Rolling Line News

This update adds a couple of new features, these are:

[h2]A "popup message" trigger[/h2]
This works just like the player teleport/remote trigger/etc where it will "activate" when a message is sent out with the same password as the receiver.

When activated, it will make a custom text message popup for the player:



[h2]Customize the color of text label props[/h2]
You can now use color painters to change the color of text on label props:



This patch also fixes a few bugs and makes some changes since the last update, these are:

• The open/closed state of doors is now saved when re-loading a map
  
• Adjusted the popup menu position for particles, lights and text signs. You can also now open and edit these menus in miniature mode too.
  
• Fixed bug where prop lights would scale smaller in miniature mode (this is only meant to affect props in the player's hand, not placed on the ground).
  
• Fixed bug where the key prop could not be dropped out of your hand, and cloned copies when it shouldn't have.
  
• Adjusted the UI for prop modding so that it is clearer on how to customize the control options (like being able to click to toggle a light source). Added additional help info too.
  
• Fixed bug where the transform edit UI would not show up when editing a button on a prop mod for the first time only.
  

This update is quite an unusual one, it's all about bringing interactivity to maps!
It adds things like keys, locked doors, train triggers, player teleporters, something called a "remote trigger activator" and more.

With these new tools you can make things like puzzle maps, exploration challenges, more advanced train automation and even complex circuits.
From simple actions like making a bunch of lights turn on when you flick a switch, or opening doors with the correct keys, all the way to fully automated train dispatching in a complex yard.

These tools are quite simple at their core, but can get quite confusing and complicated once you get ambitious with them. I've made a full guide on how to use everything added in this update:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3020861020

You can find all of these new tools in the "Room -> Automation" drawer:



[h2]Keys & doors[/h2]

Firstly, there are now props for keys and a bunch of different kinds of doors.
Both the keys and doors have a "password" which you can set, and if the passwords match then that key will be able to open the corresponding door.



You can use these to make all kinds of exploration puzzles (like maps where sections are locked off until you can find a key to progress).
I've made a maze puzzle example already to show these tools in action:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3021839949

[h2]Levers & triggers[/h2]

The next part of this automation system is "triggers", these are props which send out a trigger signal when activated. This can be either a lever that you click, a sensor for when the player is near, or a sensor for when a train is passing overhead.

The "password" you set for a trigger will mean that any other objects that share the same password will be "activated" when the trigger is set off.
This can be used to make a lever open a door, or a train passing by switching a turnout, etc.





[h2]Remote trigger activators[/h2]

These are a bit more complex. Basically a "remote trigger activator" is a prop which can "click" on other objects around it when it receives a signal.
This "click" effect is exactly the same as the player clicking a button, so it can be used for all kinds of interesting things like turning on lights, toggling turnouts, decoupling wagons, pressing menu buttons, etc.

Please read the guide mentioned earlier for more info on these, and even a step-by-step example of how to use them.





[h2]Range extenders[/h2]

This is another complicated one. These "range extenders" are used to repeat a remote trigger activators "click" effect range further. Meaning that if a remote trigger activator clicks on a range extender, then the range extender will repeat the same "click" effect within its range.

Like in this example, the remote trigger activator on the left tries to "click" the range extender, and the range extender repeats the "click" so that the lever on the right is clicked:



As you can imagine, you can do all kinds of complex stuff with these. Please read the guide mentioned earlier for more info on these as it is quite a lot of information which doesn't need to be repeated in this news post.



Combining all these tools together you can make some pretty interesting stuff!
For example, I've made a quick map which uses these logic tools to create a puzzle where you need to activate the 3 different power sources in order to start a generator engine, which is required to open a door and progress. I would love to see this kind of idea expanded into a proper adventure map!



https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3021340468

I'm planning to run an "adventure map jam" quite soon which will involve making maps that make use of all the interactive features, like being able to walk around in miniature and the new automation tools in this update!

[h2]New modding features [/h2]

Another big part of this update is new features for prop modding! Continuing with the "adventure map" theme, you can now create some interesting kinds of items as prop mods, like hand-held torches:





And even using a combination of particles, sounds and lights for some fun effects:



This is now possible due to these new additions to prop modding:

• Particles - you can now add particle systems to prop mods, just like the steam effects for train mods
  
• Lights - you can add light sources to prop mods
  
• Light flicker effect - just like how you can make lights flash on/off, you can now also make them flicker for a nice fire/spark effect. You can also change the fade speed for when they are turned on/off
  
• Infinite render distance - prop mods can now be set to always render no matter how far away they are. This is great for making terrain or backdrop scenery using prop mods
  
• "on click" control - you can make it so that effects like lights, particles, animations and audio can be triggered when the player clicks while holding the object in their hand.
  
• toggle on click - control can also be changed so that effects are toggled on/off on click, which is perfect for making a hand-held torch.
  

In addition to these, you can also now set exactly what visual angle a prop mod appears when it is held by the player, which is great for doing things like this:



As shown in the above example, you can also make props "spawn copy on click" when they are placed on the ground. This is prefect for making items pickupable on an adventure map, like notes for the player to read, or items for them to grab and hold.

[h2]Texture filtering options for mods[/h2]

You can now set texture filtering options for individual textures on any mod. Next to any texture asset is an "options" icon which you can click to open this menu:



"Hard pixel filtering" will make pixelated textures appear sharp-edged instead of smooth. This is perfect for if you want to make retro style pixel art.

"Tiled repeating texture" means that the texture will use the standard UV mapping technique where the texture is infinitely repeated in all directions.



[h2]Custom sky colors[/h2]
You can now fully customize the skybox color, sun color, fog color and the shadow strength. You can find these options in the "time and weather -> advanced -> custom values -> custom sky colors":



This is amazing for creating unique atmospheres for your maps!





There are also now a couple of new weather presets:

"full dark" - which disables all skybox features and leaves your map completely pitch black, aside from any light sources you have made. This is great for if you want to fully control lighting youself using prop lights, or for any map idea where you want pitch-black darkness.



"no skybox" - this option disables the skybox but instead shows the rest of the room just as if you were in large scale.



[h2]Guide links in-game[/h2]
You can now find links to the official guides (on the Steam Community page) in-game. These are in the "tutorials" menu, and in some drawers (e.g. the roads drawer has a link to the roads guide).
Simply click these and the guide will open in your web browser.



[h2]Better decoupling controls [/h2]
This is a really simple change that makes things so much easier, couplers are now linked so that clicking on one will highlight both of them, and decouple in both directions:



[h2]Corrugated iron sheet props[/h2]
A bunch of new snappable corrugated iron props have been added:



[h2]Other fixes & features[/h2]

This update also includes an absolute ton of other minor features, these are:

• You can now access train mods from within the "trains" category of drawers, instead of needing to go to the "mods" category. You can find the train mods drawer in both locations now
  
• There is now a message popup when toggling snapping with the function shortcut keys, as well as an on-screen message to show when it is disabled. You can choose to disable these visual effects in the settings if you prefer
  
• Fixed a bug where you could still equip items while in the main menu
  
• Blocked using the "." character in save file names
  
• Typing an empty name for a mod will exit out the menu without creating a new mod, effectively acting like clicking cancel
  
• fixed collision on boats
  
• fixed collision on fence prop
  
• fixed collision on all legacy tunnel props, and tunnel portals
  
• fixed the lid on the pumpkin prop
  
• fixed the "use inventory in miniature" setting so that it also blocks the ability to pickup editable objects
  
• adjusted the range for the vignette setting so that it is no longer possible to make your whole screen black
  
• fixed a bug where trains would lurch a bit when entering the cab
  
• fixed bug where wagons would not derail if the track was removed from underneath them
  
• fixed bug where the item highlight effect would break briefly after uploading a workshop item
  

And that's everything!
This update really ballooned out of control, I wasn't planning to spend this long on these "adeventure map" features but they just ended up being so fun and interetsing that I had to keep digging deeper. I still have some more ideas which will be added before the next update, but the goal is to run a map jam themed around creating these cool kinds of interactive maps.
With a combination of prop modding, automated systems, interaction and player physics the potential is very exciting! There will be more news aboud this adventure map jam event coming soon!

This patch fixes a few bugs and makes some changes since the last update, these are:

• Fixes a major bug where it was possible to make a map load multiple times over itself by clicking the mouse button during the start of the loading screen. This bug would cause duplicate props & trains to load and lots of other issues.
  
• Fixes the bug where turntables would load without all of their connected track correctly setup (some track would have dead ends and not connect to the turntable)
  
• Fixes legacy quickMod collision so the player can stand on top of wagons properly
  
• fixed bug where the slowest movement speed step (when toggling speed with ctrl) made the player not move at all
  
• "infinite" layout view distance setting was not actually infinite, just very large. it is now actually infinite (almost)
  
• fixed part of the cab mesh and collision on the livery sprinter
  
• trains will no longer start their engines when you stand near them, they will only enable when you actually stand on the train physically or enter the cab
  
• fixed the container and doublestack wagons so that the player can stand on them properly
  
• VR player height setting now works in miniature too
  
• improved the collision on the livery big boy
  
• you can now walk up the footsteps on the ac4400cw with more detailed collision
  
• the older bus model now has collision
  
• prop versions of the old bus and rusty bus have collision
  
• improved the collision on the signal gantries
  
• improved collision on a whole bunch of other props
  
• Added a new mini glowbell prop
  

I've also been experimenting with pixel texturing in modding just for fun.
Here's an example of how you can make something with an entirely different art style using prop mods:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2999214884



To enable the hard-pixel texture style you can add the launch tag to the game "-halflife"
(This launch tag basically forces all modded texture loading to use hard pixel filtering instead of smooth filtering)

This update is quite a fun one, you can now walk around in miniature mode like an actual player character! This means gravity, jumping, ladder climbing, walking around on trains and inside the cab, etc.

All official trains and wagons have been updated to include proper collision and ladders, so you can fully walk around on the outer walkways.
For trains with openable doors (like the Sprinter and AC4400CW) you can even open the doors to walk directly in to the cab!

You can also now use items when in miniature mode, which means you can place and edit props and use the hand-held controller to drive trains while in miniature.

This update also comes with a redesign of the VR control scheme (to be better suited to walking and jumping) as well as a huge amount of minor features and fixes.

[h2]Walking physics[/h2]

To start off, let's talk about the new walking physics!
Something that has always been lacking in Rolling Line is that feeling of actually being part of the physical world, since a floating camera just doesn't get the job done.

I've always wanted Rolling Line to have walking physics, but incorporating this in to a game which was not designed for it from the beginning was certainly going to be a big undertaking.
But I'm incredibly happy with how this has turned out, and this might in fact be one of my favourite features in the whole game.
Walking around and having a physical presence in the world makes maps explorable in a whole new way, and finally makes Rolling Line feel more like a "game" than a piece of software.

And from a creativity perspective this feature makes things like platformer maps and all kinds of cool map ideas a possibility, in fact I'm hoping to run a competition themed around this idea someday!



You can walk around with W A S D, but you can now press Space to jump (replacing teleport) and while in miniature mode your player will be affected by gravity and collision with the world around you.

If you want to still make use of teleporting, you can re-bind the teleport button to something other than Space and you will still be able to use it at any time like before.

You can also climb ladders by holding space when near them:





And just for fun, I also added a "jetpack mode" setting which you can enable if you want to just freely fly around jetpack style, which is an awesome way to explore a map!



[h2]Climbing on trains[/h2]

All official locomotives & wagons have now been set up with accurate collision and ladders. This means you can walk along the walkways and climb on top of trains fully using physics.



For trains like the Sprinter and AC4400CW with openable doors you can walk directly inside the cab, but for other trains you can still press Tab (teleport) to enter in to the cab.
Once inside the cab you can walk around too, and press Tab again to exit the cab.



This does absolute wonders for immersion, and climbing directly onto trains & vehicles like this is something I've always wanted to add in to the game:



[h2]Using items in miniature[/h2]

The next major feature this update adds is the ability to fully use your inventory while in miniature mode. This means you can place props, edit them, paint them, etc.





You can also use the hand held controller to drive trains while in miniature!



The only limitation of this is that you cannot place track, since placing track in miniature was proving very complex and full of issues, while it is not really a very useful feature anyway.

You can enable/disable both physics in miniature and items in miniature in the options menu:
Pause menu -> gameplay -> miniature mode options

In this menu you can also change your player move speed specifically for when you are in miniature mode.



If you fall off the map in miniature mode you will automatically be teleported back to the menu if you drop below a certain height.

You can also now use the scroll wheel to change your player height while in miniature (just like in large scale).

[h2]VR controls update[/h2]

Due to all these changes, the VR input bindings were in need of a redesign.
Since directional movement (walking) is actually good now, it's now the default movement option.
You can of course still disable this and go back to just teleporting, but when just teleporting is enabled you will not be able to make use of the new player gravity or jumping.
Have a look in the "Pause menu -> VR Options" menu for all kinds of options you can change relating to VR controls. And remember you can always manually re-bind all the VR controls as you please:

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

The new VR control scheme works like this:

Left hand = directional movement (joystick)
Right hand = teleporting, jumping, rotation

All the button bindings are still the same (e.g. up on the joystick to teleport at current scale) except they have been restricted to one hand each to clean things up.

This gets rid of the whole "hold trigger to switch control schemes" system which the game had before which was horrible to use.

One thing to note is that you can still use normal teleporting by holding the trigger to force override the jump control.

e.g. on the Vive controller, pressing D-pad up on the right hand will make you jump, but holding trigger + D-pad up will make you teleport.

You can change which hand is used for direction movement in the VR Options menu:



All the tutorials have been updated to include these new bindings, so if you want a more practical example of how this control scheme works try playing the "basic movement" tutorial from the main menu. The tutorials have also been updated to show bindings on the correct hand.

I highly recommend having a go in VR with these new controls and player physics, it's a hell of a lot of fun!

[h2]Collision options in modding[/h2]

All of the new features (complex collision, ladders and walkable cab interiors) are now available to use in modding as well!

I have added a new example mod which makes use of these features to the "Rolling Line -> modding -> templates" folder, and you can also find a copy of this mod on the workshop:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2995689335

In the modding manager you can now access collision options when editing a train mod (the "Collision" menu from the main menu when editing a train).
These collision options look like this:



The "Collision mesh" is a 3D model which represents the trains collision. This should be as simple as possible and should only contain cubes, not complex shapes or topography. These cubes should also not be too thin since the player can easily get stuck on complex or thin geometry.

if you want to allow for the player to walk around inside the cab, make sure to leave the cab area hollow (use cubes to block out the roof/floor/walls etc).

Tick the "Supports interior collision" option if you include a hollow space for the cab, so that the game knows to spawn the player inside it and keep using physics.

For example, here is what the collision for the F7 looks like:



Notice how the cab is made of individual boxes, so that the inside is hollow:



The "ladder collision" should contain only flat planes (not cubes or volumes). Basically the game will check if the player is touching any of the parts of this mesh and if so, allow them to climb.
All ladder areas are included in one single mesh.

Here is what the ladder mesh looks like on the F7:



The "cab interior region" mesh is a flat plane (like the ladder mesh) which should cover the floor area of the cab interior. When the player is standing on this surface they will be treated as "inside the cab" by the game. This means their movement will be slowed down, and any teleporting will ignore the wagons collision, so they can easily teleport outside to exit the wagon.
You can also change the speed modifier when the player is inside this cab (their speed will be divided by this value, 1 = no speed change, 2 = move twice as slow).

Here is what the F7's interior trigger mesh looks like:



[h2]Other fixes and features[/h2]

This update also includes a ton of smaller stuff:

• Fixed lots of minor issues with certain item previews in the inventory equip bar
  
• When a mod is refreshed in the mod manager, and copies of the mod in your inventory are removed
  
• You can no longer teleport on to the mod preview when inside the modding manager
  
• If a segment of road has an embankment it can be painted directly on click (without needing to open the style menu)
  
• Fixed missing snow mesh from the front wheels of the big boy
  
• Fixed bug where if you were holding a bounds-box in your inventory it would get stuck when exiting the bounds box editing menu
  
• Fixed bug where picking up a reversed train would mean that its preview icon would also be reversed
  
• Fixed the "clear all dropped items" button breaking items in your inventory
  
• Fixed issue with the livery system that was causing some wagons to not properly be replaced with their defaults if the livery was missing
  
• Fixed lighting issue with alpha-emit materials
  
• Props scale data is now saved with more accuracy, helping avoid unexpected scale values when reloading a save with very small items
  
• Fixed issue where trains would not move correctly when placed on turntables
  
• Fixed issue where cloning colours from a custom drawer would not create the correct inventory preview icon
  
• Fixed the default bindings on Joypad for switching items in your inventory
  
• Fixed mesh normals issue on the AC4400CW
  
• Fixed lighting issues on the dynamic road generator UI
  
• Fixed lighting issues on the Santa Fe maps backdrop
  
• Fixed mesh alignment on one of the wooden tables
  
• Fixed bug where fog would be visible on preview icons (making them look grey when on a foggy map)
  
• You can now still hold shift to run when the edit tool or locomotive controller are in your hand
  
• Pausing time in photo mode now also pauses turntable movement
  
• Moved the AI control buttons in the Sprinter to a better position
  
• The Sprinter now has door opening buttons on the outside
  
• There is now a warning popup on the main menu if you are missing certain SteamVR input bindings
  
• Fixed the "push wagons with hands" in VR setting, which was broken before
  

And that's everything! This update is a personal favorite of mine, since it makes such a huge change to the feeling of the game. Miniature mode has gone from being just a different camera perspective to an entirely different experience.
I can't wait to see the kind of map ideas people will come up with that make use of these new player physics, like platforming challenges, tunnels and mazes.
Have fun!

This update gives the PC-only interface a bit of an upgrade!
You now have a full 9-slot item toolbar which functions a lot like Minecraft, where you can scroll between the currently selected item. This replaces the old "belt" system where you store items on either your belt or in your hand. You can still enable this old system if you prefer. There is also now no longer a physical belt object on your player.

Items in your inventory toolbar also have full 3D icons, and your items are included in save files!

A system like this has been something Ive had in mind for ages, it just never quite made it to the top of the queue. The VR controls and belt are unchanged, this would require a separate update dedicated to VR which is also on my to-do list, but this will be a huge quality-of-life improvement for PC players!

[h2]How the new system works[/h2]

If you've ever played Minecraft, then it's essentially just like that, but with a few extra quirks.

• The item toolbar has 9 slots, which can either be empty or hold an item.
  
• You can change which slot is currently selected, and the item in your chosen slot will appear in your hand.
  
• If you drop the item in your hand, that slot will become empty.
  
• If you pickup an item while there is an item in your hand, it will replace that item.
  
• You can use "ALT + Scroll Wheel" to switch between items on the toolbelt.
  
• You can also use 1,2,3...9 to set the chosen slot that way.
  

You can also "un-equip" items.
If you want an empty hand but dont want to drop the item you are currently holding, then simply press the number key for the slot and the item will be hidden (and the icon greyed out) leaving you with an empty hand. E.g. if you are using slot 2, press "2" again and it wil be hidden. Press "2" another time to make it visible again.
If you pickup a new item while your hand is empty it will automatically be added to the next empty slot in your toolbar.



Since the scroll-wheel is already so cemented as the "change height" control, the keys for switching between items are instead holding ALT + Scroll Wheel. You can also use PageUp & PageDown as replacements for the scroll wheel.
All of this is re-bindable in the controls menu of course:



[h2]Using the old system[/h2]

If you prefer the old style of equipping items then you can disable the new system in the menu:
"Pause menu -> PC options -> Use new item equip system"

When using the old system you still get the new 3D item icons and full 9 slots, but the controls behave like before where you press the 1,2,3...9 keys to swap items in and out of your equip slots.
The item in your hand is separate from the toolbar, which means you can hold 9 items in your equip slots + 1 more in your hand.

[h2]Major fix to loading times on slow PC's[/h2]

Turns out there was a huge mistake in the way I was handling the recent asynchronous loading system in previous updates. Some people have experienced very slow load times because of this, but I've tracked down the cause!
It has now been fully fixed, and load times should be much more consistent now for those people who were experiencing it.

[h2]Other features[/h2]

• Part of this update involved finally converting the edit tool and locomotive controller into actual "props" which means they can be included in save files and interacted with like props.
  
• Train collisions on diamond crossings (where two trains collide side-on) now works as intended. Locomotives will always win over wagons, and the train that is currently being driven will win over all other trains. If a moving wagon hits another moving wagon then both of them will be derailed:
  
  
• Fixed the smoke effect positions on the KA.
  
• Sped up the acceleration and break speeds for vehicles.
  
• Fixed collision box for bikes.
  
• Fixed bug where loading a map with foggy weather would create a color flash during the end of the loading screen.
  
• Moved some things around in the "PC Options" menu to clean things up.
  
• There is a setting now to disable velocity-based throwing of objects.
  
• Fixed the item throwing physics for PC players.
  
• Fixed bug where ballast would show up in the road generator when generating multi-lane roads.
  
• There is a setting to adjust the inventory UI scale in the "PC Options -> Interface" menu.
  
• Fixed a minor alignment issue on the NR custom livery.
  
• Fixed bug where some signal controls could not be used when in large scale.
  
• Fixed issue with grouped track caused by overlapping IDs.
  
• Fixed the rotation of the text label prop when in hand.
  
• The Flexytrack gap-fill range has been greatly increased.
  

After the last couple of months being focused on the National Park map, this updated served as a quick change of pace to work on something I've been keen to do for a long time.
The old PC equip slots interface was meant to be a temporary solution to the problem of "How do I get a physical VR belt to work on the PC interface", but turns out it took 5 years to finally do something about that!
It's great to give the PC controls some love, since easily 95% or more of players are on PC instead of VR, including me (I make all the official maps entirely on PC).
I have lots of future plans for things involving items & inventories... (hint hint, loadable wagons) So this update brings the game one step closer to that!