More Efficient Depots?

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Monarch1st
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More Efficient Depots?

Post by Monarch1st »

I wanted to know the fastest I can make money, within a limit of whatever number of trains (512 at the moment). So I set up this 'ideal' world, very large, very flat, with large cities on the edges and in the middle. There are a large number of trains with very long runs. (I've been getting 100+ mil per run for monorails, and over 2 bil/month so far. pretty fun but could be better!)
Some cities have roughly 80 trains cycling thru.

Anyway, one of the main problems is depots. With a large number of trains going into a depot at one time, it creates quite a bottleneck.
I was wondering if there is either
1) ideally, a new type of depot that allows trains to enter at speed, plus trains enter and exit at the same time, or
2) a track layout that allows a large number of trains to visit the depot at the same time.

I've been experimenting with the setup below with multiple entrances, rather like a ro-ro station. This works quite well for entering trains, but has a bottleneck when several trains exit. I'd welcome ideas to improve it.
(I have another idea, but not implemented yet. It looks almost exactly like a terminus station but with depots at the end. The problem is, it seems the tracks will need to be very long and far from the main line. Well, a work in progress.)

So anything new on the depot front?
Wronningley Transport, 2015-10-23.png
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Alberth
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Re: More Efficient Depots?

Post by Alberth »

The fastest way to make money is to cheat :p

Anyway, for your depot problem, a simple way to double the capacity is to have two depots:
double_depot.png
double_depot.png (63.4 KiB) Viewed 3024 times
Combined with path signals, one train can enter one depot while another can leave at the same time (trains enter from the right, and leave at the left).

I have a track piece straight through since not all trains need to go to the depot, but you can also remove that, making the track less attractive for trans that do not need to go to a depot.
Monarch1st
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Re: More Efficient Depots?

Post by Monarch1st »

I'll try the double depot thing, thanks.

Here's a draft of the handle-depots-like-terminus-station idea.
The problem here is that the second incoming train doesn't go an alternate route, it just waits for the first train to enter the depot then follows it in.
Wronningley Transport, 2016-06-04.png
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I'm pretty sure the signals are setup right. They're set up the same as a terminal station, and I've done dozens of those.
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adf88
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Re: More Efficient Depots?

Post by adf88 »

Can't tell much without a savegame. If the second train enters the depot then most likely it wants to go there (e.g. servicing).

Anyway, you should remove that piece of track in front of the depot, the one that allows to pass the depot without entering it so trains are forced to go into (see "Depots at both lines" here --> https://wiki.openttd.org/Building_depots)
:] don't worry, be happy and checkout my patches
bear1
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Re: More Efficient Depots?

Post by bear1 »

Maybe something along the lines of this picture? I like depots placed opposite each other, and find run-ins and out help greatly. Using presignals to improve the flow exiting would undoubtedly be a good idea.
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Baldy's Boss
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Re: More Efficient Depots?

Post by Baldy's Boss »

bear1 wrote:Maybe something along the lines of this picture? I like depots placed opposite each other, and find run-ins and out help greatly. Using presignals to improve the flow exiting would undoubtedly be a good idea.
I thought depots had "built-in pre-signals"?
Eddi
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Re: More Efficient Depots?

Post by Eddi »

only if there are exit signals nearby and no path signals.
Wahazar
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Re: More Efficient Depots?

Post by Wahazar »

I'm curious, why depots cannot be combined (joined together), as stations are?
Two benefits:
1. no bottleneck
2. possibility of deleting depot building (if adjacent building exist) without all those messy invalid command stuff.
Formerly known as: McZapkie
Projects: Reproducible Map Generation patch, NewGRFs: Manpower industries, PolTrams, Polroad, 600mm narrow gauge, wired, ECS industry extension, V4 CEE train set, HotHut.
Another favorite games: freeciv longturn, OHOL/2HOL.
Eddi
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Re: More Efficient Depots?

Post by Eddi »

depots are weird, because if you could merge depots, vehicles may get out in a different place than they entered, especially if you rearrange (buy, sell, mix) them inside the depot.

but you can use "go to nearest depot" in combination with waypoints.
bear1
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Re: More Efficient Depots?

Post by bear1 »

By pre-signals I meant something along the lines of the right of way depot here
http://wiki.openttd.org/Right-of-way_De ... igurations
Which ensures that trains going straight through get priority over trains emerging from the depot.
See
http://wiki.openttd.org/Right-of-way_Merge
for the logic.
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