AI trains and schedules explanation

HiHere is the second version and probably the correct one of how to handle AI trans and their schedules.1. Passengers load with 1 passenger per 10 seconds per car (wagons), not including locomotives. Example 1, station set to 120 and we have 10 wagons = 120 passengers * waiting time 120 = 1200 seconds / 10 wagons = 120 seconds waitingExample 2, station set to 120 and we have 9 wagons = 120 passengers * waiting time 120 = 1200 seconds / 9 wagons = 133 seconds waitingIf you override theese figures in the activity, let say put in 3 minutes, you will see the problem that MSTS is loosing time, mostly a problem for the player schedule.
Waiting time for the stations can be changed in the AE editor and will be used in stead of the time set originally in the route, you can check this in the bottom of the activityfile.2. How to handle that the trains is not slowing down for curves and so on.The figure to change is in the eng and wag files for the trains.
I use the this = "4.5m/(s^2)*422t" where the 422t is the highest tonnage for the consist you will use for this train, it dosnt matter how high you set this, but if it is too low, they will brake for curves. The 4.5m can be changed to 3.5m if you want it to slow down down a little bit for sharp curves and so on.
You must change this figure in all the eng and wag files you are using in the consist and it must be the same figure, MSTS will use the lowest figure you put in there for the consist. 3. For the trainspeed and arrival times.First to state that in the eng filesin the engine section, you must put the max speed the train can use, example :
MaxVelocity ( 176Kmh );( 110mph ), you must use either miles or kilometer. Use exact mph and kmh, theese figures is used to calculate the max velocity in the consist file.DONT change anything after MSTS have calculated their figures in the consist file, they use it. The first number is meters/second and the second one is acceleration effiency.Now when you make an activity, watch theeese things :The effiency parameter is calculated in this way :
MAxvelocity from the consist file, which should match now, divided by the distance to travel and probably some additional calculation for acceleration time.Effiency is the importing thung, and you have it 2 places, in the services and when you actually calculate the route times.
What it does is actually calculating the max speed the train can run on a specific part of the activity.MSTS dosnt handle waiting point times, you will see that they work in the AE when you create them, but will reset the time to 0 when you leave the AE, means that the train will in the activity stop there, but only for a split second, so use them with care.1. In services part, the figure is used to calculate part of the route where no effiency is used in the timetable, example.
You start from Marseille to Nice, stop in x but not in Nice, the train pass nice and end somewhere, this figure will be used to calculate the speed from x to the end, meaning from the last point in your time table to the end of your path. To use this right do this :
Distance from last train ststion to end = 100 kilometers / 40 minutes = 2.5 * 60 = 150kmh / maxvelocity in the eng file 176kmh = 0.85227, put 86 in there, allways round up a little bit. Yor max speed is now 151 kmh.2. In the timetable part, they use the effiency figure to calculate the max speed from station A to station B, and MSTS handle that fine, so put in your arrival times and let MSTS calculate it, remove all marks after the calculation and SAVE your activity. If you have a crash, it might reset theese figures to the standard 0.75 and it meand that that is what your train will use and not arrive at correct time, now it runs with 0.75 x 176kmh, s0o after all is finished for your activity the last thing to do is to check that all your AI trains have their right arrival times.3. Please be carefull if your schedule is passing midnight, AE is not able to calculate this correct when you put in your own arrival times, their is a workaround for this, let say, the train start at 13:00 and finish at 3:00 next morning, do the calculation 12 hours back, meaning 1:00 and after your calculation is finished put it back to 13:00 and do another calculation, but be SURE that their is no marks in the boxes as stated before.Step by step.
1. Make your consists in the AE, if you use conbuilder Conbuilder, then after go in to AE and load the consist, change something, ex direction of one car and back again to have AE to save it to get the right parameters in the consist file, which Conbuilder dosnt handle correct.
2. Create your paths in AE, dont make any schedules before the paths is finished or you have to make your schedules many times, everytime you change something in your path, AE will reset your AI timetables.
3. Create your services.
4. Do your timecalculations as the last thing
5. Save everything and have funHope this clears up some thingsHenrik Norgaard

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

>2. How to handle that the trains is not slowing down for
>curves and so on. There's a component that you haven't mentioned in your tip sheet that I'm compelled to address: the "MaxVelocity" parameter found near the top of a consist file when opened manually.This consist-file parameter contains two values: the first is the maximum velocity value, which you mention in your description of how to modify the corresponding engine/wagon files; the other, something to do with -- as far as I can tell -- acceleration. It seems to me that the whole parameter kicks in with only AIs (play mode or ITR). I've been noticing that most of the loco/wagon creators who include consists with their created models assign the maximum value to the second value, being 1, of the "MaxVelocity" parameter. I posted a tip early last year about the second value/component, being this 'acceleration' value, but I can't find it in a search of the archives of this whole message board. Anyhow, my posted tip amounted to my findings of a simple experiment I tried out.Back then, I had some six-tracking that served as the drawing board for my test.I started out the test by making four copies of a consist file that had an 'acceleration' value of 1. I then opened each of the four copies and made them all unique against each other by gradually diminishing their 'acceleraton' values: 0.8; 0.6; 0.4; lastly, 0.2.I then wrote an activity that centred around a station that had platforms serving each of the six tracks. I created five traffic services that respectively drew upon the five versions of the above-mentioned consists, had them travel in the same direction, had them spawning motionless at the very same time, and made them call at the station; the player service took one of the outermost tracks, and also had to call at the station such that I had plenty of time to ready my camera to fully monitor the arrivals (and departures) of the five AIs.The traffic service with the original consist to which its 'acceleration' value was 1 arrived first. From watching it, it was obvious that its braking and acceleration rates were fast. The second train to arrive was the one with the 0.8 'acceleration' value, and its braking and acceleration rates were high but not as speedy as those of the first arrival. You get the picture here: the next traffic service to arrive was the one that had the consist that had the value set to 0.6; the subsequent one, 0.4; the last one, 0.2.The AI that had the value of 0.2 had the most pathetic braking and acceleration.Anyhow! my point is that it's a little disappointing to try out a custom consist of some modeller's only to discover that its AI physics seem to have been misset; e.g.; you're departing a station/set of signals at the very same moment as an old, parellelling (i.e., travelling in the same direction), departing diesel-powered train in your electricity-powered train only to be overtaken by it.Cheers,
goonybird

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

As you mentioned i forgot to describe how the second value, acceleration, in the consistfile is calculated :(0.8*"MaxForce (in kN) in the eng file")/("Total tonnage for the consist").
If you have more engines the "MaxForce (in kN) in the eng file is the total" is the sum of theese (Maxforce in kn) Ex MaxVelocity ( 48.88889 0.87079 ) meansThe train vill max run at a speed at 48.88888 * 3.6 m/s = 176 Kph and the acceleration value is 0.87079 of the max possibleHenrik

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Is there any chance you may be able to post some sample .eng, .wag and .con files so we may be able to see for our selves where to put the changes?

Leiv Eiriksson was first - Christoffer Columbus used a Viking map!

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Surely one of the most informative discussions posted.I have often noticed that a large manifest with a couple of D9's could out accelerate an electric loco, now all is light.Thanks to all, I have spent most of last night editing the consist files. One point. If you use the MSTS editor to change the consist, it resets the accerlation value back to its best guess again.I suspect that Conbuilder does not do this so it would better to use this for changes.Andy J KUK

Alert | IP

[ Home | MSTS Forum | MSTS FAQ | How To... | File Library ] Copyright © 2004 by Nels Anderson. All Rights Reserved.