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Great Britain simulation in Simutrans Experimental

Started by Carl, May 25, 2011, 03:43:48 PM

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Kage Acheron

I'm been following this project for a while. I'm really impressed, and am glad that you're revisiting this project! I found a few bugs in the network, and I just wanted to share them with you.

The Up stopping platform at Newark Northgate is missing a bit of electrification at the junction, which causes trains booked to stop there to run through the station then reverse.

Convoy (1629) on the London LST - Norwich (Fast) line has one extra coach, which makes it keep generating a message saying that it "is too long for the next stop".

There is a Pendolino stopped at one of the underground platforms at London Euston with no schedule.

Carl

Hi Kage, welcome to the forum and thanks for your kind comments. Glad you like the map. Well done for spotting those details! To take them in turn:

- The missing electrification on that tile in Newark is intentional because I want to avoid non-stop trains trying to go through that platform while another train is waiting there. However, I've moved the Edinburgh stopper to the other platform so it doesn't reverse.

- That convoy is indeed one coach too long. However on my map it's still only 7 station tiles long (convoy window > details) so I'm not getting any of those errors. Strange that you are. At one time I had the wrong graphics on those trains - maybe that problem persists in the version you have?

- Well spotted on the Pendolino. Coincidentally I found and deleted it earlier this week. I think it's a leftover from when I last changed the Birmingham fasts (when the Wolverhampton terminating service merged with the Birmingham to Scotland one).

Thanks again!

Carl

Time for another savegame update. The most notable change this week is that we have our first non-passenger train! It's the route I mentioned last week from Eastleigh to Tonbridge with a convoy like this. Upon load you'll find it at Eastleigh. I've also added Dollands Moor sidings near Folkestone, which will serve as the base for some future freight.

You can [https://www.dropbox.com/s/mjtv3breez5fmxu/UK-Feb17.rar?dl=0]download the savegame here[/url]. I think we are blockage-free at the moment. Let me know if you find anything wrong.

Full changelog:

- Railhead treatment train from Eastleigh to Tonbridge added. Runs once per 'month' (12 hours) via Redhill & Guildford.
- Lea Bridge station added in London
- Kirkstall Forge & Apperley Bridge stations added in West Yorkshire (This area will be imrpoved further eventually. I was surprised to see that Forge only has an hourly service right now. I wonder if that will change?)
- Updated intercity road graphics
- Updated a few airport graphics
- Updated Class 465 graphics (major)
- Updated Class 395 graphics (minor)
- Dover, Folkestone & the Romney Marsh area in Kent rebuilt/added (+2 bus lines)
- Ashford to Tonbridge towns rebuilt (+ 1 bus line)
- Tonbridge to Redhill towns rebuilt
- Gatwick Airport rebuilt (+ 1 bus line)
- North Downs line towns rebuilt (+1 bus line)

Here's a screenshot of Dover, which was revamped this week. It shows the busiest point in the hour. Two terminating services from Victoria and Charing Cross wait as the High-Speed East Kent circular service calls at Dover Priory in both directions in turn.




The Eastern Docks could probably still stand to be improved.


fam621

Nice updates, BUT! There are blockages which are not solved, the common blockages are at Edinburgh, Cardiff, Doncaster, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Preston and Chester. I can not think of anymore ATM. I will notify you when there are blockages. :)

Lewis

Very Nice!

Could you possibly release an updated source file please, ive got plans for the 73, might try and turn in into a 66 (MIGHT)


Thanks

Carl

Sure Lewis, here's the source files for that (I'll do a full set again at some point) https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/61716/73etc.rar
It's all in one image but you'll be able to extract what you want easily enough.


fam621, I think most of those are old problems that are now solved. I ran the map for a good long time when setting up the RHTT train and didn't find any issues Let me know if you find any, though!



fam621

Lewis, can you also compile the RHTT for pak128-Britain please? :) I'd be ever so grateful. Its for my Fictional UK Map.



Kage Acheron

Quote from: Carl on February 02, 2017, 06:48:15 PM
Hi Kage, welcome to the forum and thanks for your kind comments. Glad you like the map. Well done for spotting those details! To take them in turn:

- The missing electrification on that tile in Newark is intentional because I want to avoid non-stop trains trying to go through that platform while another train is waiting there. However, I've moved the Edinburgh stopper to the other platform so it doesn't reverse.

- That convoy is indeed one coach too long. However on my map it's still only 7 station tiles long (convoy window > details) so I'm not getting any of those errors. Strange that you are. At one time I had the wrong graphics on those trains - maybe that problem persists in the version you have?

- Well spotted on the Pendolino. Coincidentally I found and deleted it earlier this week. I think it's a leftover from when I last changed the Birmingham fasts (when the Wolverhampton terminating service merged with the Birmingham to Scotland one).

Thanks again!

Reinstalling a fresh version of the pak did solve the "train too long" message popping up. The train is still one coach too long, not sure if this is intentional or not. I got another "train too long" error for convoys 2344 and 2346 on the Manchester Pic - Bournemouth/Bristol line, and they are overhanging the platform at Manchester Pic. It looks like 8 car Voyagers were used for those two instead of the 5 car Voyagers.

Looking at the RHTT, it makes several strange 90 degree turns entering and exiting Redhill, probably because the track layout doesn't have a straight route between the platform and the lines that it enters and exits from.

Carl

Thanks Kage. I'll sort those in due course.

Redhill is tricky - it's a very sharp turn into the Reigate line, and very hard to arrange the tracks so that there isn't a 90 degree for some routes. I'll take another look at it.

fam621

I would like a RHTT for my fictional UK map for pak128.britain-Ex-0.9.2 please Carl.

Carl

I only really deal with pak64 size graphics but you're welcome to adapt the files above as you like.

Carl

Quite a lot to share this week. Here's an [https://www.dropbox.com/s/mjtv3breez5fmxu/UK-Feb17.rar?dl=0]updated savegame and pak folder[/url]. Here are a few things that have been added to the map, including one that was a bit of a spotaneous creation.



Changes this week:

- Eurostar services added: two lines, Paris and Brussels, both of which operate two-hourly. They go through part of the Channel Tunnel and then stop at the edge of the map. Class 374 (e320) has been added to support this. It's altered a bit to fit the constraints of the map: only 12 coaches/6 tiles.
- Canterbury rebuilt (+4 bus lines), along with Sandwich and Deal
- Thanet towns, Margate/Ramsgate/Broadstairs, rebuilt (+2 bus lines), along with Herne Bay, Whitstable & Faversham
- Added new city buildings and updated old ones (see above). They are all adapted from existing graphics - some pak.128, some elsewhere and are designed to blend in with the existing style.
- Added three new IND ground squares to use for building farms. Two of these are above.
- Adjusted the ocean colour tone

Screenshot
Above is a screenshot of Thanet, showing Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate (full size). This is the easternmost part of Kent. three highspeed services to London St Pancras operate each hour - one from Margate via Canterbury, and two 'circular' services - one which goes London - Medway - Thanet - Dover - Ashford - London, and one going the other direction. You can also see the closed Manston airport.



Graphics to-do list
I'm trying to gradually update the map's graphics as I go along. Here's a vague to do list of what I want to change. This is long-term - don't expect all this in the next week or month!

Ways
- Update road bridges
- Update rail bridges
- Update elevated rails
- Update motorway/major road graphic
- Update rails (and fields) to have optional tree linings (like this)

Vehicles
- Update and expand bus graphics
- New trains for freight services

Buildings/ground squares
- Farm squares (IND) for nursery, solar farm, and fields with plastic sheets (fruit?)
- Field squares with paths/tracks (or a path square with a field in the background?)
- Create ground object/building to simulate surface lakes (I know these are a feature in newest versions)
- More updates to city buildings
- Golf course?! There are an awful lot of these in GB. Would be good to have some graphics.

Other
- Make the trees more uniform (less light coloured ones)

Lewis

Well i am working on the class 360! not as big as the new game save though.  ;)

Carl

Some progress on graphics this weekend. Tree linings for rail tracks and sprucing up the roads that I'm using as motorways/dual carriageways. Both are shown below. Will upload some pngs they're a bit more complete.


fam621

Something you need to know Carl, press i on your keyboard on the save, then click on signals on left then watch over time how signals go onto the right side of the track.



Lewis

.... BUSES!!!!!

Carl

Nice! Stagecoach is the big gap in the current offering. I think the next step for those (and the other graphics above) would be to vary the colour tones slightly on different areas of the vehicle, which helps to give them a smoother appearance. Generally the roof colour wants to be different to the sides. Also some slight change in tone at the top and bottom of the sides makes a big difference. Take a look at some of the more recent pngs that I posted yesterday to get an idea of what I mean.


Lewis

#690
Yeah ill start doing that....


..... MPV anyone?

Carl

Quite a bunch of additions this week, including Medway & Maidstone, updated train graphics, new tree lining and lake graphics, and another non-passenger service added. [https://www.dropbox.com/s/mjtv3breez5fmxu/UK-Feb17.rar?dl=0]Here's the savegame and pak folder[/url]. Note that these use the legacy Simutrans Experimental and haven't yet been tested with the new Simutrans Extended.

Some screenshots:

Tonbridge, with the line branching off south to Tunbridge Wells. You can see the new blue Class 375 and the rail tree linings, both of which were added this week.


Maidstone. High Speed 1 is on the right of the shot, and a Eurostar train passes. The new lake graphics are used here in Mote Park. The east-west line here runs from Ashford to London, and the north-south line runs from Strood (for connections to highspeed services) and Paddock Wood.


Medway Towns, including Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham. Again, High Speed 1 passes to the left of the shot, alongside the M2 motorway. Highspeed trains run on conventional lines through Medway before joining HS1 after Gravesend. You can see one at Gillingham, on the right of the shot. The city versions of the new lakes are used for the docks in Gillingham.


Full changelog:
Graphics:
- Surface lakes added as IND tiles. Saves having to lower ground everytime for surface water (which tends not to look very good).
- Tree linings for railtracks added as wayobj. There's one version with catenary and one without.
- Motorway graphics updated (these are also used for dual carriageways and other 'highways')
- Blue Class 375 added and incorporated in many routes
Cities
- Maidstone & the Malling area rebuilt (+4 bus lines)
- Medway Towns rebuilt (+3 bus lines)
- Sittingbourne, Sheerness & Sheppey towns (+1 bus route)
- Hoo Peninsula built (+1 bus line)
Schedules
- Added a circular railhead treatment train from Tonbridge West Yard, via Ashford, Ramsgate and Sheerness (schedule here). This one is limited to 50mph because that seemed to best fit the timetable.
- Fixed class allocations for some lines (mostly - adding more Class 465s)


Lewis: Good stuff, an MPV would be a nice addition! Any idea what kinds of routes they typically run?

Lewis

no idea what routes they run, from pictures it looks like RHTTs in the south west and diffrent engineering trains.

Vladki

I really like the hedges along the track. What addon is that?

Carl

#694
I made it this week. Glad you like it! Here's the dat and png for them: https://www.dropbox.com/s/mwmnoimbquvnntj/TrackHedges.rar?dl=0

Ves

I downloaded the pak and savegame, and it appears to load fine in the new Simutrans-Extended! First time I look at it in game, it is really very much impressive! :)
However, there appears to become some funny  happenings, since:
a - signals does now not forbid driving the other direction, so trains will start use the wrong track, and
b - trains starting from platform will go in drive by sight mode, driving way to slow also risking deadlocks with other trains. Trains with a clearance from a signal appears to go in track circuit block mode.

So, from the initial point of view, to futureproof the save, all you would need to do is put signals on the platformends and an immense number of one way signs! :)

Carl

Great, thanks for checking it out in Extended! I'm a bit worried about some aspects of the new signalling system, but I'll take questions on that to the main board. Did the 'wait for 400% load' timetabling features function right, or will that all have to be changed too?

Ves

The trains appeared to wait for 400% and leave when their time was up, so that didn't seem to be an issue!

Also, the two block signals and long block signals need to be altered or checked, since the two block signal has become a proper distant signal, and the long block signal is just a normal signal but also creating directional reservations.

But you might consider wait a bit changing over anyway, since the save game might become corrupt with the nightly builds and that would really be a shame!

Carl

Thanks. Yes, I plan to wait for a while - not least because the task of making the required changes is daunting. Also 11.34/35 are more sufficient for my purposes so there isn't huge pressure to switch over until the new build looks suitably stable.

Carl

I think this was covered here; but the technique is to build a tunnel entrance (ctrl+click), then use the 'lower land' tool to take it low enough to go below the ocean; then drag the tunnel until it connects with the other end. We should keep discussion of that to the other topic to avoid getting off track.