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It’s basically what the topic title says: grass/weed grows on unused tracks. I think it’d give some very good atmosphere to the game and it’s not too hard to implement I guess. Also, it would help players check how busy different lines are.
There is a mod for OpenTTD with the same feature, here is the link where you can find some pics as well:
https://www.tt-forums.net/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=32285&hilit=oldtracks
Maybe you will be able to make the game even more realistic by adding a feature in which graffiti and street-art is created along unused tracks as cities grow and time progresses. Just a suggestion, would be really awesome though.
Great suggestion, it’s this kind of little detail that really brings games to life.
Thumbs up from me!
I know it’s not an important feature, but i love to see little details like this and like frowog said, it brings the game to life.
So the release is finally near and I ask myself, will we see little things like growing grass and/or rust on unused tracks?
I wouldn’t say so. If there will be realistic economic model in the game in the future with opening and closing factories, it will be inevitable to abandone unprofitable lines. And honestly, there are those little detalis that bring life to a game!
Your city does not remove the decommissioned tracks? Seems to me you need to jump on your City Council!!
Haha, you are right. However in my country all the tracks belong to the state railways. So when they decomission a track, they just let it rot there… of course, the city removes the crossings (by simply pour a layer of asphalt over it), but the tracks remain in place until doomsday…
…which is actually super cool, because I love abandoned railways and enthusiasts can ride handcars on them!
While I like the idea, I’d imagine it would be a bit of an overhead. Not only would each segment have to remember how long it had been since a train last rode over it, but every so often, the game would have to check each segment (which would add more overhead) and then change the track texture (or model even) with something more grassy. Segments with more than two exits (switches, crossovers, etc) would either have to be treated as a single segment (the rust/grass would only start at the next segment), or implement segments that can handle multiple levels of disuse depending on a particular track within the segment. Currently, a segment is either rendered as entirely low-speed or entirely high-speed even if the tracks are a mixture of low-speed and high-speed, so this would imply that the segments won’t be able to handle multiple levels of disuse unless the code is rewritten (this would also enable low-speed and high-speed sections to be properly shown).
As for rust being shown, as well as changing the texture or track-colour, you can also make it less shiny just by decreasing the specular component of the rails on that particular segment. While on the subject of specular lighting, when vehicles get older, their specular component decreases – that is, they become less shiny. If you replace an old vehicle with one of the same type, it would be nice to see it look shinier. That way you can get a feel of their age by just seeing how shiny they are.
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