The purpose of this document is to explain the configuration options of
Simutrans. There are currently two styles of options:

1) entries in the simuconf.tab and forrestconf.tab files
2) command line options


Simuconf.tab
------------

Simuconf.tab contains a rather large number of general configuration
settings for Simutrans.

Simuconf.tab is located in the folder "config". It is a textfile and
can be edited with a text editor. Each entry has a comment explaining
what the entry is good for and what values are allowed for this entry.


forrestconf.tab
---------------

Forrestconf.tab conatins some settings that control the generation
of forests during map creation.

Forrestconf.tab is located in the folder "config". It is a textfile and
can be edited with a text editor. Each entry has a comment explaining
what the entry is good for and what values are allowed for this entry.


Simutrans command line options
------------------------------

1.) Choose a resolution:

1a.) Choose a 'standard'  resolution

simutrans -res n

where n is one of 1,2,3,4,5

The switch -res chooses the resolution at program start:

1 = 640x480
2 = 800x600
3 = 1024x768
4 = 1280x1024

Resolution no. 5 runs Simutrans in a window instead of fullscreen mode 
(Windows version only)

THIS SWITICH IS DEPRECATED AND ONLY KEPT FOR COMPATIBILITY! 
Please use -screensize WxH instead (see section 1b) !

Use this switch at your own risk! Using a wrong resolution may damage your
monitor! Up to date monitors should support all resolutions, but older
monitors may have problems with the higher resolution settings. Don't expect
all resolutions to be available with your graphics card. The program will
abort the starting process if the graphics card doesn't support the chosen
resolution.

The default resolution was 640x480. Simutrans version 0.78.4 and newer
have a default resolution of 800x600. Please note that bigger resolutions
slow down the game. If Simutrans runs too slowly on your system, use a
smaller screen resolution. Windowed mode (-res 5 on Windows) is always
slower than full screen resolutions.
                           

1b.) Choose an arbitrary resolution

simutrans -screensize 900x400

More general the syntax is -screensize WIDTHxHEIGHT
where width and height are integral values separated by a small x
This format is strict. Simutrans will not tolerate spaces or other
format elements.

Screen sizes of 640x480, 800x600, 10124x768, 1280x1024, 1400x1050 and 
1600x1400 should open fullscreen. Other resolution should open as a
window on the desktop.

I suggest only to use widths being a multiple of 16 and even heights.

Use with care! I'm sure you can screw up things if you use values which
are not supported by your system. Use on your own risk ... i.e.
using -screensize 1600x1400 might damage your monitor if the graphics
card switches to that resolution, but your monitor cannot! I give
absolutely no warranty for any results of using that option!!!

Please note that if width is set below 640, parts of the toolbar will
not be visible and can't be used. In general setting width to less than 640
and height to less than 400 will most likely cause trouble ... the program 
does not check the values! As said above, use with care, no warranties are 
given!


2.) Copy output messages into a logfile:

simutrans -log

This writes all messages which are output after the game switches to graphics
mode to a file named "simu.log". This file might be helpful when reporting
problems, you might consider to log a replay of the problem and send the log
file together with a problem report to hansjoerg.malthaner@gmx.de. Please 
zip (compress) large log files before sending them. Don't forget your
explantion of the problem is much more important than the log file when
reporting problems.


3.) Run Simutrans in free playing mode (bankrupt check turned off):

simutrans -freeplay


4.) Screen refresh setting:

On slow machines even updating 640x480 pixels each frame may be
too much load for the CPU. To run Simutrans on slow machines, frame
skipping can be activated. Vehicles may move less smoothly this way,
but at least it is possible to run Simutrans at all. This is helpful
to run the big resolutions on standard machines, too.

simutrans -refresh n

displays every nth frame only. n=2 should result in a speedup of 25%,
n=3 in a speedup of 33%
You can chose n in a range from 1 to 16, where n=1 has the same effect as
omitting this setting at all. n >= 4 may result in 'jumpy' vehicle movement.

Try several values to find the best setting for your hardware. Usually
n=2 or n=3 works best on slow machines. n=16 may be a kind of slideshow
mode.


5.) Shared memory usage:

The Linux/X-Windows version uses shred memory by default. In network
environments this may not work. Use -net to turn shared memory usage off.

simutrans -net                                                    

(Simutrans versions 0.78.0 and newer autodetect shared memory. They do not 
use this switch, but just ignore it).


6.) Async screen updates:

The Linux/X-Windows can be forced to update the screen asynchroneously.
This may or may not improve the frame rate on your machine. On my setup
it turned out to be useless, but on other setups, this option has proven
helpful

simutrans -async

turns async screen updates on.

(Simutrans versions 0.78.0 and newer no longer support this switch.)


7.) Getting help (well it just says read this readme file)

simutrans -h
simutrans -?
simutrans -help
simutrans --help

All print a quick help message, which basically says 
"Read the readme file"


8.) Use alternative PAK files

If you have an alternative PAK file set for Simutrans, such as the
winter scenario, you can use the following command line argument:

simutrans -objects winter_pak/

"winter_pak" is the directory where the PAK files are stored. Use the
name of your setup instead! The trailing slash is mandatory.



8a.) Read altnerative scenario

simutrans -scenario <directory>

This switch makes Simutrans read all config files, color maps and
the daten.pak file from the given directory

(Obsolete as of Simutrans 0.81.1exp).


9) Turn sound and music off (as of Simutrans 0.81.23exp)

9a) Turn sound off

simutrans -nosound

9b) Turn music off

simutrans -nomidi

This also helps if Simutrans crashes on startup due to buggy or
incompatible sound drivers.


10) Set the debug level

simutrans -debug 

The -debug switch turns on additional debug messages.


11) Timeline and startyear

Example: simutrans -timeline 1 -startyear 1950

11b) Timeline

simutrans -timeline <1 or 0>

0 = all vehicles are available from the start of the game
1 = More relistic. In 1930 are only some historical vehicles
    available. New vehicles will be introduced from time to time.

Example: simutrans -timeline 1 -startyear 1930

Default value: setting use_timeline in simuconf.tab

11b) Start year

simutrans -startyear <year>

Sets the starting year of the game

Example: simutrans -timeline 1 -startyear 1950

Default value : setting starting_year in simuconf.tab


All the above mentioned options can be combined, i.e.

simutrans -res 2 -log -objects winter_pak/

runs Simutrans in test mode, writes output to "simu.log", switches to
a resolution of 800x600 pixels and uses the winter pak files. Not
all options are available on all platforms, i.e. -async and -net are
only supported on Linux/X-Windows.


If you run into problems, or if you have questions, please visit the 
feedback forum:

http://www.simugraph.com/forum


If the forum entries and community can't help, you can one of the developer
by email:

markus@pristovsek.de


Suggestions how to improve Simutrans are also always welcome.

If you're unsure how to report problems or change request, there are
two example forms packaged with simutrans. Use "problem_report.txt"
for problem reports and "change_request.txt" for change requests
if you send reports by email.



There are some Simutrans related web pages, you may want to visit them:

The official Simutrans home page:
http://www.simutrans.de
http://www.simutrans.com

A mirror of the official site (sometimes not up to date):
http://simutrans.drive.to
http://simutrans.cjb.net


This readme file was written by Hansjörg Malthaner, November 2000,
Last update 2-Feb-2005 by Markus Pristovsek

