Several days ago, I noticed an unexpected loco on my Train Simulator 2021 roster. Research proves it to be provided by what I assumed was 'merely' a Passenger Coach asset pack needed by one of two locos purchased from Caledonia Works. It's a spiffy little loco, a 4-2-2, sometimes referred to as "Single" for its single pair of driving wheels, with one of my favorite whistle sounds to date. I feel I might have learned something of the relationship between Reverser and Regulator while driving it. Here are a few images, one showing it in Caledonia Railway photo gray, the other in London Midland & Scottish Railway crimson.

(link) Caledonia Railway "Single" in photo gray (link)

(link) London Midland & Scottish Railway "Single" in crimson (link)

It comes to me that I've not yet provided an image of the Highland Railway "Jones Goods" loco. I have now.

(link) Highland Railway "Jones Goods" steam locomotive in green (link)


Sunday afternoon addendum:
Just finished a passenger run pulled by a Great Western Railway 4-6-0 "Grange" steam locomotive. It's prolly the most powerful of the TS2021 locos I've attempted to drive. Lots more power than I'm used to. Was worried I'd not know how to handle it, especially coming to stop at the session's destination station. Ended up being, subjectively, my best drive yet. No engine issues. No speeding infractions. (I generally get one or two of those a session.) Not only did I arrive at the end station almost to the second of our scheduled time, but also managed to stop the train exactly where I wanted it, with loco and tender just past the platform so that all coaches fit properly.

I tried a run with the GCR 9N earlier, only to bail when it was obvious the loco would run out of water well before reaching its destination. That's happened twice with the 9N. No idea why it's such a water guzzler. I suspect it might have more sophisticated control requirements than I am yet able to comprehend. I'll try and pay more attention next time I take it for a spin, though I've no idea what to look for.

Just bought EA for Baldur's Gate 3.

We'll see how it is tomorrow. Still not finished, just went to early access last week. Act 1(most of) is there, they claim about 20 to 25 hours of content. Not all races and classes are available.

Still looks like fun.

I’m very interested in this game. Let us know what you think!

Yesterday's numerous TS2021 attempts were an embarrassment. They began with coupling practice. I assumed this would further hone skilled learned while practicing coupling some days ago. Turns out I've forgetting everything I'd learned. What's more, after numerous replays of the tutorial I still can't get the hang of it. The root of the problem is, I believe, that I don't know how to 'crawl' a steam loco. Not in TS2021. I can in Trainz2019, after a fashion. Enough to get the job done. There has to be some concept I simply haven't yet fathomed. Capping my TS2021 day, I again attempted a moderately long run with a GCR 9N. And again ran out of water. An earlier, short 9N run saw me overshoot the destination station. A fluke?

Speaking of the 9N, here's a nifty video of it by a fellow who knows his business:

(video) TS2-2019 Review: Caledonia Works GCR class 9N (video)

On a positive note, while watching the above it came to me that I've misunderstood what the UI controls for Fire and Water represent. If true, this is likely why I run out of water mid-route. I'll experiment later today(?) and hope for the best. (Or at least the better.)

My DFU avatar continues to carry out assignments for the various organization of which he is a member. None of his recent activities stand out as worthy of lengthy discussion in our dedicated Arena/Daggerfall thread.

Tuesday afternoon ADDENDUM:
As threatened, I made another TS2021 GCR (Great Central Railway) 9N passenger run, utilizing what I gleaned from the above linked video. Success! As suspected, the loco had plenty of water all along. It just hadn't been reaching the boiler. Between that, a better feel for maintain coal level, and better coordination between reverser/regulator, the train purred along, start to finish. I even managed to stop it at the destination station exactly where it needed to be almost to the foot. Wish I'd 'filmed' it. If I had, it would likely have ended in disaster, knowing my recent luck.

I'm debating on what to play. I started a Drow ranger and am getting the itch to run the tutorial on a few others to see what I like.

Level cap is 4.

Thinking maybe githyanki. Cleric or wizard. Or warlock. Or something. Hm..

Your companions encompass a wide range of stuff.

Human wizard and human warlock. Half elf cleric. Elf(sorta) rogue. Githyanki fighter. Playable races: two flavours of elf, two flavours of Drow(warring sects I think), three flavours of half elf, two dwarves, two halflings, three tieflings, humans, githyanki.

Playable races have "subraces", high and wood elf, etc. Half high elf, half wood elf, half Drow.

Playable classes: wizard, warlock, cleric, fighter, rogue, ranger. They're going to add more. They're missing 3 races I think, and at least three classes. Probably more. I think the goal is everything in 5e.

No subclassing yet.

Premise is simple. You got abducted by mind flayers. They put one of their tadpoles in your head. You gotta figure out how to get rid of it. It apparently takes place after the Descent into Avernus module takes place. Illithids are dying out or some crap so they abduct a crapload of people to impregnate with tadpoles to turn them into mind flayers. I'll have to do more reading, but the summary I just gave you is evident in the first cinematic (which is really well done) before you even start playing. Should check it put. It's sick lol.

Is the first cinematic the same as the first trailer they released for it where the guard turns into an Illithid?

Negative. This one's been on a few gaming websites and shows the tadpole scene.

It looks just as good as the trailer too. Gross, but good.

I state premise of the game mostly in the interest of letting those on the fence know what's going on so they can determine if it's too gross for them. I'm not bothered by it, but I showed my husband the Diablo 4 trailer and all he could say was "ew gross", so gross isn't for everyone.

I saw a video of a player character removing an Intellect Devourer from a living husk, so I’m good with gross, lol.

Yeah that's in the tutorial.

https://youtu.be/_hqgv0pU0EM

Yes it's just a YouTube link, wait til you get home so it doesn't try making you dl the app again.

Lol it played just fine! Must just be ‘Rocu’s links my phone hates. That was a cool intro! Loved the dragons!

Yeah it was pretty cool.

I'm still tryin to figure out the game's controls too. haha

It's fun.

I’ve been reading some negative reviews and the whole time I’m thinking “Do you even play video games?” or “It’s EARLY ACCESS! What did you think that means?! You are basically paying to be a big tester!”. I just don’t get people sometimes.

Most of the people complaining either a) don't realise you're basically beta testing, B) complaining it's too similar to another game by the same studio AND same engine, or c) Baldur's Gate purists that won't accept anything short of another BG2 and don't give it half a chance because of a) and B).

Early this afternoon I installed a freeware TS2021 route. Gave it a test run via QuckDrive with my latest acquisition, a Caledonian Railway 439-class 0-4-4 steam locomotive, pulling a string of passenger coaches. Here is an image of it steaming along a stretch of 15mph track near the session's destination station:

(image) Photo-gray Caledonian Railway 439-class steam loco (image)

Here it is again, in weathered LMS crimson:

(image) LMS 439-class steam loco at destination station (image)


In other news, I freed up much-needed space on one of my two gaming partitions by uninstalling the game Ark: Survival Evolved. I'd not played it in ages, so no great loss. Being Steam based, I can get it back any time I want.

So much for my promise not to purchase more TS2021 DLC this month. Reading through recent posts on Steam's Train Simulator discussion forum, someone alerted us to a fairly new (2019) route being discontinued. A British route: Cornish Mainline, Plymouth to Penzance. Modern, alas, not steam era. Still, I can run steam trains on it via QuickDrive. (I can do most anything I want if and when I learn how to create my own scenarios.) It is on sale for half price through either the end of the day today or sometime tomorrow. Then, POOF! How could I resist? I can tell you how. But it's besides the point, as I took the plunge.

Sticking with TS2021, earlier today I made several QuickDrive runs on the North Lincolnshire Railway. Am not displeased with either, though neither was close to flawless. Luckily for you guys I concentrated on driving so captured no images.

Haha! Excellent.

I think I'm gonna make a Drow warlock tomorrow in BG3.

Can't go evil though, I never go evil. ><

Well not all Drow are evil. Just most of them, lol

You guys aren't off the hook after all, it seems. A few captures from my most recently acquired TS2021 Route, Cornish Mainline - Plymouth to Penzance, appear below. Seen is a crimson lake Caledonian Railway 439-class steam loco pulling a passenger train alone the mainline and paused at a Railway Station. This route contains an "up-slope from hell". At least it was for the 439. It went on and on and on. Boiler Pressure kept dropping, as did the train's speed. About the time Boiler Pressure reached 88 (it should have been in the low 170s!) a message popped up saying the train had derailed. My guess is that it had something to do with the Boiler having a hissy fit. Admittedly, a better steam loco driver than me (not hard to find) likely would have avoided catastrophe.

(image) crimson lake Caledonian Railway 439-class steam loco pulled passenger train travels the Cornish Mainline (image)

(image) crimson lake Caledonian Railway 439-class steam loco pulled passenger train pauses at a railway station along the Cornish Mainline (image)

In image two I manage to stop the train exactly where I wanted it, with the loco forward of the station platform, as close the roadway as it can get without blocking it.

So did the pirates of penzance sabotage your boiler?

That would make an interesting scenario for sure! Alas. Retried that scenario with the same loco/railcar combo, with like result in more of less the same spot. Tried it with a different loco/railcar combo. Same ending. I originally assumed "A.I. derailment" means game's A.I. derailed 'my' train for some reason unbeknownst to me. I'm now certain it means an A.I. controlled train in operation somewhere along the route derailed. My train is an innocent bystander. Either that particular QuickDrive configuration is glitched or the entire route is. I might try an uninstall-reinstall routine, far more practical with my now much faster internet connection.

My locos occasionally suffer from "Fatal Blowback on the Steam Engine". Finally got off my duff and researched it. It's caused by opening the firebox (to add coal) while in a tunnel. Don't recall if all my blowbacks occurred in tunnels, but the last several certainly did!

That's how my last two scenario attempts ended. The one prior let me drive to completion, but is marked as a failure. Too far behind schedule. Passed a warning signal (which I didn't see).

I did it again! <sigh> Visiting Dovetail (maker of TS2021) this morning, I noticed a massive DLC sale not available on Steam. At the price offered, I couldn't resist buying a route that's been on my 'must have' list since acquiring the game: Settle & Carlisle. I have this route in Trainz2019. As a driving experience I like the Trainz version due to its massive length. Its downside...being an older route scenery is rudimentary. While the TS2021 version is decently long, I don't believe it covers as much distance as does the Trainz version. However, despite it too being an old product (2012) scenery easily betters Trainz S&C. Not state of the art, but pleasantly decent.

Tonight I drove an honest-to-goodness official 'standard' scenario rather than a QuickDrive. Of medium difficulty. What's more, the run ended in success, still rare for me. I'm sort of surprised. I made a few goof ups that the game thankfully didn't count against me. In the end I earned only one demerit, for a brief instance of minor speeding.

Fired up Daggerfall Unity earlier in the day, but didn't do anything worth detailed documentation. (It looks as if all the mods I use are now compatible with DFU 0.10.26+. I'm tempted to update, but it's not an urgent necessity.)

Still playing WoW and Baldur's Gate 3. BG3 has me in chronic restartitis mode.

Crap.

And I just played game number 19000 on Windows chess lvl 3!

Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition

Still chipping away at BG3.

Having a difficult time progressing. I keep getting the itch to reroll. lol.

https://i.imgur.com/3V0XuZR.png

During my unfortunate recent too-long absence from the internet I played many rounds of Solitile, a remove-the-titles title owned since prior to buying my first PC in 1989. (It came on a shareware floppy provided with a computer magazine.) It was, obviously, a DOS game back then, later updated to Windows. Don't know how many rounds I've played over the decades. Easily thousands. Admittedly I don't play it all that often anymore. When I do, I tend to binge.

Another YouTube Daggerfall Unity episode has been published. It’s quite short, clocking in at 4m35s. It showcases graphics enhancements first experience since updating both DFU (to 0.10.27 from a year-old build) all its mods (to their current versions as of early Nov 2020). There’s not much to it. We see my DFU avatar enter Daggerfall City during a morning rain, walk to the city’s Temple of Kynareth, deposit rescued priestess, then walk to DFC’s main shopping district. We then find ourselves in a desert, showcasing my switch from Mountains & Hills to Interesting Terrains. That’s all there is to it. No assignments. No dungeon crawls. No battles.

I meant to include an Inn visit, to show off Taverns Redone. Alas, as with episode-one I forgot to capture an acceptable Tavern interior clip until too late.

(video) Modded Daggerfall Unity - A Walk in Rain, A Glimpse of Desert (video)

I was amazed when you switched to the desert. For a moment I thought it was a picture of a real desert until I saw the tall cactus. DFU keeps looking better and better all the time. One mod I am watching is Villagers Immersion Overhaul. It has some quirks but the idea is something I like.

Daggerfall as a game world has so much to do that it does need much additional story content (well maybe a little). Daggerfall just needed some makeup but that's just my biased opinion.

Great video by the way.

Star Wars: Rebellion time again!


Started off as Empire as usual. Biggest galaxy, hardest difficulty, all victory conditions. And as usual I concentrate on three out of six sectors, effectively abandoning the other ones I have a presence in making it even more difficult. I like this approach. And it doesn't just make it harder, it also makes it easier since I have less sectors to keep track of constantly. Believe me, I have plenty to do in the sectors I concentrate on

I've not played much Train Simulator 2021 lately, devoting the bulk of my gaming time modded Daggerfall Unity and Solitile instead. What little TS2021 I played didn't pan out well, this morning's session in particular.

It was a QuickDrive. I pick the loco/railway cars, route, starting point and final destination. So long as my train makes it to that final station all's well. The route has no timetable. Neck, I don't even have to stop at interim stations, if there are any. (There were in this case. I planned to stop at them all.) This particular QuickDrive saw me drive a short passenger train pulled by a Caledonia "Single" steam locomotive. The Single, having but one set of driving wheels (hence the name) was ill-suited for the route chosen, it being rather hilly. Had the session been graded I'd definitely have picked a more powerful loco. In consequence, the train climbed up some of those hills at a snail's pace, not that it mattered. What did matter is that it has been a long time since I last drove a session which includes tunnels. I forgot that one can't fuel a steam loco (shovel coal into its firebox) while in a tunnel. Naturally, in the heat of battle I did so. Seconds latter the session ended, with a notice that I had ruined the loco's engine due to blowback. For what it's worth, here's a sceenshot of that train, paused at a station not long before catastrophe struck:

(image) Caledonia "Single" (in LMS Crimson) pulled passenger train at station (image)


A day or two ago I drove an even smaller steam loco, a "Jinty", on another passenger run. A Standard Session rather than a QuickDrive. Errors matter, but don't go onto one's permanent record. No major problems this time. Even so, I wasn't given credit for completion. Why? I didn't make it to the destination station on time. You can bet I'm going to drive that run again. Here's an image taken during the run:

(image) View leaning out the cab window of a Jinty, waiting for a freight train to clear the line ahead (image)

Really nice pictures, Decrepit

1 and a half weeks.

Shadowlands is almost here and I CANT WAIT FOR STUFF TO DO.

Been paying a subscription for a game I barely play waiting on this danged expansion.

Day two in Star Wars: Rebellion and can you believe it; the puny rebels already think they can overtake Coruscant! Attack me in my own building! Eh... planet, I mean. Sorry, LaCroix...


I'm advancing in my efforts to build construction- and shipyards. No good fleet as of yet as my main goal now is simply to keep what I'm building up. I need plenty of TIE Fighters to defend the planets with before I can focus on capital ships and start taking rebel strongholds by force. I'm also pursuing diplomacy missions in the three sectors I'm active in.

Well with Vader as your top diplomat, that should be monstrously successful!

Lol.

Today in TS2021 I drove an interesting steam locomotive for the first time. It's a British GER (Great Eastern Railway) T26-class 2-4-0. What makes it interesting is that it comes in two physical variants (and a lot of liveries). The 'normal' variant is a traditional loco with open-back cab coupled to a separate tender. The second, late variant, has a back added to the cab, with a (normal-size) tender soldered or bolted directly to it! I don't recall encountering that configuration before, certainly not with a British steam loco.

The route I drove it on is also surprising. Surprising in that I didn't realize I had it. I suspect it's a TS2021 Steam Workshop download, which I mistakenly assumed was a scenario (for one of my purchased routes). It's a tiny thing, all of two miles long. Three passenger stations; one at each end and one in-between. Maximum speed limit 25mph, which mean it has to be a Heritage Railway. Scenically, it's rather nice.

Judging by this one drive along, pulling four passenger coaches, the loco isn't all that powerful. Most of the distance between the departure and middle stations is an uphill climb. The train didn't struggle, but I couldn't get much speed out of it. And boy did it guzzle water! To the plus, I'm finally picking up on how to properly apply steam train brakes. I still get it wrong more often than not, but at least I grasp the basic principle.

For what it's worth, here's the train stopped at, I believe, the middle station, passengers loaded, topping off coal and water before departure:

(image) GER T26-Class loco (in LNER livery) & coaches at passenger station (image)

I promised myself that if no unexpected expenditures occurred by mid month I'd treat myself to a steam loco I've wanted since acquiring Train Simulator, the (British) LB&SCR A1 /A1x "Terrier. More specifically, a whole pack of them as offered but SteamSoundsSupreme. Even more specifically, I bought the Main Pack, the Early Pack, and the Later Pack as a bundle, due to cost savings. (The Early and Later packs cost next to nothing when bought this way.) This is a loco almost everyone is at least somewhat familiar with, due to it featuring in a series of children's books, then later a popular children's TV series. My decision was not based on that. I simply think them nifty looking locos. Since install, I've taken them on a few QuickDrives and two Standard Scenarios, one of which ended in failure early on. The success occurred not long ago. It was mostly a shunting exercise, with a two-mile drive between passenger stations at the end. I almost botched it, grossly overfilling water due to inattention. (I was concentrating on backing to couple, and forgot how quickly the Terrier fills to capacity. Luckily, no harm was done.) Here's an image taken during one of my Terrier QuickDrives:

(image) TS2021 LB&SCR "Terrier at Railway Station (image)


Here's a short video (not mine) detailing the long history of one particular Terrier:

(video) The Complete History of Stepney the Bluebell Engine (video)


I also took a QuickDrive headed by a Hightland Railway "Jones Goods", a loco I'd not driven in quite some time. Here are a few images:

(image) Jones Goods pulled passenger train paused beneath roadway overhead bridge (image)
(image) Same train arrives at destination station (image)

I did it again. Bought a TS2021 steam loco. On sale. $8.32US. Loco/tender in a number of liveries/colors and set of passenger carriages in at least two liveries/colors. Couldn't pass it up. (Well, I could but...) It's a Midland Railway 4-2-2 "Spinner". Small. Fairly early (built 1896-1899). The sort of steam loco I favor. Here it is, captured en route during a Standard Scenario:

(image) Midland Railway "Spinner" pulled Passenger Train - 1 (image)
(image) Midland Railway "Spinner" pulled Passenger Train - 2 (image)

I like it well enough, especially at the price I paid. I've a few niggles, however. First, its creators chose not to provide leaning-out-of-the-cab (LOTC) camera positions. It relies instead on the game's generic LOTC cameras, which are limited in scope. Basically, we can rotate only 180 degrees, as opposed to a 360-degree custom camera. Not a lease breaker, but missed. Second, if the braking system utilizes "lapping" I didn't notice it during the above session. It would have come in handy, as the scenario rather hilly. I need to check the manual to make sure I've not overlooked something.

First thing after this morning's breakfast I drove a "Terrier" pulled excursion train in an hour-long 'hard' scenario. Quite a gamble. I still fail 'easy' scenarios with some frequency. Amazingly, I did very well. In fact, I thought I was going to nail it with only one brief minor speeding episode to my demerit. Up only almost the very end.

Less than a minute from completion, slowing to enter the final destination station, a red signal unexpectedly materialized at trackside ahead. I applied as much brake as I dared, knowing I'd not stop in time. My thought was to stop beyond the signal, back the train, and wait at the signal until it turned green. That might or might not have worked had not the reason the signal was red revealed itself. A long passenger train had departed the station. We shared track until near the signal. No way could I avoid collision with the oncoming train. At that point I hit ESCAPE, ending the scenario. It was a lot of fun while it lasted.

Here's the train paused at another, earlier, signal. (The scenario warned me about this one.)

(image) Terrier pulled excursion train paused en route at signal (image)

*



I've been playing Black Desert Online for almost two months now = and just finally did my first horse breeding today!

Here is the (male) stud:


https://imgur.com/DLbiBP6




Here is the (female) mare:


https://imgur.com/L9wyU8G



And here is my very first foal!!!! She is beautiful!!! Her name is "Samurai_Sea"


https://imgur.com/N9uaSp8


https://imgur.com/72NphjN




*

Congrats, mALX! That's nice looking new horse!

Thank you so much! She really is pretty, and very feisty too! She almost bucked me off just posing for that pic!!!

I just learned from someone today that if they are like that you can pet them before mounting and it settles them down.

I was so excited that she was a "Tier 7" (much higher level quality than her two parents; who were both "Tier 5's"). So = WOO HOO !!!!

Just finished driving a super enjoyable TS2021 session. Route and Scenario were both downloaded off Steam Workshop earlier today. Free is good! Though I spent good money on 'official' routes and locos that the free route/scenario are created from. Be that as it may, I had a blast. The route is well laid out and scenically appealing. The scenario provides just the right of blend of shunting, 'distance' driving, and session length. Luckily for you guys I was too engrossed in what I was doing to remember to capture images for screenshots.

On a less positive note, I visited Trainz 2019 for the first time months. I'd forgotten how stuttery it has become. (It didn't start out that way, but became so following one of Win10's 'major' updates.) TS2021 is stutter-free except during infrequent isolated instances. (I experience none of those during the above session.) Graphics quality is overall better in TS2021, especially but not confined to older routes. What's more, driving a steam train in Trainz now seems decidedly underwhelming. To be fair, I'm out of practice manipulating Trainz loco controls. Too, some Train Simulator steam locos aren't as enjoyable as others. Any in case, as of now I give the nod to TS2021. With the caveat that I consider it more of a money sink than is Trainz. (Which isn't to say Trainz isn't one too.)

Almost forgot to mention that I learned how to add assign wagons/ carriages to individual locos for TS2021 QuickDrive sessions. It's super easy, so no great accomplishment. Comes in right handy for those locos that don't provide pre-configured QuickDrive wagon / carriage assignments. (Or do, but only with railcars I don't own and don't want to shell out money for.)

Nice, malx! I love horses.

Sorry to hear Trainz is still being stutter, decrepit. That's not good.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands releases Tuesday at midnight my time. HYPED.

Thank you! I also love horses; it is what actually drew me to playing this game = it has so much intricate game play attached to the horses!

You can actually capture wild horses in this game and train them for riding; breed them; etc. (Well, technically = some talented people can capture the wild horses. I personally can't; I have tried over 250 times to catch one and failed miserably each time).

Another thing I love in this game = you have to feed your horses or they will not run. They will plod along like a farm mule unless you feed them some stamina-rich food.

Also = I already knew we COULD pet the horses; but I had no idea that the petting animation actually calmed the horse down until a couple days ago! Learning that really floored me, I love that! They thought of everything to make the horses a real part of your gameplay; I love that!

Sounds like you really hit home with this game, mALXie

Yes, that extra attention on the horses in the game really sold me on playing it. They have A LOT of intricate game play like that; their cooking and alchemy is almost frustrating it is so hard to learn; but that kind of makes it more rewarding when you do finally learn it, lol. Even their questing isn't cut and dried; the NPC's won't give you quests till they trust you; and that doesn't happen overnight; etc. I love this game!

After thinking I was getting the hang of steam loco driving in TS2021 it all fell apart with a two-day series of one failure after another. Then this evening I drove a short (40min) passenger/milk-wagon run on the Falmouth route that went perfectly. There was one station I thought I was going to overshoot, but that didn't happen. Admittedly, it was a fairly straightforward run, other than a tiny bit of shunting at the start. It helped that, for once, the station-arrival timetable was loose enough to keep me from panicking. I certainly couldn't dawdle, but I never felt rushed. The loco was pulled by a GWR class 45xx "small prairie" tank, one of several DLC purchased during the games ongoing Steam sale. (Also bought, the "large prairie" and several dirt-cheap ($2.50) passenger coach packs.)

I just bought Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity for the Switch.

Star Wars: Rebellion is progressing. I now own the entirety of Sesswenna sector, home to the Imperial planet Coruscant.

Vader and Palps are conducting recruitment missions in another sector all while lots and lots of TIE Fighters are being built ASAP wherever I have shipyards.

Ooo how is it?

Not bad. Plays like Dynasty Warriors but feels like a proper prequel to Breath of the Wild. Its a good game to hold you over till BOTW 2 comes out.