Rolling Line News

Prop modding is still very much a work-in-progress, so in the meantime here's a bunch of great community-made vehicles!

Since prop modding is already in the testing phase, some community members have already started making their own mods with it, and they are looking excellent! Many of the modders have already gotten really good at emulating the games art-style, so props like these fit into the game really well.

You can find all these new vehicles in the vehicle drawer category:



[h2]Trucks[/h2]
To start off, Rolling Line finally has a truck prop! Specifically two of them, as well as a trailer. These are multi-paintable of course.
These truck models were made by Anyone999991!



[h2]Bikes[/h2]
Another thing I've thought about adding for a while (but the community beat me to it!) is bikes. There are now three variations of bikes (tandem, road bike, and classic city bike).
These bike models were made by coconut_pie!



In addition to the community made vehicles, this update also adds the lifeboats (from the ferry prop) as their own individual props:



And for a non-prop related feature:
You can now manually change which room the pause menu spawns in. The reason for this is that a recent glitch caused some peoples save files to break in such a way that the menu started showing up in the wrong room, so now you can manually fix this if it happened to you!

Keep in mind that the legacy rooms are no longer fully supported, and I recommend sticking to the "custom table" room instead.




Aside from that, this update also includes a bunch of smaller features and fixes:

• Pantograph state (raised/lowered) is now saved in the layout save file. so these no longer reset after reloading.
  
• Fixed bug that prevented the "custom track" tutorial from being completed. The step where you need to paint a prop to continue was bugged. this has been fixed now.
  
• Fixed a bug where table style was not correctly saved (e.g. solid black vs wooden)
  
• In-game music will now no longer automatically stop when going near a moving train in large scale (only in miniature scale) previously going near loud noises in large scale would cause the music to fade out.
  
• The autumn leaves props now have randomized color hue and size, this was just a simple oversight.
  

Also in other news, i made a quick little scenery diorama inspired by "the Lunatic Line" through Kenya. Specifically the scenery of urban decay and slums. I had never seen this style of scenery made in Rolling Line before so i wanted to try it out!

You can find it here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2172822471




And that's all for now!
Prop modding is still very much in the works and will eventually be ready for release, hopefully within the next few weeks.

But in the meantime, i hope you enjoy these new community made vehicles!

Today's update is actually more of a background game-tech upgrade, so it doesn't have that many exciting new features to try out, but it makes a huge difference in the long run!

Rolling Line has grown tons since it was first released (over 2 years ago!) and the programming behind it has gone through more changes, feature additions and upgrades than I ever planned for. This means that many parts of the background code holding this game together are in dire need of improvement.

Much like with the "dynamic track" updates last year (which completely re-worked the track system) today's update focuses on cleaning up the code behind the color painting system in Rolling Line.

Color painting has gone through SO MANY changes over the years, starting with no color painting at all, to single color painting on props, to multi-painting, to custom colors, and then now, to this new system today which hopefully wraps up all of mistakes of the past systems and will be 100x easier to make changes to in the future.

I wont go into too much detail about how the new color system works, but it involves something I'm calling "KeaColorCodes" ("Kea" being the name i use for the level-editor as a whole).
These "Color Codes" store all the necessary information about a color (like material type, transparency, random hue range, etc) and can be easily saved and transferred in lots of different ways.

Thanks to these new color codes lots of new features (like paintable modded props, and paintable room walls, color cloning, etc) are now possible!

From the players perspective, this update adds:
[h2]
Paintable room walls, floor and roof[/h2]

You can now use any painter to set the colors of the interior of the custom table room!
Simply pickup a painter and paint the menu items in the wall (just like you would paint a prop)



Set the wall type to "Custom" and the walls will use the colors you set!





[h2]Clone colors[/h2]

This feature is for PC only, you can now copy the color of any paintable prop by pointing at it and pressing [Enter]
This will give you a painter with the color of the prop you copied!
This is incredibly useful for matching the colors of previously placed props, and generally makes the workflow of building a map much easier.



[h2]Clone track data[/h2]

This feature is for PC only as well and has actually been in the game for a while already, but it was quite hidden. You can now make use of copy-pasting track data simply by pointing at any piece of dynamic track and pressing [Enter]
After copying the track, go over to the dynamic track generating drawer, and press the new "paste" button.



Doing this will copy dynamic track data from a placed piece of track, then paste it into the dynamic track generator to copy over values.

For example:
If you copy a curve with Radius 12 and Angle 30,
Then paste it into the dynamic track generator,
The corresponding values will update to 12 and 30.

This is very useful if you want to make matching sizes of track or make small changes to a previously placed piece of track.

There are also a few useful quirks to this system:

• If you copy a curved piece of track, then paste it onto a turnout, only the curve part of the turnout will be updated.
  
• If you copy a straight piece of track, then paste it onto a turnout, only the straight part of the turnout will be updated.
  
• You can copy a turnout and paste it into a curve to generate a curve that matches the turnout.
  

[h2]Other changes[/h2]

Most of what this update changes is behind-the-scenes, but here are a few miscellaneous features:

• The Biome Brush now saves all multi-paint data. previously it would only save the primary paintable part of the prop, now it saves everything.
  
• fixed bug where switching between drawer categories would not reset the page, leading to an empty page list.
  
• Fixed issues with storing custom painters in custom drawers.
  

[h2]Prop modding[/h2]

Prop modding is still heavily in development and is my main focus at the moment!
The main reason behind doing this color update was to make paintable modded props possible.
Using the old system this would have been a nightmare, but with the new ColorCodes it works perfectly.

Prop modding is still several weeks away from completion, but it's all going very smoothly and will change the game in massive ways when it's complete!



And that's all for now!

This is much more a background-tech update more so than an exciting feature update, but it's still incredibly necessary to keep this game stable for future updates.

In the meantime the new little features (like wall painting and color copy-paste) should be pretty useful.

Enjoy!

Here's something out of the blue, a brand new official map in the form of a small self layout set in the downtown industries of Miami!

I started working on this on the weekend just for fun, but i was so happy with it that i decided to make some new train liveries to go with it and include it in the game as an official layout.
It's only a small shelf layout, but the density of detail makes the most of such a small place. The layout is full of graffiti, references and little details that were a ton of fun to make.



Even though it's not from the same location, i couldn't resist the opportunity to add my favorite livery of all time: the Rock Island blue (aka "The Rock" or "Bankruptcy Blue"). This livery just fitted in really well with the urban-industry scenery theme and I'm sure people will be happy to see it!



This map is completely free (of course) and everyone can access it!

To play this map, simply find it in the "new game" options on the main menu:
(Just like with maps like Puzzling World and the Santa Fe)



Keep in mind this is just a small shelf layout, not very large at all. But the goal for this layout was to densely pack details more than any other map I've made, and I'm so happy with how it turned out!



In fact this layout is actually heavily inspired by a real-work model railway built by Lance Mindheim based on a Miami downtown spur. I remember seeing this layout in Model Railroader magazines years ago and i've always loved the sun-bleached soil and graffiti-covered industry it depicts, so it was a hell of a lot of fun finally making something like it in Rolling Line!

Here is the real-world layout I'm talking about:
A combination of Lance Mindheim's "Miami Downtown Spur" and his earlier small shelf layout with the same theme.



But that's not all!
this update also adds some rust decals which were insanely useful for detailing the rusty industrial buildings for this layout.



[h2]Modding update[/h2]

The real major update that's in the works is modding, and bringing mods to the Steam workshop!

I'm currently working on a huge overhaul of the "QuickMods" system which allows you to set up and edit mods in-game, using and in-game UI and even a preview model that updates as you make changes.
These new mods will be shared and download using the Steam workshop too, so both creating and sharing mods will be 100x easier.

First off, im going to be releasing prop modding.
With prop modding you can import your own 3D models to add custom props to the game and use them as much as you want in your own maps!

Then after prop modding, I'll be releasing a full modding system for trains, which will have many more features to make use of (like custom headlights, smoke effects, even sounds).

This new modding system is a massive job, and It's going to take a while (and multiple updates) to complete it all, but this may very well be the most influential update in Rolling Lines history!
Once prop & train modding is released (and all handled through the steam workshop) there will be more props & trains available to use than i could ever make single-handed.

In fact many people have already started making mods in preparation, and it's looking excellent:



This modding update (well, multiple updates) are going to be in development for a while, at least throughout the next month. It's very likely though that the next Rolling Line update is going to be the first release of prop modding!
More advanced prop modding features, and train modding, will be coming afterwards.
So there's some pretty major stuff to look forward to!

Modding is currently in the testing phase, but you can try out making basic props if you choose to. I recommend that you dont get too attached to your creations as the modding format may still change in the coming weeks and props made during the testing stage may not still work on release. But none the less, you can still try out the system early if you want.
Here is an incredibly helpful guide made by Coconut_pie that describes how to access the mod testing features:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2139292988

Aside from the new layout, here are a few other features included in this update:

• Added the CSX and Rock Island liveries for the U20C model
  
• Added a new drawer "diesel 2" for all the U20C variants
  
• Added new drawer of rust decals
  
• Menu buttons no longer cast shadows (so the sun angle can no longer cause the menu to cast shadows on your layout)
  
• the drawer name list popup uses multiple pages now (previously this was only for custom drawers)
  

Also, the Steam workshop also now has categories for all of the competitions/jams done in the past, so now you can browse the entries for all the other comps:




I hope you enjoy the new layout!
And keep an eye out for future updates around modding, its going to be HUGE!

Wohooo! Congrats to everyone who took part in the Fantasy Livery Jam!
There were over 500+ entries and SO MANY beautiful designs and creative ideas!

I hope everyone had fun with it and I highly recommend trying out some of the entries to have a look at what everyone's made.

Have a look at the full list of entries here on the Steam Workshop.

Remember this was a jam, not a competition, so there's no "winners and losers" just a ton of great effort and creativity from heaps of people! Everybody who took part deserves a congratulations, but regardless here's a list of my personal favorites!

First up, here's a quick list of my absolute favorites from the whole jam:



The Bluerock Northern RR is amazing, the map is MASSIVE and a truly amazing piece of work. i love the livery scheme too, and overall it was exactly the kind of thing i was hoping to see for this jam! so huge congrats to The Pain Train!

The Minamisakura map has an incredible amount of effort put into it, and the history/backstory to all the rail lines and stations is awesome. Including all the text in the map is an excellent touch and must have taken SO MUCH time, so a very well deserving congrats to MattTheWolff!

And of course the Fury Railroad is just plain awesome. this is probably my personal favorite (even if it is based on a pre-existing idea). The map is so cool and i love the industrial setting. all the rusty train liveries are top notch! I absolutely love it Mr Pink!


And here's a whole bunch of other great layout & livery combos that you can go and try out!



Also, bonus shout-out to the Weebox for making over 50+ liveries for one big collection!



And lastly, here are a ton of great liveries that didn't have an associated layout but definitely deserve a mention! There were so many amazing ones!



Also don't worry if i didn't get a chance to mention your livery/map, there were 500+ items uploaded total (as of now) and i managed to personally try them all, so a HUGE thank you to everyone who took part and made something for the jam!

This update (as well as several small patches in the last 2 weeks) included a few small features and bug fixes. these are:

• Increased the custom room size limits to 1000x1000x1000
  
• Fixed issue with "exploding trains" when opening custom drawers
  
• Fixed bug that caused the custom room walls to not set the correct size when loading workshop maps
  
• Fixed distance spacing between props when using the biome brush. Also fixed issue with biome brushes not saving their data correctly.
  

In other news, the brand new modding system is fully underway!
The new modding system is going to completely change how modding works, and bring mods to the Steam Workshop!
I'm also adding prop modding, and this will be ready before trains will.
So keep an eye out for that!

And that's all for now,
Thank you everyone for taking part in the Fantasy Livery Jam!

Guess what, time for a livery jam!

Have you ever wanted to think up a fictional railway with its own unique logo, colors and history? Well then this is the perfect opportunity to do so!

It's easy to get caught up in all the little accuracies and details of realism when it comes to making liveries, but why not make something completely new? Personally I absolutely love designing logos and color schemes, so when you combine that with trains what's not to love.

The goal of this jam is to be creative and design your own fantasy (fictional) railway line, along with as many different kinds of liveries as you want to go with it. You can even make a layout based on the locations your railway takes place in!
You can even think up a backstory and history to your railway if you want!
And of course you can upload as many designs as you want, even multiple different railroads too! There is no limit on how much you can make.

This is a "jam" not a competition, so dont worry about making the largest, most detailed railway in the world, just have fun with it. Even a single wagon with a special color scheme is a worthy entry!

There won't be any specific prizes for this jam, but I'll of course be posting screenshots and giving shoutouts to peoples entries along the way, and at the end of the jam I'll do a nice roundup of some of the most interesting ones!

This jam will last for 2 weeks, and ill post some early-bird shoutouts at the half-way point too!

To include your livery/layout in the jam, all you need to do is tick the "Fantasy livery jam entry" option when you are uploading to the Steam workshop.




And that's all! Simple as that.
Just have a go at designing your own fictional railway, make some liveries for it, and include a layout and/or backstory if your feeling adventurous.
And try out other peoples entries along the way for inspiration!

To get things started, I've already made my own example:
The "Bog Pit Railroad"

It's a coal railway for a fictional mine in the outback of Australia, and it has a range of liveries which all serve a different role in the railways activity (and history).

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2119554155

You can also read a quick story about the railways history in the description for the layout:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2119545415

I can't wait to see what kind of things people can come up with!
Designing fantasy railways can be a lot of fun, and I hope you enjoy it ːsteamhappyː



If you've never made a livery before then is actually a lot easier than you think!
All you need is very basic image editing software (even Paint is fine!)

There is a full guide here on Steam which explains step-by-step all that you need to make a livery:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1405658466

Aside from announcing this livery jam, this update also includes a few other features:

• Track can now be stored in custom drawers.
  
  
  
  
  
• Painter props (like color painters, track detail painters, pantographs, plows, etc) can now be placed in custom drawers.
  
  
  
  
  
• Custom drawers now have multiple pages! If you make lots of drawers they will now be stored over multiple pages which can be switched between.
  
  
  
  
  
• Rolling Line now has a rainbow prop! you can find it in the "Misc -> Unlocks" drawer.
  
  
  
  
  
• There is also a special fantasy livery jam wagon, which you can also find in the "Misc -> Unlocks" drawer.
  
  
  
  
  
• Two new props were added, a beer bottle and a washing machine.
  
  
  
  
  
• Placed shelves now have an "apply" button when you are placing them. this means that you can place a new shelf on your map, then apply edits, without needing to use the "apply all" option on the edit tool.
  
  
  
  
  
• Liveries now have a unique ID as well as their name, which means you can give liveries the same name without conflicts. Please keep in mind that this will not apply to previously uploaded liveries. you need to create a new livery for this new ID system to be used. You should still give your liveries unique names though for good practice!
  
  
• Generic names like "empty" and "new game" are now blocked from being used when uploading items to the workshop. Please give your uploads proper names!
  
  
• You can now open/close the category and page popup windows on drawers by clicking the button again.
  
  
• Deleting a livery no longer refreshes the entire livery list, which means the game no longer freezes when deleting a locally saved livery.
  
  
• Fixed glitch where refreshing the custom livery images would break other liveries that you have saved in the same game session.
  
  
• Fixed issue with quickMod wheel position in custom drawers.
  
  
• You can now use the "Insert" key both in photo mode and in normal gameplay to lock/unlock your cursor.
  
  
• Fixed distance spacing between props when using the biome brush. Also fixed issue with biome brushes not saving their data correctly.
  
  
• If you experience an error when loading props/trains into a custom drawer and error message will be shown and the broken props will be removed (instead of floating around the sky). Please post in the Bug Reporting thread if you experience this issue.
  NOTE: this has been fixed! this should no longer happen
  
  
• Increased the room size limits to 1000x1000x1000 (more than anyone could possibly ever use)
  

And this everything for this update!
On a side note, if you want a high-resolution copy of the "fantasy livery jam" logo (along with the previous competitions) you can download them here:

Fantasy livery jam logo:
https://imgur.com/gallery/TdI7dlW

Compact comp logo:
https://imgur.com/gallery/BWN44oT

Color comp logo:
https://imgur.com/gallery/kovBeBZ


Enjoy!