timetable calculator

viperskil · Post by **viperskil** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 7:08 pm

When i am making activities (on the SVR route is the only one i make for) the calculator for timetable keeps mucking up and also making other train paths is a bit dodgy as well. Does anyone else have these problems and is there a remedy

prairie4566 · Post by **prairie4566** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 8:13 pm

Hi there

I make Activities for MSTS, not long ago I had been appointed as Didcot Activity Maker, thanks to colinjamesporter - but then we had Windows XP and I LOST MSTS

! My MSTS doesn't seem to like add ons any more - on loading it comes up with the good old error report

So I only have a decent selection of downloaded routes / stock. Anyway, if you give me more info, I should be able to help

Lad491 · Post by **Lad491** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 9:24 pm

You'll probably find its best not to use the timetable calculator, but to run the sim to note the correct times then enter them manually in the activity editor.

Remember the first time you enter a time it will be the departure time, then click on the time again and enter the arrival time. Once you've entered a departure time you cant make it earlier, only later, without editing the act file directly and resetting all times to zero.

The problem with single line routes is down to the way MSTS reserves the train path. With AI services, if you want the service to get the path in preference to the player path you must start the service so it grabs the path when the player service is at least 3 sections away. This may well mean starting it a lot earlier than the real time, but then making it run slower using the train performance setting. For the opposite effect you must ensure the player service has had time to grab the path before placing your AI train.

Hope thats clear

sbradey · Post by **sbradey** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 6:23 pm

If you do get round to editting the times directly in the ACT file itself, the number MSTS uses is basically the number of seconds from midnight to the time you want.

Having discovered this I let the timetable calculator do what it wants in AE, then open up the ACT file and change the player times directly.

You can get a much nicer, controller timetable that way.

Simon

seshy · Post by **seshy** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 8:50 pm

Does this also work for AI trains or do these follow the timetable as calculated in the AE?

Lad491 · Post by **Lad491** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 8:56 pm

Does this also work for AI trains or do these follow the timetable as calculated in the AE?

AI Trains dont follow a timetable, its only provided to be a guide as to expected performance. The AI train will start at the time you place it. If you place it at a station platform it will start when the loading time has elapsed. When it arrives at the next stop it will set off, assuming it has a yellow or green signal, as soon as loading is complete regardless of the departure time set in the timetable. The only way to make it take longer is to alter the performance setting in the timetable section so the arrival time matches what you want.

sbradey · Post by **sbradey** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:09 pm

The only other thing I have tried was putting a wait into the path used by the AI train, but again AI trains didn't seem to pay any attention to these either.

Lad491 · Post by **Lad491** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 8:37 am

I have tried was putting a wait into the path

The wait path function doesn't work anyway, unless you place 6 x 60 second waits in a row. It was an incomplete function in the original and placing 6 in a row is a bug which works

Ive never tried it with an AI train though. It does work with the player service and can be a useful way of breaking the player path when the double reverse point trick doesn't work.