Hello everyone!
This has been a slightly longer gap between updates than usual, but that's because some big changes are happening in the background! I'm finally putting some serious time towards improving the optimization of Rolling Line and cleaning up old legacy features that have stuck with the game since release day (over 3 years ago now).
And the single oldest part of Rolling Line is the original main layout, called "Top of the south"
Back when this game came out it only had one single layout, and the map editing tools were hilariously bare-bones compared to what they are now.
Because of this, the old "main layout" is actually built using entirely different tools and methods to how every map in the game is made now.
All the systems like skyboxes, switchboards, powerlines, turntables etc were all hard-coded for that single layout. But after many, many updates to the game all of these features can now be done using in-game tools!
Because of all these old "hard-coded" systems being used on the main layout it's been really complicated trying to make optimizations and improvements to how the game runs and loads maps.
So something I've been dreaming of doing for a long long time is to finally "convert" the old main layout into a modern map, all using in-game props, track, tools, etc.
And that's exactly what this update is about!
On the surface it hardly looks like anything has changed, but the new "Top of the south" layout (included in this update) is actually a painstakingly-built one-to-one copy of the original.
This means that you can now actually edit all the props, track, skyboxes, switchboards, etc, just like any other map in the game!
And best of all, I can finally remove all the old legacy code that the original main layout relies on.
This is all quite technical and hard to explain, but all you need to know is that Rolling Line just got 100x more flexible to future change, so the next series of updates are going to be focused on improving performance, stability, and all-around optimization!
Please keep in mind that no optimizations are in the game yet! This update is just the initial layout conversion that gets things ready for what I have planned next.
But even though it doesn't look like much on the surface, this update is actually a massive milestone for how far the game has come since release. Features like skyboxes, turntables, dynamic track, switchboards, etc, are all now proper in-game tools, yet back when the game came out these were all features I could only dream of. But now, 125 updates later, here we are!
Here is the full list of what's changed in this new version of the main layout:
- All track is now editable
- New audio sources and ambient audio
- Switchboards are now dynamic
- All signals now use the new system
- All level crossings are now dynamic and use custom triggers
- Skyboxes use the new skybox system and are editable
- All props (aside from roads and terrain) are editable
- The layout is now in the custom table room, instead of the legacy main layout room
- All powerlines use the new dynamic wire system
In addition to the main layout conversion though, this update also includes some new features to enjoy:
Drawer style customization
You can now customize the visuals of the portable drawers!
Simply press Q (left-hand hover option) to open the popup menu and you can edit a bunch of options.
In this menu you can customize:
Opening drawers (with a handle) or stationary
You can choose to make the drawers open/close when clicking on the handle. So you can place the drawers in the walls and open them when you need them:
Change the shelf style
Choose between a few different shelf styles, like a glass case or a foam holder:
Change the colors
You can change the inner and outer box colors. Just paint them like any other prop in the game:
Enable/disable the inner/outer box
You can also choose to hide either the inner and outer box. This is great for making glass displays (where you don't want the drawer buttons visible).
New props
During the process of converting the main layout there were a few new props which were added. These are:
- Two new industrial buildings (originally from Picton)
- A bunch of new rock & boulder types
- Playground prop
- Rubbish bin
- Various sign posts
- Various road signs
- Tent
- Roadworks barriers
- Seat
- Shipping container
New main menu
The main menu is now the Hanmer Springs scene.
In the future I plan to make a system where you can create your own custom main menu scenes, or even share/download them on the workshop! But for now, this scene is replacing the old ones in various locations around the main layout.
Kaikoura earthquake map
You may have heard of an easter egg where you could trigger an earthquake on the Kaikoura coast and get a unique post-earthquake scene.
Well in the process of re-making the main layout I decided to make this easter egg a proper map that everyone can access from the main menu!
Other changes
- The "main layout quality" setting has been removed, since it's no longer used
- The "Startup load type" setting has also been removed for the same reason
- The "Kaikoura, picton, ward, etc" loading stages are now gone, since the game no longer needs to load these manually
And that's everything!
Even though on the surface this "main layout conversion" doesn't look like much, the amount of work involved was insane and the amount of flexibility for future changes and optimization that this has made possible is massive.
Rolling Line certainly has some big changes on the way, and converting the old main layout was the number-one roadblock to making that possible.
And I am very, very excited to be working on what's to come!