Armoured trains

[PatG]

I was going to look into replacing the river shp file with the rail shp file and mess about with boats as trains to see what would happen. Thinking some more, I realized that if I posted anything like that here, I would be risking Don showing up at my door with a big stick and a nasty temper.

While picking blackberries (a task only marginally less painful than crossing barbed wire), I thought of another possibility:

If supported by the code, take the existing tramway and rail terrains and make them passable to units of class 197 river craft or similar while keeping their existing characteristics. Trains would then be based on this unit class. Problems would arise with river based units "sailing up the tracks" and with unit placement - trains on the water etc. For player generated scenarios these problems could be overcome by avoiding rails over water - the AI would be a different matter and any terrain passibility change would affect the game as a whole.

[PatG]

I think I've got it - or 75% of it anyway.

To refine my post above:

1) If supported by the code, take the existing tramway and rail terrains and make them passable by unit class 0 - Fortifications.

2) Make all other terrain impassable by unit class 0.

3) Base all trains on class 0 base units. The user will assign a move as required.

Units can be placed on terrain they cannot move through.

Since all AI usable class 0 units have move 0, there will not be any problems with unit placement or trains sailing up the river.

remaining problems:
1) controlling heading.
2) keeping trains together as units.
3) sound is not the best but I can live with it.

Any comments?

[PatG]

Here you go. Moving into independant railcars with the German heavy scout car Infantry car with radio and Pzkw IV 75mm kurz turret artillery car from 1944.

[Pyros]

Hi PatG,

You have done quite a remarkable art work!

I just wish to inform you that I probably know a way to do your train move like a train, but I can't start testing this specific technique until I will have completed the development of the ANZAC project (and after that I will also have to assist a friend of mine doing his private project), so you will have to wait for a month or two...

cheers,
Pyros