v0.8.0.9 — the bot plans its switching turn, stops wasting its draws, and the engine walks each route once

The developer bot, re-measured decision by decision against the bot before it,
goes from about -0.3 revenue a game to about 4.8:

- plans the whole switching turn before its first Move (sim/switch-planner.ts),
  +2.89 over 1600 paired seeds; closes TODO #53
- takes a face-up card only if it could play it, +1.52 over 1600 seeds
- stops running Second Sections by accident in the New Train phase, +0.32
- lays track by what the district can do afterwards, +0.12 over 6400 seeds,
  run-arounds in 22 of 60 districts against 9

The engine is 2.8x faster with play proven identical: a route cache scoped to
one unchanged position, applyIntent split into prepareIntent + commitEvents,
and less allocation in exploreMoves. npm test now leaves out the bot
simulations, which run as npm run test:sim.

No rule changed; games in progress resume. Rejected candidates and the
Second Section card question are in CHANGELOG.md and TODO.md (#104-#106).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_017nnuCv8UodHucFfx3LWEoX
This commit is contained in:
Jesse.Markowitz
2026-09-15 15:30:42 -04:00
co-authored by Claude Opus 5
parent 072029b1f7
commit 76c6e103b3
13 changed files with 1550 additions and 112 deletions
+238 -16
View File
@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@
import {
applyIntent,
areaOf,
extendLimitsIfNeeded,
isLockedOut,
protoCard,
canAdvanceLoad,
destinationsFor,
facilityCarTypes,
@@ -29,14 +32,15 @@ import {
ownCutFor,
} from '../engine/apply.ts';
import { MAX_CONSIST, nextOfficeTier, officeProfile } from '../engine/content.ts';
import type { CarType, Hand, TrackGeometry } from '../engine/content.ts';
import type { CarType, FreightKind, Hand, TrackGeometry } from '../engine/content.ts';
import type { GameEvent } from '../engine/events.ts';
import type { Intent } from '../engine/intents.ts';
import { legalActions } from '../engine/legal.ts';
import { connectionsFor, exitsFrom, facilityVariants, hasPort, joins, neighbour, opposite, variantsFor } from '../engine/track.ts';
import { canPlaceAt, connectionsFor, exitsFrom, facilityVariants, hasPort, joins, neighbour, opposite, variantsFor } from '../engine/track.ts';
import type { Port } from '../engine/track.ts';
import { actingPlayer, coordKey, turnOf } from '../engine/state.ts';
import type { Facility, GameState, GridCoord, OfficeArea, PlayerIndex, RollingStock, TrackCard } from '../engine/state.ts';
import { planSwitchingTurn, switchFingerprint } from './switch-planner.ts';
export type BotPolicy = {
name: string;
@@ -106,7 +110,8 @@ function because(reason: string, intent: Intent): Intent {
* Every flag here turns something OFF. That is the opposite of how this started — the tweaks were
* candidates to switch on — and it is the right shape once a candidate has been adopted: what a
* measured heuristic needs afterwards is a way to ask "is this still worth it?" when the deck or
* the rules move under it. Both of these were worth about +1.5 revenue together when adopted; if a
* the rules move under it. The first two were worth about +1.5 revenue together when adopted, and
* planning the switching turn (`noPlanSwitching`) +2.89 on its own; if a
* rebalance changes the economy, that is a claim to re-test rather than to assume.
*
* The candidates that did NOT survive are gone rather than left switched off: preferring coaches at
@@ -121,9 +126,78 @@ export type BotTweaks = {
noTrainCap?: boolean;
/** Draw whenever nothing is urgent, as the bot did before it preferred operating. */
noOperateFirst?: boolean;
/**
* Choose switching Moves one at a time from the rule ladder, as the bot did before it planned the
* whole turn (`switch-planner.ts`). Measured at adoption, 2026-09-14: planning was worth
* +2.89 ± 0.18 revenue a game (t = 15.79) over 1600 paired seeds, 733 better against 21 worse.
*/
noPlanSwitching?: boolean;
/**
* Take a face-up train or industry card whether or not it could be played, as the bot did before
* 2026-09-14. It then took 20.1 trains and 11.9 industries a game off the Departments and discarded
* 20.2 and 11.8, retaking the same card 28.8 times a game. Asking first measured +1.52 ± 0.10
* (t = 15.59) over 1600 paired seeds — this ablation was worse on 880 of them and better on 211.
*/
noPlayableTakes?: boolean;
/**
* Choose where track goes by `bestTrackLay`'s piece rules and the fallback's first legal square, as the
* bot did before 2026-09-15, instead of by what the district can DO afterwards (`bestValuedLay`).
* Scoring the layout measured +0.118 ± 0.029 (t = 4.14) over 6400 paired seeds, and closed run-arounds
* in 22 of 60 districts against 9.
*/
noValueLays?: boolean;
/**
* Let the New Train phase's fallback take `options[0]`, as the bot did before 2026-09-15. Because
* `legalActions` lists `newTrain.secondSection` ahead of the Extra starts, all 26 Second Sections the
* bot ran in 60 games were that accident, and 6 of the 20 collisions followed one. Taking a car, a pass
* or the Extra's start instead measured +0.32 ± 0.09 (t = 3.64) over 400 paired seeds.
*/
noDeliberateNewTrain?: boolean;
};
/**
* A switching turn planned once and then played a step per decision.
*
* Keyed by the tweaks object, because that is what one policy owns — the server shares a single
* `developerBot` across every bot seat, so the plan inside it is kept per player. Each step is
* submitted only while the position still matches the fingerprint the plan expected there; anything
* else replans. A switching turn has no randomness, so in practice a plan is made once a turn.
*/
type ActivePlan = { steps: Intent[]; keys: string[]; next: number; summary: string };
const activePlans = new WeakMap<BotTweaks, Map<PlayerIndex, ActivePlan>>();
function plannedSwitch(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex, options: Intent[], tweaks: BotTweaks): Intent | null {
let mine = activePlans.get(tweaks);
if (!mine) activePlans.set(tweaks, (mine = new Map()));
const here = switchFingerprint(s, player);
let active = mine.get(player);
if (!active || active.keys[active.next] !== here) {
const p = planSwitchingTurn(s, player);
active = {
steps: p.steps,
keys: p.keys,
next: 0,
summary:
`position ${p.rootScore.toFixed(2)} → ${p.score.toFixed(2)} over ${p.expanded} positions` +
(p.complete ? '' : ', search budget reached'),
};
mine.set(player, active);
}
if (active.next >= active.steps.length) {
mine.delete(player);
const end = options.find((i) => i.type === 'switch.end');
return end ? because(`planned switching turn complete — ${active.summary}`, end) : null;
}
const want = JSON.stringify(active.steps[active.next]);
const match = options.find((i) => JSON.stringify(i) === want);
if (!match) {
mine.delete(player);
return null;
}
active.next++;
return because(`step ${active.next} of ${active.steps.length} of a planned switching turn — ${active.summary}`, match);
}
/** The bot as it plays today. Every knob off. */
export const developerBot: BotPolicy = makeDeveloperBot({});
@@ -209,6 +283,13 @@ export function makeDeveloperBot(tweaks: BotTweaks): BotPolicy {
);
if (match) return because(`the ${w.loaded ? 'loaded' : 'empty'} ${w.type} is what a facility is short of`, match);
}
if (!tweaks.noDeliberateNewTrain) {
const move =
pickFirst(options, 'newTrain.placeCar', 'newTrain.passCar', 'newTrain.startExtra') ??
options.find((i) => i.type !== 'newTrain.secondSection' && i.type !== 'maneuver.redFlags') ??
options[0]!;
return because('no car on offer is one our facilities need', move);
}
return because('no car on offer is one our facilities need', pickFirst(options, 'newTrain.placeCar', 'newTrain.passCar') ?? options[0]!);
}
@@ -438,7 +519,7 @@ function topOfDepartment(s: GameState, slot: number): string | undefined {
* In a competitive game the same call reads the other way round — burying a card a rival wants is an
* attack — which is why the choice belongs to the discarding player and not to the rules.
*/
function bestDiscard(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex, options: Intent[]): Intent | null {
function bestDiscard(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex, options: Intent[], tweaks: BotTweaks): Intent | null {
let best: Intent | null = null;
let bestScore = -Infinity;
for (const i of options) {
@@ -448,7 +529,7 @@ function bestDiscard(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex, options: Intent[]): Inte
// two showing whatever they happened to start with. Measured over 100 games — spreading 2.87
// revenue, concentrating on the deepest 2.67, indifferent 2.67.
const top = topOfDepartment(s, i.toSlot);
const wanted = isWorthTaking(s, player, i.toSlot);
const wanted = isWorthTaking(s, player, i.toSlot, tweaks);
const depth = s.decks.departments[i.toSlot]?.length ?? 0;
const score = (top === undefined ? 6 : wanted ? -10 : 2) - Math.min(depth, 4) * 0.5;
if (score > bestScore) {
@@ -460,10 +541,39 @@ function bestDiscard(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex, options: Intent[]): Inte
}
/** A face-up card worth spending the draw on rather than gambling on the deck. */
function isWorthTaking(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex, slot: number): boolean {
return takingRank(s, player, slot) > 0;
function isWorthTaking(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex, slot: number, tweaks: BotTweaks): boolean {
return takingRank(s, player, slot, tweaks) > 0;
}
/**
* Could an industry of this kind be laid anywhere right now? Asked of the engine's own placement
* rule (`canPlaceAt`) and lockout (`isLockedOut`) rather than a copy: an industry is plain east-west
* track, so the only squares worth asking about are empty ones east or west of a card already down.
*/
function industrySiteExists(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex, kind: FreightKind): boolean {
const area = areaOf(s, player);
if (isLockedOut(area, kind)) return false;
const probe = {
geometry: { kind: 'facility', facility: kind },
baseOperationalRail: true,
standing: [],
standingWest: 0,
facility: null,
modifiers: [],
enhancements: [],
} as unknown as TrackCard;
for (const key of area.grid.keys()) {
const [row, col] = key.split(',').map(Number);
for (const dc of [1, -1]) {
const at = { row: row!, col: col! + dc };
if (at.row === area.runningRow || area.grid.has(coordKey(at))) continue;
if (canPlaceAt(area, at, probe)) return true;
}
}
return false;
}
/**
* HOW BADLY the face-up card is wanted. 0 means not worth the draw.
*
@@ -471,14 +581,18 @@ function isWorthTaking(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex, slot: number): boolean
* happened to be scanned first — a coin flip on the card that decides whether the district ever
* becomes a Passenger Facility at all.
*/
function takingRank(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex, slot: number): number {
function takingRank(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex, slot: number, tweaks: BotTweaks): number {
const id = topOfDepartment(s, slot);
if (!id) return 0;
const k = s.cards.get(id)?.kind;
if (!k) return 0;
if (k.kind === 'office') return nextOfficeTier(areaOf(s, player).tier) === k.tier ? 3 : 0;
if (k.kind === 'timetabledTrain' || k.kind === 'extraTrain') return 2;
if (k.kind === 'freightFacility') return 1;
if (k.kind === 'timetabledTrain' || k.kind === 'extraTrain') {
return !tweaks.noPlayableTakes && trainWouldOverfillTheOffice(s, player, tweaks) ? 0 : 2;
}
if (k.kind === 'freightFacility') {
return !tweaks.noPlayableTakes && !industrySiteExists(s, player, k.facility) ? 0 : 1;
}
return 0;
}
@@ -741,6 +855,104 @@ function bestFacilityPlay(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex, options: Intent[]):
return best;
}
/**
* WHAT A DISTRICT'S TRACK IS WORTH FOR WHAT IT LETS HAPPEN NEXT — the default since 2026-09-15;
* `noValueLays` turns it off.
*
* `bestTrackLay` scores the PIECE — its shape and where it sits — and cannot tell one that opens an
* industry site or closes a run-around from one that merely fills a square. This scores the LAYOUT the
* piece would leave, so a lay is worth the difference it makes. Every term is something the rules turn
* into play: a site is somewhere a held industry can go; a run-around lets a crew pass its own cars
* (§A.5); a way off the main is the only road to either; a Running Track straight is what Interlocking
* needs. The weights are a starting point to measure, not a result.
*/
function layoutValue(area: OfficeArea): number {
let v = 0;
const reachable = reachableOffMain(area);
v += Math.min(reachable.size, 12) * 0.2;
let ways = 0;
let loops = 0;
for (const side of SIDES) {
for (const col of waysOff(area, side)) {
ways++;
if (descendFrom(area, col, side).rejoins.size > 0) loops++;
}
}
v += [0, 1.5, 2, 2.5][Math.min(ways, 3)]!;
if (loops > 0) v += 6 + Math.min(loops - 1, 1) * 2;
// Squares an industry could legally be laid on, joined to track a crew can reach.
const probe = protoCard({ kind: 'freightFacility', facility: 'mineTipple' }, 0)!;
const tried = new Set<string>();
let sites = 0;
for (const key of reachable) {
const [row, col] = key.split(',').map(Number);
for (const dc of [1, -1]) {
const at = { row: row!, col: col! + dc };
const k = coordKey(at);
if (tried.has(k) || area.grid.has(k) || at.row === area.runningRow) continue;
tried.add(k);
if (canPlaceAt(area, at, probe)) sites++;
}
}
v += [0, 2, 3, 3.5][Math.min(sites, 3)]!;
let mainStraight = false;
for (const [key, card] of area.grid) {
if (Number(key.split(',')[0]) !== area.runningRow || card.geometry.kind !== 'track') continue;
if (card.geometry.geometry === 'straight') mainStraight = true;
// A turnout on the main whose leg joins nothing is a hole in the Running Track with no road behind it.
if (card.geometry.geometry === 'turnout') {
const col = Number(key.split(',')[1]);
for (const side of SIDES) {
if (!hasPort(card, legPort(side))) continue;
const beyond = area.grid.get(`${area.runningRow + side},${col}`);
if (!beyond || !joins(card, legPort(side), beyond)) v -= 0.5;
}
}
}
if (mainStraight) v += 1.5;
return v;
}
/**
* The track lay worth most by `layoutValue`, placed on a copy of the district exactly as the reducer
* places it (`protoCard`, `extendLimitsIfNeeded`). With `mustBuild`, only a lay that gains something is
* offered, which is the slot `bestTrackLay` fills; without it, the best of whatever is legal, which is
* the slot the "play what is in hand" fallback fills. Ties go to the square nearer the Office.
*/
function bestValuedLay(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex, options: Intent[], mustBuild: boolean): Intent | null {
const area = areaOf(s, player);
const base = layoutValue(area);
let best: Intent | null = null;
let bestScore = -Infinity;
for (const i of options) {
if (i.type !== 'card.play' || i.placement === undefined) continue;
const kind = s.cards.get(i.cardId)?.kind;
if (kind?.kind !== 'track') continue;
const built = protoCard(kind, i.variant);
if (!built) continue;
const after: OfficeArea = {
...area,
grid: new Map(area.grid),
limitsWest: { ...area.limitsWest },
limitsEast: { ...area.limitsEast },
};
after.grid.set(coordKey(i.placement), built);
extendLimitsIfNeeded(after, i.placement);
const gain = layoutValue(after) - base;
if (mustBuild && gain <= 0.1) continue;
const distance = Math.abs(i.placement.row - area.officeCoord.row) * 2 + Math.abs(i.placement.col - area.officeCoord.col);
const score = gain - distance * 0.01;
if (score > bestScore) {
bestScore = score;
best = i;
}
}
return best;
}
function bestTrackLay(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex, options: Intent[]): Intent | null {
const area = areaOf(s, player);
@@ -1213,7 +1425,7 @@ function followThrough(
if (!turnOf(s, player).drawnThisTurn) {
const piles = options.filter(
(i): i is Extract<Intent, { type: 'draw.fromDepartment' }> =>
i.type === 'draw.fromDepartment' && isWorthTaking(s, player, i.slot),
i.type === 'draw.fromDepartment' && isWorthTaking(s, player, i.slot, tweaks),
);
// Best-ranked pile rather than the first that qualifies: an Office card and a train card
// both "qualify", and only one of them stops the collisions.
@@ -1221,7 +1433,7 @@ function followThrough(
// and a train card are face up together 1.6 decisions a game — but ranking them is what the
// ranking function is for, and a coin flip on the card that decides whether the district
// ever becomes a Passenger Facility is not worth keeping for its own sake.
const useful = piles.sort((a, b) => takingRank(s, player, b.slot) - takingRank(s, player, a.slot))[0];
const useful = piles.sort((a, b) => takingRank(s, player, b.slot, tweaks) - takingRank(s, player, a.slot, tweaks))[0];
if (useful) return because('a face-up card is worth more than a blind draw right now', useful);
const blind = options.find((i) => i.type === 'draw.fromHomeOffice');
if (blind) return because('no face-up card is worth taking — gamble on the deck', blind);
@@ -1282,7 +1494,7 @@ function followThrough(
// STRAIGHTS that Enhancements require, and no Freight Facility has anywhere to go until a
// district exists. Measured with track absent, the hand held a playable Enhancement on 4,778
// turns and could legally place one on 33.
const track = bestTrackLay(s, player, options);
const track = !tweaks.noValueLays ? bestValuedLay(s, player, options, true) : bestTrackLay(s, player, options);
if (track) return because('lay track — nothing else creates the straights Enhancements need or the spurs freight needs', track);
// Then real development: a card actually laid into the grid. Freight facilities are scored —
@@ -1307,17 +1519,27 @@ function followThrough(
s.cards.get(i.cardId)?.kind.kind !== 'track',
);
if (placed) return because('develop the district with a card that goes on the board', placed);
const play = options.find((i) => i.type === 'card.play');
const play = !tweaks.noValueLays
? options.find((i) => i.type === 'card.play' && s.cards.get(i.cardId)?.kind.kind !== 'track') ??
bestValuedLay(s, player, options, false)
: options.find((i) => i.type === 'card.play');
if (play) return because('play what is in hand', play);
const end = options.find((i) => i.type === 'draw.end');
if (end) return because('nothing in hand can be played anywhere legal', end);
return because(
'nothing playable — discard onto the Department whose face-up card is least worth keeping reachable',
bestDiscard(s, player, options) ?? pickFirst(options, 'card.discard') ?? options[0]!,
bestDiscard(s, player, options, tweaks) ?? pickFirst(options, 'card.discard') ?? options[0]!,
);
}
case 'switch': {
// The planner decides the whole turn; the rules below are its fallback if the position is ever
// not the one it planned for, and the whole of switching under `noPlanSwitching`.
if (!tweaks.noPlanSwitching) {
const planned = plannedSwitch(s, player, options, tweaks);
if (planned) return planned;
}
/**
* A MOVE THAT DRAGS THE CREW'S OWN CUT BACK ON IS A WASTED MOVE, so take those off the table
* before any heuristic gets to choose one.
+2 -1
View File
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
* Run with:
* node src/sim/compare.ts 1600 noTrainCap=1 — what the A/D cap is worth today
* node src/sim/compare.ts 1600 noOperateFirst=1 — what operating before drawing is worth
* node src/sim/compare.ts 1600 noPlanSwitching=1 — what planning the switching turn is worth
*
* The flags are ABLATIONS: they turn off heuristics the bot already plays, so a negative delta is
* the heuristic earning its place. That is what a measured bot needs going forward — the question
@@ -221,7 +222,7 @@ export function formatPaired(r: PairedResult): string {
* against itself and report a confident zero, which is the most expensive way this tool could fail.
*/
export const NUMERIC_TWEAKS = new Set<string>([]);
export const BOOLEAN_TWEAKS = new Set(['noTrainCap', 'noOperateFirst']);
export const BOOLEAN_TWEAKS = new Set(['noTrainCap', 'noOperateFirst', 'noPlanSwitching', 'noPlayableTakes', 'noValueLays', 'noDeliberateNewTrain']);
export function parseTweaks(args: string[]): BotTweaks {
const tweaks: Record<string, number | boolean> = {};
+347
View File
@@ -0,0 +1,347 @@
/**
* Component 17b — planning a whole switching turn before making the first Move.
*
* Dev-side, like the rest of the bot. The developer bot's switching branch chooses ONE move at a time
* from a ladder of rules, and its own comment names what that cannot do: "a strong player would use
* the six Moves to re-order the consist — that is the game's central switching puzzle, and this bot
* does not attempt it." This attempts it, for one turn at a time.
*
* WHY SEARCH IS FAIR HERE. A switching turn draws no card and rolls no die, so trying sequences on a
* copy of the game is exactly what a player does by looking at the board. The score below reads only
* what a player can see — the district, the cars on the trains, the facilities — and never the deck.
*
* WHY NOT EVERY SEQUENCE. Measured 2026-09-14 over 30 switching turns from bot games: a median turn
* reaches 229 distinct positions, but 11 of 30 passed 20,000, because setting cars out is free and a
* crew can leave them in a great many places. So the search keeps the best `beam` positions at each
* step and stops at `budget` positions tried. Small turns are searched completely inside that.
*
* THE SCORE IS OF WHERE THE TURN ENDS, not of what it did, and it starts from Jesse's ruling
* (2026-09-14): "players will attempt to deliver / pick up cars even if it delays trains." So a car
* put where it can be worked is worth a point, and a train left away from the Office costs a quarter
* of one. The weights are a starting point to measure, not a result.
*/
import { areaAtSeat, areaOf, commitEvents, facilityCarTypes, prepareIntent, withRouteCache } from '../engine/apply.ts';
import { badlyMadeUp, isExpedited } from '../engine/advance.ts';
import { MAX_CONSIST } from '../engine/content.ts';
import type { Intent } from '../engine/intents.ts';
import { legalSwitchingActions } from '../engine/legal.ts';
import { cloneTally, coordKey, seatOf, turnOf } from '../engine/state.ts';
import type { Facility, GameState, GridCoord, PlayerIndex, RollingStock, TrackCard } from '../engine/state.ts';
export const SWITCH_WEIGHTS = {
/** A car standing where its industry can load or unload it — the point of switching. */
spot: 1.0,
/** The same, past what the industry's boxes can work at once. */
spotBeyondCapacity: 0.25,
/** A car the industry cannot work, taking room on its track. */
junkOnIndustry: -0.5,
/** A finished car — loaded at a shipper, emptied at a receiver — still waiting to be lifted. */
finishedLeft: -0.15,
/** A car on one of this district's trains that some industry here would work. */
carriedWanted: 0.35,
/** The same car left on ordinary track, where a later turn can fetch it. */
stagedWanted: 0.2,
/** A coach kept with its train, or parked at the Office where §A.4 allows it. */
coachWithTrain: 0.3,
/** A coach left anywhere else, where no Porter can work it. */
coachStranded: -0.3,
/** Anything but a coach standing on the Office square — the next arrival collides (§8.3). */
fouling: -3,
/** A train that ends the turn away from the Office and so cannot highball next Mainline Phase. */
trainAway: -0.25,
/** On top of that, an expedited train — Q3 charges a Revenue point every Phase it is away. */
expeditedAway: -1.0,
/** A train that could not leave even from the Office — engine buried, caboose mid-train (§8.2). */
notMadeUp: -0.6,
/** Tie-breaks, so equal outcomes prefer the plan that does less. */
perMove: -0.02,
perSetOut: -0.005,
/** A maneuver card spent — Flying Switch — so the planner plays one only when it buys something. */
cardSpent: -0.1,
} as const;
export type PlanOptions = {
budget: number;
beam: number;
/**
* Search Flying Switch alongside Moves, set-outs and sorts. On by default but UNMEASURED: the card
* is dealt 0 copies (Jesse, 2026-08-26), so over 400 paired seeds turning it on changed nothing —
* it is here so the planner can use the card the day it is dealt again.
*/
flyingSwitch?: boolean;
};
/**
* Measured 2026-09-14, paired over 400 seeds against 3000/48: 2000/32 cost −0.02 ± 0.01 (t = −1.68,
* inside the noise) at half the time per turn; 1000/24 cost −0.06 ± 0.02 (t = −2.65) for little more.
*/
export const DEFAULT_PLAN: PlanOptions = { budget: 2000, beam: 32, flyingSwitch: true };
export type SwitchPlan = {
/** The intents to submit, in order. Empty when nothing beats stopping where the crew stands. */
steps: Intent[];
/** `switchFingerprint` before each step, and after the last — so a caller can tell it is on plan. */
keys: string[];
rootScore: number;
score: number;
/** Positions tried. */
expanded: number;
/** False when the budget ran out before the search did. */
complete: boolean;
};
/**
* A copy of the game that a switching intent can be applied to without touching the original.
*
* NOT `structuredClone`, of the state or even of the district. A switching intent writes only the
* cars standing on cards, the industry tracks, the district's A/D and held lists, the consist and
* position of the trays standing in it, this player's turn and the tally — so exactly those arrays are
* copied and everything else is shared by reference. Measured 2026-09-14, deep-cloning the district
* was 44% of all planning time.
*
* `test/switch-planner.test.ts` proves across real games that planning leaves the original
* byte-identical — which is what fails first if a reducer ever starts writing somewhere new, or
* starts mutating a car or a card in place instead of replacing it.
*/
export function forkForSwitching(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex): GameState {
const seat = seatOf(s, player);
const area = areaAtSeat(s, seat);
const grid = new Map<string, TrackCard>();
for (const [key, card] of area.grid) {
const f = card.facility;
grid.set(key, {
...card,
standing: [...card.standing],
facility: f ? { ...f, industryTrack: { cars: [...f.industryTrack.cars] } } : f,
});
}
const officeAreas = new Map(s.officeAreas);
officeAreas.set(seat, {
...area,
grid,
adOccupancy: [...area.adOccupancy],
heldAtLimits: [...area.heldAtLimits],
dispatchUsedToday: [...area.dispatchUsedToday],
});
const trays = new Map(s.trays);
for (const [id, t] of s.trays) {
if (t.position.at === 'grid' && t.position.seat === seat) trays.set(id, { ...t, consist: [...t.consist] });
}
const turns = new Map(s.turns);
const turn = s.turns.get(player)!;
turns.set(player, { ...turn, freightWorked: { ...turn.freightWorked } });
// Flying Switch spends its card (`spendCard`): the hand map is rewritten and the Salvage Yard grows.
const decks = { ...s.decks, hands: new Map(s.decks.hands), salvageYard: [...s.decks.salvageYard] };
return { ...s, officeAreas, trays, turns, decks, tally: cloneTally(s.tally) };
}
const carList = (xs: readonly RollingStock[]): string =>
xs.map((c) => `${c.type}${c.loaded ? '+' : '-'}${c.origin ?? ''}`).join(',');
/**
* Everything a switching intent can change, as a string — two positions with the same fingerprint
* are the same position as far as the rest of the turn is concerned. Identical cars are not told
* apart, which is right: no intent names a car.
*/
export function switchFingerprint(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex): string {
const seat = seatOf(s, player);
const parts: string[] = [];
for (const [id, t] of s.trays) {
if (t.position.at !== 'grid' || t.position.seat !== seat) continue;
const { row, col } = t.position.coord;
parts.push(`${id}@${row},${col}/${t.facing}/${t.railFacing ?? ''}/${t.engineAt}:${carList(t.consist)}`);
}
for (const [key, card] of areaOf(s, player).grid) {
const track = card.facility?.kind === 'freight' ? card.facility.industryTrack.cars : null;
if (card.standing.length === 0 && card.standingWest === 0 && (track?.length ?? 0) === 0) continue;
parts.push(`${key}=${carList(card.standing)}|${card.standingWest}|${track ? carList(track) : ''}`);
}
const turn = turnOf(s, player);
parts.push(`m${turn.movesRemaining}`, JSON.stringify(turn.freightWorked), `h${(s.decks.hands.get(player) ?? []).join(',')}`);
return parts.join(';');
}
/**
* §9.3 — an outbound industry loads EMPTY cars of its commodity, an inbound one unloads LOADED ones —
* but never a load that was made in this same district (v0.4.9e, `LOADED_IN_THIS_DISTRICT`).
*/
function works(f: Facility, c: RollingStock, seat: number): boolean {
if (f.kind !== 'freight' || !facilityCarTypes(f).includes(c.type)) return false;
return (!c.loaded && f.allows.outbound) || (c.loaded && f.allows.inbound && c.origin !== seat);
}
/**
* The car an industry has finished with. Only decidable at a one-way industry: at one that both
* ships and receives, a loaded car may be a delivery still waiting to be unloaded.
*/
function finished(f: Facility, c: RollingStock): boolean {
if (f.kind !== 'freight' || !facilityCarTypes(f).includes(c.type)) return false;
if (f.allows.outbound && !f.allows.inbound) return c.loaded;
if (f.allows.inbound && !f.allows.outbound) return !c.loaded;
return false;
}
const same = (a: GridCoord, b: GridCoord): boolean => a.row === b.row && a.col === b.col;
/** How good this district's position is for the rest of the game, in rough Revenue points. */
export function evaluateSwitching(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex): number {
const W = SWITCH_WEIGHTS;
const area = areaOf(s, player);
const seat = seatOf(s, player);
const officeKey = coordKey(area.officeCoord);
const passengerOffice = area.grid.get(officeKey)?.facility?.kind === 'passenger';
let v = 0;
const withRoom: Facility[] = [];
for (const card of area.grid.values()) {
const f = card.facility;
if (!f || f.kind !== 'freight') continue;
if (f.industryTrack.cars.length < MAX_CONSIST) withRoom.push(f);
const cap = Math.max(1, f.capacity.outbound + f.capacity.inbound);
let working = 0;
for (const c of f.industryTrack.cars) {
if (works(f, c, seat)) v += ++working <= cap ? W.spot : W.spotBeyondCapacity;
else if (finished(f, c)) v += W.finishedLeft;
else v += W.junkOnIndustry;
}
}
const wanted = (c: RollingStock): boolean => withRoom.some((f) => works(f, c, seat));
for (const [key, card] of area.grid) {
if (card.facility?.kind === 'freight') continue;
const atOffice = key === officeKey;
for (const c of card.standing) {
if (c.type === 'coach') v += atOffice && passengerOffice ? W.coachWithTrain : W.coachStranded;
else if (atOffice) v += W.fouling;
else if (wanted(c)) v += W.stagedWanted;
}
}
for (const t of s.trays.values()) {
if (t.position.at !== 'grid' || t.position.seat !== seat) continue;
for (const c of t.consist) {
if (c.type === 'coach') v += passengerOffice ? W.coachWithTrain : 0;
else if (wanted(c)) v += W.carriedWanted;
}
if (t.trainNumber === null) continue;
if (!same(t.position.coord, area.officeCoord)) {
v += W.trainAway;
if (isExpedited(t)) v += W.expeditedAway;
}
if (badlyMadeUp(t)) v += W.notMadeUp;
}
return v;
}
/**
* For ORDERING the beam only, never for choosing the plan: a Move toward an industry changes nothing
* the score can see until the car is set out, so without this the beam would drop the approach in
* favour of positions that merely look tidy.
*/
function approach(s: GameState, player: PlayerIndex): number {
const area = areaOf(s, player);
const seat = seatOf(s, player);
const targets: { at: GridCoord; f: Facility }[] = [];
for (const [key, card] of area.grid) {
const f = card.facility;
if (!f || f.kind !== 'freight' || f.industryTrack.cars.length >= MAX_CONSIST) continue;
const [row, col] = key.split(',').map(Number);
targets.push({ at: { row: row!, col: col! }, f });
}
let bonus = 0;
for (const t of s.trays.values()) {
if (t.position.at !== 'grid' || t.position.seat !== seat) continue;
const here = t.position.coord;
for (const c of t.consist) {
let nearest = Infinity;
for (const { at, f } of targets) {
if (works(f, c, seat)) nearest = Math.min(nearest, Math.abs(at.row - here.row) + Math.abs(at.col - here.col));
}
if (nearest !== Infinity) bonus += 0.1 / (1 + nearest);
}
}
return bonus;
}
const SEARCHED = new Set<Intent['type']>(['switch.move', 'switch.dropCars', 'switch.sortConsist']);
type Node = {
s: GameState;
steps: Intent[];
keys: string[];
moves: number;
setOuts: number;
cards: number;
score: number;
rank: number;
};
/** The best way found to spend what is left of this switching turn. Never mutates `s`. */
export function planSwitchingTurn(
s: GameState,
player: PlayerIndex,
opts: PlanOptions = DEFAULT_PLAN,
): SwitchPlan {
const W = SWITCH_WEIGHTS;
const scoreOf = (st: GameState, moves: number, setOuts: number, cards: number): number =>
evaluateSwitching(st, player) + moves * W.perMove + setOuts * W.perSetOut + cards * W.cardSpent;
const searched = (type: Intent['type']): boolean =>
SEARCHED.has(type) || (opts.flyingSwitch === true && type === 'maneuver.flyingSwitch');
const rootKey = switchFingerprint(s, player);
const rootScore = scoreOf(s, 0, 0, 0);
const root: Node = { s, steps: [], keys: [rootKey], moves: 0, setOuts: 0, cards: 0, score: rootScore, rank: rootScore };
let best = root;
const seen = new Set([rootKey]);
let frontier: Node[] = [root];
let expanded = 0;
let complete = true;
search: while (frontier.length > 0) {
const next: Node[] = [];
for (const node of frontier) {
const movesLeft = turnOf(node.s, player).movesRemaining;
// Every candidate is decided against THIS position, inside one route cache, and only then applied
// to its own copy: deciding on the copy would re-walk routes the listing had just walked.
const decided = withRouteCache(node.s, () =>
legalSwitchingActions(node.s, player)
.filter((i) => searched(i.type) && (i.type === 'switch.dropCars' || movesLeft >= 1))
.map((i) => ({ i, r: prepareIntent(node.s, player, i) })),
);
for (const { i, r } of decided) {
if (expanded >= opts.budget) {
complete = false;
break search;
}
expanded++;
if (!r.ok) continue;
const f = forkForSwitching(node.s, player);
commitEvents(f, r.events);
const key = switchFingerprint(f, player);
if (seen.has(key)) continue;
seen.add(key);
const setOut = i.type === 'switch.dropCars';
const moves = node.moves + (setOut ? 0 : 1);
const setOuts = node.setOuts + (setOut ? 1 : 0);
const cards = node.cards + (i.type === 'maneuver.flyingSwitch' ? 1 : 0);
const score = scoreOf(f, moves, setOuts, cards);
const child: Node = {
s: f,
steps: [...node.steps, i],
keys: [...node.keys, key],
moves,
setOuts,
cards,
score,
rank: score + approach(f, player),
};
if (score > best.score + 1e-9) best = child;
next.push(child);
}
}
// A stable sort, so equal ranks keep `legalActions` order and the bot stays deterministic.
frontier = next.length > opts.beam ? next.sort((a, b) => b.rank - a.rank).slice(0, opts.beam) : next;
}
return { steps: best.steps, keys: best.keys, rootScore, score: best.score, expanded, complete };
}