[OTTD]New South Wales Rail Set - Developer Log 21 Feb 2014!

[BobDendry]

New South Wales Rail Set v.0.1 Development Thread

You've reached the NSWRS' forum thread. Development of the NSWRS dates all the way back to sunny 2004. It's been a long time, and there's been plenty of setbacks along the way. But we soldier on, and development has continued under the radar since our last official release (all too long ago)

What is the New South Wales Rail Set?

The NSWRS is, simply put, a rail set of the locomotives and rolling stock of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Why use only one state in this set? The answer is simple. The railways of the states of Australia are in essence the same as the seperate national railways throughout Europe. Because when Australia was first founded, each "state" was actually seperate, independent colony of England, each of these colonies developed their own railway systems, using different gauges and locomotives. While it's been over 100 years since Australia was one, whole, independent nation, the distinction between the state's railways has continued, and in each state different companies run the rail systems. To mash all of these together in one wouldn't do justice to how the Australian transport system works, and it would be a mish-mash of different locomotives in different liveries, and it simply wouldn't fit together properly. While one day due to the increased engine pool in OTTD a full Australian set might be possible, it's always preferable to have something doable on the horizon.

Is this set in company colours?

No, the set is all in the rolling stock's real life liveries. However, a 2CC Australian set can be found over at the Generic Australian Rail Set.

When can we expect a new release of the NSWRS?

When it's done!

Who runs the NSWRS?

I suppose you could me the de facto manager of the set. Throughout much of the early days of the set many of the creative decisions in the set came down to me along with two or three other major contributors to the set. While the day to day running of the set is very much a democratic effort, I do grant myself the "casting vote" when difficult decisions arise.

How do I get involved?

There is a huge amount of artistry to be done on the set. At this point in time an updated tracking table is forthcoming, and we hope to have this public before long. If you see something you'd like to draw, simply leave a note on this forum and claim what you'd like!

Our tracking table is over here!

[petert]

I need some advice from the people in this forum. The technologies of TTDP and OTTD have reached a stage where a conscious effort must be made whether to endorse one or the other.

Is it not possible to support both OpenTTD and TTDPatch?

So at this stage I am putting it to the people as to whether they would prefer the set to remain a TTDP set, or to take advantage of the new OTTD features.

I voted for OpenTTD for exactly that reason, to take advantage of the new features it offers.

Good Luck!

[BobDendry]

Is it not possible to support both OpenTTD and TTDPatch?

A LOT of the features I'd like to take advantage of in OTTD would rend the set as incompatible with TTDPatch.

[coalroads artist]

As a contributor (shareholder lol) to this set, I voted for OTTD as it's the version I find myself playing with because of its great features especially the earlier starting dates and the multiple newgrf capability. I think the larger maps would do justice to this wide brown land of ours represented in a game.

Just to answer anyone's queries of me drawing again the quantity I did before, the answer is most probably no and to that I will only draw a thing every now and again when I get an itch to do so.

As usual, it would be great to see this set come to fruition.

Good luck with it all,

Coalroads artist.

[ISA]

Lachie I suggests to You to talk OztransLtd about it, as he was working on the way that TTDP and OTTD works on same grf.
If Oz can see my post he maybe can enlighten us, if I'm right and did he succeed?

[BobDendry]

I'd assume such a thing would use a version check to enable/disable certain features depending on what was returned by the program. However, I've never been that good at .NFO coding. Currently I'm learning the ropes again after switching over from GRFMaker. But I'll look into it. Thanks for the advice, ISA.

[ISA]

I'd assume such a thing would use a version check to enable/disable certain features depending on what was returned by the program. But I'll look into it. Thanks for the advice, ISA.

Yes i think the solution was something like that. Not sure tough.
No problem, glad i can be useful. I hope, nothing isn't sure yet!

[OzTrans]

A lot of the features I'd like to take advantage of in OTTD would rend the set as incompatible with TTDPatch.

Why do you think that ? There is every possibility to have a trains set working on both platforms.

If there are features that are one platform only, you can use variable 9D (in an action-7/9) to skip that feature. For an action-2 chain, copy variable 9D into a parameter at the start, then use variable 7F to check within an action-2 chain.

Apart from using more than 116 vehicle Ids and vehicles earlier than 1920, there are no features for trains that are OpenTTD only; i.e. as far as I can remember. Even those 2 can be implemented with the set still working in TTDPatch. There will always be a solution to have one set working with both platforms, at least for trains.

I suggest, you make a list of features, that you want to use and believe are OpenTTD only. We can then find a solution for a TTDPatch implementation in the same GRF.

[andythenorth]

For the projects hosted by OpenTTD Coop, we use a make file + pre-processor system to compile separate nfo files into a grf. We've just got into templating which makes code reuse much easier. 2CC set has some train templates ready to use....

Sounded complicated and fragile to me at first, but is actually robust and simple. We reckon we can use it to build OpenTTD and TTDP versions of grfs. You can browse repositories to get an idea of how it works http://dev.openttdcoop.org/projects

I'm not a train coder, but I can't think what would be different between OpenTTD and TTDP except for:
- vehicle limit
- introduction dates

Or you can support OpenTTD, use the GPL as a license (you should anyway), and see if someone else wants to make a lite version for TTDP.

cheers,

Andy

[planetmaker]

I also think that there's no absolute necessity to decide to either target OTTD or TTDP.

Extended vehicles and early introduction dates can be skipped for TTDP as OzTransLtd lined out.

And I'm sure that much of 2cc trainset's template code can be re-used with only minor adoptions (e.g. for those conditionals) so that it should be quite quick to get a decent first version (and saving you much tedious and error-prone copy&paste&adjust work).

[BobDendry]

a make file + pre-processor system to compile separate nfo files into a grf.

I use a crude makefile which I coded myself. But I'll be sure to have a looksie at the link you provided. Might be a better/more efficient option.

As to the OTTD only features, the only ones I had in mind were the early introduction dates and the vehicle limit. So I guess it's completely feasible it may be available for both.

[ISA]

Use see, there was some use of me! Thanks Oz to clear this up!

[NekoMaster]

Hmm, should just make a OpenTTD and TTD Version, or have a parameter to enable extra openttd features and engines\wagons

[Gremnon]

Hmm, from my recent delve into the NFO part of the TTDP wiki, I'm fairly sure I remember seeing an Action that meant the GRF could tell if it was running in OpenTTD or TTDP, or something similar, and disable parts or all of itself.
If that's so, then what's to stop making one GRF, and have it disable the TTDP incompatible parts of it when loaded into TTDP?

[NekoMaster]

Hmm, from my recent delve into the NFO part of the TTDP wiki, I'm fairly sure I remember seeing an Action that meant the GRF could tell if it was running in OpenTTD or TTDP, or something similar, and disable parts or all of itself.
If that's so, then what's to stop making one GRF, and have it disable the TTDP incompatible parts of it when loaded into TTDP?

Well one of the things that would be incompatible is extended vehicle ID's, so the main engines would have to be in the first IDs that TTDp can handle

[BobDendry]

As the emails have slowly been piling up in my mail box, I've decided to post a few images to prove that the NSW Set is indeed not dead.

Also, the roadmap is up in the first post.

[NekoMaster]

Hmm... forgot about this thread.

I was wondering if I could use the graphics for the 44 and 45 Class locomotives as well as the C38 Class tender in a Generic Australian Train Set (which aims to include 2CC Locomotives based on the more notable or common locomotives and rail stock of Australia)

[BobDendry]

You have to ask coalroads for those graphics, he created them. However, there is already an Australian 2CC set in progress (just rather out of date at the moment).

[NekoMaster]

You have to ask coalroads for those graphics, he created them. However, there is already an Australian 2CC set in progress (just rather out of date at the moment).

I've never seen or herd of any Australian 2cc set...

[BobDendry]

It's called the AURS I believe.