Route Query Tool Limitation

[z]

Of all the tools in the game, I think that the Route Query Tool is one of the most valuable, giving information not only on traffic volume but on routing through any given point.  The Route Query Tool is also one of the most reliable tools in the game, although it does have its quirks.  (For  example, there are the arrows that cluster in no discernible way around and inside highly-used, multi-purpose stations.  And then there are the occasional arrows that just seem to take off into the sky - the Querway to Heaven.)

But aside from these relatively minor quirks, the tool is quite dependable.  You can click it on any transit station, and it will show all the paths the Sims are taking that pass through that station on all the networks that pass through it, including subway.

Usually.

It turns out though, as I have recently discovered, that there are occasions where the subway routes that go through the station and the networks that are used to get to the subway do not show up when the station is clicked, even if there are plenty of Sims traveling on the subway.  This happens rarely, and why it happens is unknown.  But it's good to be aware of this, as you may have more networks passing through your station than the Route Query Tool displays.

I became aware of this phenomenon when I was working on a station that included subway service, but the Route Query Tool showed no subway paths leaving the station.  Other similar stations placed in this spot had shown subway usage, so this was somewhat perplexing.  In trying to figure out what was going on, I placed a Maxis subway station nearby.  I clicked the Route Query Tool on my main station and verified that there was still no subway traffic.  I then moved the Route Query Tool to the Maxis subway station, but before I could click on it, I noticed that a previously invisible subway path through my main station was now being displayed, along with a previously invisible pedestrian path outside the station that fed into the subway.  When I moved the Tool away from the Maxis station, the subway paths in my main station disappeared, although the other networks that had always been displayed remained.  When I moved the tool back over the Maxis subway station, again without clicking on it, the subway and pedestrian paths in the main station were displayed again.  What's more, the Maxis station wasn't even being used by the Sims.

Now that's definitely weird.

I went into the Subway View, and I found the same thing there.  I could even click on the subway line, and no subway paths would appear.  But if I moved the Route Query Tool right to the edge of the subway line, where it displays the subway volume, it told me that hundreds of Sims were using the subway.  And if I then clicked the Route Query Tool right there, the subway route lit up.

So if you seem to be missing a subway route that's not displaying, all may not be lost.  The definitive answer can be found by using the Route Query Tool on the subway line in the Subway View; if the subway volume is nonzero, you can then use the Tool to see the subway route, and the routes of those networks that feed into it and that it feeds into.

[b22rian]

Steve , thanks for this post.

I have noticed the same thing happens in my game sometimes when testing. But I felt it could actually be any network types that disappear , not just confined to subway paths. As you mentioned it doesn't happen that often. Also it seems if I just run the game for a bit the pathing routes will re-appear. So it usually doesn't hinder my testing very much . I have no idea either what causing these "disappearing paths" 

It is quite possible also this could be a differ "Bug" than what you are describing in your above post.

thanks, Brian