x7123m3_256

Just another layout, nothing new here.

Yes, I am aware that the second half of the layout is nothing like Ring Racer ... it wasn't meant to be a recreation, because the original layout is pretty boring.

Built to check that you can build a strata coaster that is rideable. It turns out, no larger pieces are strictly needed and peeps will ride this without cheats ... which is actually quite silly.

According to my calculations, this thing would pull 36G if the G forces were calculated accurately, but the game says the positive G force is 6G. This is convenient, because it means you can build a strata coaster with existing pieces, but it's also bad, because if those extra large slope pieces were added, they could result in implausibly low G forces. The game's G force calculation is very broken.

It's long overdue but this is finally done. This adds some additional track sprites to the giga coaster - including verticals, inversions, and large sloped turns. Since the vanilla giga coaster trains don't have sprites for these you need the "enable all drawable track pieces" cheat on to use them.

I have also updated my three custom trains that use this track, as the old versions were missing sprites for diagonal banked curves. The updated versions can be found here

This is, obviously, ridiculous, but it was built mostly to check that the shortest possible hydraulic launch would still work. I changed the minimum length from 3 to 2 tiles to simplify the implementation.

There is actually a problem though if you use longer trains than this, if the train hasn't left the station when the catch car disconnects, it thinks it's arriving back in the station and will proceed round the layout at slow speed.

I have now made it so the launch run can start from a block brake instead of the station.

I posted a clip of this ride yesterday, but I didn't post the whole thing because it wasn't fully functional, it relied on an invisible station for the launch to work, and that caused the train to spend a long time waiting on the launch run, since you can't set waiting times for different stations differently. It now operates as intended.

I now have all the anti-rollback brake fins animated properly, although it's just cosmetic and they don't function yet. I have also reduced the length of the launch end piece to two tiles, mostly because it simplifies the implementation a bit and there was no real reason for it be three. The next thing I want to do is make it so the launch doesn't start from the station - this ride had to be hacked with an invisible station and the hack causes a number of problems so I want to get it functioning properly but I think it's going to be difficult.

I have now implemented a functional hydraulic launch piece, although it is far from fully featured. It automatically calculates the right acceleration to use based on the length of the launch but only when the coaster is first tested - currently, changing the speed setting has no effect unless you close and reopen the ride. I also want the anti rollback brake fins to be functional, and the blocks to work properly (currently, the block is cleared as soon as the train leaves the station which is not right, it should only clear when it's over the top hat), none of which is implemented yet.

The length of the catch car braking zone is currently hardcoded and I think that'll have to change, at two tiles it's too short for every other layout in my test park. A fixed 3 tiles isn't too bad an option for most designs at the sizes that are common in game - but for large rides built at realistic scale, and especially the strata I have been testing, longer is needed. Having a braking zone that is shorter than it should be also lowers the overall acceleration and I don't want the launch to look slow, especially when the LSM boosters in game are overpowered.

I might be biased because I want to make a 10x10 and that's impossible unless the catch car braking zone can be as small as 1 tile (because the longest launch that would fit is 3 tiles total). This really shouldn't affect the final decision, since it's not realistic to build one that small ... but I kind of want it to work anyway.

I've made some more progress on my Intamin accelerator coaster. I've changed the track model again - since I now have a track model that matches the vanilla giga coaster, I have modelled a 4 rail track based on that. The new one is less accurate to the real world dimensions but fits the game better.

I have also implemented the ability to switch between 2/3/4 rail track during construction, and I've started implementing a magnetic brake piece, which is fully functional though the sprites need some work. I have created a model/initial sprites for the launch but this is not yet functional (well, it is, but it just works like a booster at the moment)

I'm working on adding the ability to switch between multiple track types, which is common on a lot of Intamin rides. Could potentially be used for the vanilla giga coaster as well.

Sorry for the awkward crop - my computer had trouble recording a larger frame.

I've made a little more progress - there are now lift and brake sprites (which could use some more work), and I've implemented the restraint animation for the trains. I think the trains still seem lacking in detail, the shields especially don't look right but I'm not sure what to do about it.