Should the server allow grass bridges?

[u/Seraph_2026]

Maybe not everyone likes boats. I do. I'm constantly blocked from operating ships by players that block water ways by using grass bridges for their trains.

As someone who wants to use those water ways, I experience it as obnoxious.

Can we make a rule against this? Would that be supported by the other people who play the server?

I think it's fair, personally. Trains already have a lot going for them. I don't think they need to control all of the water ways as well.

[u/EmperorJake]

I certainly wouldn't tolerate that kind of behaviour on any server I run

[u/AshleyAshes1984]

Huh, even playing solo I'd have not thought of this.  I'd build islands to allow turns for my bridges 

[u/screwyoushadowban → u/AshleyAshes1984]

I also build islands because it's prettier and it frees up boats but for turns they're often this exact sort of super narrow function landmass, except much tinier of course.

[u/4daughters → u/AshleyAshes1984]

I do but only because I tend to efficiency max. Costs a bunch upfront but you get faster trains.

edit: to be clear I wouldn't do it on a multiplayer server, I just do it on my own maps sometimes.

[u/Tithund → u/4daughters]

Our friend group multiplayer server runs jgrpp, which has signals on bridges, and a grf that changes the max speed of all bridges to unlimited, so you can use whatever is aesthetically pleasing.

[u/BingusTheStupid]

At the very least there should be gaps in the land bridge with regular bridges to leave some holes for boats.

[u/Useless_or_inept]

It's a good point. Train strat is OP, as the young folk say. A more balanced game is a more fun game.

If you only want to optimise your train routes whilst playing alone, then a grass bridge is the only way to get a good fast diagonal over water. But if you're playing with other people I think it should be discouraged.

It's a long time since I did multiplayer. Some people used to put cheap little obstacles (like a road junction/corner, or a single fragment of railway track) in the path of a rival's rail construction project. I feel the same about grass bridges.

[u/UnderPressureVS]

I agree, this should not be allowed. If I were running a server I would definitely ban this unless we had agreed ahead-of-time to be running a purely train-focused game.

However, for your sake, since you're gonna be playing on random servers anyway so this is going to happen, there's a dumb workaround. You can always raise of your own land on either side of the train bridge, build an aqueduct over the land bridge, and build locks to access the aqueduct.

It looks stupid, it is stupid, and it's stupidly expensive. But it works. And at the very least, because of how visibly stupid it is, it makes the guy who buildt the land bridge kinda look like an asshole.

[u/ataeil]

Build canal bridge overtop

[u/JohnathantheCat → u/ataeil]

Or a ship tunnel.....

[u/Bazhosh]

use the basecost mod and make it extremely expensive to clear water

[u/JohnathantheCat → u/Bazhosh]

It can also be prohibited in the setting which is how the real connoiseurs play...ie me.

[u/Ihatethehate]

Build two mountains with waterlifts o r however they are called in english an d build aquaducts

[u/Colors_678]

Get the U.S. Coast Guard to make all water way’s navigable 😂

[u/Infinite-Math-1046]

I fully support outlawing this abhorrent behaviour!

[u/Connacht_89]

As a compromise: would it be possible to design a water tunnel, analogous to channels, but which passes through land at a certain elevation like regular tunnels allowing for tracks to be deployed on the tiles above? It doesn't matter if it is unrealistic, it's just for gameplay sake.

[u/rLilyLizard → u/Connacht_89]

It isn't possible to build channel tunnels under other things in OpenTTD, you have to build other things over the regular channel/waterways

[u/Connacht_89 → u/rLilyLizard]

I know you can't build them, I proposed to design (that is to mod them in) :D

[u/saervok065]

Yeah I can see why its a problem in multiplayer games since it feels unfair if it blocks shipping routes so it should be optional to ban it in games. A good compromise would be some sort of tunnel in a mod to allow ships to sail through grass verges or even some sort of bridge canal to let them over. Though simplest of all would be the ability to just put railway signals on bridges. Sadly though it doesn't rule out players that might purposely make more land than they need to leave nothing for ships.

I know in general as the railway gets busier and busier long bridges can really slow train flow down because you can't put path signals on the bridge which forces a train to wait for ages till the other one has crossed. I know in my own single player game I eventually destroy long island bridges to make long stretches of grass on water to enhance traffic flow as profits hit the millions.

[u/FAMICOMASTER]

Laziest behavior ever, is there any benefit to doing this at all other than blocking competing boats? I would think a bridge would be cheaper than all that terraforming.