Misc things

[Aya]

I'm hesitant to call any of these bugs since they're more likely the result of my own stupidity. I'm using alpha58.

1. If I upgrade the engine on a train named "Foo" (i.e. sell it then buy a new one) when the popup "Foo is waiting in the depot" is displayed, the popup text temporarily looks corrupted between the sell and the buy, as if it's reading the train name string from deallocated memory. Is this likely to cause any problems?

2. (Using unifiedmaglev=1) Sometimes an train with the "full load" switch doesn't wait for a full load. With the early steam trains, I assumed this was because the engine couldn't pull that much cargo, so it left the station when it had loaded as much as it could pull. However, after upgrading from the X2001 to the Lev1 train, the same thing started to occur again. Any ideas why?

3. (Using signal{1,2}waittime=255) A train which legitimately waits at a signal for over a year, reports that it is "lost". Is this normal?

4. With breakdowns disabled, is there any point in renewing engines which are over 20 years old?

[Patchman]

1. The train doesn't exist, so it doesn't have a name, and so it'll display random things. In fact, it's conceivable that it could crash, so it's probably a good idea to close that message before selling the train.

2. Looks like a bug. It should only do that for trains.

3. Yes. It doesn't know whether it's supposed to wait that long at the signal, or whether this is because it went somewhere it shouldn't have.

[DaleStan]

2. Sometimes an train with the "full load" switch doesn't wait for a full load. With the early steam trains, I assumed this was because the engine couldn't pull that much cargo, so it left the station when it had loaded as much as it could pull. However, after upgrading from the X2001 to the Lev1 train, the same thing started to occur again. Any ideas why?

Do these trains carry multple types of cargo? If so, you probably have fullloadany on, and the train leaves as soon as the space for any one cargo type is full. If not, please post a demonstrating savegame and your ttdpatch.cfg.

[Patchman]

No, it was a bug. Csaba forgot to check whether the patch was set to realistic acceleration for that track type; it should've only done this calculation for realistic acceleration but did it always instead.

[Aya]

Do these trains carry multple types of cargo? If so, you probably have fullloadany on, and the train leaves as soon as the space for any one cargo type is full. If not, please post a demonstrating savegame and your ttdpatch.cfg.

No. I never use multiple cargo types on a single train. Too much hassle.

Csaba forgot to check whether the patch was set to realistic acceleration for that track type; it should've only done this calculation for realistic acceleration but did it always instead.

1. Note that I also have "electrifiedrailway" set to "on", thus the X2001 and Lev1 should both use the same track type. So why would it affect one and not the other?

2. I tried saving the game, closing TTD, and modifying the "curves" and "mountains" flags. They were previously both set to "3320", and I changed them to "0120". If I then restart the game and load the old save, will the new settings take effect in that game, or only for new games?

3. Does this imply that if I don't use the "3" option in either of "curves" or "mountains", the train will haul any amount of cargo?

[Patchman]

1. I can only guess... maybe one of them has a higher TE or power and thus can pull heavier trains. I haven't played with TTD's original vehicles in years, so I don't remember any of their stats.

2. These settings are immediate.

3. Yes (only "mountains" matters here), this bug notwithstanding. Without the realistic acceleration calculation, TTD uses a totally bogus constant-force model, i.e. trains can theoretically accelerate to any arbitrary speed, no matter their weight. Well, for maglevs like the Transrapid, constant force is probably quite realistic though (since it's a linear accelerator), at least until it hits the top speed. That's why I've always advocated setting it to "mountains 3323".