PikkaBird

Fun with charts

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:54:39 GMT

For PJ1K, I am for the first time using mathematical calculation to devise running and purchase costs for vehicles, instead of my old method of just making them up. Here's a ~~graph~~ chart of the running and purchase costs for the new UKRS.

Looks good, eh? And here, more interestingly, is a ~~graph~~ chart of the cost changes to NARS locomotives with the new cost formulae applied.

From this ~~graph~~ chart, we can see a few things (apart from the fact that NARS contains many more locomotives than the UKRS, so makes a bigger ~~graph~~ chart!):

Diesel and electric locomotives are more expensive to buy, but running costs haven't changed much (the spread has widened: small locos cost less to run, big locos cost more). The RDC particularly has benefited from the new scheme.
Early steam locomotives are slightly cheaper to buy and run, but the later large steam locomotives are now massively more expensive, possibly fatally so. I don't know if this is fixable; I've already given them as much of a bonus as I dare.

The problem is one of scale; the UK locomotives are just so much smaller and less powerful than the US ones. I guess only playtesting will show whether the largest NARS locomotives can still be useful.

Hmm

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:03:27 GMT

Might be looking at a public alpha soon to see if I'm on the right track. It's nowhere near properly playable yet though. :)

What the butts?

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:15:37 GMT

  271 * 9	 02 00 00 01 01 00 00 00 00 // green
  272 * 9	 02 00 01 01 01 01 00 01 00 // panel
  273 * 9	 02 00 02 01 01 02 00 02 00 // blue
  274 * 9	 02 00 03 01 01 03 00 03 00 // ll
  275 * 9	 02 00 04 01 01 04 00 04 00 // tl
  276 * 9	 02 00 05 01 01 05 00 05 00 // ic
  277 * 9	 02 00 06 01 01 06 00 06 00 // ews

// graphics variations
// -> panel in 1964, panel if built after 1964
// -> blue in 1970 (2/4), -> blue in 1973 (1/4) (bits 0-1), blue if built after 1967
// -> LL in 1982 (1/2) (bit 2), LL if built after 1980
// -> TL in 1985 (freight non-LL), -> IC in 1986 (1/2 pax non-LL) (bit 3), TL/IC if built after 1985
// -> EWS after 1995 (1/2 freight) (bit 4), -> EWS after 2000 (1/2 freight), EWS if built after 1995
// -> LL if built after 2005

// =========== Green Paint 64 ============
  278 * 22	 02 00 64 85 1A 20 \w16071 \2- 92 00 FF FF 01   // 1964 service?
00 00            00 00 FF 7F                 // G
01 00                                        // P

// =========== Blue Paint 11 =============

  279 * 22	 02 00 70 85 1A 20 \w18262 \2- 92 00 FF FF 01 // 1970 service?
64 00            00 00 FF 7F                                  // before paint date
02 00                                        // B

  280 * 22	 02 00 73 85 1A 20 \w19358 \2- 92 00 FF FF 01 // 1973 service?
64 00            00 00 FF 7F                                  // before paint date
02 00                                        // B

  281 * 15	 02 00 11 80 00 00 04 70 00 73 00 64 00 70 00 // randomise B70, B73, G, B70

  282 * 17	 02 00 11 85 49 00 FF FF 01 // year built
11 00            \w0    \w1966
02 00                                       // B

// ============ LL/TL/IC Paint 12 ==========
  283 * 22	 02 00 82 85 1A 20 \w22645 \2- 92 00 FF FF 01 // 1982 service?
11 00            00 00 FF 7F                                  // before paint date
03 00                                       // LL


  284 * 22	 02 00 85 85 1A 20 \w23741 \2- 92 00 FF FF 01 // 1985 service?
11 00            00 00 FF 7F                                  // before paint date
04 00                                       // TL

  285 * 22	 02 00 86 85 1A 20 \w24106 \2- 92 00 FF FF 01 // 1986 service?
11 00            00 00 FF 7F                                  // before paint date
05 00                                       // IC

  286 * 11	 02 00 86 80 00 03 02 86 00 11 00 // randomise IC or B

  287 * 14	 02 00 22 81 42 00 01 01    // pax or freight
86 00            01 01
85 00

  288 * 11	 02 00 12 80 00 02 02 82 00 22 00 // randomise LL or TL/IC

  289 * 14	 02 00 22 81 42 00 01 01    // pax or freight
05 00            01 01                      // IC
04 00                                       // TL

  290 * 23	 02 00 12 85 49 00 FF FF 02 // year built
12 00            \w0    \w1979
03 00            \w1980 \w1984              // LL
22 00
// =========== EWS Paint 13 ================
  291 * 22	 02 00 15 85 1A 20 \w27395 \2- 92 00 FF FF 01 // 1995 service?
12 00            00 00 FF 7F                                  // before paint date
06 00                                         // EWS

  292 * 22	 02 00 05 85 1A 20 \w29220 \2- 92 00 FF FF 01 // 2000 service?
12 00            00 00 FF 7F                                  // before paint date
06 00                                         // EWS

  293 * 11	 02 00 13 80 00 04 02 05 00 15 00 // randomise EWS paint year

  294 * 14	 02 00 13 81 42 00 01 01    // pax or freight
12 00            01 01
13 00

  295 * 23	 02 00 13 85 49 00 FF FF 02 // year built
13 00            \w0    \w1994
06 00            \w1995 \w2004              // EWS
03 00                                       // LL
// ======================================
  296 * 35	 02 00 AA 85 24 00 FF FF 04 // what year?
00 00 \w0    \w1963
64 00 \w1964 \w1966
11 00 \w1967 \w1979
12 00 \w1980 \w1994
13 00

// buy menu graphics
  297 * 41	 02 00 CC 85 24 00 FF FF 05 // what year?
00 00 \w0    \w1963
01 00 \w1964 \w1966
02 00 \w1967 \w1979

04 00 \w1985 \w1994
06 00 \w1995 \w2004
03 00

wut

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 01:31:08 GMT

av8 1.5 released

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:55:51 GMT

Oh my! The time has come for Av8 1.5!

Additions:

Added Lockheed L100 Hercules.

Statistic changes:

Variable running costs implemented. Aircraft are now cheaper to run when on the ground and when fitted to cargo and flying empty, and more expensive when taking off or broken down.
Running cost base doubled.
aircraft with generational graphics (737, 747 and DC-10) now have variable purchase cost, running cost and pax capacity. (Note that capacity changes on purchase are not supported in either game yet).
737, 747, Dash-8, and ATR no longer expire. Increased model life on DC-3 and DC-10.
balance tweak: decrease in cargo/mail capacity of large aircraft.
balance tweak: increase in purchase price of large aircraft.
balance tweak: decrease in running cost of smaller/slower aircraft and helicopters.

Cargo changes:

Airship, DC-3, Stratocruiser, L-188, RJ, and 747 can now carry all cargos.
Added cargo liveries for the DC-3, Stratocruiser, L-188 and RJ.

GRF loading changes:

Disabled the optional aircraft (BAC 1-11, F100, ATR-72 and A340) in OTTD if multiple engine sets are allowed. OTTD users will get a new addon grf containing the extra aircraft.
Added a check for conflicting grfs (planeset) if multiple engine sets are allowed, and a parameter to disable the check.

You can download the grfs from the website here. I will upload to bananas as soon as I'm satisfied I haven't left in any glaring bugs. :) Enjoy, feedback here or in the forum thread is welcome!

On airports...

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:00:18 GMT

You may or may not have read my scheme for newgrf airports that I posted recently.

I've been musing about it a bit more, and I've come up with some ideas for shared airports.

Currently, aside from the technical details of actually coding it, there are a few gameplay obstacles people have tripped over. Not least, why would anyone want to allow other players to send aircraft to their airports? How do you stop abuse? If we go for "neutral", town-owned airports, how do you get the town to build airports sensibly?

So, here's my solution!

Firstly, how do you make people want to share their airports? Answer: you don't give them a choice. ;) Whether an airport is private or public should be a property of the airport type itself. This is, actually, fairly realistic (HI BELUGAS): a local authority isn't going to let you bulldoze half the town to build a shiny new passenger airport, and then keep it all to yourself.

Private airports would still exist, but they would be mostly smaller and have fewer or less shiny facilities. If you want to build a major airline hub, you have to be prepared to share it.

So, you've built a public airport. What happens now?

Other players can give their aircraft orders to land at your airport.
There are limits (non-player-adjustable) on how many "foreign" aircraft may include the airport in their order list; both a total limit, and a limit per company.
No aircraft, either foreign or company, can be stopped on a public airport apron.
Foreign aircraft pay landing (a fixed amount per landing, plus a variable based on capacity) and terminal (a % of income) fees to the airport owner. These numbers may vary during gameplay depending on how busy the airport is (more foreign aircraft = higher fees).
Foreign aircraft will get booted off the field if they wait too long for cargo.
Public airports can only be demolished or downgraded (ie, overbuilt with an airport that's not in a grf-defined "safe" upgrade list) with the permission of all companies whose aircraft use the airport.

Other limitations (certain bays being foreign or company only, no hangar service for foreign aircraft) would be achievable via the state machine callback. Isn't the state machine callback awesome? ;)

Oh yeahhhh... D;

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 08:01:01 GMT

New av8 is coming! There are a number of new freight liveries, and a handful of aircraft (Airship, DC3, Stratocruiser, L-188, 747, Chinook, and RJ) are being allowed to carry all cargos. There will also possibly be a new, freight-only aircraft making an appearance. ;)

The core of the update, however, are new variable stats. These include a variable running cost module, and generational stat changes for the aircraft with generational graphics (currently the 737, 747 and DC-10).

// VARIABLE RUNNING COSTS OMGZ! ========================================================================
  // ============================
 // planespeed cost multipliers
 // ============================

 // Get planespeed value and save it in parameter 3
   98 * 9	 0D 03 00 10 FE FF FF 00 00
 // skip 1 if planespeed not off
   99 * 6	 07 85 01 00 4F 01
 // parameter 3 = 1
  100 * 9	 0D 03 00 FF 00 01 00 00 00
 // 1577 * 11	 0B 01 1F FF 80 80 7B 00 "=" 00 03 // display planespeed test
 // =============================

//Subroutine 9A - running cost stored in 7D 01.

  101 * 20	 02 03 91 81 7D 01 20 FF \2/ 1A 20 04 \2+ 7D 01 00 FF 00 00 80     // 125%
  102 * 11	 02 03 92 81 7D 01 00 FF 00 00 80                                  // 100%
  103 * 19	 02 03 93 81 7D 01 20 FF \2/ 1A 20 04 \2* 1A 00 03 00 00 80        // 75%
  104 * 15	 02 03 94 81 7D 01 20 FF \2/ 1A 00 02 00 00 80                     // 50%
  105 * 15	 02 03 95 81 7D 01 20 FF \2/ 1A 00 04 00 00 80                     // 25%
  106 * 15	 02 03 96 81 7D 01 20 FF \2/ 1A 00 0A 00 00 80                     // 10%

  107 * 26	 02 03 9A 81 E2 00 FF 04 91 00 0D 0F // takeoff
                                         92 00 12 12 // cruise
                                         93 00 10 14 // circuit
                                         94 00 15 16 // land
                                         95 00       // on the ground

  108 * 26	 02 03 9B 81 E2 00 FF 04 92 00 0D 0F // takeoff
                                         93 00 12 12 // cruise
                                         94 00 10 14 // circuit
                                         94 00 15 16 // land
                                         96 00       // on the ground


  109 * 17	 02 03 9B 85 BC 00 FF FF 01 9B 00 00 00 00 00 9A 00 // empty cargo?
  110 * 14	 02 03 95 81 47 10 01 01 9A 00 01 01 9B 00 // pax fit?
  111 * 14	 02 03 9A 81 1A 00 01 01 95 00 00 00 95 00 // set 1C to 0

  112 * 23	 02 03 01 81 7D 01 20 FF \2/ 1A 20 02 \2s 1A 00 01 01 9A 00 00 00 9A 00 // planespeed 1 - halve the running cost stored in 7D 01 and resave

  113 * 23	 02 03 05 81 7D 01 20 FF \2- 1C 20 FF \2s 1A 00 01 01 9A 00 00 00 9A 00
  114 * 19	 02 03 02 81 7D 01 20 FF \2/ 1A 00 05 01 05 00 00 00 05 00              // planespeed 2 - .8 running cost stored in 7D 01 and resave
  115 * 19	 02 03 03 81 7D 01 20 FF \2/ 1A 00 0A 01 05 00 00 00 05 00              // planespeed 3 - .9 running cost stored in 7D 01 and resave
  116 * 23	 02 03 9A 81 7F 03 00 FF 03 01 00 01 01 02 00 02 02 03 00 03 03 9A 00 // check the planespeed setting

// End variable running costs ==========================================================================

This is just pretty basic variable costs. To do anything really snazzy, I'd need persistent storage variables on the aircraft (hint hint). :)

Variable running costs - thoughts

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 07:16:05 GMT

I thought I'd outline the design process for the variable running costs in NARS, and some thoughts for expanding variable running costs to other transport types.

The point of any new feature in TTD should be to make the game more interesting and playable, rather than just adding a feature for the sake of it. Thus, I had some goals in mind when adding the variable costs to NARS. My main two aims were;

Reducing the revenue from high-capacity, high speed trains, but without making slow or short trains completely unprofitable.
Making upgrading more desirable, but without making early trains too expensive or late trains too cheap.

The first point I addressed by making trains cost more while moving than while stationary. The second point was addressed by making locomotives more expensive as they age, and making the base cost of each technology (steam and diesel) increase over time.

The graph shows the running cost of a new vehicle in each year. You will notice, for example, that the SD40-2 is cheaper than the Consolidation in 1970. However, in 1940, the Consolidation was considerably cheaper.

The third, and possibly most important, goal is that the technical aspects of the variable running costs should be invisible to the average player - that is, people should be able to just build and run their trains as they always have in TTD. The changes should be enriching but not intrusive.

So, the next challenge is applying this to other vehicle types. For road vehicles, I think the mix will be much the same as for trains. But for ships and aircraft, the challenges are different.

Ships:

Ships generally have a large cargo capacity and a slow maximum speed

Sail, steam, diesel - each technology requires fewer crew, but more fuel

Sail/steam hybrid?

My feeling at the moment is that fuel costs are fairly constant while the ship is moving and 0 when the ship is stationary, while labour costs do not reduce so much. Thus a diesel ship, with a small crew, has almost no running costs while loading, while a sailing ship's costs are reduced only by half or so. The reduced running costs while loading should allow ships to have realistically high capacities and costs, while not losing too much money due to long loading times.

In the case of steam and - particularly - sail, labour costs will increase when that technology becomes obsolete, and employing people with the required skills becomes harder.

Aircraft:
The major challenge with aircraft is making smaller planes and cargo aircraft more attractive. While variable costs will go a way towards this (and will certainly help with cargo planes, which can be made to be cheaper to run in general), I think a real solution can only be found through new airports (more varieties of smaller airports, and larger airports much, much more expensive to build) and town building sets (towns with smaller populations, where large aircraft would not be able to find a full load). The town side of things I am currently working on. The new airports will hopefully come when newairports hits trunk in OTTD.

Thoughts, anyone? Incidentally, the technical specs and subroutines for the variable running costs in NARS are available if anyone wants to use them in their own sets.

NARS2

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 02:21:32 GMT

I'm sure anyone who reads this also reads the forums, so knows this already, but NARS2 has been released. You can find it here.

Proposed var 2s for bridge(tiles)

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 13:18:23 GMT

See http://www.tt-forums.net/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=37717

(note: var numbers are just for easy reference during the discussion)

40 W
Year built (long format)
41 B
direction of bridge
0 if /-direction, 1 if \-direction
42 B
Bridge head information
1 = south end sloped, 2 = north end sloped, 10 = south end advanced, 20 = north end advanced
43 B
Type of bridge (rail electrified monorail maglev road)
44 B Tt
Land use under bridge
- t ; terrain type, as for canals var 81
- T ; 0 = rail, 1 = road, (more?)
45 D Hhbbaall
Length, height, position
- ll ; length of the bridge
- aa ; distance of this tile from the lower end
- bb ; distance of this tile from the upper end
- h ; height of this tile above the ground/water
- H ; height of highest tile above the ground/water
46 B
Terrain slope, as for ss in industry tile var 60
47 B
Owner/Builder, as for industry var A7
48 B
Colour scheme (of owner), as for Cc in vehicle var 43
49 B
A random byte. (Access random byte of (top? bottom?) bridgehead with type 82?)

Callbacks;

Allow/disallow building the bridge; if any tile returns non-0, show D0 text as error
Change speed limit
Allow/disallow terraforming under the bridgetile
Allow/disallow building (road/rail/canal) under the bridgetile

Thoughts?

HO / OO?

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 10:57:40 GMT

What with the new Dynamic Engine Pool (strange name?) feature in OTTD, one day it may be possible to run UKRS and NARS at the same time.

It struck me that UKRS is actually drawn to a larger scale than NARS; it's a little like the situation with HO/OO in model railways. The models are all the same size, but the prototypes are not.

So, what would the UKRS look like if it were drawn to the same "HO" scale as NARS?

Something to muse on - in case you can't tell, the locos from top to bottom are the current UKRS 2-8-0, the NARS 2-8-0, and the UKRS 2-8-0 redrawn.

Of course, if you're using the UKRS on its own, you might want the larger, "OO" sprites. So does that mean if I update UKRS everything will need to be drawn twice?

---

A side effect of this is that I decided NARS might look better with narrower gauge track (and if I make an "HO" UKRS, that will definitely need a narrower gauge). So I'm currently taking the tracks from Pineapple Land, and making a seperate grf out of them for all three standard climates. This grf will also be included in its entirety in NARS, with a grf parameter to activate it.

Tue, 27 May 2008 16:33:25 GMT

Suburban Renewal has been updated. You can download it from the grf list at the top of my LJ.
Two bugs have been fixed; one of the buildings would also clear the tile next to it when destroyed, and the towns would refuse to demolish buildings to build banks.

Fuel cell locos

Tue, 27 May 2008 04:50:30 GMT

I've been doing the futuristic fuel-cell locomotives for NARS. The freight locos were reasonably easy; chassis and body based on the GP60, with a retro-style cab based on the F Unit.

These locomotives are not actually that good, performance-wise - they're roughly the equivalent of the GP38-2 and SD40-2. But by the time of their introduction they are much more cost-effective than the big diesels of the turn of the century. I think they balance quite nicely.

The express passenger locomotive was a bit of a conundrum. Originally, I'd planned to have two different locomotives; a single loco to replace the F59 and Genesis (with graphics based on the F59), and a dualhead trainset to replace the JetTrain and Acelas (with graphics based on the Acela).

However, I decided that two locomotives would be a bit superflous, and also we don't have the Acela drawn yet. So I have settled on a compromise; a dualheaded trainset-style locomotive, but one that can haul either standard stock or bilevels. I couldn't make an F59-based locomotive look individual and futuristic enough, so I drew an entirely new locomotive.

What do you think? It's based on the "duckbill" style seen in some Shinkansen and in the latest Spanish Talgo model, but a little too outlandish for North America, perhaps? :)

Edit: Shortened the noses so the loco is only 7/8.

Maglevs are gooooo...

Mon, 19 May 2008 18:29:17 GMT

"Fans" of the way the maglev was coded in the original NARS (every vehicle a locomotive) or in the UKRS (articulated sets of 6 cars) will be glad to hear that the new NARS has traditional loco+carriage maglevs.

You still can't use it to haul coal, though. ;)

Hello folks of world...

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:18:48 GMT

The UKRS Brick Chain has been updated with a new layout for the quarries. They should now be much easier to generate in OTTD or on flat maps.

Suburban Renewal now has its own page on the wiki.

In other news, work continues on NARS... slowly... :P

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 05:15:34 GMT

Modified Building Costs now has a wiki page, which also includes a new grf-of-evil, pb_bridg.grf. Check it out! :D

av8 1.33

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 04:41:43 GMT

av8 is now updated to 1.33. Hopefully this one will be stable for a while now.

Changes from 1.20 include the new optional aircraft, some stats tweaking, some code so that planes taking off from high airports level out at the top of their climb (instead of skidding along nose-up like they used to), and most importantly, some cb36 code which prevents the variable speed callback interfering with other properties.

Get it from the usual place.

planned NARS locomotive list.

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 23:54:51 GMT

Any and all comments welcome.

ID                                 Years        Speed	Power	Weight	TE	cost  run(*59/2)    notes
+  0-4-0 Grasshopper (Steam)       1830-1860    20mph   63hp    8t      10kN    05     0.3
+  4-2-0 Lafayette (Steam)         1837-1860    35mph   200hp   20t     20kN    07     0.7
!  Lima Class C Shay (Steam)       1887+        30mph   800hp   75t     234kN          1        65-3
+                                   1906-1950    35mph   1200hp  95t     312kN   12     1        85-3
+  0-6-0 Switcher (Steam)          1910-1950    45mph   1000hp  115t    174kN   0D     1.1
!  0-8-0 Camel (Steam)             1854-1900    35mph   500hp   50t     75kN    10     1.2
+  2-6-0 Mogul (Steam)             1869+        50mph   700hp   61t     63kN    12     1.3      PRR G2. Wood burning.
?
+                                  1895-1940    60mph   1200hp  140t    140kN   15     1.6      GN D5 or PRR F3
+  4-4-0 American (Steam)          1850+        50mph   450hp   41t     31kN    0F     1.1      The General.  Wood burning.
!                                  1870+        60mph   650hp   60t     45kN    11     1.2      Wood burning.  Same(ish) graphics as 1850 model?
!                                  1885+        70mph   900hp   93t     72kN    14     1.5      NYC 999
+                                  1897-1940    80mph   1150hp  124t    106kN   15     1.6      PRR D16
+  4-6-0 Ten-Wheeler (Steam)       1870+        60mph   700hp   69t     55kN    13     1.3      Wood burning.
?                                  1885+        60mph   700hp   69t     55kN    13     1.3      Wood burning + steamheat?
+                                  1899+        65mph   1300hp  146t    137kN   14     1.7      I-1.  Same graphics as later model (smaller tender)?
+                                  1908-1950	70mph	1500hp	170t	148kN	15     1.8
+  2-8-0 Consolidation (Steam)     1875+        45mph   800hp   69t     95kN    13     1.3      PRR H1(ish).  Wood burning.
+                                  1888+        50mph   1000hp  126t    159kN   14     1.5      PRR H4.  Wood burning.
+                                  1902+        50mph   1500hp  178t    193kN   15     1.7      Baldwin C57.  Same graphics as later model.
+                                  1914-1950	55mph	1600hp	185t	202kN   15     1.7
+  2-8-2 Mikado (Steam)	           1914-1960	60mph	2000hp	202t	236kN   18     2.2
+  2-8-4 Berkshire (Steam)         1927-1965    70mph   3000hp  341t    315kN   28     2.7
+  4-4-2 Atlantic (Steam)          1899-1940    80mph   1400hp  158t    121kN   17     2        PRR E3sd
+  4-6-2 Pacific (Steam)           1914-1950	90mph	1700hp	185t	142kN   18     2.3
+  4-6-4 Hudson (Steam)  	   1930-1965	110mph	2500hp	290t	188kN	26     2.6      Streamline 1935-45.  P1 = EmpL. P2 = MwF7. P3 = BG. P4 = C&O.
+  4-8-2 Mountain (Steam)	   1925-1960	80mph	2200hp	270t	220kN	23     2.5
+  4-8-4 Northern (Steam)	   1937-1965	95mph	3600hp	340t	253kN	27     2.9
!  4-4-4 Jubilee (Steam)	   1938-1960	112mph	2100hp	144t	115kN	       3.2      Canada only.
+  2-10-2 Santa Fe (Steam)	   1918-1960	55mph	3800hp	375t	413kN   25     3
+  2-10-4 Selkirk (Steam)          1929-1960    70mph   4550hp  375t    350kN	29     3.6      Canada only.
+  2-10-4 Texas (Steam)            1931-1960    75mph   5000hp  443t    407kN   2C     4.1
+  2-8-8-2 Mallet (Steam)	   1927-1960	50mph	5000hp	430t	564kN	2A     4.3      Not Canada.
+  4-6-6-4 Challenger (Steam)      1936-1965    70mph   4500hp  397t    432kN   2B     4        Not Canada.
+  4-4-4-4 Duplex (Steam)          1942-1965    115mph  4600hp  421t    259kN   2E     4.3      Temperate only, not Canada.
+  GE Steeplecab (Electric)        1916-1950    50mph   600hp   40t     106kN   0A     0.65
+  Baldwin Boxcab (Electric)       1912-1965    70mph   1020hp  102t    125kN   19     1.5      New Haven EP-1 (rebuilt) and EF-1.
+  Alco/GE Boxcab (Electric)       1919-1970    65mph   3440hp  288t    280kN   29     2.8      Milwaukee EP-1 and EF-1.  Not Tropic or Canada.
+  Pennsylvania GG1 (Electric)     1934-1990    100mph  4620hp  216t    314kN   2C     3.2      Regearable (x2).  Temperate only, not Canada.
+  Alco S2 (Diesel)		   1940-1974	60mph	1000hp	102t	130kN          1.2
+  EMD SW1200 (Diesel)             1954-2010    60mph   1200hp  111t    160kN          1.3
+  EMD SW1500 (Diesel)             1966-        60mph   1500hp  112t    185kN          1.35
!  Hybrid Switcher (Diesel)        2006-        60mph   1400hp  124t    221kN          1.3      (half when idle, 3/4 when cruising)
+  EMD E-Unit (Diesel)             1940+        98mph   2000hp  154t	194kN   1E     2.0      Regearable (x4)
+                                  1945+        98mph   2000hp  154t	194kN          2.0      E7, Bulldog nose
+                                  1949+        98mph   2250hp  154t	194kN          2.1      E8
+	                           1954-2000	98mph 	2400hp	154t	194kN	       2.2      E9
+  EMD F-Unit (Diesel)             1940+        65mph   1350hp  104t    199kN   15     1.45     Regearable (x8)
+                                  1946+	65mph	1500hp	104t	199kN	       1.5      F3
+                                  1954-2000    65mph   1750hp  104t	199kN          1.6      F9
!  Baldwin 'Centipede' (Diesel)    1945-1970    93mph   3000hp  185t    448kN   26     3.1      Poor reliability?
+  Alco FA (Diesel)                1946+        65mph	1500hp	104t	204kN	16     1.5      Regearable (x4) - Slightly poorer reliability than F
+                                  1950-1990    65mph	1600hp	104t	204kN	       1.55
+  Alco PA (Diesel)		   1946+        102mph	2000hp	138t	135kN	19     2.0      Regearable (x6) - Slightly poorer reliability than E
+                                  1950-1990    102mph	2250hp	138t	135kN	19     2.1      PA-2
!  GE W1 (Electric)                1947-1990    80mph   5000hp  326t    529kN          3.3      Arctic only, not Canada.
+  Alco RS3 (Diesel)	           1950-1980	65mph	1600hp	112t	233kN	16     1.55
+  Baldwin RF-16 (Diesel)          1950-1975    65mph   1600hp  116t    213kN   17     1.55     Not Tropic or Canada.
+  FM Train Master (Diesel)        1953-1980    65mph   2400hp  170t    332kN   1A     2.2      Regearable (x3)
+  EMD GP9 (Diesel)		   1954-2000	65mph	1750hp	110t	199kN	15     1.6      Regearable (x5)
+  EMD SD9 (Diesel)                1954-2000    65mph   1750hp  166t    252kN   17     1.6      Regearable (x3)
!  GE Universal B (Diesel)         1959+        70mph   2500hp  114t    284kN   19     2.2      Regearable (x3) U25B
!                                  1966-2000    70mph   3000hp  114t    284kN          2.5                      U30B
!  GE Universal C (Diesel)         1963+        70mph   2500hp  166t    352kN   1C     2.2      Regearable (x3) U25C
!                                  1966-2000    70mph   3000hp  166t    352kN          2.5                      U30C
+  EMD GP30 (Diesel)	           1962-2000	65mph	2250hp	112t	223kN          2.05     Regearable (x5)
+  Alco Century (Diesel)           1963+        65mph   2800hp  188t    403kN   1C     2.3      C628
+                                  1967+        65mph   3000hp  188t    403kN          2.4      C630
+                                  1970-2000	65mph	3600hp	188t	403kN          2.6      C636
?  EMD DD35 (Diesel)               1965-1990    70mph   5000hp  247t    582kN   31     3.6      Tropic only
+  EMD SD45 (Diesel)               1966-2000    70mph   3600hp  176t    370kN   19     2.6      Regearable (x3)
+  EMD Centennial (Diesel)         1969-2000    90mph   6600hp  270t    609kN   31     4.1      Tropic only
+  EMD SD40-2 (Diesel)	           1970-2015	65mph	3000hp	165t	370kN   19     2.1      Regearable (x3)
!  GE E60C (Electric)              1972-2030    90mph   6000hp  192t    333kN          3.45     Tropic only
+  EMD GP38-2 (Diesel)	           1976-2020	70mph	2000hp	112t	258kN   16     1.7      Regearable (x3)
!  GE C30-7 (Diesel)		   1976-2025	70mph	3600hp	166t	400kN          2.6
+  EMD F40PH (Diesel)	           1977-2010	103mph	3000hp	116t	216kN   1A     2.3      Regearable (x3)
+  ASEA/EMD AEM-7 (Electric)       1978-        125mph  7000hp  101t    240kN   22     3.5      Not Tropic or Canada.
-  GMD GF6C (Electric)	           1984-2020	68mph	6000hp	133t	390kN	       2.7      Canada only.
+  EMD GP60 (Diesel) 	           1985-2030	75mph	3800hp	122t	276kN   1A     2.3      Regearable (x3)
?  GE C40-8 (Diesel)               1988-2030    70mph   4000hp  177t    474kN   1C     2.55
!  EMD SD70MAC (Diesel)            1992-2030	75mph	4000hp	182t	488kN   1C     2.5
+  GE C44-9W (Diesel)              1993-2040    75mph   4400hp  179t    469kN   1D     2.6
+  EMD F59PHI (Diesel)             1993-2030	110mph	3000hp	116t	202kN   1B     2.2      Regearable (x3)
+  GE P42DC Genesis (Diesel)	   1996- 	110mph	4200hp	121t	267kN   1E     2.5
+  GE Evolution (Diesel)           2005- 	75mph	4400hp	185t	511kN   1E     2.4
!  GE E80Ca (Electric)             2017-        80mph   8000hp  141t    426kN          3.6
+  Costar HGP22 (Fuel Cell)        2021-        70mph   2200hp  112t    258kN   28     2.0      Regearable (x3)
+  Costar HSD33 (Fuel Cell)        2028-        75mph   3300hp  158t	350kN   33     2.7
+  EMC Doodlebug (Petrol)          1925-1950	60mph	300hp	41t	30kN	       0.6
+  Electric Interurban (Electric)  1898-1980    50mph   440hp   38t     65kN           0.6
+  Budd RDC (Diesel)		   1949-2020	85mph	550hp	49t	50kN	       0.9
+  Budd Metroliner (Electric)      1969-2000    125mph  2400hp  150t    110kN          1.7      Not Tropic or Canada.
+  UAC TurboTrain (Turbine)	   1969-1990	140mph	3000hp	100t	180kN          4.4      Not Tropic.  Tilt.
+  Bombardier EMU (Electric)       1989-        85mph   2000hp  112t    190kN   1A     1.1
!  Bombardier Acela (Electric)     2001-        150mph  12300hp 186t    225kN          4.5      Tilt.
+  Nippon Sharyo EMU (Electric)    2005-        80mph   3000hp  148t    210kN   20     1.6
!  Bombardier JetTrain (Turbine)   2010-        150mph  10000hp 200t    222kN          4.5      Tilt.
+  Costar Crocodile (Fuel Cell)    2027-        125mph  6000hp  180t    250kN   58     4.3      Tilt.
+                                               100mph                  310kN                   w/bilevels
+  Consortium Gemini (Maglev)      2010-        310mph  2000hp  140t    xkN     50     2

more av8 aircraft coming, and NARS news

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 14:27:53 GMT

Reworked A320. The old one was the first aircraft I made, and was not very good compared to later ones.

BAC 1-11. This plane was in the original TT vehicle set. In av8 it will be an optional aircraft in the DC9 slot.

Fokker F100, another TT original aircraft and one that has been requested on the forums. Optional replacement in the BAe 146 slot.

I'm also doing a lot of work on NARS lately, with Dan. My latest triumph (although I'm not sure it's been entirely worth the work!) is a genuinely tilting UAC TurboTrain.

The process for making these sprites was interesting. Basically, I made a very simple 3d model, applied Dan's original Turbotrain sprites as a texture, and rendered it using the av8 lighting rig. This gave me the basic shape and shading at all the funny angles required for a tilting train (the resultant sprites did, however, need a lot of cleaning up before they looked as good as hand-drawn sprites in TTD). The rendering process also showed up the whacky errors of perspective that exist in TTD - to make the rendered sprites fit the usual bounding boxes, I had to squash the model to 75% in length in the diagonal views.

Backup state machine.

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 14:31:54 GMT

One problem with the callback statemachine is that it breaks if the grf is no longer available. Here is my idea for a backup statemachine that can take over.

-Action 0 properties for each Airport, Tile and Node are saved in the savegame.
-Tiles have an action 0 property which specifies a default sprite to use if their action 3 is missing.
-Nodes have an action 0 property which specifies if the node is:

0 = a normal node
1 = Tower contact point
2 = Landing decent start
3 = Touchdown point
4 = End of landing runway
5 = Helipad
6 = Start of takeoff runway
7 = Takeoff point
8 = Disengagement point
9 = Hangar
A = Load/Unload point

NB: all these node types except the last one are used by the callback state machine too, to set the movementstat of the aircraft as it passes the node. Load/Unload is set by a callback result instead.

Aircraft using the backup statemachine will move directly to the node they require. They will not take any notice of any other aircraft. This will actually be extremely efficient! But it will not be pretty.

These "dud airports" will also "forget" which grf they come from; they will not be restored to proper airports even if the grf file is subsequently reactivated. This gets around the problem of the statemachine breaking when a dud airport is transformed back into a real one. The only way to restore a dud airport is to clear all aircraft, destroy the airport and rebuild. Actually, since I changed it to explicitly lock or unlock nodes rather than toggling them, this might not be neccessary.

Newairports state machine, version 2 (callbacks)

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 06:23:13 GMT

Airports have three different action 0/1/2/3 sets: airports, airport tiles and airport nodes.

Airports are like industries; they are abstract entities with no graphics. Airport action 0s will specify the catchment and footprint sizes of the airport, the cost to build, the runway length, whether the airport has a hangar, the terrain type (land or water) and the tile and node layouts. Airports have action 1s for a preview graphic, and actions 2/3 only to display that graphic and to run the statemachine callback.

Airport tiles are like industry tiles. They consist of a ground tile and an optional building tile. Var action 2s (mainly using type 82/86/8A, ie values from the airport) can be used to change the appearance of the airport based on passengers waiting, date, terrain type etc.

Nodes are points on the airport which aircraft navigate between. Node action 0s will specify the X,Y and Z positions of the node, and whether the node is a special node which changes the movestat of the aircraft (tower contact, decent start, landing point, end of landing runway, hangar, start of takeoff runway, takeoff point, disengagement point, loading bay (for backup statemachine only), loading direction hint. Nodes have no actions 1/2/3.

I realise that this method restricts us to 256 nodes per grf file. But I reckon the large TTD airport could be made with around 20-30 nodes, and even the huge OTTD-style multiple runway airports would not use anywhere near 256.

Now, the fun stuff. The statemachine callback is triggered every time an aircraft arrives at a node.

Var 10 contains the iteration of the callback.

Var 10 18 contains:
Bits 0-7: the ID of the node* that triggered the callback.
Bits 8-15: the ID of the previous node the aircraft visited**
Bits 16-17: the current target of the aircraft (0-3, hangar, pad, helipad or runway)
Bits 18-20: the runway length required by the aircraft (0-7, 0 means a helicopter)

A 60+ variable will also be required to check the status (unlocked [0] or locked [1]) of any node on the airport.

Results:

A callback result with bit 12 unset will change the status of a node to locked (if bit 8 is set) or unlocked, and then run another iteration of the callback (similar to callback 16).

A callback result with bit 12 set will terminate the callback, and the result will be the new destination node for the aircraft. Two special cases: A result of FF will make the aircraft wait at the node, and the callback will be run again after another aircraft has run the callback elsewhere on the airport. A result of FE will make the aircraft load/unload at the current node, and then run the callback again (with the ID of the current node in bits 8-15 of var 10, to prevent endless loading) when it is finished.

Any thoughts? It seems to me that this method will work, and is relatively simple from a patch-coding point of view; no edges, zones, or anything of that nature, and the patch code doesn't even need to know what "locked" means relative to a node, since all that is worked out in the grf.

The only new data that will need to be stored in saved games is:
a) the status (locked/unlocked) of each node.
b) the target node (and, if possible, the previous node) for each aircraft on the airport.

*nb: the "ID of the node" in the callback is the node's position in the airport's node table, not the action 0/1/2/3 ID.

**I realise this information may be difficult to store in saved games; grf authors will have to take this into account.

By way of demonstration, I attempt to rewrite the statemachine for the large airport. Note that I'm writing this from the top down, the opposite how the eventual action 2 chain will be. I've also left out most of the aerial nodes around the airport, since they're not very interesting. I'm also going to ignore helicopters just to make things a bit simpler.

Also, note to avoid jams this statemachine requires that aircraft can't change their destination while moving; the current statemachine also has that limitation. However, the way I've written this I think it may be safe to allow aircraft to change destination at any time it is waiting at a node, not just when it visits a hangar or loading bay.

Colour coding:
Green is a var action 2 check
Blue is a non-terminating callback result
Red is a terminating callback result

We are running the callback - Jump to the section below that matches the node the callback is running from:

NODE 1 (landing approach)
Check nodes 15 and 3. If they are unlocked, lock node 3 and proceed to node 2. Otherwise, go around (node not shown).

NODE 2 (landing)
proceed to node 3.

NODE 3 (landing)
proceed to node 4.

NODE 4 (landing)
Check node 5. If it is unlocked, lock node 5, unlock node 3 and proceed to node 5. If it is locked, wait.

NODE 5 (landing)
Check node 6. If it is locked, wait. If it is unlocked, Where do we want to go?. If we want to go to a bay, Check nodes 7, 9 and 10, and if any of them are unlocked then lock node 6, unlock node 5 and proceed to node 6, otherwise wait. If we want to go to the hangar, lock node 6, unlock node 5 and proceed to node 6. If we want to go to the runway, Check node 14. If it is unlocked, lock nodes 6 and 14, unlock node 5 and proceed to node 6.

NODE 6 (center point)
Where do we want to go? If we want to go to the hangar, proceed to node 8. If we want to go to the runway, unlock node 6 and proceed to node 14. If we want to go to a bay, Check node 7, and if it is unlocked unlock node 6, lock node 7 and proceed to node 7. If node 7 is locked, proceed to node 8.

NODE 7 (loading bay)
Where do we want to go? If we want to go to a bay, stop and load. If we want somewhere else, Check node 6. If it is locked, wait. Otherwise, if we want to go to the hangar, lock node 6, unlock node 7 and proceed to node 6. If we want to go to the runway, Check node 14. If it is unlocked, lock nodes 6 and 14, unlock node 7 and proceed to node 6. Otherwise, wait.

NODE 8 (taxiway)
Where do we want to go? If we want to go to the hangar, lock node 12, unlock node 6 and proceed to node 12. If we want to go to the runway, proceed to node 6. If we want to go to a bay, Check node 9, and if it is unlocked unlock node 6, lock node 9 and proceed to node 9. If node 9 is locked, Check node 10, and if it is unlocked unlock node 6, lock node 10 and proceed to node 10. If nodes 9 and 10 are both locked, proceed to node 6.

NODE 9 (loading bay)
Where do we want to go? If we want to go to a bay, stop and load. If we want somewhere else, Check node 6. If it is locked, wait. Otherwise, if we want to go to the hangar, unlock node 9, lock node 6 and proceed to node 8. If we want to go to the runway, Check node 14. If it is unlocked, lock nodes 6 and 14, unlock node 9 and proceed to node 8. Otherwise, wait.

NODE 10 (loading bay approach)
Where do we want to go? If we want to go to a bay, proceed to node 11. If we want somewhere else, proceed to node 8.

NODE 11 (loading bay)
Where do we want to go? If we want to go to a bay, stop and load. If we want somewhere else, Check node 6. If it is locked, wait. Otherwise, if we want to go to the hangar, unlock node 10, lock node 6 and proceed to node 10. If we want to go to the runway, Check node 14. If it is unlocked, lock nodes 6 and 14, unlock node 10 and proceed to node 10. Otherwise, wait.

NODE 12 (hangar taxiway)
Where do we want to go? If we want to go to the hangar, proceed to node 13. Otherwise, proceed to node 8.

NODE 13 (hangar)
Where have we just come from? If it was node 12, unlock node 12. Otherwise, Check node 12 and if it is locked, wait. Otherwise, Where do we want to go? If we want to go to the hangar, lock node 12 and proceed to node 12. Otherwise, Check node 6 and if it is locked, wait. If node 6 is not locked, Where do we want to go? If we want to go to a bay, Check nodes 7, 9 and 10, and if any of them are unlocked then lock node 6 and proceed to node 12. If they are all locked, wait. If we want to go to the runway, Check node 14. If it is unlocked, lock nodes 6 and 14 and proceed to node 12; otherwise, wait.

NODE 14 (takeoff taxiway)
Check nodes 15 and 3. If they are unlocked, lock node 15 and proceed to node 15. Otherwise, wait).

NODE 15 (takeoff)
proceed to node 16.

NODE 16 (takeoff)
unlock node 15, proceed to disengagement point (not shown).

av8 v1.20

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 14:21:02 GMT

Now with extra DC-10.

To make room for the DC-10, all the aircraft between the Constellation and the 747 have been shifted by one ID. This may mean you need to rebuild aircraft if you load the updated grf in an existing game.

Spot the difference...

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 09:09:01 GMT

Here we see an F7 AB set loading at the station, cruising along at 65mph, and climbing a hill in notch 8.

Nothing out of the ordinary. Or is there???

Fun with Fun-its.

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 12:26:27 GMT

Locomotive regear refitting - Lakie's callback 36 in action!.

Four different F-unit livery patterns. Which one you get will depend on what player number you are in multiplayer, or on a grf parameter in single player.

Of course, now I've drawn and coded all this snazziness for one vehicle, everything else will need the same amount of work... ho hum. Still, it will be worth it. :D

Shiny (re)colours...

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 02:53:44 GMT