Today's update expands the train modding system with custom audio files!
You can now use Mp3 & WAV files to replace the sounds of train mods.
This includes:
- Horns/whistles
- Dynamic multi-step horns (hold down horns!)
- Engine startup/shutdown sounds
- Engine speed loops
Along with the new mod features, this update also adds:
- You can now shut down a locomotives engine by pressing "G" while holding a held-held controller in large scale. You can toggle the engine on/off this way, and you can re-bind the key in the controls menu.
- Audio Doppler effect (+ setting in the audio menu to change the intensity of the effect).
- WAV files supported (it used to be just Mp3, but WAV files allow for seamless looping)
- Much faster audio loading.
- Settings data is now stored in a plain text file which you can edit/backup.
- A message is now shown when a livery is loaded without the required base mod, showing the name of the base mod.
- Minor fixes relating to Joystick gameplay and signals/AI signs enabling track editing when used.
New audio options for train mods
You can now access a bunch of new audio options in the "train mod -> general options -> audio options" menu:
From here you can access a bunch of options, like engine sounds (either presets or custom audio files) and edit the horn/whistle.
For the horn you can choose between 3 different types:
- Preset (choose an official horn from the in-game list)
- Single audio file (supply your own Mp3 or WAV audio file)
- Multi-step horn (a more complex horn that can be held for a variable amount of time)
Multi-step horns
This new type of horn uses 3 separate audio files, one for the beginning of the horn, one for the middle (which can be looped) and one at the end.
Using these files the horn can be held down by the player!
(Please note, the official trains do not use this system, only mods which are specifically set up for multi-step horns will work this way)
If you set the horn type to "Multi-step horn" then you can open a new menu which allows you to set each one of these audio files:
Engine audio options
You can also open the engine audio options menu to further customize the engine sounds.
This means you can edit things like the startup sound, cold-start, shutdown, etc.
You can also supply your own audio files (which loop) to be used as engine speed sounds.
Each sound will be used at a different speed as the train speeds up.
If you leave an option as "None" then the default sound will be used.
(e.g. if you only want to replace the engine sounds but keep the "Idle" sound the same, keep it set to "None").
Engine startup/shutdown
You can now shut down a locomotives' engine by pressing "G" while holding a hand-held controller in large scale (or driving a train in miniature). You can toggle the engine on/off this way, and you can re-bind the key in the controls menu.
Doing this will mute the idle engine noise.
Please note that this will affect the "last locomotive driven" which means the last locomotive you selected with a controller or drove in miniature scale.
Audio Doppler
The game now uses a "Doppler" audio effect.
This effect causes moving objects to warp their sound slightly, and gives the effect of a train sweeping past you. It is most noticeable when a train sounds its horn and passes by you at speed.
You can adjust the strength of the Doppler effect in the Audio menu:
Settings now stored in files
Lots of data (like settings) is now stored in text files.
Previously it was stored in the "registry", which was a really old system back from RL's release.
This means you can mess with them manually if you choose to.
You can also backup the settings files too.
You can find these files in the "Rolling Line/Data/" folder.
- The "settings.txt" file contains all of the settings in the game.
- The "patches.txt" file is used to track some special data patches where data is automatically updated (e.g. when settings are automatically altered after an update).
- The "contentViewed.txt" file stores data for first-time-viewed things in-game, like showing help messages and running maps in their default state when first launched.
This folder also contains the keyboard and joypad bindings too.
Along with this change, there is now a button in the "Misc" menu when resets all settings to default.
Other minor changes
- Signals and AI-trigger signs now no longer enable track editing on the track surrounding them.
- Thanks to the above change, editing signals now no longer creates an increase of lag by editing the map.
- Fixed bug where the "near track" list for signals and AI-signs was not updated when loading a pre-placed object from a save.
- Fixed bug where an audio file failing to load would cause the desired audio file to be set to the last one loaded.
- A message is now shown when a livery is loaded without the required base mod, showing the name of the base mod.
- Made some changes to reading magazines when using a joypad (the mouse no longer appears and the black background is removed).
- The 3D popup message box is now wider (if the text shown requires it).
- Removed several unused settings from the game.
Future updates news!
I've been planning out what I hope to achieve with Rolling Line during the year, and a big part of that is an Oculus Quest version! (and in turn, more flexibility towards other platforms in the future).
Basically I've been meaning to make an Oculus Quest version for a long time, and now is the time to finally commit to it.
But in order to do this there are lots of other features and upgrades that need to happen in the background.
Here is a guide showing the various features which need to happen to make this Oculus Quest version possible:
Also keep in mind that this does NOT include specific gameplay features (e.g. the AI update that just happened) since these kinds of updates are separate to the Oculus Quest goal and are more spontaneous. Things like train AI can be developed and released at any stage without any pre-requirements.
So basically, there will be other updates thrown into the mix, but the ones shown in this image are the key features that are getting priority.
- completing the train modding system
- better tutorials & in-game guides
- clean-up of the track addon system (+ track modding)
- asynchronous map loading (smooth loading)
- ots of back-end software optimization
And of course there will be some fun gameplay features coming too!
But in the meantime, it's good to have a clear goal for the future and a proper list to work through.
Starting of course with audio modding, which is what today's update was all about!