AI Traffic behaviour in MSTS Options

[Greenleader]

I am busy compiling a simple activity on the Garden route of South-Africa. The player train starts at Knysna to George and I have three AI trains coming from George to Knysna. Two of them behave like I want them to. Theye start at their given times and the proceed towards their end piont. The third one just show up and wait for the the player train to enter the station and then will start to move. There are 6 stations between them where it can pass. It does not matter if I make passing paths and I did make sure that AI and player trains do not share a platform. I do have the tutorial for Activity Guide by Arnie Lee. This is a very good program, but even it can't sort this out for me.

Any suggestions would be welcome
Thanks

[dgionet]

Hi Martin,

Despite the many crossing points present along the path between George and Knysna, it is noted that the signal points are very distant. If you check your MSTS Activity editor (AE), you will notice the signal points are located only at 5 areas on the 40-mile stretch. They are at Knysna (MP 40), Goukamma (MP 31), Sedgefield (MP 23), Wilderness (MP 8) and George (MP 0). MSTS wouldn't allow two trains within the same area between two signals. For example, if you are approaching Sedgefield WB and your AI train has passed over Wilderness EB, you will have to wait for the AI at Sedgefield, allow it to cross Sedgefield before your train could move ahead. Both signals are 15 miles apart from each other. That means that, with a maximum speed of 30 miles per hour, you are expected to wait close to 30 minutes for your AI to reach Sedgefield.

With such distance between both signals, it can be more difficult to add more AI trains in that stretch because you may have to wait for not one but two trains, depending of the area your player train and AI train are located. In the case of the upcoming Garden Route template, now finished and in the testing mode, I have limited the AI trains to only two in that stretch of line. Both start , If I recall, around Sedgefield and go on opposite directions and do not meet, because I wanted to limit waiting time for the player train in the area.

Also, MSTS do not make a difference in terms of priority between passenger and freight, although I believe that in many areas in South Africa, passenger has priority over freight. This will be more difficult to apply in MSTS, unless precise timing and path configuration is deliberately set to allow freight to wait for passenger trains.

I hope to have answered your questions and feel free to reply.

Cheers

[Greenleader]

Knysna (MP 40), Goukamma (MP 31), Sedgefield (MP 23), Wilderness (MP 8) and George (MP 0).

Denis

I have sorted out two AI trains without any real problems. I had to wait for one at Goukamma for 2 or 3 mins, depending my own speed and then I wait for the other at Sedgefield for also about 2 to 3 mins. I want to put up a third one, but that one is difficult. It seems it ignore the signal at Wilderness. I want to cross it on my way to George. Logic tells me that if I leave Sedgefield at the same time he leave George, the signal at Wilderness will keep us apart, but no dice. Either he wait at George for me or I had to wait at Sedgefield for him. I tried all different times. It is really as if there is no signal at Wilderness. I even make a path from Wilderness to Sedgefield and one from George to Rondevlei, but notthing.

Any more suggestions.

Thanks

[dgionet]

Denis

I have sorted out two AI trains without any real problems. I had to wait for one at Goukamma for 2 or 3 mins, depending my own speed and then I wait for the other at Sedgefield for also about 2 to 3 mins. I want to put up a third one, but that one is difficult. It seems it ignore the signal at Wilderness. I want to cross it on my way to George. Logic tells me that if I leave Sedgefield at the same time he leave George, the signal at Wilderness will keep us apart, but no dice. Either he wait at George for me or I had to wait at Sedgefield for him. I tried all different times. It is really as if there is no signal at Wilderness. I even make a path from Wilderness to Sedgefield and one from George to Rondevlei, but notthing.

Any more suggestions.

Thanks

Hi Martin,

I have reproduced the scenario, that is the Player train just east of Sedgefield and the traffic trainleaving from inside George. I have ended with the same results. I have repeated the scenario but moving the path one signal further twice at least and the trafic train stopped at the last signal before leaving George east to Knysna.

But startng the path past this last signal ( see diagram) will allow the traffic train to finally move to meet the player train in Wilderness. Make sure your traffic path uses the loop track at Wilderness to let him go through, since yourself will be waiting for it at the end of the Wilderness mainline track.



MSTS can reserve quite some surprises like that when trying to create traffic paths. I have found in the route that a traffic train cannot go through Kandelaars when going Northward. The last signal acts like a yard signal. For a player train, you can go through by asking permission (TAB key). In the template I had to stop my path before Kandelaars. I have given special instructions about entering and exiting Kandelaars in the Template readme file, users will have to follow instructions very carefully or they may end up with an ended activity.

Hope this helps

Cheers