Activity Writing

Would appreciate help for an experienced activity writer as I have just tried writing one and it went well, though a few problems.THE SENARIO: I used the default St Anton line
(OK, OK...I'm not going to crap up one of my better downloads or a pay-ware route till I'm experienced).....it involves taking an Austrian Rwys Inter City train from St Anton to Innsbruck. Consist is two OBB 1044 electrics and about 10 Eurofima cars. The sim loads up and after you acknowledge the work order, you are at about 20-25km/h commi9ng out of the tunnel and have to go for the brake to stop at St Anton station. As you come into the platform you are to pass another 1044 IC train headed the opposite direction stopped at the station.
When you leave St Anton, before MP-3 you get a triggered (Location event) message to reduce speed, diversion for MofW work. At MP 3 you cross to the right track, then you pass an OBB 1041 loco and several ballast side-dumps, then two track tampers on what was your track. After Mp-4, you crioss back to the left track and continue to Landeck.
Arriving in Landeck, you see an MBS emu train arriving (stretching it a little) just ahead of you on the platform on the left to connect with you. There are also some "coaches" off to the right on the yard tracks. Later on around Imst or Paffenhoffen (have yet to decide) you pass a 4020 class emu local going the opposite way.While the activity is not complete, here's the questions where I had a few problems:1) The opening "static" train you meet at St Anton showed up the first time I ran the activity. The second and repeated times it did not (it's not a moving traffic train) I opened the route editor and did not see the "purple boxes" representing that consist, just wavy blue flag symbols at each end of St Anton platforms??2)When you pass ther MofW train at MP-3 I want to put on 40km speed restriction on the diverted track, how can it be done?? The track monitor just shows 160km "all the way"??3) Passing the ballast train (again static), the loco headlights are off and the pantograph is down. Is there any way to alter the ENG file so I can at least get the loco to appear with the pantograph up so it looks active??4) The MBS train is intended (like the 4020 EMU later on) to be a moving traffic consist.....can it be a short "incomplete" path from the west siding (appears as a "branch" to the viewer) to the station platform, or does it have to be a longer run??? Also the same with the 4020 emu at Imst...can it be a shot run only in view when my train is there or do I have to go the entire route length with it's path???5) I presume I set6 the start time for the traffic train (MBS emu) to be "slightly" before the schedule time I've chosen for my train to arrive at Landeck, so I can see IT arrive first??Thanks for the help....and except for the few "bugs" to make it polished, the senario has run well so far (at least until, I now add the traffic trains!!!) A new experience every day.Doug"The Wolf is right: DEFAULT IS FOR DUMMIES"

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1. - you need to look in the AE, not the RE. But if it was there the first time, it still should be there. You put it in as a loose consist right? Look in the AE and see. Question - when editing path and exiting, you did NOT click on the x in the upper right arrow did you?
2. You can set a restricted speed zone, but you cannot chose the speed, the sim has a set speed. Right click on the spot you want the resticted zone to start and then again at the end of it. I am not sure of the speed in Km\hr.
3. Beats me
4. I would not end the path at the station, the train will dissappear. Take it a few Km past it.
5. yes. Run the sim a few times to get a time. But remember one thing - YOU KNOW what is going on and so you run the activity a little faster that someone else. Try and get a couple beta testers to run it and keep track of their time. Then guesstimate a start time. It would be nice if MSTS had an event that would trigger an AI train, then you could put a marker in to start the AI.Kevin Arceneaux
DEFAULT IS FOR DUMMIES
Lone Wolf Activities Forum on www.3DTrains.com

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To add to what kevarc said above on #2, but may be more than what you are looking for. If you can stomach popups (or alternatively you could let them know in the briefing) you can use a LOCATION event to trigger an ACTION event and set the 'reach speed' at whatever speed you choose, thereby restricting them to that particular speed in that particular section until you deactivate it with another LOCATION event. This doesn't show up in the Monitor, but it's extremely effective, especially if you make another Action event a couple mph faster that ends the activity if exceeded.

RobertR .. ADF-M&RM at http://www.adfrr.com

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