Train Visualization - Make last train wagon in line distinguishable

[GluAp]

And again, hi there

WHAT I'd wish for:

For a given train length (set in "Settings -> Interface -> Train visualiztation length"), make the last wagon visually distinguishable from every other wagon, IF it is shown.
To be clear: I'm talking about this "last" wagon, whose "wagon number == Train visualiztation length" (set in settings).


This is, how it looks at the moment (Train visualiztation length == 6):




And this, how i'd like it to look in the future (Train visualiztation length == 6):

Last Wagon.png (2.15 MiB) Viewed 3402 times

WHY:

With this feature, a player will always be able to instantly see, if a track segment is long enough for the train length (s)he has set in the game options.
With this feature, if the last drawn wagon (visualization when holding signal and others) is not shown with the different color (or any other way the Devs can find), there is not enough space (yet) for your choosen train length, so you'll have to make more space. In this case, you'll notice the lack of space without counting wagons.

For example (Train visualiztation length == 6):

Here you will instantly know, your track segment is not long enough, because the "last" wagon is not shown in different style / color

Last Wagon missing.png (1.17 MiB) Viewed 3402 times

I really hope, this description / depiction is understandable.

This proposal goes hand in hand with my other ideas about train visualization:

Train Visualization - Show Train Wagon Count / Index
Train Visualization - Visualize Train on all track segments in screenspace

[ssilk]

I would not say "last wagon", but "every N-th wagon" should be enhanced. Where N is either also configurable or just 3 (every 3rd wagon is enhanced), cause that is a very good measure for wagons.

[eradicator]

Why not just show a number in the center of each position. That way you instantly see what wagon goes where for any kind of complex train.

[Amarula]

I would like to see both a number and the visually distinct display for the last car. Both are useful.

[Optera]

I like The idea of a configurable n-th wagon being marked differently.
Depending on how you use it it can either be reoccurring every 3 carriages or just for finding the last 8th carriage.

[GluAp]

I would not say "last wagon", but "every N-th wagon" should be enhanced. Where N is either also configurable or just 3 (every 3rd wagon is enhanced), cause that is a very good measure for wagons.

I very well could live with that, too. But let's think a little bit further: Why not just put a text input field in the settings, where a player will input a list of numbers, or a specific form (e.g. "1;2;4;6" or "2n", or "3n+1") representing the wagon to be colored differently. Or maybe put it as a lua-command, as this is kind of extended feature?
But to be honest: It might not be the best idea to overcomplicate this, since it might lessen the use and comprehension by a wider player base.

Why not just show a number in the center of each position. [...]

I would like to see both a number and the visually distinct display for the last car. Both are useful.

Yeah, me too. I just split this idea/wish into another Thread (Train Visualization - Show Train Wagon Count / Index) to keep clean on the different ideas and discussion.

[Impatient]

What do you mean by "last"? How does the algorithm know how long a train, passing this location, will be?

[GluAp]

What do you mean by "last"? How does the algorithm know how long a train, passing this location, will be?

You might have misunderstood or misread the proposal.
There is no "train, passing [a] location". There is no train at all.

Depending on a new signal you want to place alongside the train track, there will be a visual pattern (what is called "train length visualization" in the game settings) representing how much space for how many wagons there is regarding the next signal existing on the same track.

Furthermore: In the game settings this variable is predefined (was it 5?) and can be changed in a range from 1 to 12 if I remember correctly. So the last wagon is just the n-th visualized wagon where n equals the value of the "Train_visualization_length" variable.

So if the size of a train segment (between two signals) is bigger than [Train_visualization_length]x[length_of_wagon] the last wagon is just the wagon which index equals [Train_visualization_length]. This wagon will be shown differently compared to the other wagons.
In all other cases, where the size of a train segment is less than [Train_visualization_length]x[length_of_wagon], the wagon with index [Train_visualization_length] will never show on the track, so the "last" shown wagon will not be visualized differently.

All clear now?

[Impatient]

yes.

i was confused. I didn't know that the possible car display was configurable. (i wished for a feature like that years ago. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=52715&p=308329#p308329 either it existed back then already or it was snuck in the game without me noticing.)

indicating the last of the n cars, configured to be shown, is a good idea. i am with you on this.

imo more important would be to have car numbers. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=52716&p=308331#p308331
this way i also can tell instantly how _many_ cars fit into a track segment. and it also tells how many more are missing. with only a last car indicator i imagine it can be hard to tell if 12 cars are configured. how many do not fit? 1, 2 or 3?

[Impatient]

Why not just show a number in the center of each position. That way you instantly see what wagon goes where for any kind of complex train.

and as eradicator points out, the numbering also shows which car is where, which can be handy for stations.

[GluAp]

imo more important would be to have car numbers. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=52716&p=308331#p308331
this way i also can tell instantly how _many_ cars fit into a track segment. and it also tells how many more are missing. with only a last car indicator i imagine it can be hard to tell if 12 cars are configured. how many do not fit? 1, 2 or 3?

I did in fact propose that, too (also in a seperate topic, because yours didn't turn up on my forum search).

I really like the numbering of the wagons, but if I had to exclusivly choose between showing those numbers and just 'coloring' the last (n-th) wagon, I'd choose last. I'd guess for a normal vanilla player it's best to immediatly see if your signal spacing is correct and it doesn't matter as much, how many wagons are it is off (I assume, many player don't use trains >8 wagons).

[Muche]

I believe this is already implemented.