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| Automatically save sim on Exit in "SnapshotAt[time]" format 27/03/2014 at 01:55 #57871 | |
maxand
1637 posts |
I have SimSig set to save snapshots every 10 minutes, which works fine. If I need to exit SimSig at, say, 5 minutes after the last snapshot I must either save the current position under some name, or not save and resume playing from the previous snapshot. Let's say the last snapshot was taken at 0910 and the time now is 0915. A lot can happen in 5 minutes. If I want to save my current position in SnapshotAt0915.ssg, the best option is to left-click one of the already saved games (which copies its filename into the File Name field of the Save As window, then edit its time section to 0915, which is messy. Far better if SimSig automatically displays the default filename as SnapshotAt0915.ssg, then all I need do is click OK to accept it, or edit this to my preferred title if not. In this way the snapshot files remain sorted by their timestamps, which is ideal. Dare I suggest some other refinements to saving sims? 1) A lot can happen in even one minute, so there is something to be said for timestamping down to the current second, which shouldn't require much extra coding. E.g., saved snapshots could be automatically labelled SnapshotAt090000.ssg, or maybe better, SnapshotAt0900_00.ssg. This is common practice in other applications. 2) There should be an option to automatically take a snapshot when exiting SimSig without needing to go through the "Save As" routine. My text editor has an option to automatically save all open files on exit without notifying me. Thanks for considering these possibilities. Last edited: 27/03/2014 at 01:59 by maxand Log in to reply |
| Automatically save sim on Exit in "SnapshotAt[time]" format 27/03/2014 at 04:10 #57874 | |
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Lardybiker
771 posts |
That's a good suggestion. I've opened a ticket opened against the core code for it.
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| Automatically save sim on Exit in "SnapshotAt[time]" format 27/03/2014 at 09:34 #57882 | |
postal
5190 posts |
" said:That's a good suggestion. I've opened a ticket opened against the core code for it.. . . . which duplicates a ticket that has been open since 19 Nov 2011. “In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe Log in to reply |
| Automatically save sim on Exit in "SnapshotAt[time]" format 27/03/2014 at 09:40 #57883 | |
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welshdragon
315 posts |
Actually John, both reports are unique, I believe Max is asking not for there to be a confirmation upon exit, but a save upon exit, which is different.
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| Automatically save sim on Exit in "SnapshotAt[time]" format 27/03/2014 at 12:53 #57893 | |
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postal
5190 posts |
" said:Actually John, both reports are unique, I believe Max is asking not for there to be a confirmation upon exit, but a save upon exit, which is different.Mark I wrote the first ticket and am well aware of the contents. As it was originally posted in pre-Loader days, things have moved on since, so there is an additional note posted on 18 Oct 2013 which reads "Similarly to get a reminder to save game before reverting to the Loader screen. ". “In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe Log in to reply |
| Automatically save sim on Exit in "SnapshotAt[time]" format 27/03/2014 at 17:26 #57905 | |
Steamer
3922 posts 
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" said:I can see a problem with this- your folder is going to get filled with tons of saved games, eating up disc space. For example, a snapshot on Exeter averages 57kb. Taking a snapshot a second for a full day's SimSigging results in about 5Gb worth of saved games (57x60x60x24). Bigger simulations have bigger snapshot sizes- New Street is about 150Kb per save, Victoria Central is 250kb. You can delete them , but it's a bit of a pain. You could automate the deletion, but that runs the risk of something you want being deleted. Also, do you really need 1 second resolution? When you're going to load the game, would you actually remember the difference between 10:01:54 and 10:01:55? I can appreciate that you might want to snapshot more frequently than every 10 minutes, but saving every second sounds a bit excessive- how about every minute? Please don't see this as conservatism for the sake of it, I'm just pointing out a couple of potential problems! EDIT TO ADD: Apologies, seems I've misunderstood the post. "Don't stress/ relax/ let life roll off your backs./ Except for death and paying taxes/ everything in life.../ is only for now." (Avenue Q) Last edited: 27/03/2014 at 21:52 by Steamer Log in to reply |
| Automatically save sim on Exit in "SnapshotAt[time]" format 27/03/2014 at 17:33 #57906 | |
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Lordmwa
148 posts |
I believe the suggestion was not to make a snapshot every second but to record the second it was made in addition to the minute. That would meant that a default snapshot would always be on the minute but a manual save is unlikely to be so. I actually think this is potentially quite a good idea
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| Automatically save sim on Exit in "SnapshotAt[time]" format 27/03/2014 at 17:40 #57907 | |
Temple Meads
307 posts |
I like this idea, I also think it would be useful if the name of the timetable could be included in the 'SnapshotAtxx:xx' title too.
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| Automatically save sim on Exit in "SnapshotAt[time]" format 28/03/2014 at 04:24 #57927 | |
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maxand
1637 posts |
I'm not averse to Temple Meads' suggestion that the timetable name be included in the title as long as it precedes the time, so that snapshots remain in order sorted by TT and then time within that TT, e.g., MyWTTSnapshotAtxx:xx. The only problem is that if the name of the TT is a bit long this may result in an unwieldy filename. For this reason I am happy just to have the sim saved as SnapshotAtxx:xx. I don't have any problem with snapshot files accumulating, since I know where they are stored and delete the last few hours' worth (except for the most recent one or two) several times while playing a 24-hour TT sim. There's no point in storing the really early ones EXCEPT for one reason: if I find by the end of a TT that it's worth having a number of strategically placed stickies on the panel, I might take some screenshots (.png files) at the END of the TT, then start a new game with the same TT, immediately pause it before any trains appear, create stickies from my screenshots image files and immediately save the game somewhere safe. Then I can resume the game starting from that saved game, with the stickies all intact. Last edited: 28/03/2014 at 04:26 by maxand Log in to reply |
| Automatically save sim on Exit in "SnapshotAt[time]" format 28/03/2014 at 07:25 #57930 | |
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Forest Pines
525 posts |
" said:I'm not averse to Temple Meads' suggestion that the timetable name be included in the title as long as it precedes the time, so that snapshots remain in order sorted by TT and then time within that TT, e.g., MyWTTSnapshotAtxx:xx. The only problem is that if the name of the TT is a bit long this may result in an unwieldy filename. For this reason I am happy just to have the sim saved as SnapshotAtxx:xx.Maybe it would be more manageable to have a snapshot folder for each TT? The filename would become MyWTT_Snapshots\SnapshotAtxx:xx.ssg Log in to reply |
| Automatically save sim on Exit in "SnapshotAt[time]" format 28/03/2014 at 09:22 #57933 | |
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clive
2738 posts |
I don't have a problem with the seconds being included in the save name. I don't think timetable is a good thing to include because the name becomes unwieldy *and* because how do you treat it when someone's saved the timetable? Snapshots were never intended to be kept for long periods under their own name. If I keep a snapshot for any reason, the first thing I do is rename it. Otherwise it's going to get overwritten next time I run the sim. Log in to reply |
| Automatically save sim on Exit in "SnapshotAt[time]" format 28/03/2014 at 22:44 #57965 | |
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maxand
1637 posts |
I agree with clive. In most cases one would want to discard snapshots after completing a TT. If you want to save a "template snapshot" with all its stickies intact, to use at the beginning of a game, as I suggested earlier, save it somewhere with a unique name (e.g., including the word "template" well away from the snapshots folder, along with its TT, (I use a folder named "Store" which also contains objects like signal diagrams, etc.).One other minor but obvious point: If including seconds as well as minutes, one can't name the file SnapshotAthhmm:ss.ssg as Windows won't accept colons in filenames, so it will have to be called SnapshotAthhmmss.ssg or SnapshotAthhmm_ss.ssg if you want a spacer. Personally I prefer the former. Last edited: 28/03/2014 at 22:47 by maxand Log in to reply |
| Automatically save sim on Exit in "SnapshotAt[time]" format 28/03/2014 at 23:53 #57975 | |
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AndyG
1834 posts |
A ploy I use when testing Cambridge for Clive (when snapshots were introduced as a testing aid) was to move a whole set into a archive subfolder in case later analysis was needed. If required maybe keep a set of snapshots with the WTT in an appropriately named subfolder? (Note that the TT is saved within the saves anyway. A wish list option might be a facility to amend the snapshot save file name stub eg <Username>athhmmss.ssg I can only help one person a day. Today's not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look too good either. Log in to reply The following user said thank you: maxand |
| Automatically save sim on Exit in "SnapshotAt[time]" format 29/03/2014 at 04:34 #57978 | |
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Hawk777
386 posts |
I don’t use snapshots, but when I save games manually, I have a strict naming scheme. In my “My Documents” folder, I have a “SimSig” folder. Inside there I have a “Timetables” folder (for stuff I download or write separately from the default sim install) and a “Saves” folder. Inside “Saves”, I have a folder for each sim. The sim folder contains a folder named for each timetable. The timetable folder contains a folder for each playthrough, numbered from 1. The playthrough folder contains all the .ssg files, each named with just four digits, the sim clock time. So, right now, the next file I will load when I start playing is called “C:\Users\Hawk777\My Documents\SimSig\Saves\KingsX\Kings Cross 1985 v7.21\1\0445.ssg”. Keeps things very tidy.
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