I've got it sort of working!

All I had to do was:

- Take an old Windows 10 VM I had

- Completely reset it to a blank slate OS

- Update it to 22H2

- Install TIA V18

- Install Update 3

- Install Smartdrive

- Install PLCSIM V18

- Install WinCC Unified Runtime

- Install WinCC Unified Runtime Update 3

- Part of this install includes generating a certificate, ignore this, it doesn't work

- Run WinCC Certificate Manager

- Generate a Certificate Authority (need a password on the security tab)

- Add a device (use device name)

- Add a Web Server Certificate

- Install certificate

- Run WinCC Unified Configurator

- Select certificate you just created

- Enter password for encrypted transfer

- Open Runtime Manager

- Go into the settings, add your CA password into the password field

- Fire up TIA Portal

- Open project

- Start HMI simulation first

- Start PLC simulation (which will fail because MC-Servo keeps disappearing for some reason)

- Add MC-Servo and try again

- Press Connect button when it complains about certificate trust

- Open up Chrome

- Enter https://yourpcname

- Hopefully it opens WinCC

- Start runtime

- Hopefully it fires up and is connected to the PLC

If your Runtime is "Partly Running" delete it from the runtime and try again, it doesn't usually fail more than twice.

Check your permissions in Computer Management -> Local Users and Groups.

Make sure you've only got "HMI Administrator" rights in your HMI project.

Make sure you enable encrypted transfer in Runtime Settings and Options->Settings (use same password you set for certificate).

If nothing else works, you may have an OEM version of Windows, or another untested version that doesn't work for unknown reasons. In which case, do everything again with a different windows image.

Now, every time you want to download a change to the HMI, all you need to do is:

- Download to HMI

- Check runtime manager

- Cry because it's partly running again

- Remove from runtime

- Press simulation button to regenerate runtime instance

- If this is not partly running, it also won't work for some reason

- Delete runtime instance

- Turn off PLCSIM instance

- Close PLCSIM

- Highlight HMI and press simulation button to regenerate WinCC runtime instance

- Highlight PLC and press simulation button to open PLCSIM

- Keep doing this until it works again

And just do this for every single little change to the HMI! And the great thing is, you'll need to make more changes than usual because of the woeful implementation of Javascript!

At least it's not punch cards!

For reference, this was the old method of simulation, before Unified:

- Highlight PLC and press simulation button, download to PLCSIM

- Highlight HMI and press simulation button, new window pops up with simulated HMI

If this is what progress looks like, we'll need all the help we can get from AI!

I've lost 2 weeks of progress (and therefore pay, because I'm a contractor) over this, so thanks Siemens! Can I get the money back that I lost?

I've had quite a few issues understanding the certificates machanism, but other than that I cannot complain about editing/creating a scada system. It might be because I never simulate scada/PLC I always use real HW.

Full download on a comfort panel is a touch slow, but it has gotten accepptable in V18. I wouldnt call a download to wincc RT instantaneous but i cannot complain.

To download an edit to Unified i press crtl+L wait 2 seconds, mash 2 times the spacebar and after 5 seconds i see the scada running with my edits. and this is while working over VPNs using LTE connectivity in one end, when I'm on LAN things are even better.

I don't have a clue what could cause your issues, but if I had problems at your scale my Siemens sales rep would have for shure raised hell with the local support team and gotten a solution, but this depends a lot on your regional Siemens team.

My support usually comes from a distributor, usually Parmley Graham, or HMK for drive issues, which have always been plentiful.

I've only ever had remote support from Siemens, they don't do anything if your problem is too difficult.

Very cool update!

When the simulation is running, if you want to download changes to the HMI, don't press the download button! Press the simulation button again for some reason!

This certainly works for delta downloads, don't know if larger changes will break the HMI. But it's an improvement!