AddOns by ValterMatias

[ValterMatias]

I recently started playing Simutrans again and wanted some brazilian add-ons, so i decided to make some. Starting with this one: Marcopolo Paradiso G7, most popular bus in brazilian fleets. I've based the costs within buses already in the game but if you have some suggestions, just let me know. I forgot how hard pixel art could be But i think i've managed a nice result for a first try.

Anyway, there are two buses: The first one is the player color, and the second one i did based on the livery of a very famous bus company here in São Paulo. I'm also including the dat and png, so feel free to edit as you wish. That's it, hope you guys enjoy. 

[Flemmbrav]

Well done!
Definitly better than what i did back then. 

Regarding the costs of a vehicle: we have a huge **** excel file for that, but i'm not really a fan of the current pricing nor of big excel files. So figuring them by comparing the prices of close vehicles is a good idea!

[ValterMatias]

Flemmbrav

Thanks Flemmbrav! I like doing pixel art, it takes some of the stress off for some reason. I will continue to do it whenever possible to improve my skills.

Regarding the prices, I think that the current prices are very high, especially since I was used to PAK128 prices. But compared to the other vehicles in the PAK192, I believe this one is well balanced.

[Flemmbrav]

Do you think the pak192 comic should be easier/ things should be cheaper?

It's a bit hard to figure a good way to price things as someone that plays for years.
Most stuff just feels easy to play - unless it's impossible to earn money at all, but that really should not be the norm, right

[ValterMatias]

Do you think the pak192 comic should be easier/ things should be cheaper?

It's a bit hard to figure a good way to price things as someone that plays for years.
Most stuff just feels easy to play - unless it's impossible to earn money at all, but that really should not be the norm, right

Well, i think things should be cheaper, but without making the game easier. Maybe decreasing the prices and the starting money? It's not hard to make money, but i get headaches managing the big prices. Anyway, thats just because, as i said, i was used to pak128 prices. Once i get used to it, it shouldn't be a problem.

[ValterMatias]

Another day, another add-on. This time with the best truck i had the oportunity to drive: The Volvo FH16 540. I would sell my car to buy one (if only my car worth that much ). I'm also including one trailer and I'll realese more trailers once i have it pixeled.
The trailer was painted based on Auflieger trailers by PappeTeeMaster, so it should align with another PTM trailers.



As always, if you have suggestions, just let me know.

[Leartin]

Merged your topics - no harm done, but if you indeed do daily pixels, daily threads would be too much

I suppose these "Aufliegers" (just german for these trailers) should be interchangable within an era, and since that Volvo is active at the same time as the Actros, they would use the same trailers, right? Wouldn't apply for the W50 50 years earlier though.
Since you drove one, I'll just assume you are an expert: Is there a significant difference between your Volvo and the MB Actros in Game Terms to make it an interesting choice, or would they be interchangeable, just pick what you prefer?

Are you okay with the CC-BY-SA license? I expect there are things to come which would be useful in the pakset proper.

[ValterMatias]

I was wondering how i could merge the topics to avoid flooding the main page. So thanks for that.

I suppose these "Aufliegers" (just german for these trailers) should be interchangable within an era, and since that Volvo is active at the same time as the Actros, they would use the same trailers, right? Wouldn't apply for the W50 50 years earlier though.

I guess so, i did a test and it worked with Auflieger_Landwirt, but W50's appear with the red bar below and can't be selected.

So, between the Volvo and Actros, i would go with Actros (in game terms), because it's cheaper. But the Volvo has more power, gear and a better top speed. It should make a bigger difference in Extended.
Regarding the license, i'm ok with that. I think that's one of the best parts in Simutrans; sharing addons and files, so others can modify as they wish. Speking of wich, i forgot to attach the files for the Volvo, so i'm putting now.

[Leartin]

I guess so, i did a test and it worked with Auflieger_Landwirt, but W50's appear with the red bar below and can't be selected.

I meant that as "This is how we should design this". Though I thought constraints were used on the existing trailers, which they are not, so it's the current default anyway.

If needed, perhaps we just create special trailers for EuroCombi - bit shorter than the normal ones, but with another semitrailer coupling. They could be restricted to the Volvo, making it clear that it's the stronger vehicle and give it a different usecase.

[ValterMatias]

Oh, I got it now. I think that's a good idea. This way players would have a reason to choose the Volvo (greater transport capacity). I'll start working on the graphics then (we call it "Bitrem" here).

[ValterMatias]

Hello, I'm here with another bus.  This time with the CMA Flecha Azul VII. This thing used to fly on the highways, but i made it a little bit slower for hierarchy with buses already in the game. Guess i won't be doing new buses for a while.



Feel free to edit, paint new liveries, etc.

[ValterMatias]

I finished my first building for the game, a "warehouse" with a loading dock. Honestly I didn't like the result, but i'm sharing it anyway (since it took a few hours to finish).

[Matthew]

Thank you for contributing to the Simutrans community. The wheelie-bin is a nice touch!

[Leartin]

I made a quick pass over it, just on the preview to give you an idea how you can improve it. [But perhaps you just want to leave it as is for now and come back to it in ~3 years. Redoing old work, you really realize how much you improved]


- the light in p192c comes more from the south than from above. (And I see now, I forgot that yellow thing on the roof). I also made the main roof darker, but since it's a different material, that was more of an intuitive choice than following rules - I just think it looks better.
- your shadows are a bit spongy, as if the sunlight was diffused on a cloudy day. I removed them and placed standard shadows instead.
- I also put the loading bay in shadows. I guess one could argue that there is artificial lighting, but shadows like that help to bring the shape out.
- outlines are not a bad thing. You started with vehicles, where there is not enough space for them, but on a large building, you can use them. Especially that little stairway with the door needs better readability.
- you can use anti-aliasing on outlines. Setting a pixel of darker color helps to reduce the 'stairway' effect. I did the same for the markings on the ground, same as on the road. (I was lazy and just used 50% opacity. It's usually better to use but one color for that, since that allows for easier changes later on)
- the ventilation system is clearly not pixeled and really blurry. Also, why would there be windows for fans?

I didn't show that, but you could have a drop shadow for the building, even if it's allready all the way on the right edge. To do that, place the shadow as a frontimage with offset. You can just use the standard shadow (in the same directory as the wastebins)

[ValterMatias]

Thank you for contributing to the Simutrans community. The wheelie-bin is a nice touch!

Thanks, Matthew. These premade objects are so awesome that I want to use them all at once. 

I made a quick pass over it, just on the preview to give you an idea how you can improve it. [But perhaps you just want to leave it as is for now and come back to it in ~3 years. Redoing old work, you really realize how much you improved]


- the light in p192c comes more from the south than from above. (And I see now, I forgot that yellow thing on the roof). I also made the main roof darker, but since it's a different material, that was more of an intuitive choice than following rules - I just think it looks better.
- your shadows are a bit spongy, as if the sunlight was diffused on a cloudy day. I removed them and placed standard shadows instead.
- I also put the loading bay in shadows. I guess one could argue that there is artificial lighting, but shadows like that help to bring the shape out.
- outlines are not a bad thing. You started with vehicles, where there is not enough space for them, but on a large building, you can use them. Especially that little stairway with the door needs better readability.
- you can use anti-aliasing on outlines. Setting a pixel of darker color helps to reduce the 'stairway' effect. I did the same for the markings on the ground, same as on the road. (I was lazy and just used 50% opacity. It's usually better to use but one color for that, since that allows for easier changes later on)
- the ventilation system is clearly not pixeled and really blurry. Also, why would there be windows for fans?

I didn't show that, but you could have a drop shadow for the building, even if it's allready all the way on the right edge. To do that, place the shadow as a frontimage with offset. You can just use the standard shadow (in the same directory as the wastebins)

Wow, it does look a thousand times better, what a differece it makes. I'm thinking on redoing already, haha.
- I'm struggling with light directions, I always think the Volvo looks strange compared with other vehicles. I'll take some time to work again with these graphics.
- The shadows are way better, and the loading bay shadow made a big difference.
- The ventilation system are vectors that I decresed the size and forgot to pixel them after. The windows are kind of a hatch (I don't know if that's the english word for it), and it improves natural light inside the buiding, but It looks better without.

I'll study some graphics already in the game and see what works best. Thanks for the tips, Leartin. It sure will help on the future graphics.

[Roboron]

Hello, I'm here with another bus.  This time with the CMA Flecha Azul VII.

B-but yours has nothing azul! D:

[ValterMatias]

B-but yours has nothing azul! D:

Just imagine that the drivers uniform is azul. But you're right, lol. I simplified the painting to avoid oversaturating with player colors. I made another version following the original painting scheme (wich doesn't have much azul either).

[Isaac Eiland-Hall]

The wheelie-bin is a nice touch!

It's wheelie nice!