Dragon Challenge=duel less

maXairMike said:
If they're going to run it without dueling, I would think it would be just as efficient as before if they were just cycling each side on its own. I can't think of a reason it would be too incredibly slower unless they load both trains at the same time, and then don't send one side until the other clears the lift, and then load the same trains at the same time again. If that's how they're doing it, that makes very little sense. Just running them as two separate rides should result in no dueling and no real decrease in efficiency.

The reason is if they do not duel you cut the Riders per dispatch in half

16 riders per train,

dueling is 32 riders per dispatch

not dueling is 16 riders per dispatch

so you cut the riders per dispatch in half (almost)

since one train is loading while other is running

I would think this would increase efficiency because once a train is loaded it can be sent out where as now each crew has to wait for the other to be finished loading.

Huh? Why are the number of riders per dispatch cut in half? Each side is now acting semi-independently of the other. You are correct that when a side dispatches there are only 16 riders, but there are still two sides dispatching, just at different times. I am with 8.3 - I think running separately would speed things up.

If each side waits for the other side's ride cycle to complete before the next train is dispatched, you're looking at 32 riders every 2:25 instead of the previous 64 riders in the same timeframe.

Edit: where is the 16 number coming from? Each train seats 32 riders.

Exactly. If only one train is allowed to cycle at a time, you've cut capacity in half.

If they're just staggering them so they don't meet anywhere on the course, the capacity is unchanged.

I guess I missed the part about them waiting for the other side to complete the circuit. If that is what they are doing then yes the capacity is now half. Actually 1/4 if they only send out 16 people on a train:) I thought that seemed wrong.

<Nitpicky coaster nerdery>Well, not exactly half. If the longest block was previously the station block (which it is on almost every single station coaster I know of, save PR) then your new longest block is going to be the course and you have half the capacity in that block.

Basically you end up with the Storm Runner configuration where you have parallel stations feeding a single course block which is the new bottleneck.
</nerd>

Shut up, Andy. :)

ApolloAndy said:
<Nitpicky coaster nerdery>Well, not exactly half. If the longest block was previously the station block (which it is on almost every single station coaster I know of, save PR) then your new longest block is going to be the course and you have half the capacity in that block.

Basically you end up with the Storm Runner configuration where you have parallel stations feeding a single course block which is the new bottleneck.
</nerd>

Perhaps you need to read this thread. :)

For all intents and purposes as related to the discussion, one train on the course at a time cuts capacity in half.

Smartass.

Lord Gonchar said:
For all intents and purposes

Or, for those familiar with this thread, for all intensive purposes.

Don't know if this is the case anymore, but they didn't have to dispatch both trains at the same time to duel. The speed of the lift variates to catch the trains up to each other. If they don't want them to duel can't they just disable that logic function in the computer? So, dispatching 2 trains off sequence from each other is what they've been doing for a while, heck I don't know anymore after Andy's post!!
This may be from left field since I was there 5 years ago...

I heard from a few people in the area that there were maintenance guys up on the lifts and looked like they were doing something to them, and it wasn't regular maintenance from what I understand. I don't know how complicated it would be since the ride was never really intended to run without dueling unless one side is down, but yes, I would think getting the system to not mess with the lift motors is how they would primarily keep it from dueling.

Did I miss that they are only running one train on the course at a time? I was thinking they were just dispatching as their side was ready similar to a lot of the wooden "racing" coasters typically operate.

Basing it on this post on the previous page:

tallguy said:
I agree it makes little sense, but at no point were both dragons out on the main track at the same time. They were being loaded as separate rides but there was a lot of waiting in the station, even if the train was ready to go it seemed to sit for a long time.

I know they could dispatch without dueling previously. There were rare occasions when I was there when one side had more trains than the other.

Lord Gonchar said:
Basing it on this post on the previous page:

tallguy said:
I agree it makes little sense, but at no point were both dragons out on the main track at the same time. They were being loaded as separate rides but there was a lot of waiting in the station, even if the train was ready to go it seemed to sit for a long time.

Does that limit that one couldn't be on the lift while the other is on the course?

Wait, why is this being discussed?