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Activity randomizing Rate Topic: -----

#1 User is offline   Csantucci 

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Posted 26 September 2017 - 08:46 AM

I'm currently working on activity randomizing. A new experimental option would be added. When checked, following activity parameters are foreseen to be randomized (always within some reasonable range):
- waiting point expirations (both with and without signal connected)
- station restart times
- AI train efficiencies
- weather
- defects during run: diesel engine blown, electric motors of a bogie down, car with stuck brakes.
For randomizing a gaussian-like distribution is used (in simpler words small deviations are more likely to occur than big deviations from preset value).

Maybe a slider would be added to allow the player to set the degree of randomization.

Obviously some activities (especially the ones with long AI train runs and with passing paths) are more apt to be randomized than other ones.
In many cases, the player will have to find unforeseen way outs. So, if a quiet run is desired, the option should be left unchecked... The additional functions OR has, like passing to manual mode, manually setting signals and switches, switching player train and bringing to life static consists should enable to solve the most part of inconveniences found (as in real world).
Anyhow the standard degree of deviations from normal operation will be limited, to reflect real world behaviour.

I wonder if this feature is of interest.

#2 User is offline   R H Steele 

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Posted 26 September 2017 - 09:40 AM

Much interest here. Currently running existing MSTS activities you frequently have to "find unforeseen ways out", especially if you have not checked out the activities first in the AE.
I like the idea of small deviations and a user randomization setting.

#3 User is offline   mopacfan 

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Posted 26 September 2017 - 10:07 AM

Hi,

These are great proposals!

In regards to “AI train efficiencies,” do you mean that AI traffic comprises randomly generated consists? How about random placement of AI consists in activities?

#4 User is offline   conductorchris 

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Posted 26 September 2017 - 11:21 AM

This is terrific. Thank you for your work.

how easy would it be to do the following:

1. Randomize consists for AI (or player) trains drawing from either all consists or all consists with a given "tag" in the file or listed in a file that is a list of consist files. (probably allowing for multiple different lists of consists)

2. Randomize static consists on the same basis, substituting the static consists of other activities, probably drawn from a file with a list of suitable activities or adding new tag fields to activity files.

3. For extra credit, add these features in timetable mode!

Thank you!

#5 User is offline   thegrindre 

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Posted 26 September 2017 - 09:05 PM

I certainly hope this randomizing will be an option to check off or not. My activities are in sequence going from one to another as you complete each one task. I don't want randomizing.

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#6 User is offline   mirekkr 

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Posted 04 October 2017 - 01:14 PM

Carlo,
wonderful idea of yours. Could bring some more realism for activities.
So - I vote "yes".

Regards,
Mirek

#7 User is offline   EricF 

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Posted 06 October 2017 - 05:10 AM

Very interesting idea!

It should go without saying that it's important to be able to enable/disable randomization as a menu feture -- not all activities will led themselves well to randomization due to how they're designed. On the other hand, it can take simple switching or freight runs to new levels of variety with just a base activity as a framework.

#8 User is offline   mirekkr 

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Posted 06 October 2017 - 01:31 PM

What could be (by my opinion) easy to implement:
- AI efficinecy (in real world: another engineer drives with another skill)
- passengers load time (in real world: number of passengers is random)
- waiting points (in real world: times to change crew/get papers... is varying)
What could be (by my opinion) not so easy to implement, but...:
- weather (in real world: weather changes randomly); if season=summer/winter, rain/snow could start/stop/raise/lower
- some cars in the predefined consists could not be present (which affects the speed of the train, incl. the player's train)
Others (I propose the probability of those could not be set too high):
- reduced speed zones (in real world: trackwork)
- malfunctions with consists
- failed signals

Benefits of this feature:
- repeating playing the same activity would never be the same, thus, more realism
- as Eric wrote, you could have an "activity template" rather than an exact activity
- if you do not wish to use this feature, you could simply switch randomization off

As for me, I'd really love Carlo's idea!

Regards,
Mirek

#9 User is offline   mopacfan 

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Posted 06 October 2017 - 02:30 PM

Random meet ups of AI with player train is another idea.

#10 User is offline   Csantucci 

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Posted 22 October 2017 - 09:24 AM

A first randomization .exe and .dll pack is available here. It must overwrite release x.3963.
28/10/17: file deleted because new pack release available
To enable activity randomization in the Experimental Options tab a value > 0 for the activity randomization level must be selected.
Possible levels are: 0 - no randomization at all; 1 - moderate; 2 - significant; 3 - high (may be unrealistic).
So level 4 may be used to test out the features.
To find place for this option in that tab, some activity specific options have been regrouped within the Simulation tab.
At the moment following randomizations take place:

-diesel locomotive compressor blowdown: when this occurs a message is displayed, output power and force go to zero, and the smoke gets white (to have a diesel smoke colour change dieselsmoke.ace must be replaced with a better one, typically the one that can be downloaded here http://www.3dtrains....oads/misc.shtml ; moreover the parameter of the third parameter line in the Exhaust1 block within the .eng file of the diesel loco should have at least the value of 0.3, which by the way improves in general the lookout of the smoke).
In this case the train should be stopped as soon as possible, the defect loco should be put out of the MU chain and then switched off (these two operations can be done with the Car operations window). The defect loco is evidenced in red in the train operations window.
- diesel or electric locomotive bogie unpowered; when this occurs a message is displayed, and output power and force are halved. The defect loco is again evidenced in red in the train operations window.
The total traction time is accumulated. In the first 30, 15, 10 traction minutes (for randomization levels 1, 2, 3) no locomotive failures occur. After that for each loco and at every simulator update (which has the same frequency as the FPS) a random number between 0 and 199999 is generated. If it is higher than 199998, 199992, 199899 for the three randomization levels the failure is generated.
The failure may also occur on the player loco. No more than a faulty loco is possible on a train.

- freight car with brakes stuck: in this case the total braking time and the total countinuous braking time are accumulated. In this case the time with surely no failures varies from 20 to about 7 minutes for the total braking time and from 10 to about 3.5 minutes for the total continuous braking time. After such time for each car a random number between 0 and 199999 is generated at every simulator update. If the number is higher than 199996, 199992, and 199969 for the three randomization levels the failure is generated. The car will brake continuously, will be shown in red in the train operations window and will squeal if an .sms file named BrakesStuck.sms is present in the Train Simulator\Sound directory. Here the one I have used for testing
Attached File  BrakesStucksound.zip (36.74K)
Number of downloads: 511
Of course in this case it is advisable to uncouple the wagon as soon as possible from the train. No more than a car will fail per train.

All these train failures occur only on the player train.

- AI train efficiency: the initial AI train efficiency (which determines max accelerations and decelerations and in some cases also max speed) is randomized, that is it may be increased or decreased around its preset value for a maximum of 20%, only with 70% of probabilities, and the increase and decrease is computed with a pseudonormal distribution curve, that is smaller changes are more likely than bigger changes.
The same randomization occurs after every station stop.

- station depart time: the depart time is delayed on 70% of the cases with a maximum value of 400 seconds, again with a pseudonormal distribution curve.

- waiting point delay: in 70% of the cases a waiting point delay is introduced, that can have a maximum value of 25 seconds for the standard WPs and 5 minutes for the absolute WPs, again wit a pseudonormal distribution curve.

Not everything has been tested.

I foresee to parametrize to the randomization level the delays for depart time and waiting points.

I'm studying how to implement weather randomization, while I don't have ideas for consist randomization before trainset classification, and this is cumbersome for people.

Blueprint filed https://blueprints.l...y-randomization .
Trello box https://trello.com/c...omized-activity .

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