Units that only can move on railroad??

[kent-jo]

Is it possible to make Units that only can move on railroads?
An if it's possible, how??

[Prometeus]

Sorry, viking, it's not possible. I tried it once and failed.Maybe...
I suggest you to look on HS Sleague topic forum, there you wiil find a lot useful "hexediting" thread .

[kent-jo]

Okay!
Thanks

I like Armored trains..............

[Shadowstrike]

It should be possible if you have "impassable" units on either side of the railroads blocking it off to anything else and keeping the trains in...

[Prometeus]

Una massicciata ?
Cool, i never thinked about that...

[Roman]

Here is a simple idea, though I haven't tested it:

Try editing the movement rate of the units you want to be able to move only on railroads to a fractional or decimal value in the rules.txt. Make this value very small indeed, so that it would be meaningless to try to move these units across any terrain other than railroads, since only these have infinite movement.
I hope it works.

Problem:

I am not sure whether fractional or decimal values for movement are possible in the rules.txt.

[kent-jo]

aahh Thanks. But is it possible to get the other units to treat railroad as road at the same time??

[Captain Nemo]

No, making fractional movement units doesn't work. There is one way but it sacrifices many other features of the game and can't be built. You make railroad out of ocean squares and "cover" them with the railroad Graphic. The trains are now boats and travel on the rivers. They can carry troops and "missiles" (Artillery trains) but if there are also oceans in your scenario you are out of luck.

[kent-jo]

quote: Originally posted by Shadowstrike on 09-19-2000 05:48 PM It should be possible if you have "impassable" units on either side of the railroads blocking it off to anything else and keeping the trains in...

And what happens when you build some more railroad
when playing the scenario??

[Miner]

Fractional move is not a bad idea, one which dawned on me after a recent post on SL which showed you can actually make units with fractional moves. Unfortunately, they can still move a minimum of 1 hex per turn, so they could still travel on regular terrain...

As Captain Nemo points out, the ocean as railroad would only work if you had no oceans. It gets a little easier if you use ToT as one of the maps can have 3 ocean terrains, but even with use of the impassable terrain switch, you either get battleships wandering up railroad ( thats a helluva flat car! ) or rail wagons at sea (I'm not sure which is worse!).

There is one possible way of doing this and it still requires ToT. Use one of the multichain terrains instead of ocean (as there are 3 this is less of a loss) and replace with railroad graphic. Edit move cost of terrain down to 0 and make sure this terrain is set to 'normal' not impassable. Then set all other terrain to impassable. All units have cross impassable flag on except your train units.
This means that all units can travel on rail, but the trains cannot move off rail because the terrrain is impassable. The trains cannot carry anything (as in the ocean as rail) but would make for a slightly more accurate portayal. Railroad can be made by then transforming/mining/irrigating other terrain to it.

Edited for typos
[This message has been edited by Miner (edited September 21, 2000).]

[Michael Daumen]

I was wondering if someone saw the ToT hook. Techumseh proposed it to me about a half-year ago and I have incorporated it into my Russian Civil War Scenario. The only problems are that the trains can only attack units on the railroad squares (I am wary of making them "carrier" type units since the computer won't use them right). And the terrain squares haven't meshed perfectly; I had to choose which way the tracks would look correct - running across the screen as opposed to up and down the screen. Check the Cradle for screen shots, I will make them today.

[Miner]

Great minds think alike I thought I was the only one to think of this as noone else had mentioned it.

quote: Originally posted by Michael Daumen on 09-21-2000 07:46 AM ...The only problems are that the trains can only attack units on the railroad squares...

Didn't realise that they wouldn't be able to attack off the railroad though, that's a bummer

[Kull]

Nemo's "Ocean Railroad" idea is pretty neat, and I can think of one scenario which might be perfect for it:

"Lawrence of Arabia"

1) The map would basically consist of the Arabian desert between Damascus and Mecca/Medina.
2) You could simulate ocean on the edges of the map by using blue tundra or something and covering it with invisible "impassable terrain units. Even that's not necessary since you could dispense with water altogether (although it would be nicer if you simulated portions of the Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba, and the Dead Sea)
3) Since blowing up (and repairing) the railroad has to be possible, simulate it through events as follows: Place 0-move Turkish dynamite units at certain locations along the canal/railroad. Killing them launches an event which transforms one hex of railroad terrain to land and creates a 0-move Arabian unit next to the destroyed segment. When the Turks kill that, an event "rebuilds" the railroad and creates a new Turkish dynamite unit. Perpetual Loop.
4) Each destruction of the railroad also creates an Arabian Cavalry unit (not buildable) back in Mecca. In order to defeat the Turks, the railroads must be destroyed often enough to generate a large Arabian army which is required for the final assault on Damascus. This simulates the recruitment-enhancing benefits which accrue from waging a successful guerilla campaign.
5) You could use several different types of trains including troop carriers, armored, artillery-carrying, etc. The Arabs should also be able to attack them and gain $$ and munition bonuses for destroying them.
6) Probably lots of other neat features that could be added based on a detailed study of this interesting "sideshow".