Hi there again!!!!

I've been driving a few Metro System Lines using the AI Feature, but sometimes due to severe delays (as in real life I guess ) have found red signals when arriving and stopping at stations, else if the "departure time" or "minimum stop time" has ended, but the red signal next to the stop signal, is not cleared yet, so the AI closes the doors but not moving the train ('cause the red signal) so, why not making the AI's Driver, to wait until the signal turns at least "yellow" or "green" before closing the doors? anyway this happens only when driving on delayed or short train interval lines (aka metro lines with pre-trains and/or pos-trains).

If I remember correctly, in BVE4 the doors didn't close until the signal showed a proceed aspect, however this could be annoying, too, in case the signal was some distance behind the station and perhaps not even visible, e.g. at Selly Oak on the Cross City line.
As neither behaviour is correct all the time, the best thing would be having another option for the Track.Sta command, though it already seems a bit overloaded with its 12 arguments. Alternatively, you could have some sort of automatism based on the distance between the station and the signal, but of course this option is less flexible than the first one.

please can the AI stopping distance be changed back to what it was before it was closer to the red signal in stead of 150m like it is now or have an option in the game setup to change it manually.

David R Coleman, JLE Creator (old).

The point of the new behavior is that at stations, the A.I. waits until the departure signal has cleared before departing. Before, it would proceed from the stopping point to the end of the platform just to stop there.

Why do you want the old behavior back?

The reason I want this back is because im currently working converting and upgrading the BVE2 version of the Docklands Light Railway route so it works correctly with OpenBVE and as you know the DLR is fully automatic with manual operation and and previous versions of OpenBVE worked perfect with my route and stopped my DLR train and the correct positions as I have managed to make a moving block signalling system. Unless someone can suggest another way I can achive the same effect with the newer version of OpenBVE

David R Coleman, JLE Creator (old)

My personal hunch is that if this distance should be continuously configurable for every station. With a three-car 70 metre-long local train stopping at a Euro-standard 400-metre platform, having a 150-metre proceed is too short; whereas, on the DLR the look-around is too long.

Possibly a good default is to use the Platform Overrun distance of the current Stop. This should indicate where the end of the platform is and by adding 10 metres on to that, any end-of-platform related signals will be noticed without seeing the ones that are intentionally hidden around the corner.

JLE: would this solution work for you? I you think you're using 10-metre overrun/underrun allowances anyway so that would be 15/20 metres of look around. Would that would for the block sizes, or is it still too much?

I think this was "fixed" with the following code included in 1.1.4.0:

Code: Select all

// lookahead
-double lookahead = 100.0 + (spd * spd) / BrakeDeceleration;
+double lookahead = (Train.Station >= 0 ? 150.0 : 75.0) + (spd * spd) / BrakeDeceleration;
@@ -1308,1 +1308,4 @@ namespace OpenBve {
-if (Train.Station >= 0 & Train.StationState == TrainManager.TrainStopState.Pending) {
+if (Train.Station >= 0 & Train.StationState == TrainManager.TrainStopState.Completed & dist < 150.0) {
+   dist = 1.0;
+   redstopdist = 25.0;
+} else if (Train.Station >= 0 & Train.StationState == TrainManager.TrainStopState.Pending) {
   redstopdist = 1.0;
} else if (spd > 6.94444444444444) {
   redstopdist = 85.0;

The 6.944 metres/second number corresponds to 25 km/h. That patch then prompted the issue with the DLR raised at "Change AI stopping distance back at red signals" so might need further tweaking.

I have merged the two topics into one as they are apparently addressing the same subject.

From my point of view, there is nothing worth changing further. The A.I. is not an ATO system, but a train driver in the virtual world of openBVE. Thus, the behavior should be unpredictable, erratic and non-reproducable - just as the driving style of an actual human might differ from that of another.

Given the fact that neither station starts nor ends are explicitly marked in the route formats, nor the presence of departure signals, the current behavior is an acceptable compromise between not waiting at all, and waiting at ridiculous distances.

As the A.I. serves the main purpose of driving trains other than the player's one, it is highly irrelevant whether or not the A.I. waits at the station or continues driving. In the case of Docklands Light Railway, what is needed is an actual ATO system with a precisely defined behavior. The A.I. is no substitute for an ATO system (see above).

Aaaammmmm... Nope, well, as any human driver I think that as the "best service" any rail operating company, aka Metro, Amtrak, DLR, "Ferrocarriles Suburbanos" in Mexico, wants to provide to the passengers, if the service is delayed, the best option is when the train operator, no matter the overrun /underrun at the platform, keeps the doors opened, this will help to improve passengers comfort, or in such a case, an emergency, make a full evacuation of the train, and also, due to the distance that AI sometimes overruns at the red signals, else with the 100m protection, (when large trains: 7, 8, or more cars per train) stops so much close to the end of the platform, and if the next AI "postrain" goes onto the Station they'll collide 'cause the "AI OVERRUN" of the last train, but remember that AI trains as yourself, get a "You can proceed at 15kph with caution" message (the player's train) or autorization (in the AI's train case) when a red light passed, so, several times I got few penalties because another train pushed me (not crashed me) through a red signal immediately next from the station . so, if the AI's train stays on the platform unable to move because the opened doors 'cause the red (0) signal aspect (as any other actual human train driver), 'cause if you will stay on a red signal at platform, why closing the doors?, still more passengers can board your train, so, the following trains aren´t too crowded (else if you have stopped "X" miles away, from the end or the stop signal) will help to avoid this.

[Offtopic ] PS. About postrains, since 1.2.X.X versions (multi (pre/pos) train capable versions) when adding more than 2 pos trains, I don't get more than 6 or 8 fps, but 30-45 fps when only 1 or 2 intervals created, any ideas [/Offtopic]

Regards from Mexico

Mike Romero
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(Sorry, as always driving (Open)BVE's delayed routes and starting the very early creation of Mexican routes (Metro, Tram and Suburban Train))