Suggestion: "Blueprint" editing mode for planning changes

[Joe#]

with the blueprint idea we can implement the copy paste option in creating the railroad layout
which will no longer be cheating

so the blueprint can tell
the cost of the construction and the time needing to do it

I personally don't like the idea of there being a copy & paste option for the construction of railroads because being able to just copy & paste a sophisticated junction instead of having to build it piece by piece from scratch would, for me personally, take away the satisfaction of completing it and then seeing its signal system work.

also if we make all constructions made in the blueprint first
and then build at a slow rate lets say a track per toc of game time
that will take off the edge of ai to build faster that us

this way we will no longer have an instant very long route made that makes lots of money
but instead we will have to build a short route and then expand the railroad out
as it happened in reality lol yes i said it in reality

So your suggesting that the use of the BEM could be compulsory for all transport infrastructure construction in this game so that this game could then build transport infrastructure at a realistic construction rate instead of instantly(with AI infrastructure construction being done at the same rate)? Requiring players to build transport infrastructure in a more realistic way.

Imo using the BEM should be optional by default with there being a construction UI button for turning it on/off. But I like the idea of game hosts having the realism option of making the use of the BEM compulsory and making the BEM construct planned infrastructure at a realistic rate, as time passes in a game's world.

[ANIKHTOS]

well it can be optional

but i think the idea of building in a smaller pace using the blueprint will bring another challenge in the game
so now making a new route will also consume time
a new aspect to consider

i think there are possibilities

also when you make a network lets say a long straight live every now and then depending your style you put a depot some rail for switch direction
so copy past in the blueprint will just make the creation of the long line easier

now is a torture to count the tiles to repeat a pattern


maybe we can have
1st blueprint for free
2nd to cost 1m euros
3rd to cost 10m

the cost is of course to be discussed is a proposal

so in the begging you can only have 1 blueprint active but as you get more money you will be able to have more

[Joe#]

Hi,

Is anyone working on this enhancement I suggested last year?

As an experienced programmer I'm ready to start contributing code to OpenTTD having compiled an executable from its source code for the first time today. I want to start by implementing this idea I had if no one else is working on it and it would be an accepted new build tool.

[Joe#]

Thanks for all the suggestions you posted last year ANIKHTOS, I have reread all your posts and reconsidered your ideas as I am now thinking about how I can best implement this editing mode.

I think the idea of building in a smaller pace using the blueprint will bring another challenge in the game
so now making a new route will also consume time, a new aspect to consider

This would be a controversial new gameplay mechanic since some players, myself included, would personally prefer to have what we say we want to build still be built instantly and for OpenTTD's gameplay mechanics to stay as they are even if this new gameplay mechanic idea would have the benefit of bringing another challenge to this game. So I'm not going to implement this myself and if I did I would need this change & my code for it to be accepted by
the people in charge of OpenTTD's development.

Also when you make a network lets say a long straight live every now and then depending your style you put a depot some rail for switch direction.

So copy past in the blueprint will just make the creation of the long line easier.

A copy & paste construction tool could be implemented & added to the railway construction tools window after I've implemented the blueprint editing mode and could be used in both my new editing mode and the normal editing mode.

So I may not implement this tool idea myself before I've implemented a blueprint editing mode but I certainly think this is a good idea for a very useful build tool which along with my BEM idea would make creating sophisticated railway networks with complex junctions much more feasible in multiplayer games which can't last as long as singleplayer games and where players have to get things built quickly enough for the income of their companies to not fall behind their human opponents' companies.



I no longer think that this new editing mode should be implemented by giving each player a blueprint world copy of the normal shared world in order for a player to plan their changes in their blueprint copy before their changes are confirmed and then made to the shared world. This would be a much more complicated approach than instead making do with one world. Also introducing multiple worlds would make OpenTTD use more memory.

My new single world implementation idea is as follows:

• * Instead of having one blueprint editing mode toggle button in the buttons bar I would put blueprint editing mode buttons in the construction windows which would support this editing mode.
  
  * When a player would click the blueprint editing mode button in the railway construction window to enable this mode:
  • * They would enable blueprint editing only for the tools in this construction window.
    * All their trains would become invisible to them and their opponents because they will be allowed to delete and change track being used by their
    existing trains while they are using this editing mode but their existing trains won't be affected by these changes which are actually being planned
    not implemented. So if their trains weren't invisible they could be seen driving over invisible track segments which wouldn't actually be deleted
    affecting the trains using them unless their deletion was later confirmed.
    * All of the squares beneath this player's railway tracks, stations and depots would become blue making it clear to the player's opponents that
    they have activated blueprint editing for their railway so their trains are invisible for this reason and not because of a game bug.
  * Having this editing mode enabled for this construction window would have the following effects:
  • * A player would not spend any money from their bank account by using the tools in this construction window and instead of seeing their
    actual bank balance in the bank balance display they would see what would happen to their bank balance if they don't undo the changes
    they've made with this window's tools before they disable this mode/close this construction window thereby confirming their changes.
    * Railway track, stations & depots created with this mode enabled would have a blueish square beneath them to show players that they were being made
    with the blueprint editing mode and these structures would be semi-transparent showing that they don't exist yet.
    * A rival player would be allowed to buy land tiles which were being used by a track segment, depot or station created while this editing mode was
    enabled because by using this editing mode your saying your planning to make changes you might not actually make so I personally think its fair that if
    another player knows they want to used a land tile you've said you might want to use that they should be able to claim it. This would also prevent
    the BEM from being misused to temporarily put down railway lines for free in order to block another player from
    constructing something.
  * Disabling this mode for this construction window by toggling the BEM button off or by closing the window would disable this editing mode's effects
  on the consequence of using this particular window's tools and would confirm all the changes made with these tools while this editing mode was enabled,
  making OpenTTD instantly implement all these changes except for any changes involving existing in use track for which it would wait until the in use track
  segments weren't being used before it would delete or change them.
  
  * As for Landscaping tools their window would also have a BEM button and it would have the same effect for these tools as the BEM button has for the
  railway construction window's tools. Squares modfied with these tools while the BEM was enabled would have blue borders and rival players could buy
  them before their changes have been confirmed, undoing all the changes which now won't be made to them by the blueprint.

So with my new implementation idea users of the blueprint editing mode wouldn't be required to buy land before they could use this editing mode to modify what is on this land in order to not interfere with the construction plans of other players intentionally or by chance. Since the other players could buy the land tiles in a blueprint they wanted before its changes were confirmed, while undoing any changes made to them for free while they were in their opponent's blueprint.