Futuristic Road Vehicles

[Mr Pattle]

I would like to create my first proper grf set, containing a pair of road vehicles released sometime around 2020, with a low to medium capacity and a very high speed (125mph+). The idea behind these 'hover vehicles' is that they should be a small add-on to TTD's existing set of road vehicles (probably just replacing a Toyland vehicle) and that they should help road travel be slightly more competitive rail, come the creation of Maglev. Of the two, the first is a bus (you know, the kind that carries passengers) and the second is general cargo vehicle, refitable to all but passengers.
The reason I mention this here is because, although I am more than happy to code this, I am looking for someone who would like to create the graphics, as, one thing I have become aware of, is that I am completely unable to draw them myself. If you do help me, by drawing the graphics, you will, obviously, be given credit if I release the grf file. (Even if I don't release it, I'll send you a copy if you want it.)
When it comes to the graphics themselves, I won't be too picky about appearance, so long ass they are in keeping with the idea of a hover vehicle, and in keeping with TTD's generic theme. Being new to this myself, I would be more than happy to work with someone who is also new to creating grfs.

Please feel free to comment on this small project if you have suggestions, criticisms or (ideally) if you wish to help.

[Ben_K]

Hi Geoff, welcome to the community. I dont have a lot of time at the moment but if I do get some spare, I'll have a look. Especially for a Douglas Adams fan! Dont hold your breath though, it may be months... Either way, it will be interesting to see the result you end up with!

[Mr Pattle]

Thanks! and who would have thought you could get people helping you, simply by having a quote in your signature?

I've started some of the code already (I know you said it may be months, but there's no point not working on it.) and it's going ok. I'm bound to find something I don't understand soon, but hopefully if that happens, I'll be able to ask on this forum for help.

[FooBar]

Where are the days that graphic artists were screaming for coders?

Anyways, if you run into any problem on the coding side, just ask. There are enough people around here willing to help you with that (me included).

[Tom0004]

have you came up with some sort of tracking table ?

so that people know, what you want in the set, and whats being worked on ?

as i'd be more then happy to throw some sprites together.

[Mr Pattle]

No, sorry. I don't have a table. I don't know where I'd put one, and it seems almost pointless with only two vehicles in the set. Still, if you want to start drawing some sprites thats great! I don't think Ben_K's started any yet, or that's the impression I got. The more I write this, the more I realise I do need a tracking table. Hmm...

EDIT:

ok, I think I've come up with a solution:
below is a screenshot of the tracking table I made in excel. For the time being, I have not put any names down. If you want to work on anything, say so in this thread, and I'll update the table.

[Ben_K]

Yeah, I haven't started yet. What I meant is that if I get a chance I will draw some and send them to you. It would only happen if I get enough time and motivation at the same moment and then happen to do them. If anyone else is going to, then go for it!

[Maedhros]

Sorry, but until realistic acceleration is written for and committed in OpenTTD, you can't have road vehicles that travel more than 127 km/h (80 mph).

[Mr Pattle]

Damn. I noticed in the grf coding tutorial on the ttdpatch wiki that there was an 80mph limit without realistic acceleration. The only reason I carried on with this after that was because I thought Openttd had realistic acceleration.

I guess it's back to the proverbial drawing board.

[Ben_K]

Can you not just write the code how you want it then let it be limited in OTTD, or would that cause bigger problems?

[Mr Pattle]

I'm not quite sure what you mean, but I've changed my mind anyway. There's not point stopping just because I can't use it to it's full extent in Openttd. I'll just have to download patch. Besides, if I get it working with Realistic acceleration now, Openttd might eventually catch up on that.

[Ben_K]

This is what I mean... In my mind it works that;
Program the GRF to go 125mph. If OTTD cant do more than 85 it will restrict it but will still run. When OTTD supports higher speed then they will run correctly. All you need to do is add a line to your readme to say that it requires realistic accel. to run higher than 85mph.
Or is that not correct? Would a file with a higher max. speed cause problems in OTTD?

[Mr Pattle]

I can't see it causing a problem, but obviously, I'm nowhere near an expert.

If I remember correctly, the realistic acceleration speed is set by a separate variable (correct me if I'm wrong on this) so logically, Openttd would use the standard variable for speed, and simply ignore the other, as it would not understand it. The only problem is if the Realistic Acceleration variable isn't on the end of the line of code, in which case Openttd would probably read that as another, which could cause issues. EDIT: ok,
it seems the variable for realistic acceleration is in the middle of the line, but it also say if RA is turned off, the original speed is used. (editted again because i got it completely wrong before.) This means I have no idea whether it'll work or not in openttd.

In the meantime, If anyone reading this has the power to do so, it might be worth moving this thread to the patch graphics forum, it could be misleading to keep it here when it won't work properly.

ALSO EDITTED: I forgot to add: I still don't have names for either vehicle. Suggestions are very welcome.

[Maedhros]

OpenTTD will read the variable, so it won't cause any problems when loading the grf, but after that it'll just ignore it.

[Mr Pattle]

Ok. Thanks for clearing that up - I need to try and understand these things better.

[FooBar]

I still don't have names for either vehicle. Suggestions are very welcome.

Maybe you should pick something in line with the default vehicles.
Most of the original vehicle names can be traced back to the names of the people who worked on the game.

I'd say...
Sawyer Type1 HoverBus (just to credit the great man who invented this game in the first place).
and...
Sampson MultiTruck

[Mr Pattle]

I like muchly! (even to the point I had to use a stupid adverb.)
Tracking table updated (see above)
although i'm not so sure about the 'sawyer' bit - hope you're not offended.
I'll have to see if I can think of a better alternative...
...bet I can't...

[DaleStan]

If I remember correctly, the realistic acceleration speed is set by a separate variable

Parameter. Parameters and variables are separate things. The more you call things by their right names and only their right names, the easier you'll find NFO.

[Mr Pattle]

Ok thanks - I need to corrected, or I'll keep making mistakes.

[FooBar]

although i'm not so sure about the 'sawyer' bit - hope you're not offended.

That doesn't offend me, in fact, I'm not sure about that either. I just wanted to credit Chris for his game, but maybe 'Sampson Type1 HoverBus' sounds better...