GreeneggsnPelham

Hey All,

I apologize for being away from this thread, as well as NYCTF lately. I've been posting updates on the openBVE & UTM Facebook pages, but that isn't fair to those of you who don't have my private information. So here's a short update on what's been going on:

-Due to FPS issues with a DEM map as a ground texture, I've abandoned that idea for NYCTA because it is so detail heavy (buildings, signals, etc), that I want to focus the routes on the trackage and surround scenery and not have the frames eaten up by a ground texture that'll be covered up by roads anyway. So unfortunately, the BMT Southern Shuttle has been scrapped for now.

-However, I have resumed work on the IRT Mega-Route that has been in production since December 2010. The entire system is finished track and station wise. Yards wise, I still have 1/2 of Corona, and the full layouts of Concourse/Jerome, 207 St, and 239 St to build. I expect this to be done by the end of March 2014. After that, I will focus my attention on station detailing, signals, and outdoor scenery. It is my hope that in Q4 2014, the entire route will be finished and ready for a beta release.

-For now there are a dozen beta testers acting as line superintendents checking everything on their assigned line from tunnel curves to stations to broken rails. I will be doing things a little out of order sometimes (I'll set up signals along a stretch, or plop down some scenery along a line) in order to make my video updates much more visually appealing.

The R160 by Mikey186 is in production and his revised script for changeable R142A LED signs is ready on the BDC website for release. (I will have to confirm his upload).

For now enjoy some pictures of Pelham Yard, Corona Yard and some recent (this evening) work on the Corona line's signals:













Enjoy!

-A   

 

@Strain: PM me on BDC---I need to add you on Facebook because I'm rarely here.

-A 

Excellent work!

-A 

Good work as always

I wish the mac version of Trainz was a bit more stable... I would be making a few routes too. Nice work SE and Green.

Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully this new Kickstarter campaign from N3V will mean a more stable environment for Mac users as well---IMO waiting until 2010 for a Mac version when the original PC version was out in 2001 was a bit overdue on Auran's part.

Really? Well I'm on the 4th hotfix of SP1 so I'm just going to hope that these hotfixes have fixed most of the issues

Yeah--I am currently trying to figure out what the heck is going on because all working scripts for the new timer signals are flawless in every version of TS from 09 to 12, and once SP1 hit---boom, shit flying everywhere. Maybe the hotfixes helped, but once I struggled with SP1 for an entire day, I said f*ck it, and reinstalled. Shane Turner from N3V/Auran is helping me figure out what's wrong with the SP1 errors so I can hopefully convert everything over. Right now, as it stands, Magicland's trains and the new NYCTA Timer Signals do not work in SP1. Keep your eyes peeled on here, Auran & BDC Projects for updates.

-A 

Don't patch! !!!! It works fine as is and SP1 causes issues with content that is perfectly fine.

@Yankee: I have been juggling several projects since June but the IRT is done, route track wise Yard wise I still have Westchester, 239 St and Corona.

@Radio: when doing the DEM I singled out the subway only for clarity. No LIRR on the Southern BMT yet since it's still an unfinished beta route. 2014 will see big things happen so expect this to get overhauled and made better.

Like I announced on BDC, I'm taking a small vacation due to the Holidays but there will still be small updates here and there.

-A

For this, I assume Montauge is NOT in operation either.

 

runs Bedford Park Boulevard or 145th Street to EITHER 2nd Avenue OR Chambers Street station (alternating trains) Why make another train run via 8 Avenue? You're clogging the line.

 

Single track shuttle operates between Broadway-Lafayette and Grand Street.

 

is re-routed via the after West 4th Street to Coney Island (express Jay Street-Church Avenue and peak direction express Church Avenue-Avenue X) and then through via regular route to 36th Street-4th Avenue. The F might be overloaded and constant switching at West 4 St would back up the line. Not to mention switching north of Bergen St from exp to local would also back things up. You love bottlenecks don't you? There's no need for Culver express.

 

also runs through Coney Island via West End to New Urecht Avenue, where it terminates. This makes absolutely no sense.

 

Where there is not enough capcity at Broadway-Lafayette to run via 6th Avenue, is re-routed via old route to Chambers Street.

 

runs normal overnight (when Montauge Street tunnel is open) route to Whitehall Street ONLY at ALL TIMES. 

 

runs as a special Brighton-Sea Beach shuttle operating between Prospect Park and 36th Street-4th Avenue through Coney Island at ALL TIMES.

 

Brooklyn runs 36th Street-4th Avenue-95th Street, Brooklyn, otherwise, line operates seven days a week as it currently does on weekdays.

 

Special shuttle train operates Court Street and Jay Street-Metrotech at ALL TIMES. Why?   

 

operates in two sections:

 

241st Street-Chambers Street (local south of 34th Street), then via to South Ferry before turning north.

 

Eastern Parkway-Flatbush Avenue

 

operates in two sections:

148th Street-14th Street (Times Square late nights)

Eastern Parkway-New Lots Avenue at ALL TIMES.

 

Single track shuttle trains operate between Chambers Street (express tracks) and Borough Hall station.

 

and both operate regular routes to Borough Hall ONLY, however, select trains run to Bowling Green and then operate via the loop and stop at the South Ferry station (trains are marked "South Ferry").  Evenings and weekends, all trains are extended to Borough Hall. Why do you have to make things extra complicated, running the 5 to the 1 South Ferry station? You were actually doing really good with this one up until that point. Can Borough Hall even handle both the 4 and 5 with just one double x-over to turn back with?

 

Shuttle buses operate in Brooklyn as follows (all shuttle buses stop at Jay Street-Metrotech BMT/IND Station, Hoyt-Schermerhorn IND Station, Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center Station and Lafayette Avenue IND Station):

 

Court Street IRT/BMT Station and Prospect Park BMT Station with stops at all IRT and BMT stations in between along the IRT and Brighton lines.

 

Court Street IRT/BMT Station and 36th Street-4th Avenue with stops at all 4th Avenue line stations.

 

Riders are asked to use 6th & 8th Avenue line trains between Manhattan and Brooklyn.

 Lord help me, my replies are in red and I've done all I can do. 

Fire damage necessitates the closure of Barclays Center and the surrounding area. The building fire also burst some underground gas lines which causes the closure of the Atlantic Av & DeKalb Av subway stations due to tunnel & station structural damage.

Reroute accordingly. These stations will be closed from today (11/4) until the day after Christmas.

-A 

@Realizm: Agreed. This is slightly off topic, but when constructing my layouts for Trainz and looking at some diagrams when I lay down signals, many of these areas make me scratch my head. Case in point: really long straight track sections where the grade isn't that steep and you get a loooooooong string of 2-shots or 1-shots. Like you said, tight curves and junctions make sense because of prior negative history, but those straight sections don't (especially if they're on the express tracks and another express station is about 4 stops away).

-A 

Well, they also prevent accidents too and keep trains on time. I think that timers on the express tracks that are nowhere near an express stop should either have their clearing speeds increased or the timers taken out in general. It's very telling when a local train can beat an express train on a run between two express stations.

On the local side, I personally believe timers are needed more since there are more stops, and an increased need for protection. 

Last point @Justin: You have to also take into account grades and curves when it comes to timers. That's a reason why there are so many. An area seems safe, there's an accident--they put in timers to hopefully prevent future accidents.

-A 

[video=youtube;zuAv9W6zKSE]

and trains run local from 36 Street to Roosevelt Avenue. Alternate service is available on the  .

 

Any other challenges?

What about the and ? Remember this shutdown is for 6-8 weeks.

LOL @ FamousNYLover's "heavy delay" scenario. That doesn't count as a solution here! 

F

207 St to Chambers St, Utica Av to Lefferts/Rockaways via local
168 St to 2 Av
via Crosstown

Wouldn't sending the via local to Utica or Lefferts/Rockaways be implausible in this scenario since the power is out @ Jay, where those trains need to pass to get further into Brooklyn/Queens?

-A 

207 St to Chambers St, Utica Av to Lefferts/Rockaways via local
168 St to 2 Av
via Crosstown

I'd start trains @ Hoyt-Schermerhorn to get some service between there & Utica that would be missing if you started trains that far into the Fulton St line. You could also use the outer two tracks to hold trains if extras are needed to supplement service. Just my two cents. Other than that, good service change.

Next: Due to a severe track fire, the Northern Blvd "Express bypass" for the and trains is out of service. Routes affected: . Reroute accordingly--the timeline for this disaster is that this section of the QBL will be out for 6-8 weeks.

-A 

New Downloads and lots of new information up at the BDC Projects website!

http://www.bdcprojects.com

Check it out!

-A   

@Wallyhorse

 

I don't understand why in the hell would you want the to run as a five-car shuttle trains between Botanic Garden and Coney Island.

Don't you know that all he does is troll this thread with ridiculous ideas?

@Horn: I see this on my signal plans, but it shows a barely noticeable turn to the right, so I ignored it. Also, due to the space limitations with the tunnels in Trainz, I wasn't able to get this right down to what you're describing. The distances aren't right, but I had to fudge that area just a teeny bit! Again---I'm doing my best to get it 100% accurate, but some things won't make it in the way they're intended.

Update regarding the Southern BMT route:

Due to TS12 showing its other personality (douchebag), all of the signals for this route had to be removed from CM due to a bug. Subway V, my scripter, and I spent the last twelve hours doing all we could to find the problem, to no avail. So for now, the signaling aspect of the route is put on hold. All signals are gone until he is finished scripting the Home Timers. We think this might be due to the route itself being "stuck" on an older version of the NYCTA signal library, so after each update, the route just got tired of updating and decided to stay put. Luckily, the route was backed up, so all is well on that front. I will continue physically building the route and yards, but until further notice, no signals will be on it. This also means that the promised West End express video will be put on hold as well. Sorry for the delay guys---it sucks because signaling takes hours--but this is better than the entire route being lost. Thanks for your continued support and patience!

-A   

Signaling on the West End line is complete! I will be uploading a video in the next few days of a special West End Express run from Coney Island to 36 St! Be on the lookout!

-A   

BDC Projects' head scripter, Mr. Subway V has put together an excellent video showing the behavior & configuration of our new NYCTA timer signals for Trainz 12.

Enjoy it, watch it, learn it! 

Duly noted, Brighton. I apologize if I offended anyone.

Thanks Horn. The stations' color scheme was chosen at random and was meant to be used on the entire system, interchangeably. I know that 36 & 59 have yellow beams, and that the stations below 59 have blue, and Bay Ridge is yellow. I can't change that without upsetting the balance on other portions (like how the blue works really nicely on the 8 Av IND in Manhattan). I am, however, tinkering around with experimental ideas on changing textures. I'm not sure if it can be done for splines, but if it can be, then the user can change the texture color of the beams. I know it only works on solid objects--the problem is that NYCTA stations are anything but "uniform", as seen by the many platform off-sets around the system, so I can't build an object that's 620' long and expect it to be used on the entire system, hence the spline middles, for varying length.

I do appreciate your feedback though and am glad you liked the video! I'm not ruling out changing the colors of the beams--just postponing it for a little longer!

-A