Connecting Routes

[crolland]

OK, so I'll be honest - I detest Steam and so haven't really read any of the content here - I tolerate it so I can play TS but that's about it, so apologies if I am asking something that has been asked a billion times before . . .

I have bought a few routes, including teh London to Brighton and South London network. I had kinda hoped that these routes would connect (the next purcahse would be the WCML from Euston North) so I can run something like the Brighton toe Miltoin keynes Service, but they don't connect at all - I have multiple independant scenery "lumps".

Is there any manual way of connecting the "portals", or is this a case of "tough luck"?

[Growler]

Tough luck I'm afraid!

The best you can do currently do, is to make use of the game's recent (I believe brought in as a new feature with TS2014) chain-linking scenario ability. For one part of the scenario to end at the relevant part of one route (i.e. like a major terminis city station) and carry on in part 2 on the new route starting from that same station (if it has it!) to continue along the your second chosen route.

You unfortunately can't use Portals for driver trains so they can't be used as a method for your train to magically pop out of another portal on the relevant neighbouring route you wish to link. It's a very nice idea though, I grant you that!

As for physically connecting routes via the World Editor this is basically a no no, because real world coordinates don't in reality exactly match up within the game. They aren't precise enough for overlapping routes to be able to realsitically interlink/interlock into each other. Historically such detail was never used (in fairness at the time of the older route construction there wasn't even the technological ability e.g. pinpoint accurate GPS/GIS (CAD) that we have today) and each route was built as a single entitiy with no thought given to ever linking it up with another route. And even if co-ordinates weren't an issue, we've then got the pc resource limitations provided by the game's old graphics engine, and simply not having the necessary processing power to run super long stretches of line as one.

If I were you I'd have a go at scenario chaining and see whether that can give you sufficient realism for moving within a single scenario from one route to another. Hope that helps a little. All the best, and good luck!

[pjohnandlyns]

If you look in workshop you should be able to find a joined up route for the London to Brighron and the South London Network (don't know what it's called).
It has been possible to connect these two, I think, because they have the same geographical start point. Sadly it not possible to join any other routes together because they don't have that.

Hope that helps.

Edit. Growler bet me to it by a couple of minutes with a much lengthier explanation.

[Growler]

Originally posted by pjohnandlyns:

If you look in workshop you should be able to find a joined up route for the London to Brighron and the South London Network (don't know what it's called).
It has been possible to connect these two, I think, because they have the same geographical start point. Sadly it not possible to join any other routes together because they don't have that.

Hope that helps.

Edit. Growler bet me to it by a couple of minutes with a much lengthier explanation.

Hi pjohhandlyns. It's normally me that's just pipped to the post! Probably because of my "essay" like length replies!! LOL

Thank you for the info on the L2B and SLN workshop route. Crumbs someone has sure been busy, with the new London route out literally only for a matter of a few weeks! I'll have to try and find it their efforts and have a little explore. Cheers.

[pjohnandlyns]

Growler.
I haven't looked for it cos I don't have the S London route so have no idea what it's like or even if it's finished or a WIP.
Read about it on this site. 21st. 11th, 20th,19th letter of alphabet eh eh.

Edit. Click L2B filter on w/shop page and look for South London to Brighton.

As for linking scenarios it doesn't work. Another blob from 2015. They link OK in editor but when you run them they don't follow on. Scenario one ends and goes back to play list.

[Dodgydruid]

I really do think in my humblest opinion that this is where TS has to go next and with a 3rd party route due imminently, for the first time we will have the ability if not the option to theoretically drive from Aberdeen to Kings Cross making it the first real end to end mainline in entirety and there are us out there who would love to, just love to drive such a train end to end.

Would it not feel more "authentic" if for example, you drove your HST to Reading and then was able to after a suitable "notice" suggesting you have a break and your learning driver in the other seat takes over for a bit in the screen then resume driving it from BTM to Exeter, to Paignton?

Or jumping into the cab of an old CIG at Victoria and driving direct to Portsmouth Harbour, the switch of zone being made at Redhill, along the Dorking route and down to the turn around where the train will divide finishing at PMH?

Already scenario writes outside of the Workshop in the freeware arena are beginning to catch onto this, one scenario set I recall sees your HST leaving for Pboro from KX, then onto the 3rd party route, then back onto the ECML York to Newcastle, jumps the gap between Newcastle and Edinburgh, picks up the 3rd party to Dundee and then finishes with the freeware at Aberdeen from Dundee.

I have wondered if Shap and WCML-N can be merged, trim off Windermere, Dumfries and some of the suburban Glasgow lines giving the user a dedicated express mainline route but I would be quite happy if the simple portal was exploited in such a manner that I could drive my sleeper train to Edinburgh after splitting it at Carstairs and then maybe sectioning it for Inverness, Fort William and Aberdeen and having the ability to drive it to Fort William or Aberdeen.

Think too of US routes, the coast to coast services potential where one starts off in New York and works across the whole nation to finish up in Miami, one has to ask what would they prefer, a real grind like that or little drives to there and back... My choice is for the long haul but some perhaps wouldn't enjoy that type of rail driving.

[crolland]

That is exactly how I feel also . . . I'd love to take a long haul freight across the UK, or the cross-country route from the West Country to the Midlands - or even the Euston - Holyhead route . . . ahhhh . . . I can but dream . . . and all this money we spend on routes too . . .

[Mavadelo]

chain linking scenarios? never heard about that nor did I see an option for it? (but than, I tend to overlook more stuff in TS2015 as I recently discovered)
How do I go about chainlinking? can this be done by a noob like me without using a workshop?

[pjt1974]

It's all about adding the scenario folder name to the end instruction in the scenario editor.

I find chained scenario's a pain in the backside with all the automatic loading of the new route then having to wait for it to load before you can exit if you want to take a break. I'd rather just nd one scenario, have a cuppa, then load the next part of the scenario manually.

[pjohnandlyns]

Originally posted by Mavadelo:

chain linking scenarios? never heard about that nor did I see an option for it? (but than, I tend to overlook more stuff in TS2015 as I recently discovered)
How do I go about chainlinking? can this be done by a noob like me without using a workshop?

Go to Railworks folder then, dev/docs. Look at How to use TS 14 Technology Pt 1 (that's how long it's been around). There's a section on it in there.

It doesn't work though since the roll out of TS 15. You can link 2 scenarios OK but then when you try to play one after the other it just defaults back to the main menu so you have to search for and load the second part manually.

Something else that DTG know about and haven't fixed yet!!!

[Mavadelo]

Thanks for the replies but I am afraid I am gonna break something if I use the workshop (probably my brain. I can do a lot when it comes to computers but the TS workshop is not one of them I am afraid :) Perhaps I can find something in the workshop in that regard :)

[Microsoft Word]

Originally posted by pjohnandlyns:

If you look in workshop you should be able to find a joined up route for the London to Brighron and the South London Network (don't know what it's called).
It has been possible to connect these two, I think, because they have the same geographical start point. Sadly it not possible to join any other routes together because they don't have that.

Hope that helps.

Edit. Growler bet me to it by a couple of minutes with a much lengthier explanation.

It's called South London To Brighton