Sarge427

Just amazing!

Simon, please consider a coffee-table book when you're done; too good to not have a permanent, high-quality, record.

On 08/06/2020 at 00:43, Harlequin said:

Sorry to be a killjoy in response to your first post!

No worries, just thinking aloud!

I've enjoyed reading this thread, and it's triggered a question.  My feeling is that all the current design software packages are fairly similar in nature - basically a CAD concept tailored to the model railway space.  The popular ones are excellent, and I have a lot of admiration for their authors.  However, by the very nature of their envisaged usage, they tend to converge in terms of functionality.

So my question is; what could a computer-aided package achieve that would make a step-change in the layout design phase of a project?  For instance, what about moving away from a mouse to a pen or, preferably, a touch interface that allows a completely freehand input … and then automatically convert the squiggles to achievable geometry.  Alternatively, how about defining the baseboard dimensions and an AI algorithm designs you a choice of layouts based on your preferences (such as minimum radius) and a set of heuristics.

I'm retiring soon, and I've joined the Forum to learn about model railways with a view to a relaxing hobby - no experience with trains per se, just some modelling and dioramas in my youth.  But I am a scientific programmer, and have long thought about software as a retirement hobby.