Re: [Rails-devel] 18xx Rails: Feature Request 1517702 - automatic route calculation

[Jim B. <jim...@ya...>]

On Dec 22, 2009, at 4:04 PM, Mark Smith wrote:

> I would look forward to the ability to select the route manually, center-by-center, tile track-by-tile track, highlighting the route as you go. And on successive turns, the previous route would be highlited (saved for re-use) and allow for modifications if the director chooses... or if the route is comprimised (a token gets laid in the center blocking it from use for example), it requires a re-evaluation. 
> 
> There has been talk about implementing a "route-awareness" where it would enforce tile lays that a company can perform. I would see the capability to manually select the route (and the subsequent semi-auto summing up) as a next step towards true auto-route calculation.
> 
> And for those that state "I really don't want to pick my own route!"... I reply, that once the full auto-route calculation is implemented (somewhere down the road), the option to manually select the route can be an option you can turn-on or off as your preference.

I also think this would be an excellent way for rails to add route awareness- allow users to specify the route(s) manually, rails saves the result (and, perhaps, offers the resulting math/total for the earnings).

Other players can now see the route(s) visually, too, which makes it easier for them to verify that it's all legal (right now we have to cross-reference hex coordinates, it's painstaking).  

That approach would be great, and require no "route finding" algorithms or even "legal track" awareness.  The user would just tie the route together manually, as Mark suggests.

-  jim