Keyboard commands for junctions

[Imperial Strikeforce]

For the love of everything good in the world, can we PLEASE have keyboard shortcuts for switching junctions?

J = switches the junction immediately ahead of the train
Ctrl + J = switches the junction immediately behind the train

I would love to be able to drive my train in cab view without constantly having to switch to 3rd person external view to switch junctions. For junctions that are way down the track, they are too far away to click with the mouse and it's ridiculous to have to switch to 3rd person view, quickly move the camera down the track to switch the junction hoping I don't miss-click or my train will get to the junction before I switch it.

I made this request over 6 months ago. Is this a hard thing to implement? Nothing is assigned to the letter J in the game, so it wouldn't even require remapping default keybindings.

I'm trying to enjoy some game immersion but I spend more time with my view outside the locomotive than I enjoy from cab view. For multi-player this is probably no big deal because people play as conductors for the engineer, but for single-player people like myself, a lack of simple keybindings to switch junctions as I described above is silly not to have.

[kildar501]

You can set switches from the map for anywhere so you don't have to leave the cab at all if you want to operate that way.

[sbmarauderman03]

Ctrl J changes the lights on the locos...

[godofradio]

I believe J and Ctrl + J are both mapped to locomotive lighting. And "junction immediately ahead of the train" could be problematic when you come to yard tracks, etc.

In short, this might not be quite as simple as you think.

[TheLostPenguin]

Honestly not entirely clear to me, but without wishing to be too trollish does OP realise you can just click switches to switch them whilst in first person view?
I ask because I play essentially 100% using 1st person view and don't have any great issues throwing switches from the cab. Sure some spots maybe you need to go look out the other side of the loco to get clear sight when approaching a junction, and at night it gets way more challenging, but having to use 3rd person camera to set the road ahead of the loco I'm driving just isn't really a major issue I've encountered.
About the worst place I can think of on the portion I've unlocked so far is central Bryson on the main loop, where the spam of switches close together for the double crossovers/onto the ladder can make getting the right one a nuisance. Solution there is just drive a little slower, and I really can't think of anywhere else with a similar proliferation of proximate switches right now.

[Imperial Strikeforce]

To those who responded. Sorry for the long reply but I want to get my thoughts out here.

@kildar501 - When I say "game immersion" experience, what does that indicate to you? That I want a bunch of pop-up windows open on the screen blocking my view? I'd love to have the HUD removed also.

@sbmaraunderman03 & @godfradio - Ok, those keys are already bound to something else in the game, so let's pick another key not used. Also, yes it is that simple because I've played train simulation games from almost 20 years ago that had this feature. Can be a little tricky in rail yards where switches are much closer together, I admit, but it worked.

@TheLostPenguin - While saying you have no issues switching junctions from cab view, you then proceed to list all the ways you have issues switching junctions from cab view.

Two scenarios:

1. I have dumb AI driving my passenger train so the junctions all across the map have to be preset. This means I have to manually switch junctions constantly as I drive along the route approaching junctions, and once I pass them, setting them back in order to keep the route properly aligned for the AI. Am I leaning out of the window switching the junction behind me while me pulling a 2,000-foot-long train? No, I have to go into 3rd person view, go to the end of the train to switch the junction back as the last rail car passes it. Otherwise, the dumb AI gets stuck, because instead of taking the time to finish programming the AI to be smart by it being able to switch the junctions for itself, we seem to have abandoned that and moved on to creating a Scheduler. So I have to switch the junctions not only for myself but for the dumb AI also. Again, AI had this capability in train games I played almost 20 years ago.

2. Even while in-cab view, the ability to click on a junction 200+ yards away, while going 30+ MPH and the cab swaying is next to impossible. The clickable area to click the junction is too small from that far away and by the time you do get close enough, going that fast, you don't have much time to click it, because if you miss, you could end up derailing if you go through a switch point too fast if it's switched againt the main line.

Alternate solution:

If binding this functionality to keyboard keys is beyond the developer's capability, how about having two icons on-screen that represents the junction immediately ahead of the train and the junction immediately behind the last car of the train? Again, this could be tricky in railyards where junctions are close together, but for mainline travel at faster speeds where junctions are much further apart, I think this would be a great feature for scenarios 1 & 2.

In conclusion:

I know it can be done and that's why I suggested and requested it. For those who want the best immersion possible while in cab view being the engineer, a simple press of a key or icon click makes it easy and you don't have to run back and forth in the cab depending on which side of the track the junction is on trying to click on it from within the cab. That's just a silly thing to have to do rather than asking the developer to take the time to do it right.

Thanks.

[Beddhist]

In Experimental the AE Waypoint mode throws switches and resets them behind the train.

IRL switches are not controlled from the cab. Either they are remote controlled, or the train has to stop, one person gets off, removes the padlock, throws the switch and signals the engineer. You can either put on the dispatcher hat and control the switches from the map, or you can play guard.

Personally, I have the map open on a 2nd screen (as well as the roster) and switching is a breeze. I also have the map enhancer mod, which enhances the experience.

[DorniNerd]

As I believe I said before when you made this request, I appreciate your wants and did appear to make a note of it then. Thank you again for your thoughts.

The first person side is something on our list to look into more but it isn't a priority to other things in the game. A HUDless version of the game is something we'd like to see for the immersion folks in our community, it has been suggested before in great detail on our discord. One day we might get to that.

If I might make a suggestion:

As a point of note and reference for all: The first version of Trainz was made by a staff of nearly 65 full time professional employees over a span of 5-6 years. MSTS was designed and built by a full time team of 152. Rail Simulator by a team of 50-70 people depending on which credit list you use.

Railroader was built by a sole developer (and owner of the game), a small team of modelers, and a single producer.

A small team making a simulator of any kind, let alone put together by a sole developer, is a tall ask to begin with. 5-6 years of development has gotten the game this far.

The point I am trying to make here is perhaps cut us and your fellow game players a little slack. They are trying to help smooth your experience and offer suggestions of alternatives without using 3rd person.