Player Idle Detection too Aggressive

[pschlik]

The new player idle detection in today's update sounds like a good idea to combat someone griefing/trolling by going AFK, but I've experienced multiple false positives with the system, where I am detected as being AFK even though I am sitting at my computer and (perhaps more importantly) I am not partaking in any griefing/trolling. Here's what I noticed:

• Coasting at 120 kph with a constant throttle setting caused the system to think I was an idle player. However, as I was obeying the speed limit and signal indications, I certainly was not causing trouble. Yes, I was not pressing buttons, but there's more to idle trolling than not pressing buttons for 60 seconds, and I do not think this situation should count as idling. (Also, it was very annoying that the idle detection acts like a vigilance system even though I have the vigilance system turned off. I can't write bug reports like this if the game demands me to press the driver safety device button every minute!)
• More egregiously, sitting still at a station while loading passengers and a red signal ahead also triggered idle detection. This one was very frustrating, as I am doing exactly what I'm supposed to by sitting still while passengers load! It's very unfair to annoy me with popup messages for doing something that is distinctly not trolling or griefing.

If the intent of this idle detection is to prevent people from leaving their computer, then blocking the line/derailing/passing red signals, some changes could be made to allow it to better prevent disruptive idling without becoming a babysitter who won't leave you alone for a minute. I think it could also be a great tool to prevent someone getting a game over because their train derailed while they were taking a bathroom break. There's no way to pause in multiplayer, so having the AI there to save you is the next best thing! Anyway, here's what I was thinking:

• Pause idle checking when the train is stopped and the next signal is red. Resume idle checking when the signal ahead changes. Idling at a red signal should not take control away from the player because you should be idling at a red light! Don't punish the player for doing what they should.
• Ignore idling when the train is at a scheduled stop and it's not departure time. Start counting down the idle timer only when departure time has passed (and the signal ahead is not red, of course). Just like stopping at a red light, making a scheduled stop is the sort of thing where idling is intended and is not disruptive, so there's no need to take control away from the player in this case.
• Don't check for idle players when the train is moving. If I'm going 110 kph in a 120 kph limit, I'm probably not being a disruptive player even if I haven't pressed a control in a minute.
  • Some Caveats to this:
    • Driving above the speed limit probably should check for idling. If someone manages to exceed the speed limit to the point where the speedometer turns red, then fails to interact with the game for 60 seconds, it seems justified to let the AI take over to avoid the train derailing. (Note: I am NOT suggesting that speeding should always force the AI to take over, only AFK speeding. If someone is speeding attentively, the consequences are on them.)
    • If the train is nearing a red light or scheduled stop and isn't slowing down, then idle checking should resume. Someone screaming at 120 kph towards a red light that's 1 km away without pressing any buttons for 60 seconds probably means they are AFK, and likely to cause trouble by running a red light. The AI should take over to prevent that. (Again, I am NOT saying the AI should take over every time a SPAD is anticipated, if someone SPADs on purpose, they deserve that game over screen.)
    • One can imagine someone trolling by remaining active, but by going just 5 kph. This system isn't really equipped to handle that and trying to solve that problem could be a slippery slope (Will you now punish the player for going 5 kph on a track with a 5 kph limit? What if the train is so underpowered 5 kph is all it can muster, will that be punished? That's for the devs to decide.)

Sorry, this got long winded. It's evidently not that simple of a problem to solve (at least, it's not as simple as saying "no key presses in 60 seconds? well you must be a troll")! Just wanted to get some ideas out there. To summarize what I think: there is no reason to make the AI take over for an idle player if the idle player is doing what they should be doing. Being stopped at a station just to have the AI take over...and remain stopped at the station is very frustrating and fails to serve the goal of preventing disruption due to an AFK player. Now, if the player is stopped but the AI wants to haul it up to 120 kph, then yeah, there's probably something wrong there!

[Stele]

It should be changed to react only if player is not moving for couple minutes while in range of signal showing v>0.

[Gazz292]

i haven't had SimRail tell me i'm idle since the update the other day (21st was it)  so it's 100 times better than it was,
this is from the train drivers perspective, i haven't really tried to outsmart it tho,  just noticed it's way better than it was originally.

Does it detect someone deliberately sat at a green signal not moving, or stopped on the line just hold everyone up?

 

Thank you for being such great devs and working your arses off fixing things for us, please ensure you get a break over xmas tho.