Two Instant Unload Commands?

What is the purpose of two Instant Unload commands? This is just an example. There are other instances of apparently duplicate commands. Which command of the duo is correct?

There are other apparently duplicated command entries. This sows confusion and uncertainty, especially in new customers.

There is only one InstantUnload (<kuid2:67585:1021:2>) command that I am aware of - it unloads all wagons except locos and tenders.

There are two Instant Load commands - <kuid2:45324:555017:8> Instant Load and <kuid2:117290:1022:1> InstantLoadLocos. The first loads all wagons (except locos and tenders) with the first item in their commodity queues. The second loads all locos (or tenders) with all their commodities (water and usually coal for a steam loco and diesel fuel for a diesel loco).

Further details are on the Trainz Wiki at https://online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/index.php/Driver_Commands_List#Load_and_Unload_Commands

What other duplicated commands are you are referring to?

boleyd - Choice and different functionality. What's wrong with that?
Occasionally these are duplicated objects that managed to beat the illegal cloning prevention system (Plagiarism).
There are several other Instant Unload or Instant Load commands - not just two. Several offer cool additional features and configurability options.
pware - <kuid2:368725:60011:2> InstantLoad with a product from a queue specified by the user and <kuid2:121843:100293:2> InstantLoadAtFocus
and <kuid:121843:100386> InstantUnLoadAtFocus (for example).

boleyd said:

What is the purpose of two Instant Unload commands? This is just an example. There are other instances of apparently duplicate commands. Which command of the duo is correct?

There are other apparently duplicated command entries. This sows confusion and uncertainty, especially in new customers.

Click to expand...

There are many similar driver commands because creators have shown the dedication and taken the time and effort to write, test, and upload them. Some of them are ones I wrote. I think you should view these as a new adventure in trying them out. You don't have to peruse any of them, you know, if their existence upsets you.

I look at Trainz as a continuum of adventure.

As a lonely voice of one - I do not like common labels for different variations. I want the label to reflect the uniqueness of that entry. Glance down the list and each displays its own features.

As a PS; The existence of functions does not upset me. The lack of first level differentiation does.

boleyd said:

I look at Trainz as a continuum of adventure.

As a lonely voice of one - I do not like common labels for different variations. I want the label to reflect the uniqueness of that entry. Glance down the list and each displays its own features.

As a PS; The existence of functions does not upset me. The lack of first level differentiation does.

Click to expand...

I know what you're talking about! I've wondered the same but forgot to ask.

These commands are named the same, but may or may not have different functions. The problem is which one is which without 1) a different name, and 2) a description of some sort to tell us what the differences are.

JCitron said:

I know what you're talking about! I've wondered the same but forgot to ask.

These commands are named the same, but may or may not have different functions. The problem is which one is which without 1) a different name, and 2) a description of some sort to tell us what the differences are.

Click to expand...

Yes indeed - another example of the poor configuration management standards within Trainz - naming standards should demand a unique name for each distinct asset, along with a fully explicit meaning contained in the name that describes it's function(s).

N3V have historically left any such configuration management details to those who create the assets, with no real help in providing them with standards for naming or other features that allow consumers to easily differentiate and understand the hundreds of thousands of assets available via the DLS. Creators can hardly be blamed, then, for sometimes making life a bit difficult for asset consumers because of duplicated names and a dozen other aspects of an asset that can cause misunderstanding or confusion about what they are and how they function.

Those of us who use assets rather than make them are very grateful for those assets, nevertheless. I confess to finding myself not so grateful to N3V for their rather unprofessional approach to the governance of how their product is made available to us. Still, it's inexpensive. You get what you pay for, eh?

Lataxe

boleyd said:

I look at Trainz as a continuum of adventure.

As a lonely voice of one - I do not like common labels for different variations. I want the label to reflect the uniqueness of that entry. Glance down the list and each displays its own features.

As a PS; The existence of functions does not upset me. The lack of first level differentiation does.

Click to expand...

It is not realistic nor is there enough room in a name to try to describe the functionality. Most of us who write these commands put explanations in the config file and/or the description. You just have to dig a little deeper.

This issue has been raised before, several times, over the years. There is no simple "one rule fixes all" solution.

An example - there are 408 different Routes on the DLS named "City and Country USA" and many, many more with the title "City and Country" in their names. I suspect (without having checked them all) that they may be all variations of the same original route.

I have found over the years that the creator assigned names can be extremely deceptive and confusing, and even outright cryptic.

Another example - there is a whole series of spline assets with names "5,55m 06m A" to "5,55m 0,6m J", then "5,55m 0,85m A" to "5,55m 0,85m J", then "5,55m 1,06m A" to "5,55m 1,06m J". The whole sequence then repeats starting with "7,25m". What are they? They all use the same thumbnail icon (a picture of a cat with the name of the creator) and there is no description on any of them.

Then throw in assets created by users who do not have English as their language - and please, lets not start another thread about forcing everyone to use English because, despite claims to the contrary, English is not the most commonly used language (which are Chinese and Spanish). If you are going to enforce a language standard then it should be Chinese for everyone! PS: All assets have language options for the asset name and description built into their config.txt files, 19 languages in fact. Using Google Translate it is not difficult for creators to use this facility to add multiple languages to their assets.

If you are going to insist that a "standard" be enforced for naming assets then who is going to enforce it? If I submit an asset named "Dongle Widget A" and someone else, at the same time, submits a different asset named "Dongle Widget A" (unlikely but not impossible) then which one should be accepted on the DLS?

One of the strengths of Trainz and the DLS is that anyone can contribute. That sometimes means assets with duplicate or poorly considered names. Let it be!

My thoughts.

How about using Mouse Over for a quick and brief hint to the features of this particular function??

Just slowly drag the mouse down the list of same named functions and features of that version appear.
Yes the usual argument is who is going to update the assets for this format. N3V is being paid so they should. But the task is not financially justifiable. Then provide the mouse over feature and leave its use up to the authors who want to illustrate the distinctive nature of there entry.

When I coded this stuff I found the Mouse Over to be quite useful. There are possibly other areas in Trainz where it would be a benefit.