South-West and South-East Maps

[Ivo]

Firstly, does anyone here still play OpenTTD, or am I the only one?

And secondly, sorry about my Merseyside scenario disappearing. It kinda fell by the wayside and got forgotten about!

Anyhow, long-term players of the game and its predecessors may remember that one of the default maps available on the original TTDLX was a rather vague and inaccurate representation of the South-West and some of Wales. Well, using a Heightmap available from the server, I have created a new and geographically accurate (well, mostly) map of the area that is four times larger than the original version, and includes such locations as Poole, Torquay, Newport, Taunton, Llanelli and Falmouth - all of which were omitted from the original version. (Not that due to geogrpahical constraints the Isle of Wight, Swindon, Stratford-upon-Avon and Aberystwyth are not included.)

Would there be any demand for this map of mine? If yes, I could upload it for you all to try - and if there is a lot of demand, maybe we could even try to stage an online multiplayer session (or failing that one in person if a few of us meet up for a day)?

 

[trentside]

I play OpenTTD occasionally, and remember the original South West map from TTDLX with a certain amount of fondness. I always enjoyed playing that map, even thought it bore little relation to real life!

I'd certainly be interested in your map, Ivo - sounds like a lot of effort has gone into it.

 

[somersetlever]

I'd certainly be interested in your map, Ivo - sounds like a lot of effort has gone into it.

I'll second that!

 

[GNERman]

I've recently got interested in OpenTTD, taking over from Locomotion at the moment... So i'll be interested in taking a look...

 

[Jordy]

I play it (a lot) and would be interested.

 

[Ivo]

I think that's probably enough demand to justify uploading it.

A few specifics about this map...

• 512x512 grid size (four times larger than the version in the original TTDLX)
• Extends to Bournemouth on the South Coast, Aberaeron on the Welsh Coast and Worcester/Evesham in the Midlands
• Largest settlements are Bristol (c. 20½K), Cardiff (c. 15K) and Plymouth (c. 12K)
• Smallest settlements are Boscastle, Pumsaint, Glyntawe and Porthallow (all < 150)
• All real-life cities are present and the three largest towns (Bournemouth, Cheltenham and Poole) are also designated as cities
• Total population ~ 250K
• Number of towns = 178
• All industries (apart from Oil Wells) are included and semi-realistically located
• Industry-free version also available for passenger intensive operations
• Most motorway junctions (and all outside of densely-populated areas) are included

For maximum enjoyment, I recommend obtaining the following GRFs:

• New Tram Tracks
• Longer Girder, Steel Bridge COMPULSORY REQUIREMENT
• Generic Tram Set
• UK Renewal Train Set
• UK Renewal Train Set with Add-Ons (not sure if both are necessary but I use both anyway)
• eGRVTS
• Aviators Aircraft
• FISH

Please remember that I did not create the original Heightmap. I have however altered it to meet certain needs (such as rivers) and to match the grid size more easily. Also, if you find any mistakes with the map or have any suggestions, don't hesitate to tell me. And if you find that the .zip upload has not worked preperly, again be sure to tell me.

Enjoy! And if anyone does ever feel like a Multiplayer (if we can get it to work online; I've only ever tried LAN), let me know...

 

[GNERman]

SCN files, what do I open it with???

 

[Ivo]

You don't. You just open TTD (having extracted the files), choose Play Scenario and search through your computer for the scenarios. If you place them on the Desktop for instance, when you click Play Scenario keep choosing Parent Directory until Users (or similar) appears and go on that until you find Desktop.

 

[Jordy]

Thanks, looks interesting! Will certainly be having a play at some point.

 

[GNERman]

Looks great to me, love the motorway, looks like quite a bit of work has gone into this...

 

[Ivo]

I've spotted an error

Look for the village of Lynmouth on the North Devon coast. The A39 just east of it has a break in it! If this bothers you, like it does me, be sure to fix it (obviously doing so in Scenario Editor is recommended).

 

[Phil6219]

I still play it a lot, even more than my x-box at the minute...

That scenario looks good and I'll have to have a crack at it sometime.

I do remember the original map as I used to play it quite a lot along with a downloaded scenario which had a bit more to it and went as far north as Manchester and Leeds and as east at London. Right now I am playing a map of the UK which runs up to Carlisle and boy is it difficult to keep such an immense rail network working

Phil

 

[Ivo]

~~~ COMING SOON ~~~

A map of the South-East of England! It will cover all of Greater London, Kent and East Sussex, most of Essex, some of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, West Sussex and Surrey, and also the eastern fringes of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.

 

[Jordy]

Looking forward to that!

 

[Ivo]

Looking forward to that!

You can (half) thank district for that. He and I were talking on MSN about the game and I kinda mentioned that I could make a Kentish game for him. Allowing for the Heightmap I have it kinda evolved into the South-East.

I can see plenty of Multiplayer games with my brother on that one. Needless to say he would build his HQ in Southend :roll:

Heck, my sister might even join in...!

 

[Jordy]

I'm having some severe overcrowding on my UK Network, so it might be time to start building on the SW Map soon (to be fair, I have been playing this one for 700 years now...)

 

[Ivo]

I'm having some severe overcrowding on my UK Network, so it might be time to start building on the SW Map soon (to be fair, I have been playing this one for 700 years now...)

700 years? Impressive! The most I've done is only ~120.

Care to provide a screenshot or two?

 

[Jordy]

Sure...here you go.

 

[Ivo]

A little update on the new South-East map then. Most of the area east of an imaginary line between Braintree and Hastings (which passes through Chelmsford and Maidstone among others) is now done, is the coast as far west as Hove (with only the rest of the Brighton etc conurbation to do until I hit the edge of the map). As far as cities go I have been a generous and reinstated Rochester as a city; otherwise, I will be promoting Southend, Luton, Croydon and *possibly* Stratford.

 

[MCR247]

Sure...here you go.

Which map did you use for that, or did you do it yourself?

 

[Jordy]

I believe it was made by the late thefab444 () some of the network you see in the screenshots (particularly parts of Birmingham) were made by him as well.

 

[MCR247]

Wow, cos that truly does look amazing! Well better than mine which I've been playing for what is probably millions of years!

RIP fab444

 

[Ivo]

I can't say this for certain obviously, but I estimate that it'll be ready on either Friday evening or failing that Saturday. Everything east of a line running roughly Stansted - Romford - Sevenoaks - Uckfield is now done, as is everything west as far as Crawley south of Oxted. This means most of London is still oustanding, but apart from the congested A414 corridor (Hemel Hempstead - Harlow) there isn't much else to do.)

The coastal extremities will be Walton-on-the-Naze (already built) and Littlehampton (not yet built), while the North-Western extremity will be roughly Dunstable.

Another update; everything outside of the M25 that is also east of the M11 and/or south of the A3 is now done, as are Slough and Luton/Dunstable as markers for everything else. Coming to the end; I expect to finish outside the M25 tonight - or tomorrow morning if I collapse given I haven't eaten for 26 hours...!

Note to self: Eat something!

Done!

Well, everything outside the M25 is now done - but it hasn't gone too well in the Staines/Chertsey area. The M25 is so clogged with junctions in that area that it was very difficult to build, and a couple of towns are probably slightly out. But, it's done now, and all that's left is to do the mass inside the M25...

See the attachment for an idea of what I mean. The nameless mass at the bottom is Woking.

Attachment removed - no longer necessary

 

[Ivo]

That... was... hard...!

But, the task is done - and that means the South-East simulation is finally ready. Once again, there are versionjs both with and without industries, and the industries have again been semi-realistically located. And speaking of industries, there are a few "Easter Eggs" to find; for instance, look for lighthouses, Power Stations, parks, airports - and New Towns. Lastly, note that where last time everything was built realistically, this time some priority has been given to potential real-life operations (e.g. copying the GEML) and also to areas that may be of interest to those whom I know will play it. Thus, the Southend area is a bit bigger than it should be, given that I am likely to stage many multiplayers with my brother...

Please note that in the London area many settlements are not placed in the precise location they should be, but all are close. This was done to maximise use of the available land space; for instance, Hounslow is a bit too far east.

Some statistics then:

• 512x512 grid size
• Extends to Walton-on-the Naze in the North-East, Arundel in the South-West and Dunstable in the North-West
• Largest settlements are London (c. 12K, i.e. more than in the real City of London!), Brighton (c. 11K) and Croydon (c. 10½K)
• Smallest settlements are Leaden Roding, Coryton (both < 130) and Paglesham (< 70); a further six settlements have ~140
• All real-life cities are present and five other areas (Croydon, Luton, Southend and Stratford, plus the former city of Rochester) are also designated as cities
• Total population ~ 525K
• Number of towns = 297
• All industries (apart from Oil Wells) are included and semi-realistically located
• Industry-free version also available for passenger intensive operations
• Most motorway junctions (and all outside of densely-populated areas) are included, including all on the M25 (but not 1B or 31 on the A282)

For maximum enjoyment, I recommend obtaining the following GRFs:

• New Tram Tracks
• Longer Girder, Steel Bridge COMPULSORY REQUIREMENT
• Generic Tram Set
• UK Renewal Train Set
• UK Renewal Train Set with Add-Ons (not sure if both are necessary but I use both anyway)
• eGRVTS
• Aviators Aircraft
• FISH

Please remember that I did not create the original Heightmap. I have however altered it to meet certain needs (such as rivers) and to match the grid size more easily. Also, if you find any mistakes with the map or have any suggestions, don't hesitate to tell me. And if you find that the .zip upload has not worked preperly, again be sure to tell me.

Enjoy! And if anyone does ever feel like a Multiplayer (if we can get it to work online; I've only ever tried LAN), let me know...

And yes, I have basically copied the post I made for the South-West one.

---------------

Aw, nuts. I forgot something.

to prevent the problems I had with the South-West map, in that trees appeared everywhere (the deletion of which is why a few roads were missing), I turned off In Game Placement of Trees after completing Kent and a few other areas. I then made two Signs, roughly where Lewisham is, reminding me to turn the setting on again. I did - but forgot to remove the Signs. D'oh! :roll:

Attachment reloaded with the Signs removed, and several small (and not so small) errors have been corrected. Sorry for any inconvenience.

 

[SWT158]

i have downloaded the south west zip and saved it in the game scenerio folder
also extracted the zip but when i go to load the sceneiro it says files missing
and wont load
do i extract or not and where do i save the files fpr the game to open and operate them
i,m new to this game and its brill would like more passenger trains though i started with HSTs sets but they vansihed as you get going so back to DMU units zzzz
very good game

 

[Ivo]

No-one else has said this, so something must be wrong. You download the folder and place it anywhere you please, and then extract it. If you then go on Play Scenario, locate the saved game and it should load without any trouble.

UNLESS, of course, this is GRF related. Note the recommendations above; you MUST have downloaded the GRF named Longer Girder, Steel Bridge to play this Scenario, as such bridges are used within the Scenario.

 

[MCR247]

Both have worked for me, and I they are both great Ivo! Well done

 

[Ivo]

Both have worked for me, and I they are both great Ivo! Well done

Thank you

I'm wondering what to do next. I might have to return to my Liverpool map.

EDIT: Actually, in all honesty, I don't think said map is all that impressive. Instead, I may have to try something, but what?

I can however offer you all another map I have made, which covers Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. It is again based on a Heightmap, but I ahve played it countless times. I made it about this time last year I think.

Perhaps you all could give me some suggestions? Bear in mind that anything larger than 512x512 (or equivalent) is likely to take a prohibitively long time.

 

[SWT158]

hi i have downloaded the South East zip saved it to a folder
extracted it
went to the game opened play scenerio
got both the South East SCN &
South East with Industry SCn in the directory i click on one
is saying New Grf-Missing file in red
i did also download the GRF Longer Girder
nothing hapens i,m afarid
i must be doing something wrong

 

[Tomnick]

Excellent work!

As a suggestion for a future effort, how about an 'enlarged' map of London that'd the complexities of the rail network (NR and LUL!) to be represented in more detail?