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Re: Random 15 Championship 2017/18: Round 1

Posted: 03 Oct 2017, 09:42
by The Orange One
My understanding is that a start station is random for all rounds, unless:

- as DrainBrain says, the start station was chosen to facilitate the twist round (e.g. Oxford Circus in this round)
- the start station was picked for commemorative reasons (e.g. Stratford International having just joined Zone 2)

Re: Random 15 Championship 2017/18: Round 1

Posted: 21 Oct 2017, 00:43
by A2
In regular rounds as far as I know Tangy runs the generator with all of the required rules in place, but asks it to generate one station. This essentially picks one at random from any eligible station (it really isn't his fault, or mine, when it picks Kensington Olympia!). The generator then gets set up again by Tangy to generate 15 stations, with the same exclusion rules in place, but this time with a starting station fixed as the one that came out the first time and he gets a family member to hit the "go" button and print out the required number of copies of whatever appears on the next page. They also do a quick double check that something hasn't gone horribly wrong and the same station isn't on the list twice.

Re: Random 15 Championship 2017/18: Round 1

Posted: 21 Oct 2017, 14:21
by RJSRdg
When it picks KO it's a good thing - not only does it get the awkward station out of the way first, it means everyone has a few minutes to plan their route before they get to Earl's Court. :-)

Re: Random 15 Championship 2017/18: Round 1

Posted: 21 Oct 2017, 16:26
by The Orange One
RJSRdg wrote: 21 Oct 2017, 14:21 When it picks KO it's a good thing - not only does it get the awkward station out of the way first, it means everyone has a few minutes to plan their route before they get to Earl's Court. :-)
Yes, but Earl's Court is a lovely easily accessible place to disperse from. Willesden Junction is awkwardly attached to the network by London Overground links...

Re: Random 15 Championship 2017/18: Round 1

Posted: 21 Oct 2017, 17:42
by RJSRdg
Or 10 minutes down the road to East Acton....

Re: Random 15 Championship 2017/18: Round 1

Posted: 21 Oct 2017, 17:43
by The Orange One
RJSRdg wrote: 21 Oct 2017, 17:42 Or 10 minutes down the road to North Acton....
I don't want to run to North Acton :(

Re: Random 15 Championship 2017/18: Round 1

Posted: 21 Oct 2017, 21:00
by Iain
The Orange One wrote: 21 Oct 2017, 17:43
RJSRdg wrote: 21 Oct 2017, 17:42 Or 10 minutes down the road to North Acton....
I don't want to run to North Acton :(

One of Elvis Costello's less popular tracks

Re: Random 15 Championship 2017/18: Round 1

Posted: 28 Oct 2017, 06:47
by tangy
DrainBrain wrote: 03 Oct 2017, 09:37
I understood that for a standard R15 the start station is just the first station on the R15 generator list (and someone, presumably a family member, just tells tangy what it is).

For a twist round the start station depends on the twist. It might be random, or, as in the examples above, chosen for a specific reason.
The start station for a standard R15 is simply the first station on the randomly generated list. I assist my dad inputting the criteria (network, zones used, closed stations) before I leave the room and he tells me the name of the station first on the list.

The start station for a twist R15 can depend on the nature of the challenge. On the more complex twists (such as including NR, or non zone 1) a start station is chosen by myself beforehand which is normally a station that is easily accessible and has several opening moves available to encourage teams to go in different directions (e.g. Clapham Junction or Green Park). More simple R15 twists (such as normal+Overground, normal+ DLR) I let the random generator choose where we start.

In certain other twist R15s the start station is chosen for a commemorative reason, such as Stratford International moving into boundary Z2-3 or Essex Road for an NR round to include the Northern City line onto a challenge since, at the time, it started to operate at weekends so was possible to include in an R15.

Hope this provides some clarity as to how the start station is generated.