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[Footkerchief]

Question:

Are there any plans to implement some kind of camera/view lock system, whereby it's possible to have the game automatically follow a moving object/creature, such as a rolling/flying minecart, up and down Z levels?

 This would make the parabolic feature a lot more fun imo, if you could actually see the path things took through the air.  And I'm sure anyone that has embarked on a hilly area knows how frustrating it can be trying to follow a moving creature yourself.

Related: Depth by darkening and associated ESV entry.

[Arkenstone]

Okay, so there was another question like this but not quite the same (although the same answer may or may not cover both)...


How are junctions going to work, if at all?

Will it be abstracted, allowing carts to switch direction freely at any point where more than one rail intersect? Or only at 'stop' tiles? In either case, how will runaway carts coming up to the head of a 'T-junction' from the tail be handled? Will they just derail at that point, or will they be diverted?  In the case of the latter, will the direction be random or constant?

Or will there be splits like on IRL rail lines, where carts coming from one direction are sent in only one of two (or three!) possible directions?  If so, what would happen to carts coming up a secondary rail when its not the one presently being diverted to?

Concerning stops, would they work more like turntables, railheads, or just ordinary stretches of track?  Would it be possible to link a lever/pressure plate to them and disable them, or to power them and launch carts into the system?  Or do the dwarves have to manually send carts off again, unless one designed a system where an empty cart bumps the full one out of the stop?

Lastly: as for the carts themselves, would it be possible to use them as mobile stockpiles?  By that I mean if I filled up some carts with stone and sent them down a dead-end rail to my masons' shops, would they take their stone directly from the carts or must I get some haulers to unload them first?

[MrWiggles]

Okay, so there was another question like this but not quite the same (although the same answer may or may not cover both)...


Concerning stops, would they work more like turntables, railheads, or just ordinary stretches of track?  Would it be possible to link a lever/pressure plate to them and disable them, or to power them and launch carts into the system?  Or do the dwarves have to manually send carts off again, unless one designed a system where an empty cart bumps the full one out of the stop?

The Stops from the dev post seem to be for now, just stops. If they were turntables or switch tracks, Toady probably would have mention. So maybe they'll be in in a future dev post.

It seems like Rail and Pressure Plates are going to be stackable, but he's saying Stops & Rollers are constructions. So it's probably unlikely that Stops and Roller can be stacked on top of each other. And it seems pretty reasonable that they'll be have an On and Off position for Stops and Rollers.

I think it's pretty reasonable to assume that dorfs are going to have to manage the cart in some fashion, hopefully it wont be the same as for levers. If it's going to be done like levers, that just might kill the rail system, from  micro mgm difficulty.

Lastly: as for the carts themselves, would it be possible to use them as mobile stockpiles?  By that I mean if I filled up some carts with stone and sent them down a dead-end rail to my masons' shops, would they take their stone directly from the carts or must I get some haulers to unload them first?

Yea, this sounds totally doable. Especially if you combine it with Burrows to lock out any Rock Hauling dorfs from it.

[Kogut]

Question:

Are there any plans to implement some kind of camera/view lock system, whereby it's possible to have the game automatically follow a moving object/creature, such as a rolling/flying minecart, up and down Z levels?

 This would make the parabolic feature a lot more fun imo, if you could actually see the path things took through the air.  And I'm sure anyone that has embarked on a hilly area knows how frustrating it can be trying to follow a moving creature yourself.

Provided by DFhack (creatures in the current version, probably also for minecarts in the next one).

[Silophant]

It's in, as of the last dev log. Also, these hauling routes are shaping up to be awesome.  This update is going to impact Fortress Mode Gameplay waaay more than 34.01 did. I'm excited!

[Dwarfu]

So you could get a dwarf to send the minecart along when it becomes full or when it is at least halfway full after two weeks.

Does being in a cart count the same as being in a stockpile, or will rotting occur while perishable items are in the cart waiting to be sent down the line?

[EmeraldWind]

  New dev log... is wow. How is he completing this stuff so quick? I mean, conditions with which to deal with carts being held or moved. That was unexpected.

[SirPenguin]

In terms of automated zones, is "Empty" an option? In other words, can I set up an industry where ore is shipped to the forges, then the empty cart is sent automatically back to the mines?

[BradUffner]

I just read today's dev log...  I actually giggled with excitement while reading it.

I don't know what you all are slipping in to Toady's drinks, but keep it up.

[Untelligent]

New dev log... is wow. How is he completing this stuff so quick? I mean, conditions with which to deal with carts being held or moved. That was unexpected.

Some things are easier to code than others. The cart condition/action thing might look complicated, but it seems to me 90% of it consists of systems that already exist in DF (moving carts, inventory, sending jobs to the job list) that just need to be tied together in new ways. The only complicated part would be getting a dwarf to move along with a cart, if even that.

[Askot Bokbondeler]

You can have the camera follow a unit or item, either as a one time thing or as one of the function hotkeys you set up for it. It'll keep following it until you enter another mode, recenter to an announcement, manually scroll, etc. If the followed item is held by a container or by a unit, the camera will center on that.

Question:

Are there any plans to implement some kind of camera/view lock system, whereby it's possible to have the game automatically follow a moving object/creature, such as a rolling/flying minecart, up and down Z levels?

 This would make the parabolic feature a lot more fun imo, if you could actually see the path things took through the air.  And I'm sure anyone that has embarked on a hilly area knows how frustrating it can be trying to follow a moving creature yourself.

interesting...

so, you kidnapped scamps or something, nukularpower?

[MrWiggles]

Toady, will the physics for the minecarts be detailed/advance enough to maybe construct  minecart version of Newton Balls?"

[DS]

You can have the camera follow a unit or item, either as a one time thing or as one of the function hotkeys you set up for it. It'll keep following it until you enter another mode, recenter to an announcement, manually scroll, etc. If the followed item is held by a container or by a unit, the camera will center on that.

Question:

Are there any plans to implement some kind of camera/view lock system, whereby it's possible to have the game automatically follow a moving object/creature, such as a rolling/flying minecart, up and down Z levels?

 This would make the parabolic feature a lot more fun imo, if you could actually see the path things took through the air.  And I'm sure anyone that has embarked on a hilly area knows how frustrating it can be trying to follow a moving creature yourself.

interesting...

so, you kidnapped scamps or something, nukularpower?

I thought of this, too. This happened before, a few days ago, with minecart physics, which was speculated in this thread. It makes one wonder: is Toady keeping tabs on this thread and implementing "suggestions" he finds interesting, or is the community becoming exceptionally good at predicting the Toad's next move?

[MrWiggles]

The camera tracking is very interesting. It sorta seem like a weird ToadyOne addition, but at the same time, it's gotta be fun to just watch minecarts go about their business though.

[Askot Bokbondeler]

i imagine he implemented it as a debug feature to test minecarts