Beta 3

It's been quite a long time since the release of beta 2, so it's time for an update.

Please note the following limitations:

This is a beta version which is expected to have bugs. Use at your own risk.
Only a 32-bit release is available. (The final releases will support 64-bit, too.)
There may be some maps which are not fully functional. The Germany map has been tested most intensely and is recommended for the first game. Please report map errors to contact@dampfross.net.
Please report any issues to contact@dampfross.net (A ticket system for reporting bugs will be established soon.)

It is not possible to update from beta 1 or beta 2. Please delete the file railwayrivals.db which should be located in %appdata%\flexsrv\railwayrivalscp. All saved games will be lost. Be aware that the components are not interchangable between beta versions: do not use a mixed configuration of different betas.

Download: rr_beta3.zip (zipped installer, 8 MB)

It is still recommended to use local operation mode because client-server mode hasn't been tested exhaustively in combination with the installer.

If you wish to try client-server operating anyway, do not expose the server to the public internet! Use it in your home network only.

For those interested in details, here's what's been changed:

There should be full support for pre-built tracks new. Pre-built tracks can be found on e.g. Austria and Switzerland maps. When starting the game, pre-built tracks do already exist, are owned by nobody, but (in the operating stage) can be used by anyone. Nonetheless, it's possible for any player to build his owns tracks there. In this case, pre-built tracks are being replaced by the player's tracks and are considered regular tracks from now on.
The major changes, however, happened "beneath the surface" and are the reason why it took so long for the beta 3 release. There's been lots of work resulting in an almost complete rewrite of the handling of tracks and players.
Previously, tracks have been basically been stored as "tile number, direction, player". Now, tracks additionally have a level (ground, raised, lowered), a direction (inbound, outbound) and may be owned by two players.
This has been a big change which unfortunately means that there is a high probability for new bugs to have been introduced. Sorry for that, but the good news...
These changes have been necessary to allow new features in upcoming versions: First of all (because it's printed in the manual), it'll finally be possible for two players to build common tracks (as a kind of joint-venture). Such tracks are owned by both players and can be used for free by both players.
Two players will be able to run a race together (as a joint-venture). This is fully independent of tracks which have been built by two players. However, it is also the situation that both players can use each others' tracks for free.
The relationships between joint-venture tracks have already been very complicated for only two players, so it is highly unlikely that there will ever be an extension for joint-ventures of three or more players.
Track levels are a preparation for extended track-building. Currently, tracks always follow the terrain. But instead of building down a mountain and climbing up onto the next one, it might be interesting to build a bridge between these two. Or a tunnel. Or a bridge from mainland to an island. Or a tunnel. Track levels have been the preparation for all these nice-to-haves. You might imagine that it's been a complex change because this means that two tracks on the same tile do not necessarily have a junction: One might have a track running over a mountain and a second track in a different direction running in a tunnel. A train cannot change from the first to the second track.

tl;dr I apologize for the long development time for beta 3. But I hope that we're up to having many new possibilities with the foundation that beta 3 has established. Next step will be further stability, and if this is done, enhancements will be implemented successively.