How smart is the AI and Dispatcher?

[Wabash1070]

I'm making a freight scenario on the original NEC route from Frankford Yard to Metuchen Yard and it seems to me that some of the AI aren't very smart in getting to their destination and the Dispatcher wants to do some strange things to some trains. Makes me wonder how smart the AI and Dispatcher are? Hopefully the AI and Dispatcher get a lot smarter in the UE4 version of Train Simulator. Also there is a decent amount of AI traffic in it so i'll have to play around with the AI and see if I can make everything run without issues or holding at signals for 10 minutes.

[buzz456]

What makes you think because we are supposedly going to get prettier pictures that anything else will change?

[OldProf]

Sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but AI engineers and the mythical Dispatcher rely on the smarts of scenario writers. Sometimes, we succeed in convincing both, but mostly we all just get lucky. By the way, that's both the challenge and the fun of scenario writing.

[cnwfan]

The built in dispatcher has always been flakey. The best thing I can suggest is to add destination markers, and then use either way points for AI traffic or stop instructions modified to act as way points (set the speed to 1 mph) for the driver train. Even then, the dispatcher may still throw an error, especially if there is a lot of back and forth along the same route... such as switching a yard. I also doubt the UE4 version of TS will fix this problem, as I suspect the dispatcher problem is more an internal program logic issue than a graphics issue.

Hang in there... you're not alone with this. All of us that have written scenarios have dealt with the dispatcher. It's trial and error, and depending on the complexity of the scenario, you may have to alter the scenario to get it to work with the dispatcher. Also, there are some tutorials on this site regarding scenario building.

[Wabash1070]

I know its annoying to deal with the Dispatcher and AI sometimes. Another thing that happens for me is when I test scenarios sometimes the AI will just creep along which means that the AI train is broken. Sometimes the AI work for me and sometimes they don't. Its a real pain too.

[OldProf]

I know its annoying to deal with the Dispatcher and AI sometimes. Another thing that happens for me is when I test scenarios sometimes the AI will just creep along which means that the AI train is broken. Sometimes the AI work for me and sometimes they don't. Its a real pain too.

In my experience, a creeping AI train usually cannot find its path, which means that either it needs more specific instructions from the scenario writer or its path is simply impossible. I'm assuming (frequently dangerous, but sometimes necessary) that you mean one AI train creeping, not all of them -- which I've never experienced. The danger presented by a creeping AI train is that after doing that for a while, it simply fails, which often results in a failed scenario.

Are you adding and testing one AI at a time?

[Wabash1070]

I know its annoying to deal with the Dispatcher and AI sometimes. Another thing that happens for me is when I test scenarios sometimes the AI will just creep along which means that the AI train is broken. Sometimes the AI work for me and sometimes they don't. Its a real pain too.

In my experience, a creeping AI train usually cannot find its path, which means that either it needs more specific instructions from the scenario writer or its path is simply impossible. I'm assuming (frequently dangerous, but sometimes necessary) that you mean one AI train creeping, not all of them -- which I've never experienced. The danger presented by a creeping AI train is that after doing that for a while, it simply fails, which often results in a failed scenario.

Are you adding and testing one AI at a time?

sometimes its one AI sometimes it more then one. I add how many I think I might need for the scenario and then once they are all added and my train has all the instructions it needs to do. I test the scenario plus I also have to guess on some of the timings too.

[OldProf]

No, no, no, no, no . . .

Step 1: set up player train with all of its instructions (the only exception to this rule may occur if the player engine is to interact with AI traffic; for example, by picking up cars dropped off by an AI) and make sure that the entire scenario runs as desired.

Step 2: set up one AI engine or train at a time, making sure, train by train, that the scenario runs as desired. Setting up 2 AI trains in a single editing/testing pass is risky; setting up more than two is asking for trouble!

Years of experience and lots of patience behind these words!

[Wabash1070]

No, no, no, no, no . . .

Step 1: set up player train with all of its instructions (the only exception to this rule may occur if the player engine is to interact with AI traffic; for example, by picking up cars dropped off by an AI) and make sure that the entire scenario runs as desired.

Step 2: set up one AI engine or train at a time, making sure, train by train, that the scenario runs as desired. Setting up 2 AI trains in a single editing/testing pass is risky; setting up more than two is asking for trouble!

Years of experience and lots of patience behind these words!

I set up my train first and then once my train has it orders I add AI to the scenario. I also set the performance and priority of the AI trains so if I want to follow a train I set that AI performance lower and if I want to hold somewhere for a AI train I give it higher priority then my train.