Modular Complex Railway (through Puzzle Pieces)

[FlyHigh]

Modular Complex Railway

Project: Modular transit enabled railway
              Renamed: Modular Complex Railway (through Puzzle Pieces)


Context: Hi everyone. For the past year or so I've become more and more interested in railway and wishing to translate the intricacy of Real Life railway into SimCity 4. The NAM Team have started something similar with the Railway Addon Mod (RAM) but this project seems to have come to a halt as there have been no developments in the latest versions of the NAM.


Description: I stated with the railway_mega_texture_pack (found at the LEx) and, using the knowledge of the NAM Team (available on SC4D Forum and through PMs), I want to create a puzzle piece based network that behaves and shows as a rail network.


What have I done so far?

• I have managed to extract the .fsh textures from the original .dat file;


• I have carefully read the tutorial on how to create puzzle pieces and have managed to understand most of it.


• Had a range of IID reserved that I think can be used in this project although I haven't officially contacted the NAM Team;


• Have created some of the custom Paths to be used;


• Create a naming list for the puzzle pieces according to the NAM standard.

What am I missing?

• Successfully make one puzzle piece. Once that is done then the procedure should be the same for every other puzzle piece.


• Eventually I would like to make new high-definition textures for the network as to achieve the maximum realism possible.

NOTE: My project is a personal project and, for the time being, I am NOT going to release it to the public as I am working with someone else's textures and haven't asked for permission for a public release. My main goal for now is to create this network and debug it myself before any public distribution.



Tell me, guys, what do you think? 

EDIT: This post has been edited to correct confusion between TE Lots and Puzzle Pieces.

[triplennn86]

Sounds ambitious, but I would interested to see what progress is made!

[eggman111]

That sounds interesting. What sort of functionality are you looking to create with the puzzle pieces? Based on your post alone, I'm not sure what advantage these pieces have over the regular rail network.

I know there's been some work lately on TTR (Triple-Track Rail), so I wouldn't say that the RAM has come to a halt.

[Tarkus]

First off, I admire you initiative here, FlyHigh--it's always good to see someone new figuring out the pathing side of things.

I am a little confused here, however.  You seem to be referring to Transit-Enabled Lots (TE Lots) and Puzzle Pieces as one and the same.  While at initial glance in terms of how they are placed in game, they may appear to be, there is a major difference in implementation.  TE Lots are not actual network items, but rather, Lots that have had some special properties applied to them.  Puzzle Pieces are RUL-bound items and by definition, are not Lots and are constructed in a much different manner.

Additionally, the RAM has actually begun being actively developed again recently.  It actually had never stopped, though had been slowed quite a bit and was mostly being done out of public view.  However, it is being shown in public again as of the past month, with most of the activity on it taking place in the Three Rivers Region thread rather than the actual RAM thread on the NAM Creations board.

-Alex

[FlyHigh]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

eggman111: Well the main goal of this mod is to replicate in-game the complexity of a rail system and making it functional rather then eye-candy only. As most railway fans out there, I find the original SC4 rail system to be very limited and unrealistic. There's the inaccuracy of only two tracks per tile, the lack of switches and curves, to give just a few examples. (There have been attempts to correct that last one, like the Wide Radius Mod, for example.)  The UDI Mode experience will dramatically change too as the possibility to create a complex rail system will approximate it to a train simulator game. In effect it can create a sub-genre inside the city simulator itself that is rail construction and operation.

Tarkus: I have loosely (and inaccurately) used the term 'lot' to refer to puzzle pieces. That will be corrected. But yes, I'm attempting at puzzle pieces only.
Many thanks for the hint. I will be keeping an eye on the Three Rivers Region thread and see what is going on with the RAM. I don't intend in stoping this project though as I want to actually learn the process that goes into puzzle piece creation and behaviour.  I will however use every bit of advise especially from the NAM Team as they are the 'master authority' as far as transit moding is concerned.

[Shadow Assassin]

...So basically what you're considering is a railyard set made using puzzle pieces rather than lots, am I right?

[NCGAIO]

... The UDI Mode experience will dramatically change too as the possibility to create a complex rail system will approximate it to a train simulator game. In effect it can create a sub-genre inside the city simulator itself that is rail construction and operation...."

Great goal .... but only to satisfy curiosity as you do that??

Will we be Simtrains ... within the Simcity! Now then just wait for the unfolding of another good idea!

congratulations.

note: do you care who knows it seems that staff at Three Rivers Region also wants to advance in this area;

[FlyHigh]

Shadow Assassin:
That is what I'm thinking of, yes. Whenever possible starter pieces would be an option but the gross of it would be too complex for a draggable network. Also using the auto-resolving in some specific places may be an option but not for the whole network as it would become way too complex (at least for a single person to program).


NCGAIO:
Thank you although this idea is still in its infancy and most likely the NAM Team will develop something better and quicker then I, as a noob moder can. I still think It's a strong enough project, if not to satisfy my own curiosity I've seen that picture but it is said to date back to 2009. It seems however that the RAM team is picking up the pace again and I'm sure the community will benefit form that.

[vortext]

Sounds promising. 

It would be quite nice to have a decent marshalling yard with trains actually moving around, something that's missing for sure. Will follow this with interest.

[mike3775]

good luck on it.  I hope it works, it would be kinda nice to be able to better drive trains through a rail yard or something

[dedgren]

I've held off on commenting here so as to see what other folks would say absent my involvement.  Not that it means all that much, but I wanted to make certain that everyone had a chance to speak what was on his or her mind before I came along and said what has been on mine.  Maxwell (FlyHigh), your sense of initiative is commendable (as noted by a K-point), and what you are proposing, in general, is much wanted by the railfan corner of the community.

As most here probably know, the RAM Team, as showcased currently in 3RR [linkie], is hard at work on Triple Track Rail ("TTR").  What very few know, up until now, that slipstreaming right along behind TTR is work I've had on the back-burner for a long time: Modular Railyards.



They are based on a combination of puzzle piece trackage to allow game trains to transit through the yard.  Some tracks on the puzzle pieces, though, will not be pathed and will allow adjacent placement of yard trackage on lots that will allow for static strings of railcars so as to give the yard the proper appearance.

Much of this is still at the concept level.  This thread has brought us out into the open, as I hate to see folks duplicate ongoing work.

Maxwell, I'd be very interested in chatting with you by PM, as I would like to get a better handle on what your involvement in this might be.  We are always looking for folks with good ideas and who take the initiative in moving the game forward.


David

[FlyHigh]

mike3775:
Thank you. Yes, I believe it's a field that has major potential and it still remains mostly unexplored. We'll see what comes out of it. 

dedgren:
I am truly sorry if I unintentionally revealed any project going on by another party, even though there was no obvious way any of us in the community could know. I am pleased that you came forwards though and I would be delighted to chat with you and discuss the subject a little more in depth.

[FlyHigh]

Small Update

Hey everyone. Since I haven't had quite the time to really invest I thought I'd leave you with a scheme of the puzzle pieces I intend in making.



The maximum density in these textures is four tracks per tile (4m per channel, track+clearance) which I think is exactly the right density for busier tracks (in fact it was the main reason why I've chosen this texture pack). With these textures pretty much every possible situation of crossings and variations is covered so that I can focus on the actually puzzle piece development. As I said before, this is only a temporary situation as I intend in making my own textures.


Since it's time for college exams I wont really have that much time until the end of the month (± two weeks) to do some real progress but I'll be passing by every day to reply to your comments. So keep'em comming!

David (dedgren): I tried PMing you twice but I don't think you've receive them. Anyways I'll be waiting for your PM. 

[banditp61]

WOW. I know it'll be a long, long, long wait but, I can't for it be released to the public. I hope for another update!

[mike3775]

those look pretty good.