Impossible Physics

[NightHawk]

Look at this design. It starts out at +45m, yet it has no issue cresting a hill at +54m later without any boosters what so ever. That doesn't make any sense:

[X7123M3-256]

This is a known bug (and I believe it is present in vanilla). The culprit is those downward corkscrew pieces which cause the train to gain more speed than they should. The only way around it is to avoid using too many of those elements.

[NightHawk]

Well, it should be fixed then. 🤷‍♀️

[jensj12]

The problem with that is that it would break many existing coasters and parks, and there are problems with physics than just that.

[Gymnasiast]

We could have a plug-in or built-in option for better physics later on, in the same way that OpenTTD has (though RCT's physics are _perfect_, compared to those of Transport Tycoon, so OpenTTD really _needed_ one). As Jens pointed out, there are too many parks and roller coaster designs out there that would break if we meddled with the physics.

[TheNoseKnows]

Speaking of impossible physics, I found out that under certain conditions, coaster trains on tracks with different elevations can still collide when crossing over/under each other. This bug, like the downwards corkscrew, is also found in the original RCT. I hope that it can be fixed because there are presumably no coaster designs that require such a collision in order to not break.

I've attached the track design for the coaster in question. To reproduce the bug, put the coaster in test mode, and follow train 3. Around the half-way point, it will run into train 2, which is on an entirely different track section. The resulting speed loss prevents both coasters from completing the track, eventually leading to a crash between coasters 3 and 4. The bug will only occur for two of the four possible orientations; when the camera is oriented to the north, use either the first or third orientations.

Impossible Collision.td6

[jensj12]

Here are the related GitHub issues for both problems:

https://github.com/OpenRCT2/OpenRCT2/issues/9642

https://github.com/OpenRCT2/OpenRCT2/issues/3830

[RollerBoaster]

Part of the fun of rct is impossible coasters Even top 3d titles still struggle with some aspects of accurate physics- it's not easy and this game was made a few decades ago.

 

RCT has some fun quirks (just check out Marcel Vos's youtube)

 

Even with a new build it would be tricky to iron out all the problems but I guess the devs can rewrite the rules.

 

One way to not break existing rides with changes to the current build might be to make any improved physics versions their own ride type so that any existing rides aren't changed.

 

The Nose Knows- RCT doesn't always like things at different heights- I managed to make a ride in one park with some very weird quirks with the station load/unload- I confused it too much with the paths underneath, amusingly in a Halloween themed park- that really was one spooky ride I'd avoid, was so weird I never sussed out exactly what was happening- it was a mismatch of ride data, where peeps were and the load/unload process- ride that and you could end up lost in the ether somewhere where reality doesn't quite know where you are or you're in some weird time loop.

 

Luckily the ride and park still functioned although I eventually hit the sign limit further down the line after adding stuff to the park.

[X7123M3-256]

7 hours ago, RollerBoaster said:

One way to not break existing rides with changes to the current build might be to make any improved physics versions their own ride type so that any existing rides aren't changed.

I think a better option is to make improved physics a setting that players can select in the options window - otherwise there would be two versions of every ride, which would clutter the ride selection menu.

[Ruedii]

Also, as a note, the stations themselves contain an 18MPH booster for starting the train off.

[RollerBoaster]

On 25/11/2019 at 13:38, X7123M3-256 said:

I think a better option is to make improved physics a setting that players can select in the options window - otherwise there would be two versions of every ride, which would clutter the ride selection menu.

Maybe as something that's tagged with the ride like the operating modes etc so the game follows the old or new rules as applicable and still doesn't break existing stuff or disallow it.