AeroMogul Update #8 (2023/5/21)
🕑 Added 2023-05-21 07:00:01 +0000 UTCGreetings Everyone,
I've gotten a few hours of work into AeroMogul since GearCity: 2nd Gear's launch. Although, I've been putting Mondays and Tuesdays into GearCity recently as I am falling a little behind on bugs.
As previously mentioned, the game now efficiently processes and caches demand from 1.8 million data points, utilizing only 4GB of RAM, a substantial improvement from the previous 40GB usage. I refer to this system as "Data Grids," and further details will be shared as we approach the alpha testing phase. I will use this term from here on out when mentioning this data.
AeroMogul now features 200 dynamically generated AI companies. Although this number represents approximately half of the real-world passenger airline companies, it provides a solid foundation for comprehensive testing purposes. I'll add static companies in the future, but now is not the time to do the data entry. Additionally, the game generates 100,000 aircraft and assigns them to these AI companies, laying the groundwork for the game's underlying system.
The company AI can now create routes between locations, utilizing the innovative data griding system. The AI will also select the most suitable airports to service the grids. Although it still lacks some functionality and rules now, my main focus is performance testing and system optimization.
Left alone, the company AI generates 200,000 passenger air routes, nearly doubling the number of passenger airline routes in 2019. This is by design, as I want to overload the system for testing. Moreover, the game now processes passengers' route choices, enabling them to select 2-Leg trips. I hope to expand this feature to include 3-Leg trips if I can get favorable performance. Sadly, this system is still in its early stages and requires further optimization. (Getting it to work was the last thing I did the last time I touched the code.)
It's important to note that I will utilize much of the code developed for AeroMogul in the game, albeit with additional formulas that account for various variables. The primary focus now is to optimize and streamline these systems, laying a solid foundation for future enhancements and expansions. At present, the systems mentioned above are approximately 30-50% complete, with passenger routing still in its initial stages.
I hope to include a video in AeroMogul Update #9 or #10. So, stay tuned for more updates on AeroMogul's progress. Now, let's move on to the latest news from GearCity.
As mentioned above, I have put extra work into GearCity over the last couple of weeks. I plan on only giving my Mondays to the game, but between a combination of lingering GearCity Classic bugs and a fresh slate of GearCity: 2nd Gear bugs, I decided to devote more time to the game. However, instead of throwing a full week and getting it done, I wanted to split the week so that I may keep working on AM and keep the code fresh in my mind. It takes me too much mental effort to relearn the code after an extended period of not seeing it. I'm getting too old for it. 
Ten issues remain for GearCity: 2nd Gear and one remains for GearCity Classic. When I complete all remaining issues, I'll release v2.1.0.1 and v2.0.0.9, respectively. Please note I include all bug fixes applicable to both versions to both versions.
Until next time!
Comments
Eric Jones
Right now, the AI isn't that intelligent. It's only factoring in population and income information. That's why I mentioned that this is only the base of these systems. I will need to add more formulas, variables, and rules. But in essence, yes, the AI will try to do what's best for their companies. Passenger Competition, or passenger routing, as I like to call it, is what I am working on right now. When I got it working Friday night, it took about 70 minutes to process a turn on a single core. Last night, I got it down to 40 minutes. The goal is to get it down to <30 seconds on a single core. Passenger routing optimization is the reason for creating barebones systems for everything else mentioned in this post. Think of it like building a house. I am designing and constructing the framing right now. Once it's perfect, I can start adding inside and outside the building.
Ehud Gat
So, if I get it right, the AI airlines would attempt to cash in on the most lucrative routes, right? I'm really curious to see how the competition for passengers would work :)
