About The Signaller

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by montes_1234, Jul 11, 2020.

  1. Smograil

    Smograil Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2020
    Messages:
    32
    Likes Received:
    44
    You'd run the trains in the order they are booked as far as possible. When one gets late or out of order, you base your decision on regulation policies, these can be national or local. In the UK trains are classified by priority, so an Express passenger would be a class 1, a stopping passenger would be a class 2, and so on. Lots of factors would influence your decision such as these policies, whether the train can still meet its performance target (known as PPM or FPM), your own experience, etc. Even in modern signal centres which use automatic route setting to effectively signal trains automatically, as a signaller I would still intervene if I didnt like the computers decision
     
    • Like Like x 3
    • Helpful Helpful x 2
  2. montes_1234

    montes_1234 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2020
    Messages:
    382
    Likes Received:
    379
    Excelent. Thank you very much on the shared knowledge. I hope that someone from DTG read this thread and that will answer some on this topic. I will try to keep this alive as much as possible because I think that without a more complex Signaller/Dispatcher train simulator can never be engaging and immersive. Without it is always predictable and on the longer run not interesting.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  3. 2martens

    2martens Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2020
    Messages:
    243
    Likes Received:
    278
    An intelligent dispatcher is the crown jewel of train simulators. I doubt they will have it anytime soon. But a cheaper and equally effective solution is trigger-based pathing.

    Example 1: single track segment
    Triggers are some meters before the end of the double track segments on either end. Once a train passes the trigger, the path through the single track to the next double track is locked in. Whatever trains arrives first at this trigger, goes first. But the order of arrival can change based on delay. Assume the player train is scheduled to go first but you handle your train poorly and drive slower or catch emergency brakes. In that case, the opposing AI train could be faster at the trigger and you have to wait in front of a red signal until the AI train has left the single track.

    Your delay would have resulted in a different experience, without a highly intelligent dispatcher required.

    Example 2: unscheduled overtaking
    There is a trigger some distance in front of a possible overtaking place. The first train activates the trigger. If another train passes the same trigger before the first train passes a second trigger, which eliminates the overtaking possibility, the first train is routed to the side for the second train to overtake. If the first train passes the second trigger first, then it is routed on the main track.

    These triggers would have to be so far away from the overtaking place that neither train has to slow down until the pathing decision has been made.

    Example 3: schedule overtaking possibility
    First train is a local train stopping on the side track (e.g. at Horrem). At its scheduled departure time, the path ahead is locked in, if possible. If another train has passed the pathing trigger (second trigger in previous example), its path has precedence and the local train has to wait until that other train has left the track segment ahead.

    Long story short: with trigger-based pathing you will get the effects of intelligent pathing without the cost and it is designer-driven. Even better: there are train sims out there that allow this kind of pathing. Furthermore, you would not have one central system that needs to know all things. Rather, you would have a number of local decisions involving two trains and their relative order.
     
    • Like Like x 6
    • Helpful Helpful x 2
  4. montes_1234

    montes_1234 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2020
    Messages:
    382
    Likes Received:
    379
    Yes excelent, as I said it would make a difference if a signaller gets atention so as to be improved by a small amount. Yes programing the paths as to which different trains can use if another is on the way or at the station is also a good temporary solution. But as I said signaling should be on the list as a top priority. But again improving it step at a time, or for starters just starting to talk about the different posibilities to improve it.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  5. Winzarten

    Winzarten Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2020
    Messages:
    366
    Likes Received:
    752
    The problem is that this signaller doesn't really support scheduling train by priority, as it is first come, first serve. So if your lower speed freight train manages to beat the ICE to a signal, then tought luck, the ICE will be stuck behind the freight train until it leaves the main line.

    This is a scenario that can easily happen in TSW, when a player takes additional time to setup its train, or he managed to trigger the overwatch PZB during acceleration. I can also imagine scenarios this system can lead into deadlocks, when 3 trains, with some line switches, are involved.

    It also adds tons on unpredictability to the general state of map, and could be a total hell for developers to figure out why some players experienced some bugs.
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2020
    • Like Like x 1
  6. montes_1234

    montes_1234 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2020
    Messages:
    382
    Likes Received:
    379
    Yes adverse and signals which changes depending on the train which aproaches them would add a ton to the unpredictability of the whole experience.
     
  7. geloxo

    geloxo Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2018
    Messages:
    956
    Likes Received:
    1,694
    You can see the current limitations as some services need that you stop at a marker location to be able to trigger the override of a stop signal but in other cases signal is already set to override aspect when you reach it. So, as explained above, if you for instance stop in the middle of your service in a station with siding tracks and you simply stay there, you can´t produce any impact on the following services behind you. All them will stop in a line one after the other till you release your block. On the other hand, if a service is wrongly designed or you don´t follow your assigned service order of events, the traffic comes to incompatible situations and even trains facing each other, as they have no alternative to continue other than reaching their next target marker using the original route they have.

    If AI dispatcher logic had the hability to route trains as well as managing the timetables/target markers, the other trains could be re-routed to the siding tracks in the example I gave. Dispatcher would simply need to close the exit signal in your block to prevent that you step into the current newly set routes for the rest of traffic, as now you would be a lower priority service, allowing then that other trains could continue their schedules with minor impact to them. That is what you would normally do in case of a train having a failure in that track in real life, for instance, or even route them against the current traffic to be able to bypass that block. With a "first to arrive, first to be cleared to go" approach you will not have those bottlenecks and that would eventually allow that player can even free roam into the main line co-existing with scheduled services. But this also has a downside effect: if you delay too much the traffic you could be always be put as lower priority and have to wait for the others to pass, being impossible for you to complete your service. But on the other hand that adds randomness to the game, allowing you to play the same service many times with multiple different results each time. But that´s why we use interlockings in real life, as dealing with route incompatibilities and also preventing unsafe situations is not always a task as easy as it may appear to be.

    That would be a solid basis for a real manual dispatcher mode for players. But as it seems all events are programmed into a linear series of events that have to happen one after the other, I don´t think that is possible in short term, if ever possible at all.

    Cheers
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2020
  8. Jack O'Track

    Jack O'Track Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2019
    Messages:
    255
    Likes Received:
    91
    Dunno, but every time i really need this bloke he denies me ...
     
    • Like Like x 2
  9. montes_1234

    montes_1234 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2020
    Messages:
    382
    Likes Received:
    379
    Yes that clearly shows that the signaller is absent. Would be nice to have someone from the DTG to show some interest in making signalling more interesting. There are so many oportunities to make it more engaging.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  10. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2020
    Messages:
    11,918
    Likes Received:
    23,934
    The only train sim I have found to have anything approaching an intelligent despatcher is the old German Zusi 2. That would regulate if you started running late, as I usually do - I tend to drive like an old man, so you could find yourself behind the stopping service you were meant to precede. It was also able to dynamically route you to alternative suitable paths if necessary, unlike MSTS, DTG TS and presumably TSW which keep you rigidly on the preplanned path.
     
    • Helpful Helpful x 2
  11. montes_1234

    montes_1234 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2020
    Messages:
    382
    Likes Received:
    379
    Ok. So on the market are already examples of the dispatcher system at work. So it would make things a lot easier.
     
  12. montes_1234

    montes_1234 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2020
    Messages:
    382
    Likes Received:
    379
    Today another big disappointment with the signaller. So I started the service 81906 with the DB BR 155. So this service utilises the cement wagons. After starting from the Hagen yard I pulled the wagons to the next objective which is stop the train. That stop is just before the red signal. Next objective was to uncouple the wagons so I just did that. After uncoupling wagons red signal turned to red with two white lights, so proceed with restricted speed. Not long after departing objective said to stop after about 300 meters. Than interesting things happens. Objective changes so that I need to reverse the train backwards. So I pushed the reverser in to the reverse position and get red light. After changed camera to the outside view in preparation to have clearer view I had DB BR 363 coming right into me. So it rammed into my train and bounced back and continued to move just passed the red signal and stopped there. Than I asked the signaller what to do, and it gave me proceed with the restricted speed. So I started to move and could not continue because the DB BR 363 was sitting at the junction not far from that signal. So if the signaller even exist it would surely know that in the section is another train and by no means would let me proceed until it clears the section.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  13. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2020
    Messages:
    11,918
    Likes Received:
    23,934
    If this is all pre scripted in terms pf AI movement, sounds like you were either earlier or later than the scenario expected at that location, not to mention AI ignoring the signals?
     
    • Like Like x 1
  14. Jack O'Track

    Jack O'Track Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2019
    Messages:
    255
    Likes Received:
    91
    What i still miss is a (selectable) God Mode. Deny signals, speed limits, them shitty needed walkabouts especially.
    Would love to bypass all that loc button pressing and peeping around to get moving.

    Don't have enough patience for all that boy scoutish puzzling; even get fed up with the game at times because of that.

    Just programmed a train race in Il2 Sturmovik Great Battles, Moscow map. Fun, and sometimes a loc even jumps off the track and derails another, or just some wagons and the other continues happily ever after. And yes, them tank wagons really explode to boot when you're lucky.

    Train Race 02.jpg

    PS there's a hefty sale going on right now.
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2020
    • Like Like x 2
  15. PBrogaard

    PBrogaard Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2018
    Messages:
    88
    Likes Received:
    116
    Probably getting off track here, but one way to avoid the dispatching issues could be this: Oriole, hier ist Marabou! färht weiter! Los!
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2020
  16. montes_1234

    montes_1234 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2020
    Messages:
    382
    Likes Received:
    379
    Route "East Coastway", service mode, service number 6V44 from Newhaven Aggregates to Acton Yard starting at 11:19:00. So this is a loaded freight train pulled by the Class 66. Just before entering the mainline there is a signal guarding the entrance. Freight train has clear signal all the way through, no matter the passenger service approaching the same junction towards Lewes. The passenger service in this case is the one that need stopping at the red signal before the freight train gets through. So what is the logic behind these priorities?
    20210820182544_1.jpg 20210820182610_1.jpg 20210820182741_1.jpg
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2021
    • Like Like x 1
  17. montes_1234

    montes_1234 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2020
    Messages:
    382
    Likes Received:
    379
    Will anybody from DTG ever talk about the signaller (dispatcher)? This is even more important after new rush hour route. So will you please state what it can and what it can't do. Also talk about plans to improve it. Further do you think that it needs improvements?
     
    Last edited: Aug 25, 2021
    • Like Like x 5
  18. PBrogaard

    PBrogaard Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2018
    Messages:
    88
    Likes Received:
    116
    I would LOVE an article going in-depths on this topic, and what real life comparisons have they thought of when creating TSW 2? Is the TSW 2 dispatcher more a gaming programmers piece or has there actually been research on the interlocking and use of such for each route? I could understand why the first would be the case, but interesting nonetheless how this is built up, how it works, and why it is or is not like the real railway.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  19. solicitr

    solicitr Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2020
    Messages:
    11,730
    Likes Received:
    17,942
    IIRC, the 166 non-stops are Class 1 trains, so have equal priority to the HSTs.
     
    • Helpful Helpful x 1
  20. Pixelade

    Pixelade Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2021
    Messages:
    278
    Likes Received:
    500
    it doesn't even work on the new route. everything keeps coming to a standstill and it makes it impossible to do anything without quitting to the main menu and loading a new service.
     
    • Helpful Helpful x 1
  21. montes_1234

    montes_1234 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2020
    Messages:
    382
    Likes Received:
    379
    So many questions about this topic, yet so few answers. Questions just adds up as new routes being pushed out. So again if anybody from DTG is reading this, can you please just say something about the signaller (dispatcher)? What it can currently do.
    Also are there any plans to improve it.
    And do you even see as it needs improvements?
     
    • Like Like x 2
  22. PBrogaard

    PBrogaard Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2018
    Messages:
    88
    Likes Received:
    116
    From the survey result that some players would like to see different roles/player aspects like conductors, passengers, railway staff or dispatchers, this adds to the curiousity.

    Imagining in your wildest fantasty, that TSW 2 in some future features mulitplayer with both drivers and people sat in signalboxes, now that would be something. But before I get ahead of myself, I also often think about these things: Does TSW simulate track vacancy correct? Does it take into account the differencies in national rulesets with regards to how traffic is handled? How does the dispatcher work under the hood of UE? We miss more articles and screenshots please :) I am quite sure many would find the work very interesting to follow.
     
    Last edited: Aug 30, 2021
    • Like Like x 2
  23. DTG Matt

    DTG Matt Executive Producer Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2016
    Messages:
    2,679
    Likes Received:
    13,792
    We built the signaling system with help from signaling engineers in the real world, and lots of its fundamentals mimic how it's done in the real world too.

    Signals are set based on active routes, so a signal has an aspect because there is an active route set through it by the dispatcher (unless it's an automatic signal of course). Routing tables then determine any customisations to that aspect and any ancillaries such as speed limits, shunt paths etc, and the occupancy of sections ahead is taken in to account. Every signal knows evey signal it can route to, and any configuration relevant to that, it knows which track sections are along the way and if any of them are occupied (and if so, by what). Track Sections are a completely separate thing to the "ribbons" that define the physical track, they are overlaid on top of the ribbons to provide a simpler view that ignores the complexity of making the track itself and just focuses on the formation of it. e.g. if you have a straight + curve + straight ribbon in a siding, that's three ribbons to lay the track, but one track section... unless you stick a signal in there of course, which would divide it.

    Where you see signals at red on a platform that go green when the doors are closed, that's a bug in the scenario/timetable. The dispatcher by default will only assign a path up to the current instruction. E.g. if you're going from paddington to Hayes and Harlington, your path is set up to the end of the block after the stop point in H&H and the nextsignal after that will be a red. We have the ability to "dispatch beyond" which will then allow the dispatcher to look at subsequent instructions and continue to dispatch - thereby giving the green in that signal even though your current path doesn't require it. What happened was at some point we split it out so that this was required on both the stop-at instruction and the passenger load instruction, and some times this new functionality is missed by the team because it used to be somewhat hidden if that was ticked or not (it is now clearly visible as of very recently) meaning that even though the stop-at might have it, the load instruction doesnt and hence it wont dispatch beyond until that is completed. It's easily fixed, but can totally change the way a timetable plays out so it's not something you do at the last minute. We then need to use this functionality to hold the dispatcher *back* at times, where you have a busy junction or a confined throat, you dont want trains 4 blocks away booking out the throat and stopping the one that's just trying to leave now - so we disable the dispatch beyond there in some cases to control access into these constrained areas and allow things to be allocated on a more "current" basis - i.e. you can ask for a block through here when you need it, not when you're miles away). Even so, if you ever see it asking you to shut your doors on a red light, log a ticket, that's a bug, the system is perfectly capable of showing the green before its time to close the doors (assuming no other train in front of course).

    The dispatcher, while relatively simple currently, is still one of the most complex parts of the simulation even in its current form.

    So - let me outline a comparison just to show how TSW's is different to TS1.

    In TS1 everything happens exactly as planned every time without fail, when you start a scenario it works out where everything will be and when. This means if you're joining the mainline and you run slow, the train on the mainline will slow down so you can still keep your slot.

    In TSW it's all done dynamically, while it has a fixed path that each train can follow, if you are running slow other trains are unaffected and this means that mainline train could steal your slot and get ahead of you.

    There is very little concept of "priority" in the system - there is a flag where priority can be set but it's really only used to resolve conflicts e.g. if two services want something at the same time, priority will resolve which one gets it. This has helped on Main Spessart Bahn for example where I saw a notable difference in performance and ordering of the trains once I went in and assigned express/regional/freight as three different priorities - however - they're still all going to follow the same path.

    Fully dynamic re-routing is the crown jewels, definitely something I want to see in there and was in the original plan for the long term roadmap. A very long time ago I wrote a dynamic pathing dispatcher for Trainz which would dynamically allocate platforms into a big station based on which platforms were accessible and which ones were available. It's a great thing when it works. Unfortunately, the more "dynamic" you bring into the sim, the less testable it becomes. Before we add to the complexity of what is already extremely difficult to fully test, I want to first bring in a comprehensive auto-testing system for timetable testing or else there's just no way to know if something will work when someone plays it.

    So yes - currently it's fundamentally a first come first served, with a small dab of priority thrown in. It's dynamic in that the rest of the network functions regardless of you and you can find a play that you run differently come out differently. It is also a bit cleverer in that it can figure out where you are more dynamically - one person mailed me to say he was so impressed when he started a HST service on GWE about 20 minutes earlier (via walk on foot), pulled the HST to a totally different part of the yard so he could try refuelling - and as the service kicked into life it dynamically figured out how to route him from his new location to where he needed to go and the service continued correctly.

    What we have is in the right place to build from because it fundamentally can cope with all this stuff (where the TS1 dispatcher and signaling system flat out can't), but yes of course there remains more that can be added to it, and no I don't have anything to share about what and when that might be.

    Anyway hope that helps.

    Matt.
     
    • Helpful Helpful x 22
    • Like Like x 10
  24. Anthony Pecoraro

    Anthony Pecoraro Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2016
    Messages:
    3,711
    Likes Received:
    4,323
    Matt, several services on Boston don't use the dispatch beyond stop function, which causes ATC to slow you down before a station and be late.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  25. Pixelade

    Pixelade Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2021
    Messages:
    278
    Likes Received:
    500
    Thank you very much for this insight. THIS RIGHT HERE is exactly what makes the game so fun, especially in timetable mode cause no two services will operate the exact same, especially if you are running very late. I really hope the issues with the dispatcher for Boston Sprinter are looked into as AI trains stop at reds that shouldn't be red and hold everything behind them up and ATC has player services stopping way before stations causing lateness.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  26. londonmidland

    londonmidland Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2017
    Messages:
    3,423
    Likes Received:
    18,133
    TrainSim-Matt One thing I think that could be improved is that some of the 'go via' instructions should be kept hidden, as this subsequently causes the 'objective complete' message to keep popping up whilst you're driving. It can get quite annoying and isn't the most immersive feeling either.

    For example, arriving into Glasgow Central I am greeted with a single yellow with a red ahead. However I know this red is going to clear because it says 'go via Glasgow Central line X' beforehand, to which the signal subsequently clears once you've gone past that objective. I see no reason why the player needs to see this objective, as it ruins the experience.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  27. DTG Matt

    DTG Matt Executive Producer Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2016
    Messages:
    2,679
    Likes Received:
    13,792
    Hiding objectives gets messy because it isn't then sure what to show and sometimes you just get nothing at all which is much worse.

    I'll get the team to explore the options and try to come up with a better solution though, for sure, instructions that are there to make things work and not for the player simply shouldn't be shown to the player, agree with you fully.
     
    • Like Like x 6
    • Helpful Helpful x 3
  28. montes_1234

    montes_1234 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2020
    Messages:
    382
    Likes Received:
    379
    Firstly I want to say thanks for the answer. Regarding what you have written I tested that situation on the east coastway riding freight train class 66. So just before entering the mainline there is a signal guarding the entrance. Freight train has clear signal all the way through, no matter the passenger service already on the mainline and approaching the same junction towards Lewes. The passenger service in this case is the one that needs stopping at the red signal before the freight passes by. This is happening no matter how fast freight train goes?
     
  29. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 9, 2018
    Messages:
    10,832
    Likes Received:
    10,482
    Is there no means of differentiating between a pathing objective and a player objective?
    The former would be used by the dispatcher to show which way the trains go and which light sets should be actively clearing, the latter would be what the HUD shows as distance and timings objectives.
    For it to work i would imagine many player objectives would also have to be pathing objectives
     
  30. DTG Matt

    DTG Matt Executive Producer Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2016
    Messages:
    2,679
    Likes Received:
    13,792
    Need to know more about the specific case on this one but perhaps the freight train needs the dispatcher held back so that it only triggers as late as possible. I did this with the freight trains on Tees Valley whereby when they are due to come back onto the mainline they have to haul up and stop at a signal before being allowed to proceed, while inconvenient for the freight driver it does mean that freight should largely never interfere with passenger traffic on the mainline. We have slightly nicer ways of doing it now which ought to allow it to pop back to green without requiring the freight to stop but the principle is the same.
     
    • Like Like x 3
    • Helpful Helpful x 3
  31. DTG Matt

    DTG Matt Executive Producer Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2016
    Messages:
    2,679
    Likes Received:
    13,792
    ARuscoe - yes there are two ways of defining paths, there are "go via" player objectives, and there are waypoints internally within an objective. Unfortunately it's not possible to control the "dispatch beyond" on the internal way points at this time, which would be the ideal way of doing it.
     
    • Helpful Helpful x 3
    • Like Like x 2
  32. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 9, 2018
    Messages:
    10,832
    Likes Received:
    10,482
    Yeah, was reading your long (!) response above and thought that would be the way I would try to do it and would solve a lot of the throat crowding issues. I'm sure you'll work it out
     
    • Like Like x 1
  33. Jinoss17

    Jinoss17 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2020
    Messages:
    495
    Likes Received:
    1,109
    Based on this explanations of how the signaller works in TSW2, what is the nature of the issues in Boston Sprinter?
     
  34. DTG Matt

    DTG Matt Executive Producer Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2016
    Messages:
    2,679
    Likes Received:
    13,792
    Can you narrow down to the specifics you're referring to?

    Matt.
     
  35. 2martens

    2martens Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2020
    Messages:
    243
    Likes Received:
    278
    Is there any chance for custom scenarios to always apply latest possible dispatch? That way it would be possible for AI trains to leave stations in front of the player if the player takes longer to get to the station.

    Right now it seems like the player train gets ahead dispatch as far as possible. Unless an AI train is departing before the player or blocks the player's path, the player train always has precedence.

    However, if an AI train is blocking the player's path, it too seems to get dispatch as far as possible. I'd like a situation for custom scenarios (maybe an option?) where the dispatcher checks after passenger exchange if the path can be dispatched. That way it would be possible (without major overhaul of scenario planner) to create dynamic situations. If the player is fast enough to get the pathway out of a station first, the AI train which started ahead of the player on the route, would have to wait for the player to overtake it.
     
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2021
  36. Jinoss17

    Jinoss17 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2020
    Messages:
    495
    Likes Received:
    1,109
    There's plenty of threads on the forum about AI getting stuck, endless red signals etc.. That's what I'm referring to.
     
  37. DTG Matt

    DTG Matt Executive Producer Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2016
    Messages:
    2,679
    Likes Received:
    13,792
    The problem with this is that while it allows the greatest dynamism, it means that you're approaching every station at a red light basically - and in particular for german routes with PZB that would massively slow you down.

    Matt.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  38. DTG Matt

    DTG Matt Executive Producer Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2016
    Messages:
    2,679
    Likes Received:
    13,792
    I don't have any answers on that at the moment.

    I know there are some problems whereby the signals are slowing the player down too much and others with the ADU that are further augmenting that problem - those are being looked at.

    As far as blockages, still looking into it.
     
    • Like Like x 3
    • Helpful Helpful x 2
  39. LastTrainToClarksville

    LastTrainToClarksville Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2017
    Messages:
    2,503
    Likes Received:
    2,069
    Apparently, no one else who has contributed to this thread (with the possible exception of Matt) has had experience writing scenarios for TS. As someone with 40 such scenarios to his credit, I feel safe stating that scenario makers control the actions of the "signaller" or "dispatcher", since both player and AI trains have to be meticulously instructed as to both path and timing. The only variable that comes into play is, as some contributors here have correctly observed, the speed at which the player operates the driven train, the velocity of which can cause variations in the actions of Ai trains, occasionally leading to crashes or blockages that affect the player's train as well. Like everyone else, I have no access to an editor in TSW (and that is probably a good thing for all of us), but having watched Matt's thorough explanation of TSW's editor, I feel sure that the basic principles are the same as those operative in the TS editor.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  40. solicitr

    solicitr Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2020
    Messages:
    11,730
    Likes Received:
    17,942
    The one which seems to be generating the most comment is that since there are a large number of platform reds without a "dispatch beyond," the ACS slams on "Approach Medium" or the like, slowing the player train to a crawl long before the station and making it impossible to run on time.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  41. DTG Matt

    DTG Matt Executive Producer Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2016
    Messages:
    2,679
    Likes Received:
    13,792
    Ah yes dispatch beyonds on Boston are definitely on my radar.
     
    • Like Like x 5
    • Helpful Helpful x 2
  42. erg73

    erg73 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2020
    Messages:
    872
    Likes Received:
    3,030
    TrainSim-Matt I understand (correct me if I am wrong) that the current dispatcher is to blame for not being able to increase the number of services in Bakerloo as they intended to do when TSW 2 was launched.
    So, I would like to take advantage of this thread to ask if you are working to fix this and if you think that someday we will finally be able to enjoy all those trains running that are now stopped in the depots.

    Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
     
  43. DTG Matt

    DTG Matt Executive Producer Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2016
    Messages:
    2,679
    Likes Received:
    13,792
    Some of the work that I identified as needing to be done for the Bakerloo timetable is in fact done but the one that's left is probably the biggest (dynamic platform allocation, as discussed above, is needed to resolve the allocation issues at Elephant and Castle and Queens Park). The problem with the Bakerloo timetable is a logistical one really, the dispatcher is capable of handling a LOT of things at once - but Bakerloo isn't really about volume, it's about the logistics of the services turning around at QP and E&C and how that shuffles orderings around. It's difficult to explain without getting into the precise detail of it but with rigid pathing you can end up with trains stuck before E&C waiting filled platform while the other is empty - if you then change it to make it run smoother, you then potentially change the order of trains that get to QP and need to shuffle how their allocations are handled, which then affects subsequent trains in to E&C and so forth. This becomes a circular problem where any change at one end knocks the other off balance. I'm sure it's solvable by hand but... wow... it would take a lot of time.

    As I say though, some of the changes are already done including some massive time savers, so good progress is being made - but there's no date yet as to when this last one will be solved and as of this moment nobody is working on it either.

    Matt.
     
    • Helpful Helpful x 6
    • Like Like x 2
  44. mldaureol2

    mldaureol2 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2019
    Messages:
    205
    Likes Received:
    266
    Hi,
    just 1 quick question for Matt if I may.
    How does the dispatcher cope with services that are Running out of Turn/Order in the Timetable in the sim/game.
    Mike.
     
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2021
  45. ILied

    ILied Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2020
    Messages:
    173
    Likes Received:
    108
    That’s good to hear! There seemed to be a distinct lack of detail before as to how this work was going. I imagine once Rush Hour is out, there is more development time available for the last stage to be implemented. Would the implementation of the new timetable remove all the unnecessary red signals at platforms on this route? It’s a frequent occurrence but I will also raise a support ticket.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  46. Tonto62

    Tonto62 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2019
    Messages:
    549
    Likes Received:
    1,014
    Having downloaded the upgrade I went on NTP to see if I could do any better with one of the Huddersfield to Leeds trains, this one leaves around 2100 and it's impossible to do it on time. The reason? An oil train approaching from the Manchester direction gets the road through Huddersfield despite being miles away. By the time it passes and the signal clears you're well and truly late. Even more annoying, you pass the oil train parked stationary at Mirfield!
     
    • Like Like x 2
  47. erg73

    erg73 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2020
    Messages:
    872
    Likes Received:
    3,030
    Thank you very much for the detailed and extensive response. I'm glad you have located the problem, I'm sure sooner or later you will find the time to finally fix it. And this may also help to build other routes in the future that might suffer from the same "logistics" problem as you call it.
    I love Bakerloo, immersing myself driving in those tunnels enjoying the sounds with good headphones is a unique and fantastic experience.
    I also really like the option to play as a passenger on TSW, so for me the icing on the cake on this route will come when there are trains passing by every few minutes. :love:
     
    • Like Like x 2
  48. 2martens

    2martens Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2020
    Messages:
    243
    Likes Received:
    278
    True, it would slow down. But in custom scenarios we don't have timetables anyway. Plus, if it is an option for me to choose, I could do it knowing the consequences. As scenarios cannot be shared officially, I'd leave the decision about being slowed down to the players.

    Furthermore, I like PZB action and in custom scenarios you basically only have one red light in the entire route; unless you manage to send an AI train directly in front of you.
     
  49. AGoodJudge2

    AGoodJudge2 Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2021
    Messages:
    68
    Likes Received:
    148
    That train has been bugged for ever. The trick to getting a green signal is to sit in the driver's seat at 20.55 which forces the signaller to make a decision before the oil train is too close.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  50. Tonto62

    Tonto62 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2019
    Messages:
    549
    Likes Received:
    1,014
    Thanks for that advice. I'm sure I tried that pre-update but nothing changed, the oil train was still given the road. I'll have another go, maybe spawning even earlier.
     

Share This Page