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Abandon way (or make way derelict) tool

Started by merry, December 13, 2010, 02:01:51 PM

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merry

Hi guys,

After some years playing ST on and off (9 or 10 I guess), I've come to think that it would be very useful to be able to make a way 'abandoned'.
An 'abandoned' way would not be usable by vehicles, but would still be present on the map. There would be a cost to return it to traffic (something like 75% of the original cost?), either by using a 'restore' tool or building new way on top [the latter at a higher price due to removal of the underlying abandoned infrastructure ?]

The benefit is that no maintenance would need to be paid, but the route would not be lost  (and can't be built on), and no maintenance cost would have to be paid. This is a common scenario for currently unused freight (or even passenger) routes in RL - the cost of removing the infrastructure would be high. This would be useful for players in the earlier stages of the game in particular where maintenance costs can be crippling vs. profits.

The labour cost (a significant consideration) is how to implement it graphically & in code. The most graphically economic might be an overlay [part-transparent graphic] with weeds growing but that might be a bit crude. I am aware that the added time to paint an abandoned image for every waytype would be prohibitive so I guess we'd live with the overlay if it could be implemented [maybe make it a default for ways without an 'abandoned' image set].

If anyone agrees, and a programmer is willing to consider methods of implementation, that'd be great - opinions anyone?

Cheers,
merry :-)

PS Sadly, i am no C programmer, and my time is too severely limited by work to take on the time-consuming graphics (anyway, you would not appreciate the results!, but anyone taking the idea on would win my appreciation - how's that for a prize :-)

jamespetts

This can - more or less - be done without altering the code, but by modifying the paksets. Just create a "mothballed" type of each way (road, rail, etc.) with its own graphics, and another way can simply be downgraded to this new way type, which can have a 0km/h speed limit and 0 maintenance cost and a very small (or perhaps zero) construction cost. (To downgrade a way, hold down CTRL while laying it).

The only part of this suggestion that cannot be implemented with current code is the reduced price for reinstating the way, which would cost as much to reinstate as it would to build new. This, however, is consistent with how Simutrans generally works, as upgrading one way type to another always costs the same as laying the latter type new. This would not leave this feature without benefits, however, as a considerable proportion of building new ways is demolishing things and raising/lowering land; if one were to dig up all the tracks (etc.), others could then come and build on the land that one had vacated.
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