Topic: Helicopters

[Pestr]

When Simutrans will be helicopters and their infrastructure?
In my opinion it is needed.

[jamespetts]

It may well be possible to add them to Experimental if one sets the minimum runway length in the .dat file to 0, although this has not been tested.

[greenling]

Helicopters are cool.
They are for small airports useful.

[Ters]

When Simutrans will be helicopters and their infrastructure?
In my opinion it is needed.

When someone who wants them writes the program code for them. Simutrans doesn't have a road map or schedule since the developers only work on it when they have time to spare.

It may well be possible to add them to Experimental if one sets the minimum runway length in the .dat file to 0, although this has not been tested.

I know some helicopters can taxi, but how common is it? They should normally land directly on the stop shouldn't they? (They have to for oil rigs.) The taxiing helicopter in Transport Tycoon always looked silly to me, although I did just find a video of a real life case on youtube. They must have wheels I suppose, which might be more common for bigger helicopters and it is probably those that it makes sense to have in Simutrans.

[An_dz]

(...) bigger helicopters and it is probably those that it makes sense to have in Simutrans.

Even the big ones are hard to be usable. It already was hard to include usable and profitable small planes in pak96.comic. Both Cessna and Mooney Bravo have 2 more seats than the real planes for this purpose. The cargo versions somewhat uses the right takeoff weight.

But helicopters can land almost anywhere.

[transporter]

You added private planes to try to make a profit? There's your problem right there. They're not supposed to. Now helicopters could be good for short hops for small towns. Capacity of 4-16 would be useful. Faster than busses, a direct route, and cheaper than planes. I know I'd use them at least.

[Ters]

I can't see much use for so low capacity vehicles. I'd have to have 100 vehicles on a single line, unless the lines are unrealistically short. A line out to a factory with a low passenger factor could perhaps work with so low capacity vehicles, but such factories often don't suit such expensive means of transport for its workers.

[IgorEliezer]

Maybe oil rigs could accept helicopters, like boats. Well, but it would look weird seeing a helicopter landing "beneath" the thing.

[jamespetts]

Helicopters were used in Transport Tycoon to take workers to oil rigs, weren't they?

[Ters]

Maybe oil rigs could accept helicopters, like boats. Well, but it would look weird seeing a helicopter landing "beneath" the thing.

Why should it land beneath? That's where the ship stop is, not where the helicopter stop can or should be. The graphics must however align the drawing of a helipad with a tile.

Helicopters were used in Transport Tycoon to take workers to oil rigs, weren't they?

Yes. It certainly makes more sense than the ferries I use in Simutrans.

[Vladki]

I think that the oil rig is the only place to use helicopters. Even if they are not (very) profitable, the passenger boost should be worth it.

[An_dz]

You added private planes to try to make a profit? There's your problem right there. They're not supposed to.

Mooney Bravo is available as cargo type. And in 96comic they are very useful for mail and not-so-profitable cargo. They are also very cheap and have a very low cost/km.

I think that the oil rig is the only place to use helicopters. Even if they are not (very) profitable, the passenger boost should be worth it.

I do think too. Even on real life they are hard to find. I always lived in cities with <500,000 inhabitants and hardly saw one. Sometimes when I visited some cities around here with 3,000,000+ I hardly saw one. Most of the times it's the police or the hospital helicopter.

I find interesting add helicopters in Simutrans, but I can't see a good, profitable and somewhat realistic way to use of them.

[IgorEliezer]

Why should it land beneath?

Not that it should, currently this is the point that is considered as pax/cargo stop by the game. If we want helicopters to land on a better looking point, the game should accept another point besides the one for boats.

[Ters]

Not that it should, currently this is the point that is considered as pax/cargo stop by the game. If we want helicopters to land on a better looking point, the game should accept another point besides the one for boats.

Apart from stops servicing both buses and trams, Simutrans has distinct stops for different vehicle types, so I consider it out of the question that the helicopters use an oil rigs ship stop. It must be a different tile (heightwise or sidewise), technically as well as esthetically, but part of the same "station".

[transporter]

But oil platforms are generally built with both a dock and a helipad anyway. So I say the ship dock should be a tile beside the rig so the heli could land on it

[Ters]

Ships stop beside the ship stop tile, so the ship stop tile(s) should be at the base of the oil rig, not beside it. But I don't see what the ship stop tile position has to do with helicopters. They must land on the helicopter stop tile.

[jamespetts]

Yes, except that, although present in the graphics, nobody has actually coded a "runaway" tile for them.

[transporter]

Ships stop beside the ship stop tile, so the ship stop tile(s) should be at the base of the oil rig, not beside it. But I don't see what the ship stop tile position has to do with helicopters. They must land on the helicopter stop tile.

Maybe I misunderstood. I thought (at least in older versions) the oil rig ship stop was the oil rig tile itself. If it was moved to beside the rig (which it might already be) the rig tile itself should be coded to the helicopter spot if possible. Since they land right on it after all

[Ters]

The ship stop tile and the oil rig tile is the same tile(s), but the helipad tile should be at least one level higher.