How to lay straight track

[chaleur]

I am trying to lay some track and is doing crazy loops that I don't want. Is there any way to force it to lay straight track between two points?

[Nightangel]

When you join it to another end it straightens out.
Or you also build in small sections as this can save you money too.

[Thineboot]

Add a third in-between point and move it toward the existing track.

[Simo]

A toggle for straight tracks would have been nice.

[Hiro Protagonist]

I believe the crazy loops are because the game is laying tangential track with fairly large bend radii, and each time you click this gets magnified even though all your click points are roughly in a straight line. Much better to click a start and end point first and then deal with the middle.

[NetPCDoc]

The particular implemented 'free style' laying of track is what causes most of the large radius curves.

One almost needs a guide on how to use RE's track laying 'planning mode'. After turning loose of the current track, but before actually paying for & building the planned track, one can place intermediate 'track points' that one can drag the 'planned track' around with. Once you have a particular stretch of track placed (where you want it) - you may either pay and build that stretch - or pick up a 'loose end' to continue stretching that track out.

The above mentioned 'track points' may also be placed as one is laying out one's planned track, in planning mode; but dragging them around still requires 'turning loose' of the end of the planned track - or connecting to a switch-point / station-platform.

As one plans straight enough stretches, one should get fewer curves. Bridges and tunnels might also be used to help lay straighter stretches of track - in planning mode.

[redunzl_gw]

One way to get rid of these unwanted "wacky loops" (or, in some cases, ess-bends) is to go ahead and set the track point, even if it has a curve to the previous point that you don't want. Place another track point beyond it, in the direction you want to go. Right-click *once* to cancel the next new track point, so you are still in planning mode but with no track point selected and the "half-cone" point at the end of the line.

Now, shift+click the next-to-last track point to remove it and the track should snap to a straight line between the last two remaining points. This is the only way to create a guaranteed absolutely-straight track section.

Now, you're still in planning mode but, as above, no track point is selected. To continue your track from the end, click on the end of the line to convert it to a new track point, then either drag that point to extend the track or click again without moving the mouse to set it in place and continue creating new track points.

Key concepts:

1. While setting new track points and either moving or deleting existing ones, curves can only begin or end at a track point.

2. Removing any track point that's in between two other track points will create straight track between those two remaining track points. As mentioned above, this is the only way to create *guaranteed ruler-straight* track.

3. When dragging from the end of the line to extend to a new track point, the game always tries to create the smoothest curve possible between the last existing point and the potential new one you're dragging. It will only create a straight line if your new point is directly in line with already-planned (or existing) track.

The "wacky loops" you describe often result from trying to set the new track point too close to (in particular, either somewhere beside or behind) the last one), so the game can't create a bend tight enough in the desired direction to reach the new point. The closer you are to the last existing point, the worse it gets. Once you're far enough away from the last point, it will change from a big loop in the opposite direction to a single red curve in the desired direction. You can then refine your new position farther away until the bend turns green.

It's really difficult to explain properly in text, but you'll get the hang of it once you experiment.

[rff1]

Every track end has a direction, and track laid from an end always starts in that direction, as per concept 3 in the preceding post. But concept 2 is usually wrong. For example, if a track as first laid is half an ellipse with a track-point half-way round, removing that midway track-point makes the track a semicircle.
I have found it best to lay track by dragging from one end to the other and then adding such track-points as are needed to eliminate red lines (a building in the way, or a ridiculous gradient) and then tweaking to keep the track as flat as possible with any bridges as short as possible and definitely no tunnels unless utterly essential. There have to be compromises, of course: how much cash is worth spending to reduce a gradient from 2% to 1% or even zero ? Laying a double track is a bit different: this has to be done in sections or else the second track begins just like the first began, with all the tweaks to be done again if you can remember what they were.

[Hiro Protagonist]

Originally posted by rff1:

Laying a double track is a bit different: this has to be done in sections or else the second track begins just like the first began, with all the tweaks to be done again if you can remember what they were.

If you plan it right then laying the double-track should be nothing more than clicking start and end and it'll snap in place along the whole route - sometimes you have to tweak it a tiny bit (or go back and re-do bits of the original because the inner curve will be too tight) but for the most part it will match what was done on the first track

[Jenska]

Originally posted by Hiro Protagonist:

If you plan it right then laying the double-track should be nothing more than clicking start and end and it'll snap in place along the whole route - sometimes you have to tweak it a tiny bit (or go back and re-do bits of the original because the inner curve will be too tight) but for the most part it will match what was done on the first track

It may snap in right next to it, but you won't always get the parallel track bonus.

[Empty1958]

The parallel track bonus helps primarily with the cost of bridges and tunnels.

[Jenska]

yeah, but the same applies, just because the track/bridge/tunnel sections get laid down next to one another doesn't mean they are parallel and grant the bonus.

[chaney]

Hm? If you get the double track icon, the track segment being built will, to the extent possible, be formally "parallel" in game terms to the extent possible.

"You still pay for the track, but the added construction costs of Bridges and Tunnels are reduced (by 87.5% in my tests.) You can build as many parallel Tracks as you like, but only two on each Bridge or Tunnel" (From my guide.)

Has something changed?

[Jenska]

I can't say I've ever noticed the double track icon, I usually watch the track cost and check for the parallel bonus during layout. You can lay 4 side-by-side tracks, as in station end points, but It seems that you can't lay more than 2 parallel tracks. Four will have to be 2 pair, the 3rd will not be parallel but the 4th might be.

[Empty1958]

I don't think there has been a change. A few times in the past I have run what I thought was a parallel track only to find that it was not. It looked like a parallel track, followed the contours of the original, but could not place a crossing between them. I deleted and again ran directly between the same two stations but the double track icon was not present. Not sure what the problem was. I run double, triple, quads and more all the time. I have built a single supply tower across 8 tracks. I don't think you can do that unless they are "Parallel" tracks. At least the fix for me was simple. I put a drag point in the middle and dragged it to the original track. Don't know why it worked. Only happened to me a few times. Got me....

[Jenska]

I've got towers across 4 tracks that didn't get a parallel bonus, but couldn't on four tracks that LOOK side by side, so I don't know what the exact mechanics and rules are.