Rolling Line News

Time for the 2021's Halloween update!

This time I've gone with a bit of a Victorian gothic theme and added a classic British-style small steam engine alongside a gothic cathedral map!

There's a whole bunch of new cathedral architecture props and of course all of the classic Halloween props and features from previous years.

[h2]JGR 150 Steam engine[/h2]

Wohoo! finally a new steam engine officially added into the game!
This one is a lovely little British-style loco built in the UK but operated in Japan in the 1870s. It's officially known as the "JGR Class 150".

Liveries for this loco will be coming in a later future update.

Thank you so much to Corporal Crunch who made the amazing original QuickMod of this loco!





[h2]Cathedral Gothic map[/h2]

The second main part of this update is a new Victorian gothic themed map. Some of you might recognize this architecture from an Easter Egg, well i decided to expand these models and re-work them into usable props that you can now use in your own maps!

The tower in this map is inspired by the Dom Tower of Utrecht



There is even a full interior to the cathedral building!



You can access this map from "main menu -> new game" like all the other built-in maps:



Along with this map, all of the props used can now be found in a new drawer (Buildings -> cathedral):



[h2]Other Halloween stuff[/h2]

Of course you can also access all of the classic Halloween items added in other updates!
This includes all sorts of things from new decoration props to ghost trains.
The best part though is a loot pumpkin which you can open to get special train variations (and tons of candy)



As well as these 'loot pumpkins' you can find the whole drawers of Halloween themed props in the
"Misc -> Halloween 18/19" drawers:



These props include gothic-style fences & gates, various decorations, light-up pumpkins, gravestones, colored lights, hanging lights and even a bubbling cauldron:



And of course the ghost trains!
You can get them as rare rewards from opening the loot pumpkins, and there are a bunch of different wagons and locos (Including a ghost version of the new JRG steam engine)



You can turn on the special Halloween skybox (seen on the main menu) by going into the "weather & time menu -> advanced" and turning on "Halloween mode"

You can find the main menu map on the Steam Workshop here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1901286392

[h2]Other fixes and features [/h2]

• You can now make use of a "steam_2_4" and "steam_4" wheel presets in QuickMods (from the new steam engine wheels)
  
• You can also use the new whistle "steam_jgr" in QuickMods
  
• Fixed issue with select lists (like the quickMod livery list) resetting to page 1 when an item is selected, and resetting the search term
  
• Fixed issue where including a ' character in save names would cause problems. this character is now automatically removed for saves and mods
  

Remember you can find all the wheel presets and horn/whistle values listed in the official QuickMod guide here:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1789707835

I hope you enjoy the new steam train and map, and of course, Happy Halloween!

Today's update adds a whole bunch of quality-of-life improvements!

Things like:

• A search function for searching through mods/maps/liveries/etc
  
• Thumbnail grid lists are now used in more menus, like the workshop update list.
  
• The livery spawning drawer has been re-designed
  
• The pause menu now has new options for "your maps" and "downloaded maps" to make finding layouts easier
  
• The QuickSave function has been cleaned up a bunch
  
• The backups menu is far easier to use
  
• Grid lists for the legacy QuickMods and QuickTerrain drawers
  
• Full list of screen resolutions for PC
  
• Lots of bug fixes
  

Since Rolling Line has been getting updates for over 3 years now, it's got lots of "old" and "new" parts, and this update finally cleans up a few of the features that needed upgrading.

Things like finding mods, workshop maps, liveries etc is now made much easier with thumbnail grids and a search function!
So you can type in parts of a maps name (and tags for mods!) to narrow down the list.



Typing in tags like "animal" "japan" "roadside" "prop" etc will work with mods!
(these tags are the same tags on the workshop)

Searches are not case-sensitive (so capital letters don't matter) and the text you type just has to be contained in the name/tags to show up.

You can find the new search option all over the place, simply click the search icon at the top of a list and type in your search text!



[h2]New pause menu design[/h2]

This update also re-designs how you find and load maps from the pause menu.

There is now a dedicated set of buttons up the top for:
- "your maps" (local save files)
- "downloaded maps" (saves you've downloaded off the Steam workshop)

There is also a shortcut to the "new save" option up top too!
So all of the map loading & saving options are now in one place.



From these menus you can easily access your local & downloaded saves with an easy-to-use thumbnail grid! (and of course you can use the search feature)



[h2]Expand option lists into thumbnail grids[/h2]

For some menus (like livery options, weather presets, etc) there is now an option to "expand" the options list and view all the options as a thumbnail grid.

From here you can click an option to highlight it:



[h2]Livery drawer re-design [/h2]

The livery drawer now works just like the mod spawner drawer, so it has a thumbnail grid + the livery type can be switched using the category drop-down-menu at the top.

You can also set the category to "all" to view all liveries at once.



The livery names have also been cleaned up a bit to be more consistent, e.g. all steam trains start with "steam", passenger wagons with "coach", freight with "freight" etc
This makes searching through them easier!

The legacy QuickMod and QuickTerrain drawers also use the new thumbnail grid UI too.

[h2]Better backup list[/h2]

The saves backup list (Pause menu -> Manage saves -> backups) is now much easier to navigate thanks to the search option and a much larger list view.

You can also now hover over each backup to see the type (session quit, save over, exit, etc) and the date + time the backup was made:



[h2]Full resolution options list[/h2]

An annoying limitation that you may have noticed before is that the PC resolution list only showed the first 10 options. Well it now lists all possible resolutions for your screen:



[h2]And some more stuff:[/h2]

As well as all the UI features, this update also includes:

• Fixed collision on one of the "path" terrain pieces
  
• Fixed the "refresh" button for layouts (which stopped working a few updates ago)
  
• QuickSave now works much better, and will never save over the wrong map. QuickSave will be blocked unless there is definitely a valid save to copy over (this applies to pressing F5 too)
  
• Prop mods are no longer re-loaded when spawning from the drawer UI
  
• Fixed an issue where the old legacy room menus would get stuck on menus like "capture thumbnail" and "quickSave"
  
• Might have fixed an issue with the sun and moon defaulting to directly upwards
  
• Fixed issues with custom posters & flags not being packaged properly sometimes
  

That's quite a lot of stuff to cover!
Every now-and-then I need to do these updates which package together a ton of quality-of-life improvements and fixes that have been stacking up.
But it's always worth it to get these things done!

Enjoy!

I hope everyone enjoyed the International Layout Jam!
There were over 100+ layouts submitted and I'm blown away by the level of variety and creativity that has gone into these maps.
People really made the most of the "international" theme and made locations like: Iceland, Viet Nam, Italy, Jamaica, Switzerland, Japan, France, Cuba, Brazil, Ecuador, India, China, Belarus and even Antarctica! (plus many many more)

I love seeing maps based on countries that you don't often see in media, and this event was full of those!

Just like with all the previous jams and competitions Rolling Line has had, I've put together a collection of my personal highlights from the event.
And here they are!



You also view the poster here:
(click to enlarge)



Please don't worry if your entry wasn't included on the list!
With over 100+ entries, there were still so many more maps that I would love to acknowledge that didn't make it into the favorites compilation.

Here are all the Steam Workshop links for the maps mentioned above:

[h2]Row 1:[/h2]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2603887980&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2609973329&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2601229629&searchtext=

[h2]Row 2:[/h2]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2604361854&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2618751444&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2608900335&searchtext=

[h2]Row 3:[/h2]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2604491537&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2607130484&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2619326832&searchtext=

[h2]Row 4:[/h2]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2617288232&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2600639910&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2619598609&searchtext=

[h2]Row 5:[/h2]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2616590983&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2598761717&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2616880443&searchtext=

[h2]Row 6:[/h2]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2610462414&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2606404810&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2598821474&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2602859986&searchtext=

[h2]Row 7:[/h2]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2612956186&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2607835332&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2609158721&searchtext=
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2603955637&searchtext=

And that's just the ones I included in my favorites!
I highly recommend you go on the Steam Workshop and look under the "international railway jam" tag to have a look for yourself at all of the entries:



Thank you all so much to everyone who took part in the event!

These jams are always so great for inspiring people to make some really unique maps, and I love seeing what people come up with.

So far there has been:
- Color Comp
- Compact Comp
- Fantasy Livery Jam
- Hallowed Cove Comp
- Snow Globe Jam
- Railroad History Jam
- International Layout Jam

Which one was your favorite?



I wonder what the next one will be...
We shall see!

In the meantime, go and have a look at all the new awesome maps on the workshop, and keep an eye out for the next update! (its going to be a whole bunch of quality-of-life features, leading towards some big updates on the horizon).

Enjoy!

Hello everybody!
There's already been a ton of amazing entries for the International Layout Jam and I highly recommend going and having a look on the Steam Workshop at the entries to try them out yourself.

Here's a few incredible ones to get you started:

[h2]Jamaica Rail[/h2]
By Microcosmologist

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2609973329

[h2]Kita-Kaigan[/h2]
By Detroit

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2603887980

[h2]Helvetia-Viadukt, Switzerland[/h2]
By Ze Trackmeister

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2601229629

Anyway, the purpose of this news post is to announce that:
[h2]the International Layout Jam is being extended till October 4th![/h2]

So this means you have an extra weekend to work on an entry.
Or if you've already made one, why not have a go at a quick bonus entry!

The reason I'm extending the jam is because I'm going to be away on a tramping (hiking) trip this week, so I wont be here to close off the jam until the weekend, so why not extend the closing date!

I'll be spending 4-5 days solo in the Tararua Ranges, likely in rather wild weather, so it's going to be a hell of a trip!




But in the meantime, I hope you're all enjoying the International Layout Jam so far!
Thank you to everyone who has made submissions already, and best of luck to everyone who's still working on theirs!

I hope everyone is enjoying the International Layout Jam! There's tons of maps already submitted to the workshop (130+) and there's still just over a week till the Jam ends!




In the meantime, here's a mid-jam update ːsteamthumbsupː

[h2]The GeTA Sulfur Railway[/h2]

Back in the "Railroad History Jam" I created a map called the "GeTA Sulfur Railway"
well that map has been touched-up and added into the game officially!
You can access it from the main menu, just like any other official map, and it even has all its unique liveries and mods.



It even has an official map poster now too:



[h2]Historic vs Modern version[/h2]

As you might remember, the GeTA Sulfur Railway had two versions, one set in the 1900s (Steam era) and the other was set in the current day.

Both of these versions are included in this update, and you can switch between them in-game by clicking this button on the wall!



Clicking the button will load the historic version of the map.
When playing the old version, you can also switch back to the modern version the same way.



[h2]Other upgrades[/h2]

The map has also been updated to include all the new features like custom audio, tunnel regions and even dynamic wires:



You can also now find some text and images around the map which explain the history:



But now for part 2 of this update:



You can now easily use your own .Mp3 files as custom background music in the game.
Simply put your custom music files in the new folder "Rolling Line -> Modding -> Custom Music" and you will hear them in-game!



By default your custom music will be mixed in with the normal default music already in the game.
You can change this in the "Audio" menu:



You can choose between mixing custom and default tracks together, or either default only or custom only.

You can also press the "Refresh music" button to skip to a new song.
Pressing this button will also check for any new files you've added to the "Custom music" folder.

There are more options in the "Music options" menu too:



From here you can set the gap between music tracks, shuffle, fade in,
and whether music should fade out when you are near loud audio sources (this includes moving trains and heavy weather).
This little feature is what makes the music fade away when you start driving trains, and come back again when you away from trains looking at the scenery.

[h2]Moving files around [/h2]

Something else this update does is move a few more of Rolling Line's data files & assets into the "Core" folder. This means that you can access and edit these files easily, since they are not packaged inside the game itself.

These files are found in:
"Steam -> SteamApps -> Common -> Rolling Line -> Core"

Please don't edit these files unless you have backups, and are willing to potentially mess up your game. But if you want to have some fun modifying the core files the game uses then you certainly can!

For example, you can easily edit:
- the .txt save files used for the menu, official maps and tutorials
- the .Mp3 files of the default music
- the .jpg files used for the pages in the magazines





[h2]Other fixes and features [/h2]

This update also includes a bunch of other little things:

• There is now an "open livery folder" button in the menu when creating a livery. This simply opens the folder in file explorer to make adding liveries easier:
  
  
  
  
• Fixed major bug with custom drawers, where they would fail to save when left in "edit" mode when exiting the map.
  
• Custom drawers now have a few other visual queues to help show when they are editable vs when they are not:
  
  
  
  
• Fixed bug with copy-pasting dynamic track data sometimes causing issues with the dynamic track UI.
  
• the "refresh" button for posters and flags is now hidden when the flag choice popup is open.
  
• The camera now automatically snaps away from the button when using any of the "open X folder" buttons in the menus. This is so that when you tab back into the game you don't accidentally click the "open folder" button again.
  
• The default icon which maps use when no thumbnail is set has been fixed.
  
• The switchboard in the "Ghetto Sulfur" quickMod now has a better position in the cab.
  
• Thanks to some file optimizations, this update actually reduces the file size of Rolling Line by about 100mb!
  

And that's everything for this update,
Have fun with the remaining week of the International Layout jam!