To make the world of Railroad Scheduler more visually rich, were working on an optimized system for decorative object placement.
Dingbats & Biomes
Decorative elements (dingbats) like trees, rocks, houses etc. are placed around the rail tracks to enhance the visual atmosphere. Depending on the region, the game will feature
different biomes, each with its own set of dingbats (e.g. urban vs. countryside).
Smarter Dingbat Placement
Previously, we used
rejection sampling to scatter dingbats around the rails. While this worked, it didnt scale well especially when placing lots of objects.
To solve this, were moving toward
importance sampling based on the distance to rail tracks. This means:
Dingbats spawn where they should (at the desired distance to the tracks).
We dont have to discard as many placements, making the algorithm more efficient.
The end result? A more diverse and natural-looking distribution of decoration with less computational waste.
Here you can see the outlines generated around the tracks, directly in the environment. These areas guide where dingbats can appear, helping us place decorations naturally and efficiently based on their proximity to the rails.[ 2025-04-08 19:37:05 CET ] [ Original post ]