Open Rails

Bug #1393270
Comment #3

Comment 3 for bug 1393270

Revision history for this message

Andre Ming (laming) wrote on 2014-11-23:

Peter Gulyas:

I am Andre Ming, a long time follower of OR progress, a recently added Team Manager, as well as a life-long railroading enthusiast/employee. I have been in and around US railroading since about 1970, first mainly as a ground crewman. In as early as 1980 or so, I became involved with a steam powered tourist operation. My involvement with the tourist operation at first consisted of assisting in any way I could as a crewman and/or event organizer/director. By the mid 1980s in addition to working as a ground crewman, I was firing steam engines as well as running steam engines as a paid employee. I regularly operated three types of steam powered trains: Coal fired, oil fired, and wood fired. From that point on I continued to work as a railroader part time until I made the decision in the mid-2000s to go full time in order to secure a railroad retirement. I am currently a Certified Locomotive Engineer and have worked week in and week out in railroading as an Engineer for many years now running anything from switch engines to 1.5 mile long freight trains, to passenger trains in mainline service.

I say the above to quantify the input I'm about to share.

As Herb Kelsey has pointed out: OR does NOT handle sound sms files in a way that is ACCURATE or REALISITC for North American steam railroading. All North American steam locomotives that I have either run, ridden, or observed, in various parts of North America do NOT chuff when the throttle is closed and the engine is drifting with throttle off or nearly off. If OR purports itself to be a SIMULATOR and strives for acceptable replication of known railroading practices/etc, then this issue NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. No one that is reasonably knowledgeable about the operation of steam engines will accept such sound behavior as "realistic" in a supposed railroading SIMULATOR. This should be a BASIC function that steam sounds perform reasonably REALISTICALLY within a simulated environ. Anything less is to detract from the effort and reduce its effectiveness as a sincere effort at creating a railroading SIMULATOR.

Sincerely,

Andre Ming aka "Coonskin" at Elvas Tower

Peter Gulyas:

I am Andre Ming, a long time follower of OR progress, a recently added Team Manager, as well as a life-long railroading enthusiast/employee.  I have been in and around US railroading since about 1970, first mainly as a ground crewman. In as early as 1980 or so, I became involved with a steam powered tourist operation.  My involvement with the tourist operation at first consisted of assisting in any way I could as a crewman and/or event organizer/director.  By the mid 1980s in addition to working as a ground crewman, I was firing steam engines as well as running steam engines as a paid employee.  I regularly operated three types of steam powered trains: Coal fired, oil fired, and wood fired. From that point on I continued to work as a railroader part time until I made the decision in the mid-2000s to go full time in order to secure a railroad retirement.  I am currently a Certified Locomotive Engineer and have worked week in and week out in railroading as an Engineer for many years now running anything from switch engines to 1.5 mile long freight trains, to passenger trains in mainline service.

I say the above to quantify the input I'm about to share.

As Herb Kelsey has pointed out: OR does NOT handle sound sms files in a way that is ACCURATE or REALISITC for North American steam railroading.  All North American steam locomotives that I have either run, ridden, or observed, in various parts of North America  do NOT chuff when the throttle is closed and the engine is drifting with throttle off or nearly off.   If OR purports itself to be a SIMULATOR and strives for acceptable replication of known railroading practices/etc, then this issue NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.  No one that is reasonably knowledgeable about the operation of steam engines will accept such sound behavior as "realistic" in a supposed railroading SIMULATOR.  This should be a BASIC function that steam sounds perform reasonably REALISTICALLY within a simulated environ.  Anything less is to detract from the effort and reduce its effectiveness as a sincere effort at creating a railroading SIMULATOR.

Sincerely,

Andre Ming aka "Coonskin" at Elvas Tower