Modular Airports

EMKAH · Post by **EMKAH** » 28 May 2007 18:44

Hello everybody,

i think it is time for a new airport concept to work on in the next versions.

Because i never saw airports like they are in transport tycoon (those quadratic, compact things etc.), i would prefer to split the whole airport into several parts:

- runways (short and long, fixed size)
- tarmac / taxi area (build like roads - more flexibility)
- Gateways & public Buildings (the station itself)
- Hangars
- Helipads

Those would be my ground ideas. Even if this probably would be a huge bunch of code, you have some enormous advantages:

- huge modularity
- individual determination of runways for starting/landing/both
- easier integration in landscape & city areas
- you can build your airport exactly in the size that you need, in any time airports are available
- build "clean" freight/passenger airports or mixtures

I have some more ideas for it, but i think that this proposed model will be challenge enough criticism alone.

Please comment!

rav · Post by **rav** » 28 May 2007 22:31

sounds great, just like leveled stations

(train station under airport etc..)

richk67 · Post by **richk67** » 28 May 2007 23:38

Its a nice idea, and one that has been discussed to death.

My view (I'm the guy who coded the Intercontinental, Commuter, and Helistation) is that it would be easy to lay them out in a modular way. Getting aircraft to move around an ad-hoc design would be an infinitely more complex problem. Probably, to reduce complexity, big restrictions would need to be made - eg. that only 1 aircraft could move on the tarmac at one time. This would be horrifically inefficient.

However - here are my current work in progress;

In the short term, I have 3 new airports in the pipeline based on real world airports; LaGuardia, New York; Munich; San Francisco. Both LaGuardia and SFO have crossing landing/takeoff runways, and are pretty efficient. LGA is 1/2 the size of the International with the same load capability.

Munich is a monster. 12 terminals, 3 helipads, 3 runways... and at full loading it can have 18 aircraft in motion on the ground at the same time.

I really doubt that a "do-it-yourself" system would be able to get to that complexity (without conflicts) in any reasonable timeframe.

Release on these (LGA/MUN/SFO) by August (they could be ready earlier, but real life is stopping coding atm).

I am currently working on a newgrf method for loading new airport designs (including their unique graphics) along with the state machine control system for that new design. This at least means that if you design a great airport, it can be shared with others.

rav · Post by **rav** » 29 May 2007 07:28

they look nice!

maybe schiphol, netherlands is an idea to replace the intercontinental airport? (I'm sure there are 5 runways, I don't know about the rest)

richk67 · Post by **richk67** » 29 May 2007 09:31

Im working on Schiphol, but its 6 runways, of which 2 are on the diagonal. Im getting the graphics sorted, but dont consider it even vaguely ready for testing let alone release. Its a nice weird shape though.

No airport will replace another. Currently the system can only handle a specific ID for each airport design. Of course, you may choose to place a Munich instead of an Intercontinental yourself (its nearly twice the capacity - almost impossible to overload).

EMKAH · Post by **EMKAH** » 29 May 2007 09:33

I LOVE those airports!!!! Thanks for your great creativity!

littlemikey · Post by **littlemikey** » 29 May 2007 15:59

wow, those airports are amazing ^_^

I really do like the idea of 'modular airports' because I know when I want to 'upgrade' an airport (from normal to metropolitan) ect its hard work, because I have to clean the airport completely (which means sending all planes away, and delete and rebuild)

I have another suggestion for heliports but i'm putting that in the thread i'm about to create ^_^

Ben_K · Post by **Ben_K** » 29 May 2007 20:53

Rich's ideas, coupled with some newstation tiles, such as SSpeeds Fake Airport can give you *nearly* what you want

(Id still love modular airports, but its a LOT of work. It wont happen soon

)

DrMilzbrand · Post by **DrMilzbrand** » 06 Jun 2007 22:57

Hello

Dangerously small distance of the parallel runways
Is it possible to rise the distance of two parallel runways at the Open-TTD-Standard-Airports? In reality, it is not allowed to use two parallel runways independent from each other, if the distance is to low. I dont know the value for it, but in any case more than 500 m. In OpenTTD are some airports with parallel runways next to each other. Is it possible to redesign those airports, because the runways were used independently in the game?

Some more ideas for modular airports
For modular Airports it would be important to add a minimal lenght of the runway for start or landing for each plane in the game. A B 757-200 ("Darwin 400") needs not such a long runway, than a B 747-400 needs. Further more, I guess, that ther must be something like a hidden signalsystem for the taxiways to prevent congestions of airplanes at the taxiways:?:
In newer SIMUTRANS-Version, it is possible to build modular airports. Perhaps somebody can be able to be inspired of it.

An other nice tool for building runways would be a menue to choose different materials for building the runway or choose different types of parking positions (gateway,...). For example, an airbus A-380 should have a better runway than a DC-3 in the year 1930, when may a field was sufficient. 2 or 3 types of each part would be enought, i think.

Thanks and regards

zombie · Post by **zombie** » 08 Jun 2007 16:21

Hi.

First of all, I'm really looking forward to the new airport system. Hopefully it will be easy to add more airports including their state machine. Unfortunately I can't code C++ or provide some work on the graphics to help with this patch.

richk67 wrote:Munich is a monster. 12 terminals, 3 helipads, 3 runways... and at full loading it can have 18 aircraft in motion on the ground at the same time.

Why does your version of Munich airport have three runways? The airport at Munich Erdinger Moos has two runways (08L/26R & 08R/26L). I know there are plans to request and build a third runway. Did you already include this?

Kind regards

Zombie

EMKAH · Post by **EMKAH** » 08 Jun 2007 16:29

DrMilzbrand wrote:An other nice tool would be a menue to choose different types of parking positions (gateway,...)

This would be a good idea even for the standard TTD airports. Maybe you can combine this with the load/unload speed of a docked airplane. I.e. the speed of load/unload at gateways would be quite fast, while load/unload on tarmac will take more time (bus transfer to terminal buildings,...).

blitzkrieg · Post by **blitzkrieg** » 08 Jun 2007 16:48

richk67 wrote:Im working on Schiphol, but its 6 runways, of which 2 are on the diagonal. Im getting the graphics sorted, but dont consider it even vaguely ready for testing let alone release. Its a nice weird shape though.

No airport will replace another. Currently the system can only handle a specific ID for each airport design. Of course, you may choose to place a Munich instead of an Intercontinental yourself (its nearly twice the capacity - almost impossible to overload).

Hi
I liked ur idea but could Munich & Schiphol airports have 1 more hanger??

richk67 · Post by **richk67** » 08 Jun 2007 17:25

Its an old pic of Munich. It does now have 2 hangars. Schiphol is more of an experiment, and nothing is set in stone. It doesnt really need more than 2 hangars though, since the hangars are easily accessible from the terminals.

richk67 · Post by **richk67** » 08 Jun 2007 17:27

zombie wrote:Why does your version of Munich airport have three runways? The airport at Munich Erdinger Moos has two runways (08L/26R & 08R/26L). I know there are plans to request and build a third runway. Did you already include this?

Yeah, Ive set the intro date as 2010 I think, and it should have the 3rd runway by then. The basic design was worked out from several official layout plans.

EMKAH · Post by **EMKAH** » 08 Jun 2007 20:22

richk67 wrote:Yeah, Ive set the intro date as 2010 I think, and it should have the 3rd runway by then.

(ot) Hopefully

czerty · Post by **czerty** » 25 Jun 2007 18:13

Little OT, but it is posible to add maximum/actual capacity of aircrafts per mohnth to airports ? For simple use - to determine upgrade to new AP.

rav · Post by **rav** » 25 Jun 2007 19:55

also, schiphol has 5 runways

look here

SoLo · Post by **SoLo** » 25 Jun 2007 22:13

It does have 6 runways, but only 5 are used commercially. The 6th runway is for general avaiaton

Picture
http://www.absolutelyaviation.com/airco ... ap-pvs.jpg

Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schiphol_Airport

richk67 · Post by **richk67** » 26 Jun 2007 09:15

I designed it based off 2 items: a google map satellite view, and the airport's own navigation instruction leaflet for pilots (provided by Celestar). Its pretty reasonably accurate - or as much as we can manage in OTTD.

d4sh · Post by **d4sh** » 26 Jun 2007 19:25

Here's an idea: What if you could only build one of each real-life airport? So they would be super-airports which you must place strategically.

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