Railfan Technology > Rail sim posts on wrong forum?

I find the rail simulation posts interesting and informative, but I wonder why they're not being posted on the Railfan Gaming forum? For some reason, it's not readily visible under the Discussion section. I'm curious as to why not. You have to click on "Discussion" to access the Railfan Gaming forum. The last post on it was April, 2012.

This discussion has just emerged here in the last week or so. And for the first time in quite some time, it seems to have caught a little breeze here, and there is some discussion going.

I made a proposal in an earlier post that we start placing posts about rail sims in the Railroad Gaming section. I mentioned that Todd has kept it alive, although in a secondary position. Just a couple of clicks via Discussion to get there. I also suggested that perhaps for a while we post a just a short cross-reference post here on the Tech section pointing to a post in Railroad Gaming until it gets some critical mass over there again, and then we can withdraw from Tech. I plan to do that in the future for a post I am preparing with visuals on new features in Run 8. But I have responded here in Tech to a few recent posts before we perhaps start really promoting Railroad Gaming again.

In any case, it's nice to see the interest in rail sims perking up just a bit once again.

MC
Columbia, Missouri

Or the rail fan trip reports ... last post in '09 ... Needs to be shown in the menu on the left to be used. ;-)

ddavies Wrote:
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> Or the rail fan trip reports ... last post in '09
> ... Needs to be shown in the menu on the left to
> be used. ;-)

Agreed.

I'll start....just posted a little tidbit there.

Or at least I tried....hasn't shown up there yet.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/14 12:02 by jridge.

jridge Wrote:
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> I'll start....just posted a little tidbit there.
>
> Or at least I tried....hasn't shown up there yet.

I posted something on it yesterday, and it never showed up. I think posting has been blocked, somehow. I also emailed Todd about it, and haven't heard anything back.

We have tried a Train Simulator forum a few times over the years and they never did much of anything. There was not enough traffic to justify its existence, and not enough members who had interest in it. Instead, the forum turned into a collection of computer screen captures. I think the best course of action for those people interested in simulator programs is to start a Yahoo Group. I myself belong to niche groups including S Scale, Railroad Signals, and Wig Wags.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

so it looks like i, amoung others, should continue to post train sim questions here if we would like a response

stacktrain Wrote:
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> so it looks like i, amoung others, should continue
> to post train sim questions here if we would like
> a response

That sounds about right to me!

Maybe call it Railfan & Railsim Technology page.

stacktrain Wrote:
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> so it looks like i, amoung others, should continue
> to post train sim questions here if we would like
> a response

Works for me, too.

I knew that the Railroad Gaming section was dormant, but I didn't know that meant essentially out of service. I proposed the idea of getting traffic going on the Railroad Gaming section again both because there was some interest emerging once more (and the section was there to potentially receive it), and because I frankly didn't want to incite any protest here on the Tech page.

I'm comfortable staying here on the Tech page. I hope others who post here on cameras, scanners, radios, antennae, software and other gear and tech topics (and I am occasionally among them) will tolerate us as one more branch of "Railfan Technology". I think we rail simmers fit. And I think we will play nice.

That said, I'll point out again that there are several other major boards such as train-sim.com, Elvas Tower, UK TrainSim, Mophouse, Railworks America, DAMS and others which cover the sims in great depth and detail. That's a strength, but can also be a weakness. It's easy for a beginner (and even sometimes those who are experienced) to become overwhelmed on those sites. They can also be frustratingly fragmented in their depth, and getting a clear and correct answer can sometimes be a long and arduous journey.

So, I'd suggest that we not reinvent the wheel, either here on TO and by setting up a Yahoo or other site (sorry Todd, I strongly disagree as a longtime TO member). Instead, I'd suggest that our posts here:

** Serve as a portal to the sims for those who are new to them, and who come from the kind of larger railfan interests that we have here on TO. Once people are into the sim and have need for the nitty-gritty, the other boards can then serve them well. In other words, keep it pretty high level here, and go to one of the other boards when you gotta get down in the weeds.

** Serve to leverage the kinds of interests we have here on TO, such as photography, operational patterns, business practice and history. Once you get into the sims, you might be surprised (as I was) how few in the train sim community share in some of these dimensions of our hobby. They can operate authentically and with skill in a Run 8 multiplayer session, for example, but have spent very little time trackside, taken few rail photos, and understand little of rail corporate and operational history, traffic patterns and economic relationships. We can bring something into the rail sim community from the kind of knowledge that's routinely shared here on TO. And yes, even talk it up among the simmers, whom I've found to be receptive to a site like TO when they learn of it. And we can take something from our experience there and relate it to the things we like here on TO.

Just some ideas, for starters. I don't know just what form it will take. And maybe it'll run, maybe not. But the sim discussion has a little breeze here on TO once again, so let's give it a shot. And hopefully we'll find a way to make our discussions here capture some of the terrific blend of knowledge, interest, experience and visual excitement that is Trainorders.

With respect,

MC
Columbia, Missouri