Today Sees The Release of a Major Upgrade by Smokebox to the AT&N Consolidation Class 280-157
FIXES
- Whistle no longer muted after entering a scenario directly from the editor.
- Corrected a small glitch in the animation of the eccentric cranks.
IMPROVEMENTS
The model of the 2-8-0 Consolidation (the prototypes were built by Lima for the Alabama, Tennessee & Northern Railroad), or "Connie" as most people refer to it, is already extremely detailed and has an abundance of operational features rarely seen on other models, such as the advanced cab controls and a plethora of animations (reversing gear, bell, cylinder cocks mechanism, doors, windows, hatches ...) and effects.
Nevertheless, it was decided to revisit the model and take it to the next level - approaching the "state-of-the-art" Union Pacific FEF-3 (also developed by Smokebox and released on Steam in November last year).
Extremely advanced LUA scripting was developed for the UP FEF-3 to achieve a very high-fidelity simulation of the physics and operation of a steam locomotive, with the most realistic wheel slip ever seen, very accurate air brake functionality (including "bail off"), and so on. It seemed like a good time to make the most of those achievements and to retrofit as much as possible of that technology into the Connie, along with other improvements to make the simulation even more immersive and closer to reality.
Here's what has been included in the upgrade:
Note: Those marked as [Adv] are applicable only to the advanced (non-HUD-enabled) version.
Accurate Starting Tractive Effort and Improved Performance
- Previously, the starting tractive effort was only 23,436 lbf and the maximum boiler pressure was 180psi. These have been changed to 35,478 lbf and 200 psi, in line with published data for the Lima-built locomotive. This means that the Connie can now haul heavier consists while maintaining a higher speed on arduous climbs such as those found on the Horseshoe Curve route. A scenario that used to take 100 minutes can now be completed in 50 minutes.
- The cab gauges have been changed in accordance with the new boiler psi (the boiler pressure and steam chest pressure gauges now go up to 400 psi, so that the maximum is in the middle of the range).
- [Adv] The locomotive's factor of adhesion has been modelled accurately at 4.0. The inverse is 0.25, meaning that the Connie can apply its maximum starting tractive effort without suffering wheel slip until the friction coefficient (wheels on rails) falls below 0.25. If you want to avoid wheel slip altogether even at full cut-off with the throttle wide open, just keep the track conditions as "dry" and put the sander on.
Sound Enhancements
In response to comments that the original sounds were perhaps a little too quiet, especially when coasting, they have been re-engineered and some new sounds have been added to make the whole experience more immersive (and noisier!):
- Louder sounds (rod clanking, cylinder drain cocks, whistle, safety valves).
- Cab rattling noise (especially noticeable when coasting at speed).
- Bass-enhanced chuffs.
- Quillable whistle - this works just like in the FEF-3, by pressing the Enter key while the spacebar is held down.
Particle Emitters Re-worked for TS2015, Including Much Denser Stack Smoke
Two additional cab camera views:
- One of these new views puts you leaning out of the engineer's window so that you can see clearly down the track while at the same time being able to turn to look into the cab and operate the controls with the mouse (it makes the "Shift 2" head-out view redundant).
- The other additional view places you in the centre of the cab, with a wider field of view, so that you can see all of the controls and gauges at once.
Improved Textures for Some Items
- Window glass re-textured with dirt around edges.
- Water sight glass float is now much easier to see.
- Steam pressure gauges given a more authentic dial face.
- Underside of the boiler is darker.
Headlight Lens Flare on Full Beam
Improvements Related to Quick Drive:
- QD auto-numbering on tender and locomotive both set to #201. This means that you'll no longer see the locomotive and tender carrying different, random numbers!
- QD consist selection list tidied up and some more QD consists created.
HUD version can now be operated in Simple Controls mode. This means that the Connie will suit everyone's choice of gameplay mode.
[Adv] Scripted, super-realistic wheel slip and skid physics (with sparks). This is an adaptation of the wheel motion physics developed for the Smokebox UP FEF-3.
- The physics correctly simulate the friction, and loss of adhesion, between the locomotive's driving wheels and the rails, as well as the inertia and momentum of the wheels.
- The player can select between various weather conditions (dry, wet, icy and the infamously slippery "wet leaves on the line" condition) by pressing Shift 3 or Ctrl 3. The default is "dry", except when the season is set to winter, in which case the default is "icy".
- Piston over-speeding (exceeding the equivalent of 70 MPH) causes incremental damage that can lead to destruction of the cylinders.
[Adv] The air brakes simulation has been re-worked to include:
- Independent brake bail-off with spring-loading for bail-off and quick application handle positions.
- Brake pipe pressure rate of change that depends on the length of the consist.
- Pressure differential between equalising reservoir and brake pipe.
- The brake cylinder pressure needle now corresponds to the engine brake cylinders, not the train brake cylinders, and the completely separate engine brake cylinder pressure gauge has been removed.
- Train brake emergency ports stay open until the brake pipe pressure has dropped to zero. This means that after hitting the emergency brakes, you have to wait for the brake pipe to discharge completely before being able to start releasing the brakes.
[Adv] Water in the sight glass sloshes up and down when the locomotive is moving.
[Adv] "Real" steam chest with accurate admission/exhaust valve events.
- The LUA script that governs the animation of the driving wheels and running gear, including the valve gear and pistons, knows exactly when the admission and exhaust ports, in each cylinder, are open or closed (which depends on the position of the reverser and corresponding length of cut-off as well as the rotation of the driving wheels). Therefore, the script is also able to simulate accurately the way that the pressure in the steam chest changes as steam flows periodically into the cylinders (when the admission ports are open) and continuously into the steam chest, from the boiler, via the throttle valve.
- The steam chest pressure gauge in the cab now shows the pressure in the "real" steam chest, instead of what the F5 HUD calls "steam chest pressure" (the F5 HUD value is an approximation of the average pressure in the cylinders over an entire stroke). If the throttle is cracked open while the locomotive is stationary, the steam chest pressure shown by the gauge in the cab will rise (as will the "regulator" value in the F5 HUD) as the "real" steam chest fills up until it is balanced by the boiler pressure. When the pistons start to move back and forth, the steam chest pressure needle will fall and rise as the cylinder admission ports open and close.
- The advanced steam chest simulation has also allowed a "back pressure" gauge to be put in the cab, in place of the separate engine brake cylinder gauge. The back pressure gauge works in exactly the same way as in the UP FEF-3 - it shows the pressure of the exhaust steam measured at the cylinder exhaust ports and gives the locomotive engineer a very good way to judge how much power is being produced by the pistons. Used in conjunction with the steam chest pressure gauge, the back pressure gauge helps the engineer to run the locomotive efficiently.
- The cylinders will fill with steam only when the admission valves are open, which depends on the position of the slide valves and the cut-off. Thus, when starting from a standstill, the locomotive will not move if the cut-off is too short, depending on where the slide valves have stopped, such that all the admission ports are closed.
[Adv] Advanced damage modelling:
- The hydrostatic lubricator must be operating to avoid cylinder damage when the pistons are in motion. You'll need to make sure you can see the oil droplets rising in the lubricator's sight glasses before letting the wheels turn.
- Throttle jams in place when boiler is overfilled with water. This can be quite scary if it happens when the throttle is wide open!
- Catastrophic damage when water overflows from the boiler into the cylinders.
- At a standstill, condensation builds up in cylinders while drain cocks are closed. If you don't open the cylinder cocks so that the live steam can flush out the condensation, and instead the pistons ram up against water (which can't be compressed), the cylinders will be damaged.
Two career scenarios have been created by adapting the existing "Slippery Slope" and "Consolidating Power" standard scenarios (based on the Horseshoe Curve route DLC, available separately) to give players a challenge with the now even more advanced Connie.
One final comment - the manual has also been updated to cover everything that's new in the upgraded Consolidation and time spent reading it would be well spent.
Mike Rennie