Qustions (first real topic)

[Stylesjl]

Does simutrans stand for simulation transport because if it does it does'nt make sense

Second when will the starting years be and when does the game end?

Third will you be changing the coding of subsidies town growth and otther bits and peices significantly?



Thanks

[orudge]

Second when will the starting years be and when does the game end?

The game starts in 1930, I think, and goes on until infitity, theoretically.

[ChrisCF]

One difference I remember was that TT works by days in a month, Simutrans works by hours in a season, so you get things like "12:00 Winter 1935" and such like.

[Hajo]

One difference I remember was that TT works by days in a month, Simutrans works by hours in a season, so you get things like "12:00 Winter 1935" and such like.

ATM the date isn't very meaningful, because the vehicles and buildings don't have introductions dates yet.

1930 is more or less the expression that the deveopers think this is a reasonable date to start with. Depending onnthe final vehiclöe set the starzting date will be adjusted as needed.


Timeflow in Simutrans: to have a reasonable and pleasant day-night cycle 'days' in the game must be much longer than in reality (a flickering screen would be no fun). So a year is divided into 4 seasons of three month each.

24 hours (one day night cycle) is equivalent to one month.

Maybe we need to work out something else once time becomes more importatnt. ATM this works quite ok, I think.

c.u.
Hajo

[Hajo]

Does simutrans stand for simulation transport because if it does it does'nt make sense

I'm notoriously bad in inventing names. It shall remind of "transport simulation", but don't the name too seriously.

Nowadays many people know it by that name, and I think the name shouldn't be changed anymore.

Third will you be changing the coding of subsidies town growth and otther bits and peices significantly?
Thanks

Lately a feature was introduced to link town growth to the number of transported passengers. Maybe later on towns will need supply with food and other goods to grow. I don't know yet.

I think more important is to link productivioty of industries to steady supply (industries that have good supply with goods should raise productvity).

There are no plans to add subsidies ATM.

c.u.
Hajo

[anaconda]

I'm notoriously bad in inventing names. It shall remind of "transport simulation", but don't the name too seriously.

Nowadays many people know it by that name, and I think the name shouldn't be changed anymore.

I like the name Simutrans. It's not that bad at all. I mean, there is allready too many 'Tycoon'-games out there.

A bit OT: People like me that have played Sid Meier's games from the beginning (I actually had Solo Flight on the C64) know that his games is quality. After RailRoad Tycoon, I believed that every tycoon-game was made by Microprose and Sid Meier, and therefore meant quality. Or at least was good games. Now people try to sell games on the Tycoon postfix. I don't like it at all.

Ok, that was today's off-topic.

[Stylesjl]

Well the game simutrans does sound good that way we will avoid copyright problems over the the name and A LOT of new tycoon games are crappy nowadays (execept RCT2 but its not as good in gameplay as TTDX)


Well simutrans it will stay than

[Hajo]

Well the game simutrans does sound good that way we will avoid copyright problems over the the name and A LOT of new tycoon games are crappy nowadays (execept RCT2 but its not as good in gameplay as TTDX)

Well simutrans it will stay than

Simutrans was started in 1997. The basic things have been decided long ago, and most likely won't be changed anymore unless serious reasons force us to do so.

Think of a project like a house that is build from many stones in many layers. The more layers there are, the more difficult it is to change or replace one of the lower stones.

Simutrans is a quite old project with all the inertia that such an old project has. One never should say never, but I tend to say Simutrans will not undergo major changes anymore. All I do lately is expanding and improving the existing features. Some of the other team member might still have more drive, but I've got a bit worn out after all the years.

If you think of Simutrans as a tree, Simutrans will grow new branches and leaves, new fruits and flowers, but noone will cut the trunk and plant a new , different, tree instead.

Transport Master/Transport Empire is a young project, being born right now. It has many open options and it's still easy to change since the core things have not yet developed to far. If you have the idea for 'the next big thing', TE is a better place to make your idea become reality.

I'm always open to suggestions and ideas, but I must admit, the deeper the changes the less likely it is that the idea will be realised in Simutrans. Some things seem to be screwed forever, i.e. multiplayer/networking ability.

c.u.
Hajo

[anaconda]

Some things seem to be screwed forever, i.e. multiplayer/networking ability.

All games can't have everything. I think some games should stay singleplayer.

I think there is a huge difference between a complete game, and a game full of features. Even though your game doesn't have some features, it may be complete. It's just the matter of setting a goal, and possible ways to reach that goal. And make a game around it.

[BobXP]

1. It stands for Simulated Transportation.

2. As for dates, its stupid that 24 hours is one month.

Maybe something like

1sec real time = 1 day game time (that's 4 times the speed of ttd, I worked it out. Incidentally it's also 19 times the speed of rollercoaster tycoon)

would be better.

And it should say day/month/year (or month/day/year, depending which you choose) rather than season/year/"time".

3. And I don't get that sign/marker thingy, it won't let me delete them AND it costs to plop them down!

4. The game shouldn't say blah can't find a route. It never happened when I had the older version (backwards step!) and I kinda wish that I backed that old version up before reinstalling my comp lol

Seems to happen when you put a train depot right next to a station.

5. It should have an option for letting the train choose a platform rather than going to the one you specify, like in TTD.

6. When you close the create new world box it shouldn't quit the game, i accidentally clicked create new world and then i closed it and lost my game

That's about it.

[Hajo]

1. It stands for Simulated Transportation.

2. As for dates, its stupid that 24 hours is one month.

There is an option that Simutrans goes through a day-night cycle every 24 hours. So 24 game hours should last a few minutes to avoid headaches from flickering screens.

3. And I don't get that sign/marker thingy, it won't let me delete them AND it costs to plop them down!

I can't help on that. It was made by one of my codevelopers and I never tried to use or understand it. IIRC this is only for creating shortcuts to certain spots on the map ...

4. The game shouldn't say blah can't find a route. It never happened when I had the older version (backwards step!) and I kinda wish that I backed that old version up before reinstalling my comp lol

Maybe you try to use an electric engine on a non-electrifed track? This seems to be the most common source of the "cannto find route" problem.

http://www.simugraph.com/forum/viewtopi ... =6&t_id=16

5. It should have an option for letting the train choose a platform rather than going to the one you specify, like in TTD.

It is being considered but doesn't work well with Simutrans pathfinding. we We just couldn't implement that so far.

6. When you close the create new world box it shouldn't quit the game, i accidentally clicked create new world and then i closed it and lost my game

Hmmm ... well what should happen in your opionon if you click that box?

[BobXP]

Just close the box? Return you to the game you were playing?

*me wants a DUH!!!!!! emoticon*

[Hajo]

Just close the box? Return you to the game you were playing?

*me wants a DUH!!!!!! emoticon*

Actually you had quit your game if you came to the main menu from the game. There is no way back. (Except if you exploit a bug in the current code).

IMO it's correct that closing the main menu shuts down the game. IMO this means you do not want to create a new world and already have quit the old game. So there is nothing left the game could do for you.

[BobXP]

Well thats stupid. If you quit the game, why does it still run on in the background? At least a Save first? dialog would be handy!!

[Hajo]

Well thats stupid. If you quit the game, why does it still run on in the background?

It was the easiest solution. IIRC it won't run very long anymore because quite some tasks are already canceled/stopped at this stage. It will eventually come to a stop all by itself.

At least a Save first? dialog would be handy!!

I assume players know what they do if the say "Quit game" or "New map".

c.u.
Hajo

[BobXP]

Quit game is obvious. But hey, we're in 21st century here! Multitasking! If you do New game it should either:
a) Dont ask, but keep the old one paused in memory while playing the new one, so you can switch back at any time, or
b) Ask Yes/No/Cancel: Yes saves the game and quits it, No doesn't and still quits without saving, and Cancel doesn't and doesn't quit either.
c) Leave the old game running in background paused, and when NEw Game box closed return to it; if a new game is started ask to save.

[OBrown]

BobXP: *whines* I made a mistake and I couldn't undo it in this game that hasn't even hit 1.0 yet.

Hajo: It's not even 1.0 yet, I'm still adding new features and fixing glaring bugs. Ask me later to add stuff like that.

BobXP: *whines* I made another mistake and I couldn't undo it! My other game, at version 3.0, has safeguards against that!

Hajo: OK, you did something unusual there. If you do it this way, that doesn't happen.

BobXP: Well, that's just stupid.

Hajo: ...

BobXP: Here's how you do it MY WAY (The only way): *whine whine whine*

Hajo: *bangs head against keyboard*

[Rob]

[spaceman-spiff]

Come on boys, keep out of their discussion

[BobXP]

BobXP: *whines* I made a mistake and I couldn't undo it in this game that hasn't even hit 1.0 yet.

Hajo: It's not even 1.0 yet, I'm still adding new features and fixing glaring bugs. Ask me later to add stuff like that.

BobXP: *whines* I made another mistake and I couldn't undo it! My other game, at version 3.0, has safeguards against that!

Hajo: OK, you did something unusual there. If you do it this way, that doesn't happen.

BobXP: Well, that's just stupid.

Hajo: ...

BobXP: Here's how you do it MY WAY (The only way): *whine whine whine*

Hajo: *bangs head against keyboard*

What the f---?

Funny though.

If you were (by the 0.0000000000000000000000000001% chance) talking about blok killer, you can download version 3 at http://bobxp.cjb.net.