Custom schedule - only one departure works, no other planes appear

[james143611]

Hello all,

Attached is a ZIP of my custom EGLL 2021 schedule. It's my first ever one so it's no surprise it's broken 🤣 with not many guides or tutorials, I've tried to just base it on the format the original schedule is laid out. I've also customised the terminals file for a true-to-life operation, and a couple of changes to the ICAO codes on the airports.txt

The GA schedule has just one Bizjet (BZE003) departure, and that's so that there is one departure before the first arrivals, as I understand this is necessary. 

 Thing is, I get the BZE003 departure at 04:50. There then should be an arrival at 05:00, that's a no show, so is ALL the arrivals are not showing up! The first departure, a PGA E190 at 06:10 doesn't show up either. I've taken it up to 06:30 but having not seen a single plane at all, bar the Bizjet, I figured something isn't right.

Can someone have a look at the schedule and maybe the terminal file in case I've broken that please?

Any help is most appreciated!

 

James.

EGLL_2021.zip

[EliGrim]

I'm pretty sure that the flights from gaandlocaltraffic don't count as part of the actual "schedule".
See what happens if you add the Bizjet flight directly to the schedule...

Terminal file:
Terminal_GA: GA,BZE

Airlines file:
BZE, B1, ZEN STAR, Bizjet, United Kingdom

Schedule file:
LHR,LPL,LJ6,B1, 003,04:50,12:00,1,B1

Then delete the line from the gaandlocaltraffic file or comment it out with // to avoid having two flights with the same callsign:
//EGLL, EGPP, 04:50, LJ6, BZE003, 0, 0, 0, BZE003, ZEN STAR ZERO ZERO THREE

[james143611]

2 hours ago, EliGrim said:

I'm pretty sure that the flights from gaandlocaltraffic don't count as part of the actual "schedule".
See what happens if you add the Bizjet flight directly to the schedule...

Terminal file:
Terminal_GA: GA,BZE

Airlines file:
BZE, B1, ZEN STAR, Bizjet, United Kingdom

Schedule file:
LHR,LPL,LJ6,B1, 003,04:50,12:00,1,B1

Then delete the line from the gaandlocaltraffic file or comment it out with // to avoid having two flights with the same callsign:
//EGLL, EGPP, 04:50, LJ6, BZE003, 0, 0, 0, BZE003, ZEN STAR ZERO ZERO THREE

Thank you,

I tried that, and changed the line so it is 

LHR,LPL,LJ6,B1, 003,12:00,04:50,1,B1

so it reads is as a departure time. I loaded the sim up at 0500 for it to start at 0450 (Which it did before) and now it loads me in at 03:44am and UAE001 is on approach for 27L, running the best part of 8 hours early!! Something certainly isn't right...I have the Zen Start in to start a departure at 04:50 and then it's arrivals until 06:00.

I was wondering if I have it laid out right, I have arrivals from the end of the day working backwards to the first arrival, and then the first departure working forward to the last one. I basically copied the original supplied format as that one works, so it must be some sort of typo or something I've missed somewhere?

[crbascott]

@james143611I do not have LHR so I cannot test your schedule and accompanying files. However, if you could you post your log file (...\Tower!3D Pro\tower3d_Data\output_log.txt) after a session it might tell us what the issue is. Also, I'd suggest going back to your original files - schedule, GA, terminal, etc. before starting your session.

My initial suspicion is you are running into the oft-mentioned and discussed gate availability issue. Especially, since you have excluded several terminal entries that were included in the RT terminal file. However, this alone could be your issue. I tested excluding a terminal entry at KSFO and it caused the loading to freeze at 63%. Maybe at EGLL it doesn't freeze but it causes havoc with the schedule. Again, a log file will more than likely point to the issue.

4 hours ago, EliGrim said:

I'm pretty sure that the flights from gaandlocaltraffic don't count as part of the actual "schedule".
See what happens if you add the Bizjet flight directly to the schedule...

I don't understand what you are getting at here. With this logic, why would you ever use/have a GA file?

Additionally, the GA flight is the one flight that showed up as expected. Why focus on it?  

 

[EliGrim]

9 minutes ago, crbascott said:

I don't understand what you are getting at here. With this logic, why would you ever use/have a GA file?

Additionally, the GA flight is the one flight that showed up as expected. Why focus on it?

You need the ga file for ga flights. Flights of local airlines do not necessarily have to be in this file.

Just because the ga flight was the only one that appeared correctly, I suggested to include this flight (could have been any other flight) in the schedule. I wanted to make sure that the game starts with a departure from the schedule file.
If I have a 05:00 departure in the ga file and a handful of arrivals (from 05:01) then the game loads at a time with no flights (it then shows flights that are not in the schedule) and with a graphics error that sooner or later causes the game to crash.
From this I conclude that the game wants to start with a departure from the schedule file and ga flights are integrated additionally somehow.

Since I do not own EGLL I could not test the schedule myself and therefore did not compare the terminal files. It is quite possible that this is the problem. A log file is certainly helpful.
To be honest, I don't believe in cluttered terminals. To rule this out with certainty, @james143611 could put only the flights from 04:50 to 06:59 into a schedule and see what happens.

[hexzed]

You have errors on lines 104 and 239. There is a colon instead of a comma.

This is likely causing issues loading the schedule 🙂

[crbascott]

4 hours ago, EliGrim said:

You need the ga file for ga flights. Flights of local airlines do not necessarily have to be in this file.

I know - I've created a schedule or two and my time. Local airlines don't need to be in the GA file, but that's where they belong - especially if they don't have an IATA code. 

4 hours ago, EliGrim said:

Just because the ga flight was the only one that appeared correctly, I suggested to include this flight (could have been any other flight) in the schedule. I wanted to make sure that the game starts with a departure from the schedule file.
If I have a 05:00 departure in the ga file and a handful of arrivals (from 05:01) then the game loads at a time with no flights (it then shows flights that are not in the schedule) and with a graphics error that sooner or later causes the game to crash.
From this I conclude that the game wants to start with a departure from the schedule file and ga flights are integrated additionally somehow.

If you are concluding all this based on @james143611's results, I think his issues are ultimately related to the format issues @hexzed pointed out. 

Bottom line - the game just needs a departure, it doesn't matter if it is in the schedule file or GA file. I confirmed this with a test that had a GA file with one departure at 09:52 and a schedule file with just four flights - all arrivals (10:21, 10:26, 10:48, 10:53). With a 10:00 session start, all flights appeared as scheduled with no issues (and I didn't even get any penalty points).   

[EliGrim]

7 hours ago, crbascott said:

I've created a schedule or two and my time.

I'm aware of that and I know how well you know the game.

7 hours ago, crbascott said:

I think his issues are ultimately related to the format issues @hexzed pointed out.

This is absolutely possible, maybe even a combination of this and the terminal file.

7 hours ago, crbascott said:

[..] concluding all this based on @james143611's results...
[..] the game just needs a departure, it doesn't matter if it is in the schedule file or GA file.

My conclusion is based on what @james143611 described and the test I ran before responding.
I just tried it again with another airport (first EGKK, now KLAX) and I can assure you that what you describe does not work on my PC.
With arrivals in the schedule file and a preceding departure in the ga file, Tower starts at about 4 o'clock for me with flights that are not in the schedule and a graphics error, especially visible in the sky. However, I am not really baffled. It would not be the first time that Tower behaves differently on different PCs.

I use:
Window 10 Pro v20H2
Tower!3D Pro v1.2.78.946 SP3.3c (Steam version)

[james143611]

@hexzed Thank you very much for spotting that, I have just fixed those two and now it's just getting stuck at 99%. The arrow spins round then it goes round really slowly. I gave it a couple of minutes, which was about the time it took the arrow to do one full circle, and forced exited the sim.

I tried it with the standard terminal file (which of course was backed up) and just added the custom airline codes that were needed, and it still got jammed at 99% doing the same as above.

So I saved my schedule and cut it down as suggested so all there is is this, also using my terminal file:

Quote

PVG,LHR,359,CA, 611,07:47,12:00,1,CA
CTU,LHR,333,CA, 691,07:42,12:00,1,CA
JFK,LHR,764,DL, 001,07:29:12:00,1,DL
JFK,LHR,77W,AA, 106,07:24,12:00,1,AA
DOH,LHR,77W,QR,8024,07:16,12:00,1,QR
AMS,LHR,738,KL,1001,07:11,12:00,1,KL
IAH,LHR,77L,BA, 194,07:02,12:00,1,BA
ORD,LHR,789,BA, 294,06:47,12:00,1,BA
CLT,LHR,772,AA, 730,06:44,12:00,1,AA
PVG,LHR,789,CZ,8107,06:40,12:00,1,CZ
DXB,LHR,388,EK, 007,06:38,12:00,1,EK
ADD,LHR,359,ET, 700,06:35,12:00,1,ET
ANU,LHR,789,VS, 134,06:30,12:00,1,VS
DXB,LHR,789,BA, 106,06:27,12:00,1,BA
BGI,LHR,789,VS, 132,06:25,12:00,1,VS
BOM,LHR,789,VS, 355,06:19,12:00,1,VS
ISB,LHR,789,VS, 379,06:15,12:00,1,VS
BOM,LHR,77W,BA, 138,06:10,12:00,1,BA
AUH,LHR,781,EY, 011,06:08,12:00,1,EY
DFW,LHR,77W,AA, 050,06:06,12:00,1,AA
DOH,LHR,77W,QR, 009,06:03,12:00,1,QR
ACC,LHR,351,BA, 078,05:01,12:00,1,BA
SIN,LHR,359,SQ, 322,05:00,12:00,1,SQ
LHR,LPL,LJ6,B1, 003,12:00,04:50,1,B1
LHR,LIS,E90,NI,1363,12:00,06:10,1,NI
LHR,TFS,20N,BA,2730,12:00,07:09,1,BA
LHR,AMS,738,KL,1000,12:00,07:19,1,KL
LHR,CDG,318,AF,1081,12:00,07:26,1,AF
LHR,MAD,21N,BA, 458,12:00,07:43,1,BA
LHR,NCL,20N,#B,1324,12:00,07:44,1,#B

and it gets to 99% and stalls. This time the arrow is spinning round at normal speed, but after a couple of minutes I figured it can't be stuck trying to load a very small amount in! 

I banged the original schedule and terminal file back in and boom, it loads up to 99% and goes straight onto the tower view and runs fine. Maybe it doesn't like the custom airlines to a terminal file, which is needed as Vistara (VTI) isn't on the original terminal file so I had to add it to Terminal 2A. Also a couple of cargo's needed to be added as well

[hexzed]

You can customise any of the files, you just need to make sure that Vistara, or any other airlines added to the terminal file are also in the airlines text file.

Also as always make sure you have the latest Real Traffic.

If you post the output log it should show what your latest issue is

[crbascott]

Getting stuck at 99% either means you still have a issue with your schedule files and/or there are no flights for the start time you selected. As we’ve said, a log file should tell us what is going on.

[james143611]

I have attached the output_log file below, not sure what to look for, any help is most appreciated, and thank you for your help to now as well I am grateful for your time!

I like text work but it's very easy to slip up, I used to have a dab at making a train route for a sim called BVE, and all you needed was notepad or wordpad, once you got used to the language it was a doddle, but one very small mistake like forgetting a , would break it no end, and finding where the missing , was could be like finding a needle in a haystack!!

output_log.txt

[winsaudi]

STRING LINE ERROR: 8 - JFK,LHR,764,DL, 001,07:29:12:00,1,DL

Have a look at this line in your schedule and replace the colon between the 2 times with a comma.  

[james143611]

Ah! Thank you very much! Error fixed

That's the 99% error problem solved, I am now getting stuck at 63% so presumably that means something else?

New output log file attached

 

James.

output_log.txt

[james143611]

UPDATE***

I edited the Terminal file so it now looks like this:

Quote

Terminal_2A: AAR,AIC,ANA,ANZ,AVA,CCA,DLH,EIN,ICE,SAA,SIA,THA,THY,UAL,VTI
Terminal_2B: AAR,AEE,AIC,ANA,ANZ,AUA,AVA,BEE,BEL,CCA,CTN,DLH,EIN,EVA,EWG,ICE,LOT,MEA,MSR,SAA,SAS,SIA,SWR,TAP,THA,THY,UAL,VLG
Terminal_3A: 
Terminal_3B: 
Terminal_3C: 
Terminal_4A: 
Terminal_4B: 
Terminal_5A: BAW,IBE
Terminal_5B: BAW,IBE,SHT
Terminal_5C: BAW,IBE,SHT
Terminal_GA: GA
Terminal_Cargo1: BCS
Terminal_Cargo2: CPC,ESC,KCA,QAC,SQC
Terminal_VIP: QAF

The original terminal file worked so I figured it didn't like T3 and 4 being left out, so I inserted the missing terminals and left them blank, in that this is based on the current real format where only T2 and T5 is open. I loaded up the sim and it starts as it should at 04:50 and so far up to 07:00 everything that should run has ran. Only arrivals are starting to pile up around T3 and nothing seems to be using T2B, but the schedule is OK so far I'm just going to keep testing it from here rather than mess around with the terminals more.

Hopefully nothing else will crop up, but thank you all for your help, time and patience it's most appreciated!

 

James.

[crbascott]

11 minutes ago, james143611 said:

UPDATE***

I edited the Terminal file so it now looks like this:

The original terminal file worked so I figured it didn't like T3 and 4 being left out, so I inserted the missing terminals and left them blank, in that this is based on the current real format where only T2 and T5 is open. I loaded up the sim and it starts as it should at 04:50 and so far up to 07:00 everything that should run has ran. Only arrivals are starting to pile up around T3 and nothing seems to be using T2B, but the schedule is OK so far I'm just going to keep testing it from here rather than mess around with the terminals more.

Hopefully nothing else will crop up, but thank you all for your help, time and patience it's most appreciated!

 

James.

I was just about to reply, but you beat me to it. In my first post in this thread I mentioned that excluding terminal entries caused problems in my testing. 

Keep in mind there may be a caveat leaving T3 and T4 blank. At one point in the life of T!3DP, leaving a terminal entry blank meant any airline could park there. I'm not sure if this is still the case, but if you want to make sure this doesn't happen you can add XXX (or some other code that is not valid) to the terminal entry and that terminal won't get used.

Note: For reference, there is an "invisible" Terminal 6 at KJFK. You can't see it in game, but it exists internally in the airport xml code. As a result, a terminal entry is required for the airport to load successfully. In this case, the dummy code WZZ is used by RT. 

 

[EliGrim]

6 minutes ago, crbascott said:

[..] leaving a terminal entry blank meant any airline could park there. I'm not sure if this is still the case...

It is. For the Schedule Builder I use SBD for the fictitious Schedule Builder dummy airline.

[crbascott]

22 minutes ago, EliGrim said:

It is. For the Schedule Builder I use SBD for the fictitious Schedule Builder dummy airline.

I thought SBD was silent but deadly!?! 🤣

[james143611]

17 hours ago, crbascott said:

I was just about to reply, but you beat me to it. In my first post in this thread I mentioned that excluding terminal entries caused problems in my testing. 

Keep in mind there may be a caveat leaving T3 and T4 blank. At one point in the life of T!3DP, leaving a terminal entry blank meant any airline could park there. I'm not sure if this is still the case, but if you want to make sure this doesn't happen you can add XXX (or some other code that is not valid) to the terminal entry and that terminal won't get used.

Note: For reference, there is an "invisible" Terminal 6 at KJFK. You can't see it in game, but it exists internally in the airport xml code. As a result, a terminal entry is required for the airport to load successfully. In this case, the dummy code WZZ is used by RT. 

 

Ah sorry you did, yes, I remember trying it with the original terminal file and having problems, and then it still not working, but that's because I had the typo's in the schedule file, I forgot to go back and play about with the terminal file.

Anyway I added SBD to Terminals 3 and 4, and on a test run only 3 flights ran in an hour, when it should have been at least 15. Sure T3 and T4 were empty, but I think the terminals were overloaded. I reverted back and deleted the SBD airline and left T3 and T4 with empty lines, and the schedule works as normal back with any airline using T3 and T4. I may well just use the stock terminal file and add the couple of custom airlines as required and run it like that.

I think part of the problem is some of these Virgin Cargo's, and other BA flights (and a couple of other airlines) that sit around for most of the morning until later, and some that come in AM time and sit there until PM, when in reality it's likely the BA stuff that would sit there all day would be towed to the sheds

[EliGrim]

@james143611 You could make a full day schedule with a terminal file using all terminals.
Alternatively, you can provide hourly snippets that include flights up to 2 or 3 hours. Here you could use your intended terminal file. This way you can possibly prevent the terminals from being packed with flights.

Take a look at @crbascott's schedule or one from @battlehawk77.

 

[james143611]

On 1/16/2021 at 9:43 PM, EliGrim said:

@james143611 You could make a full day schedule with a terminal file using all terminals.
Alternatively, you can provide hourly snippets that include flights up to 2 or 3 hours. Here you could use your intended terminal file. This way you can possibly prevent the terminals from being packed with flights.

Take a look at @crbascott's schedule or one from @battlehawk77.

 

Hourly snippets would be extremely dead I must say!! It is quite a dead timetable this COVID one, probably too boring for others I think

I will however be doing 2 hour snippets for a normal day one, only because a) 2 hours at a time is stressful enough! and b) I'm not sure whether to risk a full schedule file, that may jam up the terminals, on the basis that a lot of the BA morning heavies get towed away from gates to the sheds, and also South African, Virgin (some), Brunei etc also get towed to parking areas. This could well be a problem, but for now I am writing them in 2 hour slots (0500 - 0700, 0700 - 0900 etc) to make it easier, I could always club it together after in one text file and see if it would load a whole schedule.

Also how do you generate those charts that show's traffic levels per hour?

[EliGrim]

1 hour ago, james143611 said:

Hourly snippets would be extremely dead I must say!!

I didn't mean that they should be limited to 1 hour, but that there could be a snippet for each hour that includes 2 to 3 hours of flights.
05:00 (05:00 - 08:00)
06:00 (06:00 - 09:00)
etc.

1 hour ago, james143611 said:

Also how do you generate those charts that show's traffic levels per hour?

There are many ways to do that. One option is here: https://schedule.eligrim.de/