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Display the signal reservation block on the route bar

Started by Ranran, August 21, 2021, 01:26:50 AM

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Ranran

Hello train lovers. (´・ω・`)

Here is Ranran's playful experimental patch.
https://github.com/Ranran-the-JuicyPork/simutrans-extended/tree/routebar-kai


This patch colors the reserved signal section behind the route bar in the convoy info dialog.
You can keep track of how much of the distance is reserved for the train to reach the next station. If there is no reservation indication, the train may be stopped by a signal or running in a dangerous condition without blockage. On the other hand, if the reserved section is shown, the train will at least run safely through that section. This may slightly help the Japanese yutori-guy who is complaining that the Extended signal system is too difficult. You may also be able to learn about anomalies related to the reservation from the convoy info dialog without displaying the signal reservation section by pressing the key.
However very unfortunately, the signal reservation section display in the main view is red, and red display does not match such a bar. (´・ω・`)
This is because in railroad operations, red is the color that indicates the occurrence of an abnormal situation, which means that the train must stop. For this reason, the naked general was often berated when he walked along the tracks with his trademark red umbrella.
Thus I could not find an answer in terms of consistency.

I came up with an idea to color code this based on the signal working method, but still had no idea about a good color coding. And the project was stucked.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this patch. Thank you.

Mariculous

I cannot run this at the moment and I am not sure if I understand the purpose correctly.
Could you show a little image to demonstrate?

jamespetts

Thank you for this. Before testing this, can I confirm which specific dialogue I should be looking at - is this the convoy information dialogue or something else? As Freahk says, a screenshot would be helpful.
Thank you again.
Download Simutrans-Extended.

Want to help with development? See here for things to do for coding, and here for information on how to make graphics/objects.

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Ranran

The display of the signal reserved section on the route bar is like this.

If we want to use a common color with the main view, it will be red...
I racked my brains over this.

jamespetts

That is very interesting, thank you. In my tests, the reservation was always shown as blue; is that intended?

I should be interested in others' views on this, but may I suggest white? This is commonly used in modern UK signalling practice to signify a reserved route as in this example from "Simsig", a highly realistic railway signalling simulation:

SimSig - Fun at Fairwater by Tim Squires, on Flickr

Here is a photograph of a real life IECC (Integrated Electronic Control Centre), showing the same UI:

York IECC by Bill Wright, on Flickr

This dates from when track circuits being active (showing a train in section) were indicated on old hardware panels with rows of white lights:

Hunts Cross 4 by John Illingworth, on Flickr
Download Simutrans-Extended.

Want to help with development? See here for things to do for coding, and here for information on how to make graphics/objects.

Follow Simutrans-Extended on Facebook.

Ranran

Quotethe reservation was always shown as blue; is that intended?
I'm sorry, the patch was made two months ago and I forgot some things, so I didn't explain myself well.

I checked the code again, and it is experimentally color-coded according to the working method as follows


time_intervaldark yellow
time_interval_with_telegraphyellow
absolute_blockorange
token_blockblue
track_circuit_blockbright blue
cab_signallingceleste blue
moving_blockpink
one_train_staffbrown
other(default)dark red

Please note that this is an experimental attempt.

QuoteI should be interested in others' views on this, but may I suggest white?
Monitoring screens like the one you introduced are also common in Japan.
However, I am skeptical about whether white is appropriate for simutrans, which often have light backgrounds as opposed to black backgrounds.


If we proceed with this plan, we may need to take some measures.
For example,
(1) Make the reservation color configurable in the theme.
(2) Modify the design of the route bar slightly to add a frame.

Mariculous

Those colors are locale specific.
The color scheme in simutrans should rather aim for presenting the simutrans relevant information instead of sticking to real-world signaling centers of a specific country.



Edit: theme specific colors might be a good idea.