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"Via (line)" option in stop menus?

Started by AP, December 15, 2017, 07:23:34 PM

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AP

Please can I request consideration be given to introducing a sorting option for "via(line)" in the various menus e.g. stops, which list out who is waiting.

I think this would be of considerable help in managing networks, where players do not immediately know all the many city names and which lines serve them.

It could just list the immediate line from "this stop".

Or in a more advanced form it could list them in clusters, showing the whole route those waiting plan to take. E.g.

Line:  76 people, of which:
-Line 6, Line 1: 10
-Line 6, Line 6:
-Line 6, North Ferry line: 20
-Line 6, South Ferry line: 40

Either the simple or advanced form would be a real advantage.

Ves

I was thinking the very same thing, and did look into it quickly.
Unfortunately, what line the good decides to use is not stored with the good, so I cannot easily pull the line from there.
What one could do is find the destination, check what line goes there from this stop and display it. Problem is when more than one line goes to the same stop.
I can only think of listing all lines which is usable as you mention, and some checks  could be done for classes as well.
I don't know if it is doable, I'm not home to look in the code.

The syntax of the manifest probably needs to be a bit different than you suggest, since renamed lines might have long names.
I would say something like this:


30 passengers waiting
  10 passengers via line(s):
       Very long line name 1
       Very long line name 2
       Very long line name 3
   7 passengers via ..... etc


I must say, however, that I don't know if the end result would be so good and fantastic as one would hope for. Since you also have line less convoys, those would never be listed, or anyway badly listed.
What do you think?

AP

Personally I no longer use lineles convoys,  they are very difficult to manage effectively. I'd be surprised if many players are using them.

I assumed named lines would be alphabetically listed or something

Whilst the line might not be stored with the waiting good unit,  it must be known somehow,  or else how would the good know which one to board. It must know what,  at that moment,  is the optimum route to its destination,  from its location, somehow,  or it surety could not make progress towards it.


Ves

As far as I know, the ware doesn't know what to board until something suitable arrives which fits with its premises, but I'm not entirely sure about that.
Maybe James can clarify how the good finds their route and if there is any chance it could predict the next leg?

wlindley

Waiting passengers and goods have a destination and possibly an expected routing ("Via" the first expected intermediate stop).  Zero or more routes could satisfy that routing, and as each vehicle arrives to be loaded, the passengers (well, the game engine) chooses what to load on it.  In the particular case where a station has no overlapping routes departing from it, the proposal makes sense; but in the general case things just do not work that way. 

AP

The reason I am asking, is that often waiting passenger clusters indicate that a particular line requires more vehicles. But identifying *which* line, isn't immediately straightforward. Especially as most players won't recall where Chagingcaster or Wellingborough are on this particular map.

zook2

I tend to play large maps for a long time, and I usually remember which towns are where, at least roughly. What I don't do is name lines "Line 6", because after a while I tend to have dozens or even a hundred lines. Therefore I usually name them after the towns they serve, and don't need this feature.

jamespetts

Quote from: Ves on December 15, 2017, 11:55:36 PM
As far as I know, the ware doesn't know what to board until something suitable arrives which fits with its premises, but I'm not entirely sure about that.
Maybe James can clarify how the good finds their route and if there is any chance it could predict the next leg?

Waiting passengers and goods have, as W. Lindley wrote, a default route, but if another convoy arrives that will take the passengers or goods to either their ultimate destination (directly) or their next transfer more quickly based on the point to point average timings of that convoy, then the passengers/mail/goods will board that convoy instead of the default convoy. This is only calculated as convoys arrive.
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