A coaster with a loading and unloading station?

maramsp

M
Hello!

Just bought planet coaster today, and its awesome!

I just started with a flying coaster in the entrance area of my park.
But would it be possible to add a second station for unloading my guests while the first station only load my guests?

Thanks in advance for helping me :)

ps. I love the priority pass :)
 

Vampiro

Volunteer Moderator
Vampiro
Hello maramsp,

Unfortunatly this is not possible at this time. Who knows it might be added it in the future.
 

PlanetChris

P
I'm sure that they will add the possibility to have more than one station, but why should there be a loading and an unloading station?
Isn't that pretty unusual for rides/coasters?[weird]
 

Joël

Volunteer Moderator
Joël
PlanetChris said:
I'm sure that they will add the possibility to have more than one station, but why should there be a loading and an unloading station?
Isn't that pretty unusual for rides/coasters?[weird]
Click to expand...

It's not unusual. There are real life coasters which use separate stations, mainly for faster boarding/unboarding, which in turn increases the capacity of the coaster / track ride.

This has already been suggested in the Suggestions / Ideas forum, so maybe it will be added if Frontier can find a way to make it work in the game.
 

PlanetChris

P
Joël said:
It's not unusual. There are real life coasters which use separate stations, mainly for faster boarding/unboarding, which in turn increases the capacity of the coaster / track ride.

This has already been suggested in the Suggestions / Ideas forum, so maybe it will be added if Frontier can find a way to make it work in the game.
Click to expand...
Oh, I haven't seen a coaster with it, yet. - I've just seen it on (I guess) two rides, but never on a coaster. :)
But I do like the idea in general, because it would decrease the loading time.[up]
 

Bullethead

Bullethead
Joël said:
It's not unusual. There are real life coasters which use separate stations, mainly for faster boarding/unboarding, which in turn increases the capacity of the coaster / track ride.
Click to expand...

Actually, this is a misconception. Having separate stations actually increases the length of the loading cycle, as follows:
* time required for previous customers to get off: same whether you have 1 or 2 stations.
* time required to move train from unloading to loading station: additional and unique to having separate stations.
* time required for new customers to board the train: same whether you have 1 or 2 stations.

The true reasons for having separate loading and unloading stations have to do with things like overall ride aesthetics, safety, story/theme, and/or the constraints of the available space.

That said, I agree that many real rides have separate loading/unloading stations, and the actual reasons for having them are just as valid in PC as in reality. So it would be nice to have that option in PC. However, players would have to understand that having separate stations would actually hurt the ride's bottom line. Operating costs and breakdowns would increase while throughput would be lower.
 

LN

LN
PlanetChris said:
Oh, I haven't seen a coaster with it, yet. - I've just seen it on (I guess) two rides, but never on a coaster. :)
But I do like the idea in general, because it would decrease the loading time.[up]
Click to expand...

Yeah, not much coasters who use this technique. Probably because it will only benefit really big parks (Disney, Rock 'n Rollercoaster) or popular coasters (Blue Fire, Europa Park).

Those are the only 2 coasters I know of that use separate Loading and unloading stations. But these coasters can run 4 trains so then it probably has some effect.

When running with 2 trains it's probably more cost expensive (you need personnel on each platform)
So if it is possible in Planet Coaster it should mean a doubling of running costs at least.
 

Joël

Volunteer Moderator
Joël
Bullethead said:
Actually, this is a misconception. Having separate stations actually increases the length of the loading cycle, as follows:
* time required for previous customers to get off: same whether you have 1 or 2 stations.
* time required to move train from unloading to loading station: additional and unique to having separate stations.
* time required for new customers to board the train: same whether you have 1 or 2 stations.

The true reasons for having separate loading and unloading stations have to do with things like overall ride aesthetics, safety, story/theme, and/or the constraints of the available space.

That said, I agree that many real rides have separate loading/unloading stations, and the actual reasons for having them are just as valid in PC as in reality. So it would be nice to have that option in PC. However, players would have to understand that having separate stations would actually hurt the ride's bottom line. Operating costs and breakdowns would increase while throughput would be lower.
Click to expand...

You are right. Somehow I was only thinking about a solution where there would be empty trains between the unloading station and the loading station, as a kind of buffer, but considering this, the buffer would run out or remain constant at best, which doesn't decrease the time of the loading/unloading process.

An alternative that I also thought of is a station that has dual areas for loading/unloading, so basically 2 tracks in the same station that can operate individually, letting guests load/unload simultaneously on both tracks. Trains would then leave the station on a single track. Example: De Vliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman) at Efteling (a water coaster).
 

LN

LN
Joël said:
You are right. Somehow I was only thinking about a solution where there would be empty trains between the unloading station and the loading station, as a kind of buffer, but considering this, the buffer would run out or remain constant at best, which doesn't decrease the time of the loading/unloading process.

An alternative that I also thought of is a station that has dual areas for loading/unloading, so basically 2 tracks in the same station that can operate individually, letting guests load/unload simultaneously on both tracks. Trains would then leave the station on a single track. Example: De Vliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman) at Efteling (a water coaster).
Click to expand...

Yes, that's the same thing I thought of. The Superman flying coasters uses this to. And some single train shuttle coasters (Mr. Freeze, Pulsar) use a turntable to switch trains so there is always a full train on track and ready in the station.

This is likely to increase throughput more than the other one.
 

breezerHOG1

breezerHOG1
I just wish guests could exit at the back of a station while simultaeniously loading another car in the front, like in RCT
 

Bullethead

Bullethead
Joël said:
An alternative that I also thought of is a station that has dual areas for loading/unloading, so basically 2 tracks in the same station that can operate individually, letting guests load/unload simultaneously on both tracks. Trains would then leave the station on a single track. Example: De Vliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman) at Efteling (a water coaster).
Click to expand...

If the ride requires block brakes to run multiple trains/cars, this has no effect on throughput, either. It might help for block-less things like log flumes but that's about it.

See, throughput is measured in terms of full seats leaving the station per minute. For a given train layout, this can only be increased to the point at which the next train pulls into the station immediately after the previous train leaves, with no pausing anywhere along the track except in the station itself. This might happen with 2, 3, or even 4 trains, but once you have the track laid out to run on this sort of schedule, throughput is as high as it can ever be. Adding more trains simply makes them wait, killing excitement, while increasing running costs.

So, with rides requiring block sections, a train can't leave the station until the train ahead clears the next block section. That's a function of track layout, no matter how many trains you have loading at once.
 

LN

LN
PlanetChris said:
Nope.[squeeeeee]
Click to expand...

No need for an argument, but when I was there (4 years ago), they where running 4 trains. 2 trains would be in the station. The one in front loading, the one in the back unloading. 1 train would be on its way to the launch pad en the 4th one would about then cross the mid course brakes.
They can fit 2 trains in the station (which indeed is 1 very long station).

I understand that on less busy days this is not necessary.
 

Joël

Volunteer Moderator
Joël
Bullethead said:
If the ride requires block brakes to run multiple trains/cars, this has no effect on throughput, either. It might help for block-less things like log flumes but that's about it.

See, throughput is measured in terms of full seats leaving the station per minute. For a given train layout, this can only be increased to the point at which the next train pulls into the station immediately after the previous train leaves, with no pausing anywhere along the track except in the station itself. This might happen with 2, 3, or even 4 trains, but once you have the track laid out to run on this sort of schedule, throughput is as high as it can ever be. Adding more trains simply makes them wait, killing excitement, while increasing running costs.

So, with rides requiring block sections, a train can't leave the station until the train ahead clears the next block section. That's a function of track layout, no matter how many trains you have loading at once.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the insight. I have learned something new. [up] [happy]

I have come to the conclusion that my example of De Vliegende Hollander is incorrect; while cars in the station seem to be floating in the water (there is water in the station), the cars are actually on a track below the water surface. I'm not sure if they use block brakes, but based on your info they probably do.
 

LN

LN
Joël said:
Thank you for the insight. I have learned something new. [up] [happy]

I have come to the conclusion that my example of De Vliegende Hollander is incorrect; while cars in the station seem to be floating in the water (there is water in the station), the cars are actually on a track below the water surface. I'm not sure if they use block brakes, but based on your info they probably do.
Click to expand...

Besides that, they move so very slow from the station to the first ascend that maybe "block brakes" are not the case here. I think they just use sensors every few meters to keep track of their positions while they are underwater propelled by tires.

I think the block brakes are only in the coaster part of the ride.
 

PlanetChris

P
Luuknoord said:
No need for an argument, but when I was there (4 years ago), they where running 4 trains. 2 trains would be in the station. The one in front loading, the one in the back unloading. 1 train would be on its way to the launch pad en the 4th one would about then cross the mid course brakes.
They can fit 2 trains in the station (which indeed is 1 very long station).

I understand that on less busy days this is not necessary.
Click to expand...
Yep, that could be the reason why I haven't seen it so far. :)

Normally they just use three trains (loading, launchpad, track - btw. they have 5 trains)

But it seems like they don't use 4 trains that often, because I've been there a lot of times with less and a lot of people and they everytime used three trains. :)
But anyway, it seems like you're right, that they can use it like this. :)


Luuknoord said:
Besides that, they move so very slow from the station to the first ascend that maybe "block brakes" are not the case here. I think they just use sensors every few meters to keep track of their positions while they are underwater propelled by tires.

I think the block brakes are only in the coaster part of the ride.
Click to expand...
That sounds pretty good to me, because I'm not sure, if blockbrakes work good enough underwater. :)
 

maramsp

M
Luuknoord said:
No need for an argument, but when I was there (4 years ago), they where running 4 trains. 2 trains would be in the station. The one in front loading, the one in the back unloading. 1 train would be on its way to the launch pad en the 4th one would about then cross the mid course brakes.
They can fit 2 trains in the station (which indeed is 1 very long station).

I understand that on less busy days this is not necessary.
Click to expand...

This was also the case for me :) The train in the back was unloading :)

But as for now, lets hope this function would come to PC :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom