System.NullReferenceException at ORTS.Viewer3D.RollingStock.MSTSLocomotiveViewer.StartRefilling (X3238, WP 3rd Sub, CAL-18, Diesel Refueling & Sand Tower)

[James Bradley, Jr.]

When attempting to complete the "CAL-18" activity on the WP Feather River Route, OR crashes at the Diesel Refueling and Sanding Tower when pressing "T". OR Log is attached.

[Carlo Santucci (carlosanit1)]

This route seems to have unusual pickup types. Can you please attach:
1) the .tdb file;
2) the .w file where the pickup is located; to find out this, open the F5 debug hud, and when you are at the pickup read the first two parameters of the last HUD line (Camera). With these you can go in the World subfolder and get the file.

[Carlo Santucci (carlosanit1)]

A first fix to avoid the crash (but not allowing pickup) has been committed with x.3245.

[Edward Keenan (edwardk)]

According to the World file, PickupType ( 6 0 ) which is sand is missing from the fuel types. This can be added, but the PickupType is 6? Currently, its Coal. This is the current listing for OR. We would have to find a default route that uses sand to determine the proper order. If its not too much of a problem, I will look into this.

           FuelWater = 5,
            FuelCoal = 6,
            FuelDiesel = 7,
            FuelWood = 8 // Think this is new to OR and not recognised by MSTS

Edward K.

[Edward Keenan (edwardk)]

Another odd issue is that according to the posted World File, an entry for fuel service is also using "PickupType 6". I have no way of knowing for what fuel type this is for since this is a payware route.

Edward K.

[Edward Keenan (edwardk)]

There are other PickupType selections that MSTS includes, but not used. The first 4 selections are Freight-Grain(1), Freight-Coal(2), Freight-Gravel(3), and Freight-Sand(4). The next 3 selections, with the exception of FuelWood are next on the list and of course are used. If sand is to be used, it will have to be used as PickupType(4) and the route will have to be modified so that the current PickupType list is followed. The option to put it in after FuelWood can also be used, but either way, the route would have to be modified to follow this. I am at a loss as to how MSTS works with this.

Note: MSTS actually has mail listed last on the list after FuelDiesel.

[Carlo Santucci (carlosanit1)]

Edward,
thanks for your analysis. In fact, if you tried to perform pickup from what OR considers a locomotive type of the wrong type, OR crashed. With x.3245 at least the crash should no more occur.

[James Bradley, Jr. (jbrad1974)]

The activity calls for two pickups after dropping the player's train in the yard. The pickups are in no specific order, but both need to be completed in order to complete the activity. A popup appears telling you to return to the engine service area to refuel your engines and to replenish your sand supply, which was diminished earlier in the run. The sand tower and the fuel tower are on two separate tracks, and require two separate pickups. While completing the activity, I chose to replenish my sand supply first, then backup and switch to the refueling track. This is where the activity should end. Unfortunately, pressing "T" at the sand tower causes OR to fail.

I noticed in the notes above that "Sand" appears to be a freight pickup type, and not a fuel type. While there may be instances where a player is required to pick up sand as a freight item, this is not the case in this instance. In this case, the sand is not a commodity being carried, but a supply that is used on American locomotives to assist with braking. This particular activity has a long, steep downgrade prior to reaching the yard, which, if you are braking correctly, will diminish your sand supply.

In MSTS, the sand supply in a locomotive is usually infinite, which obviously is not realistic. I'm not sure is OR is even programmed for sanding (as I usually find other ways of slowing the train), but if it is...it may have different parameter for computing sand usage and refilling. I'm sure that in MSTS, this "pickup" is strictly aesthetic, meaning it doesn't really affect the sand level in the locomotive. Without having more knowledge of route development and how pickup items work, I can't tell for sure.

[Carlo Santucci (carlosanit1)]

Have you retried the activity with OR release x.3245 or higher? If no, pls. try and report result; if yes, pls. post the OpenRailsLog.txt file after the crash.

[James Bradley, Jr. (jbrad1974)]

Just attempted to run the activity again, and it still crashes. I have attached an updated OR Log report.