[Gameplay discussion]: Joining stops and tram tracks in online play

[jamespetts]

I am wondering whether something needs to be done about the way in which stations and stops are handled in online games. Currently, players can only build stops of their own type, albeit they can convert their own stops to public stops if they want. Converting to public has a high capital cost, but then absolves the player of any furhter maintenance costs. Only public stops can be used by more than one player, with the exception (specific to Experimental) of road stops on public roads. One player's stop placed next to another player's stop will not allow goods and passengers to interchange between those stops. Also, one player's tram tracks will not connect to another's, even when those tram tracks are on public road.

The combined effect of all this is that, without invoking the public service player, it is very easy for one player (intentionally or unintentionally) to block other players from transport in towns, and also that it is very difficult, again without invoking the public service player, to build a joined up network. I wonder whether some changes might be desirable: do people think that it would be beneficial if there was some way of joining stops of two different players for connexion purposes without merging the two together completely? So, for example, if player 1 placed a 'bus stop immediately next to player 2's railway station, player 1 would pay for and be able to delete/change just the 'bus stop, and player 2 would pay for and be able to delete/change just the railway station, but the two halts would be considered as one for routing purposes. Would people find this useful, or would it create other problems that I have not yet spotted? Also, do any of the coders have any ideas how to implement this (or does anyone have any simpler ideas as to how to solve the underlying problem)?

As to tram tracks - I am open to suggestions on how to deal with that issue. Perhaps players should always be able to join tram tracks of other players when they are placed on a public road (which will, in practice, be nearly all of the time - so one might as well skip the public road test). I have been considering for some time implementing a Railway Clearing House system of charging players to run their trains/trams/canal boats/etc. over other players' networks based on a per vehicle per kilometre cost, although I have not yet considered how to calculate the cost. I think that Prissi mentioned some time ago a similar sort of suggestion for Standard.

Further, there needs to be a way of players allowing or disallowing other players to run vehicles over their private ways and connect to their private ways - I have before mentioned and suggested "running powers"; so, if player A grants player B running powers, player B's vehicles will be able to run over player A's ways (for a cost), and player B will be able to connect to player A's networks. If running powers are revoked, then existing network connexions stay, but no new ones can be built; vehicles already on player A's networks can continue to traverse them, but will no longer be able to move onto player A's networks from another player's network. There would probably have to be a "running powers" dialogue box. As for trams, it might be as well not to give players the option of not granting running powers for trams, as players can use tram tracks to block other players from laying tram tracks in towns; on the other hand, if there was no option to exclude players from each others' tram tracks, then there might, I suppose, be the possibility of disruptive play (by setting one's trams to wait for full load indefinitely or sending far too many trams, etc.). Perhaps, then, trams might be better off with the ordinary scheme of running powers?

All thoughts on this topic are most welcome.

Edit: Also - ought there be an option to prevent players from making their stops public and thereby absolving themselves of maintenance costs?

[sdog]

Edit: Also - ought there be an option to prevent players from making their stops public and thereby absolving themselves of maintenance costs?

Don't think so, it costs 10 years of maintenance i think. After 10 years with current pak balance costs don't matter anyway. In standard/pak128 i was thinking more than once if i really should make a stop public, the cost was very hard on the company. Don't forget that costs early hurt much more than distributed over a decade. I think it is in your test server free to make stops public, this might be related to the zero maint. for stations.

To the public way issue, the least should be to make tracks and roads in a station and at least one field connected to a station also public property when making the stop public. This should allow other players to interface with a station made public if the 'publisher' allowed room to do so. (assuming good intent)

Don't worry too much on hostile intent of players, right now they have so many ways to break a game, that this doesn't really matter. We have to rely a bit on having a small and quite nice community. (BTW, this is by far the most friendly and polite internet forum i've seen in my 15 years online)

[HeinBloed]

(BTW, this is by far the most friendly and polite internet forum i've seen in my 15 years online)

Sorry for the off-topic reply, but I just have to express my full agreement with that. And my online experience dates back to just about the same time as yours. Hopefully, it will remain like this, I don't see why it shouldn't.