Discussion about in-game timetables

[TheFloxiCz]

Hi,

I would like to start a discussion about in-game timetables. I have played 100 hours on the playtest and also 15 hours on EA version, but the timetables are really boring and repetitive. 

To be sure what I mean with timetables: All trains are driving every 1 hour in the same time for the whole 24 hours. Well, as the player you will see this after some played hours, as a dispatcher you will notice this in maybe 2-3 hours of dispatching. For example: After while of playing, you know that you will met the train XYZ near the station ZYX, and it's always the same. Why there aren't any other passenger trains during rush hour with shorter route? Why there are only a few cargo trains, when both routes are full of cargo trains in real life? Why there are only a few cargo trains during the day? In real life, the last passenger trains drives about 23-24:00, but in these times there are for examle much higher number of the cargo trains.

I know that it's multiplayer and it's not possible to have only a few trains during night as in real life, but at least, these timetables could be more interesting and more variable with shorter routes, with more special trains, with more random cargo trains. 

To be honest, as a dispatcher I'm really bored, because even the biggest available station "Zawiercie" is really boring. There are a few trains in one hour. This station should be the busiest on the server and what's the reality? There are maybe 10-12 trains in both directions. Half of them drives in the similar time, then the station is dead for like another 10 minutes and it's still the same. Zawiercie isn't really 10/10 (the hardest), maybe around 4/10 (for now). Yes, this station is really hard to control and you need to have some knowledge, but after a few hours you find out, that this station is boring and every hour, it's still same. You know, that train XY will collide in timetable with train YX. You know that a few trains are driving in a row and then it's dead again.

Good example is new corridor between Warszawa and Jaktorów. There are 4 rails, 2 for low speed passenger trains, two for faster layer type (EC, IC, EIP, etc.). Warszawa should be the busiest place of the whole map. Instead of this, you think you driving in the town of ghosts. Big station with maybe 6-8 platforms has a few trains - 4x KM1, 4x EIP, 2x EC = 10 trains in one hour for the biggest station on the map (+ 2x TLK I think). This is a really big joke for me.

I really hope that timetables will be reworked until final release, otherwise we will got bored really soon with this repetetive character. It's still in EA so I know there are much important things to complete and timetables could be the last thing, what can be done. Right now, the game has more important issues to be solved, but don't forget that this game is highly oriented primary on multiplayer, not singleplayer and this could be the imporant thing for what will players return (at least I feel it like that).

 

Thank you for the reading until this end. I'm looking forward to your opinion about this topic.

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by TheFloxiCz

[Záhorácká]

Definitely need to make traffic more denser.

So far on corridor Gora Wlodowska its going like this

2 EIP, 2 MPE, 2 ECE and 1 Luz in 1 hour.. 

In Sosnowiec 

4 MPE, 2 ECE, 6 ROJ/RPJ and 1 luz and 1 cargo in 1 hour. 

So Sonowiec is kinda okey but on stations from Zawiercie to Opoczno Poludnie you will sit half the time with nothing to do.

 

It needs Ad hoc trains and definitely more cargos so you can use side tracks in Zawodie, Sosnowiec and Bedzin. But im sure they will change timetables. Or atleast i hope 

[hyzwar]

current state will evolve, that's for sure

interesting future concept-feature are custom freight timetables which means a player will have a possibility to generate its own run in the menu, then spawn in a siding and join the generic traffic pattern

now, it is true, this is very schematic

[FirstAid]

I don't know how realistic this timetable is, but I guess the repeating is due to the fact, that today many countries have a strict interval timetable. I can see it here in real life, only in the very early morning and late night, there are some trains that differ from the interval, all others during the day have the same arrival/departure minutes. So, this is truly repeating, but if thats the reality, I wouldn't like to get it changed. What would be much more on my mind, for the sake of reality, is a function @hyzwar mentioned. This would give us the possibility of facultative trains, additional ones that run beside of the regular trains, either driven by players or bots. This could be ordinary freight, auxiliary trains (don't know if the translation is correct, I mean thoose e.g. with a crane, that help at different (accidental) sites, e.g. to put carriages and locos back on the rails), working trains and a little amount of additional passenger trains, that sometimes run on holidays. Only a few additional trains per hour and even the stations at the high speed route would get much more busier. What's also missing for now, is empty coach stock. 

 

Off Topic:

Also what was mentioned yet by others, random events. There would be a MASS of possibilitys: Broken trains, signalling misfunctions, workers on the track (planned and ad hoc), closed tracks due to maintenance and errors (e.g. broken rails) Imagine, dispatching ALL the traffic via one last remaining track between Psary and Gora Wlodowska. This would lead very fast to chaotic conditions - like in real life. Dispatching trains SAFELY in theese circumstances, and strictly! obeying the rules (like in real life), would definitely make us all sweat. Let's wait and see what the devs will surprise us with.

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by FirstAid

[hyzwar]

random events and custom timetables are planned by dev team but no ETA yet

first in mp, then when polished, in sp

[TheFloxiCz]

6 hours ago, FirstAid said:

I don't know how realistic this timetable is, but I guess the repeating is due to the fact, that today many countries have a strict interval timetable. I can see it here in real life, only in the very early morning and late night, there are some trains that differ from the interval, all others during the day have the same arrival/departure minutes. So, this is truly repeating, but if thats the reality, I wouldn't like to get it changed.

I agree. In my country it's very similar. But the difference is that there are a lot of short routes. For example, take look on real timetable of line S1 (https://www.kolejeslaskie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/S1-od-11-XII-2022-do-11-III-2023-stan-na-16-XII.pdf) and linie S41 (https://www.kolejeslaskie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/S41-od-11-XII-2022-do-11-III-2023-stan-na-16-XII.pdf). There are a lot of short routes.

Anyway, I didn't said that every train should drive in different time, but the traffic should be more variable, so you don't see every one hour 24 times in a day same cargo train, which is driving every time with 30 minutes early.

I also tried to point out to the other traffic. Don't tell me that Katowice and Warszawa station has only these trains in real life. It has to be more busy. 

[uetam]

We will introduce more trains in CMK between Włoszczowa Północ and Strzałki very soon. Propably two freight and one pendolino trains every hour.

The entire timetable was made this way to easily debug problems with the virtual dispatcher, when they are fixed whole thing will be reworked.

 

[Záhorácká]

9 hours ago, hyzwar said:

current state will evolve, that's for sure

interesting future concept-feature are custom freight timetables which means a player will have a possibility to generate its own run in the menu, then spawn in a siding and join the generic traffic pattern

now, it is true, this is very schematic

That what Ad hoc train is. Exacty what is needed but i understand devs need to polish the game first and im thankful for their hard work by far :).

[FirstAid]

vor einer Stunde schrieb TheFloxiCz:

I agree. In my country it's very similar. But the difference is that there are a lot of short routes. For example, take look on real timetable of line S1 (https://www.kolejeslaskie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/S1-od-11-XII-2022-do-11-III-2023-stan-na-16-XII.pdf) and linie S41 (https://www.kolejeslaskie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/S41-od-11-XII-2022-do-11-III-2023-stan-na-16-XII.pdf). There are a lot of short routes.

Anyway, I didn't said that every train should drive in different time, but the traffic should be more variable, so you don't see every one hour 24 times in a day same cargo train, which is driving every time with 30 minutes early.

I also tried to point out to the other traffic. Don't tell me that Katowice and Warszawa station has only these trains in real life. It has to be more busy. 

Sorry, it seems although I read your comment my brain was not yet on operating temperature 😂 

Now I know what you mean. Total agree. Would be nice to see trains ending and changing direction in your station. Maybe in the future the Devs will create more different consists that will give us a greater  train variety. About the low traffic in Warszawa and Katwice: Sooner or later I assume, the big stations will have more traffic, but I guess a big part of this "missing" traffic might comes from/goes to routes that aren't simulated in the game at all and are not so important for the Devs, at least at the moment. Thanks @uetam for the explanation. 

Edited January 15, 2023 by FirstAid