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[220hotwheels]

Hi Tom

As most of the roads in the new layout are only single roads I thought it would be a simple task to adopt your EV for my purposes. I believe I have translated everything correctly but cannot get the barriers to operate using 01 Schlieben. If I change to 02 Offrien then the barrier will close but then open and close again instead of just opening. I assume the problem is to do with the instruction under the variable Belegung but having tried one or two alternatives it seemed to make no  difference. The bus on the other hand will stop whether the barrier is up or down but will not start again in any event. 

Clearly there is something that I am not doing right but I cannot see what it is. Help please!!! 

Crossing barriers test track.mbp

[metallix]

Hi Pete

As a "first aid" here is the demo in English with some explaining comments

Cheers

Tom

[metallix]

Hi Pete

First hint:

There are at least 2 situations where you have placed both, condition met and condition not met entries, all in the condition met section of a condition. The correct sections are only displayed when a new condition is set up:

After a first action is inserted in either field the remaining unused field shrinks into something next to nothing and hard to see.....

Here is a speed action in the "condition met" section.The "condition not met" section is in the vast area between the thin grey line and the fat yellow line. So best is to have binoculars, microscope or other eye vision aids handy to spot the fine difference between placing above ......

or under.....

that fine line, when wishing to put an action into the "condition not met" section. It may be of some comfort to you to know that you are certainly not alone in this misery of finding out the hard way about the fine line. At the beginning there wasn't even the explanatory labeling in an empty condition, as it is these days. I suggested several times to @Neo to color code the backgrounds in green (met) and red (not met),which would result in a nice fat green or red line, filling the unused section of a condition and hence would stick out.....but to no avail.

 

Second hint:

Check the "Belegung (occupied)" variable in it's location by clicking on the piece of track it is in and then clicking the lines button top right corner (basically as you would set it up!) It will show you how many times your loco has been traveling back and for since you set it up! No chance for it to ever reach 0 again!!!

Third hint:

to fix hint no 2 it is not enough to just reset the variable to 0 !!!

Forth hint:

Focus first on getting the barriers working properly .Turn the vehicle section off and only turn it back on once the barriers works fine permanently (either your loco running back and for or in a circle!!!).

Good luck (and fun)

Cheers

Tom

 

[metallix]

Hi Pete

In good Steve Jobs manner : One more thing...

Give objects, especially those you want to use as home for an object variable, distinctive names!

What I pointed out so far should enable you to fix your demo. Once that is done I suggest you  build a new one on your own, not by recycling and modifying a template but really doing it from scratch. This should  engrave the principles in your memory not only for  crossings but for  similar applications as well.

Cheers

Tom

[220hotwheels]

Hi Tom

Once again many thanks for your advice. I have briefly looked through it all and printed it off so that I can constantly refer back to it. My initial thought was that of confusion but like most things the more you concentrate on it the clearer it becomes, or at least I hope it will. You are also so right in that it is only by doing things yourself does it totally sink in so the back to the drawing board and start from scratch as a final measure is definitely the best way.

Once I begin my start from scratch program would a track contact with deferred timing do a similar job to that undertaken by the track section at the crossing barrier or must I alter all of my track sections where crossings are involved.

Cheers

Pete 

[metallix]

Hi Pete

You can use track contacts (TCs) to get the occupancy variable reduced as well. If your track is used both ways you will need 2 TC's compared to one track only. You wouldn't need to defer the triggering through a TC since these can also be set to trigger on leaving.

Let me know when your demo is working fine, please.

Cheers

Tom

[220hotwheels]

Hi Tom

Will do. I hope to make a start on sorting it out later today. If all goes well then I might get it finished either today or tomorrow depending how many family interruptions I get!!

Cheers

Pete

[220hotwheels]

Hi Tom

I found time this evening to play with the demo layout. I decided that for the purpose of learning I should try to emulate your demo so that I could fully understand the various aspects. I believe I have made progress as the trains close and open the barriers. The cars too will stop at the barriers but do so whether they are up or down. I wonder whether this might be because under events "Road Traffic" "Track contact is triggered" I seem unable to acquire the first event "Multiple conditions", this I thought came up automatically when multiple conditions were present as I cannot see a separate heading under "which actions should be performed". What am I overlooking please.

Cheers

Pete

Crossing barriers test track.mbp

[metallix]

Hi Pete

Have a look  at the first event in the car section. Analyze what you have set up there. There is some important stuff missing!

Have a look at the second event as well. before you do this read again my comment above about the fine line in conditions!

Cheers

Tom

[220hotwheels]

Hi Tom

After much deliberation I still could not figure out how to achieve the necessary amendments to the two lines in the "Road Traffic" section. As a last resort I converted both your example and mine to Lua script and compared them. As a result I have been able to sort the problem and I think the demo is now running fine. 

Clearly I need to give more thought as to how to sort matters out without having to revert to Lua script.

Cheers

Pete

Crossing barriers test track.mbp

[metallix]

Hi Pete

Might be easier if you had a second computer to run the demo and your layout simultaneously....so you can compare the graphics. You wont spot a misplaced action in a condition using Lua. I recon to stay away from Lua for now. Once you can master the graphic EM you will glide into  Lua somehow  anyway.

Maybe give it a rest for a day or two and then build  another one, starting with an empty ground onto which you place a different track layout and also a different road layout. Then build your EM. Go with your memory and your gut feelings.

You might want to experiment a bit with the deceleration and acceleration settings of the cars in order to find the best setting. These settings are crucial for the distances of TC's to the crossing. If you want  not one car at each side stopping but more, the spacing of TC's can be challenging.

Cheers

Tom

[220hotwheels]

Hi Tom

I do already run two computers in order to compare certain aspects as I go. I would dearly love not to get involved with Lua and can normally find my way around the graphic EM but this time I was totally stumped as to how to achieve the "Multiple conditions bit in the first line of the Road Traffic events 'Track contact is triggered'. I do plan to redo this part of the EV over and over until I get it right.  In the second event, 'Object variable is changed' the only thing that was missing was the word 'else' on the penultimate line so how I would have sorted that in the graphics EM I am not too sure.

Over the next couple of days I will see if I can apply, from memory, all that I have now learnt into a simple crossings barrier function on part of my current layout, a simple single road in and out, around a single track and see how that pans out.

I have already found out that both positioning of TC's and  acceleration and deceleration of vehicles is critical too especially when attempting tricky maneuvers both into and out of depot's, but must confess that I have not yet tried any of this with more than one vehicle following another. I have noted that there are invisible spacers that can be used but then that will surely mean that all vehicles follow one another at the same distance all the time which isn't very realistic and never happens on any of the roads around my home area!!!!

Once again thanks for your advice, I am most grateful.

Cheers

Pete

[220hotwheels]

Hi Tom

It's been a long time since we last spoke. I hope you are well and not having problems with the dredded Coronavirus. Life here in the UK is a bit challenging but then I have 3 D Train Studio to keep me busy. That said I have spent around 1200 hours on the latest layout. I am learning plenty as I go and keep going back to modify earlier efforts when I find a more professional approach to a problem. All was going well until about four hours ago when, whilst doing a routine back up I got an error message telling me that something had gone wrong and to restart the program. No matter what I do I cannot get this particular layout back. I have sent a message back via the error message itself but am unable to send a copy of the layout backup as it is not in mbp format. The file is quite large, 4510 but not as big as the Fairmont one. I have asked if there is anyway that I can send them an email with the file as an attachment but have so far heard nothing.

Have you encountered this problem yourself before and if so how did you get round it. It all started when I was modifying some virtual track for pedestrians. I decided that I didn't need two particular junctions and so removed them. Having done so I backed up and in doing so got this error message. I know the problem is not with the actual program because Fairmont will load OK.

Any advice that will point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Pete