Tips on Intercity activities

[jamestcc]

Hey all,

I've started to make my first medium range intercity activity (BR based - Midlands to Manchester), has anyone got any tips on how to make a successful medium range Intercity activity?

Thanks in advance,

James

[xfo10]

If its TVM4 that your're using, then my tip is to split the activity, half way, so you have two seperate activities, purely becuase TVM4 is so hardware hungry, and to get the most realistic environment in terms of traffic and loose consists you will need two seperate acts.

[ianmacmillan]

One thing you should do is prevent people out of step with the AI traffic by stating a maximum speed for the train. I recently played an activity with a freightliner where no speed was stated. Freightliners are limited to 75 MPH but I had to run a t line speed of 100 to see any AI traffic.

A list of passing times for a freight or a limited stop passenger should be provided or better still an AI train should be run ahead of the player train to slow the speeders.

A time event pop up should be displayed when a player is beginning to get too far behind with another one to fail the activity when the player is likely to be trapped at a red signal by a standoff.

Station stop times need to be checked and edited. Too often I have found myself late because the loading time is greater than the time between arrival and departure. The default settings are usually impossible.

Nor should the timings be too slow. Trundling along at 25 is boring.
.

[salopiangrowler]

Hey all,

I've started to make my first medium range intercity activity (BR based - Midlands to Manchester), has anyone got any tips on how to make a successful medium range Intercity activity?

Thanks in advance,

James

ahh intercity Xcountry they were all 86's apart from the Edinburgh via Manchester and the Poole to Liverpool, and HST's on the Bournmouth manchesters with the odd 47 thrown in aswell. locohauled Cross country rarely went over 7 mk2 coaches for speed and time keeping.

Top tip all northbound XC services stopped at stafford platform 5 returns on 4 with the exception of the bournmouth manchesters and returns that never stopped at stafford northbound passing through 5 and taking the down fast after the station and southbound taking the up fast through the station for the cross over on south side to up slow and eventuall up main at rickerscote junction.

Birmingham - Holyheads were sole regional railways usually a 31, 37 or very rarely a parcels 47.

[jamestcc]

Thanks on all the tips, I may do Xfo do and start the activity at Rugby and go onto Crewe and then the 2nd part from Crewe to Manchester Piccadilly (maybe extend it to Warrington) with both activities in one zip file or I may do what slopiangrower does and do the whole hog or both (depending how I get on with the 2 parter)

Ian, I'm not too sure how I can put markers down on the activity saying that I'm going to slowly and the activity terminates because of that.

Keep the tips coming in, I'll put all of my resources into the activity so don't expect anything of me to download in the next week or so (family commentimemts as well)

[salopiangrowler]

Well, thankyou, i dont really count my act's as the whole hog as the 4 hour 26 minute coal trip for the full bucket line was only half tested when i released it as i sampled a spad 4 hours into it, i gave up and released it anyway. I want to do things for Thames mersey but unfortunately my credit cards useless for 3 months, unless my kind mother lets me buy it on her's lol.

[bdy26]

Something medium range would be great - I can't be alone in not wanting to do a full run from london all the time! a cross country run starting on the bham line could work. Getting the stock formations right would add to the realism. For example, if you're covering the push-pull era, the DVTs are generally at the south end along with the first class - so you may need seperate consists for running north and south. If you want me to check any formations or make any suggestions then feel free to post or drop me a PM.

[jamestcc]

salopiangrowler, You could design and run activities for the TM route, you can get a screenshot by using whatever application you were using for screenshots and just put 1 up for when it is downloaded.

I decided on 2 in 1 activities if u get my drift, The 1st one is you start at Rugby Midland and you go to Stafford (Via Neuneton) and you are riding the yellows as a through service departed a couple of mins eariler, the number iof yellows decreasing after Neuneton)

The 2nd one will be a continuiation of the 1st one (after about a hour rest) from Stafford to Manchester Piccadilly/Warrington.

Bd26, I'm running the activity that is just one loco at the front of the train with no helper loco at the back, I'll let u know if I need any help,

Thanks

[salopiangrowler]

when i get the route ill do some full hog activites im working on LBE as im at my mothers till sunday.

Starting from rugby. mmmmmmmm interesting, the variety just blooms on the trent valley. how about a 153 on the Nuneaton stafford and its got to use the fast lines all the way to stafford and the signalmans forgotten you. and your behind a 153 all the way hoping to pass him by tamworth.

[jamestcc]

Yeah that sounds like a interesting activity, something I'll look apon once I have done the current Intercity activity.

[bdy26]

I'm running the activity that is just one loco at the front of the train with no helper loco at the back

I was thinking more of the AI trains - if the player train is heading north, the southbound AI services to Euston will be DVT first.

If you're starting at Rugby, then that would probably be an ex-Euston service. The cross country services ran out of Birmingham and joined the Thames-Mersey Route at Stafford.

[seandaly]

[quote="ianmacmillan]

A time event pop up should be displayed when a player is beginning to get too far behind with another one to fail the activity when the player is likely to be trapped at a red signal by a standoff.
.[/quote]

How do i get these messages to display when you are going to be trapped at a red lightor when the player is getting too far behind.

Thanks

[ianmacmillan]

You need to set up a location event and a time event.

Set the location event to change the priority of the time event so it does not trigger.

If the train reaches the location event within the time, the time event does not trigger.
If it is too late the time event will trigger first and end the activity (or display a hurry up message).

A more experienced activity writer can probably explain it better than I can.

[jamestcc]

Ah right, I see, I'll leave the activity as it is as there are plenty of AI traffic around in my activities.

Quick update:

BR IC 9:00 Rugby to Stafford (Via Nuneaton): Done and package

BR IC 10:00 Stafford to Manchester Piccadilly: Haven't started yet!