Week 6 – Midterm Progress

Inspiration:

I really like trains, and so I thought I could try to make a basic train simulator in Processing. I wanted the user to control a subway train between two stations, have to navigate a red signal, and stop and the next station without overshooting the platform. I also wanted the background to be populated with other NPC trains.

Process:

I started by trying to build the background for the simulator, which would simply be a top-down view of the tracks and tunnel. I made a platform, two rails for the tracks, and made a class for trains. I tried to add a .png image for the tracks, but for some reason, it wouldn’t load in. I never got an error message, I simply couldn’t see the image. As a place-holder, I added some rectangles for the rails. You can’t control the train yet, but the goal is to be able to.

Final Work:

Challenges:

I had a lot of challenges so far. For some reason, the rectangle of the subway train stays on the screen without disappearing. As mentioned above, I can’t load the tracks .png file, and finally I haven’t yet added user control over the train.

Code:

Train[] trains;

int platformDepth;
int platformLength;
int railWidth;
int railSpacing;
int sleeperWidth;
int sleeperLength;
int sleeperSpacing;

PFont stationFont;
PImage img;

void setup(){
  size(1280,640);
  background(255);
  stationFont = createFont("Courier New", 30);
  
  
  img = loadImage("subwayTracks.png");


  
  platformDepth = 100;
  platformLength = 800;
  railWidth = 2;
  railSpacing = 28;
  sleeperWidth = 5;
  sleeperLength = 30;
  sleeperSpacing = 15;
  
  trains = new Train[3];
  for (int i=0; i<trains.length; i++) {
    trains[i] = new Train(0, height-platformDepth-10-railSpacing, (10));
  }
  
  
}

void draw(){


  
//platform
  stroke(0);
  fill(255, 200, 100);
  rect(width/2-platformLength/2, height-platformDepth, platformLength, platformDepth);
//rails
  noStroke();
  fill(0);
  rect(0, (height-platformDepth) - 10, width, railWidth);
  rect(0, (height-platformDepth) - 10 - railSpacing, width, railWidth);
  
  noStroke();
  fill(0);
//  for (int i=0; i>0; i++){
//    rect(i, height-platformDepth - sleeperLength, sleeperWidth, sleeperLength);
//  }

 for (int i=0; i<trains.length; i++) {
    trains[i].runTrain();
    
  textFont(stationFont);
  textAlign(CENTER);
  text("23rd St. Station", width/2, height-platformDepth+50);
  
  image(img, (height-platformDepth) - 10, width/2);

  
}
}

class Train{
  float posX, posY;
  float trainWidth, trainLength;
  color trainColor;
  float wheelWidth, wheelHeight;
  float speed;
  
  Train(float _posX_, float _posY_, float _speed){    
    posX = _posX_;
    posY = _posY_;
    trainWidth = 40;
    trainLength = trainWidth*1;
    trainColor = color(126,127,128);
    speed = _speed;

  }
 
  void runTrain(){
    trainBody();
    driveTrain();
  }
  
  void constructTrain(float _posX_, float _posY_){
 
}

void trainBody(){

  fill(trainColor);
  noStroke();
  rect(posX, posY, trainLength, trainWidth, 7);
  
  //trailing carriages
  //fill(trainColor);

  rect(posX-trainLength-10, posY, trainLength, trainWidth, 7);
  rect(posX-(trainLength*2)-10, posY, trainLength, trainWidth, 7);
}


void driveTrain(){
  posX += speed;
  
  if (posX > width+trainWidth/2) {
    posX = -trainWidth/2;
  }
  
 }
}