- NoLimits 2
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NoLimits Roller Coaster Simulation 2 Developer(s) Ole Lange Distributor(s) TBA Platform(s) PC, Mac OS X and Linux Genre(s) Roller coaster designer and vehicle simulator System requirements TBA
NoLimits Roller Coaster Simulation 2 (nicknamed NL2) is a roller coaster simulation software package under development for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It is currently being designed and built by a team of programmers and artists led by German programmer Ole Lange. It is a followup to the existing NoLimits software.
NL2 uses a new engine designed to allow greater graphical accuracy, more coaster variety, and enhanced features compared to its predecessor. The new engine also merges the track editor and simulator into one application for the first time. A definitive list of features is not available. It is not free to NoLimits1 users.
Contents
Monthly Updates
Every month, the developers provide an update on the progress on the official NoLimits website.
Date Update March, 2008 Global folder for storing tracks. (below) April, 2008 New terrain engine, supporting higher detail, bigger template. (below) May, 2008 New pictures of ground textures and terrain. (below) June/July, 2008 New pictures of terrain and water. (below) August, 2008 Improved 3DS support, night-day cycle added. September, 2008 UI, file management. October, 2008 Dynamic shadows, More on Day-Night Cycle, Weather November/December, 2008 Better Hand-coaster-building April 2009 More on Hand-Building, Underground Tunnels confirmed July 2009 Walk mode, built-in formulas, video example. October 2009 Built in FVD, Switch and storage tracks confirmed in NL2 (below) April 2010 Old/new pictures of generated track (with abrasion marks) November 2010 New pictures of track, Automatic tunnels, addition of Dive Machines and more realistic train features April 1st 2011 April Fools Update, NoLimits 2 given the slogan of Ride for your Life, Left 4 Dead Parody Photos April 21st 2011 Wear on rails adjustable File System
Unlike the original NoLimits, which uses global folders for tracks, objects, and environments, NL2 will use a project-based folder architecture. Tracks will be stored in separate folders with all resource files required by the track—such as custom textures and scenery—located within. Project folders can be compressed from within the application to a single package file. Users are not required to decompress a package file unless they want to change its content.
The developers plan for NL1 tracks to be compatible with NL2 using an import feature; however, the NL2 track files utilize a much different format and will not be backward-compatible.
Roller-coasters
NL2 will have switch and storage tracks that are highly customizable. At least 3 types of switch tracks will be available, e.g. there will be switches for dual stations, normal switches for storage tracks and transfer tracks. Also there will be different kind of modes for the switches, e.g. shifting or rotating switches. Depending on the coaster-style, even horizontally and vertically switching tracks can be chosen.
Terrain
The terrain engine will make heavy use of vertex and pixel shaders to allow for multiple texture layers, high detail levels, larger building areas, and improved water and lighting effects. A particular area of improvement from the original NoLimits is the rendering of water, which will refract and reflect light more realistically.
See also
References
Categories:- Roller coaster games and simulations
- Simulation software
- Upcoming video games
- Vehicle simulation game stubs
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