Monthly maintenance of vehicles is not shown in graphs

[Vladki]

The convoy and line graphs do not show monthly maintenence (only running costs per km), and also do not subtract maintenance from profit. Thus wrongly show some lines with obsolete vehicles as profitable, when they are not.

[jamespetts]

Thank you for your report.

There is currently no separate per convoy graph for monthly maintenance, and it would require some work to add such a graph, as some re-arrangement of the convoy GUI would be required, and likewise for the line.

However, it is an error that this is not shown in the profit figures. I wonder what would be more useful, however: deducting the monthly maintenance from the profit at the beginning of each month, so that each month starts with a negative profit and the revenue might allow this to increase, or deducting the monthly maintenance from the profit at the end of the month, such that a vehicle might appear to be making a profit in the current month but will transpire to be making a lower profit or even a loss by the end of the month?

I should note that, if the former is preferable, this will involve changing the way that this is done more generally, as it is currently recorded at the end of the month for the player's general financial statistics.

I should be grateful for the views of many people on this question if possible.

[jamespetts]

Thank you for your thoughts. This is something that will need to be considered in the long term as a consequence of convoy re-combination. We still do need to consider what to do in the meantime with these graphs.

In more general terms, we need to think about when to deduct fixed maintenance costs from profit: at the beginning or at the end of a month. I am provisionally in favour of doing it at the beginning of a month, so that players can check whether the convoy is earning its keep and so that there are not unexplained and apparently retrospective changes to profitability at the end of a month, but I should appreciate further feedback on this issue before implementing this scheme.

[Vladki]

To cope with recombination, (and staff layover, time in depot), the maintenance costs would have to be calculated and recorded for each vehicle / convoy / line at the moment when any such change happens.

[jamespetts]

Thank you very much: now incorporated.