Memory Heirarchy, and Driver Commands

rbunker65

New member
Hey all!

I am confused and have not found a way to make happen what I want to make happen.

Creating my own route. Have been for some time. The intent of much of the route in the end is to have it automated- i.e., trains running around doing commuter routes, a full blown airport, some helicopters running around the city, portals, etc...

So, my method of "saving" is simply, at the 'top level'- i.e., Edit Route, save the route, then save a backup (same route name followed by "BU").

This works fine, but I am at the point where I am wanting to put in automation. I can do so (input commands) in "Edit Session Rules", or go into Quick Drive and just issue commands to drivers. But, the commands are not "persistent", or I haven't found a way to make them so. What I mean is, they seem to just be lost in subsequent edits, etc.

What I want to do is include commands and automation that will carry forward, as I simultaneously work on the world in general in surveyor.

Should I be working and editing in sessions, and not the "Top Level" route? I'm kinda confused as to how I am supposed to be addressing the overall "creation" of the route/main world, while at the same time moving ahead with the automation.

Should I be doing all my work at the "Session" level? (Edit Session)

Or should I be working from the top level/route????

Ugh... I hope this makes sense...

TIA
 
Do the route building in the route, but the rules and commands are saved in a session (not in the route).

Advantage is that you can build various sessions for the same route.
 
Once you have created and saved a session, you must get into the habit of only loading that session (not the route) into Surveyor for further editing.

One of the most common complaints we get in these forums is from users who claim that they "have lost all of their session work". This is almost always because they have later loaded the route into surveyor to continue editing and then saved usually wiping out all their previous session work.
 
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From the Main screen you can...

  1. Select Route - Edit Route
  2. Select Route - Select Session - Edit Session

No. 1
Will automatically create a Session called "default".
Start you in the Route Layer.

No. 2
Will start you in the SessionName you are editing
Will start you in the Session Layer


If you intend on having multiple different Sessions for a given Route, read no further. The following is primarily if you will use only one Session/Route.

Still with me? One Session/Route.

When I create a new map I name it eg. "my latest greatest". I also specify that the Session has the same name - "my latest greatest". The I save it and exit. Then I Select Route "my latest greatest" - Edit Session "my latest greatest". This brings me into Surveyor.

Surveyor now is the Session Layer. I immediately select the Route Layer and do my tracks, buildings, textures and yes, trains. At some point I want to test. I click the Edit Session button at the top of the screen. This brings up the screen with my drivers and trains. I issue some Commands. I close out of the Driver Edit screen and hit Quick Drive. (Driver Commands go into the Session - regardless of Layers)

This brings up the Save screen. The default is Overwrite Route and Session. Yep, that's what I want. If it only brings up Overwrite Session, I know
I have inadvertently been putting stuff into the Session Layer, or I have added/changed nothing except Driver Commands since the previous save. If the former, I cancel the Save, go into Layer and Merge the Session into the Route.

Then I hit QuickDrive and the Overwrite Route and Session screen comes up. Click Save and the Drive screen comes up. Watch the world go by, find bugs, whatever. Click Exit Driver.

Surveyor will come back in whatever Layer it was in before QuickDrive.




A quick word on Merge Layers. Merging almost always works correctly. When it doesn't, things like ghosts happen. IMHO problems are more likely to happen when a lot of items (2-3 days work) get merged. It's best to remember the old mantra of gaming - Save Early; Save Often.
 
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