Groups of elevators
Build several shafts next to each other and put one call panel between them. It then calls the whole group: the controller sends the car that gets there best. There is nothing to link; a group is simply every shaft whose elevator contact a call button finds around itself.
How a call button finds its shafts
A Call Button or Up/Down Call Panel looks for elevator contacts around itself:
- up to 4 blocks to every side (
callButtonSearchRadius), - up to 3 blocks up and down (
callButtonSearchHeight), because the floor contact may sit at the floor, at the roof of the car or in between.
Every shaft with a contact in that box belongs to the group of this button. If several contacts of the same shaft are in range, the one closest in height counts. A button that finds nothing says "No elevator contact found (up to 4 blocks to the side, 3 up or down)".
Which car comes
For every car the controller estimates the way in blocks it still has to travel to the caller:
| Situation of the car | Cost |
|---|---|
| Idle, no calls | the distance to the floor |
| Already moving towards the floor, in the direction asked for | the distance plus a penalty for every stop on the way |
| Moving away or in the wrong direction | the way to its farthest stop and back, plus a penalty for every call it has |
| Out of order or switched off | never chosen |
The car with the lowest cost gets the call. The penalty per stop is 6 blocks by default
(groupStopPenaltyBlocks); raise it if you would rather have an idle car come than one that stops several times.
Takeover
A group call stays assigned to its car until that car has served it. If the car breaks down, is switched off or is taken apart, the call is handed back and given to another car of the group.
Which car is coming
Put a Hall Lantern above each landing door. Its arrow lights up when the car of that shaft is coming to this floor, so people know which door to wait at. See Hall lantern.
callButtonSearchRadius (up to 16).