Rolling Line News

[h3]The modding-themed updates continue! [/h3]

In this update, you can now organize prop mods into custom groups.
These groups can even be uploaded and downloaded from the Steam workshop!
So instead of uploading prop mods one-by-one, you can now upload them all in a single workshop item.

[h2]Creating groups[/h2]

Making your own groups is easy, simply go to the modding menu (Pause menu -> modding) and switch over from "all" to "groups":



From here you can add/remove/edit groups just like any other kind of mod.

When you add a new group (or edit a pre-existing group) you can select which mods are included in the group:



After saving the group, you can then access it in the usual mod spawning drawer:



Simple as that!
Once you have made a group you can also upload it to the Steam workshop, which will allow people to download all of your mods included in the group with one single download.

You can use groups to create your own "mod packs" or even simply to just organize the mods you've already downloaded for easy browsing!

[h2]Pre-packaged mods[/h2]

Alongside mod groups, this update also adds the ability to package prop mods inside a layout!
This means you can download a layout off the Steam workshop and all of the mods it uses will be included in the same single download.
Please note this only includes prop mods, not quickMods or liveries (these must still be downloaded manually).

When uploading a layout, the uploader now has the option to choose (from a list of all their mods) which mods they want to include pre-packaged into the layout upload:



As an example, I've uploaded a copy of the "Wellington Diorama" map i made earlier, but this time it has all of the unique props pre-packaged inside this one download:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2216864519

If you subscribe to this workshop item, you will be able to play it and view all the modded props without needing to download any extra workshop items!

Please remember, when a mod is packaged into a layout upload you are making a copy of that mod!
The files for the mod are being duplicated and uploaded alongside your layout.
This means your upload will increase in file size, so please only include vital mods that are unique to your map!

This means you should only really include mods that you made yourself which are important to the core design of your map (e.g. custom billboards and signage, or unique buildings).

General mods like vehicles should be left optional, and not packaged inside the layout.
This way the player can choose whether to download these custom props.

As a general guideline, only include mods that are special and unique to your map, and leave out generic props which are used on lots of other maps.

[h2]File structure[/h2]

The main back-end feature that this update changed is the way mods can be organized in folders.
You can now have mods nested within folders, which really helps with organizing them.



The folder structure has no effect on groups, so you can organize folders however you like.

You can also store mods multiple layers deep in folders:



This "nested" file structure works inside save files and workshop items too, so you can manually store mods inside local save files the same way.

When mods are stored inside a save file they are only loaded when that map is opened.
This means workshop maps with mods included (like the "welly diorama" mentioned before) will not clutter up your mod list! These mods will only be accessible once the map has been loaded.

[h2]Other features[/h2]

This update also adds a new setting to enable/disable the spray feature.
The "spray" in Rolling Line is something that has caused far more confusion and annoyance than it was worth... so now it is disabled by default. you can enable it in the "Pause menu -> Misc -> Enable spray" setting.

The spray is a custom image which you can tag on to any surface temporarily (just line in Team Fortress 2) You can edit this image by changing the file "Modding -> spray.png"



I also fixed an issue with animation importing where animations that didn't use a "skinned mesh" would not be recognized. This has been fixed and you can now use shape-based animations as well as skinned meshes in your animated prop mods.

Lastly, duplicate mods will now be automatically ignored. so if you have a mod downloaded, then download a group which also contains the same mod, the duplicate will be ignored.

And that's all for today!

This will be the last modding-themed update for a while, as the next set of updates I am working on are going to add some much-anticipated props and features to the game!

*cough* semaphore signals *cough*



Enjoy!

For the first time, you can now import animations into Rolling Line!
Prop mods can now make use of fully animated models (.FBX), as well as a bunch of other modding improvements and features.

To quickly summarize:

• Animated models for prop mods
  
• Paintable animated meshes
  
• More collision options (custom box colliders)
  
• Scale & rotation randomizer options
  
• Hue randomizer options
  
• Prop placement angle & surface options
  
• Ability to play/pause and control animations (just like audio)
  
• Changing animation play speed
  
• Modding menu cleanup
  
• All sorts of modding fixes
  

Modding is coming along really nicely, and I'm blown away by the kinds of things the community is making!
Animations are unlocking a whole new avenue of possibilities for modders, and it really brings a scene to life when you see things actually moving about.

To demonstrate the new modding features I've added a bunch of animals from an older VR game I made in the past called "FrontierVR" and imported them into Rolling Line!



I've uploaded these mods to the Steam Workshop and you can find them here:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2205192683
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2205215999

As well as a paintable version!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2206136457

These mods (and Blender source files!) are also included in the "example props" folder along with all the other template mods you can have a look at if you are interested in making your own:

(these are found in the "Rolling Line -> Modding -> templates -> prop mod examples" folder)



[h2]How to import animations [/h2]

Including animations is remarkably simple!
Just export your model in .FBX format (with the armature, mesh and animation data included) and the animation will be automatically used when you load the model in-game.

You can further customize things like the animation play mode (e.g. loop or play once), playback speed, and change the "Animation clip index" if your FBX file has multiple animations included:



If your animation has multiple clips included like this:
(I'm using Blender as an example)



Then you can set the "Animation clip index" to change which animation is used.
if you find that your animation is not playing, then I recommend trying to change this value incase your animation is at a different index than the default.
Remember: this is a programming-style "index" value, so the first animation = 0, the second = 1 etc...

You can also control how animations (and audio) are controlled in the new "general options" menu.



From here you can make the animation play/pause on click, play automatically etc.
(exactly like with audio in the previous update)

[h2]New randomizers and surface-snap settings [/h2]

This update also adds the option to make use of the "randomizers" like scale & rotation as well as a color hue shift for paintable props.



The scale & rotation randomizer is pretty self-explanatory, it makes props rotate and scale with small random changes each time you place it, which is perfect for foliage/trees:



The hue randomizer is a little more complex.
when props are paintable you have the option of adding a slight hue-shift color randomness to props. Again, this is perfect for trees & foliage to add variation:



As well as these randomizer settings, you can also now control whether props snap to surface by default:



And a useful little setting for making props snap to wall surfaces. This is perfect for making windows:



[h2]Other features[/h2]

You can manually adjust the box collider bounds now, which is very useful for fine-tuning the collision for your props.

There is also a visual box to show the size of the collider:



You can also now (after many, MANY, requests) completely disable the in-game spray.
The "Spray" is a custom .PNG image you can place on the ground anywhere (like in Team Fortress 2)
The option to enable it is in the "Misc" menu:
(it is now disabled by default)



There is also now a "remove preview prop" button.
this simply hides the preview prop when editing a mod. The preview prop is now automatically hidden when you exit out of the mod edit menu.



And lastly, here are a bunch of smaller features/fixes:

• If a model is imported with empty UVs (or corrupted UVs) then they will be automatically generated onto the default paint texture.
  
• Mods are now updated when you save on the mod edit menu (previously they were only updated when you refresh the preview mod)
  
• Fixed issues where audio files would not copy when duplicating a mod, which lead to other issues on top of that.
  
• Fixed a minor mesh issue on the Commodore car model (part of the paintable rim was not paintable)
  
• The mod edit menu is opened automatically after adding a new mod or duplicating a mod.
  
• Added a warning when a modded prop is exceptionally large (in case it is a mistake and the model has broken geometry)
  

And that's everything!
Another update full of modding features and lots of quality-of-life improvements.

Keep an eye on the Steam Workshop to see what kind of things people are making with these new features!
Enjoy!

The new features for prop modding keep coming!

You can now import your own audio files (mp3) into the game and attach them to prop mods!

This means you can:

• Make props which give off ambient sounds (e.g. engines, factories, nature, animals, sirens, loudspeakers, etc)
  
• Make props which play sound effects on click (e.g. station voice call-outs, horns, sound boards, etc)
  
• Create your own in-game music players which you can turn off & on!
  

So far people have already made things like an i-pod dock which plays music, or a Nokia phone with a ringtone, ambient sound sources (like a station platform, nature ambience, industrial ambience) and even some memes (of course ːsteamhappyː)

The possibilities of using custom audio in your mods are endless!

Like for example, this classic old radio made by Ze Trackmeister:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McXwsrbgeGg

Making this update made me realize just how much audio variety was missing from Rolling Line. I Personally haven't paid much attention to ambient audio (beyond the classic "top of the south" main layout) and it has never been much of a priority.
But now I've remembered just how much ambient audio can bring a layout to life!

Thanks to these new audio modding features, everyone has the ability to completely control the ambience of their layouts, and I can't wait to see what people can create with this.

For a simple example of what you can do with these new features, here is an example mod I've made for a loudspeaker.
It plays the Rolling Line main theme "Rolling Waves" and you can turn it on/off by clicking on it.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2200038182&searchtext=

[h2]Audio options [/h2]

This update adds a whole bunch of new settings for your prop mods which you can find in the "Audio Options" menu when editing a mod:





From this menu you can change a whole range of settings to set how your sound behaves:

• Audio clip - the mp3 file which will be played (simply put it inside the "custom assets" folder just like other model and texture files)
  
• Loop - set whether the audio clip loops or stops playing when it's done.
  
• Volume - the volume of the clip (1-10).
  
• 3D audio - choose between 3D or 2D audio. 2D audio will sound the same regardless of where you are in the room (like background music) meanwhile 3D will fade at a distance and comes from a specific point in the world.
  
• Range - if you choose 3D mode, you can also set the range at which you can hear the sound.
  
• Play automatically - this will set whether the audio will start playing immediately or if you need to click on the prop for the audio to start playing.
  

Lastly, the option "Play Control Type" lets you choose how the sound is triggered:

• None - the audio cannot be controlled (it just plays automatically until it is done/loops)
  
• Click to toggle - clicking on the prop will stop/start the audio clip (like play/pause on an mp3 player)
  
• Click to play - clicking on the prop will play the sound once. Just like a sound board
  

When the prop is not editable (after clicking "apply edits" or loading a map) then you can simply click on the prop in large or miniature scale to play/stop the audio.

If the prop is editable then you instead need to hover over it and press Q:



[h2]Other features/fixes [/h2]

This update also includes a bunch of other stuff:

• Fixed issues with prop snapping (specifically when trying to place letters on the side of buildings).
  
• Lowered the minimum size of snappable props. this means you can use even smaller letters without the snapping going away.
  
• The main layout menu is now FLAT instead of curved. The diagonal sides was a big annoyance for designing menus, so its now flat just like the menu in the custom table room.
  
• Mods will now scale to fit your hand if they are overly large/small. This fixes the issue of large props filling up your screen when held.
  
• There is now a help message when the text input popup is visible.
  
• Adding a new prop mod will now automatically open the mod edit window (instead of bringing you back to the mod list).
  
• Compatible file-types are now shown when choosing assets from the asset folder (e.g. OBJ, FBX, PNG, MP3)
  
• When choosing assets from the asset folder you now have the "empty/none" option which resets the value to empty.
  
• Fixed various UI issues with the modding menus.
  

There is also now a new example prop mod in the "Rolling Line -> modding -> templates -> prop mods" folder of the speaker (to show how audio features are used).



On a side note, after prop mod snapping was added in the last update we have already got a set of snappable road props on the workshop!

Here's a massive shout-out to Jotrain Gamer for making this amazing set of mods!
He has also made a bunch of excellent traffic lights too.



You can find the full collection of road props here:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2184780616

And the traffic lights here:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2183199567

Modding is clearly going to be a MASSIVE part of Rolling Line's future, and I've still got lots of features to add! Stuff like mod packs (groups) and animations.

The next update will continue to expand the modding features, but in the meantime have a look on the Steam Workshop at all the amazing stuff the community is already making!

Enjoy!

Today's update adds a bunch of new features to prop modding, as well as improvements to the snapping system, menu changes and the ability to customize workshop tags for all items!

Now that prop modding is officially released I'm going to be doing several updates which add more functionality and features (like custom audio and animations!) over the next few weeks.

It's amazing to see the kind of stuff people are making!
there are already 100+ prop mods on the workshop, and heaps more in the works.

And that brings me on to the first part of this update:

[h2]Snapping support for prop mods[/h2]

You can now add snapping to your mods! This means you can edit custom "snap points" for your mod, and allow your mod to snap on to other props that share the same layer.

You can choose between pre-existing layers (like track, shapes, buildings etc) or name your own layer. Using a custom layer is perfect for when you want your props to snap to each other, but not to anything else.



When editing snap points there is even a visualization of where those snap point are on the preview model:



But since i was working on snapping related features, I decided to make some overall improvements to the system while i was at it!

[h2]Snapping system improvements[/h2]

If you've ever used the Rolling Line snapping system then you're bound to know how fiddly it can be with complex builds. Well its just gotten much better!

To start with, you can now only snap on to props that are editable (when you choose "edit details", "edit room" etc).
So any props that are not editable (after choosing "apply edits") cannot be snapped on to.

The exception to this is tables, which can be snapped on to regardless.

Secondly, there is a now a system where if you are pointing at a prop then you are 100% guaranteed to snap on to that specific prop (instead of the "nearest" snap point, which can often be inaccurate when large props overlap). This small change makes using the snapping system so much nicer and it completely avoids all the hassle that the old system would cause.



Also there is now a new setting for "copy scale on snap" in the "custom track -> snapping" menu.
This setting will enable/disable whether snapping on to something will automatically copy the scale (and height offset) of the prop.
There are lots of useful things you can do by deliberately disabling this feature, so im sure the more advanced map makers will be happy with this new option.



[h2]Custom workshop tags[/h2]

Another thing this update adds is the ability to add custom tags to any workshop item.
just like with prop mods where you can choose the geographic region (e.g. "North America", "Asia") you can now do the same thing with both layouts and liveries!

This means you can set the location of your layout/livery, and even add custom tags.
These custom tags can be anything ranging from more specific countries (e.g. "New Zealand", "Canada") or more descriptive tags for the item (e.g. "Diorama" for a layout, or "City", "Winter").

For prop mods (where you set up the tags while making the mod) the tags are copied across automatically but you can still customize them further before uploading.





Also on the topic of tags, there is now a "Shapes" category on the workshop.
This is used for any geometric shapes people might make (e.g. things like custom rectangles, triangle, cylinders etc) preferably with snapping support.

[h2]Menu changes[/h2]

This update also adds a few much-needed quality of life improvements to the menus and UI.

Firstly, there is now popup "confirm" boxes when clicking most important buttons (e.g. quit to desktop, save over, delete, etc). A very useful feature for accidentally clicking the wrong thing.



Remember that backups are automatically made of your save whenever you leave the map! Either by quitting to the menu, saving over or leaving to load a different save. So if you save over your map by accident then you can very likely still find a copy in the "manage saves -> backups" menu!

Another menu-related change is that on PC you can now type the "." and "-" characters when naming saves/mods etc.

[h2]Workshop issue fix[/h2]

Something I completely messed up with the last update is the method with which props are written to save files when comparing locally-saved mods to workshop mods.

You dont have to worry about it, and it very likely wont actually effect anything, but it should be completely solved now.

The only situation where this will cause problems is that if:
- A previously uploaded mod is used in a map
- Then that mod is updated
- Then the map that uses it will loose the reference to that mod.

If you made the mods yourself and have them saved locally, there will be zero problem regardless.
same goes if you upload your mod for the first time AFTER this update today.
The only problem is when a previously uploaded mod is updated (AND was used in a local layout), but since modding was only just released i doubt this situation will crop up much.

[h2]Example/template prop mods[/h2]

Much like with liveries, there is now a bunch of examples for you to look at when making prop mods. These can be found in the "Rolling Line -> modding -> templates -> prop mod examples" folder.



Each one of these mods is a prop from the game re-created using the modding system.
These examples are excellent for figuring out scale and getting started with making models!

There is even an example of shape snapping in action where I've re-created the in-game cube shape using prop modding. It has all the same snapping functionality as the official prop and you can have a look at how the mod was set up to see how it works.

There are also examples of using special materials (the streetlight) and custom collision meshes (the holiday house).



[h2]Other features and fixes[/h2]

There are also a bunch of fixes included in this update:

• Fixed the default "empty" save to have the correct drawers open
  
• Changed the drawers in the custom track tutorial back to what they should be
  
• Added a help image when setting a prop mod to be paintable which helps explain how to UV-map your models to be paintable.
  
• Made optimizations to the setup process for props
  
• Fixed bug where the UI for the region of a mod was not being set correctly for the Americas
  

On a side note, just last night I decided to re-create some scenery from an old game-development project I worked on years ago inside Rolling Line using the prop modding tools.
The whole process (copying the 3D models over, setting them up properly, making the mods, making the map, uploading everything to the steam workshop) took only a little over an hour!

It's really amazing just how much is now possible thanks to prop modding, and this mock-up scene was my own attempt at seeing how quickly and easily a scene could be made using these tools.

you can find the full mod collection (map included) here:
https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=2189936603

And that's all for now, Enjoy!
Keep an eye out for more modding features in the near future!

Its finally here! official in-game prop modding!

With this new system you can create your own props from 3D models and textures and share them on the Steam Workshop! All of this is done in-game (aside from making the actual 3D model assets) which means you dont need to do any file management or editing values in text files.

Simply put all your 3D models and textures into the new "custom assets" folder and then you can access them inside the modding menus.

You can make props paintable, and customize all sorts of data for the mod (including a new tag system).

Please note: this is not "prop grouping" as some people have misunderstood. These mods are made from 3D models, not from making shapes out of in-game props. You need to make 3D models in external software.
Please make sure you understand how the modding system works before uploading to the workshop! There are already many empty mods showing up.



You can even see a real-time copy of your mod while you are editing it!
This "preview model" works exactly the same as any normal prop in the game, so you can clone it, paint it, place it etc... all while still creating your mod.



My main focus of development for a while now has been towards building this new modding system, and bringing mods to the steam workshop.
This has been a major goal of mine, and the first step of this new modding system (props) is finally ready for release!

This same system will eventually be used to make train mods (replacing the old "QuickMods") but that will still be a while away as there is tons of work still to do.

[h2]Steam Workshop [/h2]

The best part about this new modding system is that it is completely handled through the Steam workshop. Which means you can upload/share and download mods all entirely through Steam.

I can't wait to see the kind of stuff people can make with these new tools
(and many people have already started!)



You can find heaps of new categories and tags on the Steam Workshop to accommodate for the new mods:



Prop mods are divided up in to categories (e.g. Terrain, Vehicles, Trackside) to help organize them.
They are also divided into regions of the world (e.g. North America, Europe).

On top of this you can also define your own custom tags when creating a mod.
These can be whatever you want, but you can include more specific countries (e.g. New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico, Iraq) or just more specific categories for your mod (e.g. Boat, Car, Plane, Rock, Tree).

Please tag your items correctly!
If you leave your mod with default tags it will be much less likely to be seen by people.

[h2]Downloading mods[/h2]

Downloading props to use is incredibly simple, just subscribe to them on the Steam Workshop (just like you would with any livery/layout) and then you will be able to access them in-game.

There is now a new drawer category for mods:



And inside this drawer category you can find a drawer which displays all of your downloaded (and created) mods.

Simply click on the mod you want and it will spawn in just like any other prop!
You can also store these props in custom drawers if you want to organize them more.



[h2]Creating mods[/h2]

Creating mods in Rolling Line is much simpler than in most games, but you will still need to have experience with creating 3D models in external software like Blender (or Maya, 3DsMax, etc). But once you have your assets ready then setting them up in-game is easy!

Unlike the vast majority of games with modding, in Rolling Line you can now set up and edit your mods entirely in-game.
Simply go to the modding menu "Pause menu -> modding" to get started:



This list will show all of the mods your have created yourself as well as any mods you have downloaded from the workshop.



Keep in mind that you cannot edit mods you have downloaded! But you can make a copy of them which can then be edited.
Be careful though with editing other peoples mods as you should ask the original creator of the mod if they are ok with you doing so. In general you should not upload anything you didn't personally create to the Steam Workshop without permission from the owner.

To learn about the full process of making mods, have a read of this amazing guide made by Coconut_pie here on Steam:

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

[h2]Future improvements[/h2]

This isn't the fully-featured version of prop modding yet and i still have many more features to add. There are likely going to be several more updates in the future that add more functionality to prop modding including things like snapping, animations, audio, and all sorts of little improvements along the way.

Once prop modding is complete, train modding is the next major step!
The old "QuickMod" system is going to be replaced by this new in-game modding UI and will be very similar to how prop modding works.

And of course train mods will be coming to the workshop as well!
[h2]
Other features[/h2]

Alongside prop modding, this update also includes a bunch of other fixes and features:

• There is now a reminder when uploading a workshop item about the rules on copying and re-uploading other peoples content. This is becoming quite a problem at the moment (people just straight-up re-uploading other peoples work) So hopefully this reminds people if they didn't know otherwise.
  
• Moved the quickMod and quickTerrain drawers into the new "modding" category alongside propMods.
  
• Split the "track" category into two separate ones, "track" and "track tools". you can now find things like track detail painters and signals in the "track tools" drawer category.
  
• Fixed issue with missing props in custom drawers causing errors.
  
• Fixed a bug with custom colors where adding new colors would not set the correct drawer page.
  

And that's all for now!

This update has been in the works for a while now and its so great to finally release it.
Prop modding is going to absolutely revolutionize layout building, and add more content into the game than i could ever hope to make myself one-by-one.

It's incredible to see just how much enthusiasm and creativity is already on the workshop.
Even though this update has only just been released, i highly recommend going and having a look on the workshop at all the stuff people have already started uploading.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/754150/workshop/



The possibilities of a passionate community and good modding tools are endless!

Enjoy!