Whats the deal with Trains in MP?

[Feathered_IV]

I saw a train once.  It was about four months ago.

 

Since then I have never seen another.  Maps seem to include icons indicating where they are to be found.  The briefing tells me to go and destroy them.  However on investigation - even on an empty server, the trains just aren't there...

 

So after spending the best part of an hour again as the sole tenant on TWB, roaming train tracks for ten minutes in each direction of every icon I've got to ask.  Is there a bug that makes all the trains invisible?  Do players famously jump on a server the moment a mission rolls over, kill every train and then quit?  Are the train icons added "for immersion" only?  I'd really like to know.  And what about trucks?  Was there ever any vehicles present that were not lined up to barricade a taxiway? 

 

I'd really like to fly some multiplayer missions, but jeeze.  You don't get much to work with.  

 

[Urra]

I asked about trains on TWB about 6 months ago. They are not implemented at all yet. I was told maybe in the future.

[coconut]

I've made a couple missions with trains: The Day Hell Froze mission 1, Attack on Kalach, Counter-Offensive on Velikie-Luki... Jupp's has made "Pigs on Wings", two missions where the objectives are trains. Last time I checked there were still working fine. Unfortunately, I don't think there's any public server running these. I'm thinking about recycling my old PC as a server and run it on a regular basis, but that will have to wait until next month.

 

Attacking vehicles is easier before sunrise, but few multiplayer missions use that, maybe because dogfight in these conditions is hard. The Wings of Liberty guys have a thread asking for feedback, have you asked for trains and trucks to shoot at there?

[Wolf8312]

Got to say of all the things I love on BOS its swooping down and destroying trains! Its probably because with their tell tale smoke signals I dont need to spend to much time searching for them!

[216th_Jordan]

Its because the map only tells you where the trains are in the very beginning. As trains are rather fast moving objects they may have travelled dozenz of miles once you get there. 

They are there and i loved train-hunting in MP.

[6./ZG26_5tuka]

Usually train trigger randomly traveling between 2 different stop points (one of them being a marked train station as example). I've flown my lagg-3 on a train destruction mission lately on the WIngs of Liberty server starting from the mark on the map following the railway all way back to a small siding within a forest where finally I found the train stationary.

 

I've yet to see a train moving in MP though. It seems they have very long waiting times and travel too quickly to be cought n the move frequently. I don't think trains can be modeled to make many short phased stops at certain waypoints along their route but rather just steam from A-B and back.

[keeno]

Hey Featheared,

 

definately there, i saw one last night, attacked it, missed it and then wondered if they can be destroyed.

 

Cheers

[[DBS]Tx_Tip]

Both the Velikie (2 trains) and Gumrak (1train) Missions on the Battlefields UK Servers have Trains as targets.

Additionally the Prelude Mission is drawn from several of the Friday Night Bomber Flight Missions with all sorts of Armor and vehicles, some moving, some not as targets.

 

These have been freshly redone with regards to the new more stringent update.

[Y-29.Silky]

 

Was there ever any vehicles present that were not lined up to barricade a taxiway?   

 

 

No, but pilots didn't just do a full throttle take-off when their engines started either. The trucks are there so people will taxi.

 

I just wrecked a train in WoL last week, it's probably just the TWB server. The only thing wrong with trains, is that there's no ammo cars, I want to see an explosion! every now and then..

Edited July 14, 2015 by Y-29.Silky

[SYN_Haashashin]

All SYN server missions have trains on it, I cant recall if in any of those the trains are part of the objectives or if they help to accomplish something but they are there for sure, just follow the railroad and you will find them, eventually.

 

I need to update our missions, will do on friday when I get back to civilitation for a couple of days hehehhe.

[coconut]

Both the Velikie (2 trains) and Gumrak (1train) Missions on the Battlefields UK Servers have Trains as targets.

Additionally the Prelude Mission is drawn from several of the Friday Night Bomber Flight Missions with all sorts of Armor and vehicles, some moving, some not as targets.

 

These have been freshly redone with regards to the new more stringent update.

 

Just flew a bit on B-F's server (expert CEM). On dfprelude I took an IL2 but could not find the armor column. I tried attacking the small bases west of the supposed column position, missed all my targets, damaged my engine. The navigation (no GPS) and the flight home were interesting. I got the "server overloaded" message twice, which is strange considering I was alone and never saw AIs in the air.

 

Next mission was velikie. Too a lagg to destroy the train, which I did. Got my pilot seriously and the return home was hard. Very rough landing, but made it out alive. Lots of server overloaded messages.

 

The experience was smooth, despite the server overloaded messages.

[Y-29.Silky]

Just flew a bit on B-F's server (expert CEM). On dfprelude I took an IL2 but could not find the armor column. I tried attacking the small bases west of the supposed column position, missed all my targets, damaged my engine. The navigation (no GPS) and the flight home were interesting. I got the "server overloaded" message twice, which is strange considering I was alone and never saw AIs in the air.

 

Next mission was velikie. Too a lagg to destroy the train, which I did. Got my pilot seriously and the return home was hard. Very rough landing, but made it out alive. Lots of server overloaded messages.

 

The experience was smooth, despite the server overloaded messages.

Seems like they have everything activated at once, rather than when a player is near.

[[CPT]milopugdog]

I've seen trains on the New Wings server, but they're always stationary at a German fuel dump. Other than that, I've flown over one friendly train on a multiplayer server a few months ago (not sure which one).

[Willy__]

Never really had problem to find the trains, just look for the smoke. Most of the time they arent over the icon in the map, but just following the tracks and you can easily find them. About them moving... I guess thats comes down to a bit of luck, I had seen trains moving and it was very nice shoot it and blow everything apart  . Other times I find them dead stop, either at train stations or in the middle of nowhere (in this case my guess is that someone already attacked the train and damaged it, but not fully destroyed it).

 

My tip is: just follow the tracks and look for the smoke!

Edited July 15, 2015 by istruba

[[DBS]Tx_Tip]

Just flew a bit on B-F's server (expert CEM). On dfprelude I took an IL2 but could not find the armor column. I tried attacking the small bases west of the supposed column position, missed all my targets, damaged my engine. The navigation (no GPS) and the flight home were interesting. I got the "server overloaded" message twice, which is strange considering I was alone and never saw AIs in the air.

 

Next mission was velikie. Too a lagg to destroy the train, which I did. Got my pilot seriously and the return home was hard. Very rough landing, but made it out alive. Lots of server overloaded messages.

 

The experience was smooth, despite the server overloaded messages.

 

Hmm...

 

Thanks for the heads up on Velikie. Sounds like the server itself was acting up. Will take a look.  

As for the Panzer column.. Definitely spawns when a player is within a certain radius of those Bases so my guess would be that you must of missed them.

 

Thanks,

Tip

[-TBC-AeroAce]

I can find trains on all maps that have them relatively easily. I do on the other hand find it hard to hit the actual loco on first run. Always seem to hit everything else but the loco. Even if this is my bad aim habit shoudnt the train objective be destroyed when its cargo is destroyed not the loco itself

[Feathered_IV]

Thanks everybody for the response. So it sounds like the consensus is that trains are indeed there but only appear at intervals and one must search between the two icons until one spawns. I'll give that a go and see if it is an entertaining experience.

 

It's a shame about the trucks. Particularly as they are lost to history in order to police the first thirty seconds of gameplay. I'd love to see vehicle convoys setting out from one garrison town and heading out to another. Not as unescorted fodder, but along roads that are covered by stationary units of light flak. Hunting for vehicle columns would be a risky business. Shadowing roadways, but having to keep your distance at the same time. Darting in when vehicles are spotted, or timing your attack until they are at the farthest point between two outposts...

[JimTM]

Usually train trigger randomly traveling between 2 different stop points (one of them being a marked train station as example). I've flown my lagg-3 on a train destruction mission lately on the WIngs of Liberty server starting from the mark on the map following the railway all way back to a small siding within a forest where finally I found the train stationary.

 

I've yet to see a train moving in MP though. It seems they have very long waiting times and travel too quickly to be cought n the move frequently. I don't think trains can be modeled to make many short phased stops at certain waypoints along their route but rather just steam from A-B and back.

5tuka,

 

Here is a simple mission to demo a train stopping at two stations along a route before reaching it's destination. You can hop into a Yak-1 and patrol for it if you like or just follow the train on it's route using F12, F11.

 

I'm still learning the editor so there's nothing too fancy in the mission. 

 

Cheers!

Edited July 15, 2015 by JimTM