Rolling Line News

Believe it or not, the whole "track detailing" system in Rolling Line is still based on code I built almost 4 years ago! This system has been a big limitation in the past, so for this update I finally took the time to redesign and fully upgrade the track detailing system.

The new system is far, far more flexible and customizable. You can now use a popup window to freely add and remove "properties" for each piece of track, and customize things like styles and colors (all track is now multi-paintable!).


(Screenshot by Missy)

You can even use different styles on each track of a turnout, or make certain details (like 3rd rails) only apply to one side of the track.
In fact you can even make "invisible" track now, which trains can still run on, which is perfect for making crash scenes and flying trains!

But best of all, this new track detail system is designed from the ground up to be ready for modding!
Track modding is not included in this update, but it's my next major priority. This new track system makes adding new features and options far, far easier.

[h2]The new track style editing UI[/h2]

The main thing you'll notice with this new track detailing system is that you can now press Q (left-context hover option) when pointing at track to open a new popup window:





For a default piece of track like this, you will just see options for ballast, rails and sleepers.
From here you can click the drop down menus to change the style (e.g. wonky track, or wide sleepers)



Or you can paint the color options to customize the colors:



But if you want to add other properties (like tunnels, extra rails, bridges, etc) then click the "Add New" button in the top right corner of the popup window.

From here you can choose from a list of different properties you can add to the track:



For example, if you click on "Inner Rails" then that property will be added to the track, and you will see some inner rails show up:



Some styles (like extra rails and tunnels) also let you choose whether you want them to appear on both sides, or if you just want them on one side.

You can use the "Sides" option to change this:



[h2]Tunnels [/h2]

This feature is especially useful for tunnels, since it means you can now make tunnels only visible on the outside of a turnout, like this:



You can also use the new "Double Track" tunnel option, which adds an extra-wide half tunnel to the track. If you add one of these half-tunnels to both tracks, you will get a full tunnel covering both tracks!



[h2]Multiple styles on turnouts[/h2]

A great new feature of this system is that you can set a different style for each branch of a turnout.
For example, you can make one track normal, while the other track is derelict and broken.

To do this, simply click the "++" icon for the property which you want to split into two different styles, then set each one to only use one track (one should use "Curve" and the other should use "Straight")





You can even make the rails only visible on one track instead of both, to create an effect like this:



[h2]Style painters [/h2]

Even though the new system adds the popup window for editing properties, you can still use the hand-held style painters just like before!

You can find them all in the track tool drawers:



You can also use the three painters in the top-right corner to remove sleepers, rails and ballast.

Remember you can paint multiple times with the same painter on track to add/remove properties (like turnout levers) or to switch tracks/sides for other properties like tunnels and bridges.

[h2]Creating custom painters[/h2]

This update also adds a new feature where you can create your own track style painters.
Simply press Enter (the copy track data button) when pointing at track, or use the "Copy" button inside the track edit popup window, and you will be given a custom painter which will style track in the same way when used:





You can store these painters in custom drawers too!

[h2]Invisible track[/h2]

If you remove all properties (e.g. no sleepers, ballast or track) then you will instead see a blue box in place of the track.

This means the track is invisible, and when you use "Apply changes" on the edit tool, you will no longer be able to see it. If you use "Edit track" again then it will show up:



This means you can create invisible track which trains can still follow, which is great for setting up creative scenes like flying trains or train crashes which follow a pre-set path!


(screenshot by C&BL Fan)

[h2]Other features and Fixes[/h2]

• Bridges and railings are now split into two different detail layers, so you can create different combinations of railings and base-bridge models. All of which are paintable of course!
  
• All "legacy track" in the game is now automatically converted to the new system, which includes the really really old track from years ago which didn't even support features like overhead wires. This is all done automatically so nothing should appear different on the surface. But this means that super-old maps can now make full use of the new detail customization!
  
• A bunch of old props which required the track color painters to change colors now use the standard multi-paint system instead (like the piles of rails).
  
• "cap" pieces of track now no longer have slightly different shading to them compared to normal track.
  
• The text used by the new track edit UI is stored in a .txt language file. This is not a real language support system yet, but in the future all text in the game will need to be stored this way for translations to be a possibility.
  
• You can now duplicate particle effects and light data entries in the modding system. This means you can easily make a duplicate with the same properties without needing to set it up from scratch. Simply click on the particle/light in the list and choose "Duplicate".
  
• Fixed bug where renaming particle and light data entries would not work.
  
• The "minimal" cab preset now no longer shows the message box.
  
• Fixed the lights mesh on the DX custom livery template.
  

And that's everything!
This update took a ton of work, but I'm so happy to finally clean up and upgrade the track detailing system. This really opens up the ability for future updates to easily expand the system with new styles and especially modding!
In fact, this may even make roads possible... Keep an eye out for that in a future update!

Continuing the theme of new modding features, this update focuses on light sources!
You can now add your own headlights to train mods, as well as use a prop light source in your maps.

[h2]Headlights and cab lights for mods[/h2]

You can now create custom light sources (which can be turned on/off in the cab) for your train mods.
Just like with particle systems, you can add as many lights as you like and can customize things like the color, range, position, etc.

You can also make flashing/fade effects for things like alternating ditch lights!



You can access all these options in the Modding manager.
When editing a train mod, go to "Effects -> Lights"



Just like with the particle emitters, you can use the transform edit tool to position the light source anywhere on your mod:



[h2]Light Types[/h2]

You can choose between three different types of light source:

• Point light - which emits light in all directions in a sphere
  
• Spot light - which shines in a single direction, like a headlight
  
• Spot light with glow - which is the same as a spotlight, but also adds a small glow effect
  

if you choose the "Spot light with glow" light type, you will see both the spotlight and a second light source which adds a small glow around the light. This is very helpful for making headlights look more realistic:



[h2]Light on/off meshes[/h2]

Something you will likely want to do to make your headlights look better is to make a custom mesh show up when the light is enabled.

For example, you can make a custom mesh which only contains small circles which hover in front of the lights on the train. So when you turn the lights on, this extra mesh will be visible and make the lights look like they are lit:



[h2]Official guides[/h2]

You can find all the information you need in the official train modding guide.
The guide has also been updated to include information about custom audio from the previous update.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2664192139

And there is also a guide here for making liveries using the new modding system:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2784582335

[h2]Light source prop[/h2]

Just like how you can place a custom particle emitter as a prop, you can now place a custom light source in the same way! This means you can create your own light sources in your layouts.

You can customize these lights in all the same ways as the ones in train mods. This means you can make flashing light effects, change the colors, create spotlights, etc.

The yellow pointy object which the light comes from is only visible when editing, if you click "Apply edits" on the edit tool this will become invisible. You can use "Edit details" again to make it visible.



You can find the prop light source in the "Room -> tools 2" drawer:



[h2]Headlights keyboard shortcut[/h2]

This update also adds the ability to enable/disable lights on trains using the hand-held controller. You can press "L" to toggle the headlights, and "Shift + L" to toggle the cab lights.
You can customize both of these bindings in the controls menu:



[h2]New AI signs [/h2]

There are also now a couple of new kinds of AI trigger signs!
You can now enable/disable the bell, and enable/disable the headlights using AI signs.



[h2]More features and fixes[/h2]

This update also includes a ton of minor features:

• There is now a "minimal" cab preset for train mods, this cab just has buttons and speed controls, without any 3D mesh.
  
• Fixed bug where AI trains driving in reverse would "inch forward" when stopped at a signal.
  
• Fixed issues with the doppler sound effect being set incorrectly on newly spawned trains.
  
• Fixed issue where custom audio was not loaded correctly on liveries made for train mods.
  
• Fixed the "Show Interaction UI" option, which was previously broken for props.
  
• There is now a button (folder icon) next to the wheel preset texture in the train modding menu. This button will open the templates folder (a shortcut to the template wheel texture).
  
• The "lighting" options menu is now in the "Graphics" menu, instead of "Custom track".
  
• The "Freeze time" and "Freeze weather" settings are now on by default.
  
• Workshop mods that contain particle effects or lighting effects will automatically get the tags "Particles" and "Lights", so you can tell which mods use these features, just like "Animations" and "Audio".
  

And that's everything for now!
You can have a look on the workshop and already find a few mods which are using these new features:

Here is a circuit board themed testing engine which has LED's which light up:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2802635675

And here is a version of the classic U20C with flashing ditch lights:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2802636105

You can also try the amazing Pennsylvania steam switcher mod which was used in the thumbnail for this update, made by Ms. Missy!
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2801035222

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.
  

[h2]New audio options for train mods[/h2]

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)
  

[h2]Multi-step horns[/h2]

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:



[h2]Engine audio options[/h2]

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").

[h2]Engine startup/shutdown[/h2]

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.

[h2]Audio Doppler[/h2]

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:



[h2]Settings now stored in files[/h2]

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.



[h2]Other minor changes[/h2]

• 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.
  

[h2]Future updates news![/h2]

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!

The new train modding system now has full support for liveries!

But this new livery system can be used for much more than just simple texture-swaps...

Think of a livery as a "variant" of another mod, which shares assets (3D models, textures, audio, etc) with the original mod. You can replace assets, add new assets, and even remove assets.
You can also modify data like cab positioning, wheel blocks, sound effects, etc.



For example:
- You could make a variant of a mod which adds an additional 3D model for a unique horn, and change the horn sound effect as well.
- You can replace the texture colors to make a re-color of a train.
- You could add different steam particle effects to a steam engine.
- You could add an additional 3D model of raw materials to a freight wagon, to create a different kind of load. Like adding tree logs to a flat-car.

From the player's perspective, if they download a livery they also need to download the "base mod" which the livery is based on.
This is because the livery needs access to the assets (e.g. 3D models) that the base mod contains.

Train mod liveries can be found under the new "Train mod livery" tag on the Steam Workshop:



There is a full guide here which explains how the new livery system works:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2784582335

[h2]Automatic livery tags on the Steam Workshop[/h2]

A new feature which this update adds is a system for linking mods to their liveries using tags.
Any train mods uploaded to the Steam Workshop after this update will automatically include a "Livery Key" tag.
This tag will be shared between any liveries and the base mod.

What this means is that you can easily click on the livery key tag and you will see a list of all the different liveries which share the same base mod, as well as the base mod itself:





[h2]Livery permissions[/h2]

This update also adds a new feature which allows mod creators to choose permissions for whether their mods can be duplicated or used in liveries.



Choosing "Not allowed" for either of these options will prevent other players from making liveries/duplicating your mod.

But remember, modding is a community effort!
I would hope that all mods remain completely free to be edited and built upon, so please only use these restrictions if you feel that it is truly necessary.

For example, if you have a specific design which you don't want people to make liveries of, please also release a "livery template" version as well which people can freely edit.

[h2]open asset folder[/h2]

Another useful modding feature included in this update is the "open asset folder" button next to any asset selection input in the modding menus.

You can click this little folder icon to open the folder which this asset is contained in.
e.g. if the mod is a livery, then this will open the folder of the original mod





[h2]Auto-refresh textures when modding[/h2]

Textures also now auto-refresh when you edit them!
So if you are creating a mod and you make changes to the texture you are using (in the "custom assets" folder) all you need to do is click "Refresh preview model" and the mod will use the newly edited texture!

This fixed the issue previously where textures would not refresh unless you used a new file-name.

[h2]Other features[/h2]

This update also includes:

• You can now use a setting to switch between hold/toggle mode for "hold key to change between prop scale and prop height" when placing props. This setting is in the "Pause menu -> PC Options"
  
• QuickMods now have AI-control buttons in their cabs.
  
• There is now a pop-up message when you try and load a QuickMod livery if its base-mod is not downloaded.
  
• You will also see a pop-up message if a mod fails to load a 3D model asset (e.g. if a model is missing and cannot be loaded)
  
• Fixed bug where mod names could be set as empty.
  
• Fixed bug where collision would not be set correctly when a train mod uses an animated mesh for its body.
  

And that's all for now!
This update serves as a nice chunk of progress when it comes to the new modding system, and I'm sure the modding community is going to be very happy about this!

But there is still lots of work to come (e.g. custom audio and features like headlights in train mods) so the new modding system is still far from finished.
Keep an eye out for more updates in the future!

In the meantime, here are a few examples of the new livery system in action:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2784186560&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2784186486&searchtext=

And here is the base mod that these livery require:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2784186381&searchtext=

Making liveries is a lot simpler than you would probably expect, all it takes is some basic image editing (like in Microsoft Paint) and the rest is all done in-game.
Why not have a go at making your own? ːsteamhappyː

Here is the step-by-step guide:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2784582335

It's about time!
Re-bindable keys has been one of those important features that's been nagging me for years, but it never quite made it to the top of the priority queue.

So this update adds full key binding support, as well as controller support.
Which means you can now play Rolling Line with joypad controls too!



The game will recognize any controller plugged into your PC and it will be used if you have "Joypad Enabled" in the "Pause menu -> PC Options" menu.

If you launch the game with a controller plugged in you will see this message on the main menu:
Simply press "Start" on your controller to enable it!



While a controller is plugged in you can still use the keyboard & mouse controls just like normal.

You can also use the key binding menu to re-bind controller buttons as well.

Help text (like the context-sensitive-help messages) will also show the new binding keys if you change them.

[h2]The bindings menu[/h2]

You can find a new menu called "Controls" on the pause menu.
From here you can individually re-bind all of the actions in the game. Each binding can have both a main binding and an alternative binding as well (e.g. you can use both the scroll wheel and PageUp/PageDown to control the players' height).

You can also reset each binding back to its defaults individually, or clear the binding's keys (set both the main and alternative binding to "none").



At the top of the controls menu you can change the category to show a different list of controls.

You can also toggle between the keyboard & mouse bindings and the joypad bindings.
This means you can customize the PC controls as well as the joypad controls independently, without overriding the other.



Some bindings will have a little '?' button next to them, you can click this to get a more detailed description of what the binding does:



Now that there's a proper in-game controls menu, you'll probably find a bunch of controls that you didn't even know existed!
Like these shortcut controls, which make toggling options like prop snapping and scale speed much easier and quicker:



Bindings are saved to a simple text file, which you can find in:
Steam\steamapps\common\Rolling Line\Data



[h2]VR input binding[/h2]

Remember Rolling Line uses "SteamVR input" which is an input binding system built into Steam. You can use this system to fully re-bind the VR controls (using any kind of VR controller).
The keyboard controls menu does not work for VR inputs.

You can find a full guide here on how to re-bind your controls for VR:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2029205314

[h2]New settings[/h2]

There are also a bunch of new settings related to controls, like:

• "item clone key toggle" - is used to make the key which keeps a copy of items in your hand when placing (which is shift by default) behave either as toggle or hold.
  
• "cinematic mouse smoothing" - enables a mouse smoothing filter, which is great for capturing video footage where you want the camera to rotate really smoothly. It's NOT at all recommended for actual gameplay.
  
• "joypad enabled" - you can manually disable the joypad if you want to leave a controller plugged into your computer without it being used in Rolling Line.
  
• "joypad look speed (horizontal/vertical)" - change the sensitivity of the joysticks.
  
• "invert joypad look (horizontal/vertical)" - change whether the joystick view should be inverted.
  
• "joystick deadzone" - higher values reduce joystick drift, lower values increase accuracy.
  

You can find all these options in the "Pause menu -> PC Options" menu.



[h2]Whistles in the modding system[/h2]

This update also adds/restores a bunch of whistles into the new modding system:

• The whistle from the Ka steam engine
  
• An NYC 6-Chime
  
• A 3-Chime
  

[h2]Other fixes and changes[/h2]

Lastly, this update also has several other bug fixes and changes:

• Fixed bug where train audio would sometimes linger in the scene after a map was loaded with no moving trains on it.
  
• Made various fixes to the cab of the custom livery U20C (like headlight position).
  
• Fixed a small track error in the save file used for tutorial maps.
  
• The VSync setting has now been moved to "graphics" instead of "advanced"
  

And that's all for now!
I'm so happy with how positive the reception of the previous AI update was, and that update is now the most well rated update in Rolling Line's history!

Though the exciting updates still need to be balanced out with "quality of life" features like key binding, there's definitely going to be plenty more big updates on the horizon!