Happy Christmas! Pak128.Britain 1.06 Released

[The Hood]

As it's the perfect time for presents, here's the release of pak128.Britain 1.06:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/simutrans/files/pak128.britain/pak128.britain%20for%20102-0/pak128Britain_1_06_102.zip/download

Please report any feedback, e.g. bugs or balancing issues in the forum.

In this release:
   FIX: Metropolitan Motor Coach constraints
   FIX: D88 Cool Wagon dat
   FIX: Electrification dat
   FIX: River dat
   FIX: Sawmill capacity caused crashes
   FIX: 20t long wagon image
   FIX: Constraints on various train carriages
   FIX: Signal intro years
   FIX: Intro year for cold goods wagon
   FIX: Intro years for harbours
   ADD: New rail viaducts by AEO
   FIX: Some trucks had no bulk fluid capacity
   ADD: More boats
   ADD: Fishing Port industry
   ADD: Winter images for roads, rivers, canals, and trees
   FIX: BR Standard Tender and SR Q1 Tender Speed
   ADD: Masonry road bridge (wlindley)
   ADD: Southern Railway/Region Rail Vehicles (jamespetts)

[Frank]

BritBoat192.pak is broken, the file have 69 Bytes

[The Hood]

Hmm, it seems there is a problem with getting MOSE to build 128 and 192 objects in the same script.  Here is a working BritBoats192.pak - unfortunately no time to fix until the new year now...

http://files.simutrans.us/files/get/42RRD9v3Y1/britboat192.pak.zip

[wing044]

The new 4Vep unit is very underpowered. I notice there is no gear ratio appearing on the MBSO, wonder if this may be a bug.

Apart from that, wouldn't it be better if the top speed was raised to 145 to match that of the 4Cep, since they have the same top speed in reality?

[The Hood]

Yes, it ought to have a gear rating in standard, but the dat is a straight copy from experimental.  If you'd like to alter the dat and send me an edited version, feel free.

[Dutchman on Rails]

A small finding. The max. storage capacity for cider on the orchard is lower than the threshold where it drops off cider to nearby stops/stations, therefore it is not possible to transport cider.

[The Hood]

A small finding. The max. storage capacity for cider on the orchard is lower than the threshold where it drops off cider to nearby stops/stations, therefore it is not possible to transport cider.

I wasn't aware there was such a minimum storage capacity - what does it need to be set as?

[Dutchman on Rails]

Hi The Hood,

This is only based on my observations in playtesting, and may be corrected by the programmers but in my experience, if you set the storage capacity for any goods at any industry at 10 or lower, it never drops off that goods. The minimum appears to be 11.

[The Hood]

OK Thanks.  I'll investigate on my setup and if I can reproduce it I'll fix it for the next release.

[Dwachs]

Hi The Hood,

This is only based on my observations in playtesting, and may be corrected by the programmers but in my experience, if you set the storage capacity for any goods at any industry at 10 or lower, it never drops off that goods. The minimum appears to be 11.

this should be fixed in current nightly versions.

[wing044]

Hi, I just come across a small problem.
The Mk3a-TRB does not accept Mk3a-TO in front of it, also neither Mk3a-TRB/Mk3a-TO couple with the Mk3-DVT.

[The Hood]

Thanks for the report - small typo in the dat file.  Will be fixed in the next release.

[AEO]

I've just realized something while looking at the goods list.
livestock is set to 10kg.
is this done on purpose to allow earlier trucks to pull freight or a bug?

[Martinwh1]

I have found what may be a couple of minor problems:
Industry growth produced a fishmonger plus 3 new connecting fishing ports but only one of these is on a lake shore, the other two being in fields and only 2 are connected to a fishery (which is one already in place and miles away.
I have got up to 1968 but there is still only a 80kph limit asphalt road, a 50kph brick road bridge (but there is a 110kph concrete tunnel) despite the first UK motorway opening in 1959. This means that several commercials and the Leyland Leopard bus are not able to ever reach their top speed.   

[The Hood]

Martinwh1,

The fishmonger should *always* be built on shore (climate=water).  If not, this is a code problem not a pak problem, so maybe raise it as a bug?  The lack of connection also hints at a code bug.  Unfortunately I can't help with these...

As for the roads, a motorway and other bridges are on the graphics to-do list, so you'll just have to be patient there

[The Hood]

4Vep and Mk3 bugs have been fixed in r246 for the next release. 

@AEO, sorry I missed your comment about livestock.  Looks a little suspect to me, but it was probably just a nominal value I gave it.  Anyone know the average weight of a sheep / cow?

[Hajo]

4Vep and Mk3 bugs have been fixed in r246 for the next release.  

@AEO, sorry I missed your comment about livestock.  Looks a little suspect to me, but it was probably just a nominal value I gave it.  Anyone know the average weight of a sheep / cow?

I found 90 - 300 lb. weight for a mature sheep: http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/an_sci/extension/animal/4hyouth/sheep/sheepfacts.htm

A cow seems to be roughly 400-450kg (~900-1000 lb.)

[AEO]

the other weight values for similar produce, fish and meat, are 800kg and slaughter house gives 1:1 consumption/production.

so maybe use 800kg?
or
if the slaughterhouse consumption/production is set to something like 2.5:1, then a high average weight of 800/2.5= 320kg for livestock.

[kierongreen]

100kg seems reasonable to me for livestock. Adjust other values to match?

[The Hood]

I think weights of the crate goods need some looking at too, as do production ratios, as they were fairly generic when first set up and haven't been changed.  It should all feed in to a major review of game balancing, which I've postponed until all ships and planes are in the game, although if anyone wants to have a go at this stage now (i.e. checking all weights of goods and seeing how they feed through industry chains), then I'm happy for you to go ahead and make recommendations / supply edited dat files.

[wlindley]

I look forward to a re-balancing, so profitability of carrying goods of all types will be more in line with passengers and mail... perhaps this is where I could write some kind of a Perl script, to update all the .dat files from a "recipe" of weights and values?

[The Hood]

Perhaps this is where I could write some kind of a Perl script, to update all the .dat files from a "recipe" of weights and values?

Any help would be really appreciated, but I'm not sure what you are proposing here?  Could you explain further?

[Martinwh1]

Just come across another problem - gained a Department Store in 1971 - found it eventually as it just shows as a green space! Turns out it has no connected industries anyway.
I've now got a fishing port, a coal-fired power station and a department store none of which has any connected industries.

[The Hood]

The lack of industry connection definitely doesn't sound like a pak problem.  Can you raise a bug report and post a save with all the info about game and pak version etc.?

[Reddog785]

Quick question - If I re-download Simutrans through the online installer, will I get this new version of the pak? (I last installed Simutrans in January 2010)

[The Hood]

Don't know I'm afraid.  Latest pak is 1.06, released December 09.

[Reddog785]

Don't know I'm afraid.  Latest pak is 1.06, released December 09.

Would this be a question to ask Hajo?

[Hajo]

Last version that I bundled and released was 0.84.20.0, I think somewhen in early 2005. Prissi or Frank should be the ones who know the installers and the update processes.

[Dutchman on Rails]

Just a small question and please correct me if there's something I've overlooked.

But I couldn't find a transport (ship) for live fish in the 1760's (from the fishery to the fishing port). Did I miss something?

[The Hood]

No, just the boats are not complete yet.  There are only two fishing boats at present, and the first comes in sometime in the 1800s.  Not ideal I know, but hopefully you can live with a work in progress

[Dutchman on Rails]

Thanks for the information. I'll see it then when it's done.

I'd also like to offer two personal observations on balance in the 1750's-60's, one minor, one major.

Minor: It looks like beer, when transported with stage wagons, is not profitable. Smaller carts, trains and ships are profitable.

Major: A Norfolk Wherry (passengers) seems very profitable. Where my other vehicles generally earn a couple hundred / month, the passenger ferry easily makes thousands. For me playing at the point where I have a passenger shipping service becomes a little too easy...

The other vehicles seem just about right, they're all in the ballpark of earning a few hundred a month, not too much, not too little.

These are of course my observations. Other players might differ, as it's a matter of taste.

[The Hood]

Thanks for those reports on profitability.  If anyone else has any stories to tell like this, I'd love to hear.  None of the balancing is perfect yet, and ship balancing is especially crude.  It's a little down my to-do list at the minute, as I'd rather wait until we have all ships and planes (and AEO's current work-rate maglevs too) in the game before re-balancing.  That way I can also hopefully pick up a few more reports like yours. 

Of course if you do want to make it more challenging in the meantime, just download the sources and ramp up maintenance costs for the passenger wherry and rebuild the pak...

[Dutchman on Rails]

Well, for now I've started a game with Pak.German, starting in 1815. But it still may be an idea to use the source. I'll keep it in mind. Thanks.