A tool to do visitor missions efficiently

[schlowi123]

I want to make all the commanders that are like me, almost never looking into the Player Tools subforum, aware of a tool.

If you have a bunch of tourist / trading missions it figures the most efficient route out under the restrictions that the travelers want to see the locations in a given order.

Here is the original thread.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

I have a tool for that, we all do, it's called The Galaxy Map.
When combined with the Route Plotter and (un)Common Sense, it works wonders.

 

[schlowi123]

Very good. Then please solve the following task.

Here are the mission destinations for 4 travelers:

• NGC 6188 Sector LC-V c2-28 / UBV 6193 / CM Draconis / NLTT 15714
• Colonia / Omicron-2 Eridani / NLTT 15714 / Charick Drift
• LAWD 15 / NLTT 15714 / Geras
• LHS 151 / LAWD 27 / BD+41 4004/ Sadr Region Sector GW-W c1-22

What is the shortest route under the restriction that tourists need to see the destinations in the given order?
Ah yes, you have 5 minutes to figure it out. If you manage, I'll add a fifth visitor. If you manage that, too, I'll add a sixth … and so on.

Given some comments (in general) I wonder sometimes how we ever made it to the moon … Nah! how humanity ever made it down from the trees … Nah! Up into the trees in the first place.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Very good. Then please solve the following task.

Here are the mission destinations for 4 travelers:

• NGC 6188 Sector LC-V c2-28 / UBV 6193 / CM Draconis / NLTT 15714
• CM Draconis / Omicron-2 Eridani / NLTT 15714 / Charick Drift
• LAWD 15 / NLTT 15714 / Geras
• LHS 151 / LAWD 27 / BD+41 4004/ Sadr Region Sector GW-W c1-22

What is the shortest route under the restriction that tourists need to see the destinations in the given order?
Ah yes, you have 5 minutes to figure it out. If you manage, I'll add a fifth visitor. If you manage that, too, I'll add a sixth … and so on.

Given some comments (in general) I wonder sometimes how we ever made it to the moon … Nah! how humanity ever made it down from the trees … Nah! Up into the trees in the first place.

What is the order in which they require to see these sites? If it is the order in which they're given, I'll need the distances between said sites.
Assuming it is less than 20k Ly from site to site, then...

From the Galaxy Map, enable 20k Ly plotting with White Dwarf/Neutron Boosting, and select the first destination. The Route Plotter will do the rest.
If these are less than 2k Ly apart, the process is still the same, but you can add a comparative check with Economical Route Plotting as well.

Rinse and repeat.

As for how we got to the moon.... there are people out there who say we didn't.
There are people out there who still say the world is flat.
There's at least one person here who says both these groups are idiots.

 

[Painter602]

Sounds like a variant on the travelling salesman problem - and yes, a tool for three or more passengers would be useful ... but I'm never able take more than two at a time (passenger spaces become contentious).

 

[schlowi123]

Well, the five minutes are over rolleyes

What is the order in which they require to see these sites?

As given … but I admit, that I probably should have said that.

If it is the order in which they're given, I'll need the distances between said sites.

You don't say. That was an implicit part of task. Or don't you get that from the galaxy map?

Assuming it is less than 20k Ly from site to site, then...

I've changed one of the destinations to be Colonia, i just remembered that some researchers want to travel really long distances. But that doesn't really matter, the task is the same, just that one of the locations is further away now.

From the Galaxy Map, enable 20k Ly plotting with White Dwarf/Neutron Boosting, and select the first destination. The Route Plotter will do the rest.
If these are less than 2k Ly apart, the process is still the same, but you can add a comparative check with Economical Route Plotting as well.

Did you see that three tourists want to visit "NLTT 15714"? But the first tourist wants to see it last, for the second tourist it is the third destination and the for the third tourist it is the second destination. In which order do you visit the locations so that you don't need to go there thrice and without zigzag-ing all over the galaxy (because that would not be the shortest route than, wouldn't it).

Ah yes, let's assume that the point of origin is Sol. But that doesn't matter and I (maybe wrongly) assumed that you had done tourists missions and thus knew that most of them start at one location and want to get back to that same direction.

Any further questions? If not, you have another five minutes to solve that task.

Sounds like a variant on the travelling salesman problem - and yes, a tool for three or more passengers would be useful ... but I'm never able take more than two at a time (passenger spaces become contentious).

Indeed it is and it is an interesting variation of said problem. And what kind of ship are you flying that you can't have more than two passengers?

 

[schlowi123]

@IndigoWyrd: If you want to check your solution, the shortest route within all tourist mission requirements has a length of 48129.52 ly.

And btw. this "rinse and repeat" … that is exactly what computers where build for, weren't they?

 

[schlowi123]

Or wait a moment. I forgot to mention that you are doing these missions all at the same time … lol … I didn't even think about that somebody may carry just one tourist …
But well, yes, for this sub-problem, one indeed doesn't need a program to solve it … lol

 

[Snowymonk]

...As for how we got to the moon.... there are people out there who say we didn't.
....

interesting aside...

I was recently listening to a BBC podcast on the apollo 11 landings.

We didn't actually land on the moon. We sort of hit it as it was passing.

The engineers on Earth plotted a route (angle, thrust, duration of burn) to get the apollo rocket into a location in space where the gravity of the moon should convert its forward momentum into an orbit.
The same engineers then plotted a second route for the Eagle from Moon orbit down to where the moon surface should be.
At the end of the second leg, the cockpit window was facing up, away from the moon so the Eagle was rotated to allow the astronauts to see the moon surface
Up to that point, the only flying that the astronauts had done was to enter a programme code and press enter.

After this last rotation Neil Armstrong took control.

Due to an error in the calculation, (or a small amount of air in the air lock producing a small uncalculated thrust when the Eagle had undocked from Apollo, the Eagle wasn't where it was meant to be.

Neil Armstrong had to manually 'fly' the rocket a lot further than planned.
At the end of the flight, the boffins on earth calculated that the Eagle had just 25 seconds of fuel left at the point at which the first landing strut drag sensors picked up contact with the moon surface. At that point, the thrusters were cut and the Eagle fell the final 170 cm (67 Inch) to the moon.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Well, the five minutes are over rolleyes

Did you see that three tourists want to visit "NLTT 15714"? But the first tourist wants to see it last, for the second tourist it is the third destination and the for the third tourist it is the second destination. In which order do you visit the locations so that you don't need to go there thrice and without zigzag-ing all over the galaxy (because that would not be the shortest route than, wouldn't it).

Ah yes, let's assume that the point of origin is Sol. But that doesn't matter and I (maybe wrongly) assumed that you had done tourists missions and thus knew that most of them start at one location and want to get back to that same direction.

So... one does not own 10 Saud Kruger ships and not haul talking cargo around the galaxy...

Granted it has been close to a year since I've seen a mission board - been out on the rim of the galaxy, actually still am out on the rim of the galaxy, and probably will be until around the time Fleet Carriers are released, then I'll have a reason to come back in... but that aside...

Passengers didn't usually care about the order in which they see their sights, so long as they saw them, so backtracking never mattered.

That also was not specified in the original posting:

Very good. Then please solve the following task.

Here are the mission destinations for 4 travelers:

• NGC 6188 Sector LC-V c2-28 / UBV 6193 / CM Draconis / NLTT 15714
• Colonia / Omicron-2 Eridani / NLTT 15714 / Charick Drift
• LAWD 15 / NLTT 15714 / Geras
• LHS 151 / LAWD 27 / BD+41 4004/ Sadr Region Sector GW-W c1-22

What is the shortest route under the restriction that tourists need to see the destinations in the given order?
Ah yes, you have 5 minutes to figure it out. If you manage, I'll add a fifth visitor. If you manage that, too, I'll add a sixth … and so on.

Given some comments (in general) I wonder sometimes how we ever made it to the moon … Nah! how humanity ever made it down from the trees … Nah! Up into the trees in the first place.

Quoted to prevent retroactive edits.

Not being in front of the game, and assuming a start point of Sol...

Sol -> LHS 151 -> LAWD 15 -> LAWD 27 -> Omicron-2 Eridani -> Geras -> NLTT 15714 -> Charick Drift -> CM Draconis -> UBV 6193 -> Sadr Region Sector GW-W c1-22 -> BD+41 4004 -> NGC 6188 Sector LC-V c2-28 -> Colonia -> Sol

However, being the practical sort I am, I would follow this route:

Sol -> Colonia -> NGC 6188 Sector LC-V c2-28 -> BD+41 4004 -> Sadr Region Sector GW-W c1-22 -> UBV 6193 -> CM Draconis -> Charick Drift -> NLTT 15714 -> Geras -> Omicron-2 Eridani -> LAWD 27 -> LAWD 15 -> LHS 151 -> Sol

Should be the most expedient route, and by knocking out the longest part of the trek first, and following the path backwards, you will make good time through your remaining points once you complete the most distant part of the trip.

Feel free to check my numbers, and don't impose time-limits and act snide - I'm doing this at work, on my break, in my head.

 

[Factabulous]

f you want to check your solution, the shortest route within all tourist mission requirements has a length of 48129.52 ly.

I would say if you're travelling 48k to complete 4 missions you're not being efficient. Though I guess your program already told you that

 

[IndigoWyrd]

I would say if you're travelling 48k to complete 4 missions you're not being efficient. Though I guess your program already told you that

That made me chuckle.

 

[schlowi123]

I just checked (because I could have been wrong) and yes, tourist destinations need to be visited in the order given by the tourist. Otherwise they won't register.

Also …

[…] don't impose time-limits […]

… is exactly why I did this. Finding an order that doesn't require visiting a destination several times is not too difficult. But after I have done this a couple of times it get's boring. Because it is always the same. Finding the order that requires the least unnecessary jumping is another issue. For that the coordinates of the systems need to be looked up, the distances need to be calculated and for ALL possible combinations it needs to be checked how long the route is. Thus, I've automatized these processes and thought it might be useful for other pilots, too.

Also, under the given restrictions (destinations need to be visited in the correct order) it can happen that it actually is better to visit a destination twice … but again, for that the length of all possible routes need to be known.

And regarding being snide … well, i guess i interpreted your first post in a way that you've started that.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

I just checked (because I could have been wrong) and yes, tourist destinations need to be visited in the order given by the tourist. Otherwise they won't register.

Also …

… is exactly why I did this. Finding an order that doesn't require visiting a destination several times is not too difficult. But after I have done this a couple of times it get's boring. Because it is always the same. Finding the order that requires the least unnecessary jumping is another issue. For that the coordinates of the systems need to be looked up, the distances need to be calculated and for ALL possible combinations it needs to be checked how long the route is. Thus, I've automatized these processes and thought it might be useful for other pilots, too.

Also, under the given restrictions (destinations need to be visited in the correct order) it can happen that it actually is better to visit a destination twice … but again, for that the length of all possible routes need to be known.

And regarding being snide … well, i guess i interpreted your first post in a way that you've started that.

Te written word does a poor job of conveying tone at times - so I will apologize if it were read that way. Thank you for verifying that passenger now care about the order in which they see their sights. This will affect me when I return from the rim of the galaxy next time I want to play tour guide.

I think what is most needed is a majorly overhauled Route Plotter in Elite, rather than more external tools though. I know I have found myself wanting in that department more than a few times - between routes that completely fail to plot, or trying to determine the best route to take, or, as of late, simply being able to plot a multi-legged trip around the perimeter of the galaxy.

 

[schlowi123]

Dito