@Ted S posted:Finally, someone who shares my enthusiasm for this kind of stuff!!
https://ogrforum.com/...3#149661645474538363
https://ogrforum.com/...4#175990811219608004
https://ogrforum.com/...9#177539554930355129
I agree that:
(1) LCS seems to be under-developed and under-marketed. It would benefit from a solid demo implementation, which I have not seen in person or on the Web.
(2) For me (and perhaps subset of other operators), having some type of model "economy" that gives the trains a sense of purpose makes a layout more fun and engaging; it might help to stave off boredom and obsolescence.
(3) If the model economy serves as the basis for a multi-operator "game," that further increases engagement. It would add a whole new dimension to public displays that could win new converts to the hobby. It could be an alternative to "escape rooms" for corporate team-building, etc. Perhaps it could even serve as a type of role-based play therapy for people with Aspergers, and those on the autism spectrum.
Andrew I agree that for best results with a minimum of two trains, the layout has to be at least medium-sized. But it's not the sheer size, it's the complexity. If you use traditional-sized trains (RailKing, LionChief, Postwar) of only 4-6 cars, RDCs for passenger and very sharp curves I'm convinced that it can be made to work in a typical space. The key is, the layout has to be purposefully designed to support this kind of "game." Trains with speed control, or good slow-speed performance and a muted top speed help a lot. Because unless the operators are highly skilled, keeping trains separated at 12" per second on a small layout gets pretty frenetic!
Ryan my contact info is in my Forum profile. I encourage you to contact me if you would like to collaborate further outside of this thread.
Wow! I can see you have been rooting for something like this for a while now. I wasn't even thinking about the multi operator potential of this until you just mentioned it. I've also been thinking of just how under utilized LCS is/lacking of a true demo there is and would love to see more added to it. In fact, I'm actually working on a way to feed sensor track data onto a wall mounted status board. And I am starting off by using real vintage MTA Metro North Hardware, The situation board out of Grand Central Terminal at NJ High-Railers as we speak. I thought it was a shame that Lionel had to drop production of the sensor car (which added Sensor Track Transmitters to any train) due to low sales volume. It drove me to create my own sensor track transmitter from scratch, so I can fit it to any box car I like. And yes I would be happy to collaborate on this project, Funny how without seeing your post I also thought we needed something very similar to make a train layout feel like a video game.
As an avid gamer myself, I thought about what elements draw me to a game vs what feelings keep me from spending as much time running trains. And you hit the nail on the head with one of your linked posts. There is only so much running in a loop you can do. A game keeps me interested because it is continually feeding me little wins of progression. Once the layout is built, progress slows way down. Part of the fun growing up as a kid with K'NEX, Legos and Lincoln Logs was tearing things back down and getting to progress from nothing again. I would also love to give a purpose to running so many more trains in my collection. More than just cool or unique looks.
The way I could do that with a physical train game based around LCS would be to make a new game start with restrictions that you can unlock by progressing. Forcing you to use smaller engines with less ability at the start, unlocking the rest by completing runs. That would be the mode I use. For more of an open house/public friendly concept, you could run in an open-ended sandbox mode (what games call the mode without any barriers in place) trying for a high score by transporting the most passengers or freight. Whatever I make, I want to ensure that the game runs automatically within LCS to keep the barrier to entry as low as possible.
The most fun I've had operations wise with a layout was when a fellow club member brought a pair of 10 sided dice and assigned numbers to each station or siding, you would roll the dice and drop off/pick up a car or drive your train to that location. When you finished, you would re-roll the dice for your next move. It created natural traffic jams where I needed to wait at a siding for him to pass depending on the routes we had to take. It felt realistic, and you got the little feeling of success when you got to the goal despite some potential obstacles.
I figured it would be a lot of fun to create a reason for me to want to go run trains at my friend/client's beautiful layout, and to have that reason replace at least some time I might otherwise spend playing games. My idea for the economy simulation and other concepts in my game idea comes from a game I enjoyed growing up, "Chris Sawyer's Locomotion" (which was all about evolving equipment though the years along with profit and growth, and much more recently a game called "Rail Route" which is a self-described Train Dispatcher Simulator.
