in the editor). The train must actually be at a full stop, if it stops moving again during the 20s, even only slightly, the work order is likely to fail.
• Drop off instruction: All cars to be dropped must be on the siding/destination/platform marker. If part of the consist extends beyond the marker, this instruction fails. Locomotive must not be fully on the marker when unn the marker or if it may extend beyond it.
• Pick up Passengers: not very sure on this, but I think coaches with passenger trigger in their BIN file must be stationary on the green marker and adjacent to the platform loft. If the train is too long for either platform marker or platform loft, use a Stop at instruction instead and it'll work just fine (just without animation, so no doors opening and passengers boarding).

Cheers
Michael

[imnew]

Good information. Added to links. Thanks !

[OldProf]

Based on my experience, these are the rules to get the checkmark for tasks in your work order (please correct me if anything is wrong):

• Go via instruction: any part of the train must have hit the marker used in the instruction. If min. speed higher than 1mph is set, this must be maintained for the whole time the train is passingcoupling.
• Couple to front/back instruction: Not entirely sure if the consist must be fully o the marker
• Stop at instruction: any part of the train must be stationary on the marker for at least 20 seconds (even if you set a shorter time span in the editor). The train must actually be at a full stop, if it stops moving again during the 20s, even only slightly, the work order is likely to fail.
• Drop off instruction: All cars to be dropped must be on the siding/destination/platform marker. If part of the consist extends beyond the marker, this instruction fails. Locomotive must not be fully on the marker when unn the marker or if it may extend beyond it.
• Pick up Passengers: not very sure on this, but I think coaches with passenger trigger in their BIN file must be stationary on the green marker and adjacent to the platform loft. If the train is too long for either platform marker or platform loft, use a Stop at instruction instead and it'll work just fine (just without animation, so no doors opening and passengers boarding).

Cheers
Michael

Michael,

Re "Drop-off instruction": in my experience, both as writer and player of scenarios, what you've written is sometimes true and sometimes not. For example, I have often successfully dropped a rack of cars on a marker much shorter than the rack's length.

Re "Pick up Passengers" instruction: much the same comment, in that passenger trains considerably longer than a platform and its relevant marker can execute a passenger stop successfully.

========================================

In response to awaken1977's remarks about marker lengths, If you mean that markers placed at the route editing level are generally too short, I must firmly disagree, especially in regard to siding markers. This is simply because markers that extend the full length of a siding, for example, seriously limit a scenario writer's ability to have that siding switched, especially in regard to AI switching.

This is true because a scenario-level track marker cannot be placed on top of a route-level marker. Michael and his partners courteously accepted my request for short siding and destination markers (about the length of 2 engines or cars, for instance) throughout their VNHRR route. Such markers allow the route maker to label the sidings in a yard or along a mainline and while also permitting scenario writers to place one or more markers at specific points along a siding. Markers placed at the scenario level can have the same name as the route-level marker or a different one. I usually prefer a name that combines the route maker's siding designation with a specific designator of my choosing. For example, if a siding's short route-level marker is named "Springfield Yard 23" and I want to place a marker near the west end of that siding, my scenario-level marker will be called "Springfield Yard 23 W".

Please note that while Stopping Points can be placed on top of route-level track markers, they are not useful in relation to AI trains. In my experience (on many different routes), an AI train instructed to stop at or execute a drop-off or pick-up at a Stopping Point will fail to do so.

One final note: in numerous scenarios written for British or German routes, a player instructed to stop at a red signal must do so as close to the signal mast as possible without passing it before he can obtain permission to pass the signal at danger; thus Destination markers placed for this purpose run right up to the signal mast. It is, of course, up to the player/driver to stop his train properly, which almost certainly involves reducing speed well before the marker's operative end so as not to run past the signal. Much the same is true of Platform markers in passenger stations, where slowing and stopping correctly are up to the driver, not what might be called "nanny markers".

[awaken1977]

OK, now I see the point why route-level markers must be short.
Since they cannot overlap with scenario markers, it allows more freedom in placement of custom markers in any part of the siding.

[Chacal]

Yes. The problem with the scenarios distributed with the new P42DC (well, one of the problems anyway) is that the scenario author used the short route marker for a stop instruction instead of adding his own scenario marker. Or just using the "pick-up passengers" instruction instead.

[OldProf]

... (well, one of the problems anyway) ...

You can say that again!!!