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I would like vehicles from the same line to be able to use different platforms at a station. Depending on how many vehicles are set to the line, trams and buses may cause line congestion while loading/unloading at a station, even if the station has other free platforms.
I tried to work around this by splitting the vehicles into different lines that had the same scheduled stops. The lines then used different platforms, which allowed the vehicles to wait for full loads without congesting the station. The problem with that is that traffic usage drops because the frequency for each line is higher than a single line with multiple vehicles, and the sims will choose different lines so that four vehicles are waiting partially full instead of all filling the first vehicle.
I like the concept of bus and tram stations having multiple waiting platforms, but if a line only uses one platform, I don’t see much benefit from using the station over using the cheaper stop. The only advantage right now is that a large station can hold more waiting passengers than a stop can, but you have your lines running at a good service frequency, this does not become an issue.
A station would report which platform each vehicle on line will be arriving at. If there is a fleet of four stagecoaches heading between London and Ipswich, they would all arrive and depart at different times. The first 5 passengers would wait on platform A. They have the earliest arrival. The next five wait at platform B for the next arrival, etc.
Users should be able to choose how many platforms at a station a line is able to use. If I have four vehicles running between City A and City B, and I have a large tram station as each stop, then each station would have two platforms assigned to my line, and two free platforms that lets me use for other lines or for upgrades if I decide to add more vehicles to the original line. It lets all four vehicles wait for a full load, and passengers will fill up a partially full vehicle first before choosing an empty vehicle to board.
I think you missed the point of the post. It’s about better handling loading and unloading at stations for vehicles (bus, tram, and train).
Full load is not a viable option because of how the game handles vehicle routing, loading, unloading, and service frequency calculation, but improving those would make it viable, especially when wanting to save money on lines with high running costs.
Nope. It is never going to be viable.
Full load is a failure because the game is structured in a way that requires frequent, _regular_ vistis. There is a negative feedback loop when it comes to waiting. The longer you wait, the lesser is the chance that an agent will choose such vehicle. Thus full load will always extinguish traffic on a line.
What we need is not a load balancing, or dynamic platform selection, but an order of:
Load for x seconds.
Wait for x seconds ( at a waypoint )
If X defaulted to frequency, and was adjustable, that at a certain point each line could be made to operate in a way, where a vehicle departs exactly when another vehicle on this line is about to replace it.
If we had such order, then multiplatform loading would not be needed at all. We could, effectively, control frequency.
Multi-platform loading would still be needed due to delays, just like in the real world. Arrivals and departures would both be delayed if any vehicle runs into traffic congestion caused by sim vehicles. That would lead to congestion at stations when multiple vehicles from the same line tried to load and depart. Multi-platform loading would allow a gate change for a vehicle.
The issue with frequency is the way the game calculates it, updating it every so often on schedule. The player cannot control departure times for vehicles, and with how this game presents time, both frequency and a time table for departures would not match the displayed game time.
Full loading is more for cargo than passengers, but there are some branch lines in the real world that do not run unless they are booked for enough seats. The game only gives us the options for:
1. Run with or without load.
2. Run with a full load (all or any)
This should probably be expanded to provide for a greater variety, especially where passengers are concerned. It would also allow greater flexibility on when a vehicle departs. Depart when scheduled OR when full, whichever comes first. That would be ideal, but we don’t have the ability to schedule vehicles and only have a binary option when it comes to choosing a departure based on available load (empty or full).
The current implementation for full loading is a failure, but your statement that it will never be viable assumes no other rules in the game can change.
I kind of agree with you, but your solution is a non-solution. It would make the problem worse.
If we had two vehicles of the same line loading at the same time ( god forbid, full loading ) then frequency would further be delayed, because both vehicles would be loaded at half speed. Thus they would spend twice as much time on the station, further chipping away precious frequency.
This makes the problem worse because now two vehicles will be loaded even longer, making another vehicle of this line getting closer, and production at an industry getting extinguished even faster. At extreme end you’ll get 20 vehicles loading and nothing getting produced.
What we need is a method to manage frequency and vehicle spacing ( that is, delay/wait orders or whatnot ).
Full load could work, if it was interrupted immedietly if next vehicle from this line wants to start loading at a given station.
But the best solution would be getting a ‘wait for X time’ signal and ‘load for X time’ order. That would be best, because we could control the frequency ourselves, for example, by having one ‘wait for 3 minutes’ signal somehwere would ensure that vehicles on that line are spaced by about 3 minutes, this each station would be visited once per ~3 minutes, no multi platform loading is needed and even more cargo is delivered.
What we have now is “frequency” calculated by the game at, say, 5 minutes, but actual vehicles running with, say 1 minute/1 minute/1 minute/2 minutes/ 20 minutes pulses.
People wait on a platform for a line. If there was more than one platform for the same line, could you imagine the chaos in real life?
This is a poor request. What they need to do, is reduce loading/unloading times. They take too long. 100 people off a train takes 3 weeks. wtf is that?
Given the time scale of this game, it should take a couple seconds tops. same with loading. And if you have multiple vehicles on a line they should not be overtaking each other and passing each other.
tick-tocking, or alternativing the stopping platform is not rare in real world, especically on commuting network, often at terminal stations. When I was at SNCF, there was a requirement to my project, a simulation software is able to handle alternative platforms and impose constraint to platforms used for alternance, with a mission(stations to stop) defined.
tick-tocking, or alternativing the stopping platform is not rare in real world, especically on commuting network, often at terminal stations. When I was at SNCF, there was a requirement to my project, a simulation software is able to handle alternative platforms and impose constraint to platforms used for alternance, with a mission(stations to stop) defined.
Those are generally on scheduled lines, and terminal stations don’t really count, we’re obviously not talking about that here.
in train fever there are no schedules. People don’t line up to catch a specific train. They catch the next available train, whichever that is. Alternating or multiple platforms going in the same direction simply wouldn’t work here. There is a 20 minute rule and if a person was made to wait because they “chose” the wrong platform they might time out before getting there.. They wouldn’t be taking the most efficient route by random.This is a poor request. What they need to do, is reduce loading/unloading times. They take too long. 100 people off a train takes 3 weeks. wtf is that?
Annoying 😀 that’s what it is. Personally, I would prefer what we have now over trains changing platforms at random.
I agree @FX2K, I think one line loading multiple vehicles at a single stop is a bad solution – however I agree that there’s a problem. But the simple solution is to multiply the loading/unloading times. For a train with 20 doors people don’t get on and off one at a time IRL.
If loading/unloading time was fixed then the auto spacing feature would probably work and you should not get in a situation where 2 vehicles from the same line bunch up – if you do then you have too many vehicles on that line.
Splitting one inter-city line into four lines and using a large station on a new game (hard, large map) works better than a short line passenger rail. The four lines makes all four platforms become loading containers, and sims are now using all four without any of them becoming crowded. Frequency is better than a passenger rail, even if the trams are slower than trains, because the loading time for each tram is much less than the full loading time of a train. If all 8 trams were on the same line, I could expect traffic congestion around the station as the trams wait for loading/unloading, but being able to load up to 4 trains at once relieves this. Trams don’t space themselves well on inter-city routes. With 8 trains, one full trip will move 80 passengers, which is about the same as most passenger rail consists. Running costs for the 8 trams are far lower than 1 passenger train. Passengers are using the splits mostly evenly, but I still would like them to figure out that if they are waiting for a D car, but there is room on the A car, they can board the A car. Telling the game these four lines are the same would do that. I can adjust capacity on each of the A, B, C, and D lines without having to stop the entire line. If I wanted to do that with a train, I’d have to buy a new train first, then turn the old one in once it finished it’s route.
I’ll be using passenger rail, just reserving it for trips that run further than 1 city. It should be faster to take a tram 1 city over than a train due to better service frequency of the tram. It should be faster to take passenger rail for a distance of 2 or more cities due to not having to switch trams from inter-city lines to downtown lines and the faster passenger rail speed.
The only thing I am missing is being to able to tell the game these four lines are all the same line, just using four platforms at each station. If I was able to do that, the trains could load and unload without traffic backups at the stations, and the frequency would be lower as a single line than the four split lines.
Wow, those images are messed up. Here are the direct links:
tick-tocking, or maybe alternativing the particular ending platform isn’t exceptional in real life, especically in travelling community, often at incurable channels. As i ended up being at SNCF, there is the qualification to help my task, the simulation software program will be able to take care of alternative tools along with impose limitation to help tools for alternance, having a mission(stations to help stop) defined.
NoorAlamShahzad
Hi, I was one pushing for auto-platform selector, but well I uzurpator you are right, the issue is somewhere else.
The current agent uses line frequency for resolving destination area arrival time. It cause some funny side effect. Lets have an express line 300Km train. –> Expensive beast —> He is alone on the line —> low frequency –> no one use it.
Lets add another 300Km train —> higher frequency –> agents start to use it —> both trains have 50% seats used. You can add more trains but line would be less and less profitable. -> Player is confused. Frustrated of not working game — > leaves. –> Do not buy any expansion.
What if we use a model more close to real life?
- Line travel time + wait time for closest vehicle = complete route time < 20 minutes
– line travel time
first vehicle on the line makes a virtual test line. One round simulated in the background engine. This will create a time table. That gives us time from one station to the next one. If another type of vehicles are added, then timetable reculaction is done. The longest (worst) time is used then. If an agent wants to travel from 4th station to 7th station then sum 3 numbers to receive line travel time.– wait time for next closest vehicle arrival time
Every vehicle counts down seconds to destination depends on the timetable (see above). Lets say from first station to second it is 10 seconds. Every second then I subtract a point from this value. When I got zero the vehicle is at the destination, if not I have an info that vehicle is stacked in traffic jam. This info can used later.In this model you could have a 20 minutes frequency line full of people. :-]
I know its touching game basics but it would solve a LOT of issues, what you say ?
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