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Useless Tracks

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 15:14
by FooBar
I decided to spend my time on something useless. A track set without rails, a feature you may know from NuTracks, but then in a separate NewGRF. Why? Simply because some great ideas deserve to be in a separate grf, so that they can be used with other things as well.

So what is it? First and foremost the "lifted tracks" (or planning tracks in NuTracks): ballast without rail. In addition you'll get planning tracks, something similar to these blue things you previously found in NuTracks. Both track types can be disabled individually if you only want one of the two. Construction cost will be low and maintenance cost zero in both cases. For the lifted tracks I plan to add signals that show no light aspect (i.e. turned off).

Can you use it? Not yet, I'm still ironing out some things before nightlies will be built.

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 15:58
by Bob_Mackenzie
What I see is eye candy dirt roads... :)

Some grass and weeds would be appropriate I think

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 16:08
by Andrew350
I know you probably want to keep this small, but while you're on useless tracks, what about another type having just the ties and no rail?

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 18:44
by FooBar
Bob_Mackenzie wrote:What I see is eye candy dirt roads...
That too, if you want to think of them as roads then that's up to you :)
Bob_Mackenzie wrote:Some grass and weeds would be appropriate I think
I'll experiment with letting the terrain show through. If that doesn't work, grass and weeds can always be drawn.
Andrew350 wrote:what about another type having just the ties and no rail?
I like that idea. I don't mind adding more track types in "different flavours". When they can be disabled seperately, it's ultimately up to the player to decide what he wants in his game and what not.

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 20:24
by Quast65
Well in that case, what about useless tracks with water ;-) To make what we dutchies call an oldfashioned "sloot"

By the way, why not also make a Foobars tracks GRF where you do combine all the tracks you made (if it is not too much codingwork). My grfslots are quickly filling up ;-)

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 20:38
by jor[D]1
Start using Chill's patchpack and you will have enough slots :)

I like the sloot idea.

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 20:44
by FooBar
jor[D]1 wrote:Start using Chill's patchpack and you will have enough slots :)
Yes, because half of my grfs don't work in that :P

I too like the ditch idea, so I'll not be ditching that.
I'll consider the one-big-grf thing, but I'm already quite certain that something like that will end up at the very bottom of a very long to-do list.

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 18 Jul 2012 01:07
by planetmaker
Also... I think separate gameplay ideas do well in separate NewGRFs. IMHO FooBar does a pretty good job in putting separate stuff in separate NewGRFs but not making too small units :-)

This is a truely unique NewGRF so far, at least by the looks. And it looks stunning :-) Looks like it'll make a place in my list of "use in most games" NewGRFs along with HEQS, FISH, ISR and similar "always-used" NewGRFs :-)

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 18 Jul 2012 17:17
by andythenorth
I'm considering converting most of HEQS to be rail vehicles instead of road.

Then it could use railtypes like this.

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 18 Jul 2012 18:01
by Quast65
andythenorth wrote:I'm considering converting most of HEQS to be rail vehicles instead of road.

Then it could use railtypes like this.
That would indeed be a good idea, tracks like these could then be used to make different kinds of roads as there is no future implimentation of multiple roadtypes.

And another brainstorm.... If you have railtypes with water in them, one could code some ships into railvehicles... So little sailingships or canalboats (motorised or pulled by horses) And don't forget funfair rides or even racetracks...

Well, I think you'll have to change the name of this thread Foobar ;-) Looks like these kind of tracks can be very usefull!

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 18 Jul 2012 19:11
by jor[D]1
Like the idea of a "trek schuit."

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 02:40
by kamnet
I like the idea of using this for a canal, then you could definitely create some canal boats. This would go great with pre-railroad early games.

At least, until RoadTypes DO come along. :-)

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 09:38
by FooBar
It is interesting to see all these ideas flowing off one screenshot. Even while there isn't a release yet. Heck, even the source isn't public yet! Thank you all for your input, greatly appreciated! I'll just gradually continue developing this, just keep the ideas coming and I'll see what I do with them :D

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 16:52
by Bob_Mackenzie
andythenorth wrote:I'm considering converting most of HEQS to be rail vehicles instead of road.

Then it could use railtypes like this.

That's a very neat idea!

How are you going to hide the signals? Otherwise it will look a bit odd

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 16:55
by planetmaker
Bob_Mackenzie wrote:
andythenorth wrote:I'm considering converting most of HEQS to be rail vehicles instead of road.

Then it could use railtypes like this.

That's a very neat idea!

How are you going to hide the signals? Otherwise it will look a bit odd
By means of defining invisible signals for this "rail"type; possibly FooBar can make that a parameter :-)

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 19:05
by Supercheese
It would be difficult to debug signal problems on your "track" when the signals are invisible... :?

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 19:14
by colossal404
Maybe with crash barriers as signals left or right handed on the side of the road? Or some reflective columns, there you can draw the signal's green and red light by changing that small reflective piece to another colour...

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 20 Jul 2012 03:17
by YukonRob
I'm considering converting most of HEQS to be rail vehicles instead of road.

Then it could use railtypes like this.
How hard would it be to define 'allow 90 degree turns' per railtype?

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 20 Jul 2012 16:36
by Bob_Mackenzie
andythenorth wrote:I'm considering converting most of HEQS to be rail vehicles instead of road.

Then it could use railtypes like this.
Another issue would be all the "roads" would be in effect single track with no passing places

Re: Useless Tracks

Posted: 20 Jul 2012 17:09
by planetmaker
colossal404 wrote:(...) there you can draw the signal's green and red light by changing that small reflective piece to another colour...
I like that idea :-)
YukonRob wrote:How hard would it be to define 'allow 90 degree turns' per railtype?
Not very hard. But the main effort before doing so would need to go into how to make the adv. setting "allow 90° turns" and the NewGRFs parameter interact such that it's understandable by the players. Having two things change the same aspect of a game often is not a good idea; esepcially so, if something like a NewGRF parameter is virtually invisible and the other a setting the user expects to have an effect.

EDIT: that said, an X or + type junction may look like 90° with this track type, but might actually be 2*45° which poses no issue.