Base costs - How to balance different vehicle sets?

[Ammler]

Since OTTD supports dynamic vehicle sets and it would help to know, which sets uses which ID's or does change the global vars.
I started to collect some data from the NFO's or the GRF2HTML output.

Now, I am wondering, if there is already something like that or if there is a usage to collect that. Maybe frosch could extend his grf2html analizer

Greets
Ammler

Edit: changed Topic title to a more appropriate one.

[Purno]

You better put this in a database. A spreadsheet will soon show its limitations when the project gets big. You'll get an uberbig table while people only want to know a small part (probably). As .grf maker for example, I don't have to check the compatibility between the Dutch Trainset and the Dutch Tramset. Or, I have no interest in mixing Dutch trains with American one. Though, mixing them with German ones would be interesting. Databases can store data and only view the selection users actually want.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a wonderful idea, I just think you better not use a spreadsheet for it.

[PikkaBird]

Since OTTD supports dynamic vehicle sets and it would help to know, which sets uses which ID's

No it wouldn't. That's the whole point of the 'support' for multiple vehicle sets.

[Ammler]

There is also a new feature introduced to overwrite existing NewGRFs, still.

I just made some first greps from the nfo or html. I would like to have a possibility to "balance" the grfs, now all sets uses different basecosts. We should somehow be able to get those data from the sets. It would also be interesting for combining different sets in TTDP. (RVs)

Then it could be possible to play competive games with different sets.

Greets
Ammler

[peter1138]

Certainly it sounds like you've missed the point...

[Ammler]

We need of course to add the multiplier for purchase costs and running costs. Then we should be able to make a "balancer " GRF to be able to use 2 different Trainsets at once.

My datasheet was just a example and not that usefull as it is now.

Greets
Ammler

[FooBar]

The better solution would be for OTTD (or TTDP for that matter) to handle the base cost on a per grf basis instead of a global basis. That way we don't need any "balancer" grfs and developers could do just whatever they'd like.

Peter, how difficult would it be to add such a feature to the game?

[Ammler]

In my opinion, It would need the following base costs to be "chained":

Code: Select all

Number	Location	Default	Used for
F	4B8E	400,000	locomotive purchase
10	4B94	2000	waggon purchase
11	4B9A	700,000	aircraft purchase
12	4BA0	14,000	road vehicle purchase
13	4BA6	65,000	ship purchase
2A	4C30	5600	steam engine running costs
2B	4C36	5200	diesel engine running costs
2C	4C3C	4800	electricengine running costs
2D	4C42	9600	aircraft running costs
2E	4C48	1600	road vehicle running costs
2F	4C4E	5600	ship running costs

I have already spoken with Peter and Belugas about, but I would prefer, if they comment it self...

Greets
Ammler

[DaleStan]

Peter, how difficult would it be to add such a feature to the game?

Dunno about Open, but I'm definitely not going to do it. Every single access to every single base cost would have to be patched.

[Ammler]

Hmm, maybe you could change it directly while loading the GRF, you change the multiplayer directly how the bascosts of the GRF is defined. (Example if the basecost for running costs is A, you multiply it with 4 (Property 0E) * 4 and set bascosts back to default (8).

Edit: The question is also, why do GRF Coder change those basecosts, if they also need to change the multiplier for the vehicels anyway?

-Ammler

[PikkaBird]

Edit: The question is also, why do GRF Coder change those basecosts, if they also need to change the multiplier for the vehicels anyway?

Because there is a maximum value that you can set the multiplier to, and that's often not enough. The values in the "default" column in your list are the maximum cost available (in uninflated pounds) with the standard basecosts.