Activites:Long or short?

Bulliedline · Post by **Bulliedline** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 11:31 am

Do you like your activities long or short?

Lad491 · Post by **Lad491** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 11:55 am

As an activity writer my preference is for long activities, but i rarely run any done by other people. One hour activities are fine if you dont have much time or for a stopping passenger service, but when TM hit the download queue I started writing 3 and 4 hour activities, and even one 5 hour activity. The only problem of course is the time it takes to do them and test them. A 1 hour activity takes me about 20 - 25 hours to write. A 3 hour one over 125 hours. I think the 5 hour one took closer to 200 hours. But then for me the writing is the fun.

People seem to like my long activities, but i'll be watching this thread with interest.

saddletank · Post by **saddletank** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 11:57 am

Both, variety is the spice of life!

There wasn't an option for 'both'.

Martin

jonrach73 · Post by **jonrach73** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 12:51 pm

My favourite activities are either passenger services on an agressive timetable, or freight ones which involve lots of shunting - personal favourites are the Skipton goods shifts.

Cheers,

Jon

250787 · Post by **250787** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 3:47 pm

I prefer shortish activities maybe an hour long

Cheers

Matt

Nvincer · Post by **Nvincer** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 4:00 pm

I prefer shortish activities because If they go on too long then I get bored

Ben

parsfan · Post by **parsfan** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 5:07 pm

<< The only problem of course is the time it takes to do them and test them. A 1 hour activity takes me about 20 - 25 hours to write. A 3 hour one over 125 hours>>

I'm glad you wrote that, I thought I was doing something wrong because it takes me so long to write an activity.

I like short and long. It all depends on how i'm feeling or how much time i've got. I quite like some of the more rural lines for shortish activities. SMJ springs to mind there. I also like to combine activities so, i've made activities that incorporate Thames mersey and SMJ. I run the servise to Blisworth, take the train onto the small section of SMJ on the Thames Mersey route then finish the activity using the SMJ route. It's like the best of both worlds, a moderate legnth activity but cut into 2 shorter activities.

There are a few routes that can be combined like that. Most of them involve Thames Mersey.

The shift activities are quite good for splitting up activities as well.

One day I might upload some but i'd have to tidy up the file naming conventions, I tend just to use whatever helps me remember.

JohnOz · Post by **JohnOz** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:29 am

I like activitis that are 30 minutes to 1 hour in length. Those are the limits of my attention and concentration. I know that I can save a longer activity and come back to it later, but that's a bit like eating half a chocolate eclair!

The average length of the most popular activites at the VR that I am part of is about 1-1.5 hours (200+ members).

Caseyjones82 · Post by **Caseyjones82** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 9:58 am

Lad491 wrote:As an activity writer my preference is for long activities, but i rarely run any done by other people. One hour activities are fine if you dont have much time or for a stopping passenger service, but when TM hit the download queue I started writing 3 and 4 hour activities, and even one 5 hour activity. The only problem of course is the time it takes to do them and test them. A 1 hour activity takes me about 20 - 25 hours to write. A 3 hour one over 125 hours. I think the 5 hour one took closer to 200 hours. But then for me the writing is the fun.

People seem to like my long activities, but i'll be watching this thread with interest.

wow yours take that long to make. i make and create activities for DUR. i have made a 6 hr activity before, returning coal run. kept it for myself. it had heaps of AI traffic, around every 5 mins a commuter would pass. AI traffic both ways, plenty of static consist. that took me just under 5hrs to make, and then the full 6 hrs to beta test.

anyway, maybe and option for inbetween, or a bit of both? i like a variety of activities.

alex

MartinH · Post by **MartinH** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 3:15 pm

From an activity writer's point of view, testing is the key issue with long activities, especially where shunting or passing trains on single lines is involved. What people who don't write activities surely don't appreciate is that if you've had to test an activity 5 or 6 times to get it perfect, you are sick to death by the end.

As an activity player, I would say 1 hour is optimum. Is that long or short?

Martin

MuzTrem · Post by **MuzTrem** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 4:34 pm

Personally my preference is for short activites, 20-30 minutes,firstly because I'm from the 10-second attention span generation, secondly I simply don't have time to play long activites.
I well remeber creating my Appleby-Settle evening stopper activity which is quite long.

Invalid File ID [11855]

I never could be bothered to play it all the way through-it all worked fine in RE so I just assumed it would in the sim and released it!

(No-ones given me any complaints so I presume it's OK!)

popol · Post by **popol** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:05 pm

It depends what you call long or short activities...

I like activities about 1h, 1h30 long.

Garthion · Post by **Garthion** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:29 pm

I like ativities where there is interest, I don't care whether thay are long or short, as long as there is something interesting to do/watch Currently creating an activity pack for the South Eastern Branchline using Bats Southern Region stock, that'll ave some interesting things in it

Like running an N-Class along the full length of the line, with a tight timetable (Well, I haven't been able to keep to it yet

) so for me, an activity has to have some form of interest in it to be worthwhile, activities where there are no other trains about are sooooo Boooooooooring and quickly dissapear from my H/D whilst ones with AI/Static consists are kept

Keep Smilling,
Dale

parsfan · Post by **parsfan** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 9:00 pm

<<activities where there are no other trains about are sooooo Boooooooooring and quickly dissapear from my H/D whilst ones with AI/Static consists are kept >>

Quite agree with that. If its a single track line like the North of Scotland or SMJ I always make sure I have plenty of consists lying around, I usually try and have shuning going on somewhere near stations as well, goods being moved around yards etc.

mjspeed · Post by **mjspeed** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 9:02 pm

Length of around 1hr - 1hr30 is about right for most routes I think personally, as a lot depends on the route for holding a players interest.
Some lend themselves to longer activities than others, with more opportunity to realistically include lots of AI traffic and static consists.

Those with some form of fast/slow lines creating overtaking and path crossing possibilities are the best for the long mainline runs - shunting or freight runs can be good over long timespans, but can be repetitive if the AI variety isn't there.

The single line routes can be good as well, it just comes down to how the AI is used; too much of it and computer performance will suffer, but too little will send the player to sleep

Atomic Systems

Activites:Long or short?

Long or short Activities

Activites:Long or short?