Rolling Line News

[p][/p][p]It's time for Christmas!
This update wraps up the Multiplayer Map Jam and includes a bunch of shout-outs of my own personal favorite maps from the event. [/p][p]It's also a good time to enjoy a bunch of snowy themed maps and make use of the various winter themed features in the game!
Previous year's Christmas updates added things like: [/p]

• [p]Dynamic snow cover on trains and wagons (if you set the weather to snowy!)[/p]
• [p]The Canadian Christmas train [/p]
• [p]Rotary snow plow[/p]
• [p]Attachable snow plows you can add to any train[/p]
• [p]Snow globe prop[/p]
• [p]Christmas decoration props[/p]
• [p]Christmas presents [/p]

[p][/p][p] [/p][h2][/h2][p][/p][h2]Winter themed maps[/h2][p][/p][p]Over the years there have been tons of snowy maps and Christmas themed maps uploaded to the Steam Workshop, so here's a few of my favorite examples: [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Multiplayer Map Jam shout-outs![/h2][p][/p][p]Congratulations to everyone who took part in this map making event! There's a ton of amazing maps and It's been great to see public servers being hosted where people are enjoying these maps. [/p][p]As with all map making events, I always play every single entry personally and at the end of the event I post some of my favorites! [/p][p]So here's a few maps I really wanted to shout-out: [/p][p][/p][h3]Boberfjorden Railways[/h3][p]This massive map is so impressive! It has tons of height variation with walkways and elevated tables, combined with excellent trackwork, scenery detailing and overall design:[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink] [/p][p][/p][h3]Primrose Mountain RR [/h3][p]An incredible map! It's got a beautiful range of scenery along a huge main line, one of my absolute favorites of the whole jam:[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p][h3]Utah Northwestern Freelance Railroad[/h3][p]Really impressive map with tons of steep cliffs, bridges and verticality! It even has a switch control room hidden under the tables:[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p][h3]RL30 New Westphalia and Balcones Railroad[/h3][p]Beautifully detailed map with heaps of little scenes and areas of interest, as well as lots of operations potential tightly packed together: [/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p][h3]TrainMann's TrainLine- Mid-Wales Missions[/h3][p]An excellent little map with a surprising amount of depth to it's operations, with a daily schedule and lots of custom freight loaded wagon mods:[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p][h3]Pineland, CA [/h3][p]Amazingly detailed and polished map, with especially designed switchboards and electronics:[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p][h3]The POTB Expanded[/h3][p]A massive map with a super long main line and heaps of yards, industries and sidings. This would make for some excellent ops with huge freight trains:[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h3]Salgótarján[/h3][p]A beautifully vibrant and unique map with lovely scenery:[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p][p]And a couple of shout-outs to huge map projects that got big updates:[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]And these two maps that did really interesting things with the "Multiplayer" theme by making unique gameplay designs! [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Of course there are SO many more maps to play than just these, and I really encourage you to go over to the Steam Workshop and have a look at all the entries yourself:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Thanks again everyone for taking part in the Multiplayer Map Jam, and have a lovely Christmas! [/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p]Due to lots of requests to extend the end date of the Multiplayer Map Jam, I've decided to extend the event by an extra week with a new finish date of December 22nd! [/p][p]And along with the new end date, the final weekend of December 20th-21st is now going to be a dedicated multiplayer map sharing festival! This means that over the weekend is an especially perfect time to host a public server running your own map for other people to play! [/p][p]If you are hosting a server, you can post about it in the multiplayer server forum to advertise it to other people and share extra information about what map your server is running or any special rules and requirements for players to join your map. [/p][p]Even if your map is not finished yet for submitting to the map jam, hosting a public server is a great way to test it out with real people and see how people interact with your map.[/p][p]For more detailed information about the Multiplayer Map Jam event you can read this news post.[/p][p][/p][p]But that's not all, this update adds several new features to the game![/p][p][/p][h2]Spectator mode[/h2][p][/p][p]This update adds a new "spectator mode" feature, where players can be locked from interacting with the map (e.g. driving trains, toggling turnouts, opening doors, etc).[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p][/p][p]This is perfect for if you want to host a public operations session with a group of friends but still allow random people to join in and watch (without having to worry about them messing things up!). [/p][p]When setting up a server you can toggle a new setting in the hosting options which will cause any people joining to automatically be set a spectators:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Once a player has joined, you can then choose to remove their spectator status and let them control trains as normal. Only the server host can toggle whether a player is a spectator or not:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Huge multiplayer security changes[/h2][p][/p][p]The other big part of this update is a complete re-design of how the game handles multiplayer server security. When I originally programmed the multiplayer systems I made the assumption that "who would bother to use hacks in a model train game?" ...but turns out I was absolutely wrong. [/p][p]Looks like there are definitely some people out there who are modifying code in the game directly to mess with multiplayer servers, so this update does a big re-work of how multiplayer functionality is handled so that it's more resistant to hacking. [/p][p]For example, it is now impossible for anyone to bypass server passwords by manipulating how the game sends data over the network. The server has complete control of how information sent from players is handled, and restrictions like server bans and passwords can't possibly be bypassed even with hacks. [/p][p]While it's certainly annoying to have to work around hackers, it's actually a very good thing since it forces me to make more bullet-proof networking code. Hopefully this update really helps! [/p][p][/p][h2]Server log files [/h2][p][/p][p]Another nice feature this update adds is the addition of server log files.
Just like the error log files which you can find in the game's folder, you can now find dedicated log files which show events happening on a multiplayer server.[/p][p]Only the host has this log file, and it lists things like:[/p]

• [p]Names of players joining and leaving[/p]
• [p]All chat messages [/p]
• [p]All player actions (like pressing buttons in train cabs, changing the speed, toggling turnouts, etc)[/p]
• [p]Warnings about players potentially trying to bypass security features [/p]

[p]You can find these new server log files in the folder:[/p][p]C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Steam\\steamapps\\common\\Rolling Line\\Server_logs\\[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Every time you host a new server a new log file is created with the time and date.[/p][p]These are just simple text files and you can read all the info collection from that server hosting session:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2][/h2][h2]Christmas menus! [/h2][p][/p][p]Since it's almost Christmas, the usual winter/Christmas themed menus are back!
[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]You can also find a bunch of special props and trains in the "Miscellaneous -> Christmas" drawer:[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p] [/p][p][/p][h2]Other fixes [/h2][p][/p][p]This update also fixes a few other minor bugs:[/p]

• [p]Fixed bug where waybills would still be visible when wagons were inside hidden regions[/p]
• [p]Slightly raised the height of waybills so that it doesn't get blocked by loaded double stack wagons[/p]
• [p]Extended the view distance for waybills [/p]
• [p]Waybills auto refresh when editing the roadnumber information for a wagon [/p]
• [p]Waybill settings are now included in the quick-search menu (pressing ~)[/p]
• [p]Fixed bug where pressing the gesture shortcut keys would cause camera issues when a 2D menu was active [/p]
• [p]Fixed bug where the gesture menu would not be usable when in miniature and the "allow interaction in miniature" setting was disabled [/p]
• [p]Teleport controls are now disabled wile a gesture is playing [/p]
• [p]Fixed bug where the "engine on/off" button would not show the correct state in some situations[/p]
• [p]Fixed the voice muted toggle setting not being set correctly when re-opening the player list menu[/p]

[p][/p][p]And that's everything for now! [/p][p][/p][p]I hope everyone is having fun with the Multiplayer Map Jam, and remember there's already a bunch of entries you can play right now! You can find them on the Steam Workshop:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]And thank you to all my Patreon supporters![/h3][p][/p][p]Carter Shew, Gazzac100, Taerom, Trainiac 21, Codebag Playz, Joey Drysdale, Clae, The_President, Teapop311, Chloe Surett, Rowan Mackenzie, Matt, Ábris Pataki, JohnR, ItzAerozic, Matthew Johnson, Microcosmologist, Blake Prevett, TrainTiny, Thomas Merolla, Don Willis, Jayton Hawkins, Helga Nordgren, Leto Gloas, TheAmazingRyry, Outertoaster, Nathan Perez, TrainMann, Railraider, Garst, Richard Prior, Joblogh, Detroit_, CAMOGUY54321, Ben Burch, Gustavo Sanchez, Michelle chan, Jack Fruh, Jonathan Ginsburg, Lynk_Wyland, SmokeStream, KathalLasagna, Ethan Lamont, Rivet, HuskyDynamics, Trackmeister, Lutz[/p][p][/p][p]You can join the Patreon to help support me to keep making free updates![/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]I hope everyone's enjoying the multiplayer map jam event! There's already some great entries there. [/p][p][/p][p]I'm doing a quick survey to see what people think of multiplayer so far, what kinds of bugs they are experiencing, and what kind of updates they want to see focused on in the future.[/p][p]Please fill out this form if you have the time, it's extremely helpful![/p][p]Fill out the form here[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p]With multiplayer officially released, it's time to really make the most of it! [/p][p]When you experience a map with multiple people it really changes how you view it, and lots of different design ideas suddenly become more important. So a map designed from the beginning to be played in multiplayer is quite different from one that isn't. [/p][p]So the goal of this map jam is simply to make maps themed around being played in multiplayer![/p][p][/p][h3]Here's the details:[/h3]

• [p]This map making event runs from now until December 15th! (26 days)[/p]
• [p]There are no restrictions on theme. It just needs to be in the spirit of being played in multiplayer [/p]
• [p]You can work with other people, or solo[/p]
• [p]You can make as many entries as you like[/p]
• [p]You can upgrade old maps to design them for multiplayer. It doesn't need to be a brand new save file[/p]
• [p]You can use as many mods (trains/props/terrain/etc) as you like [/p]
• [p]You can host your maps in multiplayer servers at any time, including during the event, in fact I encourage you to test your work-in-progress maps out in multiplayer! [/p]

[p][/p][h3]How to submit your maps:[/h3]

• [p]When uploading a map/mod to the Steam Workshop in-game, check the "Multiplayer map jam entry" toggle, that's all you need to do!
  (This is in the "Pause menu -> Workshop -> Upload current map" menu)[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]
• [p]You can also view all entries on the Steam Workshop by choosing the "Multiplayer map jam" tag under the "Competitions" category:[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][h3]Some ideas for inspiration: [/h3]

• [p]"Operations" are amazing in multiplayer! This means players taking on roles and driving trains around the map in an organized way, like communicating with each other about when a train is leaving one station and arriving at the next[/p]
• [p]Maps designed to be played in miniature scale, like adventure maps[/p]
• [p]Using circuitry and automation tools to make maps interactive[/p]
• [p]Puzzles/mini games, something like a maze for players to complete in miniature scale [/p]
• [p]Underground subway tunnels where players need to read signals to know if trains are coming down the tunnel ahead of them [/p]
• [p]Stormy weather/natural disaster themed maps, where players can role-play a disaster response situation[/p]
• [p]Shunting puzzles[/p]
• [p]Platforming maps, with jumping and climbing challenges to be played in miniature [/p]
• [p]Abandoned mine exploring/urban exploring with torches in miniature scale [/p]
• [p]Freight train hopping (hiding on freight wagons, staying out of sight of other players)[/p]
• [p]Or something completely different! [/p]

[p]Playing a map with other people adds a whole new world of design possibilities, and I'm quite excited to see what people will be able to come up with! [/p][p][/p][h3]"Ops of the south" - My own map entry[/h3][p][/p][p]As with a lot of these map making events, I've made my own example map too!
After seeing how other players were running such amazing operation sessions in multiplayer, I've had my own go at making a map designed for simple operations. [/p][p]It's a minimalist version of the "top of the south" route from the official map (you'll recognize some features like the Picton ferry terminal and Kaikoura station). But I've included some of the other towns along the way to make for a more interesting operations setup.[/p][p]This map is designed to have a "yard master" at each location. This person gives clearance to trains arriving and departing, and keeps track of turnouts to make sure trains pass through correctly. [/p][p]Along with the yard masters, there are several other roles you can take on, like driving various trains (passenger trains and freight trains heading between destinations) and even some shunting jobs, like moving freight wagons and cars on to the ferry. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]When you join the map you will see some instructions on how to play, and even some pre-designed roles you can choose for yourself (they are ranked by difficulty). This map is designed for around 6-10 people to play at once, but you can keep adding more trains to involve more people. [/p][p]There are also varying levels of complexity, depending on how detailed you want the operations to be.[/p][p][/p][p]There's even some circuitry involved if you want to make things even more organized! [/p][p]At each station you can press buttons to communicate between different destinations to let them know a train is waiting, They can then communicate back to you and give you the green light to proceed:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]This map is deliberately very minimalist in terms of scenery, so it can easily be run on low-end PCs and laptops. It can also transfer over the network very quickly for people joining the server. [/p][p]You can find this map here on the workshop, and anyone is welcome to run an operations session with it!
If you want you can try hosting it on a public server and see what happens, but a better way would be to run it with a small group of friends and give the operations a go in a smaller setting where you can all communicate with each other with voice chat. [/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h3]Other fixes and features [/h3][p][/p][p]As well as the map jam event, this update also includes some fixes and features. Since the last update I've released a few patches which included:[/p]

• [p]servers now have a custom max player count, which you will see in the server browser[/p]

• [p]the host can now control whether players are able to change the time/weather/skybox on a server, or if only the host can[/p]

• [p]the host can set a max speed for trains, so even if joining players have faster mods/speed settings, the speed can't go above the server max[/p]
• [p]blocked the "remove all trains" buttons from being used when the edit tool is force enabled, except for the server host[/p]
• [p]You are now prompted when starting a server as to whether your want it to be private or public (which will automatically setup some basic server settings).[/p]
• [p]Server hosts can set whether people joining are required to have the map already downloaded or not[/p]
• [p]Add a horn spam filter (so you can't honk the horn non stop) this is an optional setting when creating a server [/p]
• [p]Fixed bug where some official built-in maps would require save data transfer over the network when they shouldn't [/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where loading screens could get stuck when loading missing mods[/p]
• [p]Fixed the context help text position being wrong alongside multiplayer chat[/p]
• [p]Added a setting for the server host to force block ALL use of the edit tool, regardless of the person joining and their own settings. But of course you can still disable this, and allow the edit tool on a per-server basis. [/p]
• [p]Fixes the audio layering bug, the audio should no longer cut out on busy servers [/p]
• [p]Fixes the "engine can't stop when train is moving" message being visible to everyone on the server [/p]
• [p]Fixes the magazine reading UI from getting stuck if using while joining a server or entering the chat menu [/p]
• [p]Fixed some shimmering effect on the message box popup in miniature mode [/p]
• [p]The floor now no longer moves higher when in multiplayer (this was originally a fix to make the players not look like they are floating, since the actual floor location is lower than zero. But several maps rely on the original incorrect floor position, so ill keep it the way it was)[/p]
• [p]Waybills are now hidden in miniature mode[/p]
• [p]Extended the view distance for waybills[/p]

[p][/p][h3]And thank you to all my Patreon supporters![/h3][p]Taerom, Trainiac 21, Codebag Playz, Joey Drysdale, Clae, The_President, Teapop311, Chloe Surett, Rowan Mackenzie, Matt, Ábris Pataki, NESecretWeapon, JohnR, ItzAerozic, Matthew Johnson, Microcosmologist, Blake Prevett, TrainTiny, Thomas Merolla, Don Willis, Jayton Hawkins, Helga Nordgren, Leto Gloas, TheAmazingRyry, Outertoaster, Nathan Perez, TrainMann, Railraider, Garst, Richard Prior, Joblogh, Detroit_, CAMOGUY54321, Ben Burch, Michelle chan, Jack Fruh, Jonathan Ginsburg, Lynk_Wyland, SmokeStream, KathalLasagna, Rivet, HuskyDynamics, Trackmeister, Lutz[/p][p][/p][p]You can join the Patreon to help support me to keep making free updates![/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]The release of multiplayer has been amazing! I'm loving seeing all the stuff that people are up to (like this screenshot above by Trainmann!), it really is a dream come true to finally see Rolling Line multiplayer in action.[/p][p][/p][p]One of the top requested features right away was some form of public server browser, so people can easily make their multiplayer sessions joinable by anyone. So I made this an immediate priority! (alongside various bug fixes and such). [/p][p][/p][h2]Server browser [/h2][p][/p][p]The core feature of this update is the new server browser! [/p][p]When you host a multiplayer server you now have the option of adding it to the public server list. To do this simply open the "Hosting options" when creating a new server:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Then enable the "Show on public server browser" toggle.
From here you can set the server name, and also supply an optional download link for any Steam Workshop content your map requires.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]For example, say you wanted to host the Bog Pit Railroad map, you could include the link to the Steam Workshop collection for all of it's required mods (plus the map itself included):[/p][p]https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=2119554155[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]So when your game appears on the server browser, players will see a "Workshop" download button. When they click this button it will redirect them to the Steam Workshop download page for your collection![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Make sure to click the "Refresh workshop downloads" button after the workshop items have finished downloading. This will load them into the game. [/p][p][/p][h2]Joining servers [/h2][p][/p][p]Using the server browser to find a public server is easy!
Just open the "Pause menu -> Multiplayer -> Server browser" menu:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]And then you can view a list of all publicly listed servers being hosted by people!
You can click the "join" button to enter the server. If there's a key icon on the join button then that means the server requires a password. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Other fixes and features[/h2][p][/p][p]This update also includes a bunch of stuff that I've been working on since releasing multiplayer:[/p]

• [p]Fixed bug where lead locomotives pulling long trains would start to merge into each other[/p]
• [p]Fixed various server joining structure bugs to prevent being stuck "waiting in queue"[/p]
• [p]Fixed bug with modded track styles which was causing issues in maps (scenery failing to load)[/p]
• [p]Blocked various props from being used as wagon loads (things like drawers, switchboards, etc. Props that would cause errors when loaded) [/p]
• [p]Fixed incorrectly scaling collision hitbox on turntables [/p]
• [p]There is now a difference between the "Game version number" and "Server version number" which means that different game versions can still join servers as long as the server version stays the same. I will only change the server version number when changes are made to multiplayer code that would make older versions break. [/p]
• [p]Fixed bug where the item slots for loaders/unloaders would break when switching between 2D and 3D menus[/p]
• [p]Switchboard turnout levers are now interactable in miniature mode [/p]
• [p]In-game multiplayer chat now has a profanity filter. This filter is also used for server names and map names when adding them to the public server browser. [/p]
• [p]There is now a "hide player models in large scale" setting where you can disable large scale player models entirely, or just hide them when you yourself are in miniature. [/p]

[p][/p][p]And that's everything! [/p][p]The multiplayer launch has been amazing, and surprisingly stable. Remember if you run into any bugs please let me know in the Multiplayer bug reporting thread here on Steam:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]I'm looking forward to seeing what kinds of servers start popping up on the server browser!
Especially over the weekend, which is when most people jump on to multiplayer.[/p][p][/p][p]Enjoy! [/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Multiplayer devlog & Patreon[/h2][p][/p][p]As I've mentioned in previous update posts, I've recently started a Patreon! This Patreon page allows you to donate directly towards me developing the game. I want to always keep update like this complete free, and if multiplayer is something you really enjoy then please consider showing your support through a Patreon donation! [/p][p]I've also recently made a new devlog video which goes into a bit more detail about the specific features of multiplayer and how they work (like train driving, player chat, circuitry, etc). You can find that video here, along with lots of other devlog videos:[/p][p]Devlog - Multiplayer features preview[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]And thank you to all my Patreon supporters![/h3][p]Taerom, Trainiac 21, Codebag Playz, Joey Drysdale, Clae, The_President, Teapop311, Chloe Surett, Rowan Mackenzie, Matt, Ábris Pataki, NESecretWeapon, JohnR, ItzAerozic, Matthew Johnson, Microcosmologist, Blake Prevett, TrainTiny, Thomas Merolla, Don Willis, Jayton Hawkins, Helga Nordgren, Leto Gloas, TheAmazingRyry, Outertoaster, Nathan Perez, TrainMann, Railraider, Garst, Richard Prior, Joblogh, Detroit_, CAMOGUY54321, Ben Burch, Michelle chan, Jack Fruh, Jonathan Ginsburg, Lynk_Wyland, SmokeStream, KathalLasagna, Rivet, HuskyDynamics, Trackmeister, Lutz[/p][p]You can join the Patreon to help support me to keep making free updates![/p][p][/p][p][/p]