Re: [Rails-devel] Train management

[John D. G. <jd...@di...>]

On 2011-06-09 07:10, Erik Vos wrote:
> As announced before, I have been thinking about how to upgrade train
> management to enable some new features that currently can't be implemented
> (notably items 2 and 5 of the below list).
> 
> I'm aware of the following cases to  be taken into account:
> 1. Normal trains.
> 2. Dual trains, as in 18VA, 18Scan and 1846 (these are the three games I'm
> aware of having such flip-side trains, and which have considered so far).
> 3. Initial trains (as in 18EU).
> 4. Fixed trains (at a cost, as some 1825 minors have).
> 5. Extra trains from a private special property (as in 18GA).
> Any others?
> 
> The basic idea is to separate train certificates from actual trains.  

I don't see any reason to want to do this.  I would handle all these cases
as follows.

Case 1: The train is an object as now.

Case 2: There can be more than one type of new train available at a time.
Create XML attributes for each type of train that allow that type to become
available for purchase as a result of an event, and that allow the total
number of available trains of two types to be limited to a constant.
   In addition to the cases you've listed, one or both of these would apply
to: diesels in 1830 and 1856 (available after first 6 train); 'G' trains in
1837; meter gauge trains in 1853 (especially the 2/1G trains in the Stuart
Dagger variant, though I'm not sure if those made it into 1853v2); and the
two versions of types I-V in 2038.
   But there is no reason ever to create a "train certificate" object,
because the type of a train becomes fixed in stone as soon as it is first
acquired by a company.  I don't know of an exception to this in any game.

Cases 3, 4, 5: Simply allow a company to be hard-coded as having specified
train(s) before the game starts.  This includes privates (for case 5).  By
default a private company which owns a train can't do anything with it, not
even sell it, so no new code should be needed; but of course 2038's probe
would be an exception.