Union Pacific FEF-3 4-8-4 Northern type steam locomotive, by Smokebox

[mrennie]

back on track ...

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[Ericmopar]

So... anyone looking for Beta testers?

[mrennie]

So... anyone looking for Beta testers?

You'd have to sign up to RSC's beta test team ... they have all the fun.

Actually, I'm worried that it's going to take them six months to test this, because there are so many features to test. Even the bucket on the right of the firebox door has a function (and no, it's not that ... I know what you were thinking ).

[mrennie]

The current state of the cab (it can all be seen in the exterior model as well as interior) ...

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[XDriver]

I like this engine sooooooo much!! oo-OOOO-oo>
Good stuff Mike.

[mrennie]

man..that's something else right there...incredible!
Is that chain all pollys or did you think up something clever for it?
If you have time when your in the editor can you post a picture with the polly wire-frame showing over the mesh?
I would love to see what is polly and what is texture here. This is very interesting

The chain is actually quite low poly - the secret there is in the surface normals smoothing (the crease operation), where I selected all the surfaces and put smoothing to maximum. The cross-section of each link is a square!

There are other parts that look very smooth but are low poly - not just because of using normals smoothing but also because of the carefully hand-painted shading and, especially, highlighting and "phongs". If it's done right, you can give the impression of smoothly curved or rounded shapes, in exactly the same way as an artist uses light and shade to do the same on a flat canvas.

[mrennie]

I like this engine sooooooo much!! oo-OOOO-oo>
Good stuff Mike.

Thanks Joe!

[bpetit]

Does the bucket contain sand?

[mrennie]

Does the bucket contain sand?

That's right - it's for cleaning the flues when they get clogged with soot from bad firing. You'll need to use it when firing manually, if you fire badly (which you will, because it's very difficult to get it right), otherwise the steam generation will deteriorate (I designed a nifty way of making all sorts of things impair the steam generation).

[slick204]

And we thought the Connie was hard to operate! This looks and sounds amazing. I cant' wait.

[mrennie]

Mike I like the idea and I admire all the work going in to it but will there be a more simple one that still simulates everything? The connie standard and connie hud unit were perfect. Maybe an advanced one with all this then a standard then a hud? Is this possibly in the planning? Please

Absolutely, it's already done - all these things like clearing obstructions in the burner, using blowdown to clear clogging in the sight gauges and water column, cleaning the flues of soot, and so on, are handled automatically by the expert auto fireman (who also does a better job of firing than I do when I fire manually!), but there's also a HUD version that works in expert and simple mode. So, if you're that way inclined, you can even run the FEF-3 with a couple of levers on the HUD - forwards/backwards and faster/slower.

[mrennie]

I mean like a version that's set up just like the connie with the advanced running but without all of the advanced other things you mentioned recently. Would be neat to have an advanced running version for those of us who don't know how to work the other things you mentioned as well.
Just an idea to have; Advanced with all the little do dads and things, Advanced running like the connie, Hud, simple hud
Again just an idea, I'm not sure how many people would know how to work all of that, we may need a book on it

That's the expert automatic fireman, in expert mode. Incidentally, the HUD versions have the EAF enabled permanently (because the HUD doesn't have the controls you need for an oil-fired loco). Also, the HUD version can be run in expert or simple driving modes. if you choose expert, you get most of the advanced features except for those that are incompatible with the HUD (such as real steam chest). So you're actually going to get even more than what you are suggesting,

My view is that if you want to run the advanced (non-HUD) version, then you should at least learn to do all the things the engineer has to do (in the simulation, that is), but you can leave the EAF to do the hard work of managing the boiler pressure and the water level and so on (plus, it disables some of the failures such as clogging). But if you want to play it on "hard" (or "ironman" or whatever they call it nowadays), go the whole hog and do manual firing, and learn what happens when you get it wrong.

i did consider having an "expert automatic engineer" who would turn on all the valves and things on the engineer's side of the cab, but then I thought, if you load up the advanced version but then enable the expert automatic fireman and the expert automatic engineer, there's not much left for the player to do! You might as well load up the HUD version and run it in expert or simple mode.

As for the book, yes, for the advanced version with manual firing, you'll need a book - it's my manual. I'm currently writing page 21 ("Impaired Operation - Obstructions in the burner").
I'm also hoping that a certain real life steam locomotive engineer will come along and explain to you all the finer points of how to run one of these marvels of 1940s engineering. I've certainly learnt a lot from him.

[FourEightFour]

I'm also hoping that a certain real life steam locomotive engineer will come along and explain to you all the finer points of how to run one of these marvels of 1940s engineering. I've certainly learnt a lot from him.

I am considering making a .pdf of a book I have and uploading it here. The (rule)book was made by the Southern Pacific titled "Rules and information for the firing and handling of locomotives". This was my first step in learning how to fire a grease burner. The next step in learning the art is explanation from someone who know their stuff. The final step is creating your own style. The last step can take a lifetime to achieve.


Would anyone be interested in starting out like I did, by reading?

[slick204]

I would be very interested.

[plicpriest1]

Having a pdf that will tell me how to fire this amazing beast would make me a very happy individual! I say do it
-Brian