Few random small requests

[610019610]

Hello!
I played the game in the 2018-2020, then I dropped it for a while and returned just recently. I never was an active part of the community because I got a language barrier (I read english text without issues, but my english turn broken when talking or writing), but I always used to lurk and get updates about the develovment status.

This time is different however: I returned after almost 5y and I'm noticed some issues still sitting here. My expectations were different honestly. This forced me to start a talking.

FEATURES:

• A new optional file format for saving tracks: .td6 got a lot of limitations and everybody here knowns it and find it a lot unconfortable nowadays. I thought developing and implementing a new format would be an high prio task; also I'm sure a project about it started (I read about it years ago and I even remember a development branch was existing), but now in 2024 still there aren't any news about. Why? New track pieces (0g rolls or whatever), new rides type (single-rail, hybrid, etc...), and the widespreadt use of hacks and tricks (just listing a few examples: track merging, track branching, using extra track pieces as supports or catwalks or whatever) uses made it essential, or nearby. Also I known a new file format should simplify the development task instead of making it overcomplex, and entirely preserve retrocompatibility; for these reasons I think just reworking the current td6 instead of adding another file format (like an already proposed .td8).
  I don't see any drawback here (assuming a developer would like it, takes this task and works on that), but just a lot of QoL improving, and a great gameplay enhancement.

• Rides stats calculation mechanism is obsolete. I hate to try to make coasters taking ideas from real ones (an obvious example: The Smiler), but getting penalties just because existing underlying math is too old for modern standards. For the sake of retrocompatibility I think a simple optional cheat or an optional entry in settings, allowing for better math calculation, would satisfy everybody without issues. I known walkaround exists (for example the rides set console command), but that adds complexity, and borrow many additional issues and sources of discomfort.
  I'm not asking for anything complex here. There are a lot of way for making it very simple.

• Overbanking and beyond vertical drop: I'm surprised they wasn't implemented until now, above all the former one. Back in my old playing days, they were a top entry in every player wishlist aside other elements like 0g rolls. I known now developers aren't interested on making new sprites atm (and I'm aware a lot of sprites would be needed considering transitions, veichles etc...), but I'm just wondering and still dreaming.

I will avoid to make other requests. I just chose the simplest ones.

Thank you for your feedbacks.
Regards.

[Gymnasiast]

This time is different however: I returned after almost 5y and I'm noticed some issues still sitting here. My expectations were different honestly. This forced me to start a talking.

You are always free to request stuff, but remember this is project provided to you for free by unpaid volunteers.

for these reasons I think just reworking the current td6 instead of adding another file format (like an already proposed .td8).

TD8 was essentially a reworked TD6. We already stretched TD6 beyond what it was designed for. There is no place for more types of track element in TD6, for example. Do note that we do support the newer coaster types in TD6, like the Hybrid Coaster - it has room for 255 different types of ride.

[610019610]

You are always free to request stuff, but remember this is project provided to you for free by unpaid volunteers.

Sorry, maybe there was a misunderstanding. my words could sounds rough, but as I said before I got a language barrier; my grammar may looks good, but I really struggle (and sometimes I fail) on managing tones and shades of meaning. Please always take it in account.

I known OpenRCT is a great project, because mantained for free by people willing to somehow modernize a 20+ years old game with a little audience. I never forget or understimate it. I just was wishing to find the project in a much advanced state after my 5y break, and I was really curious about why it didnt happens. The ideas I was asking for were already proposed since many years ago, and they were in an active development status in 2019 as far as I remember, so I really was wondering about why something met a deadlock during my long hiatus.

It's just a talking, where I expect a reply like:
"We stopped to work on .td8 because..."
"We implemented zero-g rolls and large corkscrews but we didn't implement overbanking due to... "
"We never touched the math behind stats calculation because... "
Just for making an example.

I'm sure there is a valid reason behind the lackness of some features. Just I didn't figure it out and I wish to known it.

Side note: due to my language barrier I use to check and edit my sent message multile times. I hope this is not annoying.

[Gymnasiast]

I see. Don’t worry.

"We stopped to work on .td8 because..."

We have adopted a different method. We are first updating the game’s internal structures, so that we know what will be needed for TD8/NTDF. The work has not stopped, but it is slow and not very visible.

"We implemented zero-g rolls and large corkscrews but we didn't implement overbanking due to... "

These improvements have been added by X7. I don’t know why he didn’t implement overbanked turns, but if I had to guess, it’s because implementing an extra banking level is more complicated than self-contained pieces like the zero G rolls and large corkscrew.

"We never touched the math behind stats calculation because... "

We did a few fixes, but in general most of our users prefer to stick with the current system. Changing the algorithm will also change how a track performs, what price can be asked, and how popular it will be in the park.

[610019610]

Thanks for this reply.

We have adopted a different method. We are first updating the game’s internal structures, so that we know what will be needed for TD8/NTDF. The work has not stopped, but it is slow and not very visible

Glad to hear that. I never was a so good player able to efficently reinventing the wheel at every new park/scenario, so relying on a good save format and sort of blueprints would be an huge QoL improvement for an almost-casual player like me.

These improvements have been added by X7. I don’t know why he didn’t implement overbanked turns, but if I had to guess, it’s because implementing an extra banking level is more complicated than self-contained pieces like the zero G rolls and large corkscrew.

I imagine implementing new levels of banking or steepness, then figure out every combo, variation and transition needed would add layers and layers of complexity. I think implementing some elements just as a stand-alone pieces with built-in transitions (as X7 did about zero-g rolls, large corckscrews or whatever) instead would be easier. That mechanism would lack flexibility but at least it's something obtainable. When I could get the following stand-alone pieces I (and surely many others) would be very happy, despite the owned limitations:

• 90° degree turn Overbanked curve (left/right)
• 45° degree turn Large overbanked curve (left/right)
• Raising/Falling overbanked curve (left/right); they are in RCT3 but I'm not remembering their names
• Hammerhead turn hat
• Wave hill hat
• Stengel dive (different sizes?)
• Overbanked S-bend (left-to-right and right-to-left); I'm not able to figuring out a better name for this piece I have in mind.
• 3/4 of Barrel roll (but maybe I'm already listing too many, so I force myself to stop here....).

Anyway I'm not really pretending anything here, but just continue the talking. I known making good RCT tiles/sprites is really hard, and I think it's the real definitive issue here. Somewhere I read X7 put too many efforts for making new pieces look decently and while reading I understood (but maybe I'm wrong) he doesn't want to implement new pieces anymore.

We did a few fixes, but in general most of our users prefer to stick with the current system. Changing the algorithm will also change how a track performs, what price can be asked, and how popular it will be in the park.

The current system still works in many case and I'm sure nobody wants to break tons of work people made in 20+ years of playing and sharing. There's just some edge cases (but important) which could take benefits from a new formula.
I think a second formula aside the current one, activating just by a ride flag or a cheat (but I prefer the flag idea, beause acting in the single case, instead of altering the entire scenario) would accomplish the aim without borrowing additional efforts or collateral issues. However Im not so aware about how the develop works, so I admit I might understimate the nedeed effort or something else, for example if implementing a new flag would be a non-trivial task, despite the starting idea looks as very simple.