NewGRF

From OpenTTD

NewGRF is the way new graphics, vehicles, buildings, cargoes and industries can be introduced into OpenTTD. NewGRF files may be downloaded and installed into the game to introduce these new features. Unlike patches which may be changed part way through a game, NewGRF should be installed prior to starting a new game in order to ensure correct operation. The name "NewGRF", or "New Graphics Resource File" refers to the new features added to GRF files (Transport Tycoon graphics files) which can be exploited to change graphics and the behaviour of the game. NewGRF is a shared format between OpenTTD and TTDPatch, and is almost fully compatible with both.

For common issues with GRF files in OpenTTD, visit the NewGRF FAQ.

Contents 1 Getting NewGRFs 2 Installing NewGRFs 2.1 Windows or DOS version? 3 Activating NewGRFs 3.1 The other buttons 3.2 Activating NewGRFs in-game 4 Configuration File 4.1 Multiple combinations 4.2 Parameters 5 NewGRF Compatibility and Features 6 External links

[edit] Getting NewGRFs

NewGRFs are community produced, and therefore may be downloaded from many websites. Some main places to look are:

• TTForums.net (particularly the TTDPatch and OpenTTD graphics boards) - The centre of discussion of most NewGRF development.
• GRFCrawler - A database of NewGRFs, linked with the TTForums.
• OpenTTD NewGRF List - The OpenTTD wiki NewGRF list.
• TTDPatch NewGRF list - The TTDPatch wiki NewGRF list.

There are also many private websites which host NewGRFs, including:

• George's website
• Pikkabird's website

[edit] Installing NewGRFs

A NewGRF is a single file (with the extension .grf) for example: "grvts.grf". To install a NewGRF:

1. Download the NewGRF (.grf) file.
2. Move the NewGRF file to the data directory of your OpenTTD installation.

• This will often be:

"C:/Program Files/OpenTTD/data" (Windows)

"/usr/share/games/openttd/data/" (Linux) - root privileges necessary to write to this directory.

"~/Documents/OpenTTD/data" (OSX)

[edit] Windows or DOS version?

Often, you are given a choice between a Windows and a DOS version of a NewGRF. Which one you need, depends on the original graphic files. If the origin of the original graphic files is a DOS version of TTD, you need a DOS version of a NewGRF. Similar, if you have the Windows version TTD files, you need a Windows version of a NewGRF.

If you don't know which version (DOS or Windows) you own, there's an easy way to figure that out. First, locate the OpenTTD Data directory, in which the original graphic files are stored. The file names reveal everything:

• DOS version: trg1.grf, trgc.grf, trgh.grf, trgi.grf, trgt.grf
• Windows version: trg1r.grf, trgcr.grf, trghr.grf, trgir.grf, trgtr.grf (notice the extra 'r' before '.grf'.)

If the wrong type of NewGRF is installed it will work, but the graphics will not appear correctly.

[edit] Activating NewGRFs

1. Start OpenTTD.

2. In the main menu, click "NewGRF Settings".

3. Click "Add".

4. Select the NewGRF file you want to use, then click "Add To Selection".

5. Click "Add" to add more NewGRFs, then "Apply Changes" when you are done.

Now, whenever you start a new game, the NewGRFs will be active, and whatever changes they make will become visible.

[edit] The other buttons

NewGRF Settings window

• Add - Opens the Available NewGRF files window.
• Remove - Removes the selected NewGRF from the list of active NewGRFs.
• Move Up - Moves the selected GRF up in the order of active NewGRFs.
• Move Down - Moves the selected GRF down in the order of active NewGRFs.
• Set parameters - Sets NewGRF parameters, for example to set parameter 1 to 4, parameter 2 to 3 and parameter 3 to zero enter "4 3 0".
• Apply changes - Applies changes and exits the window.

The order of NewGRFs is important in determining how different NewGRFs interact. A NewGRF higher in the list overrides the effects of a NewGRF lower in the list.

Available NewGRF files window

• Add to selection - Adds the selected NewGRF to the list of active NewGRFs.
• Rescan files - OpenTTD only looks for NewGRF files when the game starts, this makes the game rescan the folder to check for new files.

[edit] Activating NewGRFs in-game

While new games will automatically use your newly installed .grf files, previously started games require the following steps to include your new graphics:

1. Go to Game options>NewGRF settings.
2. Add the desired NewGRFs.
3. Say you are sure you want to make these changes in-game.
4. Open the OpenTTD console with the ` key (key to the left of the "1" on most keyboards).
5. Type in "resetengines".
6. Press ` to close the console.

Note that even after typing “resetengines�?, your pre-existing vehicles will still be of the old type. However, you should now be able to build the new types of vehicles from any of your depots.

[edit] Configuration File

An alternative way of specifying which NewGRF files to use is by directly altering the openttd.cfg configuration file. The steps to do this are as follows:

1. Copy the new .grf file to the \data directory.
2. Open the openttd.cfg file in the \ directory.
3. Go to the end of the file and enter the following:

[newgrf]
firstset.grf
secondset.grf
thirdset.grf

Where firstset, secondset etc.. are the names of the .grf files of the set. The files are loaded in the specified order... so if secondset has some features that are also in firstset, the features of the first set would be overwritten.

Note that it is a good practice to put all the newgrf files to a directory such as \data\custom or \data\newgrf. It especially makes upgrading OpenTTD easier, as well as managing a large number of newgrf files.

Be careful when using subdirs of the data directory for storing custom newgrf files. You have to adjust the path in the openttd.cfg like \custom\newgrffile.grf if your "custom" folder is a subfolder of the OpenTTDs data folder.

[edit] Multiple combinations

If you want to configure more than one combination of sets you can do this:

[newgrf]
#COMBINATION 1
firstset.grf
secondset.grf
#COMBINATION 2
#another_firstset.grf
#another_secondset.grf

Now you can switch between the combinations by removing the "#" from before one combination and add it to the other combination.

Words after # are treated just like a comment - they are skipped.

[newgrf]
#
#Trains
#
firstset.grf
secondset.grf
#
#Newstations
#
#thirdset.grf - I turned it off because it's buggy
fourthset.grf
#
#Ships
#
fifthset.grf

I'm testing some combinations like "DBset + Arcticset", "Temperateset + Tropicset" and so on... for the moment the only combination that works well is "Temperateset + Arcticset" (note that this information can be obsolete and may not reflect the current state of things; please refer to the Forums for the current status).

[edit] Parameters

Some NewGRF files accept one or more parameters. See the NewGRF Settings article for information on adding parameters to a GRF file, or do the following in your openttd.cfg file:

[newgrf]
firstsetw.grf           # Doesn't require any parameters
secondsetw.grf 5 3 1250 # Three parameters
thirdsetw.grf=10        # Alternate form of providing parameters.

Note: As you can see, multiple NewGRF parameters are separated by spaces.

[edit] NewGRF Compatibility and Features

NewGRF is originally a TTDPatch feature, and as such, the latest NewGRF features are not always available in OpenTTD.

What has to be done/is done next can be found in the NewGRF TODO. What has been done is in the NewGRF Features list..

[edit] External links

Links to some downloadable GRF files (note that these are meant for TTDPatch and not all of them will work with OpenTTD, and that some of these are already included with OpenTTD - see Newgrf Features for what works with OpenTTD)

• Transport Tycoon New Graphics — Contains downloadable links to various GRF files along with descriptions and previews.
• TTDPatch — A list of GRF files on the TTDPatch webpage.
• NewGraphicSpecs Specs of the GRF Format
• 'NewGRF problems' forum topic.