New features and bugfixes in VISSIM (2007-11-09) =================================== (+ = new features, - = bugs that have been fixed. Details about the fixes are in brackets.) Version 4.30-05 (2007-11-09) ---------------------------- - A conflict area on a link that has only a public transport line starting on it but no vehicle input, no parking lot and no incoming connector upstream disappears when the network file is opened. - Parking routes: If a parking lot is moved in the network editor so that a parking route referring it gets broken (because the parking lot cannot be reached from the routing decision) VISSIM crashes during the simulation run with an exception message ("fahren.cpp, line 2493" in the _exception.err file) if a vehicle selects a parking space from this parking lot as destination when passing the routing decision section. - Network editor: A double click on a data collection point and a subsequent click on OK in the dialog causes the data collection point to be removed from all data collections. - Analyzer: Movements in queue report can show wrong direction (determined from the second last link segment instead of the last one). - COM Interface: If a simulation run is started through the COM interface the vehicle behavior can be slightly different from the behavior when the simulation run is started manually: If a vehicle determines during a lane change that it overlaps with its trailing vehicle and if the middle of the trailing vehicle is in the direction of the lane change then the lane changing vehicle doesn't continue its lateral movement (e.g. to the middle of the lane if that is selected in the driving behavior parameter set). This can cause any kind of differences in the subsequent traffic flow. - Dynamic Assignment: VISSIM crashes during a simulation run with a trip chain file if the vehicle numbers in the file are not gapless ascending. - Dynamic Assignment: VISSIM crashes during a simulation run with a trip chain file if a vehicle with a subsequent trip arrives in a parking lot after a vehicle without subsequent trip has arrived there. Version 4.30-04 (2007-09-06) ---------------------------- + 3D Signals: Maximum z-position, height and arm length increased. + COM Interface: Access to analyzer reports: + Allow to switch the Analyzer database on/off from the Evaluation interface, + Allow to open the Analyzer Report dialog. + COM Interface: Access to multirun parameters and start of a multirun process. + COM Interface: Screenshot functionality. + COM Interface: Vehicle attributes DESTPARKLOT and DESTZONE are writeable (for a vehicle in a parking lot, instead of assigning a complete path). The route selection (and the destination parking lot selection if DESTZONE is set) is done according to the dynamic assignment model. - Conflict Areas: A vehicle on the minor road that determines that it can't brake anymore to a stand before the conflict area doesn't brake at all even if it will be in the conflict area only a little bit too early. [After the bugfix, vehicles that determine that they will have a rear conflict (because they leave a crossing conflict area too late or are too late completely inside a merging conflict area) still don't brake and hope that the conflicting vehicle will see them and can brake to avoid the collision, but vehicle that determine that they will have only a front conflict (too early inside the conflict area) do brake now and hope that the conflicting vehicle leaves earlier respectively moves faster.] - Conflict Areas: If a reduced speed area inside or upstream of a conflict area assigns a higher desired speed to a vehicle than the vehicle's previous desired speed VISSIM can crash when such a vehicle approaches that reduced speed area. - Conflict Areas: If a merging conflict area without priority (red/red) that was blocked because of a downstream queue becomes free and there are standing vehicles on both entering links they won't move because the required safety distance after entering ist not met. (This is not actually a bug as behavior with red/red was not specified before.) [Now, the behavior is approximating alternating entry from both links.] - Conflict Areas: If a connector ends on its destination link inside a crossing conflict area that refers to its start link vehicles that plan to use this connector wait for themselves: They brake to a stop before they move on. - Reading of a snapshot file with a vehicle on a parking lot route fails with the following error message: "Internal error while reading snapshot. Guard SNP_END is missing." The error file *.err contains the following entry: "Snapshot data is inconsistent with the network! Return value of readSnapshot() = 31." - Saving a snapshot can cause an exception message if a previous simulation run has been stopped at a moment when a vehicle from a vehicle input could not enter the network because of insufficient room. - The PT stop alighting probability (in percent) is saved as a rounded value without decimals in the *.inp file. [Now, two decimals are saved.] - VISSIM issues an exception message with "Assertion failed in fahren.cpp, line 4285" in the *_exception.err file. - Distribution of green times evaluation can crash if the evaluation file name (including multirun run index) including path is longer than 80 characters. - The queue counter evaluation file contains an additional row (time = (end of evaluation period + interval) or end of simulation, which ever is smaller) if the end of the evaluation period is smaller than the simulation duration. - Lane Change Evaluation: The time period entered in the Filter dialog is ignored. - VISSIM displays the German error message "Unbekannter Fehler beim Netzaufbau!" if more than 99 discharge rate evaluations are defined in the *.inp file. The number of read discharge evaluations is not reset before a new *.inp file is loaded, so opening the same file (with fewer evaluations) several times causes the same error message. - Multi-run can crash if writing to the Analyzer database is activated. - Multi-run can crash if node evaluation writing to the database is activated. - A multi-run simulation run with a certain random seed can have different results from a single run with the same random seed, e.g. public transport dwell times are different when drawn from a distribution. - Analyzer Reports / QueueLenghts: No data is shown in Excel sheet for queue lenghts if the Analyzer database has been created with the VISSIM language set to anything but English. - If the SC dialog is opened and closed with OK for a VAP SC during a simulation run (e.g. for switching the debug mode on or off) the current signal state run time values of all signal groups (reported by the VAP function t_green/t_red and the green time evaluation) are reset to zero. This can cause VAP signal controllers to behave differently from a simulation run during which the SC dialog is not opened. - Link dialog: The key doesn't work after edting a field (for example the number of lanes). - Vehicle input dialog: can crash upon click on OK. - Vehicle input dialog: Paste into an empty name field is not possible (the paste menu item is disabled). - Vehicle input dialog: Negative values are allowed for vehicle inputs. - Color distribution dialog: Editing does not work correctly if the share value of one of the first colors is changed to 0. - Emission Calculation dialog (Vehicle Type / Special): The default value (1.0%) for the load percentage makes no sense. [Now, it's 100%.] - Raster background images (BMP, JPG, GIF) are displayed in 3D as a white rectangle on computers with a simple (not high-end) graphics card. - 3D Signs: In the 3D signal default values, if you change the scale, all the existing signs change their scale. Changing the scale value in the *.inp file for an individual sign does not have any effect. - VISSIM beeps each time that a key is pressed (for a keyboard shortcut) during a simulation run if a vehicle information window has focus. (This bug was introduced in version 4.30-01.) - COM Interface: The NodeEvalution interface can not be instanciated. No method is available. - COM Interface: Vehicle.AttValue("LinkCoord") ignores the current unit for distance, passes the coordinate always in meters and interprets a new value as meters. - COM Interface: If a vehicle is added with AddVehicleInParkingLot() during a simulation run but is not assigned a path (attribute PATH) immediately an exception message is issued (assertion failed in line 1206 of PARKP.CPP). - Dynamic Assignment: Alternative path search adds link cost (and surcharge) to the expected travel times once per iteration, so the expected travel times increase in each iteration. - Dynamic Assignment: An unknown exception message occurs when using link costs of 1,000,000,000. [Now, link cost values are limited to 1,000,000.] - Dynamic Assignment: The random number sequence used for random round of decimal values of matrix volumes (e.g. because of a scaling factor in the matrix file) depends not only on the current random seed but also on the random seed of the first simulation run after the network has been loaded. Setting the random seed to a certain value produces the same results as in a previous run with the same random seed only if there was no previous simulation run in both cases or if the very first simulation run after the network had been loaded used the same random seed in both cases. Example: A) load network, multi-run start seed 2, seed increment 10, number of runs 3 (=> random seeds 2, 12, 22) produces the same result in the third run (random seed 22) as B) load network, multi-run start seed 2, seed increment 20, number of runs 2 (=> random seeds 2, 22) in the second run (random seed 22) but C) load network, multi-run start seed 12, seed increment 10, number of runs 2 (=> random seeds 12, 22) produces a different result in the second run (random seed 22) because the first run used the random seed 12, not 2. - VISSIM issues an exception message ("Attempt to divide by by zero" in the *.err file) when building the network graph (nodes/edges), e.g. when the edge selection dialog or the path dialog ("Auto routing selection") is opened if there are no links in the network but at least one node. - VISUM Export (Nodes/Edges): The coordinates of the zone centroids are not correct. Version 4.30-03 (2007-06-21) ---------------------------- + Vehicle input and routing dialogs are modeless so it's possible to navigate and zoom in the network while they are open. + Network editor: A route (static, partial or closure) can be selected through a click on the destination section (with previously selected destination link) without previous selection of the routing decision. + Node evaluation compiled data output: The output file name includes the current run index if VISSIM has been started with the command line parameter -s or if the simulation run has been started through COM and the RunIndex has been set to a value >0. + COM Interface: Parking lot world coordinates X and Y are accessible. + Dynamic Assignment: New (much faster) implementation of "Create Static Routing". No vehicles are placed in parking lots anymore but the path volumes from the last iteration written to the path file are used. The vehicle input volumes and the relative volumes of the static routes are taken directly from the path volumes in the path file, the traffic compositions are derived from the matrix files. - Read additionally: "Keep original world coordinates" doesn't work right: The read network is not at the right position. - Reading additionally an INP file with data collection points creates duplicate data collection numbers. When you try to change a duplicated data collection number VISSIM crashes. - Conflict Areas: Vehicles can sometimes ignore a conflict area further downstream of a slow vehicle or a reduced speed area. This can cause them to enter an upstream conflict area even if they should not because they cannot leave it without a downstream conflict. [Vehicles still don't look for conflict areas beyond the number of observed vehicles set in the driving behavior parameters. This means that with the default value of 2 a vehicle ignores all conflict areas downstream of a reduced speed area and a real vehicle, for example. Thus it is recommended in large intersections where movements pass several conflict areas to set a higher minimum lookahead distance to make sure that the vehicles consider all conflict areas before entering the intersection.] - Conflict Areas: Vehicles on a multi-lane minor road (e.g. a dual left turn) that have already passed the start of a conflict area on an adjacent lane behave as if they were already inside a conflict area on their own lane, i.e. they continue to drive in order to leave that conflict area even if subsequent conflict areas are not free. - Conflict areas are always drawn with yellow color in other editor modes even if a different color is selected in the network element configuration display dialog. - Analyzer Evaluation / Analyzer Database / Analyzer Reports: Incomplete data in table QUEUE_DATA: only queue lengths > 0 are written. This results in completely wrong data in Analyzer Reports / Queues. - Analyzer: Travel time min/max values are wrong. - Analyzer: Movements are not correct with left-hand traffic. - Analyzer: Volumes and delay differ from the node evaluation with identical parameters. (The analyzer uses aggregation by time of passing the travel time start section while the node evaluation uses aggregation by time of passing the destination section.) [Now, the analyzer does the latter, too.] - Analyzer Database Table SIMULATION: Column RunIndex is not correct (always 0) if the simulation has been started via COM even if RunIndex had been set explicitly in the COM script. - Analyzer dialog: Allows selection of multiple time periods (but only one is used). - View / Options / 3D Signal Property Defaults dialog, 3D Signal Post dialog, 3D Signal Arm dialog: Several spinners where negative values should be possible don't work anymore and values that are entered manually are ignored. The shown values are much too big, too. - Presentation / 3D Video / Anti-Aliasing: When this option is activated in 3D mode, then switched to 2D mode and returned to 3D mode, the check-mark in front of "Anti-Aliasing" is gone even though the option still seems to be active (i.e., if you click on Anti-Aliasing again then no checkmark appears, only if you click it a second time). Dito for "Stereo (2 AVIs)". - Backwards animation (*.ani) replay shows all vehicles at wrong positions. - Link evaluation: The attribute Segment start Y has wrong values. (Segment end X/Y and Segment start X are okay.) - PT vehicles on PT Lines ignore their route if they enter the network at a simulation time greater than 99999. - Driving behavior parameters set dialog: if there is more than one line in the Min. Lateral distance table the values of the first line are saved for all other lines, too. - Signal control dialog: VISSIM crashes after editing a SC number and selecting Copy from the context menu without selecting another SC before. - Node evaluation: Emission parameters are not written (and are removed from the configuration if the configuration dialog is opened again) if the VISSIM license doesn't include the module "Emissions". - Node evaluation - compiled data - database output: no data is written to the database for this evaluation. [This bug was introduced in version 4.30-02.] - Network Editor: If a connector from a link to itself is moved completely to another link it remains in all routes that used it in its old position in the link sequence. This can cause surprising confirmation requests for completion of routes. [After the fix, the connector is deleted from all routes when its start or end is moved to a different link.] - VISSIM crashes after a double click on a vehicle to open the vehicle information window if the FZI file isn't available anymore because it was removed manually from the project directory after the network was loaded. - Parking lot dialog: Wrong world coordinates are displayed. - Vehicle Input dialog: takes a very long time to close if there are many cells (vehicle input links times time intervals). - Chinese text is shown as ??? for internal data (vehicle type names, error messages, ...). - COM Interface: It's not possible to start more than one instance of VISSIM through the COM interface. Only one VISSIM is started and used by each VISSIM object created by CreateObject. - COM Interface: Vehicles.GetArrived() doesn't work anymore. It returns always an empty collection of vehicles even if vehicles have arrived during the last simulation time step. - Export 3DS MAX: The exported network doesn't match the exported ani.txt file (world coordinates are wrong). - Dynamic Assignment dialog / Create Static Routing: If not enough memory (RAM) is available, VISSIM displays an exception message (volume <= MAXLONGCARD). - Dynamic Assignment: Edge selection dialog: If the selected edge has a different closure state from the first edge in the listbox VISSIM displays an error message when a different time interval is selected (and so the first edge is selected). - Dynamic Assignment: Edge selection dialog: A click on "Close all edges" or "Open all edges" doesn't change the state of the checkbox "Edge closed" even if the first edge (which is selected) has now a different state. Version 4.30-02 (2007-05-22) ---------------------------- + Background image file format Enhanced Compression Wavelet (*.ecw) added (fixed resolution only). + COM Interface / Dynamic Assignment: The Kirchhoff exponent and the extended parameters for "Search New Paths" are accessible through the interface DynamicAssignment. - Crash during a simulation run if a vehicle on a partial route passes a parking lot decision if the last link of its route is the last link of its original route (after the partial route), too. - Conflict areas are ignored by vehicles with car following model "no interaction" (usually pedestrians). - Crossing conflict areas: Vehicles on the main road brake unnecessarily when a vehicle on the minor road is inside the crossing conflict area even if they can expect to pass safely behind this vehicle without braking. - Merging conflict areas are kept free by vehicles from the main road. - Vehicles that have a small desired deceleration value (e.g. buses) sometimes cannot pass a conflict area if they are already standing in front of it and planning to move only up to a fixed obstacle downstream (e.g. a signal head ot the end of a bus stop). - Conflict area dialog: Wrong visibility distance value is displayed if "feet" is selected as unit for small distances (meter value multiplied by 0.3048 instead of divided by 0.3048). - Multiselect link dialog: Crashes upon Cancel or OK on Vista and sometimes XP without installed VisualStudio. - Multiselect link / lane closure dialog can crash if the selected links don't have the same lane closures for all vehicle classes. - Network editor: If the compass is in edit mode VISSIM can crash if a network element (e.g. pavement marker, desired speed decision, stop sign, detector) is selected or a new one is created. - Network editor: VISSIM can crash if a link is split that contains a reduced speed area. - Analyzer: Wrong directions are listed for turn volumes. (The direction of the turn is calculated from the second last link segment.) - Analyzer: Generating Analyzer Reports fails on Windows 2000 (possibly only with with Office 2000) with the error message: "Volumes: Bad variable type. (DISP_E_BADVARTYPE)". - Data collection / measurement dialog: Internal data collection points (for travel time measurements and detectors) are shown, some as number zero. This causes an exception after a click on an "Auto" button. - Multirun doesn't write the error notes to different files. All runs use the same file and delete the data of the run before. - Multirun / External signal control: A dialog appears in multirun mode after each simulation if an external signal controller produced an error file. This prevents unsupervised runs. - Signal Control dialog / SigTimTbl/LDP Configuration: Rows/columns with internal values (e.g. signal group state, detector state) are displayed multiple times (and saved so to the configuration file after changes) if there are multiple *.wtt files assigned. - Vehicle model distribution dialog: Error message "SelectVehic_E.dll not found!" upon click on the "..." button for the 3D model. - 3D Video Recording: Anti-Aliasing doesn't work anymore. - SynchroExport: aborts at the start of a simulation run. - 3DS MAX Export: Exported network can't be imported into 3DS MAX if a link's name contains a space or comma. - Dynamic Assignment: Exception message in Edge Selection dialog if closed edges are defined. - Dynamic Assignment: Exception message in Auto Routing Selection dialog if the cost file is not found. - Dynamic Assignment: VISSIM doesn't always write the *.weg file after the first iteration even if there is no prior existing *.weg file. This happens if you 1) open an *.inp file with an existing *.weg file, 2) remove the *.weg file from the working directory, 3) start the simulation without opening the dynamic assignment dialog previously. - Dynamic Assignment: Exception message ("Assertion failed on line 1561 in WEGE.CPP" in the *.err file) when reading the WEG file if all paths of a parking lot relation are closed for a vehicle type due to a connector closure. (This bug was introduced in version 4.30-01.) - Dynamic Assignment: Using "Alternative Path Search" or "Penalization of the shortest path" together with the option "Limit number of paths per parking lot relation" doesn't work properly. If a new path is found the penalized edge costs are used instead of the real costs to determine which path is deleted. - Dynamic Assignment / "Alternative Path Search": The "Stochastic edge penalization" and the "Penalization of the shortest path" ignore link cost values from the second pass on (use only travel times). - Dynamic Assignment: Searching new paths when using the option "Limit number of paths to N per parking lot relation" doesn't work in some cases. For example, if the option is activated with N = 1 and a (better) second path is found for a parking lot relation the old path should be removed. If this path cannot be removed because some vehicles are still using it this path is still counted as an already existing path and so the new path is not used although it is a better alternative. - Dynamic Assignment: Non-integer demand values from the OD-Matrix are truncated when the matrix file is read (instead of leaving them to be random rounded during the scaling of the matrix values). - Dynamic Assignment / Route Guidance: Doesn't work for most vehicles if connector closures are defined for certain vehicle classes or if the cost coefficients are different for at least one vehicle class. (Shortest paths are searched for one vehicle type set only.) Version 4.30-01 (2007-04-20) ---------------------------- + Keyboard shortcuts (e.g. Space/Enter for simulation single step / continuous) work if a vehicle information window has focus as well. + Synchro Import: + Updated calculation of storage for turning bays that are greater than half the distance between links. + Updated Offset Reference Value for Signal Timing based on Synchro sign value. + Dynamic Assignment: The relative volumes of parking lots can be adjusted to the total of the volumes from the current path file (*.weg) with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Shift-C. This can be useful for a different demand scenario (only new matrix file and path file) for a VISSIM network that had been exported from VISUM and then manually updated. + External Driver Model DLL Interface: VISSIM sends DRIVER_DATA_VEH_REAR_X_COORDINATE and DRIVER_DATA_VEH_REAR_Y_COORDINATE data to the DLL even if DriverModelGetValue (DRIVER_DATA_SETS_XY_COORDINATES, ...) returned 0. This means that vehicle rear world coordinates are available in an external driver model for vehicles on VISSIM links. - Animation recording: Vehicles from an animation file (*.ani) created in VISSIM 4.30-00 are not positioned correctly. The animation areas are off, too. [This bugfix doesn't fix *.ani files from VISSIM 4.30-00.] - If a simulation run is started once before and once after a multirun series with random seed increment the results are different (the random seed after a multirun series remains the one used in the last run). - Conflict areas: Vehicles don't pass a conflict area (even on the main road) if their (desired) speed is smaller than 2 m/s (e.g. pedestrians). - Conflict areas: A vehicle can sometimes pass a conflict area even if there is not enough room for its whole length before the next conflict area that it cannot pass (yet), so it stays partially inside the first conflict area. Vehicles on the conflicting link don't see these "stuck" vehicles and drive right through them. - Conflict areas: If a new merging conflict area is created on a newly created connector and its destination link the conflict area doesn't work before the network is saved and reloaded or the connector is edited again. - Conflict area dialog: VISSIM crashes upon selection of "show all possible conflict areas in" a node that includes real parking spaces. - Node labels are drawn at the wrong place, and zooming to a node from the node selection list doesn't work. - Dialog "Display Network Elements": Clicking on "Zone Number" for the parking lots enables the "Occupany" display and vice versa. Some label selections don't work (are set to "None" after click on OK). - Dialog "Vehicle Inputs": Fractional digits of volumes are not displayed and thus lost upon click on OK. They can't be entered either. - VISSIM can crash with an exception message during a simulation run with activated 3D visualization. - 3D visualization: Textures on 3D vehicle models are not transparent, so vehicle colors are not shown. - 3D visualization: The compass doesn't rotate in first person viewing mode. - Animation playback: 3D signals flash wildly with all bulbs on. - Link evaluation: Wrong error message ("no parameter defined") if no links are selected for evaluation. - Link evaluation / VISUM Export (*.net format): Some column headers include square brackets. - Error while reading a snapshot file of a network without detectors. - Evaluation database: Writing evaluation data to other databases than Microsoft SQL Server or Microsoft Access fails. [Now, all SQL:1999 conform databases should work.] - COM Interface: the attribute VOLUME of DynamicAssignment doesn't work. - COM Interface: Using AddPathAsNodeSequence() during a simulation run can cause VISSIM to crash. If AddPathAsNodeSequence() is called with a sequence of node numbers starting with an impossible node pair VISSIM crashes. - Dynamic Assignment: The volumes in path files (*.weg) exported from VISUM are not used correctly: The path volume of the first interval is used for all intervals. - Dynamic Assignment: The option "limit number of paths to x per parking lot relation" doesn't actually eliminate the worst paths when a path file (*.weg) is read. VISSIM ignores the cost values in the *.bew file (respectively the distances if there is no *.bew file yet). - Dynamic Assignment: Auto Routing Selection Dialog: If there is no *.bew file yet all path costs are displayed as 0.1 times the number of edges if the option "limit number of paths to x per parking lot relation" is enabled, otherwise all zero. [After the fix the distance is displayed as cost value in parentheses because this will be used for shortest path search in the first simulation run.] - Dynamic Assignment: If all paths of a parking lot relation in a *.weg file (exported from VISUM) have volume 0 none of them is used and the error message "No path found to parking lot X for vehicle N in parking lot Y" is written to the *.err file for each vehicle parked. - Dynamic Assignment: Route closures can cause VISSIM to crash if there is a path that includes a route closure up to its very end (i.e. path and route end on the same link). - Dynamic Assignment: VISSIM crashes during a simulation run if partial routes are defined that are not part of any static route in a network with dynamic routing decisions. - Dynamic Assignment: Messages of the type "No path from parking lot X to parking lot Y can be used because of the following edge closures:..." are written for zone relations without demand. - Dynamic Assignment: The message "No edge turn in the node 0 from node 0 to node 0 could be found" is written to the *.err file if a turning relation from a *.weg or *.bew file cannot be found in the current network. - Dynamic Assignment / Creation of static routing: The message "creation of vehicle inputs cancelled because of duplicate numbers" is shown when there are parking lots with an ID greater than 49249. - Dynamic Assignment: Wrong, truncated and untranslated error message "e Kantenstruktur der Datei <*.weg> stimmt nicht mit der aktuellen überein. Fehlermeldungen werden in der ERR-Datei aufgelistet" instead of a more detailed message mentioning the edge number. - Parallel version: Big link numbers (9 or 10 digit) cause the simulation to stop with an error message. Version 4.30-00 (2007-03-25) ---------------------------- + Support of WiBu CodeMeter license protection. + Conflict Areas: New network element for handling of conflicts between links (and connectors). A conflict area can be created at any position where two links/connectors overlap (unless the overlap is shorter than 0.5 m or there is no possibility of vehicles traveling on at least one of the links). It can be used for crossing conflicts (one link crosses the other), merging conflicts (two connectors lead to the same link or one connector leads to a link that has other traffic coming from upstream) and branching conflicts (two connectors come from the same link or one connector comes from a link that continues further downstream). A single left click on such a position displays the two link segments in yellow, with the links outlined in yellow. Subsequent right-clicks define/switch the priority, displayed by different colors: main road (right of way) = green, minor road (yield) = red. (Both red may be used for branching conflicts, so vehicles need to "see" each other but the priority is defined through their order on the previous link.) Both yellow is passive again. A double click on the conflict area opens the conflict area dialog. Each conflict area has several parameters that affect vehicle behavior: "Visibility" is the maximum distance from where approaching vehicles on the respective link can view apporaching vehicles on the other link in order to detect possible conflicts. Outside of this distance, vehicles on the minor road will always brake for a stop close to the conflict area. (Very small values can cause vehicles to stand forever in front of the conflict area because they never reach such a small distance.) "Front Gap" is the minimum gap in seconds between the rear end of a vehicle on the main road and the front end of a vehicle on the minor road. "Rear Gap" is the minimum gap in seconds between the rear end of a vehicle on the minor road and the front end of a vehicle on the main road. "Safety distance factor" is a value that is multiplied with the normal desired safety distance of a vehicle on the main road to determine the minimum headway that a vehicle from the minor road must provide at the moment when it is completely inside a merging conflict area. A double click on a link number in the conflict area dialog makes this link the major road for this conflict area (row), displayed on green background, and the other link the minor road (red). The conflict area can be switched to all-red (e.g. for a branching area) through a right click on the green link and setting it to "Yield", too. Selecting "Passive" in the local menu after a right-click disables this conflict area completely (white, respectively yellow while selected). If the checkbox "Show all possible conflict areas in node:" is checked a node number can be selected and only all conflict areas and possible conflict areas inside this node are displayed in the table. The driving behavior of vehicles approaching a conflict area provides the maximum possible flow-rate for the minor road without interfering with the traffic on the main road. (In the case of merging areas, vehicles entering from the minor road may interfere with the traffic on the main road, the more the smaller the user defined saftey distance factor.) A vehicle on the minor road approaching a conflict area (where it must yield) determines if there will be a sufficient gap in the major road movement when it arrives at the conflict area (with its current travel plan, i.e. if it ignored the conflict area). If there is not such a gap, the vehicle decelerates as if it had to stop in front of the conflict are. (In the next time step the vehicle calculates again, so it can possibly stop the braking and continue even with a certain acceleration, "aiming" at a later gap.) A vehicle on the major road tries not to "crash" into vehicles on the minor road. If it determines that a vehicle on the minor road will still be inside the conflict area when it arrives there, it brakes to stop in front of the conflict area. (As this deceleration causes it to arrive later, it can possibly continue its journey without further braking in a later time step so that it passes just behind the vehicle on the minor road.) All vehicles (on minor and major roads) try not to enter a conflict area if there is not sufficient space downstream of the conflict area to leave the conflict area completely. + VISSIM Analyzer: See manual for details + New signal controller type SCATS. Needs the files scats.dll and scats_gui.dll and the programs WinTraff and ScatSim (and possibly SimHub) from RTA NSW. + 3DS MAX Export: Network export, extended ANI.TXT file and a script for 3DS MAX to allow creation high-end animations. + Link texture can be defined per link/connector (and in the multiselect link dialog). + Navigation in 2D and 3D: Panning with pressed middle mouse button. + 3D mode: Changed background texture properties for crisper look-and-feel up close, and smoother in the distance. + 3D visualization / *.avi recording: Field of view data is stored in keyframes. + Option "total redraw every time step" improved: If this is selected in 2D the link type colors are visible and the vehicles don't draw lines through a background image. (It isn't possible to change this option during a simulation run.) + New pavement marker type "Roundabout US", including optional center island (dot). + Pavement markers are displayed in 3D, too. + New layout for network elements display dialog. + Node evaluation raw data: optionally written to *.knr file or database table. One line per vehicle that reaches a node exit: Column / Type / Description: VehNo / long / Vehicle number VehType / long / Vehicle type number TStart / double / Simulation time when the vehicle crossed the start of the travel time section TEnd / double / Simulation time when the vehicle crossed the end of travel time section (i.e. the node exit) StartLink / long / Number of the link at the start of travel time section StartLane / long / Number of the lane at the start of travel time section StartPos / double / Link coordinate/Position of the travel time section on StartLink (meter/feet according to current unit selection) NodeNo / long / Node number Movement / Text / Bearing from-to (compass settings) FromLink / long / Number of the link entering the node (Note: link where the shortest path from the start of the travel time section enters the node, this is not necessarily the link where the vehicle entered the node!) ToLink / long / Number of the link leaving node. (The vehicle really did leave the node on this link.) ToLane / long / Number of the lane leaving node. (The vehicle really did leave the node on this lane.) ToPos / double / Link coordinate/Position of the node exit on ToLink, i.e. where the link leaves the node (meter/feet according to current unit selection) Delay / double / Delay in seconds (since travel time start section was passed) TStopd / double / Stopped Delay in seconds (ditto) Stops / long / Number of stops (ditto) #Pers / long / Number of passengers + Evaluations / Database: Table "EvalInfo" lists all evaluations written into the database, with the type of the evaluation, table name, date/time when the simulation run was started and the name of the network file (*.inp). + Multirun parameters are stored in the *.inp file. If the selected evaluation directory is a subdirectory of the current data directory (or the data directory itself) it is stored as relative path, so copying the *.inp file to a different directory will cause subsequent multirun evaluations to be written into a subdirectory of this new directory. + COM Interface: Option to run COM scripts from within VISSIM through the menu item "Scripts". + COM Interface: Vehicle properties: Leading and trailing vehicle (Attributes PRECEDING and TRAILING) + COM Interface: Signal group: Read current state. + COM Interface: Attribute "Controller Frequency" for ISimulation interface. + COM Interface: Link properties: Flag "connector" (true/false); if connector: from_link, to_link, from_lane (rightmost), to_lane, from_x, to_x, closed + COM Interface: Option to change the state of a 3D vehicle model during the simulation. + COM Interface: VISSIM is registered as COM Server during the installation of VISSIM (when administrator privileges are necessary anyway). + COM Interface: Update of the status line is user configurable with the attribute STATUSLINE in the ISimulation interface. (Setting this to false can dramatically increase simulation speed in a loop of RunSingleStep().) + Dynamic Assignment: Option "exclude full parking lots" for the destination parking lot selection for dynamic routing decisions. + Hardlock driver updated to Windows Vista. - 3D mode: If coordinates are very large (e.g. from VISUM export) 3D vehicles "flicker" sideways due to rounding problems. Also, links and lane markings are often not shown properly. - 3D Signals: The property for automatically inserting a street light to mast is not getting overridden when reading from an *.inp file. This causes some *.inp files to not load, and in some cases to crash, when the defaults are to include such a light. - DWG/DXF background images: The size/position has changed from 4.20-03 to 4.20-04. - Vehicles can get ridiculously high speed values if they don't see a leading vehicle and if the last segment of their user defined desired acceleration function is not horizontal but ascending. (The desired acceleration function is extended to the right in the direction of the last segment and if this extension crosses the speed axis (acceleration zero) vehicles with a higher speed than this crossing point will always accelerate if they can drive freely.) - Export VISUM / Links/Connectors: All VISUM turns are closed for all VISUM traffic systems because turns are not exported at all. - The menu Edit/Selection List stays enabled during a simulation run. - New *.bgr file format from VISUM (with 7 numbers) is not interpreted correctly in VISSIM. - Evaluation configuration / database table name: The replacement algorithm for illegal characters in the table name did not work correctly in all cases. - The extension for the lane change filter file is now *.lcf, to prevent confusion with the vehicle record filter file. - Error message "..decision is only xy meter upstream of...": After clicking "No message" further errors/warnings are not written into the error file. - Signal Control Dialog: The edit field "Offset" isn't enabled again for a Fixed time, Siemens VA, TRENDS, VAP, VAS or VS-PLUS controller after it has been disabled for an External or NEMA controller. - Connector dialog: If "Spline" is checked for an existing connector the new spline points have all height zero unless "Recalculate Spline Point Height" is checked, too. [Now, "Spline" is replaced by "Recalculate Spline" for existing connectors, and checking this does automatically check "Recalculate Spline Point Height", too.] - Vehicle Information Window: A cursor is blinking in last (empty) line and causes a vertical scroll bar if there is no room for the empty line. - COM Interface: Error messages about unexpected tokens in the *.inp file (e.g. if this was written by a later VISSIM version) during the LoadNet() method are displayed on the screen instead of COM messages. - COM Interface: If a path (for example to the method SaveAs()) with a network server name (e.g. "\\ska-wn-f00") is passed to VISSIM the method issues the error message "invalid directory". - Dynamic Assignment: The volumes in path files (*.weg) exported from VISUM are not used correctly: They are only used to initialize the "previous" volumes (for convergence evaluation) in VISSIM but not as the base distribution for the path selection in the first iteration. (The edge costs from the imported *.bew file are used for the path selection.) - External Driver Model DLL Interface: - DRIVER_DATA_SIGNAL_DISTANCE, DRIVER_DATA_SIGNAL_STATE, DRIVER_DATA_SIGNAL_STATE_START have always zero as index2 (should be the signal head number). - DRIVER_DATA_SIGNAL_STATE_START is incremented after 0.5 simulation seconds if the simulation resolution is lower than the signal controller frequency (i.e. more simulation time steps per simulation second than controller intervals). Version 4.20-04 (2007-02-05) ---------------------------- + Names of evaluation files written during a multirun simulation do now have always the same length (using leading zeros in the random seed number appended to the base file name). + Signal Control Dialog: Looks for the GUI DLL of an external SC now in the current data directory as well if it is not found in the directory of vissim.exe. + Network Evaluation file format (*.npe) has column headers (Parameter / Value). + 3D Signals: Option "Steel (yellow)" for the mast as well. + COM Interface: + Rotate Network by a specified angle. + Translate Network by a specified distance X, Y & Z. - Network editor: Deleting a green priority rule section (by dragging it outside its link or clicking Delete in the selection list) can cause VISSIM to crash after click on OK in the confirmation message box. - Network editor: Moving a routing decision start section to a link with fewer lanes than the original start link can cause VISSIM to crash subsequently. - Network editor: mode priority rules: 1) Select priority rule, switch to multi select mode, select link(s). 2) Switch back to single select mode, click in network window ==> exception. - Network editor: The "Zoom to full network" button doesn't work correctly after "Rotate Network" or "Translate Network". A network size limitation in the license can be triggered, too, because the old coordinates of the links are still considered to be part of the network. - Routing dialog: Exception message upon "Zoom" to a broken route. - Routing dialog: crashes when opened if the number of a routing decision is higher than 2147483648 (2^31). - Priority rules dialog: The minimum size is too small. - Running multirun (or in batch mode) with a large number of simulation runs (e.g. 1000 or more) causes VISSIM to crash after some/many of these runs. - Snapshot file: 1) If a snapshot was saved with a different simulation resolution than the current *.inp file the resolution parameter in the simulation dialog is not correctly updated after loading the snapshot. 2) If the animation recording flag is activated before a snapshot is loaded (with a different simulation resolution than the current one of the *.inp file), the simulation will crash after some simulation steps when started after the the snapshot has been loaded. - VISSIM cannot display a *.dxf background image if it contains 3D transformations. - Animation file creation: In some cases a saved *.ani file can not be read. - COM Interface: The VISSIM attribute UNITDISTANCE1 cannot be read (error message). - COM Interface: The VISSIM attribute TOOLBAR returns always false - no matter if the toolbar is enabled or disabled. - Dynamic Assignment / Vehicle Record: Rows that contain a total travel time > 0 (written only in the time step when the vehicle leaves the network) show a wrong origin parking lot (identical with the destination parking lot). - Synchro Import: Even if the current language in VISSIM is English the names of imported vehicle types, vehicle classes and link types can be in German. - Driver Model DLL interface: - DRIVER_DATA_SIGNAL_DISTANCE, DRIVER_DATA_SIGNAL_STATE and DRIVER_DATA_SIGNAL_STATE_START have always zero as index2 (should be signal head number). - DRIVER_DATA_SIGNAL_STATE_START is off by 1 if called at least 0.5 simulation seconds after the last pass through the controller logic. (This can happen if the simulation resolution is higher than the signal controller frequency, i.e. if there are more simulation time steps than controller intervals per simulation second ). Version 4.20-03 (2006-12-11) ---------------------------- + 3D signals: Improved default values for size, positioning, spacing etc. + 3D Visualization: If the graphics card of the computer doesn't have at least a 16-bit z-buffer the skydome is not displayed because of the insufficient depth resolution. + COM Interface: Access to attributes of public transport lines and stops. - Vehicles can ignore red lights and priority rules during a lane change. (This bug was introduced in version 4.20-02.) - When a vehicle leaves a parking lot it ignores the desired lateral position at free flow from the assigned driving behavior parameter set. The vehicle starts always in the middle of the lane. - Dialog driving behavior parameters: "Min. lateral distance" at 0 km/h [mph] can be set to a higher value than the value at 50 km/h [30 mph]. This causes VISSIM to display an exception message during a simulation run if a vehicle uses this driving behavior parameter set with "Observe vehicles on next lane(s)" switched on. - If two consecutive spline points of a link are less than 0.001 m apart (possibly only after a rotation of the network due to rounding problems) the *.inp file cannot be read in anymore after it has been saved (message "Two adjacent intermediate points are identical"). [VISSIM saves spline point world coordinates now with 5 decimal digits if they are closer than 0.001 m.] - Export VISUM Nodes & Edges is disabled if the VISSIM license doesn't include Dynamic Assignment. - Loading of a snapshot can fail if a vehicle had just come to a stop in a parking space when the snapshot was created. - Grid (editable table) in routing dialog and vehicle input dialog: If a cell contains only one digit and the user selects this cell and enters an number starting with the same digit this digit is not written to the field but deleted. - Vehicle input dialog: If the last entry of the list is deleted and if the dialog is then closed with "OK" an exception message is displayed. - If "Keyframes" is selected from the menu while the Keyframes dialog (with at least one keyframe) is still open an exception message is displayed. - Scroll bars in 3D: If you move the view by dragging a scoll thumb button and then grab that button again the view jumps back to the position before the dragging. - View / Options / 3D: The default scales for 3D signals are not saved correctly in the *.inp file and not read in correctly. - Static 3D objects that are not centered around the origin (0.0, 0.0) in V3DM are not handled correctly by "Rotate Network". - The first signal head of a VAP signal group is written to the same line as the signal group in the *.inp file. - COM Interface: Crash during a second simulation with vehicles introduced through the COM interface and assigned paths. The parked vehicles remain in the parking lot after the first simulation is stopped. During a second simulation they try to use the previously assigned path which doesn't exist anymore. Version 4.20-02 (2006-11-23) ---------------------------- + The mouse wheel can be used for zooming in 2D and 3D. + Driving behavior improvements for prevention of artificial "crashes": + Recognition of leading vehicles' rear ends (real world coordinates) as obstacles if "observe vehicles on next lane(s)" is checked in the driving behavior parameter set. (This option reduces the simulation speed significantly.) + Modified rear end movement for lane changes at low speeds (e.g. upstream of a signal): This sideways movement ("sliding") behavior can be set only in the *.inp file (so far). The additional (optional) parameters of a driving behavor parameter set can appear before the line starting with CAR_FOLLOW_MODEL and look as follows: REAR_CORRECTION SPEED BEGIN END The speed value is the maximum speed [in m/s] of the vehicle to get this effect (recommended default value: 3.0). The begin and end values are simulation seconds, counted from the start of the lane change, and defining when the effect starts and when it ends. Recommended default values: 1.0 and 10.0, meaning that the rear end of the vehicle will start sliding 1.0 seconds after the start of the lane change and it can slide to the lateral position of the front end until 10.0 seconds after the start of the lane change. The front end will always complete the lane change after 3.0 seconds but the rear end might not move first (because there is a blocking vehicle in the new lane) so it keeps the chance to move to the new lane for 7 more seconds after the front end has arrived. + Driving behavior parameter set: New parameter "Maximum deceleration for cooperative braking". This value is used to decide if a vehicle starts cooperative braking in order to allow a leading vehicle to change from an adjacent lane into its lane. If the vehicle determines that it would have to brake with a higher deceleration than this value if the leading vehicle started the lane change now it doesn't start cooperative braking. If it does brake cooperatively it decelerates only with half its desired deceleration until the leading vehicle from the adjacent lane starts the lane change. From this moment on it will brake with the required deceleration which depends on the situation (caused by the user defined maximum deceleration for the trailing vehicle for necessary lane changes). The lane changing behavior in VISSIM 4.20-02 is similar to VISSIM 4.10 if the safety distance reduction factor is set to a small value like 0.1 and the maximum deceleration for cooperative braking is set to a high negative value like -30.0 ft/s². + Translate network: Adapts the position of all loaded background images. + VISUM Export Nodes/Edges: works now even without paths (if no dynamic assignment has been run). In this case no routes are written but only the network. - VISSIM can display an exception message ("Fatal Error / VISSIM has been interrupted because of an unexpected situation") if a vehicle that is currently on a partial route is rerouted to a parking lot at a parking lot routing decision if the destination section of the partial route has a higher link coordinate than the length of the destination link of the original route. - The driving behavior parameter "safety distance reduction factor close to a stop line" (tab page "Signal Control") is used instead of the "safety distance reduction factor" from the tab page "Lane Change" during a lane change. - Vehicles from lane 1 and lane 3 change both to lane 2, crashing into each other. [If the decisions to change lanes happen in the same time step the two lane changes are still executed but the upstream vehicle brakes earlier.] - Lane selection with right-side rule (or left-side rule): Too few vehicles use the "slower" lane if there is a queue on the "faster" lane. - The commands "Rotate network" and "Translate network" do not adapt the position of static 3D models. - The queue evaluation does treat vehicles in on-street parking spaces as a part of a queue. - Network editor: it is possible to move a network element (e.g. priority rule red section) to a negative link coordinate on a multi-lane connector. If the network is saved after this, it cannot be read in anymore (error message: "Syntax error in line , column : Negative value not allowed"). - Network editor: Splitting a link with a parking lot can cause VISSIM to crash. - Network editor / priority rules mode: VISSIM crashes after a right click: 1.) Open an .inp file with priority rules 2.) Select a link, right mouse click to add a priority rule 3.) Right mouse click off a link (selection list dialog appears) 4.) Press Esc key 5.) Left mouse click anywhere in VISSIM. - Driving behavior parameters dialog: Error message "Number already used!" after copying of a parameter set, a change of its number and selection of a different parameter set. - Keyframes dialog: Sometimes an exception message is displayed after a preview has been displayed. - A double click in the empty listbox in the dialog "Create Desired Speed Decision" window causes an exception message. - Routes dialog: If there is a blank character at the end of the name of a vehicle class the vehicle class listbox doesn't work properly. - Signal control dialog: A SC can be created or copied even if the maximum number of controllers in the license is already used. If this network is saved it cannot be read in anymore (if the VISSIM license is not upgraded). - The link type dialog can be shrunk to the title bar. - Edit / Selection list opens the old vehicle input selection list in vehicle input editor mode. - Vehicle Model distribution dialog: Entering 2D model data does not delete the reference to the 3D model anymore so the actual length of the vehicle in the simulation is still the length of the 3D model. [Now you get only a block displayed in 3D if you enter 2D data.] - 3D visualization: A signal head is displayed in on the link as a white stop line or as a colored bar even if the signal head type is set to invisible. - 3D visualization: The compass doesn't turn during a keyframe movement when an *.avi file is recorded or during keyframe preview. - 3D visualization: The user-defined 3D level of detail cutoff distances (View/Options/3D) are not saved in the *.inp file. - The edge coordinates list of each node is reversed each time that the *.inp file is written. - COM Interface: Only desired speed decisions on the first lane are affected by the DesiredSpeedDecisions interface. - Dynamic Assignment: Exception message (assertion failed on line 864 of LINKDLG.CPP) when opening the edge selection dialog if some edge closures can't be reconstructed (e.g. because of some changes on the links/connectors) and one of these broken edge closures is on the top of the list within the *.inp file. - Dynamic Assignment: Vehicles from OD Matrices are not using the minimum stay time at all and therefore the parking fee per hour has no effect. - Dynamic Assignment: Changes within the dynamic routing dialog (e.g. the referred parking lot number) are ignored after selecting OK. Version 4.20-01 (2006-08-30) ---------------------------- + 3D Visualization: Textures for land and sky. Scaling for land, sky and link textures. + Vehicle Record: Filter for record resolution, i.e. record only one time step per x time steps. + Vehicle Record / Vehicle Information Window: New parameters: - Number of the next (not necessarily relevant) vehicle downstream ("Preceding Vehicle") - Distance to the next (not necessarily relevant) vehicle downstream ("Headway") ["Following Distance" has the improved legend text "Following distance [m] to the relevant leading vehicle", the previous "Preceding Vehicle" is now named "Leading Vehicle", legend text "Number of relevant leading vehicle". The preceding and the leading vehicle can be a virtual vehicle like a signal head, priority rule stop line or stop sign which is indicated by a negative number.] + New car following behavior parameters: + Safety distance reduction close to signal heads: 1) distance upstream of the signal head (default 100 m), 2) distance downstream of the signal head (default 100 m), 3) reduction factor (default 0.6). + Reduction factor for safety distance during (own or leading vehicle's) lane change (default 0.6). + Vehicle Inputs Dialog: + Shows selected input link in network. + Allows to zoom to that link via context menu. (Zoom/Show only if exactly one link is selected.) + Save background file paths in *.ini file as meta filenames (especially #data# for current data directory). This allows to continue to use *.ini files that reference background files in the data directory (where *.inp resides) after the whole directory has been renamed, moved or copied to a different place. + Save user-defined 3D LOD cutoff distances (View/Options/3D) in the *.inp file. Larger default values for LOD distances (500, 800, 1000 m). + COM Interface: Option to change the weight of a vehicle during the simulation (for modelling of loading/unloading situations). + COM Interface: Access to the time intervals of an *.ani file. + Dynamic Assignment: Vehicle Record and Network Performance Evaluation: If several iterations are run through the command line parameter -s or the multirun functionality the running index of the iteration is appended to the evaluation file name (as for the path, convergence and link evaluation files). - Driving behavior: One of the conditions for cooperative braking may be randomly true or false. This can cause vehicles not to brake when they should or to brake when they should not in some cases. (This bug was introduced in version 4.20-00.) - Network editor: VISSIM can crash if a routing decision is located on a link that is deleted or gets its number of lanes reduced. - Network editor: Moving a routing decision to a different link from where a route is not possible and then to another link can cause VISSIM to crash. - Routing dialog: crashes if the names of two vehicle classes differ only in case ("Car" / "car") or if one vehicle class' name differs only in case from "All vehicle types". (The latter happens if the *.inp file has been exported from VISUM.) - Animation file: Dynamic vehicle colors from classified parameters (e.g. speed) are not written to the *.ani file during a recording. - Configuration file names may not include a plus character ('+'). - Signal control dialog: A change of the type of the SC or addition or deletion of a *.wtt file (e.g. in Siemens VA, or caused by the change of a VAP program file) doesn't cause any changes on the "... Config." Tab pages. - 3D visualization: Links with thickness > 0 are not displayed correctly. (This bug was introduced in version 4.20-00.) - The font for text (labels) in the network window is changed after the Print Preview dialog has been opened. - The compass is automatically switched off at the end of a simulation run (or when the run is stopped). - The VISSIM logo and custom logo can be hidden behind static 3D objects. - COM Interface: AddPathAsNodeSequence and vehicle.AttValue("PATH") work only if the VISSIM license includes dynamic assignment. - Dynamic Assignment: If the route guidance functionality is used VISSIM can get into an endless loop or end with an exception message ("Assertion failed on line 684 of file kurzweg.cpp") at the begin of a route guidance interval. - Dynamic Assignment: The scaled volume can exceed 100% in a later iteration if a volume increment is defined (through the Multirun dialog or through the command line parameter -v) - even if the initial scaled volume is below 100%. [If VISSIM is started with an initial scaling factor of more than 100% the volume increment is ignored now.] - Dynamic Assignment: The time intervals for static routes created through "Create Static Routing" have 1 second gaps in between. Version 4.20-00 (2006-07-07) ---------------------------- + New tabular dialogs for vehicle inputs and routing. + Parameters of all vehicle inputs / all routes visible/editable at once, with copy & paste functionality. + Only one set of time intervals for all vehicle inputs / each type of routing decisions. + Filter "over link x" for routes + Multirun functionality inside VISSIM: Menu Simulation / Multirun. The number of runs, the random seed for the first run and the random seed increment between runs can be defined by the user, as can the directory for the evaluation files to be written. The random seed of the respective run is appended to the evaluation file names. For dynamic assignment iterations, the user can define a volume percentage increment as well. + Vehicle record, vehicle information window, data collection, delay evaluation and node evaluation: The values determined for number of stops, stopped delay (stand time) and queue delay time don't include parked vehicles anymore. + The default functions for maximum acceleration and desired acceleration for HGV have been modified: higher values due to latest research publications. + Green time distribution evaluation: Time period filter. + Vehicle input evaluation (*.fhz) file format is now semicolon separated. + Vehicle status color (Ctrl-V) dark yellow (previously dark cyan which looked like dark green #2) for vehicles that have decided to ignore a red signal head or priority rule section because the speed was too high to stop before the line (stays for 3 simulation seconds after that decision). + Compass (North Arrow) in 2D and 3D: Can be (de)activated through View/Options on the tab page Network or through the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-M. The North direction can be set in 2D mode (double click on compass, then drag arrow) and is then displayed in 3D mode depending on the camera view direction. The compass position in 2D mode can be changed by dragging the compass with pressed Shift key. + 3D Signals: 3D signals and user defineable traffic signs can be placed on signal masts and on signal arms on signal masts. They change their state(s) in 3D mode during a simulation run according to the current state of the assigned signal group(s). 3D signals can be edited in signal head mode in the network editor (2D mode) if "3D Signal Heads" is selected in the Edit menu (keyboard shortcut Ctrl-H, which leaves any editor mode and enters signal head mode). The masts are displayed as light green objects consisting of 3 concentric squares with a red circle (the actual mast position) in the middle and the arms are displayed as light red lines with another red circle at the end. Signals on the arm are displayed as blue arrows connected to the arm/mast. A mast can be moved in the network by dragging it with pressed left mouse button. The orientation of an arm and its length can be changed by dragging the end of the arm with pressed left mouse button. A mast can be created in signal head mode in the network editor (2D mode) from the signal head dialog through the new button "New 3D Signal" and then selection to add the new signal "directly on new mast" or "to new arm on new mast". A mast can be copied by selecting it (single click, changing the color to blue) and then pressing Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V for copy/paste. The arms and signals on a mast can be edited in the Mast Properties dialog after a double click on the mast. The style of the mast (steel gray or black, grooved or round, or wood) can be selected in the Mast Properties dialog, as can its radius and its length. A new arm or a new signal or a street light can be added to the mast there as well. The whole mast can be moved (panned) in the dialog by dragging (with pressed left mouse key), the view can be rotated by dragging with pressed Ctrl-key. A selected arm or signal on the mast (not arm) can be moved up/down and sideways by dragging and rotated by dragging with pressed Ctrl-key, too. They can be moved into/out of their plane (when viewn from ahead) by dragging with pressed Shift- and Alt-key. The Arm Properties dialog can be opened through a double click on an arm (or single click and the button "Edit Arm"). The style of the arm (steel light gray, dark gray, yellow or black, double framed or wire) can be selected in the Arm Properties dialog, as can the arm's length. Signals on an arm can be moved in the Arm Properties dialog, too. The Signal Properties dialog allows to select the type (traffic or pedestrian), the orientation (vertical or horizontal), the layout (number and color of bulbs, arrows for protected movements) and the associated SC and signal group (or groups, if the layout is for two movements, with circular bulbs and arrows). The Sign Properties dialog allows to select the shape, the border color and the background color of the traffic sign and to select a texture (*.bmp picture file) for it. Default properties for 3D signals can be defined through View/Options/3D/ Property Defaults. The user can select if 3D signals are to be shown in 3D mode at all, and if the colored blocks or only white stop lines are to be shown. + Link textures in 3D: currently only one texture for all links which can be (de)activated and selected through View/Options/3D. + User-defineable level of detail distances for 3D models (in View/Options/3D): In order to increase the simulation speed with active 3D visualization the vehicles are drawn with simplyfied lighting beyond a certain distance from the camera, drawn only as simple boxed objects beyond the next distance and drawn only as blocks (as if they had no 3D models defined at all) beyond the third distance. + More keyboard shortcuts for navigation in 3D: Q/A: Move the camera up/down. E/S/D/F: Move the camera ahead/left/back/right. T/G: Move the camera closer to / away from the focal point I/J/K/L: Rotate/tilt the network to the back/left/front/right. Ctrl-PgUp / Ctrl-PgDn: Increase/decrease focal length of the camera (telephoto/wide-angle) [instead of Ctrl-Shift-F3/F4] + Network editor / Static 3D objects: Increased resolution for z-Axis movement (up-down) to 1 cm per pixel mouse-move distance. + Initial view in 3D mode: the whole network tilted backwards by 45 degrees. + Background images: Better *.dwg and *.dxf file format support. + Detectors do have a type now: Presence, Pulse, PT Calling Point or Standard. The former checkbox "PT calling Pt." has been replaced by a drop-down listbox. Standard detectors have the same behavior as all detectors in VISSIM 4.10. Presence detectors don't pass any pulse information (vehicle front ends or rear ends) to the signal controller. Pulse detectors don't pass any presence/occupancy information to the signal controller. [If a signal controller wants to use general "vehicle detection" with a meaning depending on the type of the detector, the logic needs to use the logical OR-combination of pulse and presence.] + Synchro Import/Export now without TEAPAC/PreSynchro; TEAPAC-Import removed. + Multi-state static 3D objects: states defined in V3DM, state changeable during a simulation run through COM. + COM Interface: + Change the state of a multi-state static 3D object. + Read/write VAP program number. + Open a vissim.exe from a specific version. + Interface to scaled volume for dynamic assignment. + Interface to desired speed decisions. + Interface to reduced speed areas. + Attribute 3D in IGraphics to switch on/off 3D mode. + Dynamic Assignment: The default value of the exponential smoothing factor is now 0.2. + Dynamic Assignment: "Reduced volume" has been changed to "Scaled volume" and accepts values bigger than 100% now, too (e.g. for future demand scenarios). + Dynamic Assignment: Zone connector parking lots show the demand volume at the start of a simulation run (if label "occupancy" is selected). - Lane changing algorithm: The check for the accepted deceleration of the new trailing vehicle ignores this vehicle's safety distance, i.e. calculates the deceleration for zero distance (bumper to bumper) after braking. This causes the new trailing vehicle to brake harder than the user-defined accepted deceleration if the lane change is started. The same problem exists for the accepted deceleration of the lane changing vehicle itself. [This fix can cause VISSIM 4.20 to have different simulation results than previous versions!] - On-street parking: If a vehicle trying to get to its parking space is removed from the network because it has passed the maximum waiting time for a lane change the assigned parking space cannot be used by other vehicles for the remainder of the simulation run. - Network editor: The z coordinates (height) of a newly created connector's spline points (if more than 2) are all zero (if the user doesn't check "Recalculate Spline Point Height" on the tab "Other" in the connector dialog) - even if the start and end point of the connector have other z coordinates. [Now, the checkbox is checked by default if it is a newly created connector.] - After the numbers of two signal groups have been swapped VISSIM crashes when the signal head dialog is opened. - Vehicle Record Database Output: Fails with error msg: "Error opening table XYZ_VEH_PROTOCOL" if Occupancy is selected as one parameter to be included. [Access doesn't accept the field name "_Pers". Now, all field names that have invalid characters (e.g. #) replaced by _ (underscore) are put in brackets "[...]", e.g. "[_Pers]".] - Priority Rules Dialog: It is possible to leave the dialog with no vehicle classes selected. - Desired Speed Decision Dialog: Adding a second vehicle class to the list of vehicle classes of a desired speed decision causes an exception message (assertion failed on line 1266 of file "Decisions.cpp"). - Vehicle Record Filter dialog: "OK" is always disabled first when "Individual Vehicles" is selected even if there are vehicle numbers in the list. ["New" enables "OK".] "OK" stays enabled if the last vehicle number is deleted from the list. - Node evaluation configuration dialog and evaluation file header: The unit for short distances shown in the legend text for maximum and average queue length is always [m] even if [ft] is selected by the user (and used correctly in the evaluation file). - If the node evaluation is activated VISSIM can take a long time to initialize the simulation if there are many queue counters defined in the network. - Discharge evaluation (special evaluation): If the referenced signal group is deleted (or renumbered) and the *.inp file is saved it cannot be read in anymore (message "unknown signal group"). - Keyframes dialog: Exception message if a new keyframe is created that has a dwell time overlapping with the selected existing keyframe. - VISSIM can crash without a useful warning message if there is not enough memory (RAM) to read a network. - VISSIM doesn't start if the print spooler service is not running. - VISSIM can crash in the 3D Model Selection dialog or at the start of a simulation run if a *.v3d file is used that doesn't have the correct format. - The 2D visualization of a right arrow signal head doesn't clear the tip of the arrow correctly if the signal changes to circular (displayed as a bar without arrow). - Animation: The signal head types "left arrow and "right arrow" are not recorded correctly in the *.ani file. During the replay of an animation they are always drawn as circular. - Animation: *.ani files don't include the z-coordinates of signal heads. If a link has a gradient and a signal head the signal head are drawn at ground level (coordinates (x, y, 0)) during the animation replay in 3D mode. - COM Interface: If the attribute "PATH" of the IVehicle interface is used with a vehicle in a parking lot that has already been assigned a path a memory exception is thrown. - COM Interface: Using the method SaveAs doesn't update the title bar and doesn't clear the status line afterwards. - COM Interface: Changing the simulation resolution through the COM interface sets the simuation speed always to the given value in sim.sec/s. (If maximum speed was selected it is unselected erroneously.) - COM Interface: RunContinuous() does not stop if BreakAt() is not an integer. - COM Interface: The named attribute INTERACTION of Vehicle works inverted. - COM Interface: calling the method LoadLayout() with an *.ini file which has 3D mode on doesn't start the 3D mode within VISSIM. - Dynamic Assignment: If a measurement section (e.g. a travel time sections or a data collection point) is situated closely upstream of the center of an abstract parking lot or zone connector an exception can be caused by a vehicle that is entering the link from that parking lot too slowly. - Dynamic Assignment: Using the zone relation dependent alternative path search with a large number of passes can cause an exception. - Dynamic Assignment: If a parking lot is deleted that is referenced by a dynamic routing decision, the routing decision is not changed nor deleted. If this network is written to an *.inp file that file cannot be read in anymore. - Dynamic Assignment: Adding a single vehicle to the volume of a zone relation of a matrix for the last time intervall changes the departure times of the vehicles in all previous time intervals. - Dynamic Assignment: Volume changes in an OD-matrix with a traffic composition with more than one vehicle type can cause changes in the vehicle type selection of other such matrices, even if these matrices are used in an earlier time interval. - Dynamic Assignment: Warning "No path from parking lot A to parking lot B can be used: because of the following connector closures: x for the following vehicle types: m , n" shows up although there are possible paths (that are not found) if no demand is defined for these relations and therefore no path is searched. - Dynamic Assignment: Path Evaluation Configuration: VISSIM can issue an "Assertion failed" message if no vehicle class is selected and a parameter that doesn't need a vehicle class and another parameter that does need a vehicle class are selected in the "Parameter selection" list and then added to the "Selected parameters" list. - Dynamic Assignment: Shortest path searches are never executed for empty parking lots. This can cause unplausible error messages, for example if the option "Reduced Volume" is used and so a parking lot gets demand only in a later iteration. [Now, the shortest path search is always executed unless the zone O-D relation has no demand in all matrix files.] - Dynamic Assignment: The occupancy display for parking lots shows zero before the first simulation time step although vehicles have already been placed in the parking lots. - Dynamic Assignment: If some network changes have been done it is possible that some edge closures get a new ID or don't exist anymore. In this case a message suggesting to save the *.inp file is shown. If the file is saved edge closures are written with the right ID but non existing edge closures are also written to the *.inp file. - Dynamic Assignment: Error messages "Assertion failed at line 8183 in STRUKTUR.CPP" at the start of a simulation run or "Assertion failed at line 565 in LINKDLG.CPP" when selecting a node in the edge selection dialog after a connector has been added manually to a node exported from VISUM. The node has the exactly defined link segments for the edge recognition but the additional connector does not. [Now there is a better error message. The user still has to remove this situation by changing the "VISUM" node into a user-defined node with a polygon.] - Dynamic Assignment: VISSIM issues the error message "Runtime error: Error: no free memory!" at the start of a simulation run if there are negative volume values in a matrix file (*.fma) and continues to simulate with wrong volumes. - Dynamic Assignment: Path evaluation configuration dialog and evaluation header: The unit for length in the legend is always shown as [m] even if [ft] has been selected as unit for short distances by the user (and is used in the evaluation correctly).