[jpmackay]

I have a question about Dispatch Viewer. First of all I have enjoyed using this feature -- Dispatch Viewer to see the palyer train and AI trains along the route. Now have a question about how to use this when the player train and one AI train comes to Mexican Standoff. How do I let the AI train go into siding and back to main after the meet with player train? What I did is that I wait till the AI train come to a full stop also the same with the player train too? Then I change the switch and the signal to green so an AI train can go around the player train and back to main. Is that how it works or not?

Your help would be appreciated!

John

[Csantucci]

As a general rule, with the player train you have some freedom in diverging from your path and reentering it, provided you pass in manual mode (CTRL-m). AI trains instead can't be brought off their path. They would disappear or get stuck. So you need to put your player train on the siding, not the AI train.
To avoid what you call Mexican Standoff (I hope I understood well what you mean by that) you can define alternate (passing) paths for your player train or your AI train or both of them. In this case OR would in general take the correct decisions and provide for a correct meet.

[rdamurphy]

Mexican Standoff = deadlock. Neither train can move until the other one does...

Robert

[roeter]

Even if you do not create 'passing paths', the system will try its best to avoide deadlocks.
The one situation where that will not work is when the starting point of the player train's path is located directly on a path of an AI train, and this AI train is allready on this path, and no passing locations are defined between the present position of the AI train and the player train's starting point. In that situation, a deadlock is unavoidable as neither train can go anywhere else. But that is really just a poor activity definition.

Deadlocks can also occur if you swith the player train to manual mode, as the deadlock check logic is switch off for the player train in manual mode.

Regards,
Rob Roeterdink

[Fred]

I just looked up the definition of Mexican Standoff in Wikipedia. It is a standoff between THREE parties. I would have sworn it was two.http://www.elvastower.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/offtopic.gif

[copperpen]

According to the Urban Dictionary a Mexican Stand-off is a no win-no lose situation, and two participants is enough to create one.

[Fred]

 copperpen, on 24 March 2014 - 07:06 AM, said:

According to the Urban Dictionary a Mexican Stand-off is a no win-no lose situation, and two participants is enough to create one.

I can only repeat it the way I read it in Wikipedia.http://www.elvastower.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/pleasantry.gif

"A Mexican standoff is most precisely a confrontation among three opponents armed with guns. The tactics for such a confrontation are substantially different from those for a duel, where the first to shoot has the advantage. In a confrontation among three mutually hostile participants, the first to shoot is at a tactical disadvantage. If opponent A shoots opponent B, then while so occupied, opponent C can shoot A, thus winning the conflict. Since it is the second opponent to shoot that has the advantage, no one wants to go first."

[captain_bazza]

Quote

If opponent A shoots opponent B, then while so occupied, opponent C can shoot A, thus winning the conflict. Since it is the second opponent to shoot that has the advantage, no one wants to go first."

The only exception to this rule was the John Wayne factor, where any single bullet fired from his gun could take out BOTH the other gunmen in the standoff. :)

The John Wayne factor also included the ability to fire infinite rounds from a six rounds gun.

Also included in the JWF, any weapon fired in the general direction of a target resulted a certain hit, even at an infinite range.

Cheers Bazza.

PS Sorry, I haven't taken my anti-digression pill today.