Simulation Layout

I would like to ask how did this current simulation layout come about? I don't know if anyone else feels the same but I feel like the simulation is so much harder to control because of the layout. Logically, the taff panel could and should just be on top of the Cardiff Mainline stuff and then rather than having West and East panels split with the A-A/B-B, these bits could just be put on the end. This would make the sim so much simpler to operate rather than having to worry about the mainline which is split into a top and bottom bit all for the sake of a few signals, then you have the Valleys stuff half a mile away but you also have lots of services which go between the two groups of panels such as the City Line so you're doing a bit here to the red flag, then going back to mainline to the next red flag and then having to scroll all the way back to valleys to get the train into the platform. It's a lot of unnecessary faff and I am wondering what the reason is for the poor layout as no other sim that I have noticed suffers from this sort of confusing layout.

The layout of panels in the simulation matches how the real Cardiff Panel was laid out, because the mainline was always controlled by a different signalman to the Taff. It wouldn't be practical to have the two in-line with one another – the complexity of the West End of Central station on the Taff panel vs the Main Panel means that Central station to Leckwith is twice the screen width on the Taff as it is on the Mainline. It would also make the sim incredibly tall, which we try and avoid as vertical scrolling isn't easy where the scroll-wheel is mapped to left/right rather than up/down.

You should only need to be using those part-route triangles for routes that start on Taff and Finish on Mainline. For the routes from 323 and 639 to Platforms 6, 7 and Riverside you can stay on the Taff Panel and route signal to signal ignoring the black hole. As long as you've given yourself the slot from the mainline panel the route will set through the black hole automatically.

There are some panel photos available HERE

a very small bit of vertical scrolling but a small bit isn't as bad as excessive horizontal scrolling.

I don't believe that the TAFF being on top of mainline would make the sim too tall, it would work perfectly fine if the A-A and B-B splits didn't exist and mainline as a whole was moved down, the TAFF panel would fit happily above, perhaps with a very small bit of vertical scrolling but a small bit isn't as bad as excessive horizontal scrolling.

It would also make the sim incredibly tall, which we try and avoid as vertical scrolling isn't easy where the scroll-wheel is mapped to left/right rather than up/down.

markymark2000 in post 153695 said:

I don't believe that the TAFF being on top of mainline would make the sim too tall, it would work perfectly fine if the A-A and B-B splits didn't exist and mainline as a whole was moved down, the TAFF panel would fit happily above, perhaps with a very small bit of vertical scrolling but a small bit isn't as bad as excessive horizontal scrolling.

Don't forget that not everybody has > 1000 px tall screens.

JamesN in post 153678 said:

It would also make the sim incredibly tall, which we try and avoid as vertical scrolling isn't easy where the scroll-wheel is mapped to left/right rather than up/down.

I can't try it right now, but wasn't it that holding down Shift switches the scrolling direction to up/down? That said, even so I agree, vertical scrolling still is annoying.

[Equally, don't forget many of us (if not the majority) do.

You might be in the minority with that opinion, my friend.

I found the cross-boundary route setting a little tricky at first, but it's second nature after a while.

SimSig always tries to find a balance between playability and preserving the historic operation of a panel - I feel that eliminating the cross-boundary interplay here would be a loss overall.

On a monitor with a large enough resolution, I always run with East/West workstations on the 'bottom' of the screen with Taff workstation in a separate view above. Works well!

You can open an extra window from the hamburger menu > Show > New View. Useful if the sim is long across but narrow in height like Ardsley.

Thanks
Jamie