(UNIV) Canadian Train Set Development - *Update 11/09/11*

[ISA]

Sorry... I have been busy lately so no update from me...
Oz about that update You requested, also not done... sorry!
Ill finish it when I'm free from work again.
And very nice Locomotive You have there Dan!

[DanMacK]

ISA, Thank you. I know all to well how Work gets in the way. Take your time,. No rush for quality On another note, PGE/BC Rail RS18's in 2 more flavours.

[NekoMaster]

ISA, Thank you. I know all to well how Work gets in the way. Take your time,. No rush for quality On another note, PGE/BC Rail RS18's in 2 more flavours.

Nice! Its always nice to have variation :3

[DanMacK]

Definitely I'm not sure how much variation at this point as there were low nose versions of these locos as well That aside, the Pacific Great Eastern equipment is starting to take shape.

[NekoMaster]

Heh, well I hope to see a new release sometime this year, would be nice to have that proposed thing where you can play as one of the railroads you want.

[OzTrans]

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[NekoMaster]

... Oz about that update You requested, also not done...

Take your time ...

Yes, I have been rather busy with implementing what has been cooking in Dan's kitchen over the last few weeks. The steam engines have received a complete revamp with a large number of new liveries too. They are about done, just the dreaded alignments to do, after which we can have a little presentation session.

But as a little teaser ... the GMD FP7 revamp ... then we have merged some of the locos into one vehicle ID with specifications retained (those heavy weight freighters for example) ... I believe someone wanted a faster livestock car ... it's been done too ...

Holy C***! Now I really can't wait for a new release, hell, it would be nice to play with whats done now as long as its working

[ISA]

Yes truly amazing how You mange to get these things together and work perfectly!
Keep it up, both of You!

[NekoMaster]

Like i said before, I can't wait to check this new stuff out! I can't wait to be able to play as just GO Transit or CP Rails or VIA

[OzTrans]

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[ISA]

Totally agree with You Oz. Once its out, its even more sweetish to play with....

[OzTrans]

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[NekoMaster]

Lets start with some standard gauge steam engine presentations ...

First up, we have the SG Steam Engine Purchase Menu. Shown below are the purchase menus for the 6 Standard Gauge companies (player choices). There are 13 steam engines (by vehicle ID); including 2 new ones and 2 have been merged into 1 (4-8-4 'Northern' and 4-8-4 'Confederation'). There are some 42 individual liveries on a quick count.

Just a little reminder about the player choices; the 6 choices are :

. CNR (Canadian National)
. CPR (Canadian Pacific)
. ONR (Ontario Northland); T+NO is what ONR will be called in the early years; i.e. until the end of 1945. T+NO stands for 'Temiskaming and Northern Ontario'. For the ones who like to know, 'Ontario Northland' was known as 'Temiskaming & Northern Ontario' from 1902 until April 1946 to avoid confusion with the 'Texas & New Orleans' Railroad, as Dan explained.
. BCR (British Columbia); again PGE is what BCR will be called in the early years; i.e. until the end of 1971. PGE stands for 'Pacific Great Eastern'. In 1984, BCR changed its name to 'BC Rail', which was taken over by CNR in 2003. This will happen in game too, in 2003 this option merges with CNR.
. ACR (Algoma Central); currently there are no liveries.
. [minor roads]; again no steam engine liveries currently. As you would be seeing a see of red, I have removed the red bars for this option. When the greens are displayed they are sticking out a bit better.

Note : The menus have been taken in 1936 and 1939, so there may be some variations in actual liveries shown in a real game. Of course individual engines are introduced progressively starting in 1890; generally steam engines are phased out between 1950 and 1955.

CanRail - Steam Engine Purchase Menu.png

Next to the individual steam engines ...

The first one is a new steam engine, the 0-6-0 'Switcher', it will become available in 1890, lasts until 1950 and is available in CNR, CPR and T+NO [ONR] liveries. It's slow but suits your early transport needs for both passenger and freight services …

CanRail - 0-6-0 Switcher.png

Awesome, i wish I could also be a tester of the beta. Anyways, whats the -1 for at the end of the max speed?

[OzTrans]

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[NekoMaster]

... I wish I could also be a tester of the beta. Anyways, whats the -1 for at the end of the max speed?

We shall see what we can do about that. I know there is this '-1'; it's not an individual GRF that puts it there, it is the Patch ...

Another 2 steam engines ...

The 2-6-0 'Mogul' would have been next, but let's skip that one for the moment. Engineers are still pondering over the specifications ...

Instead, let's have a look at the 4-6-0 'Ten Wheeler'. Of course, old hands already know about that one, but wait another livery, T+NO, has been added. Now, it will be available in CNR, CPR and T+NO liveries.

The 4-6-0 'Ten Wheeler' was extensively used on Canadian branch lines and locals until the very end of the steam era. It is another early steam engine, available 1910 until 1951, suitable for light passenger and freight services ...

CanRail - 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler.png

Next, we have the X10a 4-6-4T. It is the only tank engine in the set. As before, it is available in CNR livery only and is still push-pull capable. Also, at random, it faces forward and backwards; further when the train reverses, the direction is maintained and not turned around by 180 degrees. It is most suited for your early fast passenger services from 1914 until about 1955 ...

These X10a class tank engines were built in 1914 for the Grand Trunk Railway. They were used around Ontario and Quebec on suburban passenger runs. Not very high in HP, they can only haul a few coaches but they can do so very well.

This engine is now available in arctic too; but should you want to have it in temperate only (as it was before), there is a parameter setting to enable single climate only vehicles.

CanRail - X10a 4-6-0T.png

Just a note in general. DanMacK has given all steam engines a complete make over; i.e. lengths have been adjusted and most of all they received a fresh coat of paint. They also received couplings, as a result, there are no more gaps between vehicles (should you still spot wagons with gaps, well they haven't been done yet).

Man, Im surprised at the amount of work that's being done. I can tell that ill be playing this for awhile once it comes out

[Scautura]

The "-1" is a maths construct, making "kmh" become "km/h" (kilometres * hours ^ -1 (to the power of -1) - anything to a negative power becomes 1/anything) - mph is "miles per hour", "kmh^-1" (or "kph") is "kilometres per hour" - it's basically just a construct of the way the unit is displayed.

Now the geekspeak is gone, impressive graphics! I just wish I were that good...

[andythenorth]

Now, I know some set developers release progressive GRFs almost daily during the development phase, but that is not how this factory works.

I have to say, this approach does build anticipation. The next CanSet release will be much anticipated by me

Is this approach very demanding on your time for testing? I believe CanSet is going to work because I've played previous versions (a lot) and I know your work...works. I'm not sure I'd trust many other people to pull it off as well. I think a lot of sets that take this approach are just vapourware...a big pile of sprites, or just dreams

I like the progressive release route, but having tried it in different ways, I think there are right and wrong ways to do it. 'Nuff said!

[OzTrans]

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[ostlandr]

(drools on keyboard)

Awesome! I can't believe how good these look.

[CPCNMAN007]

Good, good work