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Post by survivorsean on Sept 29, 2019 6:39:20 GMT -6
Actually now that I look at some of the changes in my life, Sunday "may" work but Wednesday will not. Most Sunday's I fine after seeing my son and either being in the house or limited to what I can do on my own, I want to get out. I've been spending many Sunday evenings railfanning in Brantford. It's fairly cheap only about an hour away and I get a good 4 hours of fairly good action. Wednesday right now is fine, but that changes next week. A new wrestling promotion starts on Wednesday nights and my son who I normally don't see much on a Wednesday will be spending most of prime time with me watching.
I've got lots of thinking to do as my down time has been pretty boring (as to has my work to be honest but at least it makes me money).
Thanks
Sean
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Post by 5ash on Oct 10, 2019 7:21:39 GMT -6
Are you still planning to relaunch this Sunday? Looking forward to getting back into it.
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Post by survivorsean on Oct 11, 2019 12:18:13 GMT -6
I might be re-launching my server Monday evening if I'm in still in the mood. Sunday I won't be able to make it as I'll be on holiday weekend with my son. In fact it appears I'll be running my server as close to 24/7 which means I won't be able to participate in the near future. I do wish you guys all the best in your relaunch as well.
Take care!
Thanks
Sean
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Post by hawk777 on Oct 14, 2019 13:35:45 GMT -6
Did this happen? I figured I could log in and do a bit of non-DS work from the registry just now, but don't seem to be able to connect.
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Post by survivorsean on Oct 14, 2019 18:48:08 GMT -6
I'm not sure who is doing what anymore. I had my server up this evening at 6pm and shut it down just now after little to no interest. Whatever idea I had I can't seem to figure out what I was possibly thinking.
I'll be available to work a Sunday session from time to time here possibly. That's about all I got time for now.
Thanks
Sean
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Post by hawk777 on Oct 14, 2019 19:07:29 GMT -6
Sean, to clarify, I was asking if SRS (i.e. Mike’s server) relaunched; that’s what I was trying to connect to, and as far as I was aware, that’s what was supposed to have the big reopening party yesterday.
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Post by survivorsean on Oct 14, 2019 19:54:03 GMT -6
No problem, glad you clarified. I have no idea what is happening here unfortunately. My launch was a dud.
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Post by mikerice on Oct 14, 2019 22:15:45 GMT -6
Hey guys. Really sorry to put false expectations out there. Unfortunately my employer announced a work force reduction plan, and I may or may not be impacted. The other thing they announced was an Enhanced Early Retirement Package, which I'm definitely eligible to apply for.
Right now I'm spending all of my time doing my normal job, doing end of fiscal year evaluations, and figuring out if the early retirement package makes sense. I have a pretty short window to make this decision, November 1st to be exact. And as I'm sure you all know, this is where my priority needs to be.
Wish I had better news on the Run 8 front, but I need to get this life stuff figured out first. I appreciate your understanding, and as soon as I have something to report I'll let you'll know. I'll try to keep active in other discussions on the forum, but I know this is the big one.
Most likely I won't have have a path forward until shortly after November 7th. Please keep on exploring whatever other opportunities you have to stay active with Run 8.
Cheers, Mike
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Post by hawk777 on Oct 16, 2019 20:21:06 GMT -6
Of course real life must take precedence. Hopefully we’ll all meet again in SRS when things have settled down a bit.
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lockheed
New Member
linux user, train fan, loves to get the whole picture
Posts: 7
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Post by lockheed on Oct 20, 2019 7:56:26 GMT -6
Always first life first! Looking forward hopping on SRS again to do some tasks some day. I keep practicing on other free ones so long. Lockheed
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Post by survivorsean on Nov 10, 2019 15:06:18 GMT -6
Just checking to see if there are any further updates. Trying to figure out what to do on my Sunday nights I think I have Monday covered. Thanks Sean
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Post by mikerice on Nov 10, 2019 18:09:56 GMT -6
OK here's an update....sorry again for all this up in the air stuff. I will be retiring from my current employer, but don't have the exact date quite yet. Most likely dates are February 15, 2020 or March 31, 2020. So 3 to 4 months to get better prepared for retirement.
I've actually been doing quite a bit of Single Player in the past week, doing all random spawns for BNSF only.
Not sure if everyone saw that the long awaited dispatching application TSCAD (Train Simulator and Computer Aided Dispatcher) for Run 8 will be released on November 29, 2019 (aka Black Friday in the US). I'll create a separate post on the New/Announcements Board regarding this. I think the timing of this becoming available will be in synch with my plans to re-launch SRS. I'll get better definition around the date I'm thinking, but most likely the weekend of November 30/December 1.
Thank you, Mike
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Post by Clint on Nov 27, 2019 2:12:52 GMT -6
One quick note to help alleviate the DS required locals issue. Would it be feasible to allow any admin that you trust to act as DS when they are on outside of sessions to allow these to run? It may require moving a marine train or two but for the most part it's mainly a signal/switch issue. I don't feel like it would be unreasonable if you need to bump a mainline train up to the next CP to make way for a local to run outside of a session.
If you allowed this to happen, the admin could make a post of when they plan to be on if they have plans to be on, or even the chance of just happening to pop on at the right time when someone else is on to run it, or even just running it themselves if they are in the mood to run a local.
Another option to get it moved is if one of the members sees it's available, they could post that they would like to run it with or without a specific time frame. Or for that matter, if an admin with DS capability sees one is available, they could clear the way for it, at least as far as practical. For example the Cadiz could probably be set up to snake its way out to Cadiz, then once that portion has been run, go back in and line up the return trip.
This post got way longer than I intended but I think allowing the trusted admins DS authority outside sessions could help alleviate this issue.
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Post by Clint on Nov 27, 2019 3:53:51 GMT -6
As I'm sitting here reading through the posts here and catching up with things, as well as reading through some of the posts on the RTS wiki, it dawned on me what I'm looking for from a server. I like the interaction of working with people. I like having 2 man crews running the trains, be it a switching job in the yards or a local. I like working in the yards with other people, like running the hump and the trim at the same time, and those again would really be a 2 man crew at least. I like having an engineer and a conductor. Don't get me wrong, I also enjoy running mainlines now and then too, but mostly I like getting down and dirty with the yard work and the locals, but it's not nearly as entertaining when you are doing it by yourself.
This leads me to a new proposal. We would still have our DS sessions where we move the mainlines, but we could also schedule non DS sessions in between the DS sessions with a focus on a particular yard or area. This would create more sessions which would allow more people to join when they know other people will be around as well. The only thing I'm not sure how to handle with a system like this is the work list. You wouldn't want to post all the work for Barstow if you're going to have a session on it, so you could wait till after that session to post it, but then you run the risk of not getting all the work done in a timely manner. But if you post the work before you schedule the session to work Barstow, there may not be any work left to do during said session. This would probably also work out better if we went back to having dedicated Yardmasters to plan and run these type of sessions.
For example, for a session in Barstow when the Cadiz local is running, I could post a session requiring a minimum of 4 people, 1 to hump, 1 to trim, and 2 to run the Cadiz. (could get away with 1 on the Cadiz but like I said before, its always better with 2, in my opinion.) Allow people to sign up for what they want to do on a first come first served basis. (See above post for how we could run locals like the Cadiz outside of a DS session).
A downfall of this method is that it could greatly reduce or eliminate the need for yardwork during a session. I think some people like to work the yards while the mainlines are moving. It could also be a positive, for those that enjoy stretching their legs, they could just run mainlines during the session (or a local) and we wouldn't have to worry about falling behind on yardwork as it would be all caught up. Also would be more enjoyable for the DS's to have more people out there running the rails than working in the yards. Personally I enjoy when someone is running a local like the Cadiz while I'm DS in that area. It makes you think and breaks up the mundane double main running on Needles that needs little to no input from a DS to run just fine.
Just a thought on something new to try. Let me know what you guys think. I'd like to hear how many of our members would be interested in something like this, as well as what the admins think of it.
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Post by survivorsean on Nov 27, 2019 11:59:07 GMT -6
I like that idea. I have a bit of time elsewhere but it's very limited. Sundays I have a bit more time then the session itself and can start eariler. Mondays I currently run my own server for RTS in RTS2 developmental. Tuesday I have 2 hours after 9pm EST Wednesday I have availability 5pm to 8pm approximately then 10pm to 11pm approximately Thursday I have 2 hours after 9pm EST Friday & Saturday not available unless my son is interested.
Thanks
Sean
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Post by Clint on Nov 27, 2019 12:34:20 GMT -6
Yeah that's one thing about a non DS session you can have more of them and at varying times through through the week.
It would also be up to the Yardmasters or admins to make the determination on what the focus of the session should be.
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Post by survivorsean on Nov 27, 2019 16:14:56 GMT -6
Perhaps the non-DS sessions could be used as CATCH-UP sessions. If I recall previously we had issues of not enough work being done which actually postponed mainline sessions. The remedy as I understand it here is to have turnover tracks in key yards that are in place to avoid switching at all if it can't be done.
The catch-up session could be a last resort if a local service is behind and about turn over.
Anyways that's my thoughts for this server. I have some thoughts on my own as well.
Thanks
Sean
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Post by mikerice on Dec 2, 2019 14:27:48 GMT -6
I'm slow to respond on this...Clint I totally agree and appreciate what you like in a server. It absolutely is the interaction with other people. When I first joined the RTS California Server, Sean and I worked Barstow Hump and Trim together a lot, and just doing that was an amazing amount of fun. Running locals I know can be just as fun as a team.
Also we have had Ops Sessions in the past that were used to specifically catch up Yard and Local work. Including running locals on the main and having one of the admins act as dispatcher. I think this is something we will always need to do, and I fully support it. I think locals (like the Cadiz and Boron), needs to run during a full blown Ops session with all traffic moving unless we absolutely need to run them in catch up mode.
What would you think about having a job type on the Work List that identifies the work as needing to be run with multiple crew members? I like the concept, just thinking of how we could implement it from a systemic perspective.
By the way, using Discord for voice communications instead of all the typing might be another thing to increase the interactive experience.
Thank you, Mike
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Post by Clint on Dec 2, 2019 15:33:41 GMT -6
Im not sure about labeling work as needing a multiple person crew. I think if people were working as a team the work would probably get done faster (maybe need a little practice on being an efficient team at first. Learning how each other work.) I plan to operate Barstow during most sessions. I think the work will not pile up as much if someone is working it every season (I can hope anyway). I was torn on actually posting work on the work list right now, as there's not even enough to keep someone busy for a session. Anytime anyone wants to work with me in Barstow I always welcome the help. Barstow will not be the bottleneck.
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Post by mikerice on Dec 2, 2019 22:27:49 GMT -6
Thank you Clint! Having enough traffic to keep Barsow and West Colton busy is my responsibility, and because I chose to start again we will be suffering in those areas for ahile. I'm thinking about ways to help accelerate the traffic, it takes a long time to actually move a train from Seligman to Barstow in our fozen clock model. Looking for ways to accelerate this a bit.
Thank you, Mike
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