Railworks America

Just purchased the CSX SD50-2 from Trains & Drivers (said it was version 1.2) and it left me scratching my head. Just want to make sure I didnt get a corrupted download - can someone verify the below issues?

- Dynamic brake sounds are not audible at all outside the cab
- Ammeter (both the graphical cab gauge and the simulator HUD) do not indicate dynamic brake application
- Horn cuts out when using the HUD button, but works fine with the spacebar.

And that all got me thinking - did I just download a beta release someone accidently uploaded to Trains & Drivers? If this is the intended release, maybe this is a warning to others to be aware of before purchase.

When this is version 1.2 have some issues perhaps been inherited from the base DRGW model? Martin Velozo promised an update, but so far there hasn't been one.

Does the CSX have advanced braking with independent bail off?
Does it have winter textures and throwing snow off the plow?
Are the traction motors mounted the right way?

Then perhaps some new issues have been introduced in v1.2?

Braking amps not showing mean the minimum current value is set to zero instead of a negative value.
No audible dynamics outside the cab mean some emitter has been misplaced in the audio proxy.
There have been problems reported with the HUD horns in other locomotives as well. Perhaps DTG inadvertedly changed something in the gamemanager.dll.

It does not have the advanced braking script, does have winter textures (but no snow being thrown off the plow at speed), and the traction motors appear correct.

I've tried to modify (fix) some of the issues, so far, to no effect. I'm not sure what's up.

- Dynamic brake sounds are not audible at all outside the cab
- Ammeter (both the graphical cab gauge and the simulator HUD) do not indicate dynamic brake application

I compared relevant sections in the .bin and simulation files to other locomotives without these faults, and I dont really see anything different (nothing looks wrong to me). I see references to the dynamic sounds in the audio proxy, but I dont see a reference to the minimum current value in the bin files for the dynamics. Can you direct me more specifically where I should be looking?

To enable the cab dynamic brake sounds try copying the bin or proxyxml file from the CSX SD40-2 if you have the Oovee 40 series pack.

Montana, for the amps meter the fix is mostly easy.

Open the engine.bin in RW_Tools,
Look for the <ControlContainerComponent> section,
Find the "Ammeter" <ControlName>,
Change its minimum value from 0 (zero) to the minimum indicated on the ammeter in the cab, like -1200
Close and save the engine.bin from RW_Tools.

Clear cache and use the locomotive again. The ammeter needle should now go into the negative when dynamic brakes are engaged.

I don't have either the CSX nor the DRGW it is still broken IMO, so I cannot be 100% sure in the exact content of the .bin files.

Perhaps the SD50 will get a physics update from one of our resident experts, and the other faults will be fixed in one go?

Do the same procedure for the no crewed member unit as well.

OpenRailer90 wrote:Do the same procedure for the no crewed member unit as well.

Do you drive a crewless locomotive?

Forgot to mention you perhaps need to adjust the minimum amps value when the creator has copied both an incorrect engine bin, physics bin and needle animation, so the needle doesn't line up anymore. Generally, it shouldn't go off the scale and might not even reach min value due to a lower resistor grid current limit.

Perhaps a good photo with the control stand shows the actual min and max values of the real SD50, being more powerful than the SD40, the range of the amps meter might be different.

Lol, a crewless locomotive is essentially the engine without crew members inside, designed to be used as trailing units. But it's a great idea to apply the mod in case switching or reversing is done with it.

_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha wrote:

OpenRailer90 wrote:Do the same procedure for the no crewed member unit as well.

Do you drive a crewless locomotive?

Forgot to mention you perhaps need to adjust the minimum amps value when the creator has copied both an incorrect engine bin, physics bin and needle animation, so the needle doesn't line up anymore. Generally, it shouldn't go off the scale and might not even reach min value due to a lower resistor grid current limit.

Perhaps a good photo with the control stand shows the actual min and max values of the real SD50, being more powerful than the SD40, the range of the amps meter might be different.

Thank you very much for all the help , but I think the problem is more complex than changing the minimum value in the .bin file and simulation file - I think one of the problems resides in the dynamic brake needle animation. No matter what values I change the simulation file and .bin file, the animation just scales itself to the previous range of motion.

You don't get it I know but some of us don't really care much and are probably having a lot more fun. I do miss the no dynamic brake sounds. Has anyone bothered to contact DTM about this or do you just sit here complaining about issues?

Yeah, I know. You're right. When I first posted, I guess I was just hoping that I had a corrupted copy. AKA In denial.

My day job success is dependant on extreme accuracy, so I need to leave that mindset at work. TS2016 is largely a "game", not a simulator. It's not perfect. Sorry for complaining, Buzz.

I have 16-645F3B sounds that are essentially ready for all of the GP/SD50s that fix the audio issues. I'm just working on the ammeter before I release it.

BNSFdude wrote:I have 16-645F3B sounds that are essentially ready for all of the GP/SD50s that fix the audio issues. I'm just working on the ammeter before I release it.

I believe those are the recordings used on the F59PH(I) diesels as I remember reading the Surfliner manual, it stated something about Northstar in the credits. Are the cab control sounds the same as the 40 series ones?

BNSFdude wrote:I have 16-645F3B sounds that are essentially ready for all of the GP/SD50s that fix the audio issues. I'm just working on the ammeter before I release it.

What is required to fix the Ammeter? Am I correct that it's the animation file that needs to be corrected, or am I missing something simple?