Creative Transit Authority (CTA)

[Magnyus]

Let's talk CTA.

 

That's it.

[EeHee2000]

;_;

Fuck.

[ROCKONN]

No more of this above-ground, 5-wide/1-high crap. We go subway system, keep the whole thing at the same relative level. We go detailed. We go fancy. We do it right this time.

[GMMan]

Duly noted (I am guilty). Here's a copy and paste of what I said on my build planning thread, to keep everything in one place.
 

There wasn't much planning for CTA this rev, so the resulting rails weren't that good. I heard the plan for next rev was to keep it mostly underground, with a few sky rails. I personally think there should be a good mix of underground and above ground rails. I thought the pure underground rails of last rev were bland. Some say above ground rails cut through builds and make the map look ugly. I don't really agree. I think it's important to make the rails and supports look visually attractive and build them early. That way people can incorporate rails into their builds and it would look more natural. For an example of a visually attractive rail line, see CTA Blue that runs from spawn to Spleef to Cornerstone.

[Guest Former Staff]

I really enjoyed building subways in the past. Unfortunately I do not recall which revision it was (within the last 5) I built a very wide 1000-2000 block long subway system. The biggest complaint about such a system is that you simply don't see anything. I take cross country train rides throughout the year (in the UK) and if the majority of my journey was spent looking into the darkness of tunnels then this would be incredibly boring.

 

I think it would be interesting to see a variation in how the rails are presented. For example when connecting to and within a city, having an underground metro would work well and allow a city to expand without being restricted.

[ROCKONN]

That sounds reasonable. If we were to have the trains run just underneath the surface of the land, in many areas it'd be exposed to the air. we could also do some minor terraforming on the sides of the exposed tunnels to make them seem less pit shaped. The only real issue i'm concerned with is whether they're just lines of wool in the ground. If we DO go above-ground for a lot of them, the tracks should be detailed appropriately. Gravel/wood railbeds & ties. Telephone lines. Power lines. etc etc. Make it REAL.

[Guest Former Staff]

If we DO go above-ground for a lot of them, the tracks should be detailed appropriately. Gravel/wood railbeds & ties. Telephone lines. Power lines. etc etc. Make it REAL.

 

I support this suggestion entirely, it would be great to establish a rail system which can be easily identified as something more than just a line of wool with rails on top.

[ROCKONN]

Why dont we start on some basic rail designs? There's a lot of free room past my cathedral/digivice area

[GMMan]

Why dont we start on some basic rail designs? There's a lot of free room past my cathedral/digivice area

Someone made a nice Blue line from spawn to Spleef. I enjoyed the way the outdoor portions were built.

BTW, can the remnants of the old Blue line on this rev be gotten rid of? It's ugly and doesn't go anywhere in particular.

[Segadude20000]

How about doing the rail system like PvEs? the way that its like right now is hard to get to some towns without warps. I found that to be a bit annoying

[ROCKONN]

I've got an area set up for all our rail designs, hoping to get a warp for it. It's currently labeled as "CTA25" under my homes

[ROCKONN]

We should seriously try for a realistic railroad this time, suited for real engines & stuff. Think how boss it'd look. If you're wondering about the effort it'd take, it'd only be double whatever we're planning now. nbd.

[zifnab06]

Skyrails possibly? Go to Y120 or something like that, it'd give you a great view. 

[Guest Former Staff]

Skyrails possibly? Go to Y120 or something like that, it'd give you a great view. 

 

This may not always be possible, I think it will be important to work with the terrain that you encounter.

[ZhenWan]

Beautiful stations. That's all. ^_^

[MasterCommaThe]

I humbly (an officially) submit the Undertown WarpTrain system, including the associated station in the snow biome (get to it through the warp sign in the station).

[Jauris]

Beautiful stations. That's all. ^_^

 

Oh man, tell me about it. The old stations were god damn FANTASTIC.

[ROCKONN]

Need to make a decision on this: Are we making the tracks suited for realistic trains (meaning two lines of track for each direction), or just singular tracks for minecarts?

[GMMan]

Need to make a decision on this: Are we making the tracks suited for realistic trains (meaning two lines of track for each direction), or just singular tracks for minecarts?

Well, do we want realistic trains on the track?

[WayneByNumbers]

I think that we need to centralize the whole thing a little bit, plans for the upcoming CTA system have been, as far as I've seen, rather scattered.  I think we need to make some decisions here concerning both design details and the overall purpose and execution of building and maintenance.  For instance, do we or don't we want a PVE-style data system that allows you to choose your destination, but requires rather complex stations and junctions?  Do we want this to be more of a transit system, or more of a touring system?  Do we want multiple lines accomplishing more than one of these ideas, i.e. a scenic line and an express line?  Do we want subterranean, ground-level, or elevated tracks, or some combination of these?  And worst of all, who has final say on these questions?

 

It kind of throws a horrid wrench in the works that, due to minecarts being so illogically slow, there's pretty much nothing the CTA can accomplish that flying can't do.  Maybe what we should really do is get together a petition for mojang to make carts faster.

[Magnyus]

_{*sighs, stretches fingers*}

 

Prepare yourselves for a massive wall of text.

 

 

It is no secret that the Creative Transit Authority has been in a funk for quite some time now, and despite things like the Contest on C and this forum topic, absolutely everything in regards to the CTA is an absolute mess. I feel that if things are to remain like this, the beginning of the next rev is going to be a nightmare.

 

WayneByNumbers makes some excellent points, and I have discussed my thoughts more or less with him. And I'll be using his comment as a template.

 

1. Do we or don't we want a PvE-style data system that allows you to choose your destination, but requires rather complex stations and junctions?

 

I think that PvE's Carbon system would not work very well on C, it requires taking up A LOT of underground space and an excessive use of rails that can easily be griefed if not protected properly, and protections can become rather complicated and cumbersome because of the erratic nature of Carbon railways.

 

Wayne has designed his own system, which intrigues me but I would like to incorporate it in a different fashion.

 

2. Do we want this to be more of a transit system, or more of a touring system?

    Do we want multiple lines accomplishing more than one of these ideas, i.e. a scenic line and an express line?

    Do we want subterranean, ground-level, or elevated tracks, or some combination of these?

 

As far as I can tell, the only ones who are ever inclined to use the CTA are newer players that heve yet to figure out where everything is, the warps, major builds/cities. Anyone else tends to use the rails out of leisure.

 

I propose that we split the CTA into different "factions".

 

The main CTA railways would consist of the original formula that's always existed. Ground-Level Stations with access to subways, than connect in accordance to colour. The purpose of the stations would be to make it as easy as possible for new players to use, (place cart, push button). That way they can explore what the server has to offer, instead of flying two feet from spawn and complaining everything looks like shit.

 

The next part of the CTA is what I would like to call the CTA Express, which will use either a CARBON system or most likely Wayne's new system, unless something better shows up. I was hoping that the Express would be a system used by more experienced players because it would use more of a "choose your destination" format. Ideally it would be located at the first stop of the blue line, which by tradition is always the CTA HQ, the reason for doing so is because locating it at spawn may confuse newer players. It will presumably be the most used system therefore, should be located at ground-level and will be decorated very thoroughly.

 

The final part of the CTA is what I like to call the AFK rail. The Skyrail/Edge of the World rail, which will clearly be located at the edge of the maps, the concern with this idea is that the may be in the way once the map expands, but if the layout is done correctly, then moving and extending the rails shouldn't be much of a problem. The reason behind this is because the Skyrail is to be a straight shot from each of the corners, therefore, the protections will consist of four very long rectangular boxes. It should consist of three (maybe four) different rails, two obviously heading in both directions and the other an endless loop for anyone that would like to go afk. Stations along the Skyrail will be located at set coordinates, i.e. 1500,0 to 1500,-1500 etc. I would like to use the Skyrail as a border because it would help clean up the edge of the map where we often get builds sort of pushed up against the edge, or worse, the obnoxious massive walls certain players in the past have had a tendency of doing.

 

I had another idea in mind but it might not be used simply because it would be a bit annoying and possibly difficult to incorporate. A "detour" railway that could be used to tour around certain areas and showcase any particular builds. For example, a rail that can tour around 8-Pit/Pixel Art so players can see all the pieces without having to hunt. I think it would be a great idea but I can't think of way to connect it to the other parts of the CTA, it can be done but it would have to separate.

 

3. Who has the final say on these questions?

 

From what I have been told, the current heads of the CTA are JohnAdams1735 and buzzinbee.

 

 

Summary:

1. We are disorganised as shit.

2. I don't like CARBON, it doesn't work well on C. WayneByNumbers came up with something cool.

3. Only people who actually "use" CTA are experienced.

4. Split the CTA into "Factions"

- Classic CTA = best suited for noobs trying to explore, lots of stations, place cart, push button, rinse and repeat. Ground-level stations with subways.

- CTA Express = most used, better for experienced players, CARBON-like system, go directly to destination. Completely ground-level, very scenic.

- Skyrail = Edge of the World rail/AFK rail, good for cleaning up the area and touring, extra AFK rail which is an endless loop. All above-ground, will most likely move when map expands.

- "Detour Rail" = used for showcasing builds, may have to be completely separate.

5. I've been told John and Buzzin are the heads of the CTA.

[Magnyus]

^*phew*

 

Now that that's out of the way, time to show you guys what I've been doing!

 

Here are my designs for the subway which will be used for the Classic CTA.

 

http://imgur.com/a/51d6s#0

 

Any feedback is appreciated.

[Guest Former Staff]

For example, a rail that can tour around 8-Pit/Pixel Art so players can see all the pieces without having to hunt.

 

I just wanted to weigh in on two issues. Firstly, this suggestion of a rail around pixelart would work quite well given the terrain in this area.

 

With spawn, we're working with Buzzinbee to ensure there is sufficient space for people to be able to find and use the CTA.

[Magnyus]

With spawn, we're working with Buzzinbee to ensure there is sufficient space for people to be able to find and use the CTA.

 

As stated, I believe that the Classic CTA should be the closest (if not inside) of spawn that way, new players can immediately hop on and explore.

[ROCKONN]

I believe that a track around the 8bit area should be considered its own thing, not an official part of the CTA.

Design note: Perfect place to make suspended rails/monorails