Copying and pasting the PATH of AI trainz?

In TRS2004 I was always cautious about using AI trainz because of the performance hit. So I generally used just one standardized consist (eg locomotive + a dozen or so flat cars) running from one portal to another at, say, five minute intervals. It looked kinda boring seeing the same consist all the time, but at least it worked.

TRS2009 with SP1 shunts the AI trainz to the second core of a dual core PC, so the impact on frame rates of the AI trainz is almost insignificant. What I'd like to do now is be a bit more adventurous and run a variety of different AI trainz from each portal, eg a container train followed by a passenger train followed by a roadside freight followed by a boxcar train, ... .

Setting up the consist and driver is easy. However, setting up the path each times for each individual consists is a real bummer - for one portal the path consists of 25 "Navigate via" commands and entering them is a real pain in the butt.

Is there any way that I can just copy and paste the path from one consist to another?

Phil

Could you make a path rule or schedule and have your AI drive that?

Excellent idea!! I've always been irritated with this aspect of Trainz. With freight trains it's still not too bad.
Drive.. via trackmark A, trackmark B, portal A.

And then we have passenger trains running the length of the railroad.
Drive.. via trackmark A, to Station A, load station A, drive via trackmark B, wait for trigger A, to station B, load station B, wait X min, to station C, load station C........

Not accounted for are AI freights that need to load, run around, setout/pickup etc etc.
It's more boring than watching paint dry.


Captain Collins:
That's a very interesting suggestion. Care to elaborate?

Cheerio,
Nicholas.

I recommend the Schedule-library and the copy-command that comes with it. You "program" the rout once, name it and can copy the library to other drivers/consists. Works excellently.

You can find the set of rules here:

http://www.js-home.org/trainz/schedulelibrary/index.php

Hi Phil (and Nicholas, you were posting as I was typing),

I always used a few different consists in my sessions to vary what you were driving past and I never really noticed any drop in frame rates, but I did limit it to 5 though.

If I remember correctly, there was a command on the DLS "Copy Commands From" that let you do something like what you want, there was also a rule that let you create custom schedule libraries.

As I was typing, I went searched the DLS.

Search for "copy" on the DLS and you find the Copy Commands From (KUID2:192081:1:6).

Search for "schedule" and you will find the Schedule Library (KUID2:192081:12:4) along with a few others that may interest you.

Make sure that TRS2004 is ticked under the Trainz Versions.

Hope that is what you were looking for.

Hey Aussie --

Thank for advice.

For those interested, I downloaded "Copy Commands From" and "Schedule Library" from the Download Station into TRS2009.

In Surveyor, open "Edit Sessions Rules" (top left of screen, looks like #), select "Driver Command" from the menu, then Edit. Place a tick against "Copy Commands From". Close this menu.

Now click "Add", and add "Schedule Library". Select this and set up the path as as for a normal portal. Give it a name, eg Path1

I'm using Central Portal Control (because it will emit a consist immediately).

Open Central Portal Control. Add a consist and driver. Now for the path select Copy Command/Insert/from Library/Path1.

Repeat for other consists from this portal.

Easy !~!

The same procedure can be used for a portal (Surveyor, "?", click on portal) if Central Portal Control is not used.

Thanks again.

Phil

philskene said:

Hey Aussie --

Thank for advice.

For those interested, I downloaded "Copy Commands From" and "Schedule Library" from the Download Station into TRS2009.

In Surveyor, open "Edit Sessions Rules" (top left of screen, looks like #), select "Driver Command" from the menu, then Edit. Place a tick against "Copy Commands From". Close this menu.

Now click "Add", and add "Schedule Library". Select this and set up the path as as for a normal portal. Give it a name, eg Path1

I'm using Central Portal Control (because it will emit a consist immediately).

Open Central Portal Control. Add a consist and driver. Now for the path select Copy Command/Insert/from Library/Path1.

Repeat for other consists from this portal.

Easy !~!

The same procedure can be used for a portal (Surveyor, "?", click on portal) if Central Portal Control is not used.

Thanks again.

Phil

Click to expand...

Thanks Phil,

going to copy and paste the above here at home for future reference....

Ishie

Phil,

Thanks for the lesson on copy. I'll be using it a lot now.

Captain_Collins said:

Could you make a path rule or schedule and have your AI drive that?

Click to expand...

Looks like there are better choices than this available as others have mentioned.

Anyway, what I meant was set up a schedule in Surveyor and assign it to as many trains as necessary.

Thinking harder about this, it may be too hard to set up as you would need to assign times for arrival and departure of each location. Not easy.

A long time ago what the MSTS community used to do (for fictional routes) is to drive in both directions under normal circumstances and record down the time. Then when creating activities we give allowance for AI traffic and pickups/setouts. For prototypical 1:1 scale routes, most just follow prototypical timetables.

Cheerio,
Nicholas.