Transport Tycoon Forums

I've just been wondering what could make OpenTTD even more realistic than it already is, as this is one of the requirements for a suggestion to even possibly be accepted. One quite obvious feature would be that of containerisation, with containers constantly changing trains/lorries/ships, to get to their destination. I have seen other people suggest rail yards to sort cargo, and I think they would come in handy earlier in the game before containerisation kicks in to handle the "small wagon policy" that OpenTTD currently operates... Then with the addition of containers could come the addition of container yards and harbours...
Obviously, to successfully integrate this into the game would require a much more in depth knowledge of the container industry than I currently have, but with some research (and a Wikipedia spree or two), I reckon we could find an optimal way to add this game-changing feature to the game. As for coding it, despite my 9 in my GCSE mocks, I am still very much a beginner compared to you lot, but I'm a beginner with potential, potential to become as great a coder as your motly crew.

You can download NewGRF station and object sets to build rail yards and intermodal container yards, and a variety of rail, road vehicle, ships, trains and aircraft to transport containerized cargo.

Master Trams wrote: ↑20 Jun 2020 23:20 I've just been wondering what could make OpenTTD even more realistic than it already is, as this is one of the requirements for a suggestion to even possibly be accepted.

Thanks for contributing!

'More realistic' actually isn't one of the goals at all If you're interested, the goals are here: https://github.com/OpenTTD/OpenTTD/blob ... ject-goals

Defining goals for software (especially games) can be like thinking around corners.

This is a family friendly forum. Please don't use the "R" word.

Captain Rand wrote: ↑21 Jun 2020 08:13 This is a family friendly forum. Please don't use the "R" word.

R-word? What word is that?

kamnet wrote: ↑21 Jun 2020 00:26 You can download NewGRF station and object sets to build rail yards and intermodal container yards, and a variety of rail, road vehicle, ships, trains and aircraft to transport containerized cargo.

Hmmmmmmmmmm... Yes, but I seem to remember them only really being aesthetical and not actually functional...

Master Trams wrote: ↑21 Jun 2020 08:31

Captain Rand wrote: ↑21 Jun 2020 08:13 This is a family friendly forum. Please don't use the "R" word.

R-word? What word is that?

"Realistic".

Master Trams wrote: ↑21 Jun 2020 08:33

kamnet wrote: ↑21 Jun 2020 00:26 You can download NewGRF station and object sets to build rail yards and intermodal container yards, and a variety of rail, road vehicle, ships, trains and aircraft to transport containerized cargo.

Hmmmmmmmmmm... Yes, but I seem to remember them only really being aesthetical and not actually functional...

What is your definition and idea of "functional"?

I think the dream is to be able to follow the same blue container with cargo from it being loaded at a factory onto a truck, moved to an intermodal railway station and loaded onto a flatcar, transported to a harbour and loaded onto a ship, being unloaded somewhere else and back onto a truck, and then delivered to a distribution depot where the container is unpacked and the contents sent to retailers. Later the exact same container is then sent back the same (or a different) route, loaded or empty.

Of course the current model of cargo and routing in OpenTTD isn't able to support anything like that at all.

jfs wrote: ↑21 Jun 2020 18:43 I think the dream is to be able to follow the same blue container with cargo from it being loaded at a factory onto a truck, moved to an intermodal railway station and loaded onto a flatcar, transported to a harbour and loaded onto a ship, being unloaded somewhere else and back onto a truck, and then delivered to a distribution depot where the container is unpacked and the contents sent to retailers. Later the exact same container is then sent back the same (or a different) route, loaded or empty.

Of course the current model of cargo and routing in OpenTTD isn't able to support anything like that at all.

I don't think that following individual containers would be particularly practical or useful, in much the same way that following individual passengers isn't.

Having various industries accept and/or produce (sub)types of the container cargo, which can be loaded onto the same vehicles and usefully routed by cargodist could be interesting though.
Having multiple container cargoes collapsed onto the same cargodist linkgraph, and interchangeably loadable on the same vehicles, does not sound excessively infeasible.
From a gameplay point of view that could provide more of a challenge than a large number of unrelated unidirectional point to point links on separate vehicles, which is what freight networks are mostly at present.
As a bonus it might even make ships actually useful as a core part part of a wider freight network.

JGR wrote: ↑22 Jun 2020 13:54Having various industries accept and/or produce (sub)types of the container cargo, which can be loaded onto the same vehicles and usefully routed by cargodist could be interesting though.
Having multiple container cargoes collapsed onto the same cargodist linkgraph, and interchangeably loadable on the same vehicles, does not sound excessively infeasible.

I suspect using container trains with "Autorefit to available cargo" would be close to this, albeit not collapsed onto the same cargodist linkgraph.

Iron Horse 2's container wagons, for example, can carry any cargo except passengers or mail, making this possible for any step in the transportation chain.