Table of Contents

Vehicle Types

Vehicle models in Transport Fever 2 are bound to one of the means of transportation road, rail, water or air. The distinction between the types of vehicles is achieved by specialized metadata entries in the .mdl-files for each type.

In the sections below, there are some identifiers that are used frequently:

  • mesh id is a number that is equivalent to the index of the mesh in the model node tree. Use the MODEL button in the Model Editor to find out the correct number in the ID column.
  • .msh reference is a path to a mesh file relative to res/models/mesh/ including the .msh file ending. The correct reference is listed on the right side of the model node tree in the Model Editor too.

Road Vehicles

Road vehicles are bound to the street network built by the game or the player. They can drive along streets as well as on construction lanes of the right type in stations, depots and similar constructions.

They are indentified by the roadVehicle metadata block and the .mdl-files usually are located in the subfolders:

For trams, see rail vehicles below.

Metadata

The roadVehicle metadata block consists of several block children as well as the properties for speed and weight: 

roadVehicle = {
  configs = {
    -- light configuration
    -- axles configuration
    -- fakeBogies configuration
    -- wheels configuration
  },
  engine = {
    -- engine configuration
  },
  soundSet = {
    -- soundSet configuration
  },
  topSpeed = 13.8,      -- [m/s] maximum speed the vehicle can reach
  weight = 1.6,         -- [t (metric)] empty weight of the vehicle
  blinkInterval = 500,  -- [ms] interval for blinker lights, optional
},


headlight, blinker and turning wheel of a bus

The configs block covers several properties regarding the 3D model. For each level of detail, there is one block with several properties. Some properties are used to define the lights of road vehicles:

Be aware that a mesh can't be used for multiple lighting purposes. Each mesh id may at most appear in one of the config lists.


steering part of L'Obéissante

Beside the lights, there are further config properties that are used for steering and wheels:

Keep in mind to set the correct mesh origins for the vehicle parts to ensure they rotate in the right way. For axles, the origin should be aligned in the center in terms of the x and z axis. Otherwise the axle will wobble ingame.

The engine block describes the type and power of the vehicles motorization:

The soundSet block contains the sound related properties:

The other three properties are not contained in a block:

Events


Door animation of BK 670 bus

Road vehicles support some animation events. They can be used in mesh nodes to support model aspects like opening doors:

Rail Vehicles

Rail vehicles run on the track network built by the player and can drive along built tracks as well as on track lanes in stations, depots and similar constructions.

They are indentified by the railVehicle metadata block and the .mdl-files usually are located in the subfolders:

Although trams are defined with a railVehicle metadata block, they run on streets (with tram tracks) instead of train tracks.

Metadata

The railVehicle metadata block consists of several block children as well as the properties for speed and weight: 

railVehicle= {
  configs = {
    -- axles configuration
    -- fakeBogies configuration
    -- lights configuration
  },
  engines = {
    -- engines configuration
  },
  soundSet = {
    -- soundSet configuration
  },
  topSpeed = 27.4,         -- [m/s] maximum speed the vehicle can reach
  weight = 107,            -- [t (metric)] empty weight of the vehicle
  blinkInterval = 500,     -- [ms] interval of blinking lights, optional, only for trams
},




second locomotive without headlights

The configs block covers several properties regarding the 3D model. For each level of detail, there is one block with several properties. Some properties are used to define the lights of rail vehicles:

1 frontForwardParts is a list of mesh ids that should be only visible if the vehicle is at the front of the whole train consist and driving forward
2 innerForwardParts is a list of mesh ids that should be only visible if the vehicle is not at the front or back of the whole train consist and driving forward
3 backForwardParts is a list of mesh ids that should be only visible if the vehicle is at the back of the whole train consist and driving forward
4 frontBackwardParts is a list of mesh ids that should be only visible if the vehicle is at the front of the whole train consist and driving backward (only if consist is reversible)
5 innerBackwardParts is a list of mesh ids that should be only visible if the vehicle is not at the front or back of the whole train consist and driving backward (only if consist is reversible)
6 backBackwardParts is a list of mesh ids that should be only visible if the vehicle is at the back of the whole train consist and driving backward (only if consist is reversible)

Be aware that a mesh can't be used for multiple lighting purposes. Each mesh id may at most appear in one of the config lists. It is possible to use these configurations for other purposes like end of train devices, switching pantographs depending on the location in train and interconnecting gangways between coaches.

For trams, there are additional metadata properties for the blinking lights.

The meshes with 0 and 1 suffix alternate when blinking. Keep in mind that a mesh can't be used for multiple lighting purposes. Each mesh id may at most appear in one of the config lists.

Beside the lights, there are further config properties that are used for axles and the correct rotation of vehicle parts:

Keep in mind to set the correct mesh origins for the vehicle parts to ensure they rotate in the right way. For axles, the origin should be aligned in the center in terms of the x and z axis. Otherwise the axle will wobble ingame.

The engine block describes the type and power of the vehicles motorization:

The soundSet block contains the sound related properties:

The other two properties are not contained in a block:

Events


wheel animation of a steam locomotive

Rail vehicles support some animation events. They can be used in mesh nodes to support model aspects like opening doors:

Multiple Units

Some rail vehicles are defined as multiple units. Then they are a fixed consist of more than one model. The configuration files for multiple units are located in the res/config/multiple_unit/ folder. 

function data()
return {
  vehicles = {
    { name = "vehicle/train/ice1.mdl", forward = true },
    { name = "vehicle/train/ice1_waggon_1.mdl", forward = true },
    ...
    { name = "vehicle/train/ice1.mdl", forward = false },
  },
  name = _("VEHICLE_MULTIPLEUNIT_ICE1_NAME"),
  desc = _("VEHICLE_MULTIPLEUNIT_ICE1_DESCRIPTION"),
  groupFileName = "",
 
}
end

The configuration has four properties:

For multiple units to be available, all of their parts have to be in their respective availability timespan.

Water Vehicles

Ships are bound to the navigatable water on the map. The routes are dynamically calculated based on the reachable water regions. In harbors, they stop at designated points.

They are indentified by the waterVehicle metadata block and the .mdl-files usually are located in the /vehicle/ship subfolder.

Metadata

The waterVehicle metadata block consists of several block children as well as the properties for speed and weight: 

waterVehicle = {
  configs = {
    -- paddles configuration
    -- rudder configuration
  },
  waterLine = {
    -- waterline configuration		
  }
  area = 5,                       -- [m^2] cross sectional area, which linearly correlates with the drag force
  availPower = 294000.0,          -- [W] maximum power the engines can produce
  weight = 135000.0,              -- [kg] empty weight of the ship
  maxRpm = 55,                    -- [rpm] used to animate movable parts of the engines
  topSpeed = 7.5,                 -- [m/s] top speed (movement speed is clamped to this value)
  type = "BIG"                    -- is used to deny access for big ships at small piers (alternative "SMALL")
},


spinning propeller and turning rudder

The configs block covers several properties regarding the 3D model. For each level of detail, there is one block with several sub blocks.

Keep in mind to set the correct mesh origins for the vehicle parts to ensure they rotate in the right way. For paddles and propellers, the origin should be aligned in the center in terms of the x and z axis. Otherwise they will wobble ingame.


spume around the water line of the ship

Other animated parts of the ship like waving flags and dangling anchors can be realized with drive and forever animations instead of the old config properties.

The waterLine block describes the form of the ship at water level that is used to generate the spume around the ships body. It is a list of two-value pairs each representing a point with x- and y-coordinate relative to the model origin.

There are several other properties:

In contrast to the road and rail vehicles, the sounds are not in the waterVehicle block but in a special soundConfig block: 

soundConfig = {
  effects = { },
  soundSet = {
    horn = "",
    name = "ship_diesel_modern",
  },
},

It contains two parts:

Events


Drive Animation of Frontenac Steam Ship

Ships support some animation events. They can be used in mesh nodes to support model aspects like opening doors:

Air Vehicles

Airplanes are not bound to any terrain or infrastructure except the airports where they land, stop and start.

They are indentified by the airVehicle metadata block and the .mdl-files usually are located in the /vehicle/plane subfolder.

Metadata

The airVehicle metadata block consists of several block children as well as the properties for speed and weight: 

airVehicle = {
    configs = {
       -- axles configuration
       -- wheels configuration
       -- elevator configuration
       -- aileronLeft configuration
       -- aileronRight configuration
       -- flaps configuration
       -- rudder configuration
    },
    maxPayload = 0,             -- [kg] (currently not in use)
    maxTakeOffWeight = 78000.0, -- [kg] (currently not in use)
    maxThrust = 236000.0,       -- [N] maximum total thrust the engines can generate
    idleThrust = 11800.0,       -- [N] thrust generated by the engines in idle state
    timeToFullThrust = 3,       -- [s] time the engines need from idle state to generate full thrust
    topSpeed = 230.0,           -- [m/s]
    weight = 44000.0,           -- [kg] empty weight of the aircraft
    wingArea = 122.6,           -- [m^2] wing area, which correlates linearly with the lift force
    type = "BIG",               -- is used to deny access for big planes at small airfields (only "SMALL")
},


plane config elements

The configs block covers several properties regarding the 3D model. For each level of detail, there is one block with several sub blocks.

1 aileronLeft is a small subblock with two properties for the left aileron used when the aircraft is rolling.

2 aileronRight is a small subblock with two properties for the right aileron used when the aircraft is rolling.

3 axles is a list of .msh references pointing to the meshes which are axles that only rotate around the y axis while the vehicle is moving. This is usually used for axles that can't turn in curves on taxiway. axleRadii is a list of half diameters of the axles in meter for every axle mesh listed above. It is used to calculate the plane tilting on ground when the axles and wheels are not at the same height level and size.

4 beaconLights is a list of mesh ids which are flashing lights.

5 elevator is a small subblock with two properties for the elevator used when the aircraft is pitching.

6 flaps is a small subblock with two properties for the flaps that are used especially during take off and landing.

7 landingLight is a list of mesh ids which are visible during landing approach and on ground.

8 props is a list of mesh ids which are rotating around the x axis depending on the thrust of the vehicle. propsB is a list of mesh ids which are used for blurred propellers at higher rotation speeds.

9 rudder is a small subblock with two properties for the rudders that are used in yaw maneuvers (turning).

10 strobeLights is a list of mesh ids which are double flashing lights.


tilted plane on ground

11 wheels is a list of .msh references pointing to the meshes which are wheels that rotate around the y axis while the vehicle is moving on ground and around z axis while the vehicle is turning around curves. wheelRadii is a list of half diameters of the wheels in meter for every wheel mesh listed above. It is used to calculate the plane tilting on ground when the axles and wheels are not at the same height level and size.

For some purposes, other properties in the config block are available:

Keep in mind to set the correct mesh origins and rotations for the vehicle parts to ensure they rotate in the right way. There are different axis relevant for different purposes!

Beside the config block, there are several other properties:

In contrast to the road and rail vehicles, the sounds are not in the airVehicle block but in a special soundConfig block: 

soundConfig = {
  effects = { },
  soundSet = {
    land = "",
    name = "aircraft_prop_modern",
  },
},

It contains two parts:

Events


Extension and retraction of the landing gear

Planes support some animation events. They can be used in mesh nodes to support model aspects like opening doors:


Vehicle Basics

Vehicle Advanced Topics