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Simsig how to get started ?

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Simsig how to get started ? 24/09/2011 at 07:58 #21231
Adams
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Hi chaps, where do I start , what are the basic keys , how to down load and what are the best maps to get started on ?
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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 24/09/2011 at 10:20 #21234
jrr
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95 posts
Welcome

Read the terms and code of conduct from the Home page link.
Go to Downloads/Uploads.
From the Official Software page download the System files and run on your computer.
Now click on Simulations (below the System files link)
Pick a simulation - Royston is a very small one, good for getting used to things.
Download it, unzipping the zip file. This gives you the Royston simulation with one timetable. [Recommend accepting default locations for downloads]
Go back to the Downloads/uploads page and select user-contributed - timetables - Royston and download and install one or both of the Tutorial timetables in the Royston folder inside the Simsig folder you created with the first download. [Timetables don't always default to where you need them]
Play your tutorial(s) and the supplied timetables. When you get proficient or bored download a different timetable or better a new simulation. Peterborough is a good one because most of it runs itself. Some are huge and best played online with others, some are manageable alone.
If you get confused search first on User manuals/WIKI - most questions are already answered there. If that fails post again.
Finally please, please make sure you register as a user: it's quite free and gives you access to beta level simulations etc.
The site does not charge you, but there is a donations page if you can help keep it going.

jrr

Last edited: 24/09/2011 at 10:21 by jrr
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The following user said thank you: Josie
Re: Simsig how to get started ? 24/09/2011 at 17:01 #21247
Josie
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310 posts
" said:
Finally please, please make sure you register as a user: it's quite free and gives you access to beta level simulations etc.
The site does not charge you, but there is a donations page if you can help keep it going.
Presumably he/she has already done so in order to start this thread :)

Welcome to Simsig, Adams! Hopefully you'll find the forums very friendly - there's always someone who'll be able to answer any questions you've got, even if they seem silly or obvious. Let us know how you get on!

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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 24/09/2011 at 18:07 #21250
delticfan
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476 posts
Welcome to the wonderful world of Simsig Adams
The basics to get started have been covered in previous posts, but don't be afraid to ask questions. I've found that the sims that I learn the quickest are the ones where I know the areas. I've been hooked for months and enjoy Pboro, Stafford and Cambridge and every so often something will pop up that you're not sure about, but there's terrific help available from the great gang on here. Enjoy!

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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 24/09/2011 at 19:43 #21254
Adams
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2 posts
Just wanted to say thanks to you all for your assistance and advice.
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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 25/09/2011 at 13:27 #21266
Anothersignalman
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72 posts
Hi,

I'm an Aussie signalling fan and although my main hobby is constructing and operating miniature lever frames, I thought I'd give this a shot.

I've just signed up twenty minutes ago, and no matter what file I download, I get this sort of result:



Apparently I'm not allowed to download the System Files; I get errors when I try to click the links, "Fatal error - attempt to access unpublished file by non-admin user". So what am I doing wrong?

Dave

Last edited: 25/09/2011 at 13:28 by Anothersignalman
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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 25/09/2011 at 13:46 #21267
Peter Bennet
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5362 posts
You definitely need the system files. I'm not aware of any problems in downloading them from our end- is it perhaps a local problem with firewall or some other protection on your computer?

If you can confirm that you have actually downloaded OK and the problem comes at the installation stage.

Peter

I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs!
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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 25/09/2011 at 13:54 #21268
Anothersignalman
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Nope, can't get either of the system files or the help files.

First link takes me to http://www.SimSig.co.uk/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=56&func=fileinfo&id=1
Second link takes me to http://www.SimSig.co.uk/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=56&func=fileinfo&id=8

Both links are a plain white page with the text "Fatal error - attempt to access unpublished file by non-admin user"

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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 25/09/2011 at 14:02 #21269
Peter Bennet
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5362 posts
Somehow or other you have managed to access the obsolete unpublished files- must be a rogue link somewhere. Try going in via the Downloads/Uploads link on the Main Menu side panel.

Peter

I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs!
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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 25/09/2011 at 14:27 #21270
Anothersignalman
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Yay! It works!

Thanks :P

Trying to find the page with the bad links; it seems to have vanished between my downloading the real files and restarting my computer. If I come across the page again I'll let you know; all I remember is that it had a few columns of files; in each row there was a selection of the PDF files for a simulation, then another column, then the actual download link in the third column and something else in the fourth.

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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 26/09/2011 at 13:59 #21321
Anothersignalman
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72 posts
Next question:

Is there a 'working time table' screen which can be opened for viewing only, that shows all expected trains and their routing without preventing you from signalling at the same time?

It's harder to signal than in real life if you don't know what to expect and when.

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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 26/09/2011 at 14:02 #21322
jc92
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newer sims have a simplifier which is accessed via F8. with the older sims this facility doesnt exist so the only way to work is to open a second game up
"We don't stop camborne wednesdays"
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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 26/09/2011 at 14:36 #21324
Anothersignalman
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I don't have the skill at the moment (although it's something I can work towards), but:

What if we developed a Simsig feature that could upload a timetable from, say, MS-excel? Then the Working Time Table and train graph (up to 255 trains) can be accessed at any time via alt-tab, including a 'notes' section, and although I haven't yet played around with it, I expect that the timetable input system would become easier to manage as well.

For what its worth, I've been writing WTT's, Train Graphs, Signal Diagrams and interlocking diagrams for years now, all for model railways and/or volunteer public transport advocacy in Melbourne, Australia.

(Which reminds me, I'd also like some local signals in lieu of the British style? We have a mix of route and speed signalling, in each case selected by little more than a coin flip.)

Edit, other ideas: include sound files - lever & interlocking thunking, announciators (colloquially bell n' thumps), bell codes, train rattling as it passes the box, whistles when stopped at signals to start. Most of the sound files probably already exist.

Last edited: 26/09/2011 at 14:39 by Anothersignalman
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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 26/09/2011 at 14:51 #21325
jc92
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" said:

Edit, other ideas: include sound files - lever & interlocking thunking, announciators (colloquially bell n' thumps), bell codes, train rattling as it passes the box, whistles when stopped at signals to start. Most of the sound files probably already exist.
doesnt really work for power box operations. trains dont rattle past, and if they do you dont usually hear them. whistles dont apply becuase the regs require a telephone call nowadays (no flags anymore either).

"We don't stop camborne wednesdays"
Last edited: 26/09/2011 at 14:51 by jc92
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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 26/09/2011 at 14:58 #21327
Anothersignalman
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The local rules on this half of the planet were never updated.

That aside, I'm playing Royston at 0649, and I've got 3R67 and 2C67 sharing platform 1, how do I couple them? Do I just rename 3R67 to 2C67?

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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 26/09/2011 at 15:03 #21328
jc92
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if they are booked to couple (will show J:XXXX where XXXX is a train description) then they will automatically couple when signalled together
"We don't stop camborne wednesdays"
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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 26/09/2011 at 15:09 #21330
Anothersignalman
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They're booked to couple and in the same block section (since I gave 2C67 a calling-on signal to enter the occupied road), they have been sitting together since 0649 (now 0652, timetabled departure 0651), but there's no indication that they've merged. See attached image.

And I've got another train due in a few minutes on the same track.

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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 26/09/2011 at 15:15 #21334
jc92
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open up the F2 menu (train list) and see if they still exist. they will probably join and form a new service. if so you will need to manually interpose and/or cancel the existing descriptions
"We don't stop camborne wednesdays"
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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 26/09/2011 at 15:17 #21335
Anothersignalman
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Manually renamed 3R67 to 2C67 and they coupled - or maybe they were going to anyway and I just happened to rename them at the same time.

Either way, that sort of information belongs in a manual somewhere.

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Re: Simsig how to get started ? 27/09/2011 at 14:01 #21355
Forest Pines
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" said:
Manually renamed 3R67 to 2C67 and they coupled - or maybe they were going to anyway and I just happened to rename them at the same time.
The latter is more likely. The description on-screen doesn't necessarily reflect what the trains are on the ground. Some locations on some sims have a feature called Automatic Code Insertion (ACI) which updates the on-screen train descriptions, but on others (including Royston, I think) you have to manually change the descriptions to match what the trains are doing if there are trains joining and dividing, or if the train ID changes. Some sims have ACI which can cope with plain ID changes but not with joins and divides.

To see what the trains are doing, press F2 to open the Train List window. The sequence of events when two trains join is: as soon as the second train has come to a stop, the current status of both trains should change to read "Joining Trains" for a few minutes; then when the join is completed, one of the trains will disappear from the list.

In nearly all cases, if trains are timetabled to join, and you route them both into the same platform, they will join. Very occasionally there might be circumstances in which the trains don't "see each other" and don't join; this normally happens in very specific circumstances, so if it does, searching the forums for the train ID will almost certainly bring up previous reports of the problem and suggested workaraounds.

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