First time reporting and new to this site, but I'll try and give as much info as I can. I have a stream I did today (the 13th of Jan) where I ran into this problem more than once. I'll link that here with the first timestamp I mention below- I'm using a scenario I designed in the scenario designer for NTP, driving from Manchester to Leeds in a Class 377/4. The problem occurs from 9:40 to about 9:58. I'm driving on NTP from Manchester and the signal is clearly green when I pass it, as shown by the indicator in the top right. However, it tells me I passed a signal at danger. I retry the scenario, thinking I may not have seen the signal turn red at the last moment, as I wasn't really paying attention the first time. It then does the same thing at a different point from 15:34 onwards in the video. I then change the scenario's starting point to Park, thinking it might just be an issue with signals near to Manchester Victoria. From 22:44 onwards, the same problem occurs. I then delete the AI service going from Morley to Leeds, thinking that may have been causing the issue. All other AI driven trains are coming towards me on the right-hand side tracks, so should not interfere with signalling. From 40:37, the same issue occurs. For the rest of the stream, I decided to do other scenarios not on the NTP route. I had planned to do Manchester-Leeds, but this issue happened a total of 4 times and I couldn't see any reason why. If you need more information, I can provide details of what AI trains were running from where and to where at what times. I think this issue may only be on the NTP route as I've only experienced it there. Thanks.
It's more than likely one of the AI trains passing a signal at danger. This sometimes happens in scenario planner on NTP, because the stop markers for AI trains aren't always correctly positioned, so they have to pass a red signal to reach their stop marker, which ends the game. This only seems to happen when you're using off the rails and trains which aren't native to NTP. You can test this by trying your scenario again, this time setting a class 08 to leave Miles Platting in the Manchester direction, five minutes after you leave Manchester. When it arrives at Manchester, it will pass a red signal at the end of the platform. This is because the stop marker is set relative to the position of the driver, but since the front of the train is so far away from the driver's seat in the class 08, the front passes through the red signal, ending the scenario (and also derailing the train since it's crashed into the buffers). Were any of the AI trains scheduled to stop at the point when your game ended?
That in itself is one of the biggest flaws in TSW since the very start. This can never be properly thought through, and more and more we're seeing the troublesome effects of this bad design decision. I would think the primary reference point of any train should be the leading edge of the current direction of travel (and of course not the driver's position)! Everything else should be designed accordingly.
I did have a Class 08 set to go from Miles Platting to Manchester during the scenario. I wasn't aware that it'd do something like that. Should I avoid using the Class 08 altogether? Are there any other locos where the same thing might occur? I'd guess the Class 20 would sometimes have that issue. I'm glad to know it isn't a genuine bug...more of a design issue. I'll adjust accordingly the next time I boot it up. Thanks for the info. That is quite a bad design choice, it has to be said. I'd say that needs to be changed, but I'm not sure how easy or difficult it is to do that. No real tech experience, here.
The class 20 seems just about fine - if you ask it to terminate at Manchester, it stops around half a yard from the red signal when it gets there. The class 08 should be fine too as long as (i) you make it terminate somewhere other than Manchester and (ii) you don't make it follow another AI train too closely, which might lead it to encounter red signals which it then overshoots.
Thank you for your advice. I'll make the adjustments as soon as I can. (Also have to make a note in future videos cos I did think it was a bug as it seemed to be happening randomly). I did consider it could have been an AI train colliding with another, somehow and causing it to fail. Does that ever happen? I imagine there's something in place to stop that happening, such as one waiting for the one in front to depart or just disappearing if there's no way around it.
Trains failing to disappear is one of the problems with scenario planner. When AI trains reach their destination, they just stay there and prevent anything else from accessing the platform. So if you set a scenario which involves you following another train to Leeds, for example, you'll never get there. The AI train will reach your platform first, stay there for ever, and you'll be stuck one signal block away. It's certainly possible for 2 AI trains to crash, although odd signalling layouts are needed. One example is on Isle of Wight. Create a scenario where one AI train leaves Shanklin at 12.00, and another leaves Lake at 12.10, both headed towards Ryde. The train leaving Shanklin will get a green because there is no train in the NEXT signal block. The train standing at Lake platform is in the SAME signal block as the train starting from Shanklin, but the software doesn't think that's important and it's only looking at the signal block ahead. So the 12.00 train will obey the signals, leave on time, and will collide with the stationary train at Lake. Here is an example of an AI train driving into a player-driven train: PC - Class 363 Drives Straight Into The Another Loco | Dovetail Games Forums This happens in a regular timetable service rather than scenario planner. There are some places on the German routes, usually near yards, where the signalling doesn't work properly, and if you take too long and conflict with an AI train which is scheduled to move, it will do so even if you're in its way.
