No need to appologise, this needed working out and working through, and was bound to come up, you know, as soon as someone started trying to beat existing times and not filling in blank slots haha

Going to experiment a bit more myself this weekend with FPS locks and see what can be done to find a good solution.

More dev info

Can use either method but would suggest using the in-game ATA clock as that will account for pauses in the game thread due to fetching data. The real time external clock won't do that and there is varying degrees of data fetching times depending on hard disk access. Manipulating in-game frame rate will be the easier method for players as that can be accomplished by adjusting in-game settings to ensure the game clock is running properly - all you'll need to make sure is that players are not running below 15 fps. Ideally they need to be above 30 fps to guarantee the time is going to be consistent across PCs I would also recommend advising players to ensure all background processes are closed before attempting the run - that is going to free up processing time as well as memory so there's less reliance on hard disk access No need to kill everything in the background, just as much as the player feels comfortable with. Fan control software has minimal overhead so is usually ok to leave running but things such as web browsers chew up memory and that's only going to slow things down. Another method that could be employed is asking to attempt the same scenario multiple times and the best time or averaged time across each run is then used as the final result

Going to take a little while to parse what that means for us.

So, here's the first info I have from the dev team on this issue.

hope this helps :slight_smile: There are multiple reasons for the clock times in TS here is the reasons and how can it be different … • One of the main ones is the ETA & ATA, one is an estimation based on calculable factors and the other is a measure of actual time accounting for limiting factors such as lost frames, disk reading, etc. • Also it is dependant on what your PC is like if you are getting 60 fps then there is a consistent measure of time for each player as it will be measured in real time. This remains true until you begin to reach the limits of game thread processing time. i.e. if the frame rate reduces below 15 fps, then you'll find that the game thread is not being managed in time with the game clock so time dilation occurs. • The only way to ensure a consistent measure is playing on the same PC on the same route and same scenario Have a look at some of the 4UP challengers you will be able to see how it works as all the PCs are different and can see how it changes the time clocks.

Hi All.

So, I have not had a chance to update instasim on this situation yet, but have been talking to KCEdwards, and one of the game developers.

So, it seems clear there is a discrepency between real world timers and in game timers, but at this moment it is unclear whether the actual in game run goes faster or slower based on this bug, or if it's only the timer impacted.

If the timer AND the gameplay slow down and speed up relative to real world time, but in sync with each other, then in game time seems like the correct metric to score runs on.

If the timer runs slow or fast in game, but the game itself still finishes the run at the same speed, then real world timer is a more accurate metric.

To Im Cirno, I ask that you have a little patience if possible on this topic. I joined as a mod for the first time on Friday, and am trying to take a few days to get some dev answers on this game so I can bring an accurate assessment of the situation, and proposal for how to keep things fair, to the other mods.

I am waiting for a message back from the dev team on the game, which I expect today now it's a week day again, then I'll come up with a proposal for the other mods, and some explaination of where we are at with things I can share to you.

Hi again

It has been four months since I posted a message here, and I have had no response from the mods.

Additionally, I attempted to follow the mods suggestion in the other thread that I simply do a speedrun of a route, submit the info, and let the mods list it on the board, but I have had zero response to my attempt to submit a South Western Main Line run for addition to the board.

I would really like to start getting active speedrunning this game, but it really seems like the mods have abandoned this game.

Is there anyone active who can approve my South Western Main Line Run, and with whom I can chat about opening this game up with some more base game routes for people to run?

Thanks

Laura

• Route: South Western Main Line • Consist: Class 450 - 4 Coaches • Start: Bournemouth • Destination: Southampton Central Platform 1 • Video of Run:

Hi.

My name is Laura Dale, and my previous experience in Speedrunning is mainly holding records in Cooking Mama: Cookstar and Babysitting Mama.

I've been looking to maybe start speedrunning Train Simulator, but I was a bit confused at first when purchasing the base game and not being able to find how to do several of the specific categories listed here. Best I can tell, several of the existing categories are for DLC tracks or train clases? This isn't super clear as a newbie looking to get into running the game.

Additionally, can I clarify if the only current speedruns on this game are held by the same people moderating runs?

Would it be possible to get some speedrun categories set up and available that can be done with the base game trains and routes, as well as labelling which runs require DLC? I feel like these would make the game more welcoming to new speedrunners.

Currently, is the expectation that I should record myself completing a run that doesn't exist, then ask in the forum for the run to be created, so that I can later submit it?

Just trying to make sure I understand this game's existing speedrun community before I sink too much time in.

Laura

Yep, myself and VKni discovered this over the past week competing against each other's times in Vegetarian All Recipies Any %. I am at a distinct disadvantage by being on 1.0.2, and the Switch doesn't let you rollback to the original launch version unless you factory reset the console or mod your Switch.

Looking at the existing runs for the game, they all seem to be for 1.0.2 except for VKni's runs.

I'd personally ask we either separate these firmwares into different categories, or amend the run rules to specify version played. This game is highly unlikely to get updated past 1.0.2 due to the legal issues, and everyone can get that version, so maybe we make that a standard to get everyone running on the same playing field?