Vehicle length

[Crazy Vaclav]

As the new vehicles for the 32bpp version are generally larger than those found in the original game, a problem arises when you try putting two of them next to each other.

Is there a way to change the amount of space a vehicle will use, and if so, can someone please help me getting it right?

[thgergo]

You can make shorter train vehicles, with newgrf, longer wagons are not possible yet, becouse they will have graphical gliches in bends, tunnel etrances, but you can make articulated vehicles like in many sets, Anyway i dont think the newgrf actions are already implemented in tar files(correct me if im wrong... i have just checked a tar file from sergej, its nfo contain only raw sprites)

[Raven]

wouldn't vehicles of this resolution be horribly distorted if you had to fit them to half a tile lenght? Well, not wouldn't, they ARE.

Why not scale down the train? It's detailed enough to be cool even at 50% it's actual size.

[Ben_Robbins_]

If you shrunk the entire train, rather than just squeezing them length ways to 1/2 a tile, then the train wouldn't fit on the tracks, and in this case the train would be half the scale of everything else around it. I would definatly prefer distorsion than just out of scale graphics, in the same fashion as the original graphics.

[Raven]

The problem with such a massive squeezing is that they lack good looks. Check out that engine size, it's almost a tile.

The reduction in lenght is the solution, as you said, but needs to be done to the model. Imagine an UIC passenger wagon, it's far longer than that locomotive, and if you squeeze it, the window pattern will look pretty odd.

No easy solution, but I assure it's worth dedicating time to finding a compromise. Well, that or face a complete remodelling/rerendering of lots and lots of stuff

[Ben_Robbins_]

Yep, rather than just squidging a train lengthways and making individual features misshapen, I think features should be dropped in order to keep the remaining looking ok. So just a couple of the circular windows rather than all 4 for example.

Its a pity its not currently possible for it to be full length. It would be nice to see the train in all its glory, but as thgergo said it does have blatant glitches especially at tunnel entrances

[Raven]

But looking at this happen, at least a tear is due.

Well, not that much drama. Due to the behaviour of vehicles in curves, the vehicle is reduced a70% in lenght for N S E and W (diagonals, that is), which also gives some impression of perspective.

Anyway, look at the dramatic reduction to make a vehicle fit half a tile.

[Chrill]

now, you won't have to shrink that train that much

And, jeez, that's SJ

[Raven]

if lenght 16 is a full tile, each little square is lenght=1, so that's an actual half a tile vehicle, max vehicle size allowed. Crazy, isn't it?

Now this was a simple model, but I can't imagine how much work would be to adjust some of the more complicated ones.

[Crazy Vaclav]

yes, half a tile seems to be the maximum size allowed, but don't quote me on that.
Personally I have no intention to make my models fit into half a tile, even if it is the only solution.
I've spent almost one and a half years making vehicles to this scale, and I'd rather not see them in the game at all than to make some kind of b****** versions of them.
But, hey, that's just me.

[Killer 11]

You can do a little trick with front engine just like i do with my trainset since the engines are too long i just align them forward so they don't go over their vagons the only bad thing is that it's a bit weird since the engine sprite is quite some distance ahead from where the game sees it.
That would work with the engine posted in first post

[Raven]

this is the way I see it:

. length > half a tile causes clipping problems, so:

A ) Lenght > Half a tile never get's introduced
- Chop them down with the killing knife, as I did.
- Reduce the scale of railways to half, they'll be offscale, but is the only solution with the available options. Yes, two paralel tracks would look ugly, but... Oh, this would mean around 50m per tile.


B ) Free Lenght is introduced, up to the developer/player to consider if it's worth to live with the clipping
- you get your vehicles, just don't take them out of the prairies

Perhaps the semi 3d engine could solve this sort of issues, don't ask me though, I don't have much of a clue.

Also, I'm sorry you didn't find this out until now.

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There is a third way though, and I used it back in the days when there was a fixed lenght in Simutrans. using inivisible 'couplers' you would have the possibility to squeeze 2xlenght trains with a bit of ability but loosing ID's.

[Ben_Robbins_]

Killer11: currently that train is aligned to one end. Its not that much of a solution though.

Raven:

A) this would either mean all railway features are half scale, or everyting is half scale. To do this would be wasting a lot of preir modelling time, even more of a step back than squidging the trains lengthways

B) yep, I think if there is to be any fixed scale (1 tile to 12.5m) then this will need to be done. There are 3 noticeable problems I have seen with a long train.

1) Tunnels - we just make half sized sprites wich display when entering a tunnel (unless it would just be easier for a developer to make a train disapear behind distant tiles as well as the tunnel enterence tile?)
2) Corners - If additonal angles for the trains can be enabled, then the longer trains/carrages wouldn't stick out periodically when taking a corner, but rather would sit just inside the corner as in reality.
3) Down/Up hills - Renders of trains/carrages on slopes will be needed. Otherwise they appear to float above, or indent themselves into the slope which they travel on.
3)

C) I'm unclear exactly what you mean. Are you saying to make 1 train out of 2 sections? I considered this, but then a train would flex in the center, wich must look very strange.

[ZxBiohazardZx]

ben see his picture he added;)

he suggests to split a train in 3 parts, front, connector, back

[Korenn]

this is the way I see it:

. length > half a tile causes clipping problems, so:

A ) Lenght > Half a tile never get's introduced
- Chop them down with the killing knife, as I did.
- Reduce the scale of railways to half, they'll be offscale, but is the only solution with the available options. Yes, two paralel tracks would look ugly, but... Oh, this would mean around 50m per tile.


B ) Free Lenght is introduced, up to the developer/player to consider if it's worth to live with the clipping
- you get your vehicles, just don't take them out of the prairies

Perhaps the semi 3d engine could solve this sort of issues, don't ask me though, I don't have much of a clue.

Also, I'm sorry you didn't find this out until now.

----------------------------------------------

There is a third way though, and I used it back in the days when there was a fixed lenght in Simutrans. using inivisible 'couplers' you would have the possibility to squeeze 2xlenght trains with a bit of ability but loosing ID's.

I would go with:
C ) Fix the problem
- find and contact a developer who would be willing to fix the problem so that clipping doesn't occur (even if turns will be very ugly).
- when ottd finally allows proper turns for vehicles, include all intermediate turn sprites.

[Raven]

I'm with Korenn on this one, so the solution would be to render full size and wait.

but I would ask a dev first.

about the way I did it, well, I guess the best idea would be to divide vehicle length by two, so when you buy part one, which is the whole sprite, it appends part 2, which is an empty graphic.

This is more or less the solution I used, checking out the screenshot detail, I think it was worth it

(Not worth thinking about my method, since I had additional restrictions, but no vehicle was ever chopped in the process )