Tower!2011 - "MAP ERROR, no escape" - KPHL, rwy 26

[MeerCaT]

I am experiencing what I believe to be a 'premature' "MAP ERROR, no escape" system error on runway 26 of KPHL airport; even with small regional jets able to land on such a short runway.

 

As you can see in the screenshot the plane still has two exits (taxiways A3 and D) remaining ahead of it, yet for some reason the system reports the "no escape" error the very moment the plane passes runway exit (taxiway) A2.
Though it cannot be determined from the screenshot, I can confirm the plane had already decelerated to 'normal' taxi speed, or at least it was certainly very close to that speed.

But regardless of speed, it doesn't seem correct for the system to be declaring "no escape" (which I guess probably means: no remaining runway exits/'escapes') until the aircraft has indeed passed the final runway exit; in this case it would be taxiway D.

I am using the 'Real Traffic' add-on.

Steps to reproduce:
    Airport:                  KHPL
    Arrival Runways:  26, 27R
    Time:                     1200
    Arrivals:                 MAXIMUM
    Departures:           MINIMUM (zero)

    Procedure:            Accelerate time, or wait, until RPA3742 arrival at 12:06:30. Instruct to "Enter final runway 26" and "Cleared to land runway 26".

System info:
    Operating System: Win 7 Pro 64 bit, English
    RAM:                       8GB
    Video cards:           2 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 1GB
    OpenAL:                 Installed (version: 1.1 ALSOFT 1.14)
    Speech:                  [Working fine]


Here's an extract from the log file at the moment of error:

    RPA3742 - STATE: Land
    RPA3742 - STATE: escape runway
    12:12:11  5214,216,0[26] -  SYSTEM: RPA3742 Successful landing. +10 pts
    12:12:11  5214,216,0[26] -  SYSTEM: MAP ERROR, no escape RPA3742:  -100 pts
    RPA3742 - STATE: Waiting

 

 

Here are some other erroneous looking entries found in the log (full log file attached):
MANY instances of these (for various airports):

    Unknow airport: ABE(IATA)   ICAO not found!


This is clearly specific to KPHL:

    RUNWAY CROSS ERROR:
    27L - 9R
    RUNWAY CROSS ERROR:
    9R - 27L
    RUNWAY CROSS ERROR:
    35 - 17
    RUNWAY CROSS ERROR:
    17 - 35
    RUNWAY CROSS ERROR:
    26 - 8
    RUNWAY CROSS ERROR:
    8 - 26
 

 

MANY instance of these - it seems to be for every approaching aircraft:

    Internal map error, no runway for approach line!
 

 

Ideas and suggestions always appreciated.

Thanks!

 

tower.zip

[MeerCaT]

I've just experienced this again, this time with an aircraft of type DH8C (flight POE4206), which had slowed to taxi speed by runway exit A. (See screenshot).

This is incredibly premature for the 'no escape' error!

 

 

(Note: by default no assignment exists for airline POE {Porter Air} in the KPHL terminals file, so I added it manually assigning it to terminal D)

 

Is it possible for this error to occur when no gates are available in the assigned terminal?

Below shows the state of terminal D at the time of the error:

 

 

The 'red' empty gate marked with a cross, although empty, was in fact already assigned to another aircraft that was taxiing to terminal (just visible at the bottom of the image).

The 'blue' empty gates I think are maybe terminal E.

The 'green' empty gate could be part of terminal D, but I'm not certain.

 

So terminal D looks pretty full. Could this be a reason for the error?

 

Thanks.

[mc16v]

I dont think the game will send an a/c if there is no terminal gate available or about to become available so doubt that is the reason.

 

Just have a look in the editor for the airport and make sue the taxiway's are actually conected to the centre line of the runway with the black dots, unlikley unless you have previously edited and maybe moved something by mistake, but this would cause the error your getting.

 

If you have without realising shifted the entire runway a little from its original position it would cause all the errors your getting i think,

 

Does it happen on all runways?

 

Gareth

[MeerCaT]

Thanks for your suggestions. Before just now, I'd never opened that airfield file in the editor so I was sure I hadn't been in there and broken something already.

I have some confidence that this pay-for addon wouldn't have been been shipped with a bug so glaring as that :)

 

I've taken a look at it in the editor and sure enough I can see the little black 'connector' markers on all taxiways 'touching' that runway.

 

No I've never had any such problem with any other runway on this, or any other, airfield; well, not without it being deserved :)

 

I can rule out the 'no space in terminal' as having any likely relationship with the error. I've actually had the pleasure, for the first time, in landing a plane destined for a full terminal and this is the response after issuing a "taxi to terminal" command: "Negative, A departing airplane is blocking the gate, handle that plane first!"

I can also see the log contains very many entries of "<flight> - ***** no free terminal", which seems to confirm what you said about aircraft not being 'spawned' if their destination terminal is full.

 

After experimenting further it seems probable that a validation check is triggered at the moment a landing plane decelerates and reaches normal taxi speed, to determine whether the plane is still on a valid runway at that time and taxiways are reachable. If not a MAP ERROR is produced.

 

I have tried the following modifications using the editor:

• delete and re-create airway "26_inbound"
• then also, delete and re-create runway "26"
• then also, delete runway "8"
• then also, add a taxiway near the end of runway 26, leading south (i.e. left-hand turn off for the landing aircraft), connecting to taxiway D

...it works!

The plane successfully 'escapes' the runway on the new exit/taxiway.

 

Reverting back to the original (out-of-the-box) version I simply add the new 'southern' taxiway and all is well.

 

Remove this new taxiway and add another new taxiway leading north (i.e. right-hand turn off for the landing aircraft), connecting to taxiway A.

..."MAP ERROR, no escape" again.

 

There seems to be a problem with exiting onto taxiway A.

I deleted and re-created taxiway A, keeping my custom (northern) taxiway in place, and the problem still persists. So it's probably not taxiway A itself.

 

I have no more time to investigate tonight but there is something fishy happening on the northen side of runway 26.

 

I'd love to hear from anyone else who has this airport.

 

Thanks for 'listening'.

[MeerCaT]

Still investigating...

 

After deleting and re-creating taxiway D with no effect, I tried 'disconnecting' it from the end of runway 26. Still no difference.

It is from that state that I made the following screenshots of my further experiments:

 

Adding a 'southern' exit as shown below works fine (we can also see flight AWI3402 successfully exiting on the new taxiway).

  

 

But trying a 'northern' exit doesn't seem to work. All exits connecting to the northen side are simply ignored.

I even tried a 'double-sided' taxiway (one side exiting to the north, one side to the south) - which is successful only because the aircraft always, and probably only, 'sees' the southern route.

   

 

Testing the boundary of 'north and south' (left and right of runway centre line).

Here we have 'slightly south/left' (successful exit), 'pretty much straight' (successful exit) and 'slightly north/right' ('no escape' error):

 

       

 

 

I feel I've probably reached the limit of the level of investigation I can perform as an end-user.

The developers, with their ability to debug through the application as it runs and view internal system state at any given point in time, are better positioned to discover what is happening in this situation.

 

Though worryingly, I doubt I am the only person ever to have tried landing an aircraft (of suitable size) on runway 26 of KPHL, but since noone else has ever reported such problems maybe I am the only person experiencing the problem?

 

(Incidentally, I see the same behaviour for runway 8 too)

 

[mc16v]

I dont play PHL although I do have it downloaded, as I dont play it is it still in its original supplied state (I havent tweeked anything) so I was able to try and replicate assuming it was the same as your copy, which it should be.

 

I just landed an E170 on 26 and it vacated second to last right exit of runway 26 as you'd expect.

 

I'm unabel to open any of your attachements but if I could get a screen shot of the runway in the editor and compare it to mine maybe able to see something.

 

Gareth

[MeerCaT]

Thanks very much for trying that out for me, much appreciated.

It's useful to know that I probably am the only one with this issue :)

 

So, looks like I may be on an unavoidable course towards the re-install option.

It's been several years since I installed it so I can't remember what, if anything, I had to 'massage' in order to get it all working. (MS Speech seems to be a little problematic for some)

I'm sure it'll be fine!...

 

Thanks again.

[MeerCaT]

I've just performed a complete clean re-install of Tower! 2011, after uninstalling the previous installation, and I am still experiencing the same problem. (And this is with KPHL as the only additional airport currently installed)

 

I've not experienced this problem with any other runways or any other airports.

Philadelphia is dead to me now :)

[mc16v]

Sorry I could't help further, if its just happening on the one runway then the airport should still be playable using the others.