ChooChoo, a train network AI

[Michiel]

Why build first monorail tracks when rails are available cheaper?
Two different AI is in the screenshot.

Oh, that's because in the normal game with default settings, monorail is not that much more expensive, and the newer trains are usually strictly better than the old ones, so that's the only logic that's built in. Basically, rail is just assumed to be cheap, and only trains/tunnels/bridges are expensive.

[skippern]

Another thing, when using the PIPE NewGRF, ChooChoo tends to try to make pipelines to transport Iron Ore from the mines to a steel mill, and similar. Since PIPE is restricted to liquid cargoes this doesn't go well (even though there are real life examples of pipelines pumping marble (slurry) and iron ore as well)

In other words ChooChoo should probably check to avoid using the pipe railtype (4, I have checked)

[Kogut]

Hardcoding is evil. It can be done properly (I forgot how but AIAI is handling this kind of thing).

[Baldy's Boss]

I'm pretty sure that the AI I bought out in my "Rartown Brown Railroad Co." game was a ChooChoo...I connected a station the AI had built(which had signs in the air saying ChooChoo was pathfinding) near my world's largest city to a nearby set of double tracks between those four-way junctions that had also been built by the AI,
and built a station in the nearby second-largest city and plugged it into the other end of the junction.Then I started sending trains on this route.
The first train to reach the second junction,going down a one-way track,reversed course and headed for the train behind it...I'm told the junction allows no exits.

The game save and an image of the impasse and junction are up on page 4 of the "General Hello and a Help Request" topic in the OpenTTD General forum.

What's the fix?

[Alberth]

An a link to that page/image: http://www.tt-forums.net/viewtopic.php? ... 4#p1113274

@Baldy's Boss
The little document icon near the "posted" date at the right in the header above each message gives you a link to that post.

[Michiel]

It was, Baldy's Boss, and thanks for the link Alberth, I'll reply over there!

[Baldy's Boss]

It's one thing that ChooChoo posts notes in the air about its plans.But apparently they linger even after a ChooChoo has gone bankrupt?
Take a look at this game.

[Michiel]

It's one thing that ChooChoo posts notes in the air about its plans.But apparently they linger even after a ChooChoo has gone bankrupt?
Take a look at this game.

That's quite possible. If an AI goes bankrupt, it stops running and can no longer clean up its signs, I believe. If this bothers you, you can turn the signs off through ChooChoo's settings.

[Zuu]

And in a game where this has already occurred, there is the option to turn off competitor signs. It will hide dead AI signs. (my main motivation for implementing that feature was actually when testing AIs and having my screen littered by dead AI signs from restarting my AI over and over)

[Keplergamer]

Choo-choo made this some time ago:

[Michiel]

Cool, that's a lot of track it managed to squeeze in there. Then again, that game has been running for quite a while Interesting looking map, by the way!

[Baldy's Boss]

In the save,a ChooChoo (which went bankrupt one month later) apparently "reinvented the wheel" in trying to build service between Quarberg Market and Funthwaite Springs...two parallel dual lines that don't connect.
So it was left with heavy infrastructure bills and no revenue potential on the route.Does it not keep track of where it has tracks?

[Michiel]

Does it not keep track of where it has tracks?

No, it doesn't; it just plops down a crossing into a random spot that looks promising, then tries to extend the crossing in each direction. It's entirely possible it'll pick two spots, close together, neither of which results in a buildable route.

However, the savegame does look odd: it has two sets of unfinished track, which shouldn't normally happen (one containing Frohead Junction and the other with Wreeley Junction). It won't start a new network unless every exit of every crossing has been tried. Although... did you happen to save and reload the game? That would explain it, since it doesn't keep track of what it was building across a save/load cycle (in fact, it doesn't save anything, it just looks at the map).

Sorry, in this case it's just too stupid to live

[Baldy's Boss]

Yes,I am given to frequent save/reloads.
I can probably check older saves for how this set developed.


So there's no "check the existing network" function?

[Michiel]

Nope, once a network is built (or you load a savegame) it is forgotten. It just sells vehicles operating at a loss. Other than that, it just goes and builds stuff. I added (but never released) a feature where it sells the bottom 10% of vehicles (by yearly profit) and clones the top 10% every year, but that's it.

[xarick]

Train 4 needs to take a hell of a path to go from a station so close to the other.

[Michiel]

Ha, yes it'll do that. It'll probably discover it's not a profitable route and sell the vehicles. I never got around to implementing a comparison between "as the crow flies" distance vs. the distance the train will have to take.

[matta2006]

Dear developers,

first of all, I really like the way this AI is playing and building its long rails.

I am running some contest games. And, I have found that this AI does not returns its loans, even when it has plenty of money. I think it is a bug, and this costs 50 winning point for nothing.

Best regards,

[Michiel]

Hi matta2006, you're right. While it's waiting for more money to come in, it'll always max out its loan, so it can see when it has how much it needs. Between checks, it should really have paid back what it could. However, it has to keep enough in cash to pay for station maintenance and avoid bankruptcy, and I was too lazy to make it any smarter

[Kogut]

From "newgrf hates ChooChoo" saga: 2cc trainset has passenger-only monorail. This AI attempts to use it to move coal.