What's the point of Quick Drive?

[Railhead]

In another recent thread by Mr_Benn questioning why Free Roam no longer appears in new DLC, DTG said that 70% of users of TS2015 play in Quick Drive. I hardly ever use it. Am I missing something? I think not.

To me Quick Drive has all the disadvantages of the Standard and Career scenarios and Free Roam with none of the advantages. It is just an easy way to play the simulation, and is therefore of particular benefit to people new to the game.

The advantages of the Standard and Career Scenarios are that you have a task to perform and there are AI trains. But in any scenario it is of course always the same task and the same AI trains. Therefore after a while they become boring and there is no need to play them again. The main advantage of Free Roam is that you can access all parts of a route and populate it with your own choice of trains. The only thing missing from Free Roam is the AI trains, but this can be overcome to some extent by placing stationary trains along the route off the main running lines to make the simulation more realistic. I know it is probably technically possible to introduce AI trains to Free Roam, but this to me would make everything much more complicated and cause the game to crash more. Even now without AI trains in Free Roam I sometimes get the message that the game is over because of the collision of an AI train. This is without any, what would it be like with them?

My usage of the simulation is about 85% of the time on Free Roam, 10% on the Standard and Career Scenarios, and 5% on Quick Drive. Without Free Roam I would probably stop playing the game and would certainly not buy any add ons to it.

To get back to my original question, could anyone please tell me if I am missing something that others have discovered with Quick Drive?

[CrashBoxNat]

vyrago eredeti hozzászólása:

I'm still wrapping my head around free roam. I tried it once and it just seemed like all I could do was 'fly' the camera around the route? You can make scenarios and actually drive stuff???

Did you click on one of the trains?

[vyrago]

no? I didnt think that would do anything. hahaha

[CrashBoxNat]

vyrago eredeti hozzászólása:

no? I didnt think that would do anything. hahaha

Well, you know now, for future reference.

[Jackson]

vyrago eredeti hozzászólása:

no? I didnt think that would do anything. hahaha

Yea, just click on any train. That's why it's so easy to create a scenerio. Just drop locos all over.. any loco you might want to drive. When it starts you can click any one of them. To get another, either restart or couple to one, switch to that one and decouple the first.

[vyrago]

But theres no AI in free roam right?

[Mark44]

Hi vyrago, it sounds as if you are new to the game. There is no AI traffic in free roam. There is a way you can actually make your own scenarios in the World Editor to create AI traffic. All you have to do is head into Free Roam in Train Simulator 2015, click on any route you wish to drive and allow it to load. Once loaded, then press the 'esc' button on your keyboard and a 'pause menu' will show, click on World Editor, you will find yourself in World Editor mode. You will see a white square with an orange locomotive icon in the middle, there are a few of them for different scenarios that have been made. Next in the top left of the screen there is a flyout. What you need to do here is click on the locomotive icon on the far right of this flyout. When this is clicked you will get a warning message saying; "Editing the scenario will cause the current game session to be lost, would you like to continue?" Click Yes! When done, allow it to load, then click on the second flyout below the first one, on the left of your screen you will see another icon (the front view of a locomotive in orange), second to the right. If you click on that it will highlight all scenario markers built in TS2015. To make AI trains you need to click on Standard/Career or Timetable scenario markers. Pick the one you prefer and it will bring the white square with the orange locomotive into the simulator. On the far right, you have a form to fill in that asks you to name your scenario, time of day, weather etc, etc. After you have done, you can close it down by clicking on the orange 'play button' at the bottom right hand corner of the screen, just click 'yes' if it asks that you want to save it. Your scenario will be ready to make. Just repeat the steps again to enter World Editor and click on the same locomotive icon so that the warning message reappears. Here you can program your own trains to run in the scenario by clicking on the second flyout again and click on the train icon that is right next to the large blue cube. Here you can choose your locomotives. The rolling stock can be chosen from the wagon icon next to that. To make the trains work, you need to click on the 'driver' icon in the top left flyout that is in the second row of icons. This is an icon of a man wearing a hat second to the left in the middle. Once that has been done, you can then place it on top of the locomotive you are going to drive. You will then need to click on the clock icon in the top left flyout to make your path for your trains. Here you will find the 2D map of the railway lines on the left and a blank screen on your right. Here you will see the driver icon at the top, just click on that and there will be another window that'll pop out. It will say 'service1' in the window, here you can rename this for your train. To operate this train it is recommended that you tick the box on the right that shows the locomotive icon. If you don't tick it, the train will not be playable by you. If you add more trains to your route, then this box will not be needed to be ticked. The trains will run AI, but you need to select the same driver icon for those trains and just add on the selection of paths for it to run and it will soon be added to AI traffic! If you want to add another train that isn't shown, but you have got in your simulator, just click on the blue cube with an orange arrow in the left hand flyout and another flyout on the right side of the screen will appear with the DLC or other developers names that you have purchased. Just tick those boxes and your trains should automatically be added to your list in the left hand flyout. You do need to close the driver icon window so that you can add paths for your train. To stop at stations to pick up passengers just click on the 'couple of people' icon and they should end up showing station platforms in your list. The 'red flag' icons are the waypoints for your trains, important to use these to prevent your train and AI trains from using the wrong lines. When you have come to the end of your destination for all trains you need to click on the most important icon, for which is placed at the bottom of the list in your path. This is the blue square icon with an orange arrow pointing right. Then save. I could go on... Hope this helps! ....

[Mark44]

You can choose anywhere in the route to place your scenario marker, you just need to fly to your departure station/yard or wherever you would like to start.

[Railhead]

If I explain the way I usually play the game then it can more easily be understood why I like Free Roam and question the reason for Quick Drive.

I now create my own Free Roams since I finally found out how to do it. The last one I created and am now using is on the Great Western Main Line.

The first thing I do is put in things such as more fuelling points and cargo loaders. Then the big task is populating the route with my own choice of trains basing the Great Western route around the year 2000. I put plenty of trains in the largest station, Paddington to make it look more realistic, of course leaving some platforms free for my own future train movements. I put trains in the bay platforms at some other stations, leaving the main running lines free. I put plenty of trains, locomotives and wagons in all the sidings on the route and in the depots. Of particular mention I put some of the Hitachi New Super Express Trains from the Test Trak Scenario from TS2012, as they look a little something like the Eurostar trains, at the North Pole Depot, but I did not make these operational. I put some steam locomotives plus old carriages and wagons at the Didcot railway centre. In total I put 95 trains and locomotives on the route.

An example of the way I play the route is to start out from Paddington with a 6 carriage class 166 DMU on a semi fast service to Reading. Then at Reading I take the train to the depot and switch to a class 47 diesel loco which I use to do some shunting in the sidings and finally take a loaded coal train to Didcot power station where I unload the coal. I then take the empty wagons to a siding at Didcot and then switch to a 2 car class 150 DMU for a local stopping train to Oxford. I then park the train in a siding at Oxford and Save and Quit. Then the next time I play I Resume and start out from Oxford with another train.

So you see none of this can be done in Quick Drive. In Free Roam I can have exactly the trains I want, mainly by shunting, using what I originally selected when creating the Free Roam. But the most important thing is I can manually change all the points.

[AshHill07]

Railhead eredeti hozzászólása:

The first thing I do is put in things such as more fuelling points and cargo loaders. Then the big task is populating the route with my own choice of trains basing the Great Western route around the year 2000. I put plenty of trains in the largest station, Paddington to make it look more realistic, of course leaving some platforms free for my own future train movements. I put trains in the bay platforms at some other stations, leaving the main running lines free. I put plenty of trains, locomotives and wagons in all the sidings on the route and in the depots. Of particular mention I put some of the Hitachi New Super Express Trains from the Test Trak Scenario from TS2012, as they look a little something like the Eurostar trains, at the North Pole Depot, but I did not make these operational. I put some steam locomotives plus old carriages and wagons at the Didcot railway centre. In total I put 95 trains and locomotives on the route.

All of that can be done just as well in quick drive as in Freeroam.

Railhead eredeti hozzászólása:

An example of the way I play the route is to start out from Paddington with a 6 carriage class 166 DMU on a semi fast service to Reading. Then at Reading I take the train to the depot and switch to a class 47 diesel loco which I use to do some shunting in the sidings and finally take a loaded coal train to Didcot power station where I unload the coal. I then take the empty wagons to a siding at Didcot and then switch to a 2 car class 150 DMU for a local stopping train to Oxford. I then park the train in a siding at Oxford and Save and Quit. Then the next time I play I Resume and start out from Oxford with another train.

THAT is what can't be done in quick drive.

[Walter White]

crashboxnat eredeti hozzászólása:

I much prefer Free roam to Quick drive, as FR gives you the feel of endless posibility and exploration (unlike QD where you cannot change any junctions).

That depends on the route.

On the Northeast Corridor there has to be Slow and Fast QD because the quick drives aren't well set up.

On Munich-Garmisch are there separate S6 and Regional QD's between Munich and Tutzing?

[Thogmar]

Railhead eredeti hozzászólása:

In another recent thread by Mr_Benn questioning why Free Roam no longer appears in new DLC, DTG said that 70% of users of TS2015 play in Quick Drive. I hardly ever use it. Am I missing something? I think not.

To me Quick Drive has all the disadvantages of the Standard and Career scenarios and Free Roam with none of the advantages. It is just an easy way to play the simulation, and is therefore of particular benefit to people new to the game.

The advantages of the Standard and Career Scenarios are that you have a task to perform and there are AI trains. But in any scenario it is of course always the same task and the same AI trains. Therefore after a while they become boring and there is no need to play them again. The main advantage of Free Roam is that you can access all parts of a route and populate it with your own choice of trains. The only thing missing from Free Roam is the AI trains, but this can be overcome to some extent by placing stationary trains along the route off the main running lines to make the simulation more realistic. I know it is probably technically possible to introduce AI trains to Free Roam, but this to me would make everything much more complicated and cause the game to crash more. Even now without AI trains in Free Roam I sometimes get the message that the game is over because of the collision of an AI train. This is without any, what would it be like with them?

My usage of the simulation is about 85% of the time on Free Roam, 10% on the Standard and Career Scenarios, and 5% on Quick Drive. Without Free Roam I would probably stop playing the game and would certainly not buy any add ons to it.

To get back to my original question, could anyone please tell me if I am missing something that others have discovered with Quick Drive?

You enjoy playing with Train Simulator as a model railroad, placing rolling stock all over, setting up train situations, etc.
I don't have the time or inclination to do ANY of that. What Quick Drive allows me to do is simply enjoy locos and routes without any of that time consuming placement of elements. I can take my favorite new trains, set up consists or use the ones provided, and try them out on MULTIPLE routes VERY QUICKLY, or to simply do random switching on routes that allow it.
This is FANTASTIC for running classic locos on other routes that they did not come with, particularly the excellent short line American routes in the workshop - free of course.
And YES, by the way MANY routes allow the use of switches in Quick Drive and always have, so I don't know where people get the idea that it's impossible in general - it isn't.

[Thogmar]

AshHill07 eredeti hozzászólása:

Railhead eredeti hozzászólása:

The first thing I do is put in things such as more fuelling points and cargo loaders. Then the big task is populating the route with my own choice of trains basing the Great Western route around the year 2000. I put plenty of trains in the largest station, Paddington to make it look more realistic, of course leaving some platforms free for my own future train movements. I put trains in the bay platforms at some other stations, leaving the main running lines free. I put plenty of trains, locomotives and wagons in all the sidings on the route and in the depots. Of particular mention I put some of the Hitachi New Super Express Trains from the Test Trak Scenario from TS2012, as they look a little something like the Eurostar trains, at the North Pole Depot, but I did not make these operational. I put some steam locomotives plus old carriages and wagons at the Didcot railway centre. In total I put 95 trains and locomotives on the route.

All of that can be done just as well in quick drive as in Freeroam.

Railhead eredeti hozzászólása:

An example of the way I play the route is to start out from Paddington with a 6 carriage class 166 DMU on a semi fast service to Reading. Then at Reading I take the train to the depot and switch to a class 47 diesel loco which I use to do some shunting in the sidings and finally take a loaded coal train to Didcot power station where I unload the coal. I then take the empty wagons to a siding at Didcot and then switch to a 2 car class 150 DMU for a local stopping train to Oxford. I then park the train in a siding at Oxford and Save and Quit. Then the next time I play I Resume and start out from Oxford with another train.

THAT is what can't be done in quick drive.

Actually I can do the same basic thing in Quick Drfves as well. I have to use a consist which I bring with me and not cars that are at the industries, but I can do loads of switching in Quick Drive on the way between check points, no problem.

[Thogmar]

Railhead eredeti hozzászólása:

If I explain the way I usually play the game then it can more easily be understood why I like Free Roam and question the reason for Quick Drive.

I now create my own Free Roams since I finally found out how to do it. The last one I created and am now using is on the Great Western Main Line.

The first thing I do is put in things such as more fuelling points and cargo loaders. Then the big task is populating the route with my own choice of trains basing the Great Western route around the year 2000. I put plenty of trains in the largest station, Paddington to make it look more realistic, of course leaving some platforms free for my own future train movements. I put trains in the bay platforms at some other stations, leaving the main running lines free. I put plenty of trains, locomotives and wagons in all the sidings on the route and in the depots. Of particular mention I put some of the Hitachi New Super Express Trains from the Test Trak Scenario from TS2012, as they look a little something like the Eurostar trains, at the North Pole Depot, but I did not make these operational. I put some steam locomotives plus old carriages and wagons at the Didcot railway centre. In total I put 95 trains and locomotives on the route.

An example of the way I play the route is to start out from Paddington with a 6 carriage class 166 DMU on a semi fast service to Reading. Then at Reading I take the train to the depot and switch to a class 47 diesel loco which I use to do some shunting in the sidings and finally take a loaded coal train to Didcot power station where I unload the coal. I then take the empty wagons to a siding at Didcot and then switch to a 2 car class 150 DMU for a local stopping train to Oxford. I then park the train in a siding at Oxford and Save and Quit. Then the next time I play I Resume and start out from Oxford with another train.

So you see none of this can be done in Quick Drive. In Free Roam I can have exactly the trains I want, mainly by shunting, using what I originally selected when creating the Free Roam. But the most important thing is I can manually change all the points.

Many Quick Drives DO allow manual changing of points. I do switching in Quick Drives all the time.
But as far as your game play, it's like a model railroad and you enjoy it. Fantastic. So why would the fact that 70 percent of TS users DON'T like to play that way affect you? Lol, just play as you like.

[Thogmar]

Mark44 eredeti hozzászólása:

Hi vyrago, it sounds as if you are new to the game. There is no AI traffic in free roam. There is a way you can actually make your own scenarios in the World Editor to create AI traffic. All you have to do is head into Free Roam in Train Simulator 2015, click on any route you wish to drive and allow it to load. Once loaded, then press the 'esc' button on your keyboard and a 'pause menu' will show, click on World Editor, you will find yourself in World Editor mode. You will see a white square with an orange locomotive icon in the middle, there are a few of them for different scenarios that have been made. Next in the top left of the screen there is a flyout. What you need to do here is click on the locomotive icon on the far right of this flyout. When this is clicked you will get a warning message saying; "Editing the scenario will cause the current game session to be lost, would you like to continue?" Click Yes! When done, allow it to load, then click on the second flyout below the first one, on the left of your screen you will see another icon (the front view of a locomotive in orange), second to the right. If you click on that it will highlight all scenario markers built in TS2015. To make AI trains you need to click on Standard/Career or Timetable scenario markers. Pick the one you prefer and it will bring the white square with the orange locomotive into the simulator. On the far right, you have a form to fill in that asks you to name your scenario, time of day, weather etc, etc. After you have done, you can close it down by clicking on the orange 'play button' at the bottom right hand corner of the screen, just click 'yes' if it asks that you want to save it. Your scenario will be ready to make. Just repeat the steps again to enter World Editor and click on the same locomotive icon so that the warning message reappears. Here you can program your own trains to run in the scenario by clicking on the second flyout again and click on the train icon that is right next to the large blue cube. Here you can choose your locomotives. The rolling stock can be chosen from the wagon icon next to that. To make the trains work, you need to click on the 'driver' icon in the top left flyout that is in the second row of icons. This is an icon of a man wearing a hat second to the left in the middle. Once that has been done, you can then place it on top of the locomotive you are going to drive. You will then need to click on the clock icon in the top left flyout to make your path for your trains. Here you will find the 2D map of the railway lines on the left and a blank screen on your right. Here you will see the driver icon at the top, just click on that and there will be another window that'll pop out. It will say 'service1' in the window, here you can rename this for your train. To operate this train it is recommended that you tick the box on the right that shows the locomotive icon. If you don't tick it, the train will not be playable by you. If you add more trains to your route, then this box will not be needed to be ticked. The trains will run AI, but you need to select the same driver icon for those trains and just add on the selection of paths for it to run and it will soon be added to AI traffic! If you want to add another train that isn't shown, but you have got in your simulator, just click on the blue cube with an orange arrow in the left hand flyout and another flyout on the right side of the screen will appear with the DLC or other developers names that you have purchased. Just tick those boxes and your trains should automatically be added to your list in the left hand flyout. You do need to close the driver icon window so that you can add paths for your train. To stop at stations to pick up passengers just click on the 'couple of people' icon and they should end up showing station platforms in your list. The 'red flag' icons are the waypoints for your trains, important to use these to prevent your train and AI trains from using the wrong lines. When you have come to the end of your destination for all trains you need to click on the most important icon, for which is placed at the bottom of the list in your path. This is the blue square icon with an orange arrow pointing right. Then save. I could go on... Hope this helps! ....

Lol, and that's EXACTLY why Quick Drive exists. Myself and the majority of TS users don't want to do all that manipulation and editing, we just want to drive trains. Bully for those who do like Free Roam, I'm glad it exists for those who want it.

[Thogmar]

Railhead eredeti hozzászólása:

In another recent thread by Mr_Benn questioning why Free Roam no longer appears in new DLC, DTG said that 70% of users of TS2015 play in Quick Drive. I hardly ever use it. Am I missing something? I think not.

To me Quick Drive has all the disadvantages of the Standard and Career scenarios and Free Roam with none of the advantages. It is just an easy way to play the simulation, and is therefore of particular benefit to people new to the game.

The advantages of the Standard and Career Scenarios are that you have a task to perform and there are AI trains. But in any scenario it is of course always the same task and the same AI trains. Therefore after a while they become boring and there is no need to play them again. The main advantage of Free Roam is that you can access all parts of a route and populate it with your own choice of trains. The only thing missing from Free Roam is the AI trains, but this can be overcome to some extent by placing stationary trains along the route off the main running lines to make the simulation more realistic. I know it is probably technically possible to introduce AI trains to Free Roam, but this to me would make everything much more complicated and cause the game to crash more. Even now without AI trains in Free Roam I sometimes get the message that the game is over because of the collision of an AI train. This is without any, what would it be like with them?

My usage of the simulation is about 85% of the time on Free Roam, 10% on the Standard and Career Scenarios, and 5% on Quick Drive. Without Free Roam I would probably stop playing the game and would certainly not buy any add ons to it.

To get back to my original question, could anyone please tell me if I am missing something that others have discovered with Quick Drive?

Of course you're missing something if 70% of users use a mode that you do not. That's simplicity. I think you misunderstand Quick Drive a bit though. I often build custom consists in the Quick Drive mode, and then select two points on a route to do switching at industries along the route. This is a very fast to initiate mode of "free roam" and YES it allows the movement of switches on many routes.