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London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack - Released

Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 7:19 pm
by tubemad
Hello all,

I could do with some help if possible, one for testing a scenario, and one for ideas. Before I fire away, I'll give an outline to what is coming soon for you guys, but if you've played the L2B Oddities pack or other single scenarios, you get the rough idea of what to expect but there are some extras.

I am starting a Rush Hour series, based on busy lines which mainly involve London. The idea is simple, a pack of scenario's purely based in the rush hour, when service patterns are different, empty stock services are preparing for rush hour (or going to bed after) and traffic is ramped up.

The first of the series is titled 'London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack: The Richard Fletcher Collection'. The latter part of the title get's it's name from the stock, as a majority of the trains are RF reskin's, from the Class 444 Gatwick Express and LO Class 377 reskin to the Southern Class 455 and 377 reskin's and more.
The Payware side is as light as possible, so you only need the Class 444, 455, 319 and L2B. I've not bothered with Networkers at Victoria as you don't really notice it, so I've included the SE 375's instead.

I've also set it as a realistic driving experience. What I mean by that is that there is no pop ups at all UNLESS there is a message from control or the relevant signal centre. So for this I've included a set of WON's (Weekly Operating Notice) for each scenario. This gives you basic info (like telling you if you need to open the doors at the start, or coupling to trains etc). It also informs you if there are TSR's on your journey and roughly where they are and also where lineside workers are, well, working.
Each WON is 3 pages long, so is a condensed version that applies to anything that might affect your journey, but is loosely based on the format of a real WON.

Don't feel that you need to read them or print them out, as you can get by without them by just following the action instructions in F3 and the station calling points in F1. There are also advance warning boards for TSR's anyway and you can also horn for lineside workers when you see them.

All scenario's are real services from RTT, and the NR WTT, and formations are from the real diagrams. Some scenario's are based exactly how they were on that certain day based on RTT, such as delays or altered calling patterns. On ome scenario's, you will need to stick to the timetable to pass the scenario, but if you are expected to be late, or is a tight schedule but is an 'easy' rated scenario, then the timetable is provided in F1 and you won't be penalised for running late. I've also included one scenario whereby all the stops are 'hidden' and you have to read your booked schedule in the F1 display for your calling points, and you could use it to see how well your route knowledge is, but if you get stuck, the stations show in F3 as you get closer to the station (or you could use the map in view 9).

I've done a timelapse video for scenario number 8, just so you get an idea of the realism of the scenarios:

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I need some idea's though for one scenario too. I'm interested in any service in the morning or evening that might have a unique calling pattern, or maybe split's/join's two or three times on the mainline somewhere (Redhill and Three Bridges or something for example). If you know of one, please let me know as it takes ages to find manually in RTT! I spent some time on there looking for ones that join at Hayward's Heath or Three Bridges, but couldn't find any :-?

Also, if anyone fancies testing a 319 scenario from Brighton to East Croydon, please let me know :)


I am up to Scenario number 15, and apart from one more to do that should be it (I may squeeze another if there are a few good suggestions) so expect a release in at least 2 weeks time or so. After that, I'll be doing the second series for South London Lines, that will be a big pack!

Keep an eye on this thread for updates and for when it's released


Any comments or suggestions or questions are most welcome :)


James.

Re: London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack - Very soon!

Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 7:39 pm
by 37114
There are definitely some services that join/split at Three Bridges, Redhill and Haywards Heath. They maybe listed as terminating or starting at those locations. Look closely you'll be able to work them out.

Re: London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack - Very soon!

Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 7:55 pm
by davep
Nice video, nice music too. What sort is it? Garage, house.....??
And I'll test your 319 scenario if no-one else has already offered.

Re: London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack - Very soon!

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 12:30 pm
by tubemad
Dave - Thank you, can you PM me your E-mail address please? Also not sure of the genre, it was in a style section on Freeplaymusic.

37114 - I can't see anything for Three Bridges/Haywards Heath towards London with a Terminates Here, apart from one early service. For the Rush Hour pack, the aim is to include services between 0630 - 0900 depending on the distance, basically arriving into London between 0800 and 0900, and evenings are set between 1600 and 1800.

Re: London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack - Very soon!

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 1:35 pm
by thetrainfan
Absolutely loved that video James. Sounds like it's going to be brilliant! :)

Re: London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack - Very soon!

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 1:36 pm
by 220389
Look very forward to the pack :)

Chris

Re: London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack - Very soon!

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 3:26 pm
by Leadcatcher
Ok - at first didn't think I would be interested in a another commuter set of scenarios - but after watching the video, can't wait till the pack is available - looks like they will provide the realism so missing in the stock scenarios available in the game

Re: London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack - Very soon!

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 5:21 pm
by tubemad
I'll get another one on the next scenario test run too. I hope no one is put off by the 5 minute wait you have at Battersea (as per video), this is the booked move to keep the platforms free at Victoria, but you do get to watch the traffic before you get the route. The dispatcher worked pretty well to fix it how I needed it!

Basically features of the pack:

- Some TS2015 features implemented
- Real numbering system witch matches each unit (i.e 377103 - The RF 377/1 reskin is used, and the number is at both ends, not randomized)
- Destinations shown unless not applied (i.e East Grinstead is not on the 377 destination list)
- TSR's and engineers can be found anywhere, not applied in all scenarios though
- A variety of difficulty levels, some are easy and you don't need to worry about keeping to time, other's you will need to stick to the the timetable. Some local stopper schedules are tight.
- All scenario's set in the morning/evening rush hour. Most are Southern scenario's but there are a couple of FCC duties too. FCC will be more concentrated with the SLL add-on chained with the L2B route for peak trains to/from Brighton via Crystal Palace

Re: London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack - Released!

Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 7:34 pm
by tubemad
And (after approval) here it is!

 Click to view more informationLondon to Brighton Rush Hour Pack - The Richard Fletcher Collect [2828078 bytes] - London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack.zip
File ID: 33481 Date: 03 Nov 2014 - 722 Downloads


I would highly appreciate some feedback to improve on future packs, the next being the SLL when the route and the 378 is released.

I would be interested in hearing back on key features such as:

- WON (Weekly Operating Notices): Would you like to see these in future versions, or would pop-up messages in the sim be better, or maybe both?

- TS2015 features: The idea is to make it as close to real life driving as possible. One scenario in this pack has all stations hidden, so you use the timetable in the F1 display to see your calling points and timings. Of course if you don't know the route, each station appears by pressing F1 and tells you how far away you are, or in F3/F4 display, the stations appear when you are a mile or two away with the distances, or you can see where they are in the 2D map in view 9. Would you like this in future scenarios? It would also give a chance to throw some surprises like extra station calls or skipping stations out to recover time (which does happen).

- Chaining: For the SLL, would you like to see some scenarios chained to the L2B to have through running such as London Bridge to Brighton, or FCC peak services to Brighton from Tulse Hill via Crystal Palace?


Any other comments or feedback in general will give me the opportunity to review these and prepare for the SLL Rush Hour pack. If you have any ideas for future packs and which route you'd like to see used, I'd like to hear them :). Remember the idea of the Rush Hour packs is to focus on busy lines that has a variety of peak services.


Enjoy!

James.

Re: London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack - Released

Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 5:09 pm
by tubemad

Re: London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack - Released

Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2014 5:40 am
by Ajay1
After having to acquire one or two of Richards paint jobs because I did not have, I have just completed the first scenario and found it thoroughly enjoyable and very realistic. Look forward to completing the remaining 14, Thanks very much James .

Antony.

Re: London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack - Released

Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2014 7:47 am
by yerkes
I've just added a comment to the file download, but I'll happily repeat here that this is a wonderfully realistic pack, and I love the weekly operating notices. Thanks, James!

Re: London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack - Released

Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2014 8:31 pm
by Trev123
I have only done one scenario number 12 which was very enjoyable. Had to press F2 and save to get it going as I don't have all the assets. Need to get the Class 444 and 319 which I shall purchase in the next sale.

Re: London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack - Released

Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 11:57 am
by jedipickles
I love the WON aspect of these scenarios!

Really good choice of scenarios - would have loved to do some Gatwick Express runs with the 444's - Idea for a second park maybe?

Keep up the good work :D

Re: London to Brighton Rush Hour Pack - Released

Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2014 9:14 am
by thetrainfan
I've played a handful of these so far and I must say they are excellent. I most enjoyed the very wet 319 service to Brighton, following something else on the way down with all instructions hidden. I feel this is simply brilliant as you're relying on route knowledge and I'd love to see more of these!

The WON element - brilliant. Can be a real tool to help you drive in some cases, and I'd say in the most realistic form possible.


Big thanks; I can't wait to see the one for SLL!