Elevators
Learning and science
interactive article
SHOW HN2026
How HN took it
34 positive, 60 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 17 critical, out of 113 comments about the project. Thread score +0.17.
Idea: 20 for, 4 againstDesign: 7 for, 5 againstPerformance: 2 for, 5 againstExecution: 2 for, 2 againstDocs: 1 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Fascinating, fun simulation that scratches the itch of understanding elevator dispatch
From 3 comments
This is absolute catnip to me. Fantastic job to the author! It really scratches the itch of wanting to understand elevator dispatch algos! I want something similar for advanced…
jamies on HNMakes me want to play Sim Tower again. There’s something so satisfying about watching a machine just dutifully work through queued tasks like this.
Waterluvian on HNThis is a fun simulation to play with. One variable I appreciate in efficient elevators is how the doors work. Usually they don't let you press the button to open a closing door…
cush on HN
Objections
Destination dispatch is worse than standard up/down buttons in the article's model
From 3 comments
> Destination Dispatch [...] are in general worse I wonder if this is an artifact of how the author used random destinations. I worked in a building that used Destination…
omoikane on HNDestination dispatch should be no worse than standard up/down buttons, right (at least in theory)? It provides additional information about the destination, but it should be…
dperfect on HNI've never really liked Destination Dispatch elevators. Besides struggling to find the car I've been assigned to, sometimes you really have to hustle across the lobby to catch…
teepo on HN
Requests
Account for full cars skipping floors
From 3 comments
The worst situation I've encountered is after a large conference when everyone is leaving the hotel at once. An elevator quickly fills up on the way down, but then wastes time…
theodorejb on HNI am currently staying in an AirBnB of a 60 floor tower, and the three elevator shafts definitely cannot handle this (I don't think the building was designed with renting to…
woeh on HNNo mention of an algorithm/sensor for checking capacity of the car. It's a pain when your elevator car shows, it's full, and your request is canceled, meaning you have to press…
heironimus on HN
Questions
How do elevators detect whether a car is full?
From 1 comment
> What if the nearest car is full? I wonder how do elevators find out if the car is full or not. I once been to an office building where it obviously didn't work properly. I…
vova_hn2 on HN
Alternatives named
Elevator Saga programming game
From 2 comments
For folks that have never seen elevator scheduling the game: https://play.elevatorsaga.com/ Enjoy this rabbit hole :D
brandonpelfrey on HNThis is absolute catnip to me. Fantastic job to the author! It really scratches the itch of wanting to understand elevator dispatch algos! I want something similar for advanced…
jamies on HN
Sim Tower
From 2 comments
Makes me want to play Sim Tower again. There’s something so satisfying about watching a machine just dutifully work through queued tasks like this.
Waterluvian on HNReminds of something I haven't thought about in a very long time... SimTower
jp191919 on HN
Sky Lobby mobile game
From 1 comment
Hah, I thought a lot about this problem while developing Sky Lobby, a mobile game (iOS / Android) about controlling and automating elevators. In the game, some of the elevators…
hermanschaaf on HN