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New Rolling Stock Artwork

Started by Phileksa, May 17, 2010, 02:54:44 AM

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Phileksa

Probably starting tomorrow, I will begin working on creating drawings of new rolling stock I would like help implementing for Simutrans.  I intend to include US Locomotives and Rolling Stock beginning around 1830, and continuing to the present, for example, as well as my own fictitious line of locomotives.  I also am prone to doing research in to older modes of transportation and trying to make artwork for those, as well, so people really can try to start the game in 1500 if they like.

Oh, and one locomotive that just occurred to me we need is:  The Horse!  It makes no sense to have tracks set out and available cars to run on them before the invention of locomotives!  Not that there'll be much in the line of horse-drawn trams before railroads really took off, but it would be nice to have the option, at least. :p I'm unsure just how early horse-drawn trains actually existed ... {Blushes}

I would also enjoy working on new rights of way, and possibly new terrain and buildings as well.  And I just saw a note somewhere about creating a new shipyard that would look "more prototypical."  The bestest I can figger for that is the "shipyard" itself would just be the crane, and you can then build a "proper facility" "next to it" on the land.  It might be a fun project!

Well, here's hoping I sink lots of time drawing stuff for Simutrans, and here's hoping some of it makes it in to the final Pak64! =p

Phileksa

vilvoh

Sounds very interesting. We always need new artists. Good luck with this project and do not hesitate on asking for help...

Escala Real...a blog about Simutrans in Spanish...

VS

Great! You might want to get in contact with AvG, who is working on something similar as addon for 128-sized paks. He has a thread in experimental boards, I think...

My projects... Tools for messing with Simutrans graphics. Graphic archive - templates and some other stuff for painters. Development logs for most recent information on what is going on. And of course pak128!

prissi

The first horse drawn real railway for passengers and freight is from 1825 in Austria/Hugary; horse drawn trains did take off at the same time than steam trains, since before stell tracks were not available ... The first larger horse drawn street car service is from the 1860ies; thus in pak64 horse drawn trams are available from 1865, see the SVN.

(OK, I just found out, that Baltimore and New York had their systems started in 1828 and 1832 respectively. So maybe 1828 is a better starting date. THis will require of course a new car.)

Phileksa

#4
Yeah.  Just doing research on the Grasshopper, I was shocked - Shocked! - to learn that there were actually two models of the grasshopper, and not one! :o I can only find one picture of the second Grasshopper variation {which is a 0-2-2, although it's commonly called 0-4-0} so I'll have to take lots of guesses for how the other side of that locomotive looked.  I will use the information I can find on the "original" grasshoppers to hypothesize.  Two big differences though are it has a cab and it seems to have a bigger box on the front.  Rumor has it it also had a lower operating cost than the orginal Grasshopper did, as well.

Researching the Rocket {0-2-2, not 2-2-0}, I came to realize that it has all the components of a "modern" steam locomotive.  It appears to possibly predate the Grasshopper, but I can't really be sure.  Mebbe we can fudge it a little and introduce them at the same time? {Giggles} The Grasshopper II was introduced, apparently, around 1835 or so. :p

The Rocket had a much lower operating cost than the Grasshopper, but apparently it was considerably more expensive to build, since it's essentially a "modern" steam locomotive.  It may well have been "ahead of it's time." :p

Oddly, the fictitious design I want to add, when they were implimented {a bit late imho, so they were typecast}, used all the modern boiler design elements.  What they changed was the arrangement of pistons, crankshafts, and connecting rods.  They also added drive shafts. {Giggles}

So my first three projects are going to be:  A real Grasshopper {original design}, followed by a real Grasshopper {second design}, then a real Rocket, followed by a fictitious Shay ... which will prolly have to be dated around 1835 or so.

I'm a big fan of the Shays.  I think if they were introduced ... oh, about seventy years earlier ... they would have been a hit.  Even so, they would still be no match for diesels. :p

While Shays can be considered more complex than their conventional counterparts, I understand they operated more smoothly than any other steam locomotive.  Only diesels and traction put less wear and tear on the tracks.  They also had the advantage of being articulated from the get-go, making them super-versatile.  Compounding a Shay, compared to compounding "conventional" engines, would be easy, as all the cylinders are lined up in a row on the sides of the locomotive instead of under the boiler.

I imagine, for the fictitious Shay variations, I can move the cylinders around.  Some locomotives will have cylinders on one side, others will have them on both sides, and others still will have them possibly mounted in front of the smoke box.  The front mounted ones might be a better choice for compounding.  And some might have side and front mounted cylinders.  This will be fun!




Hmmm ...  Shay cylinders could go underneath the boiler.  That would be great!  ;D

I will try to have the Grasshopper I done by the end of today.  But it will likely give me a headache.  I might only be able to post a single view of one today.  :-[

Phileksa

mod note: please do not double-post. Edit your last comment instead.
~vilvoh


Well, here is the first sprite image of the Grasshopper I.  I pirated another person's sprites so I wouldn't have to line them up, but I'm unsure how well this trick worked.

I will work on the next image after my mind winds down from working on this one, but I woud love your feedback!

The grasshoppers are tiny to being with.  There were a lot of details buried in a single pixel!  :o

http://www.phileksa.9f.com/Grasshopper%20I.png

Should I try to add an operator to this thing? {Giggles}

Phileksa




I just added two more Grasshopper Sprites.  I'm unsure how to handle the stack on it, especially for SE and NW trains, though.  Any ideas would be useful.

http://www.phileksa.9f.com/Grasshopper%20I.png

Phileksa

skreyola

Quote from: Phileksa on May 17, 2010, 12:33:14 PM
Should I try to add an operator to this thing? {Giggles}
If one would be visible during normal operation, that would be a good thing to add. :)
--Skreyola
You can also help translate for your language with SimuTranslator.

Phileksa

#6
{Giggles} Yeah.  On the first version of the Grasshopper, there was no cab.  I'll have to look up drawings of people so I can get them right. ;)

So operators will be added!  Yay! :D

Phileksa




I've decided to finish making the sprites w/o people first, then add the peoples later.  I have made the first sideways image.  These are pretty tedious to make, but it will be awesome to see them in the game ... even if only in mine own. :p

You'll have to copy and paste the link, I think. {Blushes}

http://www.phileksa.9f.com/Grasshopper%20I.png

Phileksa




Because it was quick, I created a quick web page to display it.  I do not know if it can be "direct linked" or not, but here's the link anyway.

http://phileksa.9f.com/

Phileksa




Yay!  The website link works!  I apologize for the ads.  I just wanted to help people see the pics as I'm working on them, so I just grabbed the first free website place I could find.  It seems to work well enough ...  :-[

Phileksa

rsdworker

fyi - the image can't seen but you can use the simutrans ones (image hosting) or upload to forum

only one image worked fine

vilvoh

#8
One question, Phileksa. Are you the author of those images? the engine seems to be from pak64 sources.

Escala Real...a blog about Simutrans in Spanish...

Dwachs

Maybe he used that pak64 loco as template for alignment? There are 4 views from a different loco (the yellow ones).

@Phil: what about using player colors instead of yellow?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and maggikraut.

prissi


Phileksa

#11
Sorry about being away so long.  The yellow was PlayerColor2, and the images I'm overwriting are being used as templates.

I haven't worked on the images because I got lost in Simutrans and World of Warcraft.  :-[

Did you know it takes hours to upgrade 600 trains in 1860, and it takes hours to upgrade 315 trains in 1877?  We could sure use some new resources! :P

I think the proper place for those new resources would be under "Line Management," where I should be able to just define the consist of all the convoys of a line, and the quantity of those convoys.  It would be best if there was an option to "store" convoys {or convoy elements} when they were being removed or upgraded.

I could see upgrading working much like "Withdraw All," only it would be a little more sophisticated.

First, all trains that do not match the new configuration would be checked to see if they're empty.  If they're not carrying cargo, they would then be sent to a depot, where they would automagically be adjusted to the new consist.  This may involve buying and selling || storing vehicles.  Once they're in line with the new consist, they would be entered in to the "departure queue," something train depots are currently missing {making it take even longer to upgrade lines, btw}.

If a train that has to be modified has any cargo on it, it should have "No Load" set, then, when it's empty, "Go To Depot."

If the change in the line is to reduce the number of vehicles on the line, then the program should look to see if a sufficient number of vehicles is empty to Send To Depot for storage or to be sold.  If there aren't enough empty vehicles to reduce the number of vehicles on the line sufficiently, then all convoys on the line would be set to No Load and, as vehicles come up empty, they will Send To Depot.  Once enough vehicles are on their way to the depot or have been removed, the remaining trains will have their No Load flags turned off.

Storing vehicles means when the vehicles get to the depot, they will be disassembled and stored, instead of sold.  If you have stored vehicles, and need to increase the number of convoys on a line, and all the new convoys can be made from stored vehicles, and all the stored vehicles are in one depot, then the new vehicles will be made entirely from stored vehicles.  In cases where there may be enough stored vehicles, but not enough in any given depot, and whole trainsets to make up the difference can be made in other depots, then entire trainsets comprised of previously stored vehicles could be made through mulitiple depots.  In cases where some components of the new vehicles aren't stored anywhere, then some trains will have to be made with some stored and some new equipment.  If there is no stored equipment that can comprise the new convoys, then the new convoys would be made at the depot closest to the line's first station of entirely new equipment.

I do realize that's a lot of work, but going from 600 trains to 315 trains, then from 315 trains to 180 trains, even on a map as small as 128 x 128, is currently very very time consuming.  Anything that would help with macromanagement would be truly appreciated.

I found the name of the Grasshopper locomotive.  The proper name for the class was "Atlantic," or perhaps "Eastern," I think, and the name of the first locomotive of this class was "Tom Thumb."  :)

[Edit]

I think the real name of the "Grasshopper" class was "Eastern," because "Atlantic" was applied to a later locomotive class.

I dunno why I think of these things so late, but the Easterns and the Shays had a lot more in common than I initially thought, as both were apparently gear driven locomotives and both had vertical cylinders.  This leads me to realize that a Shay would always cost more than a Stephenson, so the Stephenson, in the early days, would win out.  Which is ironic, because of all the problems the Stephenson locomotives later caused as they got heavier, and the Shays would have totally avoided.

Eastern locomotives had a blower assembly that was belt driven because they couldn't generate the draft necessary to burn their fuel hot enough on their own.  So Eastern locomotives would have been very expensive to operate compared to a Shay.

Finally, during my research, I discovered that the Stephenson locomotive was apparently introduced in 1830.

prissi

Actually, you can withdraw all use for upgrading: Withdraw all, then start new convois. THe only problem yet is, that you cannot start as much as you like, contrary to cars. This is a long know thing on my todo list. Then upgrading would not be so hard any more ...