Author's note;

This diary, "World of Innovatia - The 1st generation", has been re-built from the templates that added up in the original thread at TT-forums. As a result thereof you obviously will not find the comments posted by various visitors during the years, within the original thread - only my own template posts along with the screens. If you wish to have a closer look at the comments in the original thread, please use THIS LINK!

The screen above is the final result of the World of Innovatia - The 1st generation, and can be downloaded below in a larger size for a close-up view.

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Not to be mixed up with the INFRA Projects-thread, this is the actual diary of the region where the game-play itself take place. As I grew tired of the old region, well, tired isn't the correct label - more like confused as I had made soo many changes as far as the rail network concerned that in the end I more or less lost track of everything. So, when returning to the game I simply decided to start fresh with a new region for my own game-play as well as getting a new testbase for new graphics. That's what this diary is all about.

I will post regular updates whenever I have the time, and anyone is welcome to comment - both positive and negative - as long as it's genuine and honest. While most of you probably don't give a s***, there are others who might find a TT-diary interesting to follow!

The birth of a new region! - Oct 05, 2006

I have a rule of thumb when creating new regions; not cluttered with towns everywhere! This is because TT doesn't offer map sizes that can be compared with the ones available in OTTD, and I also like to have some distance between towns, making it possible to add a bit of landscape and plan for industrial areas - among other things. This new map isn't an exception. While I always start out by making the layout for the main city, the capitol and the "wheel" of the region, I've made it a bit different this time as I decided to place the main city in the middle of the region. There are reasons behind this. The previous region had a highway system shaped as a big circle connecting most towns. While I'm adding a similar highway system also in this new one, I have decided to shape it like an "8".

Apart from the main city, located in the "8-crossing", the other two large cities will be placed in each end of that "8". This will add some extra distance between all three cities, making up for some extra realism, I believe Minor towns won't always be located next to an highway, but will obviously have exits nearby. Another reason is that I don't want to have all four edges looking approximately the same, with an highway running basically in the same manor. By making the highway "8"-shaped it'll also be running inland, and by doing so I'm planning to reduce the number of connecting roads between larger cities and minor towns - for the benefit of an increasing number of vehicles using the highway! Still, I know me and I have yet to begin play a custom map without making 100's of changes...

Anyway, the first step towards a new region is done - more or less. Again, it's the main city, the capitol, in this case named Vasa;



Download the final outcome of Innovatia below;

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Even though I plan my regions very much using the editor before I start playing them , I'm doing it even more this time. As can tell, roads, bridges, stations, tracks - well, just about everything is layed out where I want to have them. When moving forward to the actual game-play, I will know exactly where to place certain railroads and whatever is needed to make them work as intended.

In this close-up of Wasa it's more apparent how the design is done by the "stones" placed on ground. They all represent railroads, either tracks or stations - unless "stones" are placed for the purpose of decoration only, as I tend to do with my highway system;


The big "stone plaza" is what's to become the main station, the Vasa Central, basically for passenger traffic, and if having a look to the right on the "hill" there's yet another "stone plaza" - although smaller. That's the position of the Metro-station, the local trains that will connect the larger cities with their suburbs. The town has also been prepared for a canal "walking" uphills, and there are bridges placed that not necessarily reflects a road network. For designing purposes I use road bridges to reflect also railroads, as I need to have them placed when making the town layout.

In the next picture the northern part of Vasa is shown, the place where the highway system meets, the so called "8"-crossing. I have yet to build up the meeting point as they're placed on different levels. Other problems are the main railroad running alongside the "lower" highway which decreases the amount of available tiles for a meeting point. And I don't want it to be too spread out!


As can tell from the images, this region like the previous one, is mountanious. I like it that way as it offers a great improvement as challenges regards - something which is always nice! As for the cities themselves, as can tell by the images no industries are placed until the very end - except the bank! That's because the way I build up my industrial areas requires more cities to be placed! Those who saw the images from my previous region will know why!

Next update to come! Feel free to comment!

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More city locations pre-planned - Oct 07, 2006


With the major city located and established in the center of the region, the work has continued to add the two other larger cities. The only difference is that while the first city has been established, these last two ones haven't. The reason is that every forth city in the region will grow faster then the others, and as city number one is there I need to place three towns before I can establish the second major city, (fifth), and yet another three before I can establish the third, (ninth). If I want to use the system of growth that is! And I do! I want to have full control of which cities grows, how they grow, and where they grow - hence why I've taken control of the infrastructure. 8)

As can tell from the upper image the 8-based highway is in place. That doesn't mean it's done. Only the location. Needed to be added later on are more landscaping which means valleys, hills and mountains - all of them having an impact on the infrastructure as to whether bridges and/or tunnels are needed on some tiles.

The image below shows the second large city layed out, but not established. I usually get around to make further changes while doing other stuff somewhere on the map, but it's pretty much ready to have its city be placed;


Again, no industrial areas are built up. I don't randomly place those everywhere around the map as I prefer to give each city it's particular industrial concept. That usually means that one city is the base for all oil/petroleum industries, while another one is a base for farming and such. And on top of that I can have two cities both of them having wood industries as a base. That however is mostly a randomly decision, and is only affected by a towns particular location. It's not the best of ideas to have an oil-based city or a fishing community located miles from an ocean. Especially if you aim for realism.

Below is attached a close-up of the second city layout. In opposite of the main city that has the highway running in a tunnel, this one has it running through the city, but in the shape of a canal to somewhat separate it from the local road network. Exits are placed on both ends though.

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The third city, which I plan to become the second largest in the region, is located and pre-planned in the south-east corner;


In my previous game I ended up having three large cities and the rest being small, and I found that concept to be good. Not too many spread out cities and lots of space to landscape and use for infrastructure.

The close-up view below shows the pre-planning better. As with the other pre-planned towns, railroad networks are marked using stones - and in some cases road bridges to reflect an upcoming rail bridge. Again, no industrial areas pre-planned as I prefer to deal with that once all cities are established and the major part of the landscaping is done. But industries in this region will always be close to a city in order to reflect realism - apart from getting the advantage of lots of space for landscaping purposes and - of course - distances between areas.


I don't leave anything un-planned for. If a tunnel looks good in a certain place - regardless if it's needed or not - I just make sure it is needed! Below is such an example, showing what's to become the western entrance to the city - yet to be named!

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I mentioned earlier that as far as adding industries to a city on an earlier basis, I stated that only Banks would. However, I forgot to add the Bus Depot to that list of early establishments as they're not part of the "normal" industrial areas, although functioning like one as it needs oil. But yet, it's a depot and as such can be added right after the city has been established, as shown in the below attached image from the city of Vasa's western exit!


As recommended; comments, ideas, thoughts, or angry remarks are welcome!

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Coastline visible! - Oct 08, 2006


Most of the southern coastline is finished and two new town has been established, both of them acting as a base for the fishing industry in the region. As can tell it's also the location of the iron mines which products will face a long journey along the mountains to the steel mills upnorth.


Solsta, image below, is a small southern suburb of Vasa and will have access to the capitol thanks to the Metro. Apart from not having a main railroad system, neither for passenger nor goods, buses will be the second alternative available for people living and working here;

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As for Salem the situation is a bit different as it's located next to a main railroad line, giving the small fishing town good access to most towns around the region. A small airport will also be located next to the main station, allowing for even faster access to destinations all around;


Currently yet another coastline is being worked one, the southeast one. A problem here is to find a descent place for yet another, possibly two, town/s that will co-exist as a base for the fishing region in plans. As one of the goals is to allow for some distance between towns throughout the entire region, there can't be too many establishments - and preferably not within a too close range;


Even though there will be plenty of room for ships to travel around, it's essential to allow for some efficiancy when it comes to that kind of usage. Transport by sea takes time and to somewhat decrease the amount required, a canal will give ships fast access between the south and the north sea's. The south entrance located south of Vasa is shown below;

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Southern part of the region pretty much completed

After som hard work the southern part of the entire region is almost done. There are a few minor details that needs to be taken care of, as well adding industrial areas - which ones I haven't decided yet apart from the fishing industries. Some new towns have been established, among them the second largest, Sofia;


Located southeast at the end of the "8-shaped" highway it'll be one of three cities that'll grow twice as much as the others - something which I of course intend to control myself. It's also a center for the oil industry - or will be once the industrial placement has started.

Another town - or yet another suburb to Vasa - is Kista, located near the central mountains;


Along with the new island town of Vaxholm, the southern coastline is in fact completed;


It should be noted that even though most of the infrastructure is pre-placed, I rarely plan for freight trains and their tracks. It's first when I start playing my maps I begin to "design" how the stations are supposed to be placed and connected to the rail network, something which is always a huge challenge - costly and practical as I need to take into consideration that my maps are filled with hills and mountains that needs different solutions. My previous map ended with a nest of railroads on bridges, in tunnels - single as well as crossed - and crossed again a couple of times. I could rarely dig to the sea level without being stopped by a tunnel running...

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The west and north coasts

Being almost done with the southern part of the region, I've begun taking a closer look on two other coasts, the western and the northern. Difficult to decide is the number of towns to establish, as there shouldn't be too many decreasing the preferred distance between them all. But it shouldn't be too few either as there otherwise won't be a 100% challenge - although the map itself with its landscape will offer plenty of that!

A new town, yet another Vasa suburb, has been established on the western coast, and this probably means that there won't be any other towns on this part of the region;


As for the northern part it may seem as if the coastline is placed and the only thing left to do is to establish towns. Well, I'm not sure if this is how I want it to look!


The idea has been to develop some sort of a river between the mountains, along with a smaller lake in the middle, but I'm not sure if I enjoy the outcome - so far! May have to look into this a bit further! But hilly or not, lots of tunnels and bridges are needed as shown below, the eastern coast 8-shaped highway meeting the main railroad line. There is another advantage with lots of tunnels and bridges as it offers an opportunity to have the map less cluttered with roads, rails, roads and rails - and yet another road and rail everywhere, somewhat taking away a bit of the landscaping enjoyment itself!

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Region almost completed

I'm quite happy to have reached the final end of this new map. While most of the northwest and the northeast parts of the region is complete with coastlines and towns, only a small portion of the upper north area remains. It's a tidious work actually to landscape everything, but it's even more fun to start playing it afterwards!

I expect to be done with ALL landscaping by tomorrow, and then I'll lay the final touch to it by adding industrial areas and check for possible mistakes;


Yeah, there are lots of bridges there, but don't get fooled by them. While some represents road networks, other represent rail networks, (as I plan for them), but others might be placed for other reasons. Nevertheless, anyone playing this map will find that bridges and tunnels are essential as very few tiles are on the first level.

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Region Completed

Finally the entire map is completed and ready to be played! Road networks are placed, towns are established, and industrial areas have been built up. As mentioned earlier this map, despite some parts pre-planned, offers a big challenge to anyone thinking of playing it. Lovers of flat maps with numerous towns and industries a'la random will likely find the map to be a bit too much for their taste, but for those enjoying the fact that they really need to plan ahead and find the most efficient routes for their trains and road vehicles will surely have fun. As all 13 towns are placed around the map with some distance to consider, it'll require a different approach to make the best out of it.

Industrial areas, which is something I've been playing with for a long time, means that certain industries in most cases are bundled in groups next to an adjacent town, (for the realism factor), and require even more planning ahead as far distances between some industries may need longer trains then usual - or several train sets for that matter - for an efficient production to take place.

Even though main road networks are placed and ready to be used, (highway system), including bridges and tunnels, you as a player will find that nothing is done as far as a rail network regards. In some areas you might find traces of some pre-planned, (mostly ideas), railroads, but you won't find any complete routes to use for your establishments. This will of course be a great challenge - not to mention costly! For this reason - among others - bridges and tunnels shown in previous images in this thread, referring to a pre-planned rail network, are all removed! What's shown in the images below is what you'll get when - and if - downloading the map!

Northern part;


Central part;


Southern part;

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Western part;


Eastern part;


South-Eastern part;

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North-Eastern part;


North-Western part;


South-Western part;

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And finally, here's an image showing the entire map with its formations;

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Okey, if anyone is interested to try the INFRA-Region, I've attached the scenario file below. And here's a small description of the map and what it contains;

¤ 100% hand-made landscaped map with focus on hills and mountains.
¤ 13 towns of which 4 has been established to grow faster than the rest.
¤ Highway system that connects all towns around the region.
¤ Pre-planned canals to quickly establish water routes if needed.

¤ Bundled town-related industrial areas for an increased challenge.
¤ Pre-planned railroad station tiles in towns - if needed.
¤ Some pre-planned railroad routes, although optional.
¤ Great game-play challenge!

I'd appreciate screens from your in-game developments, (posted inside this thread), as it'll be very interesting to compare our personal ways of developments, playing a map like this. Any other questions, comments, or whatever, please post within this thread as well! :D

Anyway, have fun!

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Well, the diary continues, but at this time focusing on the actual game-play itself. And I'm having much fun trying to plan the region, difficulties as there are . At the moment I'm focusing on the capitol, the city of Vasa, where I've built the central station, (and thanks to the patch), built a "Metro Station" two tiles away and above the central station, but still one and the same! This is really a great feature!

In another town I even split up the main station and added a part above it in the middle of it, facing another direction. It really looks cool but I haven't tested it yet!

Anyway, Vasa, there are three tram routes serving the area, and I'm soon to introduce bus routes to take care of the vincinities. The downtown area is flourishing and I have even extended the quay (?) side next to the Bank of Scandinavia HQ's to make room for more commercial developments;


As for the centralstation, only a temp design has been developed in order to avoid the city from placing buildings on needed tiles. The first train has yet to be announced!

I'll be back with more images whenever I see some developments. And those of you who play the same scenario, remember I'd love to see screenies in here from you as well!

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Below is an overview of VIA, Vasa International Airport. It has just opened and some more work are still needed. VIA is the largest airport and are served by airport shuttles, (new buses not shown), and a commuter train;


The airport is located about 30-40 tiles from the city of Vasa for the purpose of realism!

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Did some more work at the airport, and the increasing traffic on the highways are noticable. The Airport Shuttle, (train), is also operating along with normal buses of course;

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Well, had in mind some more useful graphics, but due to limitations in the patch I will put those aside for the time being!

Anyway, added some more single "station items" for use with an airport theme. "Borrowed" Zimmlock's fire station and turned it into a rescue force for airports with proper liveries.

Also draw a new storage facility for mail, goods and whatever stuff is handled in an airport - and with that made, I simply had to add a few truck tiles as well. Also added is a Helicopter landing "place"

I also made a test using George's "hotel" and "borrowed" a piece from that in order to include a "hotel-building along with a changed piece from the "citystation" set - which fits very well with Zimmlock's original airport.

Apart from these additions I don't think there's anything else needed, or what do you think?


Except for the "actual airport" all these single pieces can be used to build up whatever's wanted - as long as it's within the range of current station sizes. But all in all it looks more like a real airport due to its size and additional pieces, don't you think?

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A shot from the above as I'm planning for some changes to build a new central train freight terminal northwest of Vasa - to sort of compare "before" and after"!


The new aircrafts from Pikkabird are really a joy to view. Not only do they look extremely good, but the sound - although softer than what I'm used to - is more realistic! If you haven't started using it yet, don't waste any time!

Speaking of the airport; now served by special airport shuttles in nice yellow/green livery. Actually, it's an extension of George's "Scania Omnilink" that now has an articulated version included - one of which have recieved the new airport shuttle livery and transport passengers to and from Vasa/VIA. Also nearby towns have airport shuttle services running to and from VIA, although mostly using normal standard size buses.

Below is a shot from south Vasa showing one of the shuttles on it's way to Vasa downtown, the new Scania Omnilink in VIA Livery;

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