Railworks America

I've had this idea floating around in my mind for some time now. A lot of users complain about not having a version of a Locomotive or a locomotive in general. Now I know child objects can be added to models but what about making the entire thing out of child objects so it has infinitesimal customization? It would be pretty intriguing to see what the community would come up with.


Now there lays the absolute in ultimate...

ErikGorbiHamilton wrote:I've had this idea floating around in my mind for some time now. A lot of users complain about not having a version of a Locomotive or a locomotive in general. Now I know child objects can be added to models but what about making the entire thing out of child objects so it has infinitesimal customization? It would be pretty intriguing to see what the community would come up with.


Now there lays the absolute in ultimate...

I've been thinking of an idea similar to yours. Except the concept of having the horn as a child that can easily be swapped out for another one depending on the repaint.

ZekTheKid wrote:

ErikGorbiHamilton wrote:I've had this idea floating around in my mind for some time now. A lot of users complain about not having a version of a Locomotive or a locomotive in general. Now I know child objects can be added to models but what about making the entire thing out of child objects so it has infinitesimal customization? It would be pretty intriguing to see what the community would come up with.


Now there lays the absolute in ultimate...

I've been thinking of an idea similar to yours. Except the concept of having the horn as a child that can easily be swapped out for another one depending on the repaint.

Now that sounds like a capital idea.

buzz456 wrote:

ZekTheKid wrote:

ErikGorbiHamilton wrote:I've had this idea floating around in my mind for some time now. A lot of users complain about not having a version of a Locomotive or a locomotive in general. Now I know child objects can be added to models but what about making the entire thing out of child objects so it has infinitesimal customization? It would be pretty intriguing to see what the community would come up with.


Now there lays the absolute in ultimate...

I've been thinking of an idea similar to yours. Except the concept of having the horn as a child that can easily be swapped out for another one depending on the repaint.

Now that sounds like a capital idea.

Is that supposed to be good or bad?

I think in normal discourse "A capital idea" would be good.

The cab controls, wipers, doors, anything animated with the intent to control it cannot be a child. We (VRC) tried this when we did the GP40. You can use scripting to make nodes/components make it seem like they are animated, like digital displays. I created a set of exhaust fans for GreatNorthern years ago for his freeware GP7. They spun, but they could not rev up or down. You could trick them to have them on or off by having two sets of nodes, one animated and the other not and make them visible or not.

Anyway. Just to say that there is more to it than Lego building

PapaXpress wrote:The cab controls, wipers, doors, anything animated with the intent to control it cannot be a child. We (VRC) tried this when we did the GP40. You can use scripting to make nodes/components make it seem like they are animated, like digital displays. I created a set of exhaust fans for GreatNorthern years ago for his freeware GP7. They spun, but they could not rev up or down. You could trick them to have them on or off by having two sets of nodes, one animated and the other not and make them visible or not.

Anyway. Just to say that there is more to it than Lego building

What if the cab was made and then the body around the cab and then nodes for everything animated?

You can basically build up the entire locomotive out of childs. As PapaXpress already mentioned though, certain cab controls have to be part of the cab mesh ( with the exception of doors or windows ) but you can even entirely create the trucks and axles as childs provided you know how to animate them properly and have enough knowledge to write up the required script to make them work in-game.

Childs can be set to be visible internally, externally or the both. So one could essentially model the entire cab in pieces for instance and later put it back together. No need for the entire cab to be one mesh.

I've often wondered about "assembling" a locomotive out of components. Given what's already been stated about scripting and animations, maybe provide a basic cab and the wheels, along with a whole host of child objects, and let the user kitbash their locomotive together. Using the GP38-2 as an example, you would need 6 basic cores:

Low nose with and without dynamic brakes
High nose with and without dynamic brakes
High nose with and without dynamic brakes setup for long hood forward

Cabs are different on the above, as are the control stands (extra lever for the dynamic brake). As for child objects:

81" / 88" noses with ratchet or wheel handbrake
Blomberg B sideframes (2 brake cylinders) or M sideframs (1 brake cylinder and shock absorber)
Standard ends with drop steps or anti-climber ends
Standard grills or the later corrugated grills
Standard fans or "Q" quiet fans
Various fuel tank lengths
Long hood ends with and without numberboards
Ditch lights
Various plows and footboards
Horns in various locations with and without stands
Yellow warning beacons for cab mount and on brackets (for ATSF fans)
Nose mount bells
Various headlight options (gyralights, red warning light for us Espee fans)
Various ground planes for antennas, EOT's
Steam generator for high hood versions

Anyways, you could really go nuts with this. And the same concept could be applied to GP40-2's, SD40-2's, GP7/9/18, F2/3/7/9, GE 4 axle and 6 axle U series, and so on. BTW... a simplified version of this concept has already been done by Dick Cowen at Britkits. His paid diesel kits come with various configurations along with some child objects that can be added.

The RS11 is constructed along those lines.