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| ARS Management 21/06/2015 at 19:12 #73588 | |
2W34
58 posts |
Hi folks I am looking at purchasing the new LTS sim but there is something that bugs me and this has dated back as long as I have played SimSig... I am grateful for ARS inclusion on the big sims, I never play multiplayer and it allows me to have a good crack at a big sim. The problem comes when (prototypically?) I have all the ARS sub areas on. I feel like i'm watching a DVD of a signalling panel, it's rather boring (I appreciate that is how it is in real life but bear with me!) On the Vic South Eastern sim I had a crack at leaving the ARS on and attempting to signal the Thameslink (City Thameslink - Blackfriars) on my own. It works, but sometimes the ARS messes up and very soon you can end up with a backlog of delayed trains. What do you guys do to get the most out of the ARS sims? I am not knocking SimSig at all. I realise these are the most realistic sims I will get without stepping foot on a signalling floor. I just want to know how I can keep things "ticking along" while still feeling like I am playing an integral part to signalling the trains. Thank you in advance. Log in to reply |
| ARS Management 21/06/2015 at 19:24 #73589 | |
guyh
54 posts |
I prefer sims without ARS for the reasons you state. But you can make any sim more interesting by using more intensive timetables and/or having failures on, or by doing as you did and taking ARS off some areas. So on sims without ARS, if they keep me busy enough, then I will often run with no failures on at all and the challenge is to avoid making any mistakes, keeping everything on time. On an ARS sim, I find it's generally more interesting to have a reasonable number of failures. ARS (sim and IRL) doesn't deal with this itself very well - you need to keep an eye on things and switch out sub-areas, turn individual trains non-ARS or use reminders to ensure ARS routes things in the best order. As you say, ARS can make a mess of it, so one challenge is to learn where ARS will get it wrong, and make sure you step in before it does so. Log in to reply The following user said thank you: 2W34 |
| ARS Management 21/06/2015 at 19:38 #73590 | |
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Phil-jmw
674 posts |
When I run (I never 'play' a sim with ARS, I set the sim up with failures reduced to quite low on the sliders and limit number of failures to 1 at a time, and to balance this I run the sim with train delay potential increased so it won't potentially be all plain sailing, some thought will at times be required. Once the sim is running, as long as everything is running ok I turn off one or more ARS sub-areas and signal trains myself in those areas.
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| ARS Management 21/06/2015 at 21:19 #73594 | |
Dick
386 posts |
Just turn ARS off and slow the sim down if it gets too manic, Vic South Eastern is quite manageable without ARS
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| ARS Management 22/06/2015 at 11:01 #73604 | |
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TimTamToe
656 posts |
Personally with ARS sims they fall into two or three categories and can move between them depending what mode I'm in (it'll make sense in a bit lol): Depending on the size of the sim, I normally run without ARS on and often with a few failures / delays etc. but also with the sim speed reduced slightly. As you say ARS isn't perfect and sometimes I feel trying to guess when it might cause you trouble is more hassle than controlling the whole sim yourself where only yourself is to blame. However while I'm writing and testing tt's ARS is on all the time, so I can see how it handles things and in case I need to make a few tweaks to help or guide the end user. The third is a mixture of the two and specifically for the Wimbledon sim due to the options available. If you haven't got Wimbledon the option upon start up are ARS fully on, ARS fully off and ARS per se which is how it is in reality with certain areas with ARS and others fully manual. Hope that helps Gareth Log in to reply The following user said thank you: 2W34 |
| ARS Management 22/06/2015 at 14:29 #73614 | |
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Noisynoel
989 posts |
What you must remember about ARS, and a lotof real signallers forget this is that it's not there to do the job for you. It is there to assist the signaller (Not the signaller assist the ARS as has been mentioned at work!!).
Noisynoel Log in to reply The following users said thank you: 2W34, flabberdacks |
| ARS Management 22/06/2015 at 18:49 #73624 | |
Peter Bennet
5363 posts |
" said:Hi folksPossibly answered your own question there. As others have pointed out ARS does not always get it right and your job is to pre-empt ARS getting it wrong or at least spotting the error as early as possible and sorting it out. I've run SwinDid with full ARS on and every train with ARS and never been at a loss for things to do while scrolling back and forth monitoring all the areas. Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply The following user said thank you: 2W34 |
| ARS Management 22/06/2015 at 22:52 #73626 | |
ozrail
197 posts |
Peter's right. The fun is to outsmart the ARS by thinking ahead of it, changing routes to get trains moving and let empty trains or freight leave early. (Well sometime.) ARS is useless during a failure so it lets you concentrate on the failure by keeping an eye on the peripheral panels. I love ARS. It's like the ocean just don't turn your back on it. Except to make a cup of tea or coffee.
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