While most of you are still sleeping, I'm showing you my project for openBVE.
I want to build the Vienna Subway (or at least one line) for openBVE, because I always wanted a good subway simulation. The Budapest metro for openBVE inspired me to do this. My problem will be, that my models are FPS killer, the first train has ca. 13900 polys! I know, thats TOO much, but I have an idea. I will first complete the "high-poly" version, and then make a "low-poly" version whit the textures from the high-poly model, you won't notice the difference. OK, you will see it, but just if you look closely. Before I present you the model, I want to tell you a little bit of the history of Vienna's Subway.
After WW2, everyone got a car, and that was a problem. Everywhere traffic jams and the public transport was thereby also slowed. So Vienna's government decided in the early 60s to build some "U-STRAB"'s. That means Untergrund-Straßenbahn on German, which is "Underground Tramway" on English. But these tunnels didn't solved the problem. 1969 the government decided to build a subwaynetwork. This isn't bad, but the subway was used as tramway replacement! What I mean is, when a Subway was built, the parallel driving tramwaylines where ceased. This was bad, because you can't use a subway as a replacement, because tramways have much shorter distances between their stations. The Stadtbahn (= Light Rail) was converted to subway first. 1972 were the first prototypes of the subwaycars delivered and tested on a track beside the light rail between two stations. 1978 was the official start of operation. A peculiarity is the line U6, which is in fact still a light rail, because the route has a station which is too curved for the "big" trains. By the way, Vienna has five Subwaylines, but the is U5 missing, because there were so many plans for it, but never realised. Unfortunately the construction of the U5 was decided in the last months and so Vienna gets more owes ... thanks dear politicans for waste 900 million € which will in fact over one billion at the end!
But now, heres the actual model I'm working on. It's the "Type U" (U-Stock) which nickname is Silberpfeil (which would mean "Silverarrow" on English). This stock was built from 1972 to 1982. A unit consists of two motorcars, which have to be coupled, otherwise the unit won't drive. Today they are always used in consist of 3 units/6 cars (A-B-A-B-A-B). The numbers of the U-stock are 2001/3001 - 2136/3136. From 2000 to 2009 all units whit numbers above 2063/3063 where rebuilt to U2-stock. They got new motors and LCD displays - now they can operate much longer than the U-stock. Today, there are only 15 units in use, 10 other are off. They also have a driving ban in summer, because it's getting very hot in it.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/U1_Donaucity_U-Wagen.jpgThe first line I want to built is the
U1 - my home line.
The model is still work in progress, the inner roof and floor aren't orange, they actually don't have a texture. Also the front lights are still missing, because they don't have a texture too yet.
Regards,
Silberpfeil/Patrick